A shaft of morning sunlight blazed through Amdirien's window and woke the Princess soon after dawn. Umbar was noticeably hotter than Minas Tirith, and Amdirien regretted much the clothing she had chosen to bring with her. She put on her lightest dress and went to find breakfast.

She found Captain Anders waiting for her just beyond her door.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," he bowed. "Thorongil is already eating breakfast. Your guard is waiting."

She, Anders, and half her guard went to the first floor of the palace where a once elegant dining room had been converted into a soldier's mess. Some small barriers had been quickly erected in a corner to give the princess something of a private room to eat in. They took some cakes and meats and went to their table. Thorongil was already there, finishing his second plate. He didn't even stand up.

"You may sit," teased the Princess with a wink.

Thorongil rolled his eyes and went to find more of the little cakes, which reminded him of a delicacy from his homeland across the sea.

While searching for a fresh plate of the desserts, Thorongil came across Altazîr, now Director of Internal Affairs. Both men of action, they spoke briefly of the most important of matters.

"Who is it that is killing your men?" asked Thorongil.

"That is no secret," answered Altazîr. "They are called the Dead Hand. 'Darkness Rises' is their motto."

Thorongil rolled his eyes. "They sound lovely."

Altazîr continued his explanation. "They were one of Sauron's chief sources of influence in Umbar for centuries - killing his enemies for profit and power. Now they fight for 'independence.'"

"Why would they care who rules Umbar?"

"Most of our leadership believe them to be religious fanatics, but I believe they are being financed by a number of old and powerful families who want to see themselves once again ruling this city. The Hand have manpower and resources that can't be explained any other way. Contrary to popular sentiment in Minas Tirith, the people of Umbar generally disliked Sauron's rule; I don't think that continued worship of Sauron could sustain their efforts."

After breakfast the Princess insisted on seeing more of the city. She wished specifically to visit the legendary market square of Umbar. Despite Thorongil's complaints about security Amdirien would not be denied.

With Anders and her entire guard, plus Thorongil, Altazîr, and a few other bureaucrats with nothing better to do, Amdirien was led to the market square. To say that it lived up to its fame hardly does it justice. It was a massive open square, paved like Ar-Pharazon's plaza outside the Palace, but far bigger. All around the perimeter were four story stone buildings filled with shops of every kind imaginable. The merchants within had more for sale than all of Minas Tirith's shops combined, but they were only half of it! The paved square was so densely covered with wooden stalls and carpets offering various goods that it looked as if Amdirien could have spent all her share of the royal treasury and hardly made a dent in it.

"In case you find something interesting..." said the Princess, handing small pouches of her own coin to each of her guards as well as Thorongil. Amdirien, unlike most nobility, chose her guard from young soldiers with considerable combat experience. She was keenly aware that most of them would have preferred a combat assignment to guard duty, so she did what she could to make it feel worth their while.

For many hours Princess Amdirien looked through the market stalls, and all that time Thorongil carefully followed her - more carefully than her guards, who eagerly looked for a use of the coin she had given them. Only Anders kept rigorously to his duty; there was nothing he needed and Amdirien was his friend as well as his charge. Fate was not with her guardians, however, and in the bustling market even the most dedicated might succumb to distraction.

The three came upon a wooden storefront showing many exotic and well crafted weapons. Such things were of no interest to Her Majesty, but both Thorongil and Anders were intrigued. While the two men examined the tools of war, Amdirien stepped across the path to peruse some fine clothing. As she did so, a young woman - probably no more than sixteen - slipped up behind her.

In a city as large as Umbar one should expect plenty of petty theft. Even among great cities, Umbar had more than its share of pickpockets. This woman was such a thief, and made barely enough to feed and clothe herself. She carefully reached into Her Majesty's coin purse.

While Amdirien never had bothered training in the arts of war, the blood of Melian flowed in her veins, same as her brother's. Without even knowing why, she instinctively grabbed the thief's arm and a small struggle ensued. Thorongil felt the threat also and drew his sword. He pushed his way through the crowd to her aid.

Amdirien did not want a fight, but as Thorongil and Anders - followed quickly by the rest of her guard plus Altazîr with several local soldiers - came rushing up the thief panicked. She drew a knife and backed into a corner holding Amdirien hostage, the knife at her throat.

"Stay away!" she shouted. "Stay back!"

"Everyone stay calm!" said the Princess, terrified as she was. "We can resolve this..."

She was going to say 'peacefully,' but Thorongil was not going to risk her life to any chance but his own. He threw out his hand in a strange gesture at Amdirien, and his black armor materialized; not on him but on her! It was restructured to fit her form perfectly, and it included a cowl so that she was armored from the base of her neck all the way to her nose.

Thorongil rushed at the Princess and pushed her aside as the thief stood befuddled. He kicked the pickpocket to the ground and stood over her, the tip of his sword on her neck.

Amdirien slowly stood up. She felt very strange wearing nothing but the weightless, cold metal. As she got her bearings, Altazîr ordered two of his men to arrest the thief.

"Another for the gallows!" he sighed.

"Please no!" begged the thief. "Mercy!"

Altazîr waved to his men to take her away despite her pleading.

"Wait," stammered Amdirien, regaining her wits as Thorongil dispelled the armor with another gesture and her dress returned in its place.

"She threatened the life of an heir to the crown!" replied Altazîr. "Not to mention attempted robbery." He gestured again to his guards to take the thief away.

Thorongil turned to the nearest soldier and poked his hand gently with his sword as the man went to grab the thief. "You will wait for Her Majesty's approval!" he growled.

"This girl will not hang on my account," Amdirien declared.

Altazîr stepped beside the girl himself and Thorongil raised his sword. By now a large crowd had gathered around the commotion. With hundreds of eyes and ears upon her, Amdirien turned away from Thorongil and Altazîr to face the majority of the gathered crowd, and spoke loudly.

"The authority of the crown to spare a life is even more essential than its authority to take it..."

"There must be consequences for such lawlessness! If holding a knife to the Princess's throat is not a capital offense, what is?" interrupted Altazîr.

Forced to turn back around, Amdirien became really angry - and not with the criminal cowering at her feet. The Princess now felt far more inclined to send Altazîr to the gallows.

"Apparently some reminder of who rules this city is necessary," she said loudly. "Kneel!"

At once Anders and her guards knelt. She turned quickly to the crowd, who also dropped to their knees. Though a criminal, the thief was one of their own, and they much preferred Amdirien's talk to mercy to Altazîr's cold 'justice.'

The Princess suddenly realized a subtle flaw in her plan: Thorongil wouldn't kneel, and he was right next to Altazîr.

Amdirien slowly turned away from the crowd and to her amazement both were kneeling. After an audible sigh of relief, she continued.

"This thief didn't try to kill me when she had the chance, and I think she was even more afraid than I was. Her crimes are serious, and she certainly could hang for them, but I am under no obligation render any particular punishment for crimes committed against myself. I hope she learns from this nearly fatal mistake."

"Yes Your Majesty," squeaked the sobbing thief.

"Thorongil, escort her out of the market," ordered the Princess with a glance at Altazîr implying that she didn't trust him to let her go, despite her orders. Thorongil despised the idea as well, for fear of danger to the Princess in his absence, but he did not publicly question her. He dragged the thief away through the crowd.

"Go buy yourself some food," he whispered angrily as he let go of her arm near the edge of the market. He handed her a few of the coins Amdirien had given him. "Don't come back here. The guards will remember you."

Amdirien was in no mood to remain in the market. As the excitement of her first brush with death wore off she felt very tired. After Thorongil returned she decided to return to the palace for lunch. She ate with only Thorongil and Anders.

"Thank you for saving me back there," she said to the maia. "I was unaware that your armor could fit on other people."

"Neither was I," replied Thorongil tersely. That was the truth: he hadn't been sure it would work, and had been somewhat concerned that it would prove complicated to restore her clothing afterwards.

"We should be more careful in the future," suggested Anders.

Amdirien looked ashamed. "You are probably right."

Amdirien slipped away to ask one of the palace servants to find more of the cakes Thorongil had enjoyed in the morning. He had hardly spoken to her since the incident in the market. She had a good guess why. A few desserts was a relatively meaningless gesture, but she wanted to show him she was thinking about him now, despite forgetting about him earlier. Ten minutes later she gave him her little gift.

"I am terribly sorry about earlier, Thorongil; Captain!" said the Princess, adding his preferred style of address. "I didn't think at all about the position I was putting you in until I started to turn back around!"

"I know," answered Thorongil, slowly cracking a smile. "It's not as if I haven't had to kneel in enemy territory before - at the throne of Melkor in Angband on a few occasions, for example. But if you tell anyone..."

"I won't, I swear!" Amdirien laughed. A comparison to first Great Enemy was not what she hoped for, but she far preferred his sarcasm to his silent brooding.

"What is our plan for this evening?" asked Anders.

"Nothing tonight, but there is a ball scheduled for tomorrow," smiled the Princess. Thorongil did not look at all impressed. Even with his wife's company he had little love for social gatherings; without her, he would be miserable.

"Would you care to leave me alone with the captain?" Amdirien asked Thorongil in the elder tongue, of which the Ranger was still ignorant. Thorongil nodded and took his cakes to his room.

"I was hoping you would accompany me?" continued Her Majesty.

"I assure you we will take every possible precaution," began Anders.

"That isn't what I mean," replied The Princess. "I want you there, and not as my guard, if you are willing. I can't, and would never, order you to of course, but..."

"I would be honored, your Majesty!" answered the Ranger. "I had no idea..."

"Really?" laughed the Princess. "Visits to the front, being recalled from combat to serve in my guard..."

"Well I didn't dare hope..."

"Start daring," winked Amdirien.