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Valadhiel had run into Lindir when she'd walked out of her room, so the elf was now escorting her to the dining room, chatting some with Valadhiel in elvish as they walked along. The two would exchange words, then one of them would chuckle or lightly laugh every now and then. When Valadhiel heard Elrond and Gandalf speaking, she looked ahead of them.
"Kind of you to invite us." Gandalf said. "I'm not really dressed for dinner."
"Well, you never are." Elrond replied with an amused smile, looking over at his dear friend before he laughed along with him.
Valadhiel chuckled at the two of them, and Lindir then let go of Valadhiel's arm before he bowed and wished her a good evening. The elven maid curtsied, thanked him, and wished him a good evening in response before she looked over at Elrond and Gandalf, who nearly seemed stunned.
"I can't believe you actually wore a gown, Dear Vala." Gandalf commented in amusement. "I wasn't so sure the notes I left for you would be enough convincing."
"I don't believe I've ever seen her so dressed up. When she lived here, she never dressed like this." Elrond then commented, giving the woman an amused smile of his own. The two did like to tease the lady.
Valadhiel rolled her eyes, but she grinned in amusement. "I thought that, for once, it would be nice to dress up for tonight. But you definitely shouldn't expect to see me dressed up like this again until the next special occasion." She replied, chuckling a little after she finished speaking. She really did dislike to dress up. She wasn't one for it unless she felt like it, and seldom did she feel like being fancy.
"Don't worry, we weren't expecting it." Elrond said with a playful smile, amusement in his eyes, before he extended his arm to her, then began leading her into the dining room.
Meanwhile, in the dining room, the dwarves were seated and waiting already. Thorin would be at the larger table with Gandalf and Elrond, and Bilbo was with them at the smaller, but longer, table.
Bilbo couldn't deny that, even though the dwarves weren't overly fond of being here, he was going to enjoy being here. For one, he did like the language of the elves, and another thing was all the food. He'd not gotten a good meal since he'd left home, so this feast was going to be wonderful. They had quite a variety, too, from salads, to bread or biscuits, to fruits, and even meat. He'd heard many say elves didn't eat meat. It seemed that those who claimed such things were wrong. Either that, or they had somehow known they would end up coming here and would need meat to feed to the dwarves.
Kili and Fili were chatting with each other and eating, and all the other dwarves were talking amongst themselves as they ate. After a moment, Fili started talking with Dwalin for a bit, then he glared a bit when Kili jabbed him in the ribs. "What?" He asked in annoyance.
Kili said nothing, but only gestured to the door before he looked over there as well. His eyes were fixed on something- or someone. Fili turned his attention to the doorway as well, then he blinked. Valadhiel was in a dress, rather than her usual armored outfit, and she wore jewelry, and a crown, and her hair was done up.
Valadhiel walked into the room with Elrond, arms still linked, then he released her arm once they'd reached the table. He gave a bow of his head, and Valadhiel dipped her head with a smile in return before she began walking to the chair she was to sit in.
Thorin had already been sitting down, waiting for Gandalf and Elrond, then his eyes widened when he first saw Valadhiel enter the room. Her red hair was brushed out, and even though it looked simple, it was beautiful. Her dress was beautiful, her earrings, her crown, her necklace, her ring; everything about her was beautiful. He didn't think he'd ever seen her look like this. With her wings behind her, she almost looked like some Queen of the Fairies.
Gandalf pulled a chair out for Valadhiel, then scooted her in before he took his seat next to Elrond. He was on one side of Elrond, Thorin was on the other side of Elrond, and Valadhiel was next to Gandalf.
As the three men talked, Valadhiel noticed that Thorin would occasionally glance over at her. For some reason, it made her heart flutter, and at one point, she actually blushed. She tried to ignore the feeling and avoided glancing at Thorin the best she could as she quietly ate and took sips of her water.
Meanwhile, the dwarves at the other table were talking quietly amongst each other. "She's really pretty." Kili quietly commented.
"Even your uncle over there seems enchanted." Balin commented, watching the dwarf king in slight amusement before he turned his attention back to the others.
As the dwarves at the other table spoke with each other, Elrond was examining some of the weapons that had been collected from the hoard the trolls had kept. "This is Orcrist, the Goblin-Cleaver. A famous blade, forged by the High Elves of the West, my kin. May it serve you well." He told Thorin before handing it back to him. Once the dwarf had given a nod and took the sword back, the elf took Gandalf's sword and examined it before he spoke. "And this is Glamdring, the Foe-Hammer, sword of the King of Gondolin. These swords were made for the goblin wars of the First Age..."
Valadhiel stopped listening, her thoughts wandering off. She felt no need to listen further, for most of this she already knew. She had studied these things when she lived in Rivendell, after all, and she had even lived through many of these events.
After dinner, Valadhiel got up, and she ended up walking out onto a balcony with Elrond, wanting to catch up with him since she had been away for fifteen years. After a bit of small talk, the two stopped at the end of a circular balcony, standing by the railing, and looked out at the scenery as the sun began to set. "Lord Elrond, is it true that you've adopted a human child? I've heard rumors saying you have, but I have had no way of finding out whether or not such rumors were true."
Elrond looked at Valadhiel when she spoke, then he looked out at the scenery again before he spoke. "It is true. His mother, Gilraen, brought him here for his protection, and I adopted him into my family. He was given an Elven name, Estel."
Valadhiel smiled. "Hope." She whispered to herself, then she looked at Elrond before she added in barely a whisper, and in the Quenya tongue, "Then he truly is the heir of Isildur."
Elrond looked at her with a startled expression. "How did you know? I've made sure that no one could possibly know of his true heritage."
"Don't worry, I'm most likely the only one who knows. I had a vision in a dream shortly after I'd heard the rumors that you had adopted a son." Valadhiel replied, then looked out at the waterfalls once more, smiling when the water sparkled in the sunlight, now sinking further. "Estel indeed is the perfect name for him, for hope he will bring."
Elrond smiled, then looked out into the distance again. "He is only ten years old now, and I don't intend to tell him his true name or heritage until the time is right." He commented quietly. "It is important that no one knows for his safety."
Valadhiel nodded softly. "Of course. I won't breathe a word to anyone else."
~3~3~3~
Valadhiel now stood on the balcony outside her bedroom, looking up at the bright, beautiful moon. It was very pretty tonight, and it made the water glimmer. After a moment, she decided that she ought to get going, as they were meeting with Elrond behind one of the waterfalls. She turned, about to go back inside, but she then paused and smirked to herself. After she turned back around, she climbed onto the railing of her balcony, jumped, and took to the sky before shifting into her dragon form in flight.
She looked down and saw Kili and Fili below her, who were watching. She grinned and landed in front of them. "Want to join in on a little prank?"
Kili and Fili exchanged an excited glance before they looked at Valadhiel. Soon, she had told them of her prank, and they climbed onto her back before she took off towards the waterfall they were to meet Elrond at. Once there, she circled it a few times, then she flew away from it, turned back towards it, then speedily flew right for it. She gave a playful roar of sorts before splashing through the fall and into the little cavern of sorts that was behind it, startling all who were there and causing Kili and Fili to burst into laughter.
Bilbo looked about ready to faint and put a hand over his heart. "Valadhiel, you just about gave me a heart attack! I almost thought that you were Smaug."
Thorin looked rather upset as he shook some water off of himself, though his eyes held the tiniest bit of amusement. Elrond sighed, shaking his head, but also seemed just a bit amused. He had just finished speaking with Gandalf and Thorin, which was why he wasn't so annoyed. Gandalf was the one who showed his amusement most, chuckling at the skin-changing dragon. Balin, who was also there, rolled his eyes, though didn't bother hiding a smile.
Valadhiel laughed at their reactions, lowering herself to the ground to allow Kili and Fili down, then she shook her head. "No worries, I'm not Smaug. I'm not even nearly as large as him." She closed her mouth shortly after she spoke, and an ear twitched.
Bilbo furrowed his brow. "How do you know?"
"I've heard much about him, and his description makes him sound much larger than I am." Valadhiel replied calmly, an ear twitching again before she began shaking the water from her wings.
"Heard much about him, or actually knew him?" Thorin questioned, looking at her with slight suspicion.
Valadhiel blinked and looked at Thorin. "Now, now, I thought you trusted me." She commented, then smiled at him. "I did know him, but that was before his mind became poisoned by Sauron."
"You mean, he wasn't always evil?" Bilbo asked.
"Why, of course not! Not even Sauron himself was evil in the beginning."
"Valadhiel, let's not discuss this." Elrond calmly scolded the shifting, reptilian elf.
"Of course, sorry." Valadhiel replied before swinging her tail through the waterfall, once more splashing water all over the place.
"Vala! Would you please stop doing that?" Thorin exclaimed, sounding as if he was amused but trying to sound annoyed as he crossed his arms and looked at her.
Valadhiel gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry, Master Thorin."
"Ah, it's just water, Uncle." Kili said with a grin, then spread his arms out. "Besides, Fili and I are far more soaked. We went through the fall with her!"
Valadhiel chuckled. "And since it's a cool evening, allow me to dry you off so you won't catch a cold." She said, as she really didn't want to be responsible for them getting a cold if they did. So, after a moment, she opened her mouth and breathed hot air onto them, though not too hot. They were soon dry, though after being breathed on by hot air, it made the cool night air seem chilly.
After they had been dried, Kili and Fili made their way back to the Last Homely House with Balin and Bilbo, while Gandalf, Elrond, and Thorin followed behind them a little ways, Gandalf and Elrond quietly conversing in Elvish. Soon, the conversation returned to Westron.
"How long will you be staying, Master Thorin?" Elrond asked, looking over at the tall dwarf.
"Not long. I'm hoping to leave as soon as possible." Thorin replied, trying not to sound harsh about it. He really didn't wish to remain here with the elves for long. "As soon as Vala is completely healed, I plan to set off."
"Ah, I thought as much, though it is a shame." Elrond replied, looking forward once more as he spoke. "It would be good to get a nice, long rest before setting off once more."
Thorin raised a brow and looked at the elf before looking forward again. "So you aren't going to try and stop us?"
Elrond sighed ever so softly and stopped walking, looking at Thorin once more. When the dwarf stopped as well and looked at him, he spoke. "There is nothing I can do to stop you. All I can tell you is that your quest will end in both joy and sorrow. The decision to abandon the quest or to continue it is yours alone."
"It is, and I have decided that I will reclaim what is ours." Thorin replied. He had his mind set on this quest, and he would not change his mind for anything, it seemed.
Elrond gave a solemn nod of his head. "Then so be it."
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