AN: Hello, hello! I'm so sorry it's taken so long. Seriously I am. You have no idea how annoying this chapter was being! It just refused to come nicely despite the fact that I knew what I wanted to happen in it. I have been fighting with it for weeks now, then procrastinating by writing parts of future chapters, and only just last night it came together. In the end I had to cut out a part that I had originally planned on because it just wasn't fitting nicely. I did, however, really like the part I cut out so and I thought maybe ya'll might also enjoy it too, so at the end of this chapter there is going to be a little AU scene for you too chuckle over. Also, I am sorry that its a short chapter and if it doesn't really flow as nicely as other chapters have. It really just wasn't being a happy muse this month and my chapter bunny went on strike for a bit. It's back now! Ok, enough rambling. Here! Have some! Oh, and if you want to read a story that is actually 1000 times better than mine, then you should check out A King's Duty by mckeown. It's really good and one of my favorites right now.
The hour at which Emily was dragged to consciousness by a mild voice calling her the next morning was an time that she ordinarily would have been extremely grumpy about. She struggled to the surface of waking slowly, vaguely aware that someone was brushing her hair out of her face and then taking the end of one strand to tickle her ear with it. Fitfully her slightly floppy hand smacked her ear while she made a soft noise of protest. There was light snicker, then the hair was prickling in her ear again.
"Come on, penneth. Awaken. The day is bright and young, filled with promise."
Emily swatted at her ear again and then tried to pull her blanket up over her head as she mumbled something unintelligible. The blanket was removed easily from her hands and Emily finally forced her eyes open groggily with ever intention of being grumpy, but was surprised to find that it was her uncle leaning against the side of the top bunk with his chin resting in his folded arms. His eyes practically glowed with mischief as he smiled at her.
"Vede..." Emily groaned as she closed her eyes again and fought to take the blanket back. "What are you doing? Why are you waking me up?"
Legolas grinned more at the sound of her using the elvish word and then replied, "It is time to get up. Your father sent me to wake you. The water is like glass, making it the perfect time for you to try swimming across the lake. Do you not recall saying last night that you desired to do that today?"
"Ugh...yes, but not at..." Emily frowned and opened her eyes again, "What time is it anyway?"
"Time to get up."
"No." grumbled Emily and she rolled over. The elf sighed and then she heard him shift against the side of the bunk. There was a distinctive, over emphasized sound of him licking his finger, then before Emily knew what was happening her ear was attacked by something wet and cold. She shrieked and scrambled to get away.
"Now...let me think," he said laughing, as she dove under the rest of her blankets in an attempt to hide, "Let's see if you have the same weaknesses as your mother..."
Emily was confused, then her eyes widened and she gave a surprised yelping laugh when her uncle delicately poked her ticklish side.
"I'm up! I'm up! Vede, stop!" She wriggled out of her blankets while trying to escape wildly from this new tactic of waking her up, but she ended up finding the edge of the bunk and slipped off with a squeak of fright as she fell. Legolas caught her easily with a chuckle and set her upright on the floor before he tweaked her nose playfully. Satisfied that she was properly awake, the elf turned and strolled out of the cabin saying, "Hurry, penneth. Or we shall leave without you."
With a wrinkle of her nose, and a quick rub of the ear that had been harassed, Emily grudgingly pulled on her swimming stuff. The long swim shorts were still wet, but rest was dry at least. It was a cool morning, but the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud to be seen in the sky. Still yawning, Emily stumbled to the docks where her uncle and father sat waiting by the canoe. She stopped beside them and dipped a toe in the water, shivering slightly under her towel that she had wrapped around her shoulders.
"Ugh. It's too cold." She complained. "I'm going back to bed."
Farland laughed and said, "It's only cold at the start, you'll warm up once you are in."
"But, I have to get in first..." Emily pointed out sadly as she looked over at the perfectly still lake.
Legolas threw a sly sideways look at Farland and rose to his feet gracefully behind Emily.
"Here," he said, "let me help you." He ducked down when she turned towards him flipping her efficiently over his shoulder. The girl squealed and kicked helplessly as he carried her down the dock.
"Vede! Please, let me go!" she cried through the giggling.
"As you wish!" he replied, and dumped her into the lake, catching her towel away neatly as she went so it didn't go with her into the water.
With no more excuses left, Emily sighed (that is, after spluttering in the water first) and began to swim out into the lake with the knowledge that her father and uncle would catch up easily enough in the canoe. This time round it was miles easier than that first venture. Emily cut through the water with ease and confidence, feeling fatigue of from waking up early melting form her limps as she went along. In spite of this, it was still a long swim and by the time she had reached the halfway point, she was growing tired and cold again. At the halfway marker, Farland convinced her to turn around and swim back again rather than go all the way to the main land. There was too much traffic from motor boats now and it was safer to head back. Reluctantly she agreed, although it took some encouragement from her uncle to totally relent and go back.
It was harder than she ever imagined it would be. As time progressed and she grew more and more tired, the shore seemed to be just a mirage, some hopeless point beyond her reach. More than once she had to stop and just float on her back to rest, refusing to grab the side of the canoe because her stubborn pride told her that the swim wouldn't count if she did. Both Farland and Legolas thought this was foolish, however there was no persuading her. By the time she got within the confines of the little bay, Emily was so weak she felt as though she might sink under that water and she had a massive cramp in her left side. To make matters worse, she was shivering so badly her teeth were chattering. Again.
Finally, she was only meters from shore. At long last her feet touched the sandy bottom in the shallows and she was able to stand. Well...sort of. She actually tried to stand but her limps were so tired that they refuse to support her and she disappeared under the water once more.
A hand caught her arm and Legolas dragged her back to the surface, holding her there.
"Emily, come on, you made it. It's time to stop. Let us help you the rest of the way." said Farland. Then he groaned internally. He knew that grumpy determined look too well. For all his daughter was self-conscious and frequently a more anxious creature than her other family members, she did have an unbelievable streak of stubborn pride in her.
"No. I'm so close! I'm going to do it!"
With that she pulled away and swam the rest of the way in until it was too shallow. Then she tried to stand again. Like before, her legs gave out and she was forced to kneel exhausted in the watery sand until her uncle stepped out of the boat and came to her.
"Well, whatever is the matter, penneth?" he asked with gentle mockery as he crouched beside her.
"I can't stand up." she mumbled miserably while she shivered
"Hmmm, and what would you like me to do about that?" he asked shrewdly, eyes gleaming.
"Could you help me?" she asked meekly, knowing that he was kindly scolding her for her pride earlier when she mulishly refused any help along the way.
"It would be my pleasure." was his easy response, turning to catch the towel Farland tossed him. Legolas wrapped it round her shoulders and then lifted her out of the ankle deep water, not caring that he was getting wet in the process. The clothing that Joel and Farland had lent him would dry quickly enough. He set her down once more on a patch of grass in the warm sunshine, teasing her all the while, though not unkindly.
By the time Emily was able to make it back to her cabin, Clare was back and rummaging around in her case for something. Apparently she and Thranduil had been sitting up on the cliff watching the sunrise and drawing together.
Shivering violently, wearing only her leggings and a tank top, Emily picked through her clothing in search of something warmer to wear over top.
"Em, why don't you wear your onesie?" Clare suggested. Instantly Emily was delighted.
"Oh yeah! I forgot I brought that!" she exclaimed and dove into a separate bag for the treasured outfit.
A short time later she trotted into the cottage in the most unusual attire that Legolas had ever seen. It was a fuzzy costume, that appeared to be all one piece, but it looked to be representative of some sort of animal. The hood had ears and the rest of the 'onesie' was black and white coloring. Emily danced in and announced gleefully, "Look! I'm a panda bear! And I'm so cute and fluffy and cosy and warm!"
"I see." Laughed her uncle, taking in her antics with obvious enjoyment. Then he circled her curiously and rubbed the material the onesie between his fingers. It was very soft and inviting. "You are right. You are cute and fluffy. But I don't think you are quite cosy and warm yet. If you would permit me?"
Grinning, Emily sprang into his waiting arms for the hug and getting a mildly critical look from Joel.
"You swim across the lake this morning?" asked Joel, swirling his coffee. Emily nodded happily, stepping away from her uncle with unconscious speed.
"How long did it take you?" asked Joel in one of his annoyingly smug tones of self-confidence. Despite the way his voice arched with condescension, Emily was mostly certain that Joel actually truly had no intention of making her competitive streak flare.
"I don't know." she mumbled grudgingly.
Joel shrugged and then headed out of the room, passing Emily as he left. "Well, when I did it, it was under an hour and I made it all the way from the main land. But I was twelve at the time so the lake wasn't as busy as it is now. Probably a good thing you only went half way and then swam back."
She couldn't resist. As he strolled by, she swung out her hand and roundly smacked him across side of the head. He froze and then rubbed his head with a highly offended look on his face.
"What was that for?!"
Emily blinked innocently and said seriously. "Mosquito."
Joel raised a sceptical eyebrow and for a brief second he reminded her of Thranduil. She must have maintained her a guiltless expression because Joel grunted something about not having to hit so hard and wandered out. Legolas gave his niece a pointed look and her face broke into a shameless grin.
"Oh come on...he was really asking for it..."
"Was he?"
"Isn't he always?" Emily grumbled as she leaned against the doorframe. Legolas merely smiled and waited for what he knew was coming. Seconds later Emily became aware of another presence beside her and jumped so violently when she saw who it was that she smacked her head soundly on the wood frame. Thranduil made a small sympathetic frown as he caught her arm when she recoiled in pain and then reached out a gentle hand to stroke her tender head.
"Do try to be more careful, penneth." he murmured absentmindedly while examining the small goose egg forming. Emily grimaced with pain and gave a sharp intake of air as she involuntarily tried to flick her head away from his touch but was stopped by her grandfather's firm hand against the back of her neck.
"Hold still." he ordered, still checking to small injury over until he was satisfied. Then he glanced over the rest of her with a sort of puzzled expression on his face. "What are you wearing, child?"
"My panda onesie!" She relied simply, as though it was perfectly normal to wear an outfit that made you look like an odd looking bear. "Look! I even have a tail!"
Thranduil blinked, then nodded slowly with growing amusement, "Yes. It would seem that you do. Most peculiar."
"It does make me much more cuddle-able..." said Emily decidedly as she hugged her fluffy self with contentment. Then she looked at her uncle and quickly her peaceful feelings dissolved as she interpreted the meaning behind that Cheshire cat grin. Remembering what he had warned her of the pervious evening, the girl then took a small step away from her grandfather, eyeing him suspiciously. Thranduil raised his brow innocently and then calmly continued on his way, but not before he and his son had exchanged a communicative smirk. Emily's paranoia increased instantly and she wondered how long it would take for her grandfather to have his...retribution.
The rest of that day, and the following day were hours filled with obsessive checks over her shoulder and swift starts at mere shadows. So agitated and uptight did she become that her shoulders grew terribly knotted from her constant tension which did nothing to sooth the sore muscles from her long swim. Her nervousness became so bad that all Thranduil had to do was walk into the room and she would jump a little. The smallest things suddenly began to cause her to leap back in alarm. A shadow. A creak in a floor board. The rustle of the wind in the trees would cause her to look up with panic. She even squealed in fright when a leave blew into her hair while walking up from the water at one point. Though she had been certain no one had been near when these things happened, she couldn't shake the feeling that both Thranduil and Legolas had witness many of these little occurrences. Those infuriating smirks told a great deal and subtle comments made in passing, though meaningless to anyone but her, could hint that they had seen much which amused them greatly. Not only that, but there was a continuous flow of silent communication between the three of them that did nothing to help ease Emily's tensions. After all, her uncle and grandfather had centuries of expertise in playing mind games, therefore it was impossible to not be strung along by their quiet antics. Not that this all wasn't fun for her. In a secret way she was actually enjoying the challenge and they knew it.
Then only true respite she had from these stressed and apprehensive hours was when she had woken from several successive nightmares the second night and felt obliged to go find her grandfather in order to honour her promise to him. She hadn't remembered at first since the dreams were the kind that come in nonsensical waves of dark shapes and colors. Nothing terribly specific happened, but they are frightening all the same. At the same time, they come in such a way that its hard to truly wake enough to register that she'd been having a bad dream. Emily had only just woken enough after the fourth to remember she was supposed to do something and that it involved finding Thranduil or Legolas, but she couldn't quiet remember what it was at first. It wasn't until she reached to door that she knew.
Half asleep in body, and mind only just awake, Emily had stumbled through the darkness, barefoot on the damp dirt path with her eyes mostly shut and a hand touching the trees as she passed to guide herself. Somewhere in her mind she prayed that Thranduil wouldn't take his revenge now, however she was also vaguely aware he would never do that to her, not if she was coming to him for the reasons she was.
Her sleepy attention was drawn towards the deck as the sound of gentle, lilting song drifted through the night towards her. She knew without seeing them that it was Legolas and Thranduil. As she dragged herself up the steps and forced her eyes open more, she could see the pair of them standing side by side in the starlight that seemed to reflect off their hair, gazing out over the glassy lake. Thranduil turned calmly as he sang and held out his hand to her, as she approached. Mesmerised by the voice that she was certain she had never hear sing before, and puzzled by the deep familiarity of the sound, Emily took his hand and let him guide her so that she stood in front of him, looking out at the lake with them. Then she was enfolded in a strong embrace and held there until the song had ended. By that point she had actually mostly fallen asleep on her feet, resting her head against one of the arms and then starting when her knees gave way. The voices hushed her as she was gathered up like a child and without even meaning to, Emily had fallen into a deep sleep as she snuggled into the cloaked arms with contentment. Somewhere in her dozy mind she remembered being pleased as she drifted away that her daerada was wearing his 'normal' clothing that evening instead of the ones he had barrowed in order to keep from standing out in town. The fine robe was soft and warm, wrapped around her like a cocoon.
Now, in the early hours of the morning, she splashed blissfully, enjoying watching the water droplets sparkle in the air as the sun hit them. The reassurance of her grandfather and uncle's presence that night had disarmed her paranoid tension enough for her to happily take a swim while everyone else was sleeping...or so she assumed. She had woken up in her own bed and all was quiet in the cottage so she hadn't felt keen on waking someone to tell them she wanted to swim.
Swirling in the water so she could take note of where she was, Emily saw that she was further from shore than she had meant to go, and began to make her way back with the knowledge that if her mother caught her out this far without telling anyone she was going swimming, her name would be mud.
Its not that big a deal. I'm a strong swimmer and motorboats hardly every come near here! Mum can be so weird about things sometimes, and totally overprotective about stuff. I mean seriously, I'm not eight anymore. I can swim by myself if I want-
Just then something touched her foot, sending a chill up her spine. Emily stopped swimming for a moment, pushing back all the horrible stories that her siblings had scared her with as a child about lake monsters that hid in the seaweed. It was just seaweed. Or a fish. Keep swimming.
The first strong front stroke was cut off, however, when she felt something lock around her ankle and tug her under with a terrible strength, giving Emily only enough time to take a frantic breath of air when she gasped before she was toed down into the dark depths.
Utter panic raged in her mind, and she heard herself scream underwater before it was all over and she was released once more. Her body broke the surface of the water with little grace as she flailed madly in an attempt to put distance between her and whatever monster had grabbed her. Then she stopped thrashing and calmed her movements, quietly swimming backwards, and searching the water for more danger.
The creature surfaced mutely behind her, lurking menacingly and waiting for her to swim right into him. Sensing something, Emily froze and remained inches from the presence. The creature spoke then with cool and lazy authority.
"I may be mistaken, but I believe your mother was very clear about you telling someone before you went swimming, penneth."
Heart in her mouth, Emily drew a breath once more to scream. A hand was quickly placed over her mouth to silence her and prevent alarm on shore, then removed once more when it was clear Emily was past that stage of shock.
"Daerada." came the frightened squeak as she whirled swiftly to face Thranduil.
He allowed a sly smile to grace his dripping wet face. "Perhaps you will not be so quick to disregard such wishes in the future, even if they should seem unnecessary to you?"
Weakly, Emily nodded and then followed the elf's lead back to shore.
"Does this mean we are even now?" she asked in a small voice, causing Thranduil to chuckle softly as he nonchalantly glided along through the water beside her.
"Yes, penneth. You can stop jumping at your own shadow now."
As they reached the dock they were greeted by a grinning Legolas who helped the still shaking Emily up onto the dock and wrapped her in a thick towel.
"There." he said cheerily to the girl as he gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze, "That wasn't so bad now, was it?"
The only reply he got was a rather doleful look.
(A short time later...)
All was serene and quiet, until a blood curling shriek pierced the air followed by Clare's panicked voice yelling, "Emily! EMILY! Help! Emillllyyy!"
Emily groaned from were she was laying upside down in one of the armchairs and then glared at the bathroom door. Her grandfather and uncle had started at the first sound of the cry, but then quickly took in Emily's lack of reaction and relaxed once more.
"What?" called Emily.
"Just-Cooommme!" was the plaintive wail that replied.
"Ugh. Clare, I'm not killing another spider for you. Do it yourself."
"But, it's really big! Pleeeease, Emily. You're braver than I am, and you do such a good job! Come on, pleasepleaseplease...don't you love me?"
Rolling her eyes, Emily tumbled gracelessly out of the chair with a groan, muttering, "I'm such a pushover...and so easily manipulated...it's probably not even the size of dime."
Thranduil and Legolas shared an amused exchanged as Emily disappeared into the bathroom with her sister and then fought to control themselves as they listened to what followed.
"Oh for Pete's sake, Clare, it's tiny! No, you can do it yourself."
"You always think they're small! But they're really big to me, please just get rid of it Emily! Pretty please!?"
"Fine. Give me a shoe."
"What? No, I don't want spider guts on my shoe! Ekkkk, it's getting away! Get it! Get it!"
"Stop squealing in my ear! Sheesh, how did you ever survive living in Australia for five weeks?"
"It was a very nice hotel!"
SMACK...
"Did you get it?"
"Umm...I don't know. It might have gone in your towels..."
"WHAT! Eeewww, ew,ewewewewew, get it out!"
"Just kidding."
"Wh- You're horrible!"
"No, I'm not. You have no idea how nice I am..." said Emily as she walked back into the sitting area, "By the way, you owe me cookies."
"Fine." grumbled Clare.
Emily flopped onto the couch so that she was sprawled lengthwise with her head resting near her uncle. She closed her eyes and drifted lazily in her thoughts for a while until her puppy came trotting into the living room and began to harass Hobbes. The cat, last Emily had checked, had insinuated himself onto Thranduil's lap and had been purring up a storm. Now, he growled and snarled so furiously that it sounded as though the cat was about to kill the dog. The glare that the big cat gave Reisa was deadly, and comical in the sense that it looked as though the feline was trying to destroy the puppy with his mind. Thranduil's soft croon of elvish smoothed over the dreadful yipping of Reisa and the snarling of Hobbes. The puppy replied to the elf-king with a rather elaborate selection of howling notes and groans. Emily opened an eye at this point to observe.
The animated howling of Reisa was answered by Thranduil's breezy and amused elvish words, to which the puppy responded by dropping to her belly and wagging her tail as she gave a sad groan. Hobbes just stared disdainfully at the dog from the elf's lap, tail twitching angrily. There was a moment of silence and then Reisa leapt up again with a yipe. Hobbes hissed and growled darkly, hair raising and tail bushing while Thranduil laughed and then spoke to the cat, once again in elvish. Reisa made her warbling howl again, and this one lasted longer than the first. It was as if the dog was speaking in complete sentences; sentences filled with complaints. Again Thranduil replied, shaking his head and then softly commanding the pup to be still again with a subtle hand motion. It was only then that he looked up at Emily and smiled.
"Daerada..." she began slowly as she propped herself up on her elbows and rested her chin in her hands. Thranduil's already open expression warmed as his eyes gleamed with affection, just as they always did whenever she used the elvish word. "Am I crazy, or were you...having a conversation with my dog and cat?"
Reisa launched to her feet and bounded over to wriggled around Emily happily, laughing up at her adoringly before trying to climb into Legolas's lap and lick his face(which didn't seem to bother him in the slightest). Thranduil began to chuckled as he smoothed Hobbes' ruffled fur.
"Yes, penneth. I was. They have a lot to say about each other, these two."
Moving to sit cross legged, Emily asked, "What do they say?" Her tone betrayed that she was still a bit sceptical about all of this.
"Reisa was lamenting that the Hobbes didn't want to be best friends, and that he says mean things to her on a regular basis." replied Thranduil calmly. "Hobbes has no remorse for saying such things and has made it very clear that he does not want to be best friends."
"Why not?"
"Because the dog is a 'peasant' of lower breeding and therefore not worth his time."
Emily laughed. "Wow. Hobbes, you're such a snob!"
"Mayhem likes Reisa." said Legolas as he graciously accepted the slobbery ball the dog a dropped unceremoniously in his lap. "Although, she also is convinced that she is not a cat, but rather think of herself as a furry little person...which is...unusual, but not surprising for a cat."
"Nixie just laments about not being able to eat as much garbage as she wants..." said Aewnith as she entered, walking arm in arm with Farland. "Ada, I think maybe now would be a good time to discuss...?"
The elf-king nodded calmly, although Emily was learning quickly to read his 'non-expressions'. He had become very serious, which meant this wasn't likely going to be a conversation about deciding what to do for the day.
Clare emerged from the bathroom, hair wet, yet still looking perfect in her dark jeans and lovely flowing shirt. She was always so well put together and as she sat down beside Emily, the girl was made aware (not for the last time) of how different they were. Instead of looking neat and classy, Emily just wore a pair of jeans and a slightly lose fitting t-shirt and her feet, as usual were bare and a little dirty from running around. Her hair, though clean, was wild and just a little curly from being wet since she hadn't combed it. Joel wandered in a and sat beside Clare on the arm of the couch. Like his sister, he was also relatively well put together and his sandy hair was always neat. He was actually possibly more obsessive about his hair than Clare was.
There was a long silence before Joel shrugged and then grunted, "So, what world we staying in? Because if I have any say, I want to go back with daerada and vede."
"So do I." said Clare quietly. Aewnith merely nodded and waited. Emily on the other hand felt as though she had just caught a ton of bricks in the gut. She had been expecting a serious conversation, yes, but not a decision over what world she wanted to stay in! Conflict and agitation stirred up in her.
What the heck! I can't make this decision right now! Please don't make me have to choose right now! There is too much about both that I want. I want my horses, my dogs, my cats...the cottage...Rory...and some of my things like the violin and my books and other stuff! But what if I can't take them?! And there is still so much of this world I still like...I mean, it's the only home I've ever know! My life is here...That and really? Joel and Clare are so ready to just up and leave?! I mean I knew they were restless spirits in the world, but I didn't expect that at all.
"Well." said Farland. "There are things that need to be straightened up here before we can leave, but I think I would also be interested in going. I've been here too long and I'm anxious to go home."
"As am I." said Aewnith quietly.
Silence again.
"It is not a decision that need be made quickly, or immediately. But, whatever is determined, I will accept it willingly." commented Thranduil softly. He wasn't looking at anyone in particular, but Emily had a feeling he was already aware of her turmoil and was soothing it in his own way.
"Well, I think most of us are already sure about it. Em? What about you? What do you want?" That was Joel putting her on the spot. Emily froze inside and tried not to breath too quickly. Was there even a choice? If everyone else was going to go anyway, then what would be left for her? She'd be alone in the world. Where they had had years to think and decide what they might choose if the opportunity presented itself, she had only been given a little more than a week in which to begin thinking about it. Now she had to make a decision?
Seriously!?
"I-I don't know." she stammered, staring at Reisa who was laying on her feet.
"Why not?" asked Joel, genuinely confused as to why she wouldn't know what she wanted yet. "You've had all week to think about it."
The room went still and nearly everyone either shifted uncomfortably or internally face palmed. Thranduil nearly smirked at this oblivious question, but remained sober as he watched Emily.
"And you, dear nephew, have had years to think about it." said Legolas as kindly as possible. "It is not an idle question you ask. This is going to change your lives forever. Therefore, it is not unreasonable for Emily to be uncertain at this time."
"Oh." said Joel, then shrugged. "Ok."
"What are your thoughts, then, Emily?" asked Aewnith gently, her maternally spirit wordlessly coaxing Emily out. The youngest girl struggled fiercely with the anxiety that flurried around her stomach. How could she possibly choose right now? There was no way she could do it, and as of yet she wasn't certain she would ever be able to choose. Her family was her life, wasn't it? But earth was her home, the only place she knew all the rules and customs and culture. Everything familiar to her was here, in this world. Yes she had stayed with the elves for a month, but still, leaving meant facing a whole new existence and she wasn't sure she could be ready for that any time soon.
Her uncle, who had risen when the conversation began and was pacing calmly by the window near Thranduil, met her pleading gaze with empathetic feeling reflecting in his own. Before she could answer, an eerie pressure fill the room. Emily knew the feeling instantly.
The portal was opening.
The decision was being made for her. And it filled her with both relieve and terror all at once.
AN: Ok, so review? Please? Yes? We already know that sharing is caring :) Thoughts while reading, impressions, suspicious about what will happen next, requests about what you would like to see happen, favorite moment (least fav? :s ), who you would like to see come into the story next...and of course you can point out any editing problems, as I can assure you that I have most likely goofed on something. Right, also, here is the part I mentioned earlier.
AU for Chapter 5/ Rando scene I won't get to use:
It was agreed upon that Rory would meet her at their favourite book store in town, however she later sent a message saying she might be a little late. This didn't bother Emily in the slightest as she was making good time (though still diving safely) and had a book she wanted to hunt for anyway.
Wandering into the bookstore and instantly grinning because of the electro-hipster swing music playing, Emily sighed with delight as she wandered to the shelves and nosed through in search of the book she wanted. After a while of getting absorbed in reading the backs of other books, and unconsciously dancing to the music(because one does not simply walk into a bookstore and look at just one book) Emily noticed with mild annoyance that someone else was closing in on her book shelf. Glancing briefly at the intruder, Emily had to do a double take. He was very tall and wore a Hawaiian shirt, long cut off shorts, sunglasses, and his long yellow blond hair pulled back into a low ponytail that strategically covered his the top of his ears. There was an eerie familiarity about him. The longer Emily stared at him, the more her hair stood on end.
The man looked at her suddenly, sunglasses flashing in the light and asked sharply, "Is there something I can help you with, kid?"
Instantly Emily snapped her attention back to the book in her hands with a quick, "Nope."
There was an uncomfortable silence, and the tall man moved his way along the shelves so that he was standing closer to her. Emily stiffened when an identifying scent reached her senses. The smell of the deep woods and sweet cedar. That was a smell she only ever could match with an elf. She looked quickly at the man again and then hesitated. He turned to look down at her again and this time the light reflected in just the right way that she could see his eyes for a moment. Was it her imagination, or were they were a merry and bright, laughing at her although the rest of the expression remained neutral.
"Yes?" he asked with annoyance.
Frowning, Emily faltered in her suspicion. The tone of voice was all wrong and the way he said things wasn't right. Suddenly Emily worried she was actually making a terrible mistake in talking to the man. Hurriedly she put the book back as she made to leave, saying, "I-um...never-mind. Sorry to bother you..."
Then she tried to leave, only to find the tall golden blond blocking her path easily with a blank expression. Sudden alarm spiked through Emily when he took a small step towards her. She moved back quickly out of arm's reach never once taking her eyes off of him. There was a moment of tense silence, then Emily initial instincts wouldn't leave her in peace and she had to give a nervous laugh as her fear melted cautiously away the longer she stood in his presence.
"Glorfindel...? If that's actually you, could you stop being a turd, please...?"
His face broke into a pleased sort of grin and Emily, relieved that she had been right all along, blurted out, "And what are you wearing!? And why are you wearing sunglasses inside? That's so weird! In fact, this is just so strange I don't even know how to respond!"
The elf laughed then, long and hard which drew attention to them since the laughter of elves is so much more musical and often even more pleasant to hear than that of a human. Emily hurriedly hushed him as she crossed her arms sternly.
And that was all I had written down. My plan was that Glorfindel had come looking for everyone, but ended up in the middle of nowhere and had to hitch hick with some very kind people (I was thinking hipster's because I love them) who gave him the shirt, shorts and sunglasses as well as some money. In the end, I didn't end up being able to work it in because it didn't really make sense with what I had planned for later, I didn't want to waste time and not tell the story that I wanted to, and it would have been more complicated to bring in Rory (another thing I had toyed with). Anyway, how you liked it :)