Blah.. Blah... Blah useless disclaimer... Blah

This is chapter 2

Ginela stood gaping at the long row of portraits that climbed up beside the grand staircase. Detailed paintings of strong jawed fiercely eyed elves stood next to each other in between the branch carvings, Ginela was taken aback of how beautifully handsome all the elves were. Hypolitania fondly placed her hand on one of the intricate frames and closed her eyes. "My mother and father dedicated their lives to serving the royal family and I have fond memories as a child looking at these very portraits." She said her voice a whisper. "Now," She said snapping out of her mystical reverie. "you all need to study the faces of the royal family and learn how to address them if they call on you. For example," Hypolitania walked up to a portrait and turned to Ginela's mother. "who is this and how would you address him?"

My mother walked up a few steps get a closer look even though their sharp elven eyes would have been able to see it clearly from across the room. Ginela and her family had never been in contact with the royal family and had never met someone of higher status than their settlement leader, this was just unfair intimidation. My mother looked to my father for some indication of who this person might be but he was as lost as any of us.

My mother lowered her head. "I don't know." She said quietly. Hypolitania's eyes widened.

"Have any of you even seen the royal family before?" We all shook our heads. She sighed placing her hands on her hips. "We have a lot of work to do. This," She said pointing to the portrait in front of them. "This is Prince Lasland, the second born son of Queen Mirineth and King Thranduil. He is currently posted in the eastern border patrol as its lieutenant. You may address him as my lord or my prince." Ginela looked to the portrait of Prince Lasland and regarded his slightly taller than average stature and infectious grin with milk chocolate eyes.

Hypolitania went through each member of the royal family, King Thranduil who was to be addressed as My Lord or your highness, Queen Mirineth was to be called Your highness or My lady, Prince Lasanden was to be addressed as My Lord, Crowned Prince, or Commander, and Lastly Prince Legolas who was just addressed as My Lord.

Hypolitania then took them on a full tour of the palace, naming room after room that Ginela immediately forgot their placement and uses. The royal family's private quarters however are what struck Ginela the most. Cream coloured marble floors stretched down a hallway which housed many corridors, in every room a fire blazed to fight the chill of the mountain in which the palace was carved in. When she had been shown the private rooms of the princes her chest had flared in envy.

The bathing room in the prince's chambers were bigger than her old house had been. Metal tubes with running water and huge mirrors were placed in the chamber. Mythological sea creatures had been carved with blue tiles on the walls and soaps of all kinds lined the shelves. Ginela had always been an observant person and she had picked up a little about each prince from their personalized living space.

The first room they had seen was prince Lasland's. This room had struck Ginela because the ceiling had arched in a unique curve, very similar to the great hall. The floor had large gray stone with random furs scattered around the floor, the bed had been simple with four posts but grand in its pure size. Impressive weapons were scattered around the room in various places like on the desk and on various chests and cabinets. The stone in certain places was stained with multi coloured substances that had clearly been laboured over in an attempt to remove them but had inevitably been unsuccessful. Ginela had been able to tell that Prince Lasland was a bit of a rebel from the unsynchronized fur carpets and was laid back enough to not mind having a room with stains on the floor that he himself had probably caused over the years. On a table near the side of the bed a small painting was propped against a lantern and Ginela had smiled at the personal treasure. In the painting Prince Lasanden was holding a small brown haired elfling who was tugging on one of his braids and was smiling widely at his brother's discomfort while the elder brother tried to pry the small fingers off his hair.

After they had finished with Prince Lasland's room they moved on to the next which had happened to be Prince Lasanden's, which was the exact opposite of the previous. The floor was a rich red carpet and the walls wooden and warm with a high flat ceiling. The bed was intricately carved and fit the room nicely centered on the far wall. There were also weapons in this room, but they were hung neatly on the walls, on the large wooden desk, papers were neatly arranged along with ink bottles and quills. This room sported a large bookcase which was filled with books that created a rainbow of leather book spines which decorated the room. A black stone fireplace stood on the wall across from the bed and a small fire burned in the hearth. Ginela could tell that Lasanden was a neat person who believed and cared about order and the purpose of rules. He was dedicated to his job and was prepared for anything life threw at him. He deeply cared about his family from the full family picture on his desk. Ginela could almost imagine the Crowned Prince planning out the defence of the realm, thinking about the safety of his family.

Ginela had been able to relate with Prince Legolas' room because he was close to her age. The room held scattered papers from studies, and it had the freedom of youth. It seemed a nice mix of his brother's rooms, it held the seriousness of Lasanden's while still having the freedom of Lasland's. Ginela could tell that Prince Legolas adored his older brothers and the room reflected it. Near his study area, the floor was stone and across the room near the bed and sitting area the floor was carpet. It was in between neat and messy and still had the remnants of childhood in it. Pushed into far corners were small wooden soldiers whose paint had just started to chip and small wooden swords were still visible. He also had a picture of his brothers sparing with him and all of them were smiling broadly causing Ginela to smile as well.

The family was finally shown to their new living space in the servant's quarters. The room was nice but was trumped by the rooms they had just seen that housed the royal family, but still it was an improvement. They had three rooms to their disposal; one room for a common living space and two others that would be used for bedrooms. Their luggage had already been placed in their new apartment and they began to unpack and make the space their own.

After a common meal with the other servants they retired early. That night Ginela laid in bed thinking about all she had seen that day and imaging what her life would be like once her little sisters arrived. She remembered the loving pictures she had seen in the prince's chambers a vowed that she would look after them with the same care and love. She decided to push the thoughts out of her head for now and concentrate on the coming day when her official first day would begin. With a sudden thrill she remembered that there was to be a feast tomorrow and she would finally get to see the royal family.

Please Review!

TELL ME... Which room would you like to live in, Legolas', Lasland's or Lasanden's? What did you like about each one?

SIDE NOTE... I ordered my school spirit wear and we could but personal writing on the sleeve and I put... PANDORA404 of course. When it arrives ill take a picture and make it my profile.

Review Replies

SgtGroganSG: OMG thanks I'm soooo glad you always like what I write because sometimes I find it a bit dark and weird and I think "People are going to think I'm a crazy person!" Ya, as you can probably tell working at the palace would be pretty difficult but getting used to the job is the hardest part. I think it would be fun to see the royal family and where they live, but in terms of working I like to avoid cleaning altogether. I also liked to explore Ginela and how she doesn't like this kind of job but is doing it for her family. Thanks for the Review

Maiden: I'm glad you like this story and I hope this chapter expanded you knowledge of my world. Thanks for the review. If you haven't already checked it out you should go to my profile and look at the pictures I've assigned for my OC's. They could help the reading experience.

AbSim7: Thanks ABBY! I hope this chapter helped you understand Lord of the Rings... a little bit.