Turi and the ring of Valar Belain (Thranduil fanfic)

Chapter 17

Thranduil scraped his throat painfully. 'But what about their alibi?' He coughed. 'They couldn't have killed the trader after we met. They never left the mansion.'

Turi sat beside Thranduil at his bedside with a wide smile on her face. Holding hands, he smiled back at her. Though he'd never admit it, waking up today had felt like the breaking of a new dawn. Or better, a new reality in which his honour and rightfulness were no longer in question.

Thranduil scraped his throat. 'So how did that happen, my beloved Turi?'

She nodded. That was indeed the question.

Turi took Thranduil through the elaborate plan the green elves had crafted, much like she'd done the council members the day before in the central hall. Their aim had been dual: get their hands on the famed ring of Valar Belain, and throw suspicion on the Greenwood king.

'Drannor, the trader with the ring and starlight gems arrived in Greenwood and met with Talathon, who subsequently...' Turi mimicked someone getting clobbered over the head and then stabbed. She winced. Thranduil looked shocked.

'They took the ring and starlight gems out of the trader's luggage, then dressed one of their own up in his clothes. Soon after, an impostor-Drannor checks in at the Greenwood Inn.' Thranduil cast his eyes down and he nodded. 'Alive and well.'

'Exactly. Impostor-Drannor asked for a hair brush, not knowing what was in the luggage.' Turi shook her head. She remembered how she'd been intrigued beyond measure by the trader needing a brush from the inn, when he already had two in his luggage.

Thranduil just looked at her wordlessly. In his calming presence, Turi felt embarrassed. She was guessing he must be thinking what an obsessive compulsive elf she was, but he smiled at her encouragingly so she went on.

'The fake trader then set up a meeting for the sole purpose of incriminating you as the last elf to have seen him alive. The notebook entry was left as a clue to ensure we'd be aware of this meeting.'

Tranduil frowned at this, but said nothing.

'They'd also expressly told you that the trader was carrying starlight gems, to ensure you'd want to meet him. He couldn't actually produce any gems as they'd already been taken away by the conspirators.'

She paused and checked if this wasn't too tiring for the still weak Thranduil, but he seemed quite calm and patient enough to hear her out.

'Impostor-Drannor then disappears, and the body of the real trader appears in the central hall. He had been dead for longer than a day of course, but the cold weather masked this. And we never got a positive identification from anyone.' She shrugged. 'Why would we?'

'As things didn't pan out and you weren't arrested, Talathon threatened with military action.' She paused for a moment. 'Maybe he couldn't come through on that or whatever' Turi frowned 'but then he lost his patience and poisoned and kidnapped you.'

Thranduil nodded curtly and looked away. Turi shifted, placing a hand on his shoulder. 'It is never bad to trust. You could not have known.' Thranduil still looked away, as if he was embarrassed at being taken by surprise.

'Anyways, leaving that starlight necklace on the throne was a clumsy attempt to incriminate you further. As if disappearing wasn't enough to make you look guilty.' She let out a snorty kind of laugh. Then quickly added 'which certainly it wasn't. It didn't. Not.' She shook her head profusely.

Thranduil looked her in the eye, his voice breaking as he asked 'How ever did you figure this out?'

Turi cracked a smile. 'Coamenel said something along the lines of well he wasn't planning on getting murdered.' Turi's impression of the commander stating the bleeding obvious made Thranduil laugh soundlessly. 'But that's the thing!' Turi said. 'He was!'

The king went into a coughing fit and looked strained. He managed to produce an almost inaudible 'Central hall.' Turi placed a finger on her lips in a shhh, and nodded she'd understood his question.

'They were making a point. This whole intrigue was motivated by vengeance for the tragic death of one of their royals, the lady Reinilian.'

Hanging his head, Thranduil finally understood. Her death had prompted a splinter group, with grieving relatives perhaps, to descend upon his realm. The seven rivers territory, also known as Ossiriand, had been going through a period of political instability. This magic ring of Valar Belain could right that, though perhaps not in the way that Thranduil thought would be preferable.

Turi stroked his head as she watched him deep in thought. He still looked as pale as the moonlight, sitting up in bed in a white sleeping tunic. She knew he felt deeply saddened by the troubles of the elves living in Ossiriand, and the deterioration of the diplomatic ties between Greenwood and other elves. It was the statesman in him that placed this before his personal wellbeing.

Turi sighed and cocked her head to the side. 'Remember, they hated us enough to murder, and to frame you for that murder.'

Thranduil placed a hand on her cheek. They had all unwittingly played a part in a murderous plan, and through it had been pitched against one another. To keep secrets. To be too proud. To distrust.

Turi was about to make a beeline for her lover's lips when they heard a nervous knock on the door.