When Earlene arrived home with the groceries, she was debating the wisdom of having knocked down two beers on a relatively empty stomach, having eaten a light lunch. While she was not drunk, "pleasantly far along" would be a fair descriptor.

Thranduil met her in the barn and kissed her, amused. "And here I thought you preferred wine, meluieg," he teased.

Her cheeks blushed faintly pink, as she held onto him. "I do, my Lord. But I am not certain what the social consequences might be for being seen without beer in one's glass. And as I do not mind the latter, I decided to err on the side of caution."

He looked into her eyes searchingly, learning how she had spent her day. "You did well, Earlene, and I am pleased that you made new friends."

His hand traveled suggestively down the front of her jumper and to the clasp of her jeans. The touch was electric, and confusing, all at the same time. Here? In the barn?

Smiling in response to her unasked question, he picked her up, and took her to a nearby bench, cradling her on his lap between his knees. "I am happy to see you in good spirits, meluieg. I offer you something small to keep them thus, until there is more time, later on."

With no added explanation, he positioned her so as to be able to kiss her deeply, and passionately. Instinctively, her arms reached to encircle his neck as she responded to him. Gently, he undid the closure on her jeans, and slipped his hand inside, covering her womanhood with his hand. She gasped as a powerful arousal filled her while insistent lips and tongue demanded equal attention. Quickly it became apparent that even though his hand on her was perfectly still, that this would drive her to completion. In her mind she heard him:

The more you allow yourself to relax, the greater your pleasure will be. Open your spirit to me, Earlene.

Compliance was easy, and every second along the way was one of great enjoyment. As his provocation increased, he covered her cheeks and throat with soft, small kisses, only to claim her mouth again just as her skin was flushing pink, at the height of her passion. His lips stifled her cry of ecstasy, as she writhed against his hand. Thranduil continued to kiss her softly as she subsided, humming softly.

"Thank you," she whispered, when she could form a coherent thought beyond, did she want to know how he could do that? He carefully withdrew his hand.

"Now you will have something pleasant on which to reflect, while preparing dinner," he smiled, kissing her on the forehead, "and Thanadir will be unaware of any unseemliness."

This caused her to erupt in giggles. If he had wished to further lighten her mood, he had succeeded wildly.

As she removed the grocery items, he asked, "Tell me of your new friends, Earlene."

"I met Lorna, and Mick, my Lord. They work as mechanics, in the village. We did not really talk much, aside from introductions. Lorna is from perhaps an hour away, and said she lived once in Dublin. Mick I think is a native of the village? I know little about her, but...I like her. Her speech is coarse, but I find her to be...caring. I sense perhaps her life was not an easy one." Earlene paused. "It is hard to make new friends, Thranduil, especially women friends. I invited her to visit here sometime, if she wishes. She asked about you, a little. Or rather, she asked if I was involved with anyone." Earlene smiled, remembering her enjoyment of the conversation. "She said she would bring some home-brewed beer, and share some with you as well."

Thranduil's eyebrows raised. "Then I shall look forward to meeting her."

After the meat pie went into the oven and she began working on the salad and roast vegetables, Earlene spoke again. "My Lord, may I discuss something with you?"

The King rose up from the history book, and approached her. Thanadir did not so much as raise his head.

"Yes, meluieg?"

"I have been thinking about the purchasing of food, my Lord. When I spoke with the storekeeper today, I gained an...impression...that her inquiries are not going as quickly as they might. It is my instinct that the reason is, the woman has little motivation to make an effort because she perceives that no reward is in it for her." Earlene looked into his eyes, waiting for a reaction.

Thranduil looked at her searchingly. "And it is your deduction that were she to 'perceive a reward,' as you say, that far more cooperation would be forthcoming?"

"Yes, my King. And to be perfectly fair, few humans are moved to act on behalf of another only out of altruism. More than that, I had a thought. If you were to expand your list of desired items to not only...cabbage, but to additional vegetables with excellent storage properties such as beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips and perhaps even kale and collards, you would create yet more incentive because you would be placing a larger order. If you could arrive at a percentage of payment with which you feel comfortable parting, I could propose it to Aislinn. It is my understanding from the research I did, that the average profit margin for a grocer is between one and three percent. Large orders would mean minimum work for her, with maximum profit, simply for conducting the transaction as a resale."

Thranduil considered her words, but sensed there was more. "What else is there, Earlene?" he asked softly.

She looked down. "I wondered if you had considered livestock, my Lord. The number of people you spoke of to me...have you thought of what some dozens of chickens, and two or three dairy cows could bring to your Halls? It is true that one or two people would need to make nearly a full time job of the milking and processing, and care of the animal, but, it is a rewarding thing to have as a food. Three dairy cows, depending on breed, could supply you with a half to whole gallon per person per week, for two hundred people. If fresh milk consumption is less, the surplus can be made into butter, cheese, yogurt, sour cream and more. There is a barn here already, and with some investment and preparations on my part, it would be a pleasing thing to have...but I could not do this alone without great difficulty. Milk cows are nearly a full time job, on their own.

The reason I ask is, it takes time to prepare to have such animals; they require infrastructure. A place to be milked and equipment to store and process the milk are a minimum necessity. Though, I cannot help but wonder how interesting it would be, with your ability to prevent foods from spoiling. It makes me realize, I am not sure why I am keeping the refrigerator. There is also the consideration that access to fresh milk may be desirable to some of the villagers; some may be willing to buy or barter for it...if there is anything from the outside world that you need or want." Raising her eyes back to his after this monologue, she concluded, " At any rate, thank you for hearing me."

He digested this for a moment. "These suggestions have merit, though I would like to understand in greater detail exactly what is involved. There are some in my Halls who worked long ago with these kinds of animals; all elves have a way with beasts. If I am understanding you clearly, you are trying to politely say that while you believe this would be a good idea, it is outside of the scope of what you would have chosen for yourself. And therefore, you would want a certain number of the elves to take on much, if not all, of the work?"

Earlene frowned. "As a vague place to begin a complex discussion, yes, something like that. I was no dairy farmer, but I do understand the basic work involved. I don't know if you've seen in me, that I spent summers on my grandparents' farm. There was a cow, and I helped with all the work, care of the animal, and making what needed to be made from the milk. If you are interested, I would certainly not oppose your wishes as to how the work is to be done. Had you not been here, I likely would have sought out a goat or two for myself, for the same purpose. But cow's milk can make far nicer products, and you have a population that could make use of it. And," she lowered her eyes, "I am aware that I am committed to serve you. I do not presume to have others work, without working myself."

Breaking away from this topic, she had finished preparing the vegetables. Those found their way onto a baking sheet, and joined the pie in the oven. Frowning, she thought about how nice tapioca pudding would be for dessert.

Thranduil laughed, embracing her. Kissing her on the forehead, he said, "Meluieg, when the kitchens in the Halls are once again running, you will have spoiled Thanadir so badly that he will not wish to take his meals there." She smiled up at him, flattered by his praise. "And you, my King? Have I spoiled you as well?" Her eyes now had a mischievous twinkle, but quickly widened in surprise as he kissed her passionately on the mouth, holding her for some time before releasing her. Unable to stop herself from glancing over at Thanadir, who remained seemingly oblivious, she cleared her throat as she felt her cheeks flush. "I will take that as a Yes, my King."

"Good, meluieg. You may make your pudding now. But after the food is ready, you are to do no further work tonight." She started to form a thought of protest, but then decided against it.

"Yes, my Lord." His hand caressed her cheek, and then he returned to his book.

At dinner, she continued to enjoy stealing glances at Thanadir as he ate his food. It had become something of a hobby, for her. He truly did seem to be appreciating the food. The more she watched him, the more she learned to notice the most subtle of facial expressions from him. They would have been so easy to miss...a slight flicker of the eyebrows, or the barest curling of the corners of his mouth. And though she could almost always avoid him catching her at watching him, the sparkle in his eyes when he did manage it spoke volumes. Then again, it was her guess that it had less to do with the quality of Thranduil's cooks, than who knows how many centuries of not having tasted food. She really could not imagine...there were some pleasures that belonged to being alive, and for most of those fortunate enough to have regular access to food, eating was one of them.

After the meal, since she was not allowed to clean up, she decided to brush her teeth and take a bath. If for no other reason, that it seemed like the thing to do. She ran the shower first, quickly washing her hair and scrubbing her skin. Taking a look at her legs, she decided it was also time to indulge herself with the razor. When all the maintenance work was done, she set the drain plug in, checked once more that the curtain was as it should be, and laid down in the tub, letting the hot water rain over her as the tub filled. It had been worth every penny, to pay for the retrofits on this home, including an on-demand hot water heater capable of making moments like this possible. She sighed with enjoyment, and closed her eyes. It had been a nice day...a stable day. To have even one, in the midst of a struggle, was a blessing that she did not take for granted.

Bending her head forward, she tried to knead at the muscles of her neck and shoulders, that felt a little stiff, but the necklace made it feel awkward to try. The tub was full, so perhaps she could sink lower down into the hot water instead. Leaning forward to turn the taps off, she also moved the curtain out of the way so that she did not feel so closed in. She tried to sink down in the water but found that this put too much pressure against the necklace, driving it into her skin. Sighing, she sat back up straighter again and resumed trying to knead at her shoulders. His hand on her arm startled her. Shaking her head, she smiled. "My Lord, I am growing used to your silent movements, but are you now silently passing through walls as well? I did not hear you come in."

He made an amused humming sound. "You will have to wonder, Earlene." She felt his hands at the back of her neck. To her great surprise, he unclasped the necklace. She felt something inside of her lurch. Whereas she at first had not wanted to be required to wear it always, there was now a twinge of fear that it was being removed. He leaned down to kiss her. "I will replace it on you soon, meluieg. I only wished to do for you what you cannot do for yourself." His hands closed over her shoulders, as he began massaging them for her. With a moan of appreciation she leaned into his hands. He rubbed and caressed her muscles until the water had gone from hot to barely warm, at which point he insisted she leave the tub. Wrapping her in a towel, he lifted her out and dried her. She could not fathom, to what she owed this treatment.

"Thank you, my Lord, for your many kindnesses to me. I am very grateful."

"You are welcome, Earlene," he said, with great tenderness in his voice. He kissed her, and then encircled her neck once again with the jewels, securing the clasp. She leaned into him, relaxed and sleepy. He placed her in bed, and returned shortly. It brought him joy, how quickly she reached out for him. As she caressed him in affection, she encountered his desire, and immediately sought to care for him. Though she was but half awake, she disappeared under the covers to offer him pleasure, later on tugging at him to come to her, as she offered her body. Soon enough she was satisfied and asleep in his arms.

Unfortunately, the peace of the day did not last into her dreams. Over and over, the towers crumbled into vast clouds of dust that blanketed the streets beneath her feet, until finally rising to consume her view in a fog of gray. And each time, the memory of her friends' voices tore pieces from her heart.