Friends and Enemies // Chapter Thirty Five // A Secret Drove Your Father Mad

"Emmeth, let me help," Willow demanded as the prince collapsed onto a cot in the medical turret.

   "No," he panted, patting his neck, searching for a chain. He gave a weak smile. "They didn't find it on me. That is a miracle! Thank you," he murmured, glancing skyward.

   "Didn't find what?" she persisted, dipping a towel in a bowl of water. Then changing the subject, she fired questions. "Are you okay? Any cuts, bruises, infections?"

   He shook his head. "Only a few, and no infections. I am a man, I can handle it."

   Willow glanced down at the bandages she was unwrapping. "Sometimes they think they're invincible, and then they fall harder than ever before," she mused to herself.

   Emmeth's sharp ears caught her words, but before he could ask Sir Richard knocked and entered. "Are you well, Prince Emmeth?"

   The prince nodded. "I am well. Only superficial. Mostly just cuts and bruises," he assured the Knight.

   Sir Richard patted him on the shoulder gently. "I am glad to hear it. When would you like to be briefed?"

   Emmeth glanced at the clock. "After breakfast tomorrow. I expect that everything was well handled in my absence."

   Willow elbowed past the Knight and handed Emmeth the wet towel. "Sir Richard did quite well," she informed him.

   Sir Richard grinned. "So did Willow, she can be quite the leader when there is a need."

   Willow shook her head, but a tiny smile showed at her lips. "I only helped out when I was needed, I left all of the hard stuff to him."

   The prince gave an appreciative nod. Then he grew serious, but before he could say anything, there was a quick knock at the door. Killian shoved it open and stuck his head in. "Willow, your bird is having a fit," he informed her.

   "Oh, no!" Willow dropped the bandages she was holding and pushed past him and rushed down the turret stairs to her Thunderbird. "Liberty, calm down!" they heard her call. Hurrying to the window, the prince and knight observed the scene beneath them. Liberty was rearing back as best she could, and spreading her wings and making lots of bird noises. "It's all right, everything's all right," Willow soothed, edging closer to the panicked bird. Picking up her lead rope, she slowly advance, reached her, and began to stroke her feathers to calm her.
   Finally, Liberty calmed down, but she kept turning her head and pecking under her right wing. Willow disappeared as she stepped under the wing, then reappeared as she came out. In her hands lay a black arrow, tipped with a cruel jagged point. A tiny bit of paper was tied to it by a gleaming purple ribbon. Willow gently, as to not touch the tip, carried it up the steps, and closed the door. "This must have been from the person who chased us," she commented by way of explanation.

   "What does the note say?" inquired Sir Richard.

   She slipped her dagger from its sheath at her belt and sliced the ribbon in a clean swipe. It fluttered to the floor as she examined the note. "It says "To the Prince"," she noted, offering it to Emmeth.
   Shrugging, he accepted it and read the flowing script. "A secret drove your father mad, and you know what it was." Glancing up, he noted the expectant gazes of the Knight and the lady. Willow raised her eyebrows as if to say "well?".

   "A secret did indeed drive Father mad," he remarked slowly. "And I do know what it was." Gently, he lifted the brass chain that hung around his neck up, and dangled it from his right hand, covering what hung on it with his left hand.

   "I have never seen what hangs on that necklace," Sir Richard remarked.

   "Neither have I," Willow confessed.

   "Well, if you swear to the utmost secrecy, by your honor and every breath you have taken and will take, you will be allowed to see." Emmeth raised his eyebrows. Both nodded, and he noted that Willow's eye glittered with curiosity, and that she was shivering just a little. He dropped his left hand, letting them see.

   Willow gave a sharp intake of breath, and Sir Richard shifted, but they both stood captivated by the dangling object. It was a ring, made of gold, but tarnished over many years. It had geometric designs on the sides in raised impressions on the sides, and had a blue gem shaped like a rectangle set in the center. "It has been in my family for several generations," he explained.

   "Oh. My. Word," Willow gasped. "That's King Thror of Erebor's Dwarf Ring of Power."

Yay! I FINALLY finished that elusive chapter!

Sorry about not posting it earlier, I just finished it ten minutes ago :)

So crossovers, yay again! Yeah, I know it may not be canon, but it's fun :)

So D continually manages to post her chapters, she's on chapter ten I believe of the Christmas Edition! Go D!

Ammelia and Billie are still recovering from summer camp :)

I'm trying to work on my personal blog, I redid the theme, by the way :)

Too many smiley-faces!

Don't forget, go check out the FAQ page!

Be a Friend, not an Enemy,

Willow

Postscript || what do you think about me doing little "character profiles" posts about the personalities and such of le characters?