In Darkness Bound by Fiondil

---

Chapter 98: Queen’s Gambit Declined

---

98: Queen’s Gambit Declined

Once Ingalaurë left Ingoldo’s suite, he and the others on the Privy Council returned to the Council chamber to discuss what they should do next. Tamurilon had not yet returned from his own errand. Lady Lindórië offered to oversee the reorganization of the palace staff now that Ingoldo was no longer in control and Ingalaurë had left her to it. Nolondur and Lassezel volunteered to go through Ingoldo’s accounts and check with the Exchequer in the hope of finding clues there.

"If Ingoldo has Ingwë somewhere, he needs to have made arrangements for food and supplies, not only for Ingwë but for those guarding him," Nolondur pointed out.

"Unless they’re out in the middle of nowhere and have to hunt for their dinners," Ingalaurë retorted sourly, but agreed that checking on the accounts was a good idea. In the meantime, he would go to his atar’s study, which Ingoldo had taken over, and look through Ingoldo’s personal papers to see if there were any clues as to the High King’s whereabouts there.

"We’ll wait to organize the search for Ammë and Indil until Tam returns," he said as he dismissed them to their duties. "No sense having the palace turned upside down if it is known that Ingoldo took them away from here."

The others agreed and now Ingalaurë was sitting at the desk in his atar’s study, painstakingly going through all the papers in the hope of finding some clue. So far, the search had proved fruitless. There was a knock on the door and he called out in a distracted tone for the person to enter. When the door opened he saw it was Tamurilon. Looking at the carefully neutral expression on Tam’s face he felt his heart plummeting, but he asked the question anyway.

"Anything?"

Tamurilon shook his head as he took a chair. "Nothing. None of the gates have been opened, and I asked people other than the guards, people who would tell me the truth, if that was so. Oh, I did find Sérener and he went with me and spoke to those whom he trusted and they all say the same: no one has gone out or come in by any of the gates."

"Where are they, then?" Ingalaurë pleaded. "Where could Ingoldo have hidden them? Damn that Maia for not at least pointing us in the right direction even if he couldn’t actually tell us or take us to where they were. What’s the point of their existence if they’re not going to help us when we most need it?"

Tamurilon gave his friend a sour grin. "That would be too easy, wouldn’t it?"

"You would think that the love and loyalty of my family, of Atar especially, for the Valar would count for something," Ingalaurë exclaimed in frustrated tones, "but no, apparently we’re not worthy of their regard or consideration, and in the meantime...."

"And in the meantime, we order a house-to-house search of the city and we have the palace torn down if necessary to find them," Tamurilon said firmly.

Ingalaurë stared at his friend for a moment. "Searching the city would take a long time. Even searching every room in the palace will take a... a host of people to check every room."

"Perhaps, but we have to start somewhere," Tamurilon pointed out in a reasonable tone. "And if we do it right, we can have the people of the city helping us with the search."

"How do you mean?" Ingalaurë asked.

"You know how much the queen is loved by all," Tam answered. "If they knew for sure that Elindis and Indil are missing, they would tear this city apart looking for them. They will do our job for us while we concentrate on the palace."

Ingalaurë gave him a considering look. "You’re right. Then why don’t we arrange for an announcement to that effect?" He sighed, shaking his head. "I would love to beat the answer out of Ingoldo or Tulcaner, but I know that Atar would disapprove, however tempting it might be."

"And Ingwë would be correct to disapprove," Tamurilon said seriously. "No Elf has ever harmed another Elf."

Ingalaurë raised an eyebrow. "When we have time, let me show you the bruises of my beating from Ingoldo’s hand. Not all of them have faded yet. And don’t forget my own attack on my uncle. Your statement has already been proven false."

Tamurilon looked stricken. "You attacked him out of anger, though," he insisted, "and if the Maia hadn’t shown up when he did I would have stopped you myself. What I meant was that no Elf has deliberately set out to harm another."

Ingalaurë shrugged. "Well, it’s a moot point at the moment." He stood and stretched. "I’m getting nowhere with these papers. Let’s go raid the kitchens and discuss how best to inform the city about what has happened."

Tamurilon stood and smiled as they headed out the door. "Now that’s a plan I can sink my teeth into."

Ingalaurë groaned at the pun and Tamurilon laughed.

****

Nornoros was about to follow his charge when he felt the presence of another Maia in the room and, to his astonishment, saw the last person he expected to see. "Calimo! What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Calimo of the People of Námo, stood there, his golden-green aura shot with the orange of amusement. "They’re not very happy with us, are they?" he said, avoiding answering Nornoros’ question.

"No they’re not, nor do I blame them," Nornoros answered. "What are you doing here, my friend?"

Calimo smiled. "I heard through the Maiarin grapevine that you got yourself into some serious trouble with Lord Manwë. I wanted to see for myself that you were all right."

"Well, as you can see, I’m no worse for wear," Nornoros said with a grimace.

Calimo moved to surround Nornoros with his aura, giving him the electromagnetic equivalent of a hug. "Do you want to tell me what happened? Rumors are rife, but I’ve never paid much attention to rumors."

Nornoros sighed. "It’s so hard."

"What is?"

"Watching," Nornoros answered. "It’s so hard just to watch and not be able to do anything to help them. They’re all suffering, each in his or her own way, and we just stand back and allow it."

"Ah...." Calimo replied. "Yes, I know, but if we are always handing them the answer, how can we ever expect them to grow and mature?" He gave his friend a piercing look. "Do you know what most of us who owe allegiance to Lord Námo do?"

"I hadn’t really thought about it," Nornoros said apologetically.

"We watch," Calimo said. "We watch the fëar of the Children who have made their way to Mandos while they sleep and some day when Lord Námo deems it appropriate and they are allowed to waken, we will continue to watch over them until they are ready to be re-embodied."

"It sounds... boring," Nornoros could not help saying, his aura brightening a bit into an electromagnetic smile.

Calimo laughed. "Not at all. Watching over them is a sacred trust and seeing their fëar slowly healing is a joy to behold. I look forward to the day when they awaken. Lord Námo assures us that they will have no memory of themselves other than their names, so it will be amusing to watch the Children interact unknowingly with their slayers."

Nornoros shook his head, or gave the equivalent of it in his unclad form. "You have odd taste in entertainment, my friend."

Calimo laughed even harder. "Speaking of entertainment," he said when he was calmer, "why don’t we go over to Tol Eressëa and amuse ourselves for awhile. I believe some of our brethren are already there and you can as easily watch over your charge from there as from here."

"Don’t you have your own duties to attend to?" Nornoros asked.

"My lord has given me permission to visit with you," Calimo replied. "I think you could use a friend right now, don’t you? Your aura looks a bit dim. In fact, it looks nearly grey instead of the lovely blue-green and violet that is your own true self. You are obviously feeling very dejected."

"I guess," was all Nornoros could think to say, giving a shrug, not really willing to agree with Calimo’s assessment, though in truth he was feeling a bit down, revisiting in his mind the events that led up to his chastisement, wondering what he could have done differently yet still achieve the desired results.

"Well, I know," Calimo said firmly. "Come. Let us away and let the Children do what they need to do without us hovering over them."

Nornoros gave him an amused look. "But they don’t know that we are hovering over them."

"Perhaps not consciously, but I think some of the more sensitive ones might have a sense that we are there even if they have no proof. So, come. Ingalaurë will do well without you for a time."

Nornoros reluctantly agreed and they were instantly gone.

****

In the end, it was decided to hold a special court in which the leaders of the city — guildmasters, magistrates and the like — would be summoned, along with any of the nobles still residing in the city and explain to them what had happened. Ingalaurë had already ordered an organized search of the palace and grounds, bringing out floor plans so that they could keep track of which rooms had been searched. Lord Lassezel and Lady Almáriel agreed to oversee that.

"And this will give us an opportunity to speak with the guildmasters and such and learn what state the city is in," Ingalaurë opined as he and Tamurilon discussed the logistics of how the search should be conducted. "I have the feeling Uncle neglected certain things in his bid for power."

Tamurilon nodded in agreement. "We need to get the gates opened sooner rather than later and see if we can’t find out where Ingwion is. He may have news about the High King."

Ingalaurë nodded, though Tamurilon thought he saw a hint of reluctance in his friend’s eyes at the mention of Ingwion’s name. "Yes, I suppose we should, but I would like to keep the gates closed a little longer until we’ve found Ammë and Indil. I don’t want whoever is holding them to take the opportunity to slip away. A few more hours isn’t going to make much difference anyway."

So, a time was set for when the court would be held and heralds were sent throughout the city to announce it. When Ingalaurë entered the main throne room, which was the only place other than the ballroom that was large enough to hold all those who were attending, he was surprised to see that even ordinary citizens had crowded into the chamber, uninvited though they were. He made his way to the throne dais, though he did not sit in Ingwë’s chair. Rather he had asked for his own chair to be placed before the dais. Those in attendance gave him respectful bows and curtsies as he made his way down the central aisle with Tamurilon, Nolondur and Lindórië following. When he reached his chair he stood before it and addressed the people there.

"As you know, I hold the regency to the Crown until such time as the High King returns," he said. "My uncle attempted to take control of the government through me, but he has failed. Unfortunately, before I could consolidate my position, Ingoldo managed to spirit the queen and my sister away. We do not believe they have left the city, so they must be somewhere within Vanyamar. We are already searching the palace and wish to institute a house-to-house search. We need your help in keeping the search organized."

"What about Ingoldo?" someone asked when Ingalaurë paused to take a breath. "Why don’t you make him tell you where the queen is?"

"And how do you propose I do that, friend?" Ingalaurë retorted mildly. "I have asked my uncle for his cooperation and he has refused, and the same is true for his chief guard. Those whom Ingoldo assigned to take the queen away have not been seen since. Should I have my uncle or Tulcaner beaten until they confess? Would you like to do the honors?"

There was a stir among the crowd and Ingalaurë nodded in satisfaction at the uneasy glances people exchanged with one another. "Believe me, I would like nothing better than to beat the answer out of my uncle myself, but I will not stoop to such measures."

"There are other more subtle ways of... of tormenting someone to make them talk," one of the minor lords said with a suggestive look.

"And what ways are those?" Ingalaurë asked cooly. A discussion on how to force another to talk was not what he had planned for this meeting, but better to get it out in the open and dealt with so that he could get these people to concentrate on more important matters.

The lord shrugged nonchalantly. "Denial of food and water may do it," he replied. "When you’ve been without either for a time, especially water, I imagine you would do or say anything to have some."

The absolute coldness of the ellon’s tone shocked Ingalaurë to the core and there were murmurs among the people. To his dismay, Ingalaurë noticed some nodding in apparent agreement with the lord’s suggestion. He licked his lips and stole a glance at Nolondur standing on his right and saw the ellon give an almost imperceptible shake of his head. He gave his attention again to the lord, swallowing around the bile that threatened to rise. "We will take your suggestion under advisement," he finally said, echoing one of his atar’s favorite phrases. "In the meantime, let us concentrate our efforts in a more positive vein. I want the city quartered and every house and building and outbuilding thoroughly searched. I know it will take time, but we’ve already mapped out the various districts of the city to make it more manageable. We will assign a guildmaster or magistrate to a district and you will be responsible for overseeing the search and organizing the teams. I do not doubt that most people will cooperate with having their homes invaded if it means the queen and my sister are found all the more swiftly. Lord Nolondur and Lady Lindórië will oversee the assigning of districts."

"Surely not all of us will be needed in this?" one of the guildmasters asked.

Ingalaurë shook his head. "No. There is another purpose for you being here. I need to get an assessment of the state of the city to determine what problems have arisen that need to be addressed."

"You could start by opening the gates," someone was heard to mutter.

Ingalaurë gave them all a grim smile. "I plan to do just that but not until the queen and my sister have been found. We know that there’s been no traffic in or out of the city since their disappearance. I want to make sure that whoever has them does not manage to get them out of the city in the meantime."

"So what do you need from us, Highness?" an elleth wearing the tabard of the weaver’s guild asked respectfully.

Ingalaurë smiled. "A list of concerns, other than the fact that the gates are closed. I know that many of our more pressing needs will be addressed once the gates are opened, but not all. To that end, I would like to have someone from either the guilds or the magistracy liaise with Lord Tamurilon to decide what problems need to be addressed now by us and what can be managed by others."

In the end, Lady Elemmírë, who headed the Guild of Bards, and a Master Hostamir, who was one of the chief magistrates for the city, agreed to act as liaisons and they arranged to meet with Tamurilon the next day to discuss whatever problems needed to be addressed. When that was settled, Ingalaurë dismissed the court so that Nolondur and Lindórië could then begin organizing the house-to-house search with the guildmasters and magistrates who would be overseeing particular districts. Tamurilon followed Ingalaurë to the prince’s private sitting room to talk.

"Do you think we should do what that ellon suggested?" Ingalaurë asked suddenly, plopping down on a chair and throwing his mithril circlet on the small end table next to him.

Tamurilon, who had gone over to the sideboard to pour them some wine, turned with a puzzled look. "What ellon and what suggestion?"

"You know. The one about denying Ingoldo and Tulcaner sustenance to get them to talk."

Tamurilon gave him a frown. "Do you really want to?"

Ingalaurë shook his head. "I don’t know. I don’t know. I feel as if I’m drowning, trying to stay afloat, trying to keep everything together and I don’t know how long I can do it. They have to be found, Tam. They just have to be."

Tamurilon put down the carafe he was holding and went to Ingalaurë, pulling him up to embrace him and give him a hug. "They will be, I promise."

"How can you promise that?" Ingalaurë demanded.

"Because I have faith that it will be so," Tamurilon replied. "Do you think I don’t want to go to Ingoldo and beat the answer out of him myself? Believe me I do and I have good reason to do so. But to what end?"

"What do you mean?" Ingalaurë asked, stepping out of his friend’s embrace, wiping the tears that had come unbidden.

"Ingoldo made the first move," Tamurilon replied, returning to the sideboard to continue pouring the wine for them, "by attempting to take over the crown, thereby betraying his allegiance to Ingwë. When he captured us, do you know what happened to me?"

Ingalaurë shook his head. "I’ve been meaning to ask, but there hasn’t been time, and at the council meeting you wouldn’t even look at me, as if you were ashamed and I wondered at that."

Tamurilon grimaced. "Ingoldo made it very clear before he allowed me to attend that meeting that if I did not behave myself, he would make sure I suffered for it."

Ingalaurë felt himself grow cold. "In what way?" he whispered.

Tamurilon gave him a wintry smile as he handed him a goblet and then sat in the chair on the other side of the table. "You’re not the first person Ingoldo beat, Ingil. He practiced on me first when I tried to defy him, he and Tulcaner both."

"Oh, Tam!" Ingalaurë cried in dismay. "I’m so sorry. It was all my fault."

"Your fault?" Tamurilon gave him a rueful look. "You weren’t the one Tulcaner recognized. You and the ellith would have made it out of the city if it hadn’t been for me."

"It doesn’t matter," Ingalaurë said impatiently. "I was the one they were looking for. If not for me...."

"Ingil," Tamurilon said sharply. "This is getting us nowhere. The only one to blame is Ingoldo for putting us in this mess."

Ingalaurë nodded reluctantly, then gave his friend a disconcerted look. "How bad was it?"

"Bad enough that I was unable to move for three days, I think," Tamurilon replied quietly, not looking at Ingalaurë who gasped in dismay. "So you see, I would dearly love to pay Ingoldo back for what he and Tulcaner did to me, but why should I stoop to their level? Why should you?"

"It would be so easy to do so," Ingalaurë agreed with a nod, "and satisfying, at least in the beginning, but maybe afterwards, not so much."

"I saw your uncle’s eyes when he was beating me, or rather when he was watching Tulcaner beat me, they took turns you see. Anyway, I saw his expression. He was enjoying watching me suffer. I hated him at that moment and later, when I lay there on the floor of the storeroom where they kept me, I thought about all the ways in which I could pay them back, make them suffer as I was suffering." He paused to take a sip of the wine. "I was appalled at my own imaginings. I couldn’t believe that I had such hatred within me and in spite of my pain, I vowed to myself that I would never stoop so low. I would not retaliate in kind. I decided then and there that the best revenge was to forgive Ingoldo and Tulcaner for what they did, what they have done in causing so much misery."

"And you think I should do the same," Ingalaurë said after a moment.

The other ellon shrugged. "That’s your decision, Ingil. I can only speak for myself. The path I have chosen is harder, but in the end, I think it the better choice. We are surrounded by darkness now and there is no reason to believe that light will return to Aman any time soon. Why make the darkness worse by our own actions? Should we not strive instead to bring back what little light we can, even metaphorically?"

For a long moment silence settled between the two ellyn as Ingalaurë considered Tamurilon’s words. He wondered what Ingwion’s response would have been if he were here, or his atar’s, and in thinking about them, he realized that they would have agreed with Tamurilon, and he knew that he could do no less.

"You are right," he finally said with a sigh, "as much as I hate to agree with you, I do not want to walk the same road as my uncle."

"We’ll get through this, Ingil," Tamurilon assured him, reaching out and giving him a squeeze on his arm in friendship.

"Yes, we will," Ingalaurë replied firmly, and for that moment, he even believed it.

****

Note: In chess, a popular opening move is known as the Queen’s Gambit, in which White moves his queen’s pawn two squares. Black then moves his queen’s pawn forward to block White’s pawn. White then moves queen’s bishop’s pawn two squares. Now Black is in a position to then take that pawn. This generally leaves White in control of the center of the board. If Black decides not to take the pawn but moves other pieces instead in order to gain better control of the board, this is called Queen’s Gambit Declined. There are many variations on the theme of which pieces Black will move to protect his own pawn from being taken by White’s pawn. The title is used here metaphorically with Ingoldo making the first move and Ingalaurë refusing to stoop to his level.