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Thank you so much for reading, I love you all for the support you give me! Any feedback is so nice to hear, it really makes this process a lot more fun (especially when my trustee muse Carl goes missing). Mid-Terms are over, and now I can get back to more writing, so YAY!

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Cheers!

Ally Layne.

Do Not Go Gentle

Chapter 3: Meeting Salamander the Wizard and Lord McDicks

As soon as I was brought to the council room by Arwen, I realized a few things. One: the race of elves must be completely flawless. Two: leather pants may look bad-ass, but they're really freaking uncomfortable. And three: all wizards look like grandpas.

Other than that, it was tame to the stuff that the Olympians get up to.

Lord Elrond was standing at the head of a table, and Lady Galadriel was to his left, along with another perfect-looking blonde elf standing to her side. By the way that his hand was placed on her lower back, I assumed this was the elf she was married to if they have weddings in this world.

On Elrond's other side were a few different elves that I didn't recognize, along with the elf-man Lindir. Two of them had the same hair as Arwen and her father and were completely identical, so I supposed they must have been related to the Lord and Lady on some level.

On the other end of the table, an old guy with a long, white beard stood there solemnly. He was wearing white robes and held a staff that came up to his elbow. Something about him didn't sit well with me, and there was a look in his dark eyes that made me squirm where I stood.

The man to his left was another older dude, but instead of the white theme the other one had going on, this dude was decked out in grey. He wasn't quite as stoic as the other one, and there was a mischievous glint to his eyes that I could relate to.

It was silent, and everyone was staring at the two of us.

"May I introduce Lady Persephone and my daughter, Lady Arwen," Lord Elrond spoke, introducing the two for possibly courtier purposes.

"This is the one who appeared in your study?" The old white dude asked, his voice coming out as a dark rasp.

"Indeed."

The man let out a little "humph" at Elrond's introduction, then promptly turned to the others in the room. "I believe we should start before Lady Persephone decides to scurry away."

My eyebrows raised, but I didn't jump into the little trap he laid.

After a few moments of pause, Elrond started to do the introductions. "Lady Persephone, you know Lady Galadriel," he prompted.

I nodded. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Lady Persephone," she voiced, giving me a short nod in acceptance. I couldn't help but smile at the Lady, who I knew would be a strong ally.

"You too, Lady Galadriel."

"This is her husband, the Lord of Lórien, Lord Celeborn," Elrond continued. He offered me a kind nod, and I did the same.

"These are the wizards, Saruman the White and Gandalf the Grey." He gestured to the two older guys. "They are two of the protectors of Arda."

Saruman nodded tightly, not bothering to make eye contact. I had a feeling the two of us weren't going to be getting along so well, but that wasn't anything new. On the other hand, Gandalf grinned, and gave a small bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Persephone."

I grinned back, and curtsied to my best ability, but probably looked like a baby giraffe. "Same here, Gandalf."

The look of disdain the white wizard gave me had me stand ram-rod straight. "What terrible manners, you have."

I crossed my arms. "What terrible tact you have."

The room went silent once more.

"I beg your pardon?"

I smiled evilly. "You heard me."

"Do you even know who you are speaking to?"

I shrugged. "I think Lord Elrond called you Salamander the pink or something."

A quiet groan came out from someone behind me. I would have bet money that it was Lord Elrond the proper.

"Lady Persephone, please try to restrain yourself," Lord Elrond spoke. He sounded oddly calm, but I think that's probably from years of restraint. "Do pardon her, Lord Saruman. She is not from here."

The Salamander pursed his lips. "Obviously," he droned.

Now is not the time to make him upset, world-walker.

I quickly locked eyes with the Lady of Lórien, who stared back with a hidden intent. You mustn't let him under your skin.

I hid my silent nod of understanding by playing with my ponytail.

Lord Elrond quickly introduced me to the other Lords in the room, including his twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir. They both then proceeded to seamlessly flirt with me, and I had an inclination from their reaction to my obvious annoyance that they were not used to being turned down.

I was led to a seat beside Arwen, who sat next to Elladan, and Gandalf the grey, who I happened to think was pretty cool. He was quite nice to me even though I'd just insulted his friend.

"The Lady Galadriel and I have summoned you to discuss the recent events. For those of you who have not heard, Lady Persephone was found in my study with no other explanation than that she is not of our world. The Lady knew of this and was warned by the Valar in her dreams to be aware of a new chosen champion of their choosing, and we believe this to be Lady Persephone."

"How do you know she is telling the truth?" One of the eleven lords asked. I think Elrond said his name was Lord Macalster. He was shorter than the rest, with a long nose and beady eyes. Macalster was probably the ugliest one of the groups, so I wasn't too worried about his standards.

Luckily Lady Galadriel was the one to answer the question. "The Valar showed me of her arrival, Lord Macalster. I am willing to vouch for Lady Persephone and she has my trust."

His face twisted at her, but he nodded. Even the pompous Macalster didn't want to piss Galadriel off. I wonder if she gives lessons on how to put men in their place.

"Do you know why you were brought here?" Gandalf asked, turning to face me fully. "I have not heard of a reason why the Valar would need a champion."

I sighed. "Look, in my world, I was told by my gods that they were sending me to this realm at the request of your gods so that I can help you all find peace."

"Peace?" Saruman asked.

I nodded as my branding smirk flickered on my face.

"Peace."

"How can a human female such as yourself hope to help us find peace?" Macalster asked, crossing his arms. "Perhaps your gods chose wrong."

My fists clenched in my lap. "You're wrong, Lord McDonald." One of Arwen's brothers snickered. "I'm exactly the person who is going to help your sorry butt because apparently something big is going down and I'm going to be the one to stop it."

Find inner peace, child.

I felt a wave of calm spread over me, and I had a feeling that was Lady Galadriel's influence.

The Elf Lord stood up in his chair and his seat went flying back at the force. "Listen here, you-"

Lord Elrond held a hand up to Lord McDicks and frowned. "That is enough, you two."

Elrond must hold these dudes on a tight leash or something because Lord McDicks immediately went silent and sat in his seat. He was still glaring at me with those beady eyes, which was rather annoying.

So, as anyone would do in my situation, I stuck my tongue out at him.

"He does bring up an important point, however brash it may have been," Lord Celeborn commented, and I turned my eyes to him. "We do not know anything about the Lady Persephone. How are we to know if she is the correct choice?"

I leaned back into my chair, deflated.

"She is the chosen one of the Valar, and she will remain," Galadriel spoke firmly. "She will be able to prove herself to all of Arda given time. And now, I wish to hear why her gods chose her."

"Yes, I wish to hear this as well," Saruman rasped.

Lord Elrond turned to me. "Very well. Lady Persephone, if you would care to share?"

A sickening feeling dropped into my stomach. I didn't want to have to talk about what happened, and who I lost. I didn't want to have to delve into the things that haunt me and keep me up at night. The faces. The scars. I didn't want to relive any of it.

You must convince them, Persephone.

I looked up from my sweaty hands and locked eyes with Galadriel. She looked deep into my soul, and for a moment I knew that she was aware of all of it. She knew everything. But how?

I see much, child. Now, you must convince them.

I gulped.

"Look, I don't like talking about this stuff. But I'll try," I started. Arwen's hand grabbed mine and gave me a squeeze. I squeezed back.

Silence spread over the room as I struggled to find the words. How could I ever begin to tell these elf lords and ladies about my old life?

From the beginning.

A small smile drew on my lips. "I'll start from the beginning. The first eleven years of my life were normal. The gods didn't exist to me. I didn't know who my father was, but that was okay. I had my mom, and she was amazing. We did everything together.

"There were these mythical beings that I had heard stories about: the Greek Gods. There were many gods, but on the Olympian Council, which is the place where the most powerful gods have a throne, there were only twelve.

"The most powerful gods, or as many call them the Big Three, Zeus, the god of the skies, Poseidon, the god of the seas, and Hades, the god of the underworld were all sired by a Titan named Kronos. When the Titans ruled the world, it was full of chaos and pain, and when the Big Three took over and sliced up their father the world was theirs.

"I thought this was all fake, a tale told over thousands of years. But when I was twelve years old, I figured out they were real. My teacher turned into a monster, sent by Hades himself, who then captured my mother and brought her to the Underworld."

Thus, my story-telling career began.

And ended, nearly an hour later… however, I was able to conveniently leave out the majority of what happened during the Second War, which was probably better for everyone.

"You were involved in two wars, before turning nineteen?" Elladan asked, eyes wide.

I nodded sheepishly. "Yeah. It kinda sucked."

"And you're the daughter of the god of the sea?" Elrohir asked, half in disbelief.

"Yup."

"You control water."

"Uhuh."

Elladan turned to Elrohir. "Bet she could give Glorfindel a challenge for once."

His brother smirked. "You're on."

I decided I liked these two.

But who the Hades is Glorfindel?

"Forgive me if I am finding little use for a little child to protect us," Lord McDicks spoke. I let out a little growl.

"I don't believe anyone asked your opinion, Lord Prick."

Arwen gasped, letting a hand go to her mouth. A few others placed their hands to their mouths, including the awesome Lady Galadriel, and I swore I saw a few of them laughing quietly behind them.

McDicks's face turned bright red and slammed his hands on the table. "I am an Elf Lord of the Royal Imladris court, and I demand respect!"

"And I am a daughter of Poseidon, Lord of the seas, and I am the Savior of Olympus, the child of the prophecy, one of the Seven, and a slayer of beings that would make you crap your pants at the sight. I have done things even you would never imagine, Elf-Lord."

My voice echoed throughout the room, the temperature seemed to have dropped about ten degrees in the past few seconds, and I could smell the scent of the waterfalls that surrounded this city. If I didn't want to flood the place, I probably should try and cool down.

Before Lord McDicks could gather his wits to retaliate, Lord Elrond stepped in. "Thank you for sharing, Lady Persephone, I believe you must be tired after that endeavor. I'll send you with Lady Arwen to your new guest chambers and let you rest."

And the Lord of Imladris has arrived, everyone.

"Arwen, if you would?"

Arwen simply smiled at her father and nodded politely. "As you wish, Ada." She turned to me, taking my hand and pulled me out of my seat. "Come with me, Lady Persephone."

I managed to look over my shoulder and see the faces of a calm Galadriel, and the two cheeky expressions of Elladan and Elrohir, who waved goodbye happily. Did I say that I liked them already? Because they definitely seem to be my kind of people.

The last thing before I exited was Gandalf, who quirked a smile and winked.

That went well.

"Persie, you need to learn how to control your anger," Arwen told me as she led me through the corridors. "The last thing you need to do is make enemies, right now."

I slammed my heels into the ground and stopped us where we stood. "I wasn't trying to make any enemies, Arwen."

"Then what exactly were you trying to accomplish?"

I put my hands in the air defensively. "I don't know—I guess it just happens sometimes."

She groaned, placing a tiny hand on her forehead. "You will make an immortal age, Persie. Please, next time, just remember that there is a certain etiquette needed to speak to other Lords and Ladies. I think I will have Lord Erestor work with you-"

"Woah, woah, woah—just wait a second! I am not taking lessons on etiquette from Lord Erestor! Did you even see how straight he sat? It's like he had a stick up his ass!"

"Then who would you rather have teach you?"

My lips drew into a straight line. "I don't know. Look, why do I even have to use etiquette anyway? It's not even like I'm actually a Lady!"

Arwen smiled. "You did admit that you are the daughter of a god, Persie. With being the chosen one of the Valar, my Ada deems this worthy of being a Lady of Imladris. It would surely be an insult to the Valar if you were not."

I grumbled.

"I will talk with Ada, and we will figure out what you will need to do. However, it is getting late. I will send for some dinner, and then I will make sure you head to bed. Today must have been draining for you."

I nodded. "That doesn't even begin to cover it."

She smiled softly, and we began to head off in the direction to where my rooms must have been prepared. "Come along, Persie. It's time we retire for the evening."

"This place is going to take a lot of getting used to."