I knock on the workshop door and someone says come in. Cele is the only one in the workshop and he is sitting at the table with some hand tools.

"The others and I have been exploring the city but they are headed to the folkwell now. I promised we would explore it together and I wanted to pick up any jewelry that you had done. I hope you and Maeglin discussed payment last night after I left."

He doesn't look up from his work as he says, "yes, he already paid me in advance. I have most of the pieces done and I'm working on a few more." He raises the piece he is working on, "this one included. Come sit down, I can finish up and you can tell me how your morning went. Then we can leave for the folkwell."

I take a seat across from him and watch him work before I yell at him. "So, I had an interesting conversation with Voronwë today. We talked about our relationship and then he asked me about a future night between us. Why would you tell him that? I asked you not to say anything."

He notices my tone and puts down his tools. He gives me a strong disapproving look, "my cousin is not someone you want to spend a night with. I have heard the rumors around the city that he takes but doesn't give. Is that the kind of night you want where you do all the work and then get kicked out before you even get a chance to enjoy yourself? You need to be with someone who will give back to you in return. Voronwë has yet to experience that with anyone and I think it would be best if you both do it together. I'm sorry I talked to him about it but he cares for you and I know you feel the same. I understand you don't want any feelings involved or lead anyone on, but Voronwë knows now that you are not meant to be together."

He gives me his goofy grin, "I know you said it may be a few years before you think about it, but I'm guessing it will be sooner than that. I have been around my fair share of mortals and all of them give in to their desires more than elves do. You should give it a chance with Voronwë as he wants that first time to be with someone that he trusts."

I glare at him but he does a puppy dog look with a small frown and I burst out laughing at his face. "We call that the puppy dog face as many dogs look like that when they beg. Did that ever work for your family? I can't imagine you giving them that look and they just give in to your demands."

He laughs a hearty laugh. "It always worked with my mother but not so much with my father. Perhaps he got used to Haun's face around the house. I was hoping you wouldn't be too cross with me. I am just trying to look out for your best interests. Let me get the completed pieces that you can take with you."

He leaves the workroom. He comes back a few minutes later carrying many pieces of jewelry in his hands. He sets them all down on the table and I see there are eight completed pieces. I'm shocked that he managed to get so many done in a short time however all the pieces are simple looking.

He sees me looking and says "I noticed you picked the simpler one the other day. I made pieces with more expensive gems but were simpler in design. I personally think some of the more extravagant pieces that many in the city wear are hideous," he says with a laugh.

I smile at him and agree. He starts to hand me the first piece which is a small necklace with a sun and moon connected. The moon is a crescent moon made with diamonds and silver with a sun made with yellow jewels and gold. The sun and moon are connected at the tips of the crescent. I set that one off to the side.

The next two pieces are necklaces. The designs are the same for both. The necklace is made from gold with pendants made with red, orange, and yellow jewels dangle from the chain. The other one is silver with pendants made with green, blue, and purple jewels. They both will go together with many outfits and I am blown away by the simple designs and delicate craftsmanship.

The next two are bracelets that match the two necklaces. The pendants hang from the bracelet and it reminds me of a charm bracelet. All stunning pieces so far and I can see why he is known for his jewelry.

The last three are rings. One gold, one silver, and one copper. The gold one is simple with a ruby centered in a large star. I laugh at the design and he nods sheepishly at me. Glad to know that he hasn't completely dismissed his family. The silver one is made to look like leaves wrapping around my finger and it is my favorite piece so far. The last copper piece was made to look like autumn leaves with a few orange and red gems.

"They are all beautiful and stunning pieces. You are very talented and I love the simple designs. I will wear these a lot and thank you for making them. I hope Maeglin paid you very well."

He chuckles, "yes I charged him a lot. He doesn't mind now as it is coming out of Salgant's pocket. I am glad you like them. I have four that I'm still working on so come back in a few days to pick them up. Let me get you a box to put these in and then we can leave."

He goes to the back room and takes the piece he was working on. He locks up and cleans his workstation as I put the pieces in the box. Once he was finished we left the shop and started our walk to the folkwell. It was mid-afternoon so we had some time before dinner.

The gardens are breathtaking and we began to walk among the paths inside. There are no cobblestone roads, instead, they are all dirt paths. The trees and grasses make it seem like you are in a forest and I can see why many people love this area. The trees are very tall and there are many different kinds of flowers that are sprinkled among the gardens. There are many flowers and bushes around the area. Some are patches of wildflowers and while others are in raised garden beds. Everywhere you look it is beautiful and Cele and I stop many times so I can admire everything. This is probably the closest I am going to get to nature as I am stuck in the city.

We wander around for a few hours and as we walk a few elves give Cele dirty looks. I glare back at them and they scamper off. Cele laughs at my actions and says, "it doesn't bother me. You will be fighting the majority of the city, as many cannot stand the sight of me. The Sindar of the city doesn't like me especially after what my father and uncle tried to do. I do not blame them in the slightest as I don't approve of their actions either. Don't go picking fights on my account."

I huff, "fine but I can still glare at them if I want. Let's go find the others as it is getting close to dinner time. Did you want to join us for dinner?"

"Sure, the palace food is better than what we prepare."

We keep wandering but it takes us a while to find the others. We come upon them and I see they are talking to Galdor, who is sitting with a bunch of elves in the grass. We wait for them to finish their conversation and they join us after.

Idril says "we have explored most of the folkwell and Galdor invited us to join his house for dinner. We didn't know if you wanted to eat in the palace or if you wanted to join his house. We would be dining at his main table with his wife and son. You haven't met them yet and his son's beloved will also be there."

I look at Cele who has his goofy grin. "Free food and wine, who could say no."

I laughed and nodded along with him. Idril leaves to tell Galdor and we wait for them to finish. I watch them all but they seem to just be sitting in the flowers and grass not really doing much of anything. I whisper to Voronwë, "what are they doing?"

He smiles, "they are connecting with nature and with the plants and trees. Galdor is teaching some of his house how to reach out and feel what the plants and trees are feeling. This is the only area in the city that is separated enough for them to practice. They could go out into the plains but their house is nearby so it is easier for them to practice here. I have tried it once but I am not very good at it. Most Noldor struggle with it unless you have some Teleri blood in your veins. They have a deeper connection to the sea and nature. I tried for my mother's sake but I can only connect with the sea."

I watch them more now and I see they are all relaxed and are speaking to themselves softly. Perhaps they are singing or maybe they are talking to the trees and plants but I can't hear them. Part of me wishes I could connect like them but I know humans can't.

Galdor finally breaks up his circle and he walks over to us with a tall woman. "It is nice to finally meet everyone. I am Emlineth, Lord Galdor's wife. We are honored to have you all join us for dinner." She and her husband were both wearing green clothing, and her brown hair and brown eyes complimented the green in her dress. They both looked slightly tan which was strange for an elf, but they might be outside more than others. They seemed very happy together and she was nice to all of us.

We follow them through the remaining gardens and out onto the cobblestone street. I trailed behind everyone as Tuor and Idril are talking the most with Galdor and his wife. We follow them down the road and I see Maeglin's house behind Galdor's house. Their courtyard was just like Maeglin's and I'm guessing they built these two houses exactly the same.

We walk into their house and the dining room is on the right. Most of the house is already here as there are hardly any open seats. We follow Galdor and his wife to the main table and we all find a spot around the high table. I sit between Voronwë and Cele and we get introduced to the last two people at the table.

A younger elf with brown hair and green eyes smiles at us as we sit. "Welcome, I am honored to meet everyone. I am Glordil and Lord Galdor is my father. This is my beloved Tithessel who is Lord Egalmoth's daughter. We are happy to have you all for dinner."

She speaks now and I see she has black hair and blue eyes like her father. She smiles at us all but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "I am honored to meet everyone. I have heard so much about our new arrivals." She glances down towards our end and I can see she meant me. "I look forward to getting to know everyone better."

She plays the part of a lord's daughter very well and she doesn't spare me another glance. Cele touches my arm to get my attention and he shakes his head ever so slightly. I get that he doesn't want me to acknowledge her and I think it is best I just ignore her for this dinner.

Tuor and Idril take over the conversation at their end of the table with Galdor and his family. The three of us have some small conversations as the food is brought in for dinner. We all eat quickly and we thank the Lord and the Lady for the dinner. We leave Idril and Tuor, as they both seem to be in their element. Once we were out of the house we stopped at the edge of the courtyard by the road.

I glance around to see if anyone is nearby but it is deserted. Cele laughs loudly, "Lady Tithessel is good friends with Lord Salgant's daughters and Amara. While some people might think she is kind and nice she can be really petty. She plays her part well as most in the city believe she would never do such things but I know where her true motives lie. She won't be outright cruel or do anything to tarnish her reputation but I wouldn't put it past her to gossip about you. It would be best for you to speak with her sparingly or just ignore her unless she speaks to you first. "

"Is there anyone in the city that actually fucking likes me? I feel like, besides a few handfuls of people, everyone else is just waiting for me to fuck up so they can gossip or spread more rumors. Don't they have anything better to do with their time?"

Both Cele and Voronwë burst out laughing at me. They are both laughing extremely hard like I said the funniest thing they have ever heard. I was watching them as they hunched over from laughing. I heard a voice behind me ask, "What are those two laughing about?"

Maeglin was standing behind me and I saw a glint in his eye as he looked at me. The boys were still laughing and they couldn't control themselves so I answered him. "I asked them if elves had anything better to do with their time than gossip and spread rumors. They are acting like what I said was the funniest thing ever. By the way, do you like me? I don't think I am well-liked in the city and I want to know."

He is trying hard not to laugh but he can't stop the grin from forming on his face. "I don't like anybody. To answer your question no, elves have nothing better to do. I thought you didn't care what people thought of you? Now you are worried about what the elves in the city think?"

I huff at him, "I don't care but I can't even have a nice dinner without some salty ass bitch throwing some shade at me. I have been nice to everyone I've met excluding you since I arrived. I'm just tired of being a nice person and having to ignore them. My pouty mouth is starting to come out as I lose my patience. I desperately want to call these fucking bitches out but it won't do me any good." I huff again and glare at the two who are laughing even harder at my swearing.

Maeglin chuckles now and says "I understood about half of what you said. Could you break down some of your words for me so I can understand you better in the future?" His eyes are glinting and he grins at me. "I would like to have a few bad words saved so I may insult people who annoy me. It would make me feel better to insult them without their knowledge."

The tension breaks and I start laughing with the rest of them. Maeglin looks at the three of us and rolls his eyes. I wipe a few stray tears and tell him, "salty means someone who can't let go of something. A person who stews in their problems and lingers on gossip. An ass is another name for your butt and a donkey. It can be used in a good way or a bad way. Like you are acting like an ass today or your ass looks fine in those pants today."

His face colors and Cele roars again and flops to the ground. I let him roll around laughing and Voronwë has a small pink tinge on his cheeks. "Bitch is an insult or another name for a female dog. Throwing shade means adding hurtful comments towards the person while you talk. They could be outright insulting or they could be more subtle in their comments. Potty mouth means you say a lot of bad words all the time. I usually am pretty good at keeping my comments and words to myself but I lost my patience today."

I think about the last words I said and remember. "Oh yeah, fucking is another word for sex. It could be used in a negative way like when you are angry or as a way to insult someone. You can shout out Fuck! or Fuck you! You can use it in a positive way like I really want to fuck you right now."

Both Maeglin and Voronwë are blushing like crazy and Cele is sitting up laughing at them both. Maeglin coughs awkwardly, "well thank you for the explanation. I have learned a few more insults today and a few words I would have rather not have known. If you will excuse me I have some duties to attend to."

"Bye," I say happily as he rushes away from us. I look down at Cele who is still chuckling to himself. "I wish I knew that he doesn't like sexual words from my world. That could have saved me a lot of trouble the other night at the festival. Oh well."

I reach down and help pull Cele up while Voronwë watches us with a blush on his face.

Cele says, "I am going to use those words now. You will have to tell me more as I am eager to learn but another time. It is late and I would like to get back to the shop to work on a few projects before I retire. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

He waves and leaves us. Voronwë and I looked at each other and we burst out laughing. I feel better with these two around and I am glad they are my friends.

He says, "I am getting tired as well. We can head back to the palace. I can carry your jewelry if you would like."

"Sure." I hand him my box and he links my arm in his as we walk through the city. We walk to the main road and then turn to head to the palace. It has been a long day and I just want to go to bed.

Voronwë leaves me at my door and hands me my box. He gives me a small hug and wishes me a goodnight. I turn into my room and drop my box off on the vanity. I should buy something to hold my jewelry but that is for another day. I get ready for bed and then snuggle deep under the covers. I toss and turn for a while but I eventually fall asleep.