Camille pulled the reins slightly as she and Legolas approached Rivendell. As the horse slowed, she took time to gaze in awe at the beauty that lay before her. "Wow…"
Beside her, Legolas chuckled at her amazed look. "It is indeed beautiful, is it not? That is Rivendell, which we call Imladris in Elven-speech, the Last Homely House east of the Sea. There is none other that is like it in all of Middle-Earth."
Camille continued to stare, her mouth hanging open slightly. She looked on at the white roofs and columns of Rivendell as they glimmered in the waning sunlight, interspersed by fountains, pools, streams, and trees, all in a magical combination that seemed to make the place seem very similar to Paradise. "There's nothing like THAT in our world, that's for sure! Amazing how all of these buildings were built, without destroying the natural beauty of this place…in fact, the buildings seem to fit right in and enhance the scenery!"
"That is the way of Elven architecture, Camille," Legolas said quietly.
Camille raised an eyebrow as she glanced at him. Why does he sound all gloomy all of a sudden? "Legolas, what's the matter? Why do you sound so sad?"
There was silence for a while, and then Camille smiled in understanding. "Let me take a guess: you miss Mirkwood, don't you?"
The Prince looked back at her, and he nodded. "Yes, I do. It has been my home for most of the 2100 years of my immortal life, and will remain as such forever."
Camille grinned at him, trying her best to hide her own sadness. "I know how you feel, Legolas. It's been a very long while since I last saw my own home, and even if I don't show it, I miss it a lot. I don't know how or when I'll be able to go back, and that's the sad part of it. Whereas you can go running back to Mirkwood anytime you want, I can't do the same thing."
The sound of twittering birds and rustling leaves filled in the silence as the two drew ever closer to Rivendell. Just before their horses walked past the gates, Legolas reached out, and pulled the reins, making Luna halt. Camille looked at him, and felt her throat become dry when she met his dark blue eyes.
^Listen to me, Eriol,^ he whispered to her in Sindarin. ^Whatever may happen, whatever the future may bring, Mirkwood will always be open to you. It is your home as much as it is mine now. If you can find no means of returning to your own world, then remember that you can always go to Mirkwood and make it your home.^
At first, Camille couldn't make out an answer to that statement. She felt her mind whirling as she continued to stare at Legolas' eyes. What is the matter with me? How come whenever Legolas talks to me or looks at me, my mind just HAS to take a vacation?! Finally regaining her composure, she smiled at the prince, and turned away. "Thanks for the offer, Legolas."
With that, the two of them continued on into Rivendell, where someone was already waiting for their arrival.
* * *
Elrond watched the two riders approach the main entrance of Rivendell, a somewhat amused smile on his face. One of the riders was a male, tall and just slightly darker in skin tone than he was, showing that he was of the Sindar; with golden hair and dark blue eyes, and the fair features of an Elf. He was clad in greens and browns, as was usually proper for the archers of Mirkwood. Elrond recognized him as Legolas Greenleaf, the youngest son of King Thranduil of Mirkwood, and heir to the throne of that kingdom.
But the rider beside the Prince he did not recognize. It was a young mortal woman, apparently just barely seventeen, with long auburn hair tied back in a single braid that straggled down her left shoulder like a rope, and dark brown eyes. However, though she was not an Elf, she was still quite beautiful, even by Elf standards. Her eyes contrasted nicely with her tan skin, which gleamed with a hint of burnished gold in the afternoon light. Her cheekbones were high, but not too defined, giving her a softer and overall more feminine look. Her lips, on the other hand, were full and tinged with a dark pink, as though the girl had rubbed the juice of berries over them to give them that particular shade. She was clothed like a Mirkwood archer, though Elrond very well knew that no mortals were to be found in that elite troop.
Still, Elrond thought, whether she is mortal or not is none of my concern. He smiled when the two riders dismounted, and approached him. ^Good afternoon, Legolas Greenleaf, son of Thranduil! You are welcome in my House.^ He turned to the young lady, and bowed slightly. "As are you, fair lady."
Legolas smiled as well. ^Thank you for your greeting, Lord Elrond.^ He glanced briefly at his companion. "Lord Elrond, it is my greatest honor to introduce to you Lady Camille Selvitar, who, I believe, is the long lost friend of a certain Lady Elisabeth Carnahan. Camille, this is Lord Elrond, Master of Rivendell."
The young lady – Camille – smiled cheerfully at Elrond as she tipped her head down slightly in a bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Elrond."
Elrond smiled down at the girl, and kissed her hand respectfully. "The pleasure is all mine, My Lady." He stepped back from the two guests, and gestured to the interior. "Now come, both of you! You have arrived just in time. A feast will be held in honor of your and a few other guests' arrival tonight, and you will need some time to rest and prepare." He turned to Camille, his smile kind and paternal. "And I believe that the young lady will want to spend some time with her friend before the feast."
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves clattering over the cobblestones resounded from the courtyard, and Elrond looked up to see who had arrived. What he saw was a sight he had gotten quite used to. Arwen and Eli had ridden in on their horses, after spending most of the day in the woods around Rivendell. Though it was now generally considered to be unsafe to go out into the woods, Elrond knew that these two girls were perfectly capable of protecting themselves from any Orcs they might happen to come across.
Arwen smiled at her father as she dismounted. ^Good afternoon Father.^ She glanced at Legolas, and smiled at him as well. ^Welcome back to Rivendell, Prince Legolas. It has been a long time since I last saw you go out of the borders of your beloved Mirkwood.^
Legolas nodded, and bowed respectfully. ^Indeed, it has been a long while, Lady Arwen.^ He was about to introduce Camille to Arwen, but the girl seemed very shocked about something.
Elrond glanced down at the now-silent young lady, and noticed that her mouth was hanging open, while her eyes had suddenly become very, very wide. He waited for the tension to break.
And break it did. In moments, a large smile had formed on Lady Camille's face, and she started running across the courtyard. "ELI!!!!!"
* * *
Eli felt herself freeze in mid-step when she saw the three people standing in main doorway. One of them she recognized as Elrond, and he was speaking with two people, one dark-haired, the other a blonde. They were dressed in strange green and brown clothes that didn't look like things even a Ranger would wear. They both had bows and a quiver of arrows slung over their shoulders, but the blonde had a better and bigger-looking bow, and a long knife at his waist. Also, the blonde was an Elf, but the one with dark hair wasn't.
Arwen greeted her father like she always did, and the sound of her voice made the two figures turn around. The blonde's face Eli didn't recognize, but she heard Arwen mention his name – Legolas Something-or-other, she couldn't remember. But the brown-haired person she recognized immediately. In fact, it was a face so familiar that she felt her entire body go into a state of immobility. She didn't dare to believe that that person was standing right in front of her after so many months of waiting, hoping, and sometimes, despairing. Could it be?
Her temporary paralysis was broken when the brown-haired person shrieked, and ran over to her, calling out her name. "ELI!!!!!"
For the first time in a VERY long time, Eli's face split into a grin so wide that it threatened to reach her ears, and she ran towards the girl coming towards her. "CAMILLE!!!!!"
They met in the middle of the courtyard, and Camille threw her arms around Eli, hugging her in a vise-like grip. She seemed to be on the verge of tears. "Oh God Eli, you're here, you're really here!"
Eli swallowed as she hugged her friend back, trying to control her tears. "Yeah, I'm here. God, Camille, I really missed you! I swear I did!"
Camille pulled away from her, her face attempting to put on an angry expression, but didn't do her any good, since she still hadn't mastered her happiness yet. "Elisabeth Carnahan, if you EVER dare to leave me like that again, I SWEAR I'll bury you six feet under the next time I get my hands on you!"
"And I'll hack you to bits if you pull that disappearing act on me again, Camille Selvitar," Eli threw back teasingly. She stared at her friend, then they both broke into fits of laughter. She was more than relieved to have her best friend back with her. She was happy, ecstatic, joyous…everything!
Just then, Camille gasped, and pulled herself together. "Oh jeez, I'm forgetting something!" She walked over to the blonde-haired Elf, then said, "Eli, this is Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood. Legolas, this is my best friend, Elisabeth Carnahan."
Eli smiled slightly at the Prince in greeting. "Good afternoon, Your Highness."
"Ah, so you must be the Lady Eli for whose sake I and fellow Mirkwood archers looked through the entire expanse of Mirkwood for!" Prince Legolas exclaimed as he approached her and kissed her hand, though his statement wasn't meant in anger or irritation.
Eli raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is that so?"
Camille laughed then, and walked over to her, patting her on her shoulder. "I'll tell you everything later, okay?"
"Why not now? We can go to my rooms, and you can tell me the whole story there."
Camille was about to open her mouth to say something, but Elrond said, "You may go with her, Lady Camille. We shall have you summoned for the feast later on tonight."
Eli grinned, and nodded. ^Thank you, Lord Elrond.^ She turned to Camille, and grabbed her best friend's hand, pulling her towards her rooms. "Now come on! You've got a LOT of explaining to do!"
"Okay, okay, I get the point! Don't pull so hard, will ya?! You're going to rip my entire arm off!"
The two of them laughed, and ran the rest of the way to
Eli's bedroom.
* * *
Eli leaned back on the headboard of her bed. "And that's the whole story."
Camille had been silent, listening the whole while to Eli's version of the story that had the same beginnings as her own. She had told her story before Eli's, and the other girl had listened intently before launching into her own tale. She flopped down onto the covers of the bed, and stared at the ceiling, while Eli looked on. For a while, she didn't say anything, then she said, "You know what I find so common between our stories?"
"Hmmm?" That was Eli's usual mode of speaking, and Camille was used to it by now.
"Number one, we were chased by Orcs. Well, in your case, it was a pack of them, but still, they're all the same: ugly and disgusting. Number two, we were both lost in a forest. Number three, we were both found by Elves. Number four, those Elves happened to be Elven princes. And Number five, we managed to land ourselves in Elven cities."
Eli nodded in agreement. "Yup, you're right." Another pause, then she asked, "Did Legolas tell you what the Council was going to be about?"
Camille shook her head. "Nope. He's as clueless as I am. King Thranduil was the only one who knew, and he didn't tell Legolas anything."
Eli muttered a soft, "Damn" before flopping down beside her friend. "That's the one question that's been going through my head since Gandalf came. Why won't anyone tell me?!?!"
Eh? Gandalf? "Who's Gandalf? You didn't mention his name a while ago. Is he an Elf?"
Eli shook her head. "No, he isn't. He's a Wizard."
Camille perked up. "A Wizard?!?!?! You sure?!" Wow, WAY cool! A Wizard…just like in Harry Potter!
Eli must have caught on her vibes, because she said, "Yeah, he's a Wizard, but not in the Harry Potter sense."
"Oh." Her bubble burst, Camille continued to stare at the ceiling. It feels good to have Eli back again. At least now I won't feel too homesick with her around.
Suddenly, Eli poked her in the shoulder, a strange grin twisting on her face. "Hey Camille, what d'you think of Prince Legolas?"
"Huh? Prince Legolas? Oh, he's okay," Camille replied with an offhanded shrug.
That answer got her whacked with a pillow. "I didn't mean in THAT sense, stupe. What do you THINK of him?"
Camille stared at Eli, a little confused, but she read the other girl's gaze in moments. She looked away, trying hard not to blush. "Oh, that. Well, he's very nice, gentlemanly, and pretty smart. He's a fantastic archer, and a wonderful horseman too."
"Aren't you forgetting 'handsome' and 'sexy' there in your description?" Eli smirked. "I know you, Camille. He's your type. Long blonde hair, mesmerizing blue eyes, a not-too-buff-but-fit-nonetheless bod, and a face that borders on the feminine." She grinned. "C'mon girl, spit it out!"
Camille lowered her gaze to the coverlet of the bed, and
twiddled with the cloth nervously. After a moment of fighting against Eli's
probing gaze, she threw her hands up in despair, and declared, "Alright,
alright! I've got a crush on him! There, satisfied?!"
Eli smirked again. "I've known all this time, you know. When I saw you with Legolas I knew right away that you liked him. Just had to read your body language, and then PING! I knew. I was just waiting for you to admit it to yourself."
Camille glared at her best friend. Why the scheming manipulative witch!!!
"He likes you too, you know," Eli murmured then.
Camille snorted. Oh yeah, NOW she's definitely pulling my leg. "Yeah right, Eli. He doesn't like me as any more than a friend and sister."
"Oh yeah?" Eli grinned at her. "Let's make a bet then. If he doesn't admit his feelings for you within the next few months, then you're going to have to make a nice long poem for me. Otherwise, I'll give you a drawing. Fair deal?"
Camille smiled. "You're on, kid."
Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. "Come in!" Eli hollered, and a group of Elf-maidens came walking in, led by Imhiriel, who was Eli's personal handmaiden in Rivendell.
Imhiriel smiled at them. "Ladies, I believe it is time for the two of you to get dressed. The feast will be starting soon, and we must make you look presentable."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Um, yeah, I know that bet Camille made with Eli seems kind of weird. Actually, that's how I deal with my own friends sometimes. Instead of betting for money, we bet for other things, like poems and drawings (as was used in the case above), or book borrowing privileges (which we do most often). And if you're wondering why Camille called Eli "kid", it's because of the fact that Camille was born a couple of months earlier than Eli. Camille was born on June 9, while Eli was born on September 21. Anyway, on with the fic! The feast's FINALLY underway, and a lot of things will happen during that time. What will Aragorn and Frodo find out on that night? One thing's for sure: it ain't gonna be pretty! See ya there, peeps! Ja ne!