A/N: Hey everyone :) How are you guys? :) Here's the new chapter it's even longer than the previous :D I don't know how this happens :D However, I have something like a fear that this story isn't going well and the chapters are becoming pointless and boring lately so the next chapter is going to be about The council because the story had stuck on one place for a long time and it really becames a little stupid in my opinion :D Disclaimer: We do not own LOTR or it's characters.. :\ Only Grace, Nessa and Pam...
However, thanks to everyone who still reads it and to our betaNardhwentheelf :)
Enjoy^^
Nessa's POV:
Grace was still a little angry with me about what I did. I felt really strange because I didn't even know why I acted so bad but it was such a crazy day and in the end I was just embarrassed and I wanted to disappear from the situation as soon as possible. It was really awful. However, the Council was in about a week and more and more people, from all races, were coming to Rivendell, every day. I really wanted to go but I wasn't invited so I had to come up with something else to do. After all, Sam, Merry and Pippin also weren't invited but went, right? Then I can do it too… By the way, when I mentioned hobbits… how was Frodo? I went out of my room and went to see where Grace was. When I got to her door, which wasn't very far from mine, I knocked loudly.
"Grace, it's Nessa." I said.
"Come in." I heard her voice from inside. I did what she told me. Her room wasn't very different than mine; there was a bed, a closet and a terrace with an awesome sight of the valley. Grace was sitting next to the bed, staring at some dresses, which were placed on it.
"Are you still mad?" I asked her and she shook her head. "What are all these dresses for?" I asked her.
"There is something like a ball tonight and we're invited. We have to look nice." She answered. "But I don't know what to wear. I've never liked those things…" she added, mostly to herself than to me.
"Oh, why didn't you say earlier?" I got really excited. "I've always wanted to go to a ball, wear a beautiful dress, dance with a prince-"Grace then interrupted me sarcastically.
"You already insulted the last one." she said, "Now would you please help me with the dresses?"
"So what? We can just act like it didn't happened." I answered. "Hey, can you delete his memories or something like that?" I asked, full of hope.
"I can try but the risk of taking his head off during this process is too big." she said, with sarcasm again. "Now the dresses please." She added.
"Wow, someone is in a bad mood today..." I pointed out the obvious.
"Ness, I'm trying to pick up a dress. I haven't worn a dress since I was 10, will you help me, please?" she asked, on the edge of her patience limit.
"Why don't you just wear your Halloween custom?" I asked as a joke but she gave me a deadly look.
"Okay... just calm down…" I said as I stepped up next to her, eyeing the dresses. "Oh, the blue one is beautiful!" I said after a moment. The dress was a light blue color and looked really nice.
"Would you like to wear it then?" she asked me.
"Really?" I asked, not believing her.
"Of course, you have to wear something, right?" She asked.
"Thank you." I said, smiling widely. "And now for you..." I turned to the dresses once more. "What about the purple?" I finally asked about one dark purple dress.
"You think so?" she asked. "However, it can't be much worse than Halloween" she said to herself again.
"Yeah, why not, it looked good on you." I said but she didn't have time to answer me. "Actually, I wanted to ask you; do you want to go and see Frodo and the others?" I asked her.
"Okay, why not. But I think he is already well enough to walk and he's probably not in bed anymore." she said.
"Then let's go find him." I suggested.
After not a very long search we finally found him talking with the other hobbits and Bilbo. Cool, I'll finally meet him as well.
"Hello." Grace said, as we reached then.
"How are you all?" I asked so I wouldn't just be standing there like a statue. "Are you better?" I turned to Frodo.
"Yes, thank you." He said. "I think that we're all good; what about you two?" he asked us.
"Great." We both said at the same time and then laughed about it.
"So are you going to the ball tonight?" asked Pippin.
"Yes," answered Grace, "and what about you?"
"We'll be there." said Merry.
"I haven't seen you for a long time, Grace." Bilbo said finally. "How are the things going?"
"Everything is great." she answered. "Oh, by the way this is my friend Nessa." She then turned to me.
"Oh, so you finally remembered me!" I said and then looked to the hobbit "Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about your adventures." I told him.
"The pleasure is all mine." he said. "But I also heard about your own adventures and how you came here. "
"But who's talking about it?" I asked, confused.
"Everyone." answered Sam. "The whole of Rivendell had heard about the portal and besides Lady Pam doesn't skip the opportunity to tell everyone about the shot." he added.
"Come on! It's not like I killed her!" complained Grace.
"You almost did." said Pippin.
"Almost! I'm innocent until proven guilty!" Grace argued. The hobbit was ready to start an argument when I interrupted him.
"Don't even try, she's really stubborn." I said.
"Yeah, Nessa knows best." said my friend and winked at me. "Now if you would excuse me," then Grace turned and started walking away.
"Wait, where are you going?" I asked her.
"Don't worry, let's meet after two hours in my room, okay?" she asked.
"But where are you going?" I asked again.
"Oh, I just remembered that I have to do something." She said and walked away, waving to everyone. I looked at the hobbits which also looked a little confused by her actions. These days she was really strange… However, it wasn't time to think about it.
"So, from where do you know Grace?" I asked the old hobbit.
"Oh, it's a long story..." he said and started telling me it.
Grace's POV
I was wandering around Rivendell alone. I haven't really 'remembered something' which I had to do right now but I just felt like I needed to stay alone for a while. It's not like I didn't enjoyed Nessa and the others' company but I wanted to be alone for a while. There were things I wanted to think about without other people around me. However, obviously it just wasn't meant to be because after only about fifteen minutes my thoughts were interrupted by someone.
"Hi." said one unfamiliar boy.
"Hello." I said "Umm… I don't want to be rude, but have we met before?" I asked him.
"I don't believe so." he said "I would have remembered someone as beautiful as you" I smiled awkwardly. He seemed nice, but was he trying to flirt with me?
"Thank you." I said, and was ready to continue my way when he spoke again.
"My name is Easton, and yours?" he asked me.
"I'm Grace." I said and tried to walk away again.
"Beautiful name." he said. "So why are you here, Grace?" he asked me.
"It is my job, don't you think so?" I asked, maybe a little ruder than I had intended to but I really wanted to continue my walk. He looked at me for a little longer for my liking but he finally spoke.
"Okay. And I am just passing through Rivendell. I'm travelling for home." Oh, this was going to be long. "I'm coming from Rohan and you?" he asked again.
"I am from another country" I said. I thought that he might just go away if I acted rudely.
"Great!" he said. "Do you want to go for a walk?" Seriously?
"I was already walking...on my own." I said in a way, which way saying 'And I want to continue alone.'
"Then you must have been very bored." he said. Come on! I just cut you off in every single way! "So where do you want to go?" he asked.
"Look, I was going to meet someone." I said, on the edge of my nerves.
"Who?" he didn't quit.
"Hey, Grace!" I heard Pam's annoying voice, though in that moment I was more than happy about it.
"Her!" I quickly said, pointing to the approaching girl. "Sorry, see ya later!" I said and walked over to Pam.
"Who was he?" she asked immediately "Your boyfriend?" Oh, great, now this was going to tour around the valley faster than any other news.
"No! I would prefer to marry Gollum than him!" I said.
"Who's Gollum?" She asked. OH, yeah, she didn't know this.
"No one, let's go." I said and we walked away.
"Tonight there's a ball. You're invited, too. Come if you want." I told her hoping that she won't.
"Really? That's great! I've always wanted to go to a ball..." she started. This was giving me a strange sense of déjà-vu.
"Wait, wait, wait. About two weeks you hadn't even heard of this place. Since when do you 'always wanted to go on a ball' and so on?" I asked her. She just rolled her eyes.
"I meant on a ball, like... a ball, not a ball like a party in an invented world." she said. I felt this offending and was about to answer when someone else did it before me.
"Hey! Those 'parties' are much cooler than anything you've ever seen before!" said Nessa, joining us. "And it's not just an 'invented world', it's real! We're here, right now!" she added.
"Oh, girls, don't you see it? Nothing is real... it's just a dream, nightmare, actually. Soon I will wake up and I will laugh about it." said Pam, fully believing herself. "Now if you would excuse me, I'm going to prepare myself for 'the ball'." she said and turned around. Nessa was about to say something but I poked her in the ribs to avoid Pam staying in our company for longer.
"Just leave her." I whispered.
"Didn't you hear her? A nightmare… Just wait 'till I catch her..." she started but I interrupted her.
"Don't bother about her. You might not believe it but I was so lucky to meet her today." I said "Anyway, where were you going?" I asked her to change the subject.
"Searching for you, of course!" She said as if it was obvious. "I heard so many interesting things which you haven't told me about yet. And why for God's sake you were lucky to meet Pam?" she asked me.
"You won't believe it but she took me out of such an awkward and awful situation…" I said after I understood I had failed with changing the topic.
"Wait, we're still talking about the same girl, right? Really tall, slim, with long, brown hair. The one who was acting like she didn't know us before about two weeks ago?" Started Pam but I gave her a deadly look. "Okay, okay… so what was so bad that could have been happening to you that you were happy to see her?" she finally asked.
"I met a guy..." I started but she interrupted me again.
"That's great! Why the heck are you happy that she came?" said my friend.
"If you listen to me without interrupting, I will tell you." I said, a little annoyed now. She just nodded. "The point is, he was just going to ask me about tonight; don't say anything;" I added when she was about to say something again, "and I didn't wanted to go with him but he was really kind and I didn't know how to say no when Pam came along and saved me." I finished. Everyone who knew me well knew that I couldn't say 'no', which was actually one of my biggest problems.
"So you met probably the only boy which would invite you on a ball and you declined his request!? And you're happy that you saw Pam? You see – that happens when I'm not around!" she said. Thank God, she wasn't. She probably would have made everything possible so I would go with Easton. However, at that point, something else captured my attention.
"Excuse me?" I said.
"What?" she asked.
"'The only boy which will probably invite me'?" I repeated her words.
"Come on, Grace." She said, trying to excuse herself. "You know you're a great friend and person but everyone knows that you… scare the boys sometimes…" she finished her sentence, choosing her words carefully.
"I scare the boys?" I asked.
"You know… with the way you walk… and the way you talk… and you aren't gentle enough with them…" She almost muttered the last things.
"Not gentle enough? Me?" I asked.
"Do you remember that boy from the last year's school prom? You spilled a glass of water over his head because he had said that you shouldn't be at a prom with jeans." she pointed out.
"It was rude!" I tried to defend myself. "And what about my walking and way of talking?"
"You sometimes move like a man," she said. "and you also talk too rough for a woman, especially when you're mad…"
"I feel comfortable walking like this. And I don't swear… that much." I answered.
"It's not about the swearing… you just… your voice is sometimes scary, when you start shouting you can scare everyone and you also have a problem with nerves." She finished her allegations.
"My voice is just perfect!" I almost yelled and she blinked. "And I don't get too nervous, you make me nervous!" If I wasn't yelling before, I was now.
"You see? Who would like you?" she asked but quickly corrected herself. "I mean when you act so… rudely. You need to try be more patient and to not to shout." Was she right? Was I such an awful person?
"Am I so bad?" I asked.
"No, of course!" she said immediately, "You're a great person with a beautiful soul… you just need to be calmer with the others. And walk like a girl." She added. "Now let's go make you beautiful on the outside, too." she said and we headed my room to get ready.
Nessa's POV
After about two hours we both looked good enough for the ball. I was in the blue dress and my long hair was in a beautiful side-braid. I also had a nice, light eye shadow on my eyes. Luckily I still had Grace's make up for Halloween with me. I had taken it with me when we set off for the party and I found it in my jean pocket about two days ago. Great, wasn't it?
Grace was with her dark purple dress but she almost refused to let me do something with her hair so in the end I just curled it and left her to do what she wanted. She also refused to wear any other make up except eyeliner.
We set off for dinner at about six o'clock. When we got into the hall I gasped in awe. The tables were moved aside so there was a huge empty place in the center of the place. Everything was decorated beautifully. Everyone was already there, and when I'm saying everyone, I mean whole Rivendell plus all of its guests. They were all talking with one another loudly. We finally found a place to sit next to some dwarves and I recognized that one of them was Gimli and next to him was sitting one which looked a lot like his older version, his father, Gloin, I assumed. The dwarves were speaking about the Elvish food and feasts and they didn't sound very pleasant. I giggled quietly. It was kind of fun.
"Elves everywhere!" complained one of the dwarves. "Why are there so many?"
"It hasn't changed much since the last time I was here before so many years" said the one who, I thought, was Gloin.
"But that was almost sixty years ago. Things actually had changed a lot." Grace joined the conversation and I was almost sure she didn't meant that Rivendell had changed, but almost everything else. All eyes turned to her. No one had even bothered to look and see us coming.
"Grace?" Asked Gloin, confused. Since I had heard Bilbo's tale about from where he knew my friend I had understood that once she had some 'dealings' with him and the dwarves while they had travelled to Erebor. She travelled with them for a while, but left their company before they entered Mirkwood. After that they'd met several times again, she went with them to Lake Town and from there the last time they saw her had been during the Battle of the Five armies and after it. However, they got to know her in that time.
"Hi." she said.
"Is it really you? The last thing we'd heard about you was that you'd departed for somewhere far away. I didn't expect to see ya again." he said.
"I also didn't expect it but here I am." she answered simply. "By the way, this is my friend, Nessa." she said, pointing to me.
"Hi." I said, waving to everyone. They just waved back. I wasn't very fond of the dwarves, though I didn't had anything bad in mind for them. Simply I just preferred the elves and right now I was looking for a certain one but I couldn't spot him anywhere.
After about half an hour, everyone had eaten and most of the people started dancing. Grace and I were sitting on the table because there wasn't anyone to dance with. This wasn't a problem for my friend because she didn't like the dancing much and she preferred just watching it but I really wanted to go and dance. I couldn't do it by myself, of course. While I was watching everyone, trying to spot a familiar faces, I sensed someone sitting on the empty seat next to me.
"Hey." I heard an annoying voice and turned just in time to see Pam. She was wearing a red dress, which actually looked quite good on her, though I hated to admit it. "What's up?" she asked me.
"Nothing..." I said, a little annoyed. "Why are you here?" I asked her.
"I was invited." She said and I rolled my eyes.
"No, why are you here?" I pointed the seat she was sitting in. "Why are you here, next to me?"
"Why not? After all, you're the only one I know from here." She said.
"Don't even bother about it; you will wake up soon anyway." I said teasingly.
"Yes," she said, sure of that fact "but 'till then I'm bored and I want to talk to someone."
"Talk with someone else then." I told her "We both know that we're not friends, Pam. If we weren't here, probably we wouldn't even talk right now. She gave me a look, which was saying I was right, though she looked a little offended. I turned to the dance floor once again. Grace was talking with the dwarves and I didn't want to interrupt them. She was trying to act gentle and more girly and I think she was doing well. She wasn't laughing loudly or talking like a tomboy, which was almost surprising. Suddenly one boy approached the table and tried to capture her attention.
"Oh, hey." she said when she saw him. She was trying to do her best but I could say that she didn't looked very pleased to see him, so I assumed this was the boy she was talking about. I didn't see what she didn't like about him. He was tall but looked a little…feeble. He looked a nice person, though. Maybe too conversational for her liking.
"So we meet again." He said, smiling widely. "I was just looking for you." Grace just smiled and remained quiet for that moment.
"Oh, that's your boyfriend from earlier today, isn't he?" said Pam and Grace blushed but it wasn't the kind of blush when you do after a compliment from someone you like or something, it was a blush which was showing that this was the last thing she needed to hear right now.
"He's not my boyfriend." she said. "I just met him."
"Okay, so he's your future boyfriend." said Pam, even surer about this than the fact that she was dreaming.
"Pam! He's not!" exclaimed my friend and then turned to the boy to see his reaction. He was still smiling like nothing had happened.
"So do you want to dance with me?" he asked her.
"Sorry but I don't like dancing much." she said.
"So are you coming?" he asked, still smiling. She looked at me for support but I just encouraged her.
"Go, have fun." she looked at me with a look which made me feel thankful that we were around so many people and she was trying to be calmer.
"Yeah, go!" said Pam. Now she couldn't escape.
Grace just got up, smiling awkwardly and took the boy's hand carefully as she was about to get burned, though most likely at the end of the night he would be the one on flames.
Great! Now I was alone with Pam.
"Was he mentally sick or something or he was just dumb?" she asked after they walked away. I looked at her and sighed.
"I think we both know the answer…" I said and we laughed. It was strange to sit and laugh with her at my best friend but this situation was amusing.
"Now I see the reason why he invited her." said Pam.
"That was rude." I pointed out.
"And so what?" she asked.
"She is my friend and I don't let anyone talk to her like that." I told her and from then we both remained silent. I was still looking around to see if I could spot Legolas, though there wasn't an actual reason because most likely he wouldn't even talk to me after the time we met. If he even remembered me, which, I was hoping, he didn't. Well, luck wasn't on my side, or it was? After about ten minutes in silence I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. I turned around expecting to see Pam but it was actually him. My heart almost stopped.
"Would you like to dance with me?" he asked. I felt the blood running to my face.
"I…I can't" I muttered. What was I saying? Oh, God! I was just about to accept when Pam interrupted our conversation, if you could call it like that.
"I can." she said. "And I'm free if you need a partner." Really? He looked at me one last time.
"Go, she can dance and she is free." I said. It felt so dumb. He then looked at me almost apologetically and turned to her. She was smiling widely, though I was sure she was making it only to tease me.
"I wouldn't if we were friends but since we're not and since I am alone…" she left the sentence unfinished while she was getting up from her seat. Oh, no. It was getting worse and worse with every second. Now I really wished she was just dreaming.
Grace's POV
I was trying to act gentle and nice all evening and what? Everything was falling apart. And thanks to my 'friends' now I had to dance with maybe the most annoying person on Middle Earth.
"So how are you tonight?" he asked me, for maybe fifth time for the last ten minutes. And you know what was most annoying and made you want to punch him in the face? He was smiling all the time.
"Perfect." I forced myself to smile. Thankfully he didn't say anything for the next few… seconds. But I did…
"Ouch." I jumped for millionth time since we started dancing.
"Sorry!" he said after he looked down to see his feet on mine. Again.
"Don't worry," I said trying to calm down. Maybe Nessa was right, maybe I was too much of a nervous person. "everything is…ouch… fine." I said after he moved his feet from mine. Again.
"So are you enjoying the night?" he asked and I and I had to use all my equanimity not to roll my eyes, or even better, make him roll his after I… okay, I'm calm.
"Great" I answered and jumped after he stepped on my foot. A.G.A.I.N.
"You dance very well" he said. Yeah, wish I could say the same for you.
"It's simple." I said "First you move with the one leg, and after that… ouch… with the other. And you try to coordinate your movements with the other person." I added.
"Yes, I know." he said with his tedious smile. Was he smiling or this was just his face? "So tell me about you."
"There is nothing to tell." I answered simply, "I'm just an ordinary girl."
"You're not." he said "You're amazing. I know I we just met but I think I'm in love with you…" he started but I quickly interrupted him.
"Wow, wait a second, I don't think… ouch… that you completely realize what you are saying." I told him.
"No, seriously, I haven't felt anything like this before. I just met you but I feel like I already know you." He said. Really? Don't people always say this? "You're very beautiful and kind and you act just like a real lady." Really?
"You're just showing how wrong you are with every word. I'm not beautiful, kind and I'm not a lady for sure." I told him and then added one "Ouch." AGAIN!
"No, you're so different than any other girls I've seen. You act so lady-like."
"And you're just like all the boys I've seen." I told him and looked at him coldly.
"No, you don't understand. I see that you're different… sorry!... from everyone else. You're normal."
"I don't think you know me well enough to say what I am." I said.
"I told you I know you." He tried to convince me. I was starting to lose my control already…
Nessa's POV
I was just sitting on the table alone, watching the dancing couples. Some looked happy and in love, other looked only happy and then there were Grace and her… partner. They were dancing for over half an hour now but she didn't look pleased at all. Oh, yeah, I was going to have to say sorry so much after this… They were talking about something and Grace seemed to become more and more nervous with every second. It was a simple dance and they were moving slowly, though she was jumping a little every once in a while when he was stepping on the foot. I moved my gaze not far from them just to see Pam and Legolas, who was also jumping often. I giggled to myself.
"Funny isn't it?" said someone while he was taking the sit next to me. Before I could see who is it I heard a voice from my other side.
"Unless you're the one on whose foot they step." said one of the twins, I wasn't sure which.
"So are you enjoying the ball?" asked the other.
"It's great." I said "But what are you two doing here?"
"You seemed bored sitting here all alone…" started the first.
"So we decided to see what's going on." the second finished the sentence.
"Everything is perfect," I tried to lie, "I am just tired from a lot of dancing."
"Oh, please" said… hmm… I thought it was Elrohir.
"You've been standing here the whole evening." added Elladan.
"But I'm still enjoying the night." I didn't give up.
"Standing here and watching how your friends are having fun?"
"Or at least try to…"
I was just about to answer them when I heard one loud "Ouch!" and after it a series of others, quieter.
Grace's POV
"… and besides everything else you act like a true lady, you don't fight, you don't mess in men's jobs…" I was listening to Easton's absolutely wrong thoughts about me and I was losing control more and more with every second.
"So you say that a girl shouldn't fight?" I asked.
"Of course!" he answered, thrilled by my question. "They should stay home and watch the children."
"And what if they don't want to? What if they prefer to go on the battle field and fight for what they love?" I was almost sure that now he would get out holy water from somewhere just to chase the demons out of me.
"A woman can't fight!" he said.
"I believe a woman can be wiser than a man, stronger than a man, a better fighter than a man, and still just be a woman." I told him. He was so shocked that he stepped on my foot even harder than the last few times. "OUCH!" I said. He looked down and muttered one 'sorry', unable to say anything else so I continued. "I would prefer to die in a battle a million times than to stay aside and watch how everything and everyone I love falls into ruins. If you really knew me you would see this. I'm not gentle or 'lady-like' or anything you say. I am a fighter and I wouldn't quit it just because someone says so." I finished and smiled at him.
"But… but… you can't" he said as he stepped on my foot. Again. AGAIN. A.G.A.I.N!
"I can." I said nervously and placed my foot on his with all of my strength.
"OUCH!" he half-yelled, half-gasped. I just turned around to go back to Nessa and the others but in the last moment I turned back.
"Wait, you didn't step on my foot only once," I said and then I started stepping on his food repeatedly. After I finish with this I took a look around us. "Well, no one seems to notice this so everything is fine." I said more to myself than to him and then walked to the table I was sitting on like nothing had happened.
"Have I ever said that I like those things?" I asked after I sat down next to Nessa. I saw that Elladan and Elrohir had joined her and thankfully, Pam was away, but I didn't care much in that moment.
"I don't believe so." said my friend, looking a little shocked by my anger.
"And there is a reason!" I said. Everyone around me started laughing and I couldn't hold myself back as I started laughing too. I took a look around to see if anyone had saw the scene but they all seemed to be enjoying the night too much to notice me. While I was looking around I saw something that looked totally wrong. Were Pam and Legolas dancing together? I looked at Nessa, who seemed to notice the direction I was looking at.
"Don't even ask." She said. "I didn't wanted to dance anyway" although as she said those words she sounded a little sad.
"Do you want me to break her head?" I asked.
"Forget it." answered Nessa, now a little more cheerfully than before. "It's funny to watch them, though." We both looked at them for a while. He wasn't in much of a better situation than I had been a moment ago. "So are you back?" asked my friend.
"And don't try to change me again." I answered her with a grin.
"I wouldn't even think of it." she said.
"Do you want to dance?" Elladan asked Nessa.
"Well, Grace just came back and…" she started but I interrupted her.
"Go! I'm just great here." I told her. She smiled at me and then they went to join the others on the dance floor.
"I would ask you for a dance but now I don't think it's a good idea." said Elrohir to me then. We both laughed.
"I would decline it anyway." I told him "I'm done with the dancing."
"I'm really sorry but I can't dance anymore, I'm too tired." I heard someone's voice approaching.
"Come on! It just started getting fun!" said Pam but Legolas just looked at her as to say 'sorry but I can't' and sat down on the table.
"Okay, someone else?" asked Pam. "Hey you," she turned to Elrohir, "do you want to dance with me?" he was about to decline but she pulled his arm and dragged him to the dance floor.
"It's hard to escape." said Legolas. "My foot is going to hurt for a long time"
"But it can't be so bad." I said.
"You don't know what it is like when they step on your foot with high heels." he said.
"No," I answered "but my 'partner' does." I laughed but the elf just looked at me, confused. "Anyway. So how did you get stuck in that mess with her?" I asked, looking at Pam's direction.
"I wanted to ask Nessa for a dance but she said she can't, though right now it seems she can, and then Pam suggested a dance with me. I couldn't run away from it." I nodded in understanding.
"Look, I'm really sorry about that." I told him.
"Don't worry, she wasn't such a bad dancer." he answered me sarcastically.
"No, I mean about Nessa, I don't know why she acts so… rudely. Actually she is a different person," I said. I really couldn't understand why she acted like this around him. For me, at least, it was obvious that she liked him but she was too rude, trying not to show it.
"It's nothing." he answered.
"Why don't you ask her now?" I asked him, "she don't have an excuse to decline"
"Except the fact that she's dancing with someone else." he answered.
"Would you like to dance with her?" I asked.
"After I asked her before…" he left the sentence unfinished.
"Then try." I told him. He nodded and stood up.
Well, I hoped that this time finally they would have time to get to know each other and hopefully Nessa would be more like herself.
Nessa's POV
We were dancing quietly. I was actually happy that finally I was dancing and I was enjoying Elladan's company but I still felt dumb after that thing with Legolas and Pam… I knew she was really mean sometimes but this was awful. And only because 'we weren't friends'. I wouldn't do it to her!
"Excuse me," I heard a voice, pulling me out of my thoughts. "may I have one dance?" asked the person I was just thinking about. Not Pam, the other person. I just stared at him. "So… would you dance with me?" he asked again. Okay, maybe I had been staring for too long.
"Have a nice evening." said Elladan when he released my hand so Legolas could take it. I smiled at the dark-haired elf and then he went to sit.
"So… you can't dance?" said Legolas when we were alone. I felt as if I would blush if I look up so I looked down at my feet.
"Well, Pam looked so lonely that I decided that it would be better if you went with her." I finally answered. And smiled, though I was still trying not to meet his gaze.
"Yes, although she looks like a person who often goes to… parties, if I'm not wrong." He answered me.
"Yes, she does. She is almost always at a different one, or she was when we were at home." I said. Why were we talking about Pam? 'You started it' I thought but tried to ignore my 'conscience'.
"What was it like?" he asked me. "The place you come from."
"I liked it." I answered simply. "It was very different from here and though I really wanted to come here now I miss it a little, not the people but the place, my old life." While I was saying it I thought about Grace. Did she felt the same way on Earth? Of course, she had friends there but her life was here. I didn't have anyone except her there so it wasn't so bad for me now and I wanted to be in Middle-Earth but did she want to be on Earth? Did she miss her family and her friends a lot? I looked at her. She was sitting on the table, talking with the dwarves. She seemed happy now, when she was acting like herself again and she was laughing. Now I understood why she was getting on so well with the dwarves. I sighed. She was used to them. She was used to this way of living. This was her home… I smiled to myself. Now, probably it was going to be my home, too.