Disclaimer: I don't own it, I don't want any money, and this is all just a
figment of my overactive imagination.please don't sue me, I can barely make
the rent money.
Sorry this took so long..*hopes someone is still reading and reviewing out there..somewhere* ::peers out into the distance, looking for long lost reviewers.::
Chapter 3: The Vote
When the meeting regrouped for the afternoon session, whether from food or drink, or an unwillingness to speak, the members were ominously silent. Finally unable to bear the silence, Elrond spoke. "As I understand it, these are our positions." He paused. "Ohtar, Thranduil, and I have all offered to take the shards into our protection." He directed his attention to Celeborn. "Celeborn, may I assume you stand with Galadriel?" He glanced at Celeborn, who nodded his head in agreement. Elrond continued. "Celeborn, Galadriel, and Círdan have chosen not to offer protection to the shards. This brings us to you, Amroth. What is your position?"
"I agree with Galadriel, but for different reasons. My path will lead me across the sea soon. No, I do not want to take charge of these shards, which will hold me ransom to these lands when I would be reunited with my home."
"Then all that is left is for us, then, is to vote."
Ohtar broke in, "How are we to vote, we don't know who has the best protection!"
Thranduil interrupted before Elrond had a chance to respond. "Well trust me; it is not you, Edain." Thranduil and Ohtar stood and approached each other. Galadriel stood up and came between them before blows could come.
"Stop! This is not why we are here. As hard as this may be for the two of you to understand!" She gave both Ohtar and Thranduil a long look. "We are all on the same side." For a long time there were no sounds in the grove, not bird, nor wind, nor elf, nor man.
No sounds, except for a slight movement within the trees behind Ohtar. Galadriel was the only member of the group who noticed it, however. She smiled slightly to herself, unnoticeable except to the most careful observer.
:: You are a meddling child::
There was soundless laughter in response.
:: I wouldn't be yours if I wasn't::
Galadriel returned her attention to the matter at hand.
"Sit." She commanded. Ohtar and Thranduil obeyed. When they were seated, she continued. "We could spend the rest of the evening debating who will best protect the shards. Each of us are unique and talented individuals. Each has our own strengths and weaknesses. But the protection of these shards is not about physical-or even magical strength." She glanced at Thranduil and Ohtar. "Rather, it is about strength of character." She paused, to allow her words to sink in.
After a moment, she continued. "We can either sit here and debate until the sun has grown old and the moon has dimmed, or we can vote. I say we vote. Any objections?" She stared at each participant, searching for any sign of dissent. There seemed to be none. "Good." She paused. "Will we take an open or closed vote?" All indicated a preference for an open vote. "Very well then," she continued, "an open vote it is. I will act as a tie breaker, if that proves necessary. Otherwise, I will not vote. Let us begin then, if there are no objections." Most of the participants were awed by her sudden 'take charge' attitude, and no one said a word.
She wasted no time beginning. "Thranduil, your vote?"
"Myself," he replied.
"One for Thranduil. Celeborn, your vote?"
"Thranduil."
"Two for Thranduil. Amroth, your vote?"
"Elrond."
"One for Elrond. Your vote, Elrond?"
Elrond took a deep breath before answering. "Ohtar." The whole meeting seemed to let out a breath with him after he answered, as if they had all been holding their breaths in suspense of his answer.
"One for Ohtar. Your vote, Ohtar?"
"Myself," he replied, looking slightly cocky.
"Two for Ohtar. And lastly, Círdan, your vote?"
Círdan took his time answering Galadriel's request. It almost seemed as if he was counting up the votes in his head to recheck where everything stood before casting his own vote. Finally, he gave his answer. "Elrond."
"Two for Elrond." Galadriel paused, to let the information sink in. "This means there is a three way tie. As agreed prior to voting, I will vote to break the tie."
"We didn't agree to that! You made that rule yourself!" Shouted Ohtar. He visibly calmed himself, and then continued. "We should have a vote to determine if your proposal is fair."
"Perhaps in human meetings, Ohtar, you can get away with yelling 'unfair' and get away with it." Galadriel gave Ohtar an uncompromising look. "However, we do not operate that way here. If you had a problem with my terms, you should have said something before we began voting. Then it could have been changed. Now, there is nothing to do except deal with the consequences of our actions, or lack thereof."
Ohtar gave her an angry look, but kept his mouth shut. Galadriel waited to continue until even the elves seemed restless. Finally, she gave her vote.
"Elrond."
Thranduil sprung from his seat and stalked towards Galadriel. "You must be crazy; do you know what you've done?" Galadriel only looked at him, and he was immediately silent.
"Do NOT press me. I have made my decision." She turned to Elrond. "Will you be leaving immediately, or remaining with us for a few days?"
"Truly, my lady Galadriel, it has been a long journey. I have no particular desire to begin traveling again."
"Splendid. I expect to see you before you leave." The manner in which she spoke made Elrond think that this was more of a command then a request. She bowed slightly to Amroth, and then turned around to leave the men to fight over it. Even as she turned around, she could hear Thranduil and Ohtar begin to argue. Elrond's voice was absent from the arguing, however. :: I begin to think I was right about him, for all of his strange alliances, he has a good head on his shoulders.:: As she walked along the path, she became aware of someone behind her. :: What's this?::
"Celebrían," she called, "Why you are hiding, is entirely beyond me. We both know I know you're there."
She turned around to face Celebrían, who had materialized behind her. Celebrían grinned and linked arms with her mother. They continued walking along the path in the dappled sunlight for a short while, not saying a word. Finally, Celebrían broke the silence.
"So, mother, how was the meeting?"
Galadriel stopped walking and looked Celebrían in the eyes. "Perhaps you should be the one telling me, hmmm?"
"Elrond looks well," Celebrían responded.
Galadriel allowed a smile to show in her eyes. "How did I know that is why you were there? Don't you think it lucky for you, then, that he's remaining in Lórien for a few days?"
In response, Celebrían only laughed. She and Galadriel continued down the path, leaving the men to sort out the mess.
End of Chapter 3
Okay so, I have to admit.writing passages with more then, say, 3 people in them, is NOT my strong point. BUT, on the plus side, there is a POINT! Something resembling the plot can, in fact, be found ( Please let me know if you like or hate or even if you don't particularly care, but please drop me a line ( thank you!
A/N Mebrireth-Hi! Thank you muchly for reviewing ( yay! Yes, the research. has made my head hurt! Yea I know the meeting is a little hasty, but I was afraid if it was too drawn out it would bog down the story and it's not the main point and it was a pain in the butt to write and I rewrote it a MILLION times but this is what I've ended up with *sigh* sorry my update took so long, I hope you didn't forget about me! *reginabean hands Mebrireth a box of cookies for her trouble* *grinz*
Eirual-I swear it's going somewhere, honest!!! *hands Eirual a box of cookies for sticking with reginabean even with an apparent lack of plot*
Sorry this took so long..*hopes someone is still reading and reviewing out there..somewhere* ::peers out into the distance, looking for long lost reviewers.::
Chapter 3: The Vote
When the meeting regrouped for the afternoon session, whether from food or drink, or an unwillingness to speak, the members were ominously silent. Finally unable to bear the silence, Elrond spoke. "As I understand it, these are our positions." He paused. "Ohtar, Thranduil, and I have all offered to take the shards into our protection." He directed his attention to Celeborn. "Celeborn, may I assume you stand with Galadriel?" He glanced at Celeborn, who nodded his head in agreement. Elrond continued. "Celeborn, Galadriel, and Círdan have chosen not to offer protection to the shards. This brings us to you, Amroth. What is your position?"
"I agree with Galadriel, but for different reasons. My path will lead me across the sea soon. No, I do not want to take charge of these shards, which will hold me ransom to these lands when I would be reunited with my home."
"Then all that is left is for us, then, is to vote."
Ohtar broke in, "How are we to vote, we don't know who has the best protection!"
Thranduil interrupted before Elrond had a chance to respond. "Well trust me; it is not you, Edain." Thranduil and Ohtar stood and approached each other. Galadriel stood up and came between them before blows could come.
"Stop! This is not why we are here. As hard as this may be for the two of you to understand!" She gave both Ohtar and Thranduil a long look. "We are all on the same side." For a long time there were no sounds in the grove, not bird, nor wind, nor elf, nor man.
No sounds, except for a slight movement within the trees behind Ohtar. Galadriel was the only member of the group who noticed it, however. She smiled slightly to herself, unnoticeable except to the most careful observer.
:: You are a meddling child::
There was soundless laughter in response.
:: I wouldn't be yours if I wasn't::
Galadriel returned her attention to the matter at hand.
"Sit." She commanded. Ohtar and Thranduil obeyed. When they were seated, she continued. "We could spend the rest of the evening debating who will best protect the shards. Each of us are unique and talented individuals. Each has our own strengths and weaknesses. But the protection of these shards is not about physical-or even magical strength." She glanced at Thranduil and Ohtar. "Rather, it is about strength of character." She paused, to allow her words to sink in.
After a moment, she continued. "We can either sit here and debate until the sun has grown old and the moon has dimmed, or we can vote. I say we vote. Any objections?" She stared at each participant, searching for any sign of dissent. There seemed to be none. "Good." She paused. "Will we take an open or closed vote?" All indicated a preference for an open vote. "Very well then," she continued, "an open vote it is. I will act as a tie breaker, if that proves necessary. Otherwise, I will not vote. Let us begin then, if there are no objections." Most of the participants were awed by her sudden 'take charge' attitude, and no one said a word.
She wasted no time beginning. "Thranduil, your vote?"
"Myself," he replied.
"One for Thranduil. Celeborn, your vote?"
"Thranduil."
"Two for Thranduil. Amroth, your vote?"
"Elrond."
"One for Elrond. Your vote, Elrond?"
Elrond took a deep breath before answering. "Ohtar." The whole meeting seemed to let out a breath with him after he answered, as if they had all been holding their breaths in suspense of his answer.
"One for Ohtar. Your vote, Ohtar?"
"Myself," he replied, looking slightly cocky.
"Two for Ohtar. And lastly, Círdan, your vote?"
Círdan took his time answering Galadriel's request. It almost seemed as if he was counting up the votes in his head to recheck where everything stood before casting his own vote. Finally, he gave his answer. "Elrond."
"Two for Elrond." Galadriel paused, to let the information sink in. "This means there is a three way tie. As agreed prior to voting, I will vote to break the tie."
"We didn't agree to that! You made that rule yourself!" Shouted Ohtar. He visibly calmed himself, and then continued. "We should have a vote to determine if your proposal is fair."
"Perhaps in human meetings, Ohtar, you can get away with yelling 'unfair' and get away with it." Galadriel gave Ohtar an uncompromising look. "However, we do not operate that way here. If you had a problem with my terms, you should have said something before we began voting. Then it could have been changed. Now, there is nothing to do except deal with the consequences of our actions, or lack thereof."
Ohtar gave her an angry look, but kept his mouth shut. Galadriel waited to continue until even the elves seemed restless. Finally, she gave her vote.
"Elrond."
Thranduil sprung from his seat and stalked towards Galadriel. "You must be crazy; do you know what you've done?" Galadriel only looked at him, and he was immediately silent.
"Do NOT press me. I have made my decision." She turned to Elrond. "Will you be leaving immediately, or remaining with us for a few days?"
"Truly, my lady Galadriel, it has been a long journey. I have no particular desire to begin traveling again."
"Splendid. I expect to see you before you leave." The manner in which she spoke made Elrond think that this was more of a command then a request. She bowed slightly to Amroth, and then turned around to leave the men to fight over it. Even as she turned around, she could hear Thranduil and Ohtar begin to argue. Elrond's voice was absent from the arguing, however. :: I begin to think I was right about him, for all of his strange alliances, he has a good head on his shoulders.:: As she walked along the path, she became aware of someone behind her. :: What's this?::
"Celebrían," she called, "Why you are hiding, is entirely beyond me. We both know I know you're there."
She turned around to face Celebrían, who had materialized behind her. Celebrían grinned and linked arms with her mother. They continued walking along the path in the dappled sunlight for a short while, not saying a word. Finally, Celebrían broke the silence.
"So, mother, how was the meeting?"
Galadriel stopped walking and looked Celebrían in the eyes. "Perhaps you should be the one telling me, hmmm?"
"Elrond looks well," Celebrían responded.
Galadriel allowed a smile to show in her eyes. "How did I know that is why you were there? Don't you think it lucky for you, then, that he's remaining in Lórien for a few days?"
In response, Celebrían only laughed. She and Galadriel continued down the path, leaving the men to sort out the mess.
End of Chapter 3
Okay so, I have to admit.writing passages with more then, say, 3 people in them, is NOT my strong point. BUT, on the plus side, there is a POINT! Something resembling the plot can, in fact, be found ( Please let me know if you like or hate or even if you don't particularly care, but please drop me a line ( thank you!
A/N Mebrireth-Hi! Thank you muchly for reviewing ( yay! Yes, the research. has made my head hurt! Yea I know the meeting is a little hasty, but I was afraid if it was too drawn out it would bog down the story and it's not the main point and it was a pain in the butt to write and I rewrote it a MILLION times but this is what I've ended up with *sigh* sorry my update took so long, I hope you didn't forget about me! *reginabean hands Mebrireth a box of cookies for her trouble* *grinz*
Eirual-I swear it's going somewhere, honest!!! *hands Eirual a box of cookies for sticking with reginabean even with an apparent lack of plot*
