Sequel 25
Eleanor POV
After the joyous announcement concerning Charlotte, and the amusement with Adindel and Gil-galad, we all have to prepare to leave.
Which, of course means spending ages letting Thanduil, Celeborn and Adindel sort out everything that is theirs, they have rather a lot hanging round. We also have to sell up what we own, namely the house in Bristol.
Eventually everything is sorted out and Ginny and I get sat down for another bombshell. A fifth each of the shares from everything are going to our families that we left behind when we went to Arda.
I can see that Ginny is having some trouble with it as, unlike me, she has never got to meet her family again and sort everything out with them.
My family, that is Ada, Vala and Valya, Legolas, and Thanduil (do not ask why my father in-law wants to come but he does), all go with me to the house near Bodiam to hand over to my parents.
When we get there I let Thanduil detail the deal and he shocks me by saying that the house we are in (The Elizabethan mansion) has not actually been sold, just valued and that value has been factored into their fifth so they can actually have the house to live in. While I am there, saying my final goodbyes, I also hand over my magical bank card that will never run out of money. I am pretty sure my parents are very happy to never have to worry about money again.
The other touching thing is my father gives them heartfelt thanks for bringing me up, looking after me and everything they have done for me that he couldn't. I think they are rather touched by the clear gratitude.
By about mid September we are ready to leave and as a final farewell we held a huge dinner party for Michael and the Taycontars, at which we finally told the latter exactly what was going on.
We all wore medieval dresses, well the girls did anyway, and out of sheer mischief I decided to wear the green dress Legolas had given me on Christmas day, the day the fellowship left from Rivendell. If you have forgotten, that is the one that covers as little as possible and has very little in the way of support.
It was mightily amusing to watch everyone's eyes pop out when I walked in wearing that. Celeborn nearly got killed when he mentioned something about the notion that I probably shouldn't wear the dress around the duke of Rohan.
The next day we left off in the 'tin can' as Ginny called it.
The farewells with Michael and the Taycontars were emotional, particularly for Ginny.
As we sailed off I decided to cheer her up with something. I started to hum 'Rule Brittania'
"They'll be alright, you know," I tell Ginny when I'm finished, arm about her waist.
"I know, but we've got three weeks in a steel can to look forward too."
"We'd best start enjoying ourselves then!" I start humming again.
It soon changes to singing as that is not a song you can just hum.
We then change to land of soapy water (Land of hope and Glory or The Pomp and Circumstance No.1 if you want the real title) Soon I get out my laptop and we stand around singing patriotic British songs and are soon joined by Lottie and those who know the songs. Singing along to some good stirring songs (occasionally adding silly words) is much better than moping.
The time on the boat drags on quite badly, the Valar we not kidding when they called it the long straight road to Valinor.
So Charlotte insists on a girly night in one of the on ship bars (that come complete with comfortable chairs). I am the only one who knows exactly what she means by 'girls night in', though Ginny has a pretty good idea.
We are all in PJ's, or in my case a short cream satin nightdress (what, they're comfortable!) and we start off by sitting round painting each other's nails and things like that.
As we go on though, we consume more alcohol (I spare a mental prayer to the valar for the fact that alcohol consumption won't harm my new in-law growing in Myrwen's stomach as she is going at it as fast as the rest of us are) and become generally more rowdy.
Charlotte, fairly predictably, gets onto the subject of how good looking the local guys are in Valinor.
"Are all Ellyn as hot as the ones I already know?" would be the first question
"You ain't seen nothing yet,Glorfindel, for example, is quite simply the best piece of eye-candy I've ever seen and he's charming to boot. He doesn't live near us unfortunately, but he is Ellie's knight and I'm sure if she asked nicely, we could persuade him to visit." Ginny, I can't help noticing, seems rather too interested in MY knight. I also have a cousin and uncle in-law to think about. I point out that she seems to have forgotten my family members which are giving their all for her and would be mightily disappointed in her if she went off with Glorfindel. Not to mention the fact that getting four guys to fall for her at various stages would be really greedy.
She concedes the point, admitting that she does enjoy being both chased and Chaste.
I decide it is overdue time for me to embarrass her again.
"Of course, Ginny has already seen my uncle completely naked..." I train off, wear what I will admit is a wicked grin.
"Yeah, but I don't think a fully naked male is really all that special – the bottom half sort of detracts from the top half." Anyone who wasn't around for the incident I'm referring too looks a bit confused. I think Charlotte is also confused by the notion that the bottom bit detracts from the top but that is another story...
"But you only saw Adindel from the back in Scotland; he looked rather nice from that angle."
"Oh, we're not talking about Scotland." The expressions change to frown, I think lots of people are very confused.
I decide to explain.
"Remember I told you about us escaping Mirkwood just after I first arrived?" Nods all round "Well what I didn't mention for fear of GBH, courtesy of Adindel, was how we did it." Everyone in the room is riveted on me, I do love this. "The twins decided to pull a prank to distract Thanduil while we rode off out of Mirkwood and the eventually decided upon idea was to tie Adindel to a tree, in his birthday suit and covered in some very crude designs. The way Adindel was twisting to get out of his bond you could see everything!" I have to admit to telling the story with a certain malevolent glee.
Just as I finish telling them that I hear the dulcet tone of the elf in quest, clearly attached to some gap, listening to the conversation. A little bit of magic helps me confirm all the blokes are trying to listen in, the nosy buggers.
"But that was thousands of years ago!"
We all go quiet, trying to decide what to do.
Lottie solves the problem by relaying a joke I told several years ago now.
"Why are men so good at sex?" Ginny and I both deliver the punch line, with great amusement.
"Because they're plugged into a genius!"
We all collapse laughing.
I decide to make my own resonse.
"Men are like lava lamps, fun to look at but not very bright." More laughs.
Ginny then relays another
"Why are blonde jokes always one liner's?" raised eyebrows all round (the majority of the group are blonde if you forgot) "So men could understand them!"
As you can guess, this degenerates significantly, with dirtier and dirtier men jokes being dredged up from our memories, mostly mine and Lottie's on accounts that we have by far the most dirty minds in the group.
I don't think the Ellyn recover from the round of very dirty joke they were really unprepared for coming out of our sweet lips. I have probably dispelled any image in my father's mind that I am innocent though...
Our arrival in Valinor is an emotional affair to say the least.
Everyone glues themselves to the family members they left behind, though thankfully for Charlotte I only really had Naneth to glue myself to.
There are also all fourteen Vala and though I am not sure anyone else noticed it, I notice that Valya wakes at Ulmo and smile, getting a returned smile. I do believe he is fond of her.
Once I have greeted my mother, I introduce Charlotte to everyone, noticing the barely concealed expressions on the faces of the odd sinda who are present.
I look around to see if Galadriel and Celeborn have met up but notice neither is anywhere in sight. I think they are going somewhere private to have their reunion. I bet that will be interesting.
Charlotte grins at me just after I have introduced her and raises her eyebrows suggestively, silently asking if we should give Elrond the present we brought back for him yet. I look around to see Oropher enthusiastically greeting his sons then look back at Lottie and shake my head slightly.
When she gets a private moment she asks why.
"Because, I think Adindel, Thanduil and Celeborn all want to get a look at his face when he gets it as well" She grins and nods.
I have to admit, I am having trouble waiting to do that as well
Oh well it will have to wait...
Ginny's POV
The next few weeks is a flurry of activity as Thanduil, Adindel, and Celeborn set their affairs in order.
They've contacted solicitors and estate agents and whatnot so they can begin the process of selling all their properties. Believe me, it's no easy task as they have so many houses scattered about the place, but they do have enough money and contacts to make sure everything runs smoothly.
We've also got sell our house in Bristol.
Another big decision was what to do with all their money, not only from the sales, but also all the money that was already in their accounts.
It was eventually decided that they would combine their respective fortunes and the resulting amount would be split five ways: to various charities that they supported, to the Tayconters, to Michael and his family, to Ellie's parents, and the final fifth to mine.
Ellie and I are completely speechless when we're told about the latter two fifths; we just sit on the sofa gaping up at the three Elves.
We then look at each other; Ellie grins from ear-to-ear as do I, but I think mine is rather more strained than hers.
I get to my feet and walk up to Adindel; I falter, but soon hug him. I feel a gentle hand placed on each of my shoulders. After a little while, I sniff and release my hold; unable to look into anyone's eyes, I simply stare at my feet and whisper,
"Thank you."
I leave them and walk up to my room, where, to my surprise, I find Ada.
"They said that they were going to tell you and Ellie about what they were going to do with the money."
"My parents would never accept it, especially from someone they didn't know."
"Say it's from you, then."
"Ada, you know I can't do that."
"Well, write to them. A letter doesn't have to be signed."
So, that's what I do; when everyone has gone to bed, I sit at my desk, a full-grown Murrlin lying at my feet, and compose the following:
Please do me the honour of accepting this gift.
I know you will want explanations, but I'm afraid that I can't provide them, either in this letter or in person, for far too much has happened and it would be just too difficult. If you were in my position, I'm sure you'd understand.
Just remember that, no matter where I am, you will always be in my heart – just as you always have been.
Obviously I can't sign my name, so I merely end the letter with 'P.P.' – it stands for 'Parva Persona', which is 'Small Person' in Latin. 'Small Person' was my father's pet-name for me, it became Latinised after I'd started learning the language – a sort of running joke as my father also studied Latin.
I don't know if they'll ever make the connection, but it comforts me anyway.
I look down at the silver bracelet that my Grandma had given me for my Year 11 Prom; I'd made a pact to never take it off and I never have. The tears start to flow – once they start, they don't stop. Murrlin sits up and lays her head in my lap and looks up at my dolefully as I stroke her silken fur.
I think my eyes are still slightly red in the morning, but no one mentions anything. Although Lottie does give me a quick hug.
We all say goodbye to Ellie and her family in the early afternoon – they're going to the house at Bodiam to meet with Ellie's human parents for one last time.
Whilst she's gone, I meet privately with one of our solicitors to give her the letter as well as to instruct her in exactly what I want her to do – the letter can't just be dropped through the door.
Somehow – I have no idea how we managed it – we're all packed and ready to leave by the latter half of September.
The night before we're due to leave, we throw a huge dinner-party and invite the Tayconters as well as Michael.
We have finally let the Tayconters (well, the adults) in on our secret. I expect that they were just as suspicious as Michael had been.
We make the meal a proper black-tie affair, although we all dress up in our medieval clothes.
Despite the reason for the party, we all enjoy ourselves immensely and even get down to a spot of dancing once the tea and coffee had been consumed. I dance with both Adindel and Gil-galad and, for once, I don't even think about our relationships. Neither do they; I think there still might have been the odd exchange of glares, but nothing more. You can't have everything, I suppose.
We leave rather early the next morning as we do have a horrendously long journey ahead of us and we want to start ASAP.
Michael comes to wave us off. We each give him a hug in turn; I'm the last to hug him and I probably held on for slightly longer than I would usually do, but never mind.
As the ship moves off, Ellie and I stand by the back-most railing and watch as Michael and England get steadily smaller. Ellie starts humming the chorus to 'Rule, Britannia!' There are times when I can but love my best friend.
"They'll be alright, you know," she says when she's finished, arm about my waist.
"I know, but we've got three weeks in a steel can to look forward too."
"We'd best start enjoying ourselves then!" As Ellie moves off, she begins humming again and this time, I join in.
Even with the addition of six (seven if you count the little bump that has been growing around Myrwen's stomach) people, the time still manages to drag. It also doesn't help that we girls are majorly outnumbered so Lottie suggests a Girls Only Night – absolutely no males aloud, apart from the cats and the aforementioned bump (we really have no choice where he's concerned, anyway).
We utilise one of the larger bars (Lottie insisted) and convene in our nightclothes (again, Lottie insisted). We bring along loads of drink (non-alcoholic included), nibbly bits (sweet variety, naturally), pampering stuff (what did you expect?), games and a karaoke machine (we intend to have fun and be up raucously loud about it).
The night starts off genteel enough (well, we couldn't be too rough with wet nails and faces, could we?), but it soon descends and the noise level rises.
Most of us (including me) consume quite a fair amount of alcohol, starting with (one) shot of firewater. As the alcohol moves through our bloodstream, we begin to talk about the males of our acquaintance.
"Are all Ellyn as hot as the ones I already know?" Lottie pipes up.
"You ain't seen nothing yet," I answer, "Glorfindel, for example, is quite simply the best piece of eye-candy I've ever seen and he's charming to boot. He doesn't live near us unfortunately, but he is Ellie's knight and I'm sure if she asked nicely, we could persuade him to visit."
"What about Gil-galad or Adindel – shouldn't you be looking more in their direction?"
"I have to concede that the two ellyn fighting over me don't have all that much to complain about either."
"Of course, Ginny has already seen my uncle completely naked..."
"Yeah, but I don't think a fully naked male is really all that special – the bottom half sort of detracts from the top half." Lottie looks slightly confused at this, as do Lanthi, Valya, and Myrwen.
"But you only saw Adindel from the back in Scotland; he looked rather nice from that angle."
"Oh, we're not talking about Scotland." More confused (and some worried) looks.
Ellie, who is grinning like a Cheshire Cat, explains. As she does, the looks from all those not in the know change from worried confusion to wicked delight and incredulity.
As Ellie comes to the end of her story, our ears suddenly pick up a faint hiss from somewhere near the door,
"But that was thousands of years ago!"
A hush descends, both in the room and out.
Lottie suddenly smirks and the rest of us, in our slightly tipsy state, copy. Amid all the laughter, Lottie manages to shout out,
"Why are men so good at sex?" Ellie and I then simultaneously call back,
"Because they're plugged into a genius!"
This starts off another round of laughter, which doesn't stop for quite some time.
I have no idea what time we fell asleep, but it was very late. We don't even bother going to our cabins, instead choosing to curl up together upon the many cushions that we had brought along.
The rest of the journey is comparatively uneventful, although we girls do get rather amusing looks, especially if we're in a group. I think it'll take the ellyn quite some time to recover.
There is quite a gathering when we finally dock in Valinor – various friends and family members as well as all fourteen of the Valar are there.
Lanthi and I practically throw ourselves into Naneth's outstretched arms; we're followed closely, though slightly less forcefully, by Ada.
As we break apart, I look around the dock; Elrond and Celebrían are surrounded by the various generations of their family as well as Lottie, who's looking like she's being enthusiastically introduced by our mutual best friend. Celeborn, however, is standing a little way apart, his grey eyes fixed upon the cliff top.
Following his gaze, I see another lone figure, dressed all in white, her river of bright golden hair fluttering in the slight breeze. Galadriel doesn't move as her husband begins to make his way over to her; I don't need to tell Celeborn where to go, his heart will guide him.
Ada and Naneth retire quite early to bed, as do Vala and Lanthi, leaving just Lottie and I in the darkening sitting room.
She's staying with us until Manwë has arranged her transformation as things will probably be somewhat busy over at Ellie's house what with all her extra guests.
We don't chat very much and soon go to bed ourselves.
I can't settle though – I keep thinking about my first time in Mirkwood, about how slightly isolated I always felt, and wonder if Lottie's feeling the same way. So I make my way, quietly and quickly, over to Lottie's room.
"Lottie?" I whisper gently and tip-toe over to the bed. She's sound asleep and she seems very peaceful.
Satisfied, I go back to my own room and step out on the balcony. The breeze still blows, bringing with it all the smells of the garden at night-time.
Standing there, I suddenly feel refreshed; I feel peaceful – if there were still any doubts lingering in my mind about where I belong, then they have been swept away by the breeze.
Smiling, I go back inside and snuggle down under the covers.