Title: Ulterior Motives

Author: amber

Beta: Oli

Fandom: Tolkien

Rating: G

Characters: Celebrían, Gil-Galad, Elrond, Galadriel

Disclaimer: The characters are Tolkien's; I am just borrowing them.

Summary: Celebrían has a problem with the high king's herald.

'Of all the nerve.' Celebrían thought as she stomped through the palace towards the High King's office. 'Well, my cousin will just over rule this upstart, and then give him a good dressing down.'

"Why does your herald hate me?" she demanded of the king as she interrupted his little meeting without thinking about it. "What is it with this, this Peredhel?"

"Of what do you speak?" Gil-Galad asked in a disapproving tone which she completely missed. He did not like the fact that his meeting had been walked in on. He had guards for a reason. "I know not that my herald hates anyone."

"I went to his office today to gain permission to ride on the hills to the east so that I may spend some time among the trees," she began. "He had just given permission to a group of ladies to ride but would not even see me. I was told to come back in a few days. I was not even given the respect of a meeting or dignified answer. And this is not the first time he has done this to me in the weeks I have been here. What is with him?"

"I know not and will have to check with him," Gil-Galad began as he thought about the situation. "I do know that there have been reports of orcs to the east of here though. It makes me wonder why he would give the other ladies permission to ride. I will have to check into this matter."

"Yes you must. I will not be treated like a know nothing yokel by one such as he," she replied. "May I have your permission to ride, cousin?"

"Of course you may ride my dear, but do me a favor and ride along the beach until I know for sure that the orcs are taken care of," he said trying to hurry this along so he could return to his interrupted meeting.

They all watched as she waved her consent and flew out the door. Then the king turned to his herald who had been seated at the table all along. "Could you not have at least explained the situation to her? And why did you give permission to the other ladies?"

"The other ladies asked to ride along the beach, not to the east," Elrond began. "I thought my secretary would have explained about the orcs to her and I was already late for the meeting."

"Yes you were," the king commented before turning and raising a questioning eye at Celeborn and Galadriel who were sitting at the end of the table and had gone completely unnoticed by their daughter.

"I will speak with her," Galadriel said to his inquiry. Then she turned to Elrond with a raised brow. "I apologize for my daughter's slurs, she was raised better than that. But why do I sense that the orcs were not the only reason you turned her down."

Squirming in his seat a little to the surprise of all, Elrond finally answered the lady.

"I think she looks adorable when angry."