Rivendell Detectives – The Case of The Missing Truffles
By Windy McDohl
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the Great Sir Mr. J.R.R. Tolkien and his heirs. They're mean; they didn't give Windy anything (;_;). Windy's SAAAAAAAD. The fanfiction is mine. Please don't take it?
Note: I have to say this often, I think, I like AU stories. They're cheerful! Nobody dies, and there's no evil Melkor. Evil, stupid thing, we want to put him in a sack and kick him…
This is an Alternate Universe setting. Aragorn (Estel), Elladan, Elrohir, Arwen are children, and Legolas is their cousin. Gimli is the baby. (^^;) He's so cute. Boromir, Sam, Frodo, Pippin and Merry are their friends. They're also children, and Faramir is away studying. Their fathers put them in Rivendell to play. Gil-Galad lives in Lindon and Galadriel and Celeborn live in Lórien. That's all!
Item: This one's pretty short and easy. Guess who stole the truffles!
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"Twuffwles!"
These were the first words that came forth in greeting the Noldorin King. He beamed at the small baby dwarf and the children all huddled round him, except Boromir who hid behind the Lord of The House's robes, gazing suspiciously at Gil-Galad. The Hobbits looked frightened, but all the same, the food and promising aroma of the delicious Lindon Truffles made them brave and adventurous enough to hover close to the Elf-King. Elrond shook his head and grinned.
They departed for the halls, where the half-elf had the children taken to their rooms for an afternoon nap, promising them treats when they awoke. But should they misbehave, well, no truffles would they get!
"I'm sorry for their nosy behavior, my Liege," he apologized in behalf of the children. "They are very inquisitive at their age, I must say."
"And so were we," Gil-Galad laughed heartily. Oh, yes, he could remember how Elrond had gotten him to throw tomatoes at Finarfin, how had they scuttled up a tall tree but was caught all the same, and how they had been punished severely for their mischief.
"Those were good old days, indeed," the half-elf mused. "Even till this day, I can picture the anger written on his face. I am not proud that we were such rascals then, but now and again I could sit back and laugh at it."
"My father wasn't very happy with our behavior either," Gil-Galad replied. "He thought that the lords-to-be would have to be very well-mannered in speech and action. I do wonder if he had ever been naughty before, as we had."
Elrond sighed as he leaned back. It had been quite a while since he had seen the Noldorin King. They had been old playmates, and together with Glorfindel and the shipwright Cirdan, they made quite a team. The two elves exchanged grins and sat over their steaming cups of tea.
"Thranduil was the first who stopped playing with us. I guess he grew up pretty quickly."
"He did," Elrond smiled. "But his son still does share a part in our household and our lives. Occasionally they come to visit."
"Where's Celebrian?" Gil-Galad looked around for Elrond's spouse. "She used to be quite a havoc-wreaker too. Remember the stones she put in her father's boots when he refused to get her the frock from Khazad-Dum? He got so angry; he vowed to punish whomever he caught to be the culprit by tying them on a branch for hours!"
"He never found out," Elrond stifled a laugh when he saw his wife appear from behind him. "Oh, here she comes! Hush now, or I shall never sleep a wink tonight!"
"Oh, greetings, Lady Celebrian," the Noldorin King chuckled. "It's been some time since we last met."
"It has," she nodded kindly as she took a seat beside her husband. "I did smell some truffles on the way down. Tell me, has anyone been bringing snacks to spoil the children?"
"I had," Gil-Galad grinned sheepishly. "I needed some time away from my kingdom; some time to relax. And besides, it has been an awfully long time since we had last come together for a meeting."
"Well, not everyone is present," said Elrond, a bit crestfallen. "Just the few of us. Glorfindel lives here, but Cirdan cannot possibly make it. Moreover, Mithrandir cannot be contacted and Thranduil would not possibly come, with all that strife in his realm."
"Says who?"
The shipwright stepped in with a large cake box in his hands, followed by Mithrandir, the wizard, carrying a small, brightly packaged parcel. They came up to the half-elf and pushed the gifts into his hands. "Never assume what has not happened, my dear," Mithrandir's eyes twinkled beneath his bushy brows. "We know that Thranduil cannot make it, but all is still fine, is it not?"
"Mithrandir! Cirdan!" Elrond goggled at his old comrades. Celebrian beamed with welcome, and stood to get them drinks. But before she left, she spun round and narrowed her eyes at her husband and the Noldorin King.
"Well then, what about those stones now?"
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The sun was beginning to set. Very soon the sky was painted with a golden hue, with streaks of clouds hanging in the sky just above the horizon. It was a pleasant summer evening, and the adults were having a good time, enjoying the evening cool.
The mouth-watering aroma of the Lindon truffles wafted from the kitchen beyond the hallway, tempting many little noses in the banister above. The rooms were situated there, and, after a nice nap, the children were wide-awake and rather hungry.
One by one they walked demurely to the verandah, and greeted the guests. Shy and a little suspicious, Boromir tagged last of all, walking behind them, just beyond the hallway. Gil-Galad lifted his head and smiled at him, and the little boy felt a little relieved. However, when the old, bushy-faced wizard lifted his head, why, Boromir darted right out of the verandah, past the halls and into the kitchen, locking himself in.
Boromir would not come out for nearly half an hour. When he finally peeped out, Elrond caught him by surprise and pulled him out firmly. He turned the boy to face his guests.
"Come now," he chided the child gently. "He may seem wicked-looking, but Mithrandir is a good, kind man! Do say hello, Boromir!"
Boromir peeked shyly at the wizard and managed a half-grin. Mithrandir grinned at the child, and shook his bearded head at the child's shyness. Elrond smiled, and ushered the crowd back to the verandah. "We'll soon have dinner. Come, let us enjoy the cool evening breeze under the stars for a little longer."
Two hours later, Mithrandir stood up to excuse himself. He smiled at his friends and children, and stooped to ask the half-elf quietly the way to the washroom. Elrond looked at him and broke into a smile. "Your memory is getting blunt, Mithrandir. You've been here for ages, and now you can't remember?"
"Oh, I do, now…" Mithrandir replied cheerfully. "Thank you, Elrond, for refreshing my memory! Here I go!"
"And, oh, Mithrandir!" Elrond called back as the wizard was leaving the room. "You do know that we've installed the new one near the other end of the wing! The one you're headed to is quite old… You know, the one situated past the kitchen? It's rather unreliable…"
"That's well enough," Mithrandir smiled and walked hastily past the hallway. "I think it's better there."
As he left, Gil-Galad broke into a mischievous grin. "Old people," he mouthed. "Never get tired of the ancient things."
A while later Mithrandir returned, wiping his hands and mouth with his handkerchief. He beamed at the group, and made his way back to his seat. Elrond then called to a servant.
"Please get the tidbits out," he asked. "The children are hungry, and I do believe the guests are expecting to be well-fed this evening." The servant grinned and walked off to the kitchen. But a few moments later, he returned, looking flustered and worried.
"My Lord," he began; "I have the cake and the candies here, but the truffles are gone!"
"Someone has stolen them!" Estel cried.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" said poor little Gimli, who had wanted to taste the delicious looking truffles badly. Legolas, who was carrying the baby, jiggled him up and down to pacify him, singing a quaint elvish song. Gimli stopped crying and started to giggle, tugging at Legolas' golden braids.
Elladan and Elrohir rushed to the kitchen, followed by their sister, Boromir, Legolas, carrying Gimli, and the excited Estel. True to their dismay, they did find the truffles missing!
"Oh, blow!" Elrohir grumbled. "Just when everything is fine and toasty, these peculiar things happen!"
"I think it was Boromir," Arwen said suddenly. "He was in the kitchen!"
"I was in the kitchen, but I wouldn't steal anything!" Boromir shouted angrily. He hated being accused of committing petty crimes, or in front of many people. Elladan held them back.
"We're not going to start pointing fingers, Arwen," he said curtly. "And for heaven's sake, stop frowning, Boromir. You'll grow older that way. We'll try to gather proof first, or at least a trial should be beneficial."
"Right," Estel said, grinning at his brother's seriousness in using all those 'big words'. "So who do you think might have done it?"
"Well, we have quite a few suspects," Elladan pointed out. Just then, the adults arrived. Elladan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm! I think I might have just found out who the culprit is!"
- WHO ATE THE TRUFFLES? –
Answer:
Mithrandir is the culprit. He didn't really mean to, actually. Mithrandir was tempted by the smell of the truffles on his way to the washroom and had stopped to try them out. The evidence: Mithrandir wiped his MOUTH and hands after 'emerging from the washroom'. Now, no one in his right mind, would, after entering a washroom, use the handkerchief to wipe his mouth. Furthermore, the washroom was situated past the kitchen. If Mithrandir had used the bathroom, he would have finished wiping his hands some time ago and not be doing it in front of his guests. His actions gave him away.
Boromir is a suspect, but he was ruled out, because he wouldn't have had time to munch on the truffles with the company outside the door.
Mithrandir admitted to his wrongdoing, and, to pacify the children (and the adults, ahem, ahem), he had performed a spectacular show of fireworks in Rivendell that night.