Chapter 9 Dinner Is Served and When Life gives My Lemons (I Make Lemonade)
"Gandalf?" Annwn asked "Where do I sit?" there were no place cards so she asked the closet person she thought would know.
"You sit here." He pointed at the chair on the right of Elrond's.
"Really? You're sure?"
"Yes very much so." As she said this Elrond arrived by descending the staircase. He said hello to a few people he passed but went directly to his seat. Annwn took her cues from Gandalf and went to her chair when he did. She saw the rest of the fellowship follow suit. She could see that Aragorn was pissed about something she did. At least that was her best guess; he was scowling at her again.
"Be seated friends, and have a pleasant meal with visitors and new acquaintances." Elrond bade them to sit. The seating arrangement went as follows. Gandalf was across from Annwn and Aragorn was beside him. Then came Frodo, Merry and Legolas. Annwn didn't recognize the elf on the left of Legolas so she assumed that he wasn't important.
On Annwn's right was Boromir, then Sam, Pippin and Gimli. There were another thirty or so seated at the table but they were unimportant and to far way to talk to. Annwn was looking for Arwen but didn't see her until she turned around and looked at the table behind her. She was at the head of the other table. Annwn had to do a double take when she saw it. No, she wasn't seeing things, the men and women had different tables. And Annwn was at the men's table.
When she looked back to her own table she realized that Gandalf was staring at her. She gave him a 'what the hell is going on? Why am I at this table?' look. He smiled and he said "Do not doubt yourself Lady Annwn." Then he sat a little taller in his chair. Annwn got the hit. She was slouching; she had a habit of it. She squared her shoulders and sat tall. It was like a switch went on, the second she acted like she belonged at the table the men, being Aragorn, noticed.
"Lady Annwn I believe you are at the wrong table."
"I only sat where I was told to sit." She answered coolly
"By who?"
"Gandalf." At this he looked at Gandalf sitting beside him. Gandalf raised his eyebrow.
"It is the truth."
"I see."
"It is true Estel, she is a highly honoured guest. That seat is rightfully hers." Elrond said. Annwn didn't know what they were talking about. She wasn't that important, unless, they thought she was the Raven. And the others didn't know about it yet. That had to be what it was. Annwn had to fight the powerful urge to say, 'told ya so' as a compromise she gave him the look instead.
"So Lady Annwn, tell me, how are you finding your first stay in Rivendell?" Lord Elrond addressed her before she could say something completely idiotic.
"It is incredibly beautiful, though sometimes it can get a little cold." She looked at Aragorn. She let her eyes linger there for a while so that everyone knew what she meant.
"I see. Ah here is the food." Annwn was served and again not knowing the etiquette of Elvin feasts looked to Gandalf. He slightly tapped the outside spoon, indicating that was the one she was to use, just like earth. Though he still hadn't touched his food, he was waiting for her. She looked down the table, so were the all the others. With the exception of the Hobbits and Gimli who had dug in the second the food was in front of them.
Annwn picked up her spoon and went to her soup. It dominoed down the table. Why had they all been waiting on her?
"Lady Annwn?" Aragorn asked, at least he was trying to be polite.
"Yes?"
"Can you pass the salt?"
"Yes?" she continued to eat her soup. It was very good, squash, or something similar. Elrond and Gandalf were having a very fast conversation in Elvish so they didn't notice what was going on.
"Lady Annwn, Lord Aragorn asked for the salt?" Boromir spoke up while the steam pent up in Aragorn.
"No he didn't"
"Yes he did, he said 'can you pass the salt?'"
"He didn't ask me to pass the salt to him." now Annwn was being a nitpicky bitch...but it was fun, especially if they were going to play along.
"Fine." Aragorn said in a low voice. "Can you pass me the salt?"
"You're still missing something."
"What now?"
"Think back, it was the first word I said to you."
"I'm not a pirate?" he didn't get her point.
"No, please. The first word I said to you was please and that's the one you're missing."
"Can you pass the salt to me please?"
"Certainly." And she did.
Aragorn turned to Boromir and said "I hope she'd not like this the whole journey." Out of the corner of her eye Annwn saw Boromir nod.
"I will be like this the whole trip if your manners don't improve." She told them totally sober.
"Who do you think you are? My mother?"
"I'm not old enough to be your mother. I'm just a concerned bystander. And just so we're clear, neither of you are my father and I won't take any shit from either of you."
"That is hardly language a Lady should use!" Boromir said sounding shocked.
"That's just the beginning boys." Annwn flashed them a winning smile and returned to the dregs of her soup. When she was done a waiter took her bowl away while she waited for the others.
"So Boromir, how's your family?" he nearly choked on his soup when she spoke.
"What?" he was shocked by this woman, she just spoke without being spoken to first and she didn't use his title.
"It's casual conversation. You know a conversation starter." She said it like it was common sense, it was...wasn't it?
"Oh, Well my father is the Steward of Gondor and I will follow in his stead someday as care taker of the country." He said it like he was educating her.
"Yes I knew that, you're the Prince Steward of Gondor, the Captain Heir, I was in the tree the whole time remember. But what of the rest of your family." Boromir looked shocked and more than a little confused about this.
"Well the last I spoke to them my father and brother were well, my mother passed on many years ago. How old are you?" he asked, eyeing her.
"Almost 19." He nodded.
"My sister is 24, the youngest of us." Since when did Boromir have a sister? Clearly she wasn't in the book but some weird combination of the films, the book and more, if that was imaginable, that Tolkien had forgotten something. "I haven't talked to her lately so I don't know if she is still mad at my father. She thinks she knows military tactics." He looked angry, at the very least frustrated.
"I see. I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, what of your family?"
"Oh, my family is...dysfunctional, so just the same as everyone else's. My parents hate each other. I usually take the brunt of it so I rebel. Thus the nose ring." She smiled at him. She didn't really want to know what they would call her if they found out about her tattoo.
"You do seem too refined for a pirate. You did know what spoon to use for the soup."
"Thanks." She said trying not to convey her embarrassment as the second course arrived.
The meal went on and the conversation shifted a few times though Annwn generally kept to herself after the discussion with Boromir.
Four courses later was desert, a sherbet made of the fruit that Annwn didn't like. To be polite she ate it and hated every spoonful. One saving grace was that it was a small serving and she had water to wash it down.
Soon everyone was done and they migrated to the main hall. There was a stage, an orchestra pit and a large dance floor.
Gandalf found her and told her "It is customary for the lord or Lady to have the first dance with the honoured guest."
"But I don't dance, and I don't know the steps." Annwn started to panic, every other time she had tried to dance she either stepped on the guys foot or tripped and got laughed at. She hated getting laughed at.
"Do not worry Lady Annwn, the steps are not hard and the music is slow."
Before she knew it she was being asked to dance by Elrond. She followed him onto the dance floor and he took her up into dancing position. It was the same as a waltz she had learned in school but his hand was higher on her back. The steps themselves were simple and easy to learn. Gandalf was right. Annwn's main concern however was not the steps anymore but not stepping on her dress. Through hard concentration she managed not to, thank the lord.
Then she was dancing with Gandalf. While they were dancing he said.
"I told you the steps were easy. You nearly have them mastered."
"Oh I'm not so sure about that. I'll have them forgotten by tomorrow." Gandalf chuckled at this then said.
"As for the salt incident, you were not wrong, but I would suggest, for your own safety, not to go out of your way to anger Aragorn."
"Gandalf, he's going to be King someday, people are going to piss him off every day in that profession. He's got to learn now, while he still can, that he can't just dispose of stupid people like me. Middle Earth does not need a Macbeth."
"That is true." He looked thoughtful for a moment before asking "Who is Macbeth?"
"It's a long story, I'll tell it to you sometime." The song ended and she was guided to her next partner, Aragorn, by Gandalf.
"Lady Annwn"
"Lord Aragorn" she said as she curtsied as best she could given the fact she had no formal instruction in curtseying. When she straightened up Aragorn had her in the dance hold. She couldn't help but notice that his hand that held hers was a lot softer than she would have expected for a Ranger. He on the other hand was shocked to find that her hands were callused, a rather unusually occurrence for a Lady.
"I have had time to think it over and you were not wrong. I was impolite at supper, I have spent too much time living and travelling alone."
"Yes, well Gandalf informed me that I may have been slightly out of line with that...but I do not regret it and I won't hesitate to do it again."
"Ah, I see."
"Though I can promise that I won't restrict my corrections to you. I'll correct anyone whom I think needs it. Manners, grammar, the like."
"Fair enough, may we make a deal?" there was a glint in his eye.
"What do you propose good sir?"
"That I can also correct you, that I can tell you when you are out of line or rude."
"So only that you can do the same to me...that sounds fair. It's a deal." The song was coming to an end.
"Wonderful." He then passed her over to Boromir for his turn dancing with her. Great, this is exactly what she wanted...not!
"Lady Annwn."
"Sir? Lord? Prince Steward of Gondor? Boromir?" He looked at her with a WTF expression on his face. "I don't know the prefix for your name alright! So I used all the ones I thought might be right. I mean I know you're not king, or duke, or bishop or pope or baron or prince, or lady. I know you're not a lady. Well I mean, I don't know your not, but I can assume, even though to assume I'll make an ass out of you and me. Hem." Woops, she sometimes went on verbal diarrhoea rampages; he gave her another WTF look. Before saying
"Lord"
"Lord Boromir, hun, it sounds odd. Duke Boromir of Wellington sounds better. That is what I dub you, Duke Boromir of Wellington."
"What is wellington?"
"A place in England."
"What is England?"
"Aaaa...provence of Canada." She said trying to sell it with a smile. "Oh and Wellington is also the guy who finally kicked Bonaparte's ass, or was it the name of the battle? No the battle was Waterloo." She said more to herself than to Boromir.
"Who is Bonaparte?"
"Who was Bonaparte?" she corrected. "A French guy who named himself emperor and tried to take over...everywhere he could." She didn't feel like explaining that Europe was not actually a province of Canada. "He was a military mastermind, rode a grey horse and killed a whole lot of people."
"We could have used him on our side."
"No, no that would have turned out very badly." Annwn envisioned what Middle Earth would be like if Napoleon was unleashed on to it as well. It was bad. "No, he would have been pissed about his lack of power and tried to take over. There's a reason why he was exiled to Alba."
"What is Alba?"
"An island."
"I see. Are there any more tragic heroes from Canada?" it was her turn to give him a WTF face.
"Bonaparte is not a tragic hero, Ajax is a tragic hero, Harry Potter is a tragic hero...sorta. Napoleon Bonaparte is not a tragic hero!"
"Whatever you say milady."
"Oh, and I'm not your lady. I already have a man."
"I see." He said though he was a little confused, that's not what milady meant nor how he was using it. But he asked "Does he approve of these actions you are taking?" Annwn didn't answer, because she didn't have one. She still didn't know if she was dead or in a coma or if this was just some crazy, messed up dream.
"Lady Annwn, you should not disobey the will of your Lord. It is not wise to anger men." He was talking down to her again, which wasn't hard considering he was 6'4". Annwn glared at him in response.
"Do you not remember Lord Boromir when I said not so long ago that you were not my father?" he nodded knowing that he had made her upset. "Well that means you should avoid giving comments like that. And for future reference it a dangerous business angering a woman as well."
"My apologies Lady Annwn."
"Yes well I just want to get out of here and to bed." She hoped he wouldn't take that the wrong way, though considering that she just spazed at him she figured she was safe.
"You cannot mi-Lady Annwn, you have to sing."
"Oh yeah, and who's law is that?" she snapped
"The elves." When the song ended Annwn stomped off to sit in one of the chairs at the side. She didn't want to dance any more. When she reached the chairs she moodily sat with her legs crossed and her arms over her chest. She wanted to get out of the Elf city, the sooner that happened the sooner she could stop pretending. She wasn't a Lady and didn't like being forced into that role.
As she sat there she had a few elves come up to her and ask for a dance. She declined them all, even Legolas, as politely as she could. Her best friend, Allison, was an Orlando Bloom and a Legolas fan girl (though those two sort of went hand in hand). She would slap her silly if she knew that she said no to him, oh well. Then Gandalf came and sat beside her.
"What has Lord Boromir done to upset you?"
"Too many things."
"I believe this is called culture clash. Your ways are more liberal and you are finding that the ways of the rest of middle earth are too male oriented for your likening."
"Culture shock. Yup, that's it."
"Middle Earth is ruled by old men who are set in their ways. Though I believe that you can find they are honourable and that they have daughters who are ready and willing to be kindred spirits of yours. You will have plenty of time with a fine crop of young men, plenty of time to show that women can fight wars."
"Thanks Gandalf" she leaned over and gave him a hug. He was rather shocked by this, the only people who gave him hugs were young hobbits, but he hugged her back. He had the sense that she was feeling alone.
"Gandalf, Boromir told me that I had to sing. Is there some way I can get out of it and go to bed?" she loved singling and performing but she really didn't feel like it tonight.
"I'm afraid not."
"Too bad. Is there anything else that I should know about?"
"If they like your song they may ask you to sing another one."
"Great." she said not sounding thrilled at all. "What should I sing?" She was tempted to sing one that they would hate, like, Bohemian Rhapsody, or sympathy for the devil.
"Sing something that they will be able to relate to."
"Oh boy. That could be hard. I know a lot of songs but none of them are for times like this. Or this sort of crowd."
"Then sing something with hope in it. I fear we could all use a little more hope in the world."
"I think your right, Mithrandir. I think your right."
What could she possible sing that wouldn't be bazaar in the ears of the elves? Then it came to her. It was a song that one of the guys from choir had done as a solo, MLK. It was the song she would sing. Annwn reviewed the words as she watched the dancing with Gandalf. He was humming along with the music and taping his foot. Despite this she was happy that he was sitting beside her, this way she wasn't alone.
She didn't know what time it was when the dancing ended but she was retrieved by Elrond and escorted up to the stage. While they were off to the side he said
"Are you ready to sing?"
"As ready as I'll ever be. Do I introduce myself or the song?" He gave a small laugh at what he took as inexperience. However this was not the first time she had sung for an audience, not the first time at all.
"No that is my duty. I will signal when you are to come out to the center."
"Alright then." He went and addressed the crowd
"Lords and Ladies, Friends and honoured guests. Tonight we have a very special guest amongst us. She will be singing a traditional song from her land. Lady Annwn." 'well' she thought to herself 'MLK isn't exactly traditional, there's the signal'. She walked into the center of the stage to a chorus of polite claps. When they died down she started.
Sleep, sleep tonight,
And may your dreams be realized,
If the thundercloud passes rain, so let it rain, rain down on he. Hum,
So let it be, hum,
So let it be,
Sleep, sleep tonight,
And may your dreams be realized,
If the thundercloud passes rain, so let it rain, let it rain.
Rain on he.
The applause was warmer than the first set and louder. They liked her song. Shoot! Now she would need another one. Aragorn could see that she was nervous and didn't have a song and as for the deal they had made, he called for her to sing another song. That should teach her for her dinner rudeness. Or so he thought.
Annwn scrambled trough the jumble of songs that were popping into her head. A lot of them were ones that she could not sing for this crowd, like Crazy by Gnarls Barkley or Gimme Shelter by the stones. Wait, they had a sing she could sing. Wild horses...but it didn't really have hope in it. Crap what on earth could she sing. She had never imagined she would be in this situation. That was it. That's what she would sing. Imagine by John Lennon.
Imagine there's no Heaven Imagine there's no countries You may say that I'm a dreamer Imagine no possessions You may say that I'm a dreamer
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
She again got a respectable applause. She curtsied and left the stage before she could be asked to sing another song. She went to find Gandalf. He was where she had left him, humming along to an elf who was now singing.
"Your songs were lovely. They were wonderful choices."
"Thank you, now can I leave?"
"Why so early?"
"I don't really like parties and I came because I thought this would just be dinner. I was hungry when I agreed to come. I didn't know there would be dancing and singing." Gandalf chuckled at how overwhelmed the young woman in front of him was.
"Yes, you may leave the party, there is nothing else expected of you. Your guard will be at the top of the stair. Have a good night Lady Annwn."
"You too, Gandalf." She gave him another hug and said good night.
Story alert thanks to Jovie Black
