I'm sorry this has taken me so long. but I've been extra busy these past days because I'm getting ready to take a two month vacation/furlough to America and I have to wrap up a lot of things over here. My days have been utterly crammed... My apologies, guys, but it'll probably be quite a while before I update again. Forgive me, and I'll try to update as soon as I can. :)
in the meantime, however, please enjoy this loooong chapter, and I can't wait to see you next time! XD
as always, thank you for reviews...
Chapter 12
I woke up the next morning to the feeling of something warm wrapped around me that was most certainly not a blanket. When I managed to peel my eyes open, it was to see that I was being clutched to Glorfindel and his face buried into my hair. With a slight smile and yawn, I wriggled out of his grasp and sat on the edge of the bed, stretching.
Standing, I looked over to the next bed to see that Maglor and Lir were still asleep. With an amused smile, I turned to the bathroom to change and wash my face. When I was finished and came back out, Lir was waiting her turn, yawning widely as I grinned and wiggled my fingers at her.
She gave me a half smile and staggered into the bathroom. Glorfindel and Maglor were just waking up, and as I pulled on my black and white jacket, Glorfindel was sitting up and stretching.
My jacket had the typical sun-in-eclipse emblem on it, and I wore my silver and black shirt underneath the jacket with the black leggings. My white hair was left down so that it hung to my mid-back, and I had on a necklace that was a simple silver chain with a Mithril pendant set with a single, faceted sapphire. The Mithril of the pendant was in the shape of tiny flames.
"Good morning!" I said cheerfully, sliding on a pair of socks and the thick winter moon-boots lined with fur. I hopped over to Glorfindel and gave him a happy hug, excited to be back on earth- err, Arda. He sighed and dragged me into a longer hug, drowsily kissing me good-morning.
"Good morning." Káno said softly. Lir came out, and with a fond kiss, he slipped past her to take his turn.
I managed to extricate myself from Glorfindel's arms and grabbed Lir's hand. "We'll meet you in the breakfast cabin!" I called cheerfully, and after grabbing our bags, Lir and I dragged each other off to find something to eat, with Drago and Saphira and their pups following after.
We dumped the bags off at the car and then entered the main cabin where Elíl and our parents were already gathered along with Nerdanel. A cheery fire was roaring in the fireplace before which Drago proceeded to settle himself as the pups rolled about happily on the carpet nearby.
"Morning!" All of us said to each other with a wave, and then we went to the buffet styled bar that was set out for us. I picked up a plate and tilted my head at the foods when there was a sudden shadow over me as someone ruffled my hair.
I turned to see that Moryo had a plate in his hand and was smirking at me. I grinned back. "Morning, big brother." I said, and he merely nodded before turning to the table.
"So what sort of food is good?" He asked interestedly, surveying the table, and I smiled as Lir giggled and filled her plate.
"Follow me, then, Carl." I answered, and started at the bagel's section. By that time almost everyone was in the main cabin and was wandering over to the breakfast table, listening to me. "These are bread, like the doughnuts you had one time, but without the sweet chocolate. They're called bagels. I taught you about these, remember? They're waffles. Which I love." I laughed and proceeded to make one with the waffle iron, which they watched with interest.
"This is butter and syrup." I added, scooping the plastic containers into my plate. "This is cereal, while these are the drinks. This is bacon, and these are hash browns, which are basically fried potatoes." I finished, and taking some bacon, a bowl of fruit, and a cup of milk, retired to the table next to Glorfindel and Mairon.
I went back for Mairon's plate and brought him back the same thing that I had decided on, and he tucked in cheerfully, eliciting indulgent smiles from everyone at the little Maia.
"Is it good, little brother Annatar?" I asked amusedly, and he nodded vigorously.
"Mmhm!" He answered, and I giggled.
"Well good." I replied. I stood to give Beleg and Maeglin a hug. "Good morning yonya, hanno." I said, which they returned happily.
"So, what time should we leave?" Elíl asked. It was 7:30.
"Eh, about 8:30 sound good?" I answered, and they all nodded.
"Don't forget to put your bags in the car." Lir reminded, and there was murmured assent all around.
I finished off the last of my bacon and stood, moving over to the area where I dumped my plate and quickly washed off my hands. "Hey y'all, I think it'd be good if we tried to come up with some kind of thing for the café where we we decide who's gonna cook, who's gonna be the 'elves' and all that." I said, sitting back down next to Glorfindel. I dragged Mairon into my lap and cuddled him.
"You're so cute, little brother." I cooed, squashing him in a hug and stroking his red hair. He purred and curled into me happily, toying with his ring.
"Good idea." Nelyo noted. "We do need to figure it out." He agreed.
"I'm an elleth." Lir noted immediately.
"Celine, you have to be an elleth." Elíl said, and I raised an eyebrow.
"I do?" I asked confusedly. Everyone gave me stares. "What!?" I asked.
"Come on, Celine, your personality!" Tyelko said in annoyance. "You are a perfect candidate for being a- a- waitress." He fumbled for the word for a moment.
I blinked. "I am? But I'm so shy most of the time..." I mumbled, and Moryo snorted.
"Shy? You? I beg to differ." He said as I glowered at him and everyone laughed.
"I AM shy, I just know how to get my duties done." I sniffed, and Elíl and Lir expired laughing as Moryo turned red and glared at the implications of my statement. Everyone else looked amused.
"Moving on-" I gave Moryo a feigned glare to which he stuck out his tongue, to everyone's immense amusement- "I think that Lyric, apparently me, Lark, Mark, Marion, Loren, and Eric should be the ellith and ellyn while the rest who are involved in the café should be in the kitchen and drink bar." I finished, and they nodded.
"So as for who's NOT working in the café, that'd be Uncle David, Aunt Joy, Mom, Dad, and Nadie, right?" Elíl checked.
"What about Annatar, Brian, Garen, Wulf, and Aiden? They are the youngest, but..." Lir pointed out.
"Easy." I answered. "They might not be able to be ellyn, but they can be involved." I said with a grin. "After all every good café or restaurant every once in a while has some kind of attraction or special event, right?" I asked. They nodded. "So those five can take care of the pups, Drago, and Saphira in the shop. Like an attraction, you know. A small petting zoo type of thing, just with wolves." I finished, and they grinned.
"Awesome!" Wulf cheered as I giggled. Annatar nodded in my arms as I cuddled him.
"Glad you like!" I said cheerily.
"And Teddy and I?" Moryo asked with vague amusement.
"Well you two are behind the counter, duh." Lyric pointed out with a grin.
"I could help behind the counter as well." Beleg offered.
"You and if Garen wants to as well." I nodded.
"And we have someone else working in the back kitchen, right?" Nelyo asked.
"Yep." Lark answered. "Although now that leads us to the question- what do we serve?" She asked.
There was a silence for a moment before my mother spoke up. "Elven foods." She said. "Create a menu of easy foods like salads, pastas, cakes, pies, breads, frumenty, and all sorts of elven-related foods." She suggested practically, and our eyes lit up.
"Meat pies!" Aiden exclaimed.
"Tol Eresseän crab cakes." Lyric grinned at me as I laughed myself silly. Every one knows that my Atto Nàmo loves Tol Eresseän crab cakes. According to him, they 'do it right.'
"Frumenty and king's bread." Káno said thoughtfully.
"Oh Valar, my mouth waters thinking about your king's bread, Marion." Lyric groaned as everyone laughed and he smiled good-naturedly.
"Thank you, love." He answered.
"What's another? How about chocolate cream pie?" Dad suggested.
"Right dad. And next you'll be asking for banana pudding too." I deadpanned as he smirked.
"Very much so, how'd you guess?" He feigned surprise as everyone laughed.
"But pie isn't a bad idea. Meat pies, yes, but how about something like that custard pie that Mark makes?" Nerdanel suggested. We looked to Nelyo, who looked sheepish.
"You never told us!" Lark whined as we burst into laughter.
"Yes, well... I suppose I could..." He said sheepishly.
"Good then. Elves don't really have pasta so... How about making up something like ..." Lark was cut off by Lyric.
"Hey, look at this website! It's got all kinds of stuff and it's called Middle-Earth recipes. It has a lot of stuff to make based on the movies and stuff." She said with a grin. Then she giggled. "One ring doughnuts and Sauron's Eye cookies!" She laughed as we collapsed in amusement. Annatar merely gave us a cheeky grin.
"Hmm, soups. Po-Ta-To soup?" Lyric wiggled her eyebrows at us as we laughed.
"Good one, how about something like-"
And so the suggestions went on and were accepted and discarded as we listened. Finally, however, we parted at 8:15 to go get ready. Our bags were soon packed in the car and we were ready to go.
I sighed and stretched before climbing into the driver's seat. "Seriously," I said, "someone else is going to have to get a driver's license. I can't always drive you lot around." I grumbled teasingly. There were loud protests from the back as I pulled out of the driveway, laughing along with Lir and Elíl.
Glorfindel chuckled as he set the GPS on normal. Drago barked reprovingly at Sky, who obediently scrambled into Nerdanel's lap. Nerdanel smiled and stroked the fluffy pup, who squiggled happily. Sky was the color of her father, a metallic blue with a white underbelly, but she had her mother's soft brown eyes.
Just then, as I pressed on the brakes gently as we neared a stoplight, Esgal let out a startled yip and rolled into the front of the car, caught off guard by the slight lurch. I bent down and scooped him into my lap just in time as the light turned green.
"Ai Esgal, be careful my little pup! Now, stay still, precious thing, and I'll make sure you won't fall." I said, scratching his ears softly as he dug his paws into my shirt and barked obediently.
"Esgal's the handsomest." Mairon declared. "Luno's the smartest, Bolt's the strongest, Sky's the prettiest, and Lara's the fastest." He said.
"I'll have to agree with you there, Mairon." Lir said, cuddling Luno.
"And Teddy's the biggest." I said slyly as everyone roared with laughter and said Elf gave me a very unconvincing glare. I snickered.
And indeed, Mairon's logic was faultless. Esgal had the metallic blue fur streaked with grey from his mother, and his underfur was creamy colored. His eyes were the same startlingly ice blue of his sire.
"We're here!" Pityo said unnecessarily as we arrived at the Wood's Real Estate office. We pulled in and parked, and got out. I helped Mairon out of his car seat and perched him on my hip. Esgal was happily grasped in Mairon's arms. Maeglin stuck to my side as well as we entered the building.
Without further ado, we moved upstairs to the office and exited the elevator to see Amroth and two other ellyn and one elleth look to us. Amroth rose, greeting us politely and showing us to chairs, but I was focused on the elleth.
I saw Dan and Roy quickly, my eyes skimming over them before landing on Ivrinel. Dan and Roy looked almost exactly alike, just like the Ambarussa did. But they had dark hair that was glossy in its length, tied up in ponytails. Their eyes were grey, and they both had strong, commanding stances like the Elf-lords that they were. I quite approved. After all, if I was to be technical, they were my grand-nephews...
But Ivrinel- she was something else. Her hair was platinum blonde like mine, except that mine was more of a whitish color since I had become a Maia. Her eyes were a gentle, pale blue color, ones that riveted to my eyes as well. I set Mairon down, never breaking eye contact, and walked towards the elleth.
I knew that I was probably startling her, but I saw something in her that I wanted to study more. I walked forwards until I was in front of her, and then tilted her chin up gently. Her eyes were frank but at the same time carefully guarded to conceal the natural hypnotizing quality that elven eyes have upon weak-minded mortals. And in her eyes I saw boldness, friendship, and kinship. Her spirit was kindred to I and my sisters'. And her eyes were childishly joyful and mischievous.
I broke the gaze with a smile and she gasped, causing me to catch her and rub her back gently. "Easy, child." I murmured reassuringly. "Forgive me, but your feä quite captivated me." I helped her to sit down and brought the color back to her cheeks with a cup of water that Amroth gave me, which I took with a grateful smile.
"Thank you." She murmured, and then looked at me wonderingly.
I grinned and bowed. "Celine DelaFiore at your service, Ivrinel Elmoiel." I winked, and then turned to Elladan and Elrohir, who, after greeting Glorfindel enthusiastically, had turned to watch the spectacle along with the rest.
"Greetings, Elladan and Elrohir Peredhil Elrondion- grand-nephews." I said wickedly with a grin as Lir and Elíl burst into laughter and everyone else looked confused, especially the twins. I walked over and hugged them.
"Apologies, Dan, Roy. I should probably explain that I am the adopted sister of the Feänorians, who have been reborn." And I pointed out all of our family. "And Maglor is of course your grandfather by adoption- therefore I am your great-aunt." I said with a smirk as everyone smiled, getting it. They just shook their heads mutely.
"Oi you two, I thought I taught you better manners than that." Glorfindel said in mock-disapproval. They snapped out of it.
"Yes, general." Dan said with a smirk, and then turned to me.
"Pleasure to meet you, lady- err, great-aunt." He raised an eyebrow as I cringed.
"Oh wait, no, that sounds too awful. Please just call me Celine." I said with a grin, and he grinned back and nodded.
I hugged Roy tightly. "You are certainly the cuter of the twins." I said with a giggle. "Aww, isn't he cute, Lyric? You know your favorite characters from LOTR were your grandsons." I cooed as she groaned and blushed and Dan gaped at her and Roy looked nonplused. Maglor was faintly smiling, though he was also looking pained.
"T-thank you-?" He said faintly.
"Oh, aren't family reunions wonderful?" Elíl asked dreamily.
"No." I answered blandly. "Not all, like our disastrous one with Ata Feänor." I shuddered.
Then I shoved Beleg towards Ivrinel. "Go on, yonya, greet your cousin." I said, and turned back to Maeglin. "Hanno?" I asked. He looked up at me with his dark, sweet eyes and blinked, attaching himself to my side.
"Yeah m-muinthel?" He asked.
I stroked his hair and kissed his brow. "Are you alright?" I asked gently. "You look a little pale." I murmured. He snuggled into me.
"I'm o-okay, muinthel, j-just a l-little t-thirsty." He answered, and I handed him some water. He gave me a grateful smile, and I turned back to the rest as Glorfindel wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
"Wait, Annatar Fair?" Dan sounded horrified.
"Yes, he is Mairon. No, he is not Sauron. Not any longer- he had been brainwashed. Lord Manwë himself will attest to it." Lark answered calmly, and seeing that everyone was comfortable around the happily giggling Maia, they relaxed somewhat.
I gave Glorfindel a brief smile before placing a hand on Maeglin's forehead. He wasn't feverish, and a quick ósanwe scan showed that he was fine, so I was satisfied. He gave me a confused look, which I comforted with a quick kiss.
By now Elladan and Elrohir and Ivrinel had been introduced to everyone, and they were eagerly asked questions, which were answered with our story. They looked incredulous at times, grinned maniacally at others, and finally when we got to the last week's events, stared at Lir and Elíl and I. Especially me, to my embarrassment. After all, Glorfindel was most familiar to them, having been their captain.
I blushed and smiled at them shyly, and they grinned back slightly. "Well, at least now he has a good excuse to fend off all and sundry females that will be clamoring for his attention." Elladan deadpanned as we all laughed and Glorfindel groaned.
"That's one of the reasons I fell for Celine." He grumbled. "She was one of the only ones I've met that didn't swoon over me."
I rolled my eyes. "Wrong. I was fangirling, if that counts. And please don't say that," It was my turn to groan, "I was only fourteen for Atto's sake!" Lir and Elíl collapsed laughing as I glared into the corner of the room.
"Eonwë, OUT." I said forbiddingly, and I could smell the faint aroma of Rosemary and thyme as laughter echoed through the ósanwe frequency. Glorfindel smirked.
"Don't start." I warned him good-naturedly as I pulled a fond hand through Maeglin's hair.
"Start what?" He asked innocently, making me give him an exasperated look that had him smirking even harder and Dan and Roy laughing. Ivrinel was smiling amusedly.
"Hate to interrupt the party, but the papers are ready but for last minute signatures." Amroth said.
"Doesn't the paperwork process usually take longer?" Dad asked.
"Yes, but I- ah- pulled some strings- that is, there are those even in higher areas that are... Errm... For our cause." Amroth answered with an amused look as we smiled knowingly.
"I see." Lark answered for all of us as she signed the papers for the house and Lyric and I signed for the other buildings.
"Cheque or credit?" Amroth asked absently, and Lark answered with cheque.
Mairon whined from his chair, and I scooped him up onto my hip and gave him a lollipop that I found in my pocket to placate him. Then I turned back to the desk, shuffling with one hand through the file of the former bar for space dimensions.
"I'll need to get used to that." Elladan said in a strained voice as he surveyed the red-haired, golden-eyed Maia that happily ate his lollipop, bounced on my hip.
The family laughed as I gave him an amused smile. "It took us a good while." Moryo snorted. "I was sure that there was going to be another war when we first saw him that day."
"In my own house, to boot." I added dryly as they snickered.
"And what about when Loren and Eric arrived?" Lark smirked. "Gothmog!"
Mairon giggled at a mock-glaring Thel and waved cheerfully, to general amusement. "But it was fun!" He crowed as I smiled.
"It was, little brother." I agreed, and dropped a kiss on his slightly tousled hair. "What I want to know is who came up with the genius name of Guinahiroo." I said, raising an eyebrow at the twins. "I mean, really? Undead lords?" I asked amusedly as they blushed slightly. "Not that it's lame, but it is a dead giveaway for those who'd care to study elvish." I pointed out.
"I suppose, but then, there are Maia..." Elrohir answered.
"Oh, so we're supposed to do everything, are we?" I grinned, bouncing Mairon on my hip as he giggled. Lark and Lyric snorted in amused agreement as they blushed harder. "Relax, you two, I'm just teasing. It's always a pleasure to serve you children." I said with a wink.
They grinned somewhat shyly. "Even me?" Ivrinel asked.
"Of course! After all, you're related to me by adoption." I answered with a smirk as she laughed.
"I admit I wasn't expecting to find my highly famed and admired cousin here." She answered with a smile to Beleg, who smiled back with a light blush and sidled up to me.
"Much less a shy Reborn." I deadpanned as he blushed sheepishly and the rest laughed.
"Or to find out that Teddy is just a big, sarcastic wolf, or that Wulf is a little wolfling, or even that Carl is a PDA-phobic?" I asked slyly as Tyelko and Moryo lunged at me with mock-shouts.
I danced out of their reach as Mairon squealed and the others roared. Pityo merely grinned. "Drago, don't just stand there looking unimpressed, help me!" I yelped, setting the family howling as Drago gave me a yawn and plopped his head onto my Dad's feet.
"Oh you're gonna pay for that later, you." I mock-threatened, grinning despite myself as I twisted neatly under Tyelko's arm and dropped a kiss on Moryo's cheek before leaping out of the way.
"Celine!" Moryo yelled as I laughed maddeningly.
"Love you too, big brother!" I giggled. He retreated with a growl to his chair.
"Forget Drago, I'll pay you back later." He grumbled sourly.
"As you wish, dear Carl." I answered smoothly, sashaying to the desk again.
"Well, since this is finished, why don't we go get some lunch?" Amroth asked with a smile as he stood, giving us the keys to the different buildings. "Congratulations, you are now the owners of three buildings." He said, and we grinned.
"What should we call our house?" Nerdanel was asking.
"We need to have a catchy name." Telvo insisted as we walked out. Mairon was now on Mom's hip and Maeglin was clutching my hand while Lark had possession of the keys.
"Yeah.. How about something like iLálala Vala?" Lir grinned as we laughed. (The Laughing Vala)
"But what's the guarantee that lord Tulkas would ever stop by?" Lark winked, and sending us into further spasms of amusement.
"Or, how about something like Maeglin's Mansion?" Mom suggested, sending a fond smile in the ellon's way, who blushed and hid behind me. I giggled and hugged him.
"I think we shouldn't, he'll burn his cheeks every time we mention home." Dad said with a laugh, and Maeglin nodded.
"Oh, oh, I know! Mairon's Manor!" I declared. There was a silence.
"Where do you come up with all of these awesome names?" Lyric blurted.
"It's perfect! It's so creepily homey." Lark said with a maniacal giggle. I snorted at her and the rest rolled their eyes. Mairon looked happy.
"Well, Mairon's Manor it is then." Nelyo shrugged. His silver eyes, I noticed, had skimmed over Ivrinel quite a few times already.
"So, where are we going?" I asked.
"If you'll follow us, we'll take you to an- elf-friendly place." Elrohir said with a wry grin, and Lyric smiled at them.
"Of course." She answered for us, and we filed into our respected cars.
I followed them through the streets and yawned. "Ai, all that talking has made me tired." I sighed.
"I have to agree." Lark sighed.
"So, who's getting the rooms on the first floor?" Tyelko asked, looking up lazily from his phone. No one answered.
"I will." Beleg piped up. "I like the first floors." He added sheepishly.
"Very well, then. I will also take a first-floor room." Nerdanel said.
"I want a room next to the sunroom on the second floor." I said wistfully.
"Third floor next to the library for me!" Lyric laid her dibs.
"Dibs on third floor room." Tyelko said lazily.
"Second." Moryo called.
"Second." Maeglin and Mairon chimed.
"You two will have to share a room." Lark pointed out. "Second for me too."
"First." Nelyo said.
"Third!" The Ambarussa decided.
"I wonder if all of the furniture is there already, or if we'll have to buy more." I said thoughtfully. "I saw from the pictures that the original furniture is there, but you can't see all of the house."
"Well, best we actually start thinking decorations first." Lark said, pulling out her phone. "The curtains I saw were already there, so let's think... You know, we need clothes." She suddenly said thoughtfully. "While we go to towels and decorations and stuff for the house we'll need to go get clothes too." She murmured.
"We know how to make our own elven robes- I mean, Celine and Lark and I could bring them back from Valinor- so work outfits are not a problem." Lir added, typing away on her phone. "But she's right, other than that, clothes are needed for everyday stuff out of work."
"We'll need to put two locker rooms in the café for that, you know." I pointed out.
"Do you think we should have candles do decorate with?" Nerdanel asked.
"Great idea, Ammë! There are so many pretty candles to buy- we'll have so much fun picking them out." Elíl gushed.
"She's crazy about decorating." I said dryly, waving a finger as the rest laughed.
"We should think something archaic in decor, though. We will have a lot of wood to work with. We should think something natural, like holly berries, waxed leaves, oranges and reds and natural colors to go with the wood." Lir said.
"Let's make the sunroom more modern, though." Elíl replied. "I'm sure that was added by the previous owner."
"True." Was my comment before we pulled into the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant. I grinned as we unbuckled. "Oh, I like Chinese. It reminds me of when Salmar gave me that bowl of seaweed soup." I said cheerfully, and went to help Mairon out of the car seat.
I was about to swing him onto my hip when Glorfindel took him from me, and with a swift kiss settled Mairon on his shoulders and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I smiled up at him as he winked and chuckled and Mairon squealed happily. Maeglin grabbed my hand as Beleg grabbed Glorfindel's free one.
When we arrived in the restaurant, Esgal bouncing at my feet- for he had thrown in his alliance with me as his mistress in imitation of his sire- it was to be happily chatting with Maeglin and trying not to trip over my loyal wolfling. Ivrinel slid into the booth next to Maeglin to speak with me, and I turned to chat with her as the rest of our group talked happily and looked over the menus.
"Your story is truly incredible." She said with a smile. "You must be very happy." She said.
I looked at her oddly for a moment. "Happy? I cannot say I am happy. Joyous? Yes! Satisfied? Of course! But happy? It is perhaps too weak a word... And then again, perhaps it is too strong." I answered, thoughtfully sipping my cup.
"Too weak and yet too strong? I do not understand." Ivrinel puzzled with a frown. I gave her a somewhat sad smile.
"You cannot understand unless you experience, Ivrinel. Happiness means to take joy in the simplicity of life, in the knowledge that all is well in the present moment of pleasure. But happiness is temporal. Am I happy right now? Yea! But throughout life... Am I happy? No." I answered, absently drawing Maeglin into my arms as he tugged on my sleeve.
"I am joyous with who and what I am- I am content and satisfied that I have a part to play in Eru's grand conspiracy of love for His children. But to be me- that is a task that is so very difficult. To be Maia, daughter, sister, wife, even mother! It is a hard task. But I find joy in it- because it is who I am. No one else can do this task: it is mine alone to play." I said with a smile in her direction as I bent to kiss Maeglin's hair.
"I take joy in everyday life's duties and happiness- yet I am at the same time infinitely weary at heart. To live forever, as you already well know, is difficult in itself with all of its joys and sorrows, but to life forever as a comforter of lost and weary, tortured and despairing souls-!" Then I shook myself at the pity that was in her eyes for me.
"But do not think badly of me, Ivrinel." I said, resuming my former grin. "I am happy enough at the moment, forget my philosophical rant. Yeesh, I'm so tired from all this business and so hungry that I have lost my insanity!" I said with a laugh, and she gave me a startled look before laughing along with me.
Maeglin whined, and I looked down at him. "Ai, what is it, hanno?" I asked.
"I'm hungry, muinthel!" He complained. I giggled. He frowned at me.
"My apologies, m'dear, I did not mean to laugh at your terrible plight." I said with a stifled smile as he pouted. I leaned to kiss his cheek gently. "I'll make sure you are fed." I said with a smile. He beamed happily and then turned to play with Esgal.
When the food finally arrived, I turned to Lyric. "Lyric, have you got that list of who gets what room on each floor?" I asked. "After all, Ivy, Dan, Roy, and Ambrose have to choose their rooms too." I reminded, and she smiled.
"Yep. Here. Just write down your names next to the floor you want." She replied, setting the paper on the table.
As we are, however, I couldn't help but think of what I had told Ivrinel. Not that I regretted it, only the part about comforting souls bothered me. There was a feeling of premonition accompanied with that that made me feel slightly uncomfortable.
...
Mairon's Manor. We stood in front of it, awed by the sheer size of the outer gates. It truly looked like some kind of ancient Victorian mansion that had once more come to full glory and life. The iron gates were stained a pleasant back with golden painted trim, and we could see the house itself not too far inside the gate.
"Well, it's not to far in size from our house in Tirion, though it is differently built." Nelyo said with a shrug, and pushed the gates open. We had parked the cars outside in the large driveway for the moment, and after looking at each other, walked into the gates. The outside looked like a veritable castle, with its large circular turrets and large bay windows. It was literally a mansion. The grounds alone were about two acres.
"Didn't the papers say that this was built by one of those rich English lords?" Ivy asked, and Amroth nodded.
"It was." He answered. "The reason the price was so low was because there had been about five different people who owned this place, but all of them left because of supposed 'hauntings.' No one wanted this house, and so the property lost its value after such a long time." He explained.
Lark had the keys in her hand, but now as we climbed the large porch to the double doors, she turned to Nerdanel. "Here, Naneth. You're the head of the house... It's only proper that you open it first." She said.
Nerdanel looked surprised. "But- your parents..." She looked to the four ex-Earthians, who smiled but shook their heads.
"You're the undisputed head of the house, Nadie. We are not as old as you, nor as wise, nor do we have as much sway as you do. We respect you as much as they do." Aunt Carrie said simply, and Nerdanel smiled, taking the key.
"Thank you." She answered simply, but with feeling, and we all smiled. So she put the key in and turned it. There was a satisfying click, and then the door opened smoothly on oiled hinges. The doors were thick oak, ones that would take a bulldozer to ever try to burglarize. They were large panels that were waxed and carved with two figures of lions on them.
Nerdanel pushed the door open gingerly, finding that she had to shove a little because of the weight of the doors. Then we all stepped inside- and there was a moment of dead silence.
"If this is just the foyer, I don't know if I can handle the rest." Uncle Jonathan said faintly, and there was sudden laughter of agreement.
The foyer held two magnificent coat trees that were large and literally shaped like trees, sycamore to be exact, with their wide, spreading branches. There was a closet over to the right for shoes, which we filled with our own. The house had obviously been taken care of by hired people for potential buyers, because the wood floors were waxed and polished. I moaned.
"Oh, I love the feeling of a waxed floor and wood all around." I sighed, and Lark sighed dreamily in agreement. Esgal yipped and bumped my leg, and I picked him up, squeezing him gently. "Isn't it wonderful, Esgal?" I breathed, and he barked.
"Oh, look up!" Telvo said excitedly, and our necks craned to look up at the beams of wood and the chandelier which hung on the high ceiling. It was rather simple, made in the shape of branching antlers that had lightbulb 'candles' that were lit up since Ambrose had flipped the switch by the hallway.
I swallowed, then walked forwards tentatively down the hallway-like foyer. I heard them follow after. To the left side further down the hall there was a wide and welcoming series of three arches, carved with gentle swirls that were pleasant in the fine grain of the wood. I took one step into the what was obviously the sitting room- and froze.
"Oh my Valar." I choked, and everyone squeezed in behind me. We froze.
"You can say that again." Dad rasped.
"It's huge!" Maeglin squeaked next to me.
"Just huge!? It's ginormous!" Lyric squawked.
And yeah, it was. There was a large, open space that held several ornate, obviously ancient couches and chairs, judging by the thick and hardy build with all of the fancy curlicues. They were devoid of any pillows, only the red velvet cushions on them from ages past. The large fireplace, topped with green Carrara marble and obviously meant to hold at least five good logs of wood, was at the far left end from where we stood, and thick, furry rugs carpeted the wooden floor.
Nothing else was in the rather bare room, other than the large bay windows and thick red curtains that covered them, along with the magnificent pillars that held up the balconies of the second floor. Yes, it was a double-storied living room.
The upper railings were also wood with arched rails that lent the whole room an archaic air that reeked of nobility and ancient times when lords and ladies would sit there and speak of war and valor. There were other arched doorways we could see on the second story, but for the moment we focused on the living room.
Lark started writing furiously. "The theme will of course be reds and grays." She started. The chandelier on the ceiling was lit brightly, again thanks to Amroth, and was made of glass and crystal, again with lightbulbs in the shape of candles.
"The curtains can stay." Nerdanel murmured. "The carpets must stay as well, they are perfect." She said, running an experimental hand across the wooden furniture. "It does need lamps and tables, however, and a large coffee table for the center would be nice." She added.
"Yes, it would. Oh, and we need two large mirrors for the walls on either side of the entrance." Elíl agreed in satisfaction. "Vases too." She added, pointing to said archways. Nerdanel hummed in agreement.
"Oh, look!" Lir squealed, and we followed her readily to the doorway that led from the living room into another smaller antechamber. It was a small room that was obviously for a lady's toiletries, with a vanity table and mirror and another coat stand. Several ladies could stand in it comfortably, and there were a few small stools there as well.
"Well. That's handy." Mom said thoughtfully, and we exited to go out to the hallway again. At the end of the hallway was another doorway that led into the dining room. At one end of the dining room was the doorway to the kitchen. On the other right end there was another good-sized fireplace topped with white marble this time. The floors were merely polished and waxed wood, and the table and chairs stretched across comfortably. The table was large enough for about twenty people, and the walls were bare but for the carved panels depicting hounds and deer and forests. There was a single chandelier that was overhung with chains of crystal that scattered light everywhere.
"Beautiful." Aunt Carrie remarked, and we went to the kitchen. It was quite a stark contrast with the rest of the house, but still somehow fitting. There was an island in the center, and a breakfast bar blocking the rest of the kitchen from the door. But to the far right there was a small area with a swinging door that gave access to the rather modern double-decker oven and eight-burner stovetops. There was even a pizza-oven to the far left, and shelves of large size overhung the counters. Two refrigerators stood to the right.
"Oh, look at that!" Elladan crowed, and pointed next to the refrigerators. There was a large, decorative glass china cabinet with room to display wine bottles and glasses as well.
"You and your bottles of sparkling grape juice." Elrohir ribbed, and Elladan rolled his eyes as we laughed.
"Did you see the stairway?" I asked, heading back out. "It was awesome!" I said, and still clutching Esgal, made my way back out.
"You know, we'll need some sort of dog-door put in the front door." Uncle Jonathan remarked.
"Easily done." Dad answered. "I've done that sort of work before." He said, and we arrived at the staircase that was at the left of the main hallway, facing from the door. It, also, was wood, and the stairs were carpeted with red.
Ivrinel gaped. "It's a floating staircase!" She said excitedly, and we nodded. There were no supports underneath the spiraling staircase, and one could see between the wooden slats of the stairs the empty space underneath.
"Aww, awesome!" Elíl said, and we headed up.
We paused to look at the landing admiringly. It was large and had three different doorways leading from it, one to the left, the other to the right, and one that led to the outer balcony that overlooked the front lawn. It was set with a few chairs in front of the large windows that were curtained with the same, heavy red velvet as downstairs, trimmed with gold. There were a few small chess tables as well, and a tiny fireplace was tucked cozily into the left wall.
Amroth strode over to it. "There's also a few interesting features about this house." He said, and pressed down on the horse head that decorated the mantle of the fireplace. There was a grating sound, and a smaller door opened in a panel of wood next to the fireplace. "This small panel was a hiding place for small jewels and precious trinkets." He explained, and indeed there was a series of shelves that could have held small coffers.
"Cool!" Pityo declared.
"That is interesting." Káno remarked.
"This whole house is interesting in its style." Tyelko pointed out reasonably.
"True. I, for one, want to see my room, but I didn't see any on the first floor." He said.
"I did!" Mairon declared. "They were past the staircase. Didn't you see the hallway next to it? There were doors off of that one too." He said.
"Yes, that's where the first floor rooms are." Amroth agreed. "I will tell you that they are more modern, however, than the rest of the house." He said with a smile, and we nodded.
"Oh, I choose a room to the left!" I said, beelining down the left hallway with Glorfindel following after as well as the rest.
There were five separate doors, and I decided to look into the first one. Opening it, I crowded in with the rest. There was a four-poster, double bed in it, with a single mattress but nothing else. It had a small fireplace, as I suspected almost all the rooms probably did, and a pair of chairs and small table. A single tiger fur acted as a rug over the dark wooden floor. There were golden curtains, and the room had been wallpapered with a tan color.
"Whoa." Tyelko noted. "That is quite unexpected... But amazing." He said.
"I want this room." Moryo declared.
"It is you." Nerdanel agreed, and we nodded.
"Yep. Let's go see the next one!" I said, and we eagerly went to the next one. It turned out to be the bathroom.
"Oh, look!" I said. "It could be a match for Moryo's room."
It had yellow wallpapered walls and a a white tiled floor with a single sink and wall-mirror at the far end. To the left was a yellow and black tiled bathtub and glassed shower stall.
"Cool!" Elíl said.
The next room was almost shocking. "Our room!" The red-haired twins clamored.
"Totally." Lir said.
It was wallpapered a pale blue, and there were a bunk bed built into the left wall. A huge bay window straight in front was curtained by two sea green curtains, and the windows were painted white with window seats cushioned with pale blue. The railing for the upper bunk was a comfortable padded wood with a wooden ladder leading to the top bunk. Nothing but mattresses were on the beds.
"Wow. It looks like a ship cabin!" I said.
There was a bathroom attached to the left, and inside was a good-sized tub with a shower wand, a rack for towels, a shelf for bottles and other toiletries, and a double sink. The whole thing was blue tile, and the floor was papered with 3D wallpaper that looked like there was a shark and dolphin swimming about underneath our feet.
"Definitely the twins' rooms." Nelyo finished.
The next room, as soon as I saw it, was declared mine and Glorfindel's. The ceiling was wallpapered to look like a 3D night sky, and the bed was in the center of the room, while thick, furry, dark rugs littered the floor. There was a single window that was curtained with tan velvet.
"Red pillows and fur blankets." Elíl declared rightfully, scribbling it down. There were two chairs and a single small table with a fireplace as well. The attached bathroom was large with a double sink that was set on a counter of petrified wood. The bathtub was set on the far end of the room and large enough to fit four people, to my amusement.
And then came the sunroom. I gasped and sat down on the floor. And then yelled. "Valar YES!" And no one laughed, because they were doing the same.
It was all open-windowed, and the wooden beams along with the white walls was nice and cool to the eyes. There was a drink and snack stand to the far right, but the center of attention was in the center. There was a large hot tub that could surely fit almost all of us in it, set in a modern marble platform above the wooden floors. To the left were couches and chairs, along with racks for towels and magazines.
"Oh. My. Valar. This house is awesome!" Lir was cheering.
"You haven't seen half of it." Amroth looked pleased.
"Oh, oh, the other hallway!" And we rushed to go see it. The other hallway had another four rooms as well.
The first one was interesting. It's theme was like that of a cave, with black wallpaper and looking like rough rock. There was a dark couch, a wood table, and a fireplace of stone. The bed was interesting, a wooden frame that was curved to that it would rock in place if one sat on it.
"Ooh. It's like batman's lair." Dad snickered, and we laughed.
The bathroom next to it was tiled black and white, with the double sink and large bathtub set in a wall. The closet for towels and things was set in the wall as well, and there were two.
"One for a guest, the other for whoever stays in the batman room." Ecthelion quipped, and we nodded in agreement.
The second room was claimed by my parents. It was simple and yet comfortable. It was completely paneled by wood, even the walls and ceiling, with a wooden bladed fan and matching wooden table, chairs, and completed with a wooden framed bed to the left. The fireplace was made from stone, however, and it also had a window that was curtained with a chocolate colored silk.
The attached bathroom was rustic and quaint, with the single shower stall slash tub in the back and the left having the single large sink. The left had two closets for toiletries and towels, bathrobes and other things.
As soon as we saw the third room, Maeglin and Mairon clamored to claim it. I almost shrieked when I saw it. Lir actually did. Elíl squalled.
"Amazing." Nerdanel breathed.
It had two beds on either side of the walls, both of them set high up like bunk beds and reached by wooden ladders. In the center of the room was a thick wooden tree-trunk that held up an indoor treehouse complete with roped sides, though it wasn't but fifteen feet above the ground. The netted sides also stretched to the two beds on either side as well. In the treehouse were two desks and chairs, while set in the supporting trunk was a fireplace. Hung from the platform part of the treehouse and I front of the fireplace were two rope hammocks that served as chairs, while a small table sat between them, with a cubby in the lower area for books. Green velvet served as curtains for the single window in the back.
The bathroom was small, similar to the twins' bathroom but with wood accents and carpeted with red. The tub was set in the left wall while the shower was on the right, and the double sinks between them. Crammed but practical for two nonetheless.
The fourth and final room for the second floor was claimed by Ivrinel. "I've been waiting for this room." She declared, and we had to agree.
It was perfect for a Teleri elf. The walls were a nice blue-grey color, like stormy skies, and in the center of the room was the bed. It was a hammock like you would find in the cabin of a ship, only more larger and big enough to fit a double mattress when stretched out. A wooden framed, full length mirror was set in the wall, and a shelf was set in the wall as well. Like every other room, there was a closet, a small table, and two chairs, along with the fireplace.
"Wicker laundry baskets, and a study desk would finish it off nicely." Elíl said.
"Well, that finishes the second floor. Why don't we go see the first floor rooms before we move to the third?" Amroth suggested, and we took it cheerfully.
"Why did the millionaire do all of this renovation?" Glorfindel asked.
"I'm not sure. I think he wanted it to be a more modern home as far as bedrooms went, but at the same time wanted to leave the more visible areas archaic. Like an open-house tourism thing." He answered.
"And for us." I said. "The Valar have their plans." I said with a grin, and they heartily agreed.
I can't wait to see the rest of this house.