“It’s my fault,” Triss said, choking on the words.  “If I had thought to bring her in, away from the Darter, then she’d be here.”
    Eowen Cerise, the seer and the queen’s confident, placed a hand on his shoulder.  “It was bound to happen,” she whispered, her voice sounding small and delicate.  “The vision said so.  Alleyne was not to return.”
    To the side, Ellenroh was crying noiselessly, mourning for her daughter.  Her father was gone, her brother, Asheron, was long dead, her daughter was deceased, and her granddaughter was somewhere in the Four Lands.  The queen felt horribly abandoned as fate flicked away her family one by one.  Who would be next?  Gavilan?  Dilia?  Herself?  The Elessedil line would be completely wiped out, nothing but a memory for the Elves.  Her granddaughter, whose name she did not even know, was safe in the Four Lands, an Elessedil as well, but she didn’t know that.  She would be an Ohmsford, the only thing marking her as anyone special was the pouch containing the Elfstones, but of course her granddaughter didn’t know that either.  She believed them to be painted rocks from another time, three stones with delicate designs.  And those would be disposed of when she grew older, not needing them anymore, believing them to be a child’s toy, and the legendary Elfstones would be lost as well.  Ellenroh was beginning to despair.  Their time was up.  The queen could not see how much longer they could possibly survive, lost in a land where Shadowen crouched at every turn, without someone to save them.
    “I won’t die, Aunt Ell, I promise,” Gavilan soothed, doubting it.
    Ellenroh merely buried her head in his shoulders, still continuing to sob.
    Dilia Noh entered the small study everyone was crowded in, and immediately went to Triss.  “You are not the one to blame,” she said quickly.  “I was the one who brought Ellenroh too late.  You were the one who saw Alleyne in the first place.  And you found out what happened, didn’t you?  You achieved a lot, considering these conditions.  Have faith, Triss.  Stop blaming yourself.”
    “Then whose fault is it?” Triss snapped, frustrated with everything that had happened in the past few days.
    Dilia paused, not having an answer, but not daunted by Triss’ behavior either.  “Not yours,” she finally said simply.  Dropping her voice to a whisper, she continued, “I love you, Triss.  And I won’t let you live like this, suffering each day for something that you did not do.  Stand up, I want to walk with you for a while.”
    Triss stood, then stumbled, feeling overwhelmed with guilt.  Dilia supported him until he felt better, before leading him to the Gardens of Life and the Ellcrys, where they met up with Gaden Pinal, the Elven Minister of Defense.
    “You look pale,” Dilia murmured, carefully keeping her eyes averted from his mysterious stare.  “Are you ill?”
    “I’m fine,” he growled testily.  Gaden was neither young nor old, but somewhere in between.  A shock of dark blond hair covered his head, and he had a mustache to go with it.  Lately, the Minister of Defense had been disappearing randomly—and according to Aurin Striate, his footprints had been found in the tunnels below the city.  They puzzled over what this meant, but could not find a suitable explanation.
    Gaden Pinal hurriedly left Triss and Dilia, apparently remembering a meeting that he had to attend.  Triss looked at her.  “He’s been acting strangely,” the former said.
    “Yes, I know…” Dilia trailed off, lost in thought.  “I have this strange feeling about him…”
    The Captain nodded, understanding.  But they left the matter alone, continuing to walk around the Gardens of Life.
 
 

The slightly stooped form of the Owl headed towards the Arborlon stables, planning to go into the tunnels for yet another trip, when he found that he was trailing the Minister of Defense.  He caught up to the other in a few sprints, greeting him with a solemn nod.  “Where are you headed?” Aurin Striate asked.  “I thought you didn’t like horses.”
    “I don’t,” snapped Gaden, irritated at the interruption.  “I go where I please, and you can’t do anything about it!”
    The Owl backed off, repulsed in the change of attitude in the Minister of Defense.  When he had taken office, Gaden Pinal had been a placid young man who was once part of the Black Watch but resigned when he took up his new job.  His knowledge of defensive strategies was exceptional, and he shared it willingly.  But lately, ever since the attack on the king, he had grown pale and reclusive.  No one knew what had gotten into him.  And there was also the matter of his tracks found in the tunnels below Arborlon.  Aurin had no idea as to how Gaden would know of the trapdoor, but like Dilia and Triss, he suspected something.  He wished he were sure in his assumptions, though.  It would make things so much easier.  But since when has anything been easy on Morrowindl? he mused.  It’s been a long time.  Aurin took a side route to the stables, in the hopes of seeing what Gaden Pinal was up to.  However, when he reached the horses, he found the place deserted of Elves and Shadowen alike.  Opening the door that led to a room holding the food for the animals, he located the trapdoor hidden beneath a barrel, unlatching the small lock.  Going down the stairs, the Owl found no recent footprints besides his own.  Where else could he have went? he thought.  The path that Gaden and he had been on led directly to the stables.  I think that I’ll have someone follow him, was Aurin Striate’s last thought before the trapdoor above him closed with a heavy thud.
 
 

“The Owl,” Ellenroh Elessedil said suddenly.  “Where is he?”
    It had been nearly ten hours since Alleyne’s death, and neither Triss, Dilia, Ellenroh, Gavilan, nor Eowen had seen him.  Aurin Striate usually met up with them sooner or later during the day, to share any news he found out while exploring the tunnels.  Every day, they crowded around him, hoping for news on the Shadowen and the girl.  But every day, they were sorely disappointed.  Now, though, he wasn’t here at all.
    “I’ll go look for him,” Triss volunteered.
    “Take some Elven Hunters with you, then,” the queen replied.  “We can’t afford to lose Aurin.  We can’t.”
    Triss departed silently, heading for the Home Guard barracks, while the rest quietly conversed in the small study.
    “Why did Alleyne come?” Gavilan repeated for the hundredth time that day.  “She was expressly warned not to return…”
    “Alleyne was homesick,” Ellenroh replied fiercely, defending her daughter every step of the way.  “If you had not seen your family for twenty years, wouldn’t you have wanted to come back?”
    Gavilan nodded meekly, knowing what the queen wanted to see.  Then suddenly, the prince realized something that he had not seen earlier. With Alleyne gone, that makes me next in line for the throne!  The thought passed though him with such ferocity that he cringed.  Dilia would have no chance, coming to power if and only Gavilan was eliminated.  Triss wasn’t even royal.  Eowen was just a seer.  The Owl, Aurin Striate, wasn’t interested in politics.  The thought made him smile.  He would be king someday, ruling over Arborlon.  He leaned back in his chair and grinned, studying disinterestedly the others’ faces, shutting out all talk from his ears.
 
 

Aurin Striate bounded up the steps and pushed silently at the trapdoor, but it would not give.  The lock was fairly new, and strong.  The Owl sat down on the stairs and wondered how he would get out.  Nothing but a maze blocked the Shadowen from him, and they would get past quickly.  Their sense of smell was extremely accurate.  Looking around in despair, his keen eyes picked out a smaller tunnel, which branched out from the main one.  Aurin had an idea as of where it led to, but it was small and filled with numerous twists and turns, perfect for an ambush.  He had been through it only once, and had barely escaped with his life.  But he had no choice.  It was either die in the hands of the Shadowen without a fight, or risk himself going through the smaller tunnel in which he might die, yet if luck was on his side, he might just live.  Aurin unsheathed one of his daggers and crawled in, already hearing the sounds of Shadowen pursuit.  He had to hurry.  The Owl scampered through, always keeping his weapon in front of him so it could spear anything that appeared from a corner.
    An hour came and went; yet the exit had not appeared.  The Owl had already went through eight Shadowen small enough to fit in the tunnel, hacking at them distastefully until they were either dead or unconscious, then proceeding along, acquiring several scratches and cuts along the way.  At last, the tiny exit to the tunnel was in view, and the tired, hungry Aurin scrambled over to it.  He had survived.  The area around it was roomy and clear, big enough for someone to stand up and walk around in.  The exit was merely a large stone, but it was lodged rather firmly into the soil.  He dug around it eagerly, smiling with satisfaction as he felt it start to slide.  His hand poked out into the world beyond, his head following.  The Owl pulled himself out and looked around, nodding.  The tunnel had led to where he had thought it would.  Aurin Striate was right behind the Ellcrys, the legendary tree that had protected the Elves from the Demons of the Forbidding.  The Owl shivered at the thought of another outbreak.  The last time the Demons had escaped was in the time of Ander Elessedil, and only the sacrifice of a young Elven maid named Amberle, King Ander’s niece, could save them.  She had transformed into the present Ellcrys.
    From his position, he was hidden from both the Black Watch and any passerby.  The Owl took use of this, dusting himself and sheathing his dagger before strolling out casually onto the path.  But before he knew it, he was nearly on top of an unsuspecting Triss, who had been searching for Aurin.
    “Aurin!” the Captain of the Home Guard sputtered.  “We’ve been looking all over for you!”  He gestured at the small band of Elven Hunters behind him, his eyes wide and disbelieving.  “We’ve been searching for so long, and then, all of a sudden, you appear out of nowhere as if nothing ever happened!”
    “I’m sorry,” the Owl said quickly.  “But I was… distracted.  Let us join Ellenroh before I tell you my story.”
    Triss dispatched the Hunters, not needing them anymore.  They left silently and without question.  When the two were alone, they headed for the palace for a talk with the queen.
    “Owl!” Ellenroh exclaimed when she saw him.  “You look a mess!  What happened to you?”
    The Owl sat down in a chair, stretching his aching muscles, before beginning.  “I was on my way to the tunnels,” he began.  The others flocked around him like birds, eager for his story.  Aurin Striate recalled every moment, from the time he entered the tunnel to the moment of escape.  At the end, he gave the basic dimensions of the tunnel itself, should it be needed.  “Gaden should be followed,” he advised quietly, looking at Gavilan.  “Another person holing an office, but not one too significant, would be best.  He would get suspicious seeing a Captain of the Home Guard always near him, not being royalty himself.  And Dilia…” he shrugged, knowing that she would understand.
    Gavilan stepped back.  “You want me to be the spy?”
    Aurin nodded.  “Who better then you?  A prince is expected to hang around the palace, and one your age will not be occupied with meetings all the time, yet you are allowed to join the High Council if you choose.  I think that you are perfect for the job.”  The others nodded in agreement.
    “If you say so,” Gavilan muttered reluctantly.  He departed silently to circle the palace for any signs for the Minister of Defense.
    The Owl got up and left to take a bath and eat.  The others, having eaten their evening meal a while ago, went to their rooms to think and to take a much-needed rest.