Susan was quite lost finding the perfect dresses when the twins came to her rescue.
"Isn't this overwhelming? We thought it would not be a problem when we made our first trip here at the age of 30 (we looked like 15 at that age), but when we discovered that there was a limit for every visit, we could not make up our minds on which dresses we should take." Nimoloth said as she approached.
"Even back in Narnia, we did not have such luxury. All we had was a royal seamstress who would only sew clothes after taking in orders. I truly have to say that I'm impressed." The human said admiringly.
"Women are viewed equally most of the times in Gondor. In the pass, there were rules restricting females from this and that but now that father is on the throne, he has refined and banished all the old-fashioned policies. If not, this wardrobe would never have been built." Elwing eyes lit up with pride at the mentioning of her father and Susan knew instantly that she admired Aragorn deeply.
"I think I am done with choosing. Ellie, help Susan out while I go find Alana help me fix these." And the younger twin held up the dresses she had chosen and stride towards the seamstress.
"Don't walk too fast, Nimmy, you might trip," The older princess cried out just in time to stop her sister from slipping on a piece of fabric. "She's always careless, a habit she will never change." she turned to tell her friend.
Being reminded of something, Susan asked suddenly, "Will you be free tomorrow? I will be having an archery competition with Prince Legolas tomorrow, could you two come and be our judge?"
"So you're bonding, aren't you?" Elwing avoided the question with a smirk.
"Just answer my question, will you come or not?" The Queen of Old said with an annoyed tone but could not hide the grin which was threatening to curl her lips.
"Fine, we'll come but under the condition that you promise to tell us the truth sooner or later."
"Thank you," Susan gave her friend a big hug and she hopped towards the nearby lilac section to choose her dress while yelling out, "When the right time comes, I'll tell you both. But currently, nothing is happening."
Elwing shrugged and went on with her own picking.
Dinner was nothing particularly special and everyone chatted happily as they ate. However Susan did observe something odd. Legolas came in to the dining room with his nephews and asked them to be judges of the competition held the next day, the twins nodded. As the prince sat at the "royal" table with the brothers walking to their own seats, the brunette elf attempted to smile at Elwing but she coldly turned her head to talk to her sister as if she could not notice the attitude change of Tocatar towards her. I must talk to her later this evening, the Queen of Old thought.
When everyone was done with their meal and Nimoloth had told her sister and friend that she would be wandering in the gardens escorted by Meron, with each other they had been spending more time, Susan knew it was her chance.
"Though I will need a lot of rests tonight to prepare for the competition tomorrow, it's still quite early, would you mind accompanying me for a while before I go to bed, my dear Elwing?" The Gentle Queen asked her friend.
"Of course, I will be most welcomed. After all, I do not have anything in particular to do." She answered delightfully.
As they returned to the girl's room, Susan was quite nervous. She knew her aim was to try ease the stress between the older ones among the twins, but how would she succeed in achieving it? She did not even know how to start the conversation. It's true they were becoming the great of friends and both sisters were a good influence to her in helping her recover from the trauma, however, these issues were rather private to be shared or discussed. Seeing that her pal was quite in a good mood, she was at least sure that the half-elf would not get too angry or unhappy over the topic.
Susan's room was brightly lit with candles as if the dark sky had no effect on it at all. When both were comfortably settled on the big and soft bed, the girl took a deep breath and got the ball rolling with something casual as an appetizer.
"So you've already chosen your gowns?"
"Of course! They were all in silver and greens, I love that color combination a lot, reminds me of elf and forests." the older princess said as she collapsed onto the bed.
"No wonder you like nature so much. But nevertheless, I could tell that you are a sincere animal-lover just by the hunting incident with a certain elf." the queen tried her best to act as natural as she could when hinting about Tocatar.
Her friend did frown a bit but she did not harden her face as much as she usually would. Seeing that she kept quiet, Susan continued, "Tocatar came to find me today and we had a chat." This information did arouse the princess' attention for she turned slightly to face her friend.
"What did he come to talk about?"
"He just came to seek for an audience, that's all. But to the details of it, I'm not sure if it should be shared or not."
"Is it about me then?" Elwing urged for an answer with widened eyes.
"I think he did mention you on some occasions but you won't care, will you?" Susan said as she tried to trick her confidant into answering.
Instead of what she had hoped for, the half-elf turned to look at the ceiling, "I just hope he wasn't speaking badly of me, that's all. Other than that, it does not amuse me to know what he's troubling about or his problems."
Although Susan managed to restore the silent mood into a livelier one with other topics like the royal wedding and the match on the next morning which greatly restored Elwings activeness and cheerfulness, she could not help but wonder what had made the princess decide to be oblivious towards all things concerning the prince's nephew. Was there more to the complicated relationship they shared or was Tocatar not telling the truth? Or would it be that the brunette was too insensitive to notice his actions might have made an forever-damaged impression towards Ellie? Or was it that she was too stubborn to forgive him for that little mistake he had made? Susan knew of nothing . She was not the usual gossiper, curious to know how everyone's life was going on, she just did not want a potential friendship go to ruins because of a silly misunderstanding.
But before she could deal with any of the drama going on, she decided it was best she attended to her own issues by getting a good night's sleep and restore her energy for the eagerly anticipated competition the next day.
Sorry for the few-hours late and short update, hope you did not mind and have enjoyed it. I will definitely describe the archery match with much detailed description. Are you all excited about that scene as I am? I do wish so. You're free to comment and review about what you think, I'll be sure to reply them!
Reply to the Cretin: Thank you for the compliments and support (I'll need lots of it ;P) I agree with you about your views on Legosan and Suspian. Legosan do make a better couple in my opinion. They have lots in common and are both older (or to say wiser?) than they look. As for Suspian, though I have to admit are quite a charming pair (Ben Barnes and Anna Popplewell made it quite convincing in the movie), they definitely would not have a relationship last long since their meeting during Prince Caspian was not necessarily the best time to nurture a relationship.