Title: Until We Reach Valinor
Chapter 9: Graduation
NOTE: This story is sequel to "A Teacher's Duty" and you'll have to read that one first to understand this one. Also, this story does not contain slash, and it is not a romance, despite what the first chapter might suggest.
SPECIAL THANKS: to Orlando's Sweetheart for helping me pick the name of the woman, and the title to this story. Help is much appreciated, thanks a lot.
That said, I'll let you read in peace.
…
The week before graduation was one of the most eventful Legolas had ever experienced at the school. Everyone was tense, irritable, and in some cases, cranky due to lack of sleep. Legolas too became increasingly harried as people would continually keep bursting into his room at all hours of the day demanding him to show them how to do a move or to re-teach them forgotten lessons.
After a particularly embarrassing incident where Aurél had burst into his room forgetting to knock, catching him in his nightshirt, he put up a sign on his door saying "Indisposed" whenever he was asleep or resting or pursuing something he did not want the children to walk in on. He was patient, but he could hardly be expected to stand that kind of embarrassment.
The ones who had studied the most throughout the year were, paradoxically, the most tensed and nervous. Celin, who would have sailed through the test with flying colors whether or not he studied, spent his days pacing up and down the corridors of the palace muttering to himself the names and descriptions of all the different types of combat methods the children were supposed to know.
Once Legolas heard him complain to Elgalad, "I studied so much today that my feet are hurting!" at which he could not suppress a smile. The sentence sounded absurd, yet was probably perfectly true, because Celin had spent the entire day pacing up and down with barely any pause for rest. In fact, his classmates kept chasing him away from their rooms (whenever he happened to wander in) saying that watching him made them feel giddy.
If anyone dared interrupt him while he was studying, he would scowl so furiously that he would end up sending them scurrying for cover. On one occasion, he wasn't looking where he was going and turned a corner so fast that he walked right into Legolas, who was on his way to meet another student for extra revision in one of the classrooms.
"Celin!" Legolas gasped, winded, "What in the world-?"
"Sorry, sir!" The boy was gone before the teacher could even bat an eyelid.
Shaking his head in amazement, Legolas made his way to his lesson, which was an unprecedented disaster that ended with the student rushing out of the classroom wailing that she was failing the next day's test, and her parents would skin her alive, and goodbye everyone, I'm going to be dead by tomorrow evening. Since she was actually quite a good student who had not needed the extra lesson expect for her own peace of mind, Legolas found this, again, extremely odd. But he had never studied for a test like this in his childhood, so he could hardly pass judgment on others.
On the evening before the graduation, Legolas went to his room, hoping to get a bit of rest. But even though he put his "Indisposed" sign up, people kept banging on the door until late at night with such frantic urgency that he could not, in good conscience, ignore them. Especially since everyone seemed to be convinced that their problem, however small, was an emergency tantamount to a life-threatening crisis.
Thoroughly irritated, he would prowl around the corridors at regular intervals of the night to ensure that all the students were asleep. Invariably, he would catch somebody or the other who was trying to study late against the rules, chastise them thoroughly, and send them packing off to bed with the promise of dire punishments, which everybody involved knew he never meant to carry out as he just did not have the heart.
On the night before the graduation, he lay awake and smiled to himself as he pictured them distinguishing themselves before the King. He had never had any ambitions for himself, except the logical one of reaching his potential in whatever it was he pursued, but for them…he had such ambitions for them that kept him from sleeping peacefully all night. Instead, he spent half the night thinking about how much he had enjoyed teaching his very first, Batch of 3026-27, and how much he would miss them when they were gone.
…
The morning of the graduation dawned fresh and beautiful. The temperament of Legolas's students, however, was neither fresh, nor beautiful, nor anything remotely resembling anything connoting enthusiasm or confidence. They were all on tenterhooks, and many of them were moaning that they were going to fail.
When Legolas met them in the palace grounds, they were all practicing moves, or frantically reading from sheaves of scrawled handwriting, or else engaging each other in the oddest, most amusing conversations he had ever heard. Which was saying something, because being around teenagers all day, he had heard his share of nonsensical conversations.
"Will you do me a favor?" Legolas overheard Elgalad say to Pilinel.
"What?" Pilinel said, without looking up from what he was reading.
"Please kill me," Elgalad said in a tone which was comically tragic, "Spare me from all this studying. I honestly don't want to live anymore."
"Only if you kill me first, mellonamin," Pilinel said with a faint grin, "But you seem to have forgotten that someone has to kill me, first. If I kill you, then who will kill me?"
"Ask sir, I'm sure he'd be happy to oblige," Elgalad said seeing the teacher near by, "I'm sure he'd be glad to be rid of us."
"I would, Elgalad, but I don't think your classmates would like it very much if you both died." Legolas said, his lips quirking in amusement.
"Please, speak for yourself, sir," Celin muttered, hearing the last bit as he passed them in his incessant pacing, "I would personally be delighted if these two killed each other. Then at least they wouldn't make so much noise while I'm trying to study." He glared at the pair of them and resumed pacing, muttering incoherently to himself and referring at brief intervals to the papers in his hands.
Elgalad looked ready to fly after Celin, but Legolas laid a cool, restraining hand on his shoulder, "Leave it," he said softly, "He was joking."
"I know that, sir," Elgalad told him, "I was just carrying the joke on a bit further. I know he wasn't being serious."
"I can guarantee you if you do fly after him, he will be serious," Legolas said, "In fact, he might just end up doing the favor you asked of Pilinel."
"I'd be indebted to him for life, then," Elgalad went back to his studies with a rather gloomy look.
Legolas shook his head in amused amazement and made his way to the front of the class. Then, turning to face them, he clapped his hands and called for their attention.
It was awhile before he could get them to be silent. "Now," he said, when they had finally quieted down, "I know you are all tensed about today's test. But the King and all your parents will all be arriving shortly. I need you to put away your weapons and your notes and help me-"
But he was cut off by an outraged howl of protest, "Sir! We'll fail!" everyone yelled.
"Now listen to me," Legolas said in a tone that brokered no argument, "You are all brilliant at fighting. More importantly, you have all studied hard for this. You don't need anymore revision, and even if you did, you would hardly be able to get anything into your heads now, two hours before the test. So stop acting ridiculous, put everything away, and come back here so I can address a few words to you."
There was a mumble of half-hearted protest. They had seen his point, but were not willing to admit it. With many dirty looks, they put away their things before gathering before him with a questioning air.
He took a deep breath. He had not planned on doing this now, but somehow, he felt the occasion called for it. "This is the last time you will all be standing here together before me as a class," he said earnestly, "And I want to tell all of you that I am very proud of everything you have become and achieved in this year, and that whatever you score on today's test, you can never mean any less to me. Just do your best; and no one can ever have any complaints of you. Understand?"
There was a mumble of assent. Everyone immediately felt slightly less on edge. Legolas smiled slightly as his words had their desired effect.
"Now please go to the front and check that all three marquees are up properly, and make sure the targets are at the right distance, and see that all the swords are sliding out of their sheaths without any trouble," Legolas instructed them, "And do it quickly, please, because I think I heard hooves."
Everyone sped off, and he looked after them fondly.
"I thought that speech was going to be reserved for tonight, sir," said Elano's voice from beside him.
"Oh, I am going to give them a speech tonight," Legolas said in answer, "It's just that I thought their morale needed a bit of boosting."
Elano nodded, accepting this. They walked on for awhile in silence. Then as they were nearing the stables, Elano asked suddenly, "Any idea what you will say to them tonight?"
"No. I tried to write it, but somehow, I can't seem to…" Legolas's voice trailed off and he shook his head, "It really is ridiculous. I should be able to prepare a simple speech!"
Elano gave him a very knowing, meaningful look and then smiled, as though amused by something.
"What?" Legolas asked him in surprise
"Nothing, sir," Elano said, trying and failing to suppress his smile.
"What?" Legolas asked again.
Elano shook his head, gave him a brief smile again and then walked quickly after the children. Legolas looked after him, puzzled. What on earth? He wondered, and then shook his head dismissively and began walking after the children. Whatever it was, he would find out soon enough; Elano's expression had told him as much. Right now, he had better things to worry about Elano and his enigmatic smiles.
…
Legolas glanced around the grounds one last time to check that everything was according to plan. His father was seated under the smaller, royal marquee, the children were under their larger one, and the parents of the children were all seated under the largest. He heaved a sigh of relief; he had been slightly nervous that he had over-estimated the number of parents coming, but he hadn't.
All the targets also seemed to be accurately place. The sheathed swords were lying on either side of the King's throne, as were the quivers, bows and arrows. Legolas hoped the children would not forget to bow to Thranduil when they came to fetch their weapons. He walked towards the children who were all looking green with nervousness and wished them luck. It did not seem to help much. Resigned, he went to sit beside his father, bowing to him as Mirkwood etiquette required before doing so.
"It's good to see you again," Thranduil whispered to his son, "You weren't there when I came in. I've been waiting to talk to you all day."
"My apologies, ada," Legolas replied, "I've been busy with all the preparations."
"And you've done a wonderful job."
"Thank you."
"I've arranged for your meeting with Alanna tomorrow evening."
Legolas winced inwardly. He had nearly forgotten about that. Or at least, he had tried to. "For what time, father?" He asked, trying not to sound as though he were dreading it.
"For dinner. You'll be spending a night in her house."
"What!" Legolas said in a horrified whisper.
"In a guest bedroom, of course," Thranduil replied, and then when Legolas's expression did not change, "How else do you expect to get to know her?" Thranduil retorted.
"But…"
Thranduil gave him a Look.
"You could have at least warned me," Legolas muttered, glaring daggers at the bull's eye of one of the targets.
Thranduil gave him another Look, but thankfully changed the subject. "Your students look nervous."
"Yes, they do. I hope it doesn't affect their performance," Legolas answered, a worried look on his face.
Thranduil said something inconsequential in reply, and they were silent for a time.
Then, "King Elessar should have been here, though. This is his school as well as yours, and it reflects badly that he isn't here."
"Ada, he too runs a Kingdom," Legolas said, springing to Aragorn's defense, "He says there is some business in Gondor from which he cannot be spared."
"I know that Legolas. I'm just looking at it from the perspective of the people. It's my job to do that, as King. And it will be yours too, soon," He added in an undertone.
Legolas gave him a wry look that seemed to say, point taken.
Thranduil was about to say something more, but there was a sudden hush across the grounds which cut him off. The herald had risen from his seat and was making his way across the grounds. Legolas's stomach did a summersault as the man stopped and bowed before the King.
"Azverlet, Ananya," was announced to be the first to be tested, after the audience were greeted and had bowed to the King, and the children were introduced collectively, also having to bow to the King. Legolas watched as Ananya rose from her seat, looking terrified, but determined.
It was time.
…
TBC…
I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter, probably because much of it is from personal experience. Celin's method of studying is the same as mine (in fact I think there are days before the exam when I never sit down!) and that line about 'I've studied so hard that my feet are hurting' is also one of mine (I say it at least once before any exam. And let me tell you, your feet actually do hurt when you spend the whole day walking around your room). The conversation between Elgalad and Pilinel about killing each other is something I overheard a couple of my friends saying before our tenth finals last year.
It was also really interesting to look at exam time from the point of view of a teacher for once. Most of the time, we're always looking at it from our point of view, and how much work we have and all the rest of it, so it was fun to go the other way around.
I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. The story is going to start picking up from now on, and Alanna will also be making her entry into the story somewhere in the next two or three chapters. Must dash! Have to (groans disbelievingly) study! Please review and tell me what you thought about this chapter!
