Erestor stared gloomily at Glorfindel's office. It was unusually neat for Glorfindel's office and not instantly recognizable. Erestor supposed he could attribute that to Glorfindel's obsessive compulsive wife who freaked out if someone's teacup was set down imperfectly on its saucer. Imladris's lords had never suffered from organization - quite the opposite - until she came and attacked Rivendell with boxes and color coding. But this was not why Erestor was staring gloomily at Glorfindel's office. Erestor was looking for Glorfindel. Glorfindel had disappeared. Erestor had an idea where Glorfindel was, but wasn't sure he wanted to find Glorfindel considering where Glorfindel wasn't.
Glorfindel was Erestor's best friend and one of those people you miss terribly when they are gone, but can be incredibly annoying when they are around. Glorfindel had bad days like the rest of the world. And they were really bad days - like the day Gondolin got sacked, Glorfindel died, and his wife left. Every other day of Glorfindel's life though, was unnaturally good - Erestor had a theory that this was to make up for the fact that Glorfindel's occasional bad days were always life threatening. It was still annoying.
Little did Eresor know that his plight was shared.
Gina sat miserably on Nickel's bed, idly scanning for a secret compartment she could be hiding in. There wasn't one. Gina sighed loudly, hoping for a cheerily pesky, "Hi Gina!" but no Nickel was forthcoming.
Yes, Gina was happy for her best friend - finding the man . . . elf of your dreams isn't easy. But when your best friend is in love, they tend to randomly disappear. And they can't help showing the fact that they're in love. Gina was sick of being decidedly single. She bounced a bit on the bed and left the room, sighing plaintitivly.
Erestor decided that - as Glorfindel wasn't around to annoy him - he might as well get something done. The library was dark and quiet and hopefully Glorfindel free since Glorfindel had a problem with gloomy places. And fire. It was impossible to get either Glorfindel or Nickel to light a match.
Erestor opened the door.
"Ow!" Someone fell over from behind the office door.
"Hello, Lindir." Erestor said mildly, "Can I help you?"
Lindor glared at Erestor and stalked off. Erestor ignored him.
Someone was in the Library!
Gina didn't feel like company, but people don't talk in libraries, so it might be okay. It was a dark haired, tall elf. Tall being relative to Gina. Most elves were taller than Gina. Gina was normal person height. Of course, compared to Glorfindel, this elf was rather short - but then again, Glorfindel was unnaturally tall, like Nickel. Two unnaturally tall people - they went well together. Gina thought rather bitterly. The elf looked up when she came in, but returned to his book. Gina looked around for something interesting. Unfortunately, she couldn't read most of the books. Drat.
Gina wondered how the elf would react if poked. Nickel had proudly shown off that her elf poked back - Gina hoped this was not the case with this elf. She poked him.
"What do you want?" The elf asked.
"Erm . . . do you have any books in English here . . . do you know?"
Erestor thought she ought to work on her grammatical sentence structure, "English?" He asked instead.
"Yeah , what we're speaking."
He gave her an odd look, "Who are you?"
"I'm Gina." She said shyly, "And I just want to-"
"-read." Erestor finished, "Have you read the journeys of Earendil? He was Elrond's father, you know, and Elrond wrote all his stories down."
"Er . . ."
"Or the tale of the Silmarils, or-"
"Do you have anything about pirates?"
"Well, there are the reports of pirate attacks on Umbar centuries ago, or if you want something more interesting, we have several accounts from Numenor that Elendil donated."
"What about vampires?"
"There is the Lay of Lùthien and Beren - Sauron became a vampire sometimes."
Gina thought about it, "I meant good vampires, but sure . . . I suppose."
Erestor rushed to get it for her.
Gina stared at the pages, "I can't read this." She told Erestor, "It's like a code or something. That, or Nickel's handwriting."
"You know Glorfindel's wife?"
"You know Glorfindel?"
"Who doesn't know Glorfindel?"
The two stared at each other.
"Have we-"
"I don't think so."
Erestor shrugged, "Do you know where he is?"
"With her probably."
"Figures."
"They wouldn't want us to find them anyway."
Erestor stared at his feet, "Would you like me to read it to you?"
"Read what?"
"The Lay."
"Oh." Gina stared at the floor, then looked up into Erestor's eyes, "Sure."
She sat on the floor and listened as he told her the adventures of Beren and what brought him to Doriath.
Glorfindel and Nickel crept out of the Library.
"I don't think it's very romantic." Glorfindel complained.
"Sh, dear. They're happy, and that's what matters."
"Oh, okay." Glorfindel tried to think for a moment, "Lets go swimming."
"Okay!"
The pair bounded off, while Gina and Erestor regarded an older story than their own.
Meagan was being sneaky. This was something she was good at. Being sneaky that is. It was important to know how to be sneaky when dealing with dragons or pyromaniacs - especially when dealing with both. Meagan had seriously worried about the continuation of her existence as head of a group of pyros sent to talk to the remaining dragons - especially when Tomato died in an incident. If it weren't for the wedding, she'd have probably ended up in some dark cave obsessing over the shiny ring Nickel had given her when leaving to lead the pyros. But the wedding was taking place, so Meagan went South, following the directions Nickels transmitted, assuring Meagan that yes, this Erestor guy was good enough for Gina. As if.
Meagan sighed with relief. She had been alone except for Gina and Nickel and occasionally Mandy's face in the cell palantir and the sight of civilization was welcome. She smiled wryly, elves were fun to torture, and entered the little valley thing that cradled Rivendell. The river bubbled cheerfully, and someone - definitely not Nickel - was singing something very pretty. A face popped out of the bushes.
"Hello!" The face belonged to an elf. He was dark haired, and kind of short for an elf. He smiled very widely, "Welcome to Imladris, fair lady! May I take your baggage?"
Meagan scowled, "I don't have any."
"Then I'll take to our lord Elrond . . . unless you are expected?" The question hung in the air.
"I'm here for the wedding."
"Oh." His face fell, "You must be one of her friends."
Meagan caught the tone of his voice, "Do you have a problem, elf?"
The Elf was caught by her anger, and surprised that someone had noticed his less than subtle dislike of the bride. People tended to ignore him. Meagan ignored nobody. "No . . ."
"Good." Meagan sniffed, "Now where's Gina?"
The Elf sighed, "This way." He led her around the house to a porch worthy of Home and Garden, or a movie shoot. "I'm Lindir." He offered helpfully, "And you are?"
Meagan sniffed again, "Meagan," She suddenly smiled viciously, "I live with the dragons."
Lindir trembled, "She's over there." He pointed along the path and fled.
Meagan laughed a bit and followed the path to tell Gina she had arrived.
Lindir hauled himself down to the Hall of Fire. A crowd of elves surrounded Erestor and Gina, oohing and awing over how pretty Gina looked. Lindir though she looked like Nickel had attacked her. It was the same thing, really.
And then he saw her. The Dragon Lady who seemed to think Lindir was worth bothering.
Glorfindel wrapped an arm around Nickel's waist, pulling her away from where Elladan and Elrohir were rigging the door with a bucket of water. A couple of dwarves came in, setting their axes against the wall - they had been chopping wood for the big fire. Nickel snatched a pastry from a table and Glorfindel led her away from the party to where Erestor hid.
"Hey, Erestor!" She waved.
He shushed her.
Nickel pouted, "Poor Gina, you should give her some support." A gleam flitted across her eyes, "or better yet, rescue her."
"Like that's possible." Erector had picked up some of Gina's sarcasm.
"Just haul her off!" Glorfindel offered, lifting Nickel by the waist and throwing her over his shoulder. She protested feebly - Glorfindel's shoulders were actually quite comfortable.
Erestor sighed, "Right." But he waded into the crowd. A moment later all chaos broke loose.
Lindir saw Glorfindel swing his wife over his shoulder, and she perched there quite comfortably, leaving Lindir feeling decidedly jealous. How come Glorfindel got to show off how strong he was every two seconds? She could walk for goodness sakes. Lindir saw the dragon girl again out of the corner of his eye. She was pretty short . . .
Meagan screamed. Nickel clapped. Gina laughed. Kelsey and Mandy stared at the scene through their palantirs, appalled. Erestor and Glorfindel raced around the hall, chasing Lindir with his burden, egged on by their respective spouses. Lindir flung himself out of the way, dropping Meagan and panting.
"You freak!" Meagan raised the large battle axe Lindir had had the misfortune to set her down next to.
"Uh-oh." He fled the deadly weapon, carving a path through the hall, fleeing the maniac from the north. Both were screaming bloody murder.
"I told you I was right to invite Meagan." Gina told Erestor, eyes bright.
He stared at her, appalled by this side of her.
"Go rescue Lindir before we have elfburger for dinner." Nickel said in a bored tone to Glorfindel and Erestor, 'We don't need another kinslaying."
The two elves reluctantly restrained Meagan and dragged her over to Gina and Nickel. She smiled brightly, "That was more fun than I've had in ages!" She exclaimed, "Dragons don't react well to random attacks." She subsided into thought, "Though I'd figure he'd be smarter than to set me down by a battle axe."
Nickel shrugged. "Lindir doesn't think much. He's been known to get lost in thought - it's unfamiliar territory for him."
Lindir sat in a wine closet. Being alcoholically encumbered seemed like a good idea so he didn't look like an idiot. Lindir sighed. He always looked like an idiot. Fangirls thought he made a wonderful idiot - the comment about mortals and sheep just ticked them off. Well it was true - to sheep and shepherds, other sheep look different. Glorfindel passed by Lindir's hiding place. Lindir knew it was Glorfindel because he was singing. Erestor avoided singing. Gina sang quietly. And Nickel sang horribly. Elladan and Elrohir only sang together. Elrond sang depressing songs. Everyone was recognizable. Lindir waited a bit and left the closet carefully. He stumbled along until he found a room with a bed in it. Joy! A bed!
Meagan was drunk. Why did elves drink so much she wondered, not considering that she was drunk from the festivities. Elves drank . . . here Meagan's thought process blurred and reformed. Lo! A room! With a bed. The only thing Meagan wanted right now was a bed. But someone was in the room with the bed.
"Is this room taken?" Meagan asked.
"I don't know." The elf present thought a bit, "Is it yours?"
"I think so . . . unless it's yours?"
"I can't be sure." The elf's eyebrows crinkled together - it was kind of adorable, "It might be. Though it might be yours instead."
Elladan and Elrohir were not drunk. They were perfectly sober. They had been hit in the head by their own bucket. Elrohir was wet. Elladan was wet. They wanted to inflict dampness on somebody else. Elladan and Elrohir heard Lindir and Meagan talking. They crept closer.
"You get her to one side of the river-"
"And I'll get him to the other."
They grinned at each other, "perfect."
Meagan stood next to something cold, wet and moving. Someone stood next to her, but she could not see him. She did not know how she had gotten there.
"Don't move, or my brother will kill your true love." Elrohir whispered in her ear.
"Who's that?" Meagan asked, feeling very confused.
"Lindir - you love him more than life itself. I will let you go in a few moments, and you must swim across the river and rescue him. "
"Why?" Meagan asked.
"Because if you don't you'll die of sorrow." Elrohir laughed.
"Okay." Meagan dove in.
"Well that was easy." Elladan came over and the two watched as Lindir and Meagan swim back and forth then headed in for bed.
Erestor was not awake. Or at least, That is what he liked to think. Being awake would mean he would have to get out of bed. And getting out of bed would mean leaving his new wife – who was decidedly NOT awake – alone in bed. It would be criminal. He did, however, gaze out the window enjoying those thoughts common to elves. Erestor's window looked out on the river, a view Erestor had more than once admired greatly but often admired absently. This morning, he was admiring the view with considerable thought for the little bridge that some thoughtful, artistic elf had decided to place on that particular stretch of river for the viewing and strolling pleasure of all elf-kind.
Engaged in his contemplation of the bridge, Erestor noticed two bodies floating in the river. Swimming would be a more accurate description of these bodies, except neither one was going anywhere. Both seemed rather anchored in fact. Erestor wondered who had artistically added drowning people to his view. He hoped it wouldn't disturb Gina.
Glorfindel and Nicole were decidedly awake. Unlike Erestor and Gina, these two had a disposition suited for early morning walks even after the most insane of parties the night before. This particular morning, Nicole had a fancy for rowing. Unfortunatly, a full fledged rowing team was not to be found in Imladris, so she and her honey had to content themselves with tandem kayaking.
Passing under the utterly useless bridge that had been some poor elf's pride and joy, Glorfindel pointed towards the shore, "What's that?" He asked.
Nicole peered and the dark mass on their left, "I am inclined to believe it is some sort of . . . eew. Oh wait. Never mind"
"What?"
"I thought they were kissing and groping, but it's just Lindir and Meagan trying to kill each other again."
"Should we do anything?"
"Probably" Nicole dove out of the kayak and grabbed Meagan by the shirt, pulling her off of the very wet Lindir. "Really, Meagan, you carry such grudges"
"No! No!" gasped Meagan, "You can't take me away, I love him. He is my true love and I have rescued him from the evil elf!"
"Darling, I will follow you to the ends of the universe!" Lindir declared, prostrate as he was on the ground, "Marry me now so we shall never be separated!"
Glorfindel prodded Lindir. "Are you drunk?" he asked.
Lindir scowled "NO. I've never been more sober in my life!"
Meagan beamed down at Lindir.
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