--Chapter Eleven--
It was getting dark. Brianna glanced at her watch for what seemed like the millionth time, and sighed. Her aunt, uncle, and cousins would be by at any time. And Shane would be here soon. Where had Haldir gone?
"He'll be back," Melinda said from where she was putting the final touches on Bree's birthday cake.
"He doesn't know New York," Brianna said. Nervously, she pulled the black velvet scrunchie out of her hair and let the blonde locks fall around her shoulders, once again hiding her ears. She got up from the window seat and looked to her mother. "Where did he go?"
Melinda shrugged. "He didn't say. Don't worry, though."
Brianna wandered out of the kitchen. Melinda leaned against the counter.
Bree had always been leery of strangers, except for this Haldir who had literally dropped into her life that morning. She argued with him, but already there was a bond between them. It was as if she had known him her entire life.
It was just too amazing, everything they'd learned that day. Elves existed, thought several thousand years in the past. Brianna herself was an elf. And this aloof, proud Haldir was her father.
Melinda had wondered, frequently, over the years, what had compelled Bree's birth parents to abandon such a precious child like that. The truth was, her parents had not abandoned her. She had been stolen from them.
The question was, now what? Bree had her life here, but beyond that, she existed outside the human world. It would not show for years to come, but she would reach a point where she would cease to age. She would remain as everything around her died.
"Including me," Melinda whispered.
Perhaps Bree's place was with the elves. There would be nothing for her here, except pain and death.
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Haldir arrived back at the apartment building in time to nearly collide with a couple about Melinda's age, and two teenage girls, about Bree's age. He smiled politely and followed them into the building. They began giving him suspicious looks when he got in the elevator with them and didn't push any buttons.
They were beginning to fidget by the time they all reached the MacArthur's apartment. Haldir had already figured out these were Brianna's aunt, uncle, and cousins, but they had no idea who he was.
An expression of relief blossomed on Brianna's face when she looked over her uncle's shoulder and saw Haldir. As she pulled everyone in, she tried not to scold Haldir for worrying her so. It worried her a bit that she'd become so attached to Haldir, but maybe it was an elvish thing.
Several moments later, the doorbell rang again. Bree grinned when she saw Shane, her boyfriend of several months, standing outside, his hands behind his back.
"Shane!" she squealed, and threw her arms around him.
"Hey, Bree. Uh. Little tight there."
"Sorry," she said sheepishly, releasing him. "I'm just glad you made it. What'd you bring me?"
A dark lock falling over his forehead, Shane held out the bouquet of orange roses he'd bought. "Sorry they're not white. The florist was all out, and they screwed up the first bouquet I ordered, so . . ."
Bree's heart sank at the sight of the roses. For some reason, they made her sad. She managed to hide these thoughts and smiled as she accepted them. "Thank you, that's very sweet!"
He trailed her into the kitchen, where Melinda was just sliding the cake into the fridge. "Hey, Mrs. MacArthur!" he said, tossing off a wave.
Brianna thought that the gesture paled next to the bows the elves had offered her mother.
Melinda smiled at Shane, then turned to her daughter. "Was that your aunt at the door? Did Harry make it back okay?"
"Yeah, he's back. It's all good. I'm, uh, gonna go make intros, 'kay, Mom?"
"Go ahead, dear. I'll just put these in some water."
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Haldir studied the boy that walked into the living room with Brianna. He was about her age, human, about her height, a little stocky, with dark hair and eyes. He was dressed in black trousers, what Brianna had called jeans, and a black shirt with white lettering on it. Since he was still teaching himself to read English writing, Haldir would have to ask Brianna to translate it. Or he could always ask Melinda . . .
One thing was certain. He did not like the way the boy looked at Brianna. His thoughts were especially obvious for a human. Not that Haldir had anything against humans. He knew several and liked them well enough.
Brianna stood in front of the TV as her guests settled themselves. "Hey, everybody! Glad you all could make it! I'm sure you've noticed some new faces. I'll, uh, do the intros."
She looked to Legolas, Gimli, and Haldir, who were seated slightly apart from the others. "Guys, these are my aunt Judith, my uncle Brent, my cousins Ariel and Jessica, and Shane Williams, my boyfriend. Everyone, I'd like you to meet Gary Allston-" indicating Gimli "-and Luke Golden, a couple friends of mine Shell and I met through a Lord of the Rings group. And this . . ."
Melinda paused in the doorway, lending silent support to her daughter. Judith in particular wasn't going to like this. She hadn't been entirely supportive of Bree's adoption in the first place.
"This is Harry Silverman." Brianna paused, taking in the reactions of her friends and family. "My dad."
