In the Halls of Minas Morgul

[Ravyn]

A shadow slipped silent as nightfall through the halls. Light shone in through the windows, but the shadow remained. Velvet on stone made no sound, muscles contracted and released in beautiful rhythm. Spots sleeker than silk slipped through the light, purple and green highlights shining back out. Amber eyes deeper than the gold of kings found what they sought. Sharan the black leopard had found his master. Ravyn stood tall and proud by a window. Without looking she knew that her pet had come. He sat beside her, the amethyst gems on his collar gleaming. Her hand, slender and graceful, rested on his head. Ravyn was in one of her moods again. She did not speak, merely gazed about as if seeing more than this reality. The view out the window was not a necessarily beautiful one. Rocks were in abundance, broken by the occasional sparse tuft of grass and weeds. But, as the midday light shone upon them, the rocks could be quite fascinating. Some held flecks of mica, causing them to spark as if lit from within. Others were streaked with red and black, looking dark and sinister. The occasional white rock could be found, its fissures filled with grains of dust and dirt. Ravyn wondered if there was a such thing as a truly white stone. It seemed like even one that looked perfect was marred and dingy when you got close. People were like that too; even the most good and wholesome man would show flaws once you got to know them. Some men were about as smart as a rock, too. This last thought made her smirk. She patted Sharan's head. "You, my lovely, are smarter than most humans," she murmured, bringing a contented purr from the feline.

Ravyn looked out the window again, but the moment was gone. Sighing, she began to walk down the hall. It was darker, colder in here, but she liked the way the slits of light played on the stone, the flecks of dust floating in beams of gold. Anything could be fascinating if you took the time to look. This was the problem with Canos, her evil companion. He was a big picture person; he rarely took time to enjoy the different levels of screaming as you tortured someone, the deadly grace of a well-made sword. He was all about blood and conquest. These were fine things, yes, but Ravyn delighted in the small pleasures of being ultimately evil. Sharan followed her as she walked the halls, her footsteps matching the silence of his. Absentmindedly she fiddled with the sleeve of her dark purple dress. She was not planning on doing anything exerting today, so she decided against trousers. Maybe tomorrow she would go out. She did need more items for her poisons collection. Hopefully she could find some wolfsbane out there. Did it grow around this area? A small furrow appeared in her brow as she stopped and thought. No matter. She could always have someone go get some if none was around. Ravyn began walking again. Often she stopped to think, causing her movements to be rather erratic. Walk, stop, walk, stop. This was a typical afternoon when Ravyn was in a thinking mood.

[Canos]

Canos walked through the same halls as Ravyn, but not in a thinking mood; or at least, he was not in a mood that was strictly limited to thinking. He didn’t have regular thinking sessions. Canos was impulsive when he wasn’t fulfilling the big picture and the grand scheme that he had devised. Everyone had their differences, and if Canos wanted to create a grand scheme; who would stand in the way to stop him? Canos has a plan, had the knowledge and intellect to complete that plan and therefore he didn’t need to note the “finer” things on the way to his goal. He simply wanted to accomplish his goal. He would take note of how he got there when he had accomplished what he had set out to accomplish. Only then would he “smell the roses” as it were. Canos had a purpose for everything, only when that purpose was distorted did he have to improvise. It mattered not because he was very good at improvisation. It seemed like he was doing that now, while he thought about the newest occurrences in the Reunited Kingdom. Then he also had to think about the elves, but that was something he had already come to a conclusion about; he was just finalizing his plans on how to deal with them.

The real reason he was moving down the halls at such a speed was to find Ravyn. He had not seen her in a good long time. The entire day to be frank and honest. It wasn’t that he missed her company or longed to see her; he just needed her council. Canos didn’t ask for help and he would not have it referred to as such. Ravyn was evil, but she was a wise evil woman and he could use all the advice he could receive. He took on a big task to defeat the entire peoples of middle earth. He did not doubt himself, he needed simply the reassurance of a second opinion that actually meant something to him. Canos turned the corner towards another dark corridor and he stopped the amber eyes of Ravyn’s panther, and then Ravyn herself. Canos swore those two were an item together. Canos walked up to her swiftly, covering a great distance in very little time. He stopped several feet in front of Ravyn. He looked at her with cold and piercing eyes. “One of these days I am going to ask you where you go. This place is only so big.” He said, looking around to emphasize his words. “And you…” He looked down at the panther, “Where do you hide that my guards do not find you?” He said shaking his head before he looked back up at Ravyn. “I have made…modifications to our plans.” He announced in a bold and deep voice that filled the hall.

[Ravyn]

Ravyn heard the footsteps long before Canos came into view. She knew it was he who walked these halls; only he had the authoritative ring in his step, the walk of confidence. So she waited until he was close, then turned to greet him. She smirked at his talk of where she went. "You know as well as anyone," she said crisply, "that the day you require me to report where I go is the day I will leave." She meant it, and her eyes stared at him cooly to prove it. Ravyn was unafraid of her husband, though many others were. She didn't honestly care where he was; she could find him easily if she needed to. A low purr rumbled from deep within Sharan's chest as Ravyn stroked his forehead, scratching it with her long nails. "Sharan will not be found if he doesn't want to. If your guards are searching for them, he will be nowhere near them. I trained him that way, after all," she said with a flash of a dangerous smile. Sharan was like her child; she had taught him everything it was possible for a black jaguar to know. He, in turn, followed her and was always waiting for her command. She had made him totally dependent on her for instruction.

Ravyn raised her eyebrows. "Oh really?" she said, "and what would that be?" This explained why he sought her out. He did not miss her, he just wanted advice on something. They rarely missed one another in the sense of lovers. If they were apart for long, they found each other because they wanted the presence of another evil one near. Ravyn knew that although Canos would never admit it, he relied on her. She was usually the one who put his grand ideas into workable plans. Canos had vision, yes, but he had few thoughts of how to carry out his visions and make them reality. Ravyn, in contrast, preferred to think of the small details: who to capture, who to torture, what place to attack and control. Together they made a truly evil and nearly unstoppable couple. It was a partnership made in heaven. Or perhaps, considering the couple, in hell.

[Canos]

Ravyn thought she had Canos on a short leash with her threats to leave if she was at all restricted. She was going to have to learn that Canos did things his own way and if she were going to be in any way involved in his plans then she would have to make some exceptions to her distastes. Since Canos found her in the prisons, or rather, the sewers of Minas Morgul, she had always been stubborn and ruthless. It didn’t matter that he had taken her from the darkest pit of the world and put her on a pedestal of power. Canos reminded her of this every now and then when she became especially stubborn or rude, like this instance for example. “Don’t make me remind you where I found you.” Canos retorted quickly to the comment of her simply leaving, “Besides, where do you think you would go. So quit your threats and just be content with your position.” Canos concluded and beckoned for her to walk with him. He didn’t care if she brought her pet with her. The jaguar didn’t faze him; of course, nothing did. Canos began to walk down the hall and he waited to make sure that Ravyn was following him before he began to speak. He didn’t need to go to some closed room for secrecy. No one would spy on them here because…no one was here. The palace of Minas Morgul was almost like a tomb. No one was anywhere unless they were needed.

Canos turned his head and began to speak, using his hand as gestures to emphasize his words, “Caydence, my little spy has reported that the Reunited Kingdom has been given new leadership in Gondor. It seems that the son of Aragorn and Arwen, this Eldarion has been given the throne of Gondor and Aragorn has left to rule in the remains, or the rebuilt Arnor. Needless to say, he is at great distance away.” Canos continued, pausing for only a moment. “Now of course, I first thought to strike the city, but it is not yet time for that. So the plan that I devised was to have Caydence go to Eldarion as an ambassador of our great country.” He smirked as he thought about the plan, “She is good a few things other than killing. Hopefully she will learn a great deal more than we can if she enters his inner courts and chambers. Men talk in the bed chamber; you know this as well as I.” Canos said with a smirk, cutting a corner sharply and continuing to walk down a ill lit hallway. “Either way, we will get both the trust of this new ruler and a great deal of useful information.” Canos concluded, looking over at Ravyn, looking for her thoughts on the matter. She would have something to say, she always did.

[Ravyn]

Canos ignored her comments, as he usually did. She was used to it by now. No man worth his salt would admit to being bested by a female, and Canos was no different. He suffered from a highly inflated ego. But Ravyn let him keep it; it made him all the more evil. Still, sometimes she toyed with the idea of bringing him down a few notches. However, she decided to let him keep his assumed superiority. Ravyn preferred to work in the background anyways. It was how she operated. The lessons from assassins over the years had instilled a sense of stealth and secrecy in her. Canos went out and let the world know who he was, but she preferred to work in the shadows. Both methods wreaked ultimate havoc, however, so she figured they were equal in their abilities. If she left, she would go where he would not find her. There were still many unexplored and unknown places in the world, so she could hide for a while until he died. Mostly she would do this just to irk him. Canos was older than she, and women lived longer anyways, so Ravyn would easily outlive him. Maybe she would come back to dance over his grave and laugh at her final triumph. Though they were a couple, they hated each other as much as they respected each other. It was the way evil was.

"So you found me in a dungeon," she said, unafraid of his threats, "I see no shame in that. At least it means I was recognized as a threat." Canos did this a lot. He thought that the fact that she was in chains meant she should be ashamed. Ravyn wasn't ashamed in the least. She had learned much about the Gondorians during her stay and managed to kill off a good number of them. She listened as he spoke of his change in plans. An evil light settled in her dark eyes. Yes, it was foolish for the King to give his son the rule. The Gondorians had gotten soft, too peace happy. Maybe it was time for a lesson in war. But she did approve of his plan. For once he had been able to think of a strategy other than overwhelming with force. Ravyn was suspicious, as she always was, of the supposed ease of this plan. Why would Aragorn leave his son in charge of Gondor? He could have a trick up his sleeve. That was the thing about the good side; they always pulled out some secret weapon just in the nick of time. Well, Ravyn was a secret weapon too. If they had one, she would defeat them. "Just because a man may fall for a woman doesn't mean he will trust her, and battle plans do not make good bedroom talk," she said admonishingly. Walking with her hands behind her back, she continued forward. "Men are so weak when it comes to my gender; being good, he will no doubt feel shame afterwards and then begin to push her away. This will not be a weekend excursion, Canos. Caydence will have to be there for a long time. She will have to act ultimately good, above reproach, leaving no reason for him to mistrust her. You forget that while he may be fooled by her 'charms', his guards and friends may not be. This will be the crowning test of your little pet assassin." Ravyn had never really taken to Caydence. They had been in the same prison, yes, but Ravyn was so much more evil. If Caydence ever slipped up, Ravyn would have no qualms about killing her. Ravyn was a jealous woman; she did not like competition. She glanced behind her at Sharan, who moved effortlessly behind the pair. Sharan might be a little hungry when Caydence got back. Maybe Canos's petty little assassin could help with that.

[Canos]

As usual, Ravyn had something to say about his plan. She always did and usually it was helpful information and information that was well accredited to the situation. Canos stopped to ponder her thoughts and her comments for a moment, running his hand to his chin and stroking the beard that was not there. Canos didn’t have facial hair, even though, at his age, he really should have. Even though he was well into his fifties he still had a young look of about twenty-five. This was an oddity in the race of men. Canos had never questioned his linage and never it never puzzled him why he kept his young appearance. He accredited the unusually longevity to his master in the stone. He never really knew the stone’s full power or how he was found. He just was appreciative of the rewards. Canos figured that he would live long, longer than most people. He believed that if he conquered all then he would be rewarded with everlasting life. His master would surely reward him with the gifts of the Valar. Canos’s mind kept swimming with these thoughts as he listened to his queen. It was an odd relationship that had. No one would deny that. Canos noted that neither of them really loved the other. He knew that and would not make the mistake of thinking otherwise. They respected each other’s talents and that was the only reason they got along as well as they did; otherwise both of them would have been dead by now. Canos had no doubt that he could kill Ravyn in hand to hand combat, but he figured that she would manage to strike him once and all of her blades were poison, so he would die too. He hated poisons.

Respectfully, Canos waited for Ravyn to finish speaking and when she did he stated what he thought of her statements. “Well I have taken that into account. Apparently Caydence was long in the service of the Haradrim as a spy and so she is used to going into enemy territories and enduring long periods of keeping her cover. I trust that she will be able to accomplish her goal. Considering the fact that if she does, then Eldarion will be partially blinded to any front we put up. Men are so susceptive to you.” Canos said, referring to women in general. As he spoke he looked at Ravyn, admiring her body in the dress that she wore. Canos preferred dresses rather than trousers and almost of nakedness and Ravyn looked especially good in a dress, which made him pay attention. It was a good thing that Canos could keep his wits about him enough to not fall into too much temptation. Canos respected Ravyn but there were times when he didn’t trust her. That wouldn’t stop him from having a bit of fun every now and then. “I don’t what it is about women that makes men weak at the knees. Well, it matters not. I can use that to my own advantage and I will not be reluctant to do so.” Canos said with a smirk and then continued to walk. The hallways were long and dark and there were no sounds or signs of life other than the three that walked them. Canos liked silence and he liked that no one was seen when not wanted. “Either way, the plan can’t really fail in too many ways. The worst that could happen is that she dies and then we could deny all affiliation with her. They is no one to disbelieve me at this point. Deception is fun.” He said with an excited tone. Canos got excited about killing and about his schemes working. Killing and deception were to him what sex was to normal people. ……Canos wasn’t normal.

[Ravyn]

Ravyn knew it was a good thing that Canos admired her body as well as her mind. If she had been an ugly old hag, she probably would have been dead by now. Certainly not the queen. But here she was, young and beautiful in a terrifying sort of way. On occasion she allowed Canos to enjoy her loveliness, but most of the time she was content being by herself. If you let men have their way too much, they got to the point where they expected you to just hop into bed at their command. No, Ravyn had the control in the bedroom. To her, that was an important place to rule. One thing that was odd about her was that she did not like it when Canos was with another woman. She was an insanely jealous woman. Canos was hers, hers alone, and she had no qualms killing other women she found him with. On his travels he no doubt had been with others, but here in the castle Ravyn had control of him. Caydence was only around because she was a fairly adept assassin and fighter. Otherwise Ravyn would have dispatched of her long ago.

"Women are men's weakness. Even the strongest must have a weak point," Ravyn countered. It was true; no one was truly invincible. Look what happened to Sauron - had his finger cut off and the ring taken. Fool. One should not make it such an obvious thing as a ring. Ravyn had her weaknesses, she knew. Being a woman, it would be hard to defeat someone like Canos in a hand to hand match. But she countered that with her natural wiles and her poisons. She knew that Canos hated her little room where she kept all her arts. He tolerated it, though. He had to, really. She had never tried to kill him with poisons, despite the fact that she knew he did not trust her. Ravyn didn't trust Canos either. But they needed each other in a bizarre and sometimes aggravating twist of fate. "I would not say the plan cannot fail; that only invites it to," she warned, "but yes, it is unlikely. And it is not just deception that is fun, my king. It is evil in general." She smiled up cruelly at him, enjoying his presence as another who understood.

[Canos]

Ravyn was always skeptical of any plan, even if it was her own. Ravyn had the ability to foresee problems in any plan. She could always find the cracks and the pitfalls of each plan and she usually acted accordingly or advised accordingly. That was just one of the reasons that she was so useful to him. Some women were so frivolous and foolish. Most women knew nothing of war and strategy. They were taught to be ladylike and they were taught to be concerned with homemaking and taking care of chores and such. Apparently Ravyn had skipped that training and gone over to the boy side to killing and bloodshed. Canos loved the fact that he didn’t have to worry about Ravyn getting all feminine and girly. She pretty much maintained a hardcore appearance most of the time and if someone didn’t fear her or show her the respect she requested; they died. Ravyn didn’t care who they were. She could kill people and she would. Canos couldn’t help but find that strangely attractive. It came with the business of being evil. Canos and Ravyn alike were going to be attracted to each other in a strange way because of the power they commanded and the amount of evilness they showed. They were argue for eternity to decide who was more evil; so, Canos avoided that conversation.

Canos smirked when she said that he was dooming his own plan by saying that it couldn’t fail. Apparently she had failed to grasp the overall concept of what he said. “Of course the plan can fail. Any plan can fail. What I am saying is that even if it does, we can’t be cost anything because she will die and then we deny knowing her. Its very easy to say someone acted on their own accord, or, better yet, we can tie her back to the Haradrim and start a little stir there. Either way, this can’t hurt our plans.” Canos said with a smirk, “It can only help us.” Canos smirked and drew a bit closer to Ravyn, glancing at the jaguar that made a gesture as he did. The jaguar was protective but he was going to have to get used to the fact that Canos wasn’t going to hurt Ravyn. “I tell you one thing though.” He said, with a confident smile, “My plan with the elves is working like a charm. Soon that too will fall into place and then we will be ready to wage our war. Its only a matter of waiting.” Canos snarled at the thought of waiting. “I hate waiting.” He paused, shaking his head, “I get bored.” He turned around and looked back at the jaguar, “Nothing to do here in this dark place.”

[Ravyn]

Ravyn admired her evil mate as she would admire a deadly piece of weaponry. If it was a matter of her life or his, she would chose hers every time. That was the way of evil; she would let Canos be killed if it benefited her. Lucky for Canos, his supreme evil nature meant that really nothing was more important than keeping him by her side. She enjoyed his company - birds of a feather flocked together, after all. She knew he found her attractive, and she sometimes liked to use it to her amusement. More often than not, however, she found her apparent feminine good looks cumbersome. She would have cut off her long hair long ago but for the fact that Canos would no doubt have thrown a fit. He had this thing about long hair. Oh well. She also wished her body would go unnoticed by some of the more uncouth males. A few in her younger years, upon visiting Minas Morgul, had seen the young woman and attempted to woo her. They usually ended up dead. Curse these bodily trappings. Though sometimes, even Ravyn had to admit, her curves could be exceedingly useful.

Hopefully Caydence would know the use of female wiles. Ravyn had confidence that she did. And, as Canos pointed out, it would be all too easy to deny knowing her. The word of a lowly guard against two of the most evil beings in Middle Earth.....there was no contest. The people of Gondor were fools if they would attack Minas Morgul on the word of a guard, and a female at that. Unfortunately, women didn't command the respect that men did. Ravyn had made sure to establish that she didn't believe that view had merit. Women were more cunning, more devious, then males. Ravyn was a perfect example. She knew Canos realized her worth and was glad for it. "Your plan with the elves?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I won't even try to guess, though I probably could." Canos was full of little plans and schemes, and Ravyn chose to ignore some and dwell on others. "I'm sure you can find something to do," Ravyn said condescendingly, rolling her eyes a bit, "you really need to capture more people, by the way, because I am running out of torture victims. They really aren't fun after they've lost the will to live - their screams don't have the same desperation. Get me some new people, please?" She lifted her eyes to his, pleading like a child wanting a toy. Sharan still stalked behind them, his amber eyes always on Canos.

[Canos]

Canos couldn’t help but smirk when Ravyn mentioned new torture victims. It was true that the fortress was beginning to run out of prisoners and it was a good thing that he had found an elf poking around the Ash Mountains. Canos loved finding elves because of two reasons. The first reason was because elves were growing very rare and very hard to find because they were leaving the world. Elves were also part of his plan; a plan that he had not even revealed to Ravyn yet. She usually was very perceptive and she had ways of finding out things that Canos usually wanted to deny her having. Either way, she did not know about all of his plans and she did not know about this particular one. Canos turned around when she mentioned the new torture victims and Canos turned around with a smirk. He looked into her pleading eyes and she looked like a small child asking for another biscuit. Canos moved his hand to his chin and stroked an invisible beard. He then leaned forward a bit, moving his head beside Ravyn’s whispering into her ear with a low, yet slightly excited tone. “I might have someone new for you to play with.” Canos whispered and drew away with a smile. He knew that she would be excited about playing with a new elf so he began to walk towards his rooms without even asking if she wanted to come along. He knew that she would.