LOVE'S CHANCE AT FATE



PLEASE REVIEW SO I CAN POST THE NEXT CHAPTER!! I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT ^_^



Chapter Nine: New Strangers



**AHEM** Please don't sue me for changes in plot lines, the use of Tolkien's world, or Elvish translations. Word translations made possible by:

So please don't sue me. I CITED!



"Anything else for you? Would you all like another pint?" Asked Vilisse. The table of young men before her looked at one another. The one who seemed to be heading them up responded somewhat lazily.

"Um... Yeah, that sounds about right, doesn't it chaps?" He grinned broadly and laughed with the rest of them. Vilisse smiled at him and wrote something down.

"Well, then it'll be just a few moments." But before she could walk away, he grabbed her hand.

"You know miss, since your bein' so kind to such a rotten bunch as us, why don't we buy you a pint? No harm in rewarding good service, is there?" He grinned at her, and she returned it.

"Well, maybe another time fellas. I don't drink on the job." He let go and she walked back through the noisy restaurant, carrying a few empty glasses she picked up on the way.

"Quite busy tonight, aren't we lass?" Shouted Mr. Butterbur across the kitchen frenzy as he cooked a rather large pig roast.

"We sure are. I've waited almost nine tables now, and nearly half of them have been here for three hours." She responded, putting down the glasses and getting more pints to fill for the guys.

"Well, Jenna is almost through with me! She said today if she had to work another late night Thursdee', she's gonna leave." He began to flip over another set of chicken breasts that sizzled from the specialty marinade sauce they had concocted earlier that evening.

"Well, I am sure she'll stay as soon as she realizes how nice she's got it here!" Vilisse laughed.

"You know Amerlin, it's nice to know you're optimistic!" He grinned, marinating some more.

"Occasionally I can be!" Vilisse took a tray of ale back to her guests. As she walked out of the kitchen, the populated noise came back to her. She caught sight of her guests leaving the table. As quickly as she could without dropping the glasses, she went over to their table and set down the tray. They were leaving, with disregards to their check and tips.

"Well now boys, did you decide you didn't want your last drink?" She asked, smiling at them. The guy who had grabbed her hand before tried to explain.

"Yeah, we're a bit tired, we thought we'd better get out your way, looks like you're busy."

"Busy we are, but paid you have not. Why don't you sit down and finish this up while I fetch your change? Unless you have credit, of course..." The boys all looked at one another. They were pretty much through for the night, but who was going to pay? "Hmm?" She asked them, smile unwavering.

"Well, I suppose we could have one more pint." He responded. She gestured for them all to sit back down, and when they had, she went back quickly to her change register, where the books were kept. When she came back to the deserted table, she saw they had come up with some of what they owed and sprawled it on the table in the form of coins and crumpled bills. They had left as soon as they had tossed it from their dirty pockets. Sighing, she sat down to count the change. It had been a while since she had been able to sit down and take a rest that day. She was doubtful that Happy Hour would end any time soon before she would finally lay down and sleep. They had come up with exactly three-quarters of what had been their bill. She put the change into her pouch and came back to the change register where she put the difference and their tab into the box. Going back to the table, she saw it had already been cleaned off and ready for the next group by Jenna. Vilisse smiled, thanking her mentally. She knew that in an hour or so the rush would calm down, and most travelers would be up to bed or still dwindling near the bar, but no one new usually came in, and that's when Vilisse would usually tell Jenna she would take over, and Jenna could go home.

Dwindle it did, just as expected, and the house was only a quarter full at 12:30AM when a small traveling group came in. Vilisse had let Jenna go just after she had seated the new guests, and now they were Vilisse's responsibility for the night. Though there was something very odd with this group. It wasn't often she saw more than one elf at a time pass through The Prancing Pony, so it came to no surprise that she held her breath when she saw the four travel-worn elves sitting at a table. Suspicion rose in her heart as she wondered who they were and what they were doing so far out of country. She went into the bathroom and made sure that her ears had been fully covered by her long dark locks. It had been years since she had any extensive contact with elves, and wasn't too keen on being around them.

Walking up to their table, Vilisse tried to appear as un-elvish as possible. Smiling as best she could through her growing anxiety, she greeted them.

"Hello gentlemen. You look in need of rest... will you be staying with us tonight?" She asked, trying to appear only mildly interested. An elf with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes responded., the rest of his company too tired to join in.

"Yes, we are. I have a very good friend here, Mr. Butterbur. Is he present?" He asked her, his gaze locking with hers for only a second before she tore away from it. It looked to her as though he was trying to figure something out about her, but about what, she could not tell.

"Yes, he'll be in the kitchen. I'll be serving you tonight, what can I start you off with? The specials are pretty much done, it's too late for anything special, I'm afraid."

"We would just like water, if it's not too much trouble, ma'am." He answered back for all of them, and his look changed into a warm smile. She felt relief at his smile, thinking he must have realized he had mistook her for someone else. As she walked away, she could hear the distinguishable tongue she had not heard for many long years.

When she came back from filling up their drink glasses, she could tell they were in deep counsel over something, one arguing quietly with another. When she approached, they stopped and looked over to her.

"Don't let me stop your conversation, it isn't as if I can understand you anyhow." She smiled. Vilisse began to put the mugs of water down. But as she did, her grip slipped on the last cup and it crashed to the floor, sending splinters of glass and water everywhere. Vilisse stooped down and began to pick up the glass carefully in her hands.

"I am so sorry, sirs, I hope you'll forgive my clumsiness! I didn't get anyone did I?" She asked, looking up from the floor to make sure no one was splashed or cut.

"We are all fine, but mind your hands! They will be pricked if you do not get a cloth to cover them. It is for your hands that I worry!" Joked the one who had spoke before. Often had she been given comments on how fair her skin was, and how she shouldn't damage it with all this waitress work.

"Nay, I am fine. I have done this before, cleaned up broken glass." She bent down, her hair getting in her face. Pulling it back, Emerlie exposed a tip of her ear, though she didn't realize it. Vilisse felt movement behind her as the fair haired elf climbed out of the booth and began to help her.

"Why do you do my job? Weary you are, yet you do not take off your cloaks nor let a waitress do her own duty. Your friends don't seem to bother, why do you?" She asked, continuing to pick up the glass with her hands as he helped her. Though all he could do was smile.

"It is no matter."

"Ouch!" Exclaimed Vilisse as she threw down the piece of glass that had pricked her finger. She squeezed her finger, hoping it would stop bleeding. Putting the tip of her finger in her mouth, she grinned at him.

"Don't say 'I told you so'." He took her hand out of her mouth, and squeezing ever so gently for a moment, looked up at her.

"I told you so." His smile had faded. She grinned at him in mockery, then turned away to stand.

"I thought I told you not to say that," she replied, going back to the kitchen for a clean towel. Butterbur met her at the kitchen door.

"Oh lass, what have you done now?"He asked as he let another chief take over, wiping his hands on the towel hanging from his belt.

"I just cut my finger on a piece of shattered glass. No big fix, look it's already stopped bleeding." She put it up to him, matter of factually. Nevertheless, he sympathized with her.

"Well, I'd say you're here later than you have to be. Why don't you put that finger to rest while I take your tables? Tony is back there now, he knows what to do." Finally, as if her feet had called her saying how badly they needed to rest, she felt the night's burden catch up to her.

"Well, all right. I put tabs near the box. Here's the last table's." She handed the tab over to him, and took off her apron, swung it on the hook for Saturday, and stumped up the stairs to bed.






Translations:

Vilisse: (meaning in Quenya) a person's "spirit", meaning his or her general personality and attitude.



Huore: Heart-vigor, aggressive in the ways of the heart (traditional spelled with two dots above the e, however my computer doesn't know the codes).



Istima: Knowledge, learned.



Elwen: Hearted- to have heart.



Arandur: A King's servant, Steward.



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