AN: Hello! As requested, here is the next chapter. I do hope you enjoy it as much as I was entertained writing it :)
With the knowledge that the rest of her family would be coming into the cottage very soon, Emily quickly felt the need to hid all evidence that she had been crying. She excused herself from her uncle's presence and slipped into the washroom to wash her face and try to bring down the puffiness around her eyes with the cold water. When she emerged, her ears were greeted by the sound of Clare and Joel arguing about something and her parents paying them no mind while they seemed to be chatting with Legolas about how things went in town.
Glancing at the living room, she saw that Thranduil was standing, gazing out the window at the lake. Carefully, Emily wandered over. Standing beside him her head didn't even come close to being the same height as his shoulder, and for a moment when Emily peeked up at him, it struck her how dwarfed she was by his stature.
"How was town?" she asked quietly, feeling suddenly shy of her grandfather for no particular reason (well, none that she could identify).
A soft smile tugged at his mouth and he replied, "Lively and noisy, like most of your world."
"Yeah. It's not really very peaceful..."
"No. It is not. But some parts of it are peaceful, and even amid the noise there are some pleasantries."
Thranduil took his eyes away from the lake and turned them on Emily, studying her carefully. She tried to causally avoid his gaze by looking over at Mayhem who was sleeping soundly in the sunshine. The cat looked wonderfully warm, black coat glistening in the light and Emily felt a sudden urge to pick her up.
"You've been crying, penneth." said the elf very softly so only she would hear. The girl sighed internally. She had been hoping that the swelling around her eyes had gone down enough. Apparently not.
"Yeah. I was hoping no one would notice."
"Ah. Then perhaps we shall pretend that I did not?"
Emily smiled a little, and then gave a quick, grateful look. "That would be good for right now. I might start again. I don't really want to have to try and explain to mum and dad why I'm crying, and Clare would get all big-sistery...Joel would probably just find something to do that wasn't where I was. He doesn't like it when people cry cause he doesn't know what to do, and that makes him irritable."
"Hey Emily! Catch." Clare suddenly called cheerily.
Emily whipped round just in time to catch the book that was flying towards her.
"That's the one you wanted, right?"
Looking down at the book in her hands, Emily read the cover.
'Go Jump in the Pool', By Gordon Korman. That's the one I've been meaning to get...
"Yes, but how-"
"Good. Enjoy!" With that Clare vanished back into the kitchen.
"My family is so weird sometimes..." said Emily as she stared after Clare, bemused by her sister's behaviour.
"Indeed." Thranduil commented dryly, causing Emily's eyes to widen and she went pink as she quickly babbled, "I mean, not everyone...mostly, I think. You aren't...well actually you are but it depends on what world you're in..."
She paused as her grandfather tilted his head slightly to one side with a tiny smirk. Emily grimaced and said, "I'm just digging myself a bigger hole, aren't I..."
"Yes." Laughed Thranduil.
Emily fidgeted, looked longingly at the book in her hands, cast him a shy smile, and then slipped over to the couch to curl up with the story. She was quickly absorbed and nearly done the first page when she detected movement beside her. The next thing she knew there was an arm slipped carefully around her shoulders and she was drawn comfortably against her grandfather's side. Then the book was gently taken from her hands and Thranduil had turned it over to read the description of the story on the back. He handed it back when he was finished and said calmly, "Read it to me."
His granddaughter tensed at his words.
"I'm not very good at it...reading out loud, I mean..."
"All the more reason to practice."
She stared at the book in her hands, then stole a look at Thranduil. Oddly enough she didn't feel the least bit pressured to do as he said. It was more of an invitation, coupled with an gentle challenge. Casting a quick look to where the rest of her family were, Emily hesitated.
"They are not paying any attention, penneth." came the soft whisper near her ear. Biting her lip, Emily thought about it, then opened the book and began timidly, painfully her voice quavered a little from nervousness. She had taken a long time to learn how to read, needing extra help from her teachers at school. Unlike many children, she seemed to be unable to sound out the words on the page, getting muddled over the sounds and putting them in the wrong order. It had been a long, painful process of learning, and she had dreaded being called upon to read aloud in class. Even now she felt a twinge of panic if she was asked to read something, despite having improved greatly since childhood.
Gradually, as she got more into the humorous story, Emily began to forget she was even reading out loud or that anyone else was there. She didn't even notice when Legolas, Clare and Joel joined them, sitting quietly and listening to the story. It was only when the story had reached a particularly funny part at the end of a chapter and they began to laugh that Emily realized. The words of the first sentence in the next chapter stuck in her throat and she fell silent as anxiety flooded her stomach. Without a word, Thranduil removed the book from her hands, subtly tightening the arm around her comfortingly and began to read aloud instead.
The instant his voice filled the room, Emily knew they were in for a pleasant surprise. As she listened with delight, Thranduil began to cause the story to take on a whole new level of hilarity by changing his voice for each character when they spoke. It was possibly the best thing Emily had heard in a long time and the other listeners agreed, doubling over with fits of giggles and laughter. What made it funnier was the fact that he still manage to keep his facial expression completely neutral, no matter what voice was coming out of him or what he was saying. Other than the occasional tremor of amusement in his voice and the dance of mirth in his eyes, it was difficult to know if he actually found any of it as comical as the others did. About the point in which he was doing the voice of an eccentric headmistress of a girl's school, Emily entirely lost it and was reduced to shaking silently with laughter as she hid her face against her grandfather's tunic. Mid sentence in the story, Thranduil seamlessly launched into asking, "And are you going breath at some point, Emily?"
This only made her laugh more, and she doubled over silently, mildly wondering if she was going to pass out until she was finally able to draw a dramatic breath, causing her siblings and uncle to laugh even harder.
"What on earth is going on in here? You sound like a pack of hyenas!" Aewnith exclaimed as she came in from the deck, smiling.
Legolas calmed enough to say, "Ada is reading to us."
A look of sheer glee graced the face of Aewnith and she said, "Ada is reading to us? How lovely! Now that is something I have not heard in a very very long time! No wonder everyone is in stitches." With that she bounced over the back of the couch in a very youthful manner that caused her children to stare at her in shock as she settled comfortably on the other side of Thranduil, waiting expectantly for him to continue. It was then that the elf-king finally laughed merrily, before continuing the story, interrupted many times by the great howls of hilarity around him.
It wasn't long before the book was finished and Farland had announced that it was time to eat, thanking his father-in-law sincerely for the entertainment while they waited, clearly having been able to hear the everything in the kitchen and also enjoy the carryings on.
After dinner, Legolas and Clare volunteered to wash up. Currently, the blond elf was deep in thought about the earlier events of that day.
"Clare," he said quietly as he put another plate it away, "How long has Emily been playing the violin?"
The young woman looked at him curiously. "How did you know she played? Did she tell you?"
"No. I over heard her playing late this morning when she believed she was alone on the island."
Clare nodded. "Yeah. That makes sense. She hasn't played in front of anyone for over a year now. She straight up refuses to do it and mum made us stop bugging her about because it was making Emily so upset."
"And why does she not play for you?" Legolas asked, although he already suspected the answer.
"She doesn't think she's good enough." sighed Clare. "I don't know exactly when this mentality stared, well over a year ago I think though. But, one day she just stopped playing violin if people were around. I had believed she given up playing entirely until one day I got home early from a trip and caught her playing. I asked her about it once. She just shrugged and told me it hurt to fight with the music and that it was easier to try making peace with it when no one was around. Then she got a funny look on her face and said that playing for people was too vulnerable and that it made her feel too exposed."
Pondering this, Legolas silently dried the dishes and put them away.
"She used to sing all the time too, but I've hardly heard her in a while. It worries me, actually, because it used to be a joke that music just bubbled out of Emily all by itself; she couldn't stop it. Did you know she sang recognizable things as a baby before she ever said anything understandable?"
"Did she?" said Legolas with interest, smiling a little at the thought of a toddler Emily wandering around and singing.
"Yup. It was pretty cute."
"Tell me," he asked, starting into his next line of inquiry, "Have Emily and Joel always had trouble getting along?"
Clare laughed humourlessly. "No. No, Emily used to idolize Joel. She would follow him around like a puppy and want to do everything he did. He could do no wrong in her eyes and she couldn't get enough of spending time with him, even if that meant sitting for hours in the workshop watching him work on a project. And he used to love having her there and would build all kinds of neat things for her to play with. He would tell her all about whatever he was working on and lap up all the sibling 'worship' she gave him. To be honest it didn't help his ego much having his own personal fan wandering after him all the time."
Legolas expertly hid a smile and waited for Clare to continue.
"Anyway, as Emily got older, Joel started having more 'important' things to do, gradually paying less and less attention to her when she was in the shop. She started to realize that she was always the one seeking out his company and that he never spent time with her unless it was convenient. Then he started making promises he wouldn't keep. She would ask him to do something with her and he would promise he would, then turn round and be working on a project instead. She would forgive him again and again, hoping that maybe just once he would keep his word." Clare grew somewhat grim. "Eventually, Emily got frustrated and too hurt by all the disappointment. She gave up trying to get him to spend time with her. What understanding and friendship there was between them died to a smouldering ember, then this past year it was snuffed out entirely when Joel started travelling more. They've been at odds ever since."
Clare let the water out of the sink and the leaned on the counter as she watched the water disappear. "I try really hard to be a good sister to Emily. I called as much as I could this past year while I was in Europe because I knew that my going away at the same time as Joel was going to be so hard for her. I came home as much as possible, which was only twice...But it's not always enough to just talk on the phone and have quick visits. Emily needed me so many times and I wasn't there. Then her best friend Rory moved away...it's been a really rough year for her. A lot of people leaving. Now, to top it off we've gone and made her feel even worse because we didn't tell her about who we really are...and yet she's just pushing ahead, moving forwards and still amazing me at every turn. I wish I was as resilient as she is. She is incredible."
"How so?" Legolas asked softly, curious to know what Emily's sister thought of her.
"Well, for example, if I had been in Emily's place and found out I wasn't told that my family actually came from another world, I would not have been like her at all! I would have been spitting mad for weeks and then grudging for the next few months. I would have taken every opportunity to make everyone else feel so bad for hurting me..." Flashing a slightly embarrassed smile at Legolas, Clare said in small voice, "I'm not very good at letting go of grudges. I don't understand how Emily does it."
With the dishes complete, the pair rejoined the rest of the group in the sitting area, a place that seemed to be tradition to congregating in during the evenings. Everything was peaceful. Once again there was considerable amounts of conversation centered around the inner workings of earth and society. They had just started taking about 'internet' when Legolas inquired how it worked.
"Oh! It's really very simple!" Joel said as he strolled into the room holding what looked to be the brownie that Emily had set aside for later in his hand. Legolas eyed the object and then asked pointedly, "Is that not Emily's?"
Joel glanced down at the not yet eaten brownie an shrugged, opening his mouth to reply, but never getting the chance to utter a word. Emily came streaking in from the next room and tackled her brother in a full body grapple, catching him off guard and sending them both tumbling sideways onto the couch, narrowly missing their uncle in the process. Joel uttered a surprised exclamation which was drowned out by Emily's own indignant cry.
"That's MINE you horrid brother! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS EAT MY FOOD! Give me that you big turd-bloossm!"
"Get off of me, Em!" yelled Joel, trying to sound irritated at being caught unawares, but secretly enjoying himself. "You snooze, you lose! It's mine now."
With that he tried to push her off and went to put the brownie in his mouth.
"Oh no you don't!"
Emily gave a growl and then wriggled out of the way of his foot, launching herself at his arm and pinning it with her small weight. Then she bit him soundly on the wrist, eliciting a very undignified, high pitched cry from Joel.
"DON"T BITE ME!"
"Then give me back my food!" said Emily fiercely, losing her hold a little and unfortunately giving her brother the advantage. He rolled, dragging them both onto the floor, rattling the coffee table in the process and then sat on Emily, shoving her face into the carpet.
"I think I already made it clear that its mine now." said Joel smugly.
Aewnith very nearly intervened then, looking somewhat displeased by their antics and giving her father an exasperated look. Thranduil, on the other hand, was mildly pleased that Emily was actually using some of what she had learned from himself and Glorfindel to wrestle her brother. And she wasn't finished. She flicked her free arm out, and then poked Joel's side carefully near his ribs. It made him squirm enough for her to get out from under him and capture the brownie arm once more, then snatched the brownie, sending a shower of crumbs all over the carpet. Nixie and Reisa were suddenly in the fray, eagerly licking up the crumbs. Then Reisa jumped on Joel and tried to eat his hair. With a surge of energy, Emily rolled away with her brownie and sprang to her feet.
Joel leapt up at the same time and was about to pouch when Emily shovelled the whole thing in her mouth.
"I licked that, by the way." was all he said, in between breaths. Emily rolled her eyes, clearly not believing him, then shrugged casually as she chewed her mouth full, gazing at him innocently. Grumbling, Joel wandered back to the kitchen and then returned with something different to eat. In the meantime, Emily had straightened the table again and was playing with Reisa as though nothing had happened.
It was relatively quiet (aside from Emily and Reisa tussling) until Aewnith asked casually, "So, Emily, what did you think of Ada, Legolas and everyone else when you first met them?"
Biting her lip self-consciously Emily, looked up from where she had been wrestling with Reisa on the carpet and tried to think of how to explain it. "Well...they made interesting first impressions..."
"Oh?"
"It's hard to explain." said Emily feebly, not knowing how to describe it without actually saying what her first impressions had been. They hadn't been very good ones, having been so suspicious and afraid of what Estel, Legolas and the twins might do to her when she met them, and then being so startled by Thranduil that she fell into the river.
"Well, the poor girl was scared of most of us at first. Which was understandable. The twins are a bit much to take in, after all." said Legolas, stepping in cheerily and casting Emily a knowing grin. "However, it was ada who really frightened her...poor girl tripped over with panic and tumbled down the river bank into the Brurien."
Emily groaned and then hid her face in Nixie's fur. There was general noises of interest and amusement over this.
"Ada!" exclaimed Aewnith in mock bemusement. "What did you do to her to make her so taken aback!?"
Thranduil looked extremely impassive and said nonchalantly, "All I did was look at her."
Emily felt herself blushed and mumbled in response to the many inquiries, "I just wasn't really expecting it. It was scary."
A great laugh rose once more and Thranduil cast a quick look at his youngest grandchild who had just peeked up at him from amidst the dog fur. Face very straight, yet eyes dancing he asked coolly (just for effect), "And what, may I ask, was so unexpected about a simple look?"
It had the desired result and Emily, despite knowing he was teasing her, couldn't help but fidget nervously with Nixie's ear's.
"Well...it just...you see...you just-" she trailed off, looking at him and feeling an old familiar feeling of unease bubbling up in her stomach as he observed her with his cold, piercing and calculating gaze. Then she blurted quietly, "Kinda looked like you do right now...please don't..."
"Don't what?" he asked loftily, making Emily struggle once more between laughing or babbling anxiously. Then, she caught the mischievous gleam in his eye and it became impossible to stop the smile that raced forwards through her initial worry. Biting her lips tightly, she said, "Stooop." as she went red and added shyly, "I prefer it when you're smirking like you know something we don't..."
Thranduil smirked then, causing Emily to smile before going back to playing tug-of-war with Reisa in the hopes of avoiding anymore discussion of her first time in Middle Earth. It still wasn't something she wanted to full share yet. Thankfully, her uncle had somehow picked up on her reluctance to tell of her adventures and decided instead to share some of his own in order to distract everyone. In and around listening, Emily was also quietly talking to her dog while they played in a voice that was only ever reserved for children and pets. Eventually both grew tired out and they flopped side by side on the floor.
The rain began to pound down upon the shingled roof of the cottage. It was a peaceful sound that mixed nicely with the voices of her family. Emily closed her eyes and just listened, heart absorbing all the beauty of the noise around her. She drifted slowly towards sleep despite it still being early in the evening. But then she had gotten up earlier than normal and dealing with internal turmoil is exhausting, so perhaps it was reasonable that she was so tired.
The feeling of her upper body being shifted and settled into a lap woke her just enough to vaguely pay attention to words being exchanged.
"I used to have to do this when she was little. It was impossible to brush her hair. She just squirmed the whole time. Eventually she grew to enjoy having me do it for her, but then she became more independent and I haven't done it in a long while..."
Ah, mum is trying to sneakily comb my hair...ha, I've always loved it, I just had other more important things to do when I was a kid than have my hair done...
With a mental shrug, Emily let herself enjoy the pleasant feeling of her hair being played with and went back to sleep. A little while later she was being dragged to the surface of wakefulness again by her mother telling her she should go to bed.
"Is warm...don't wanna walk and get wet...staying here..." she mumbled, eyes still closed and trying to escape back into sleep. She heard her mother give a amused sort of sigh and then say something in elvish. The deeper voice of Thranduil replied in kind with a low chuckle and then Emily felt herself being picked up and moved to the couch. She recognized the sweet woodsy scent of her grandfather and made no effort to resist being carried, instead falling back asleep before her head ever touch the pillows on the couch.
All was dark when Emily woke yet again, hours later. This time it was not a pleasant awakening since she had been having a nightmare. Unlike in Imladris, she never woke screaming anymore, and she hadn't been unable to wake herself in a very long time so she was relatively confident that her parents didn't even know she had frequent nightmares.
Tonight she dealt with it much the same as she would any other night. She reached over and flicked on a lamp, then she looked for her cat, Hobbes, who slept in her room at home and was always there to help chase the dreams away with his comforting purring.
He jumped up onto the couch almost immediately, having done this enough times to sense when his human was going to give him snuggles.
Emily heaved the large cat into her arms and hugged him close, not caring he was purring so loudly and happily that he was drooling on her. Taking a shuddering breath and calming herself just like Glorfindel had taught her, Emily looked around the room, just to make sure there really were no 'bad guys'.
Movement in the shadows by the big window made her heart stop. It started again with a wave of relief when the tall form of Thranduil stepped into the light and glided quietly across to her.
"Emily, how often do you suffer from the nightmares?" he asked softly when she and Hobbes were both settled comfortably under his arm.
"I don't know." she whispered. "It kind depends on what's going on in life...for example, they get worse when I have exams at school or I'm upset about something. Or when I've been worrying about things..."
"Your parents know nothing of them or what events transpired to cause them." said Thranduil in a low voice. It was a statement more than a question.
Emily shook her head and then whispered earnestly, "Please don't tell them. I don't want them to know. Especially mum. She worries a lot. I can tell even though she tries to hid it. She always stands a certain way...it's just...they'll worry and fuss so much. And they have more than enough stress already, they don't need the added burden of something they cannot change. Please, promise you won't tell them?"
Thranduil remained silent for some time, absentmindedly carding through her hair while he considered the request. Emily remained apprehensive as she waited for his answer.
"I will agree, on one condition." he finally said in a tone that conveyed that this was no idle promise, but rather something of great seriousness. "You must promise me something in return."
He waited for Emily to respond and when she did, her voice sounded worried.
"What do I have to promise?"
"You must promise me that you will come to either myself or Legolas when you are being plagued by the dreams."
"But, they are just dreams. They aren't important." she said in a small voice, eyes pleading for him to let it go. But the older elf shook his head firmly.
"That may be, however, you are important, penneth. I will not just stand by and allow you to suffer alone."
"What counts as being plagued by the dreams?"
"More than one in a night, or when one is particularly frightening..."
Emily tried again to brush off her dreams, "But it's not that bad! I just...it's...it's fine. I don't-"
"Those are my terms, Emily. If you desire my silence in this matter, then that is what you must agree to." Thranduil interrupted steadily, though not giving any further explanation for why he was insisting on these specific terms. As a king, he did not often explain himself if he did not feel it was needed.
"But, I don't understand why..."
Again, Thranduil offered no explanation, but merely waited for her to agree or disagree.
Emily thought about it for a fair amount of time before partially hiding her face in her blanket and mumbling a defeated, "Ok."
"Ok...what, exactly?" Asked the elf-king.
"Ok, I promise to come to you or Legolas if the dreams are bad..." said Emily, face still turned down against him and hidden by her blanket.
"No. Look me in the eye and say it." said Thranduil with a mild sharpness to his voice. It was not the least bit harsh, but it did make Emily flinch and then reluctantly lift her face so she could look at her grandfather properly. She said it again, but this time her eyes flicked away from his periodically.
The look he gave her made Emily squirm and want to hide.
"Try again." he commanded sternly. Emily bit her lip and looked down to study her hands for a moment. She knew this wasn't an idle promise by the way she was being forced to look him right in the eye when she made it. And she knew he could tell if she meant it or not. She just didn't want to promise because she knew if she did, she wouldn't ever be able to pretend things didn't get bad for her and keep going without anyone knowing. She didn't want to become a burden.
Besides, I'm almost eighteen...I'm not a little kid. I don't understand why this is such a big deal...I mean, yes, it's can get bad sometimes and I don't really sleep at all, but whatever. That's life, right? I just have to deal with it...but if I don't want mum and dad to know about what happened, I guess I don't have any choice but to promise...they would worry so much, I can't do that to them...and I don't want them to get anymore overprotective than they already are. Ugh, mum would hover so much if she knew...not that I can be mad at her for that, but still-
Her grandfather's quiet voice brought Emily back from her thoughts.
"Is it really such a terrible thing to come to Legolas or myself, penneth?"
Emily thought about this, then had to admit that right now she did feel pretty safe from every horrible dark thought or imagination that often haunted her whenever she had nightmares. In her mind, her nightmares could never be as intimidating or frightening as her grandfather and so she snuggled closer and then lifted her head shyly, meeting his piecing gaze and then managing to say, "I promise to come."
His face softened instantly and was graced with a smile of approval that Emily felt deeply in her heart.
"Good." he said. "Then we have an agreement. Do not forget it, for I shall not."
Sunshine blazing down through the leaves of the trees, Emily run up down the trail to where her siblings and uncle were supposed to be. The three had decided to go cliff jumping. It wasn't a very high cliff, but it was high enough that it brought back memories of jumping off the forty footer at camp, and that was not a pleasant experience, therefore Emily had no intention of jumping. Possibly just swimming instead because although Emily personally didn't want to jump, she also didn't want to be left out of the fun anymore. Therefore, she was dashing through the trees in order to met up with them.
As she passed the fire pit and saw her brother basking in the sun by the picnic table, Emily slowed and was about to ask what was going on when suddenly he sat up and flicked cold jello at her. Stunned by his rare outburst of good natured fun, Emily blinked once, then without a second thought reached her hand into the bowl beside her on the picnic table and flung a fist full right at his head. Joel shot to his feet with a cry, then turned with mock menace towards her.
Emily shrieked and scrambled away, giggling, thoroughly enjoying the fact that sticky jello was sliding down into Joel's face.
"You are soooo going to get it, brat!" growled Joel, fighting back a laugh as he sprang after her.
He cased her all the way up the path to where Clare and Legolas were jumping from the ledge into the water below. It would seem that they both were still in the water when Emily came bursting out of the trees because she didn't see them up there.
Rats! They were going to be my safety net! Legolas wouldn't let Joel get me...
"HAH!" cried Joel in triumph. "You have no were to go! Except into the lake..."
Emily felt her insides freeze as she grasped what her brother intended to do. He had done it once before when she was ten and she had pretend it was fun because she hadn't had the heart to tell him she was scared, fearing it would make him feel badly. Realistically it had actually been the beginning of her developing her fear of heights.
Turning a deathly white color, Emily took a step away as her brother ran towards her, breath coming in short gasps as she frantically tried to make her voice work.
"Joel! N-No d-d-on't!" she cried, holding her hands out in front hoping it would stop him.
Seconds later there was a blur as someone flashed out of the bushes and crashed into her brother, sending them both assailant and Joel flying off the cliff edge and down into the water below. Emily gasped and stood frozen in shock, blinking when she heard the sound 'splash' and then forcing herself to creep to the edge and peer down while holding tightly to a tree branch. She could see her brother spluttering and laughing nervously as he tread water warily before their uncle. Legolas laughed lightly as well, and then said something that Emily couldn't hear over top of the wind and lapping of water against the cliff face. The pair swam to shore and headed up the path as though nothing was wrong, but by the time they reached to top, Joel was a little pale and shaken. Emily glanced at her uncle but his face betrayed nothing of what might have caused the change in her brother's usually overconfident demeanour. Instead he asked cheerily if anyone was hungry and suggested they go start helping to prepare something. The two followed in an odd stunned silence. Legolas bounded down the path easily, leaving distance between himself and the siblings. Joel slowed to a standstill and grabbed Emily's arm lightly to stop her.
"Emily, I'm so sorry. Really, I am. I didn't realize that heights had become such an issue for you. That was stupid of me." said Joel awkwardly. "I won't forget after this."
Emily just stared up at her brother, mouth slightly open in amazement. He shifted uncomfortably and then began to walk again, leaving his sister behind.
Joel...Joel just apologized!?
She stood there bewildered, then she followed after the other two. Being the only one dry, she was actually first in the kitchen. Legolas emerged from his room not long after and they began to prepare the food together.
"Joel just apologized to me." said Emily, still trying to wrap her head around it. "He never apologizes!"
Legolas looked at her with a pleased smile and said, "Did he? Well that was good of him."
Narrowing her eyes, Emily looked at her uncle with suspicion. "Did you do something to him?"
"Other than tackle him off a cliff?" asked Legolas innocently. "What gave you that idea?"
"What did you do?"
With a small smile, Legolas shock his head and said with gentle seriousness, "Whatever might have taken place afterwards, I cannot say. It was between myself and your brother, Emily."
With a huff, Emily said, "Funny, I didn't see any bruises on him...so it couldn't have been so terrible..."
Laughing, Legolas scolded, "Don't be fishing for information, penneth. It won't work."
With a 'dejected' sigh, Emily settled into cutting up vegetables and doing as her uncle instructed, no longer fishing for information, but rather accepting that she was just going to have to be curious.
The rest of the morning was passing pleasantly enough, however, Emily couldn't help but feel there was something missing. Some how it wasn't lively enough and everyone else was too content to just sit around and talk or read. Boring!
Well, yes, we did go water skiing and that was great. And they were swimming and cliff jumping earlier, but I'm bored. I need a new book...actually no. I want to do something fun! Hmmmm...what to do, what to do, what to do...Reisa is passed out and Hobbes doesn't want to play...Clare is painting. Mum, dad and...I guess I can call him 'daerada' now, well they are all being serious and boring...and Legolas...I mean, 'vede'...I don't think he minds which I call him, but anyway, he's fixing the boat with Joel. Ugh. I'm soooo bored!
Opening the fridge in hopes that it would inspire something to do, Emily sighed. Then closed the fridge again and slapped her bare feet on the floor. Suddenly a brilliant thought entered her mind. Joel had jumped out and scared her multiple times in the past two days, it was time to even that out a bit...and she knew exactly how to do it.
Oh, but it's going to take perfect timing...what time is it? I can do this! Totally. Its just going to be tricky, which makes it even better...right, first thing it first...
Breathing as calmly as she could, Emily waited, poised and ready to strike. Then as her would be victim spoke in response to a question as he entered the room she froze and internally panicked realizing that it was not her brother coming to the fridge just yet, but rather her grandfather. There was little time to think and the next thing she knew, the door opened.
Never before had she seen the elf-king flinch in surprise and by the way his eyes momentarily widened and his hand flicked slightly with sharp instinctual alertness as alarm flashed through him, Emily knew that this was not a common occurrence. She ducked her head, then flashed an unrepentant smile and hastily put her finger to her lips, eyes pleading that he not give her away. Thranduil swiftly recovered himself and reached in a hand to receive the water jug he had come for. Then, with a tiny quirk of a smile, he closed the door.
"I am afraid I could not find what you asked for, Joel." she heard him say in a tone that sounded regretful. A wicked grin spread across her face and Emily internally dance with glee, wordlessly sending all the love and thanks she could in the direction of her grandfather. Joel predictably came, still talking importantly about his plans for the solar system. Emily got ready.
The 'roar' from Emily and spectacular man-shriek that followed was enough to send everyone (except Thranduil) straight to their feet in alarmed confusion. It was quickly dissipated by the diabolical laughter that came from Emily as she bounced out of the fridge and grinned down at her brother who had fallen to the floor moments earlier with a look of absolute horror on his face. The family crowded into the kitchen, taking in the scene with bemused smiles. Farland and Legolas in particular looked extremely entertained as they put the pieces together and realized what had happened. Aewnith was doing her best to look calm and unimpressed, but there was laughter lurking around her mouth.
"Ohhhh...Joel! She got you but gooood." laughed Clare, enjoying the look on the victim's face.
"Emily!" gasped Joel, blinking at her while breathing hard.
His little sister danced with delight on the spot and then chortled, "I think that makes us even."
"EVEN!?" he said, dragging himself to his feet and staring at her in disbelief. "You scared the shhhhhi...tuffing out of me! How does that possibly make us even! Even from what!?"
Rolling her eyes and closing the door of the fridge, Emily replied with mild impatience.
"Joel. You've scared me four times in the past twenty-four hours. Then you pretended you were going to tackle me OFF A CLIFF! So, I think that you win in the department of scaring the crap out of people today. I have merely evened things out a bit."
Her brother shook his head and stared at Emily in a mixture of awe and wariness, still trying to get his heart rate back under control.
"Jeepers, kid. You've gotten good in my absence. That was crazy! How long were you in there anyway?"
A smile of absolute triumph crossed her face.
"A while. I was getting cold actually. Good thing you came along when you did or I would have resorted to scaring someone else..." with that comment, Emily stole a sly look over at Thranduil who appeared to remain impassive aside from a twitch in his cheek. A look of comprehension flooded Joel's features and he looked wildly at his stoic grandfather.
"Wait...but you went to the fridge first..." the young man said carefully. "And didn't say anything about...but that means-"
He trailed off staring in disbelief, for up until this point Joel had yet to fully understand the elf-king was not as proper and stern as he would have people suppose. Thranduil casually examined one of his rings and said quietly, "Ah, yes. I seem to recall there being sometime strange about the fridge..."
Joel blinked and then turned back to Emily. "How did you manage to not surprise him? Or was he in on the whole thing!"
"Well, daerada isn't very easy to surprise...and no, he wasn't." Emily lifted her chin with a degree of pride and completely missing the tender look that flashed across Thranduil's face at her use of 'daerada'. "I did it on my own."
"Well then," interjected Aewnith with a motherly sternness about her, "Since you did this on your own, you may return things to their rightful place. Now."
"Yes, mum." was the meek reply. Her mother passed her on the way out and gave her cheek an affectionate brush with her hand. The rest chuckled and dispersed as well, leaving Emily by herself to put everything back in the fridge. Well, perhaps she not entirely alone.
Thranduil quietly remained and then silently began to hand her things from the coolers. When they had finished and Emily peeked up at him with her mischievous grin and knowing look, he couldn't contain the chuckle. But he quickly grew serious once more, drawing Emily into a warm hug and whispering into her ear, "Penneth, I must warn you to be more careful in the future and to be very cautious of surprising individuals with age old reflexes that have been trained for combat. I could have harmed you, dear heart, had I not been able to stop those reflexes."
He felt the small girl stiffen a little and heard her soft, "Yea...I actually thought of that right before you opened the door, but I didn't know what to do at that point...so I hoped for the best. I mean, I was kinda banking on you just already knowing I was there..."
Tightening the embrace gently, then releasing her, Thranduil smirked down at her and then lead the way into the sitting area without another word.
The group settled comfortably and peacefully returned to their activities. Clare, Joel, Emily and Legolas entertained themselves by playing a game while the other 'adults' sat reading. At one point, while Clare and Joel argued briefly about the rules of the game, Legolas leaned over to Emily and said quietly, "I do not suppose you have realised yet what you have done by surprising ada the way you did, have you?"
Emily looked confused. "What have I done..."
Her uncle smiled like a Cheshire cat. "Oh dear, Emily. It is unheard of that an elf be surprised in such a way and there not be some kind of...repayment."
Eyes widening with sudden understanding, Emily swallowed hard and the cast a hastily look to her grandfather who was sitting near by, serenely turning the page of his book. He gave no indication that he was listening, and the tiny smirk that formed could have been due to the story he read, but when Emily saw it, she felt dread settle deep within her gut.
Quickly looking back to Legolas she whispered, "Save me."
The elf laughed pleasantly and gave her nose an affectionate tap. "No, my dear, I cannot do that."
And with those words, Emily found her fate was finalized. Somewhere, somehow and sometime...she was going to regret climbing into that fridge.
AN: Tadaaa! There ya go. Hope you liked it. Once again, comments and requests for future chapters are very welcome :) Let me know what you think will happen/ hope to see happen!