A/N: SO SORRY!!!! I know it's been months...............................
But I've had such a horrible block.... I should be fine now though, I just
need to get things going, but once the story gets rolling, I don't think
I'm going to be able to keep myself from writing. Something very
interesting is coming, let me tell you........... the plot may
thicken..........
Erin's eyes opened slowly. The sun shone in small beams through the curtains on the window. A lazy breeze made the material flutter slowly. By the light, Erin could tell that the sun had just come up. The forest seemed to hold a bluish-green glow.
She turned and looked to her right, encountering Legolas' steady gaze. He smiled at her, leaning over to kiss her. She smiled into the kiss and reached her hand up to tangle itself in his hair. Legolas was about to deepen the kiss, but was stopped by the loud grumbling of her stomach.
Legolas pulled back and shook his head, smiling while Erin looked up at him sheepishly. "Come," he said, standing and reaching out his hand to her.
She stood and took it as he led her to the door. His hand was on the handle and he was about to open it when he felt a tug on his hand. He turned to her, a questioning gaze present on his face.
Erin's face was bright red in a blush, it was then that he realized their state of dress, or rather, lack thereof. He grinned down at her, raising his eyebrows.
"What is it?" he asked innocently. "You aren't afraid of a little nudity are you?" he teased. Erin smacked him playfully and walked over to the edge of the bed, picking up her clothes. Legolas followed her example and clothed himself. After they were finished they both walked to the door and out into the hallway, intent on going to the dining hall.
They reached the room and as Erin stepped inside she froze, her eyes falling upon a lone figure at the table. Thranduil was sitting at the table, his back to her. Before he could turn around Erin ducked back out of the room and threw herself against the wall outside of the room, flattening herself against it. She held her breath, listening for any sign that he was aware of her presence.
Erin's mind raced. The last time she had seen Thranduil she had yelled at him quite severely and she was sure that he was not in the mood to talk to her, not that he would ever be.................................... She knew that she sure as hell didn't want to talk to him!
Meanwhile, Legolas had noticed her abrupt disappearance. He stopped and turned around, a frown upon his face. Knowing Erin she had most likely tripped over something and had a mouthful of stone right about now...................................
Erin jumped when she felt someone touch her shoulder and turned only to be greeted with they blue eyes of Legolas.
"Uh.............................." she began. "I'm not really hungry anymore, you go on without me."
Before Legolas had the chance to respond to what she'd said a loud growling was heard. The Elf looked towards the source of the sound and his eyes fell upon Erin's stomach.
He looked up at her, his face both curious and amused.
"Traitor.............................." Erin accused her stomach.
Legolas chuckled. "Why do you wish to avoide eating?"
"It's not so much the eating that I was trying to avoid...." Erin mumbled, looking down at the stone floor.
"What was it then?"
Erin glanced at the room. Legolas took the hint and looked inside, his eyes finding his father there. He turned back to Erin.
"Oh, I see," he said. "You have to eat, unless you wish to starve to death, just ignore him and I'm sure that he'll leave you be."
Erin looked at him incredulously. "Yeah, sure he'll leave me alone, once I'm left in the dungeon with rats for food," she said miserably, looking once again at the floor.
Legolas laughed. "Erin! I would not let him! But come now, let us eat, others will be joining us shortly, so you need not worry about fighting, he is less likely to do so in front of a crowd."
Erin was not at all convinced, but followed him into the room anyway. Legolas took a seat across from his father while Erin sat down beside him, also across from Thranduil. The Elven king looked up at her as she sat, fixing her with a harsh stare. Erin made sure that she didn't wince, unable to allow herself to appear weak in front of him.
Thranduil smiled a cold, calculating smile before speaking. "So then, Erin, is it?"
Erin winced inwardly, here it came. "Yes, my name is Erin."
"I hear that you now have your memory back, and it appears that you have saved my son."
Erin nodded. He was being too nice, what was he getting to?
"Well then, since you have your memory back, perhaps you can enlighten me. How is it that you are still alive?"
Thranduil laced his fingers together and placed his hands on the table in front of him, looking at her expectantly.
"I'm afraid that I do not know..............."
"Ah," Thranduil said, smiling wider than before. Erin struggled to keep herself from shaking with the chills that ran up her spine at that smile.
"I suppose it is no more than I could have expected from YOU," he said coolly.
Erin's temper flared, but she kept it in check, it would do no good to show the Elven king that he had upset her. She placed a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.
"No, I suppose that not much could be expected of me could it?" she said, smiling.
Thranduil seemed to be shocked at her reply, but quickly regained the slight bit of his composure that had slipped.
"No it seems that the only thing you are good at is ensnaring the hearts of those who pity you too much to send you away."
"Father!"
Erin put her hand on Legolas' arm, this was her battle, not his, although her temper was slipping.
"It would seem that is the only thing that I am good at."
Thranduil's eyes hardened. "I do not see how you could possibly have survived for so long, although you seem to have a few tricks up your sleeves. Tell me," at this point he leaned forward on the table so that he was slightly closer to her. "Did you sell your soul to Sauron himself in order to regain your life? "
'Okay,' Erin thought. 'Calm down. Can't attack the king, that would not leave the best impression with the Elves. What will calm me down? Singing! Yes, I'll sing in my head. I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, here they are standing in a row, big ones small ones some as big as-'
"You seem like the type of witch to do that."
That was the last straw. Erin rose from her seat so quickly that the chair she was sitting in tipped over behind her, making a loud clatter as it hit the floor. Legolas was also on his feet. Erin was about to say something when someone walked into the room.
"Muinthel?" a tiny voice asked, sounding unsure. Erin looked down at Shinta, her eyes softening. Her temper cooled as fast as water dumped upon flames.
"Come here, Shinta," Erin said, smiling to him and reaching her arms out to him. Shinta walked to her slowly and allowed her to pick him up. Legolas sat down after righting Erin's chair for her. She placed Shinta in the seat next to her and sat down quietly.
The little Elf looked up at her. "Esgalan wanted me to tell you that he will be here in a bit," he said in his cute voice. Erin smiled at him and nodded.
"Thank you for the message, Shinta." The boy beamed at her. It was then that Esgalan walked in.
"Good morning Erin," he said giving a nod in her direction. "Legolas, Thranduil, Shinta," he said, giving a nod to each of them.
"Good morning," Erin replied. "Why don't you come and sit down?"
"I will, but first, I have a surprise for you."
Erin looked at him curiously. Two Elves walked into the room and Erin had to keep herself from screaming with joy. In walked Avarion and Glorfindel. She ran to them, hugging them each in turn.
"Hello, my friends!" she cried. "I haven't seen you for ages!" The Elves smiled at her.
"Well, it hasn't really been ages," Avarion said.
"But it's certainly been long enough! What are you two doing here?"
"We heard of your, well, arrival, and wished to visit you," Glorfindel answered.
Erin looked down at the ground. Would they be upset with her too, for what she had done to Legolas. It seemed that Avarion sensed her unease and responded quickly.
"I am so happy that you are alive!" he cried, hugging her again.
"As am I," Glorfindel said.
"How is it that you have come back to us?" Avarion asked.
Erin looked down at the floor. "Well about that................................"
She was unable to answer as some Elves walked in with bowls of food, setting them down before all who were sitting there. They all took their seats at the table as an awkward silence ensued. Thranduil looked up at Esgalan as they began to eat.
"So how is it that she is back then?" he asked, completely ignoring the fact that Erin was sitting right there.
"I do not know," he said, putting another spoonful of the porridge-like substance into his mouth.
"Does no one know? It seems that this is a mystery to many," Thranduil said, a hint of irritation in his voice. "Legolas, do you have any idea?"
Legolas looked up at him. "No, I'm afraid that I do not. The only person that could know would be Erin." Legolas turned to her. Thranduil also turned to her, then gaped.
Erin sat there, shoveling food into her mouth as fast as she could, completely oblivious to the people around her who were now focused entirely on her. After a moment of silence she seemed to notice and looked up, spoon midway to her mouth, her cheeks so full of porridge that they were puffed out much like a chipmunk's would be. She stared at them, a look of innocent curiosity on her face as a small trail of the food dribbled out of the corner of her mouth.
"This!- This woman used to be an Elf?!" Thranduil cried.
"What?" Erin asked in that 'what-did-I-do?' manner, her mouth still full. A small bit of porridge flew out of her mouth and landed with a soft splat on Thranduil's forehead. He closed his eyes and seemed to be taking deep breaths for a moment. He opened his eyes slowly, not yet making a move to wipe the substance from his person.
Slowly, a hand reached up. Erin looked down at Shinta as he leaned across the table, raising a chubby little finger up to Thranduil's forehead and wiped the liquid off. He lowered himself back down to his seat as everyone watched him. He stared at his finger where the porridge still lay. Erin stared at it as well. Everyone was silent as they all stared at his finger. There was a long pause as they all waited to see what the small child would do. One could practically hear the crickets chirping.
Very slowly, he lifted his finger to his mouth and stuck it in, sucking off the porridge. No one moved or even breathed for a moment, each had varying displays of dismay and shock at the action. Shinta pulled his finger out of his mouth and licked his lips. Erin looked up at Thranduil, her face expressionless. His, however, looked as though it might explode.
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A door opened and closed quietly as a woman stepped into a dark pub and sat down at one of its tables. A bar maid walked up to her.
"An' what'll you be havin' miss?"
The woman sitting at the table turned her cold, red eyes up to the woman. "Bread, and some Elvish wine."
The bar maid nodded numbly, frozen by the woman's eyes. "It'll be 'ere in a moment, miss." With that, she backed away slowly before turning and walking away quickly, shuddering.
The woman smiled and awaited her food.
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No one dared even breath as they awaited the Elven lord's reaction. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, then finally opened them, picked up his spoon, and began to eat his breakfast. Everyone breathed a silent sigh of relief. Erin began shoveling food into her mouth as though nothing had happened. Legolas shook his head, smiling at her antics.
Esgalan turned to look at Erin. He had missed her, although he'd sooner eat slugs than admit it. A wicked thought suddenly entered his mind.
"So, Erin, did you have FUN last night with Legolas?"
Erin's eyes bulged and she spit out all of the food in her mouth.................................... straight onto Thranduil's face....................................... Everyone froze. Surely, they would all be killed. Legolas was barely able to keep himself from laughing. The porridge was splattered completely over his father's face. Thranduil's eyes were closed, his spoon held tightly in his hand, shaking from the pressure that he was putting on it.
The color drained from Erin's face as she saw this. Slowly, Thranduil's eyes opened, fixing on her. Erin saw Shinta's had raise towards the Elven lord's face in her peripheral vision. Without even looking at the boy she grabbed his hand silently and lowered it to his lap. Thranduil stood, shaking with fury.
"I-" he began, his voice raised, but was interrupted by an Elf bursting through the door, out of breath, which was quite a feat considering that Elves did not tire easily.
"My lord," he cried. "We need you at once............" his voice trailed off as Thranduil turned towards him, exposing his face to the Elf's view. Thranduil walked with all the dignity he could muster to the door.
"I will be there momentarily," he said before walking out of his room in the direction of his chambers. Once he was sure that Thranduil was out of range of hearing Legolas burst into laughter.
Erin felt her insides begin to quiver with unreleased mirth. Finally, she broke down into laughter. Everyone else in the room seemed to break at the same time, bursting into raucous laughter.
Legolas turned to Erin, laughter choking his voice. "You- you-" he had to take a break due to his fits of laughter. "I can't believe- ahahahaha! I can't- ahahahaha, oh my, you, you- hahahahaha! No one has ever- HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
Erin, although he was unable to speak, received the message quite clearly. Her sides were now aching with her laughter and tears were pouring down her cheeks. Oh dear, she was most definitely going to feel Thranduils wrath, but at the moment she could not force herself to worry over such a thing, for her laughter at what just happened had barely begun.
Erin's eyes opened slowly. The sun shone in small beams through the curtains on the window. A lazy breeze made the material flutter slowly. By the light, Erin could tell that the sun had just come up. The forest seemed to hold a bluish-green glow.
She turned and looked to her right, encountering Legolas' steady gaze. He smiled at her, leaning over to kiss her. She smiled into the kiss and reached her hand up to tangle itself in his hair. Legolas was about to deepen the kiss, but was stopped by the loud grumbling of her stomach.
Legolas pulled back and shook his head, smiling while Erin looked up at him sheepishly. "Come," he said, standing and reaching out his hand to her.
She stood and took it as he led her to the door. His hand was on the handle and he was about to open it when he felt a tug on his hand. He turned to her, a questioning gaze present on his face.
Erin's face was bright red in a blush, it was then that he realized their state of dress, or rather, lack thereof. He grinned down at her, raising his eyebrows.
"What is it?" he asked innocently. "You aren't afraid of a little nudity are you?" he teased. Erin smacked him playfully and walked over to the edge of the bed, picking up her clothes. Legolas followed her example and clothed himself. After they were finished they both walked to the door and out into the hallway, intent on going to the dining hall.
They reached the room and as Erin stepped inside she froze, her eyes falling upon a lone figure at the table. Thranduil was sitting at the table, his back to her. Before he could turn around Erin ducked back out of the room and threw herself against the wall outside of the room, flattening herself against it. She held her breath, listening for any sign that he was aware of her presence.
Erin's mind raced. The last time she had seen Thranduil she had yelled at him quite severely and she was sure that he was not in the mood to talk to her, not that he would ever be.................................... She knew that she sure as hell didn't want to talk to him!
Meanwhile, Legolas had noticed her abrupt disappearance. He stopped and turned around, a frown upon his face. Knowing Erin she had most likely tripped over something and had a mouthful of stone right about now...................................
Erin jumped when she felt someone touch her shoulder and turned only to be greeted with they blue eyes of Legolas.
"Uh.............................." she began. "I'm not really hungry anymore, you go on without me."
Before Legolas had the chance to respond to what she'd said a loud growling was heard. The Elf looked towards the source of the sound and his eyes fell upon Erin's stomach.
He looked up at her, his face both curious and amused.
"Traitor.............................." Erin accused her stomach.
Legolas chuckled. "Why do you wish to avoide eating?"
"It's not so much the eating that I was trying to avoid...." Erin mumbled, looking down at the stone floor.
"What was it then?"
Erin glanced at the room. Legolas took the hint and looked inside, his eyes finding his father there. He turned back to Erin.
"Oh, I see," he said. "You have to eat, unless you wish to starve to death, just ignore him and I'm sure that he'll leave you be."
Erin looked at him incredulously. "Yeah, sure he'll leave me alone, once I'm left in the dungeon with rats for food," she said miserably, looking once again at the floor.
Legolas laughed. "Erin! I would not let him! But come now, let us eat, others will be joining us shortly, so you need not worry about fighting, he is less likely to do so in front of a crowd."
Erin was not at all convinced, but followed him into the room anyway. Legolas took a seat across from his father while Erin sat down beside him, also across from Thranduil. The Elven king looked up at her as she sat, fixing her with a harsh stare. Erin made sure that she didn't wince, unable to allow herself to appear weak in front of him.
Thranduil smiled a cold, calculating smile before speaking. "So then, Erin, is it?"
Erin winced inwardly, here it came. "Yes, my name is Erin."
"I hear that you now have your memory back, and it appears that you have saved my son."
Erin nodded. He was being too nice, what was he getting to?
"Well then, since you have your memory back, perhaps you can enlighten me. How is it that you are still alive?"
Thranduil laced his fingers together and placed his hands on the table in front of him, looking at her expectantly.
"I'm afraid that I do not know..............."
"Ah," Thranduil said, smiling wider than before. Erin struggled to keep herself from shaking with the chills that ran up her spine at that smile.
"I suppose it is no more than I could have expected from YOU," he said coolly.
Erin's temper flared, but she kept it in check, it would do no good to show the Elven king that he had upset her. She placed a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.
"No, I suppose that not much could be expected of me could it?" she said, smiling.
Thranduil seemed to be shocked at her reply, but quickly regained the slight bit of his composure that had slipped.
"No it seems that the only thing you are good at is ensnaring the hearts of those who pity you too much to send you away."
"Father!"
Erin put her hand on Legolas' arm, this was her battle, not his, although her temper was slipping.
"It would seem that is the only thing that I am good at."
Thranduil's eyes hardened. "I do not see how you could possibly have survived for so long, although you seem to have a few tricks up your sleeves. Tell me," at this point he leaned forward on the table so that he was slightly closer to her. "Did you sell your soul to Sauron himself in order to regain your life? "
'Okay,' Erin thought. 'Calm down. Can't attack the king, that would not leave the best impression with the Elves. What will calm me down? Singing! Yes, I'll sing in my head. I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, here they are standing in a row, big ones small ones some as big as-'
"You seem like the type of witch to do that."
That was the last straw. Erin rose from her seat so quickly that the chair she was sitting in tipped over behind her, making a loud clatter as it hit the floor. Legolas was also on his feet. Erin was about to say something when someone walked into the room.
"Muinthel?" a tiny voice asked, sounding unsure. Erin looked down at Shinta, her eyes softening. Her temper cooled as fast as water dumped upon flames.
"Come here, Shinta," Erin said, smiling to him and reaching her arms out to him. Shinta walked to her slowly and allowed her to pick him up. Legolas sat down after righting Erin's chair for her. She placed Shinta in the seat next to her and sat down quietly.
The little Elf looked up at her. "Esgalan wanted me to tell you that he will be here in a bit," he said in his cute voice. Erin smiled at him and nodded.
"Thank you for the message, Shinta." The boy beamed at her. It was then that Esgalan walked in.
"Good morning Erin," he said giving a nod in her direction. "Legolas, Thranduil, Shinta," he said, giving a nod to each of them.
"Good morning," Erin replied. "Why don't you come and sit down?"
"I will, but first, I have a surprise for you."
Erin looked at him curiously. Two Elves walked into the room and Erin had to keep herself from screaming with joy. In walked Avarion and Glorfindel. She ran to them, hugging them each in turn.
"Hello, my friends!" she cried. "I haven't seen you for ages!" The Elves smiled at her.
"Well, it hasn't really been ages," Avarion said.
"But it's certainly been long enough! What are you two doing here?"
"We heard of your, well, arrival, and wished to visit you," Glorfindel answered.
Erin looked down at the ground. Would they be upset with her too, for what she had done to Legolas. It seemed that Avarion sensed her unease and responded quickly.
"I am so happy that you are alive!" he cried, hugging her again.
"As am I," Glorfindel said.
"How is it that you have come back to us?" Avarion asked.
Erin looked down at the floor. "Well about that................................"
She was unable to answer as some Elves walked in with bowls of food, setting them down before all who were sitting there. They all took their seats at the table as an awkward silence ensued. Thranduil looked up at Esgalan as they began to eat.
"So how is it that she is back then?" he asked, completely ignoring the fact that Erin was sitting right there.
"I do not know," he said, putting another spoonful of the porridge-like substance into his mouth.
"Does no one know? It seems that this is a mystery to many," Thranduil said, a hint of irritation in his voice. "Legolas, do you have any idea?"
Legolas looked up at him. "No, I'm afraid that I do not. The only person that could know would be Erin." Legolas turned to her. Thranduil also turned to her, then gaped.
Erin sat there, shoveling food into her mouth as fast as she could, completely oblivious to the people around her who were now focused entirely on her. After a moment of silence she seemed to notice and looked up, spoon midway to her mouth, her cheeks so full of porridge that they were puffed out much like a chipmunk's would be. She stared at them, a look of innocent curiosity on her face as a small trail of the food dribbled out of the corner of her mouth.
"This!- This woman used to be an Elf?!" Thranduil cried.
"What?" Erin asked in that 'what-did-I-do?' manner, her mouth still full. A small bit of porridge flew out of her mouth and landed with a soft splat on Thranduil's forehead. He closed his eyes and seemed to be taking deep breaths for a moment. He opened his eyes slowly, not yet making a move to wipe the substance from his person.
Slowly, a hand reached up. Erin looked down at Shinta as he leaned across the table, raising a chubby little finger up to Thranduil's forehead and wiped the liquid off. He lowered himself back down to his seat as everyone watched him. He stared at his finger where the porridge still lay. Erin stared at it as well. Everyone was silent as they all stared at his finger. There was a long pause as they all waited to see what the small child would do. One could practically hear the crickets chirping.
Very slowly, he lifted his finger to his mouth and stuck it in, sucking off the porridge. No one moved or even breathed for a moment, each had varying displays of dismay and shock at the action. Shinta pulled his finger out of his mouth and licked his lips. Erin looked up at Thranduil, her face expressionless. His, however, looked as though it might explode.
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A door opened and closed quietly as a woman stepped into a dark pub and sat down at one of its tables. A bar maid walked up to her.
"An' what'll you be havin' miss?"
The woman sitting at the table turned her cold, red eyes up to the woman. "Bread, and some Elvish wine."
The bar maid nodded numbly, frozen by the woman's eyes. "It'll be 'ere in a moment, miss." With that, she backed away slowly before turning and walking away quickly, shuddering.
The woman smiled and awaited her food.
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No one dared even breath as they awaited the Elven lord's reaction. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, then finally opened them, picked up his spoon, and began to eat his breakfast. Everyone breathed a silent sigh of relief. Erin began shoveling food into her mouth as though nothing had happened. Legolas shook his head, smiling at her antics.
Esgalan turned to look at Erin. He had missed her, although he'd sooner eat slugs than admit it. A wicked thought suddenly entered his mind.
"So, Erin, did you have FUN last night with Legolas?"
Erin's eyes bulged and she spit out all of the food in her mouth.................................... straight onto Thranduil's face....................................... Everyone froze. Surely, they would all be killed. Legolas was barely able to keep himself from laughing. The porridge was splattered completely over his father's face. Thranduil's eyes were closed, his spoon held tightly in his hand, shaking from the pressure that he was putting on it.
The color drained from Erin's face as she saw this. Slowly, Thranduil's eyes opened, fixing on her. Erin saw Shinta's had raise towards the Elven lord's face in her peripheral vision. Without even looking at the boy she grabbed his hand silently and lowered it to his lap. Thranduil stood, shaking with fury.
"I-" he began, his voice raised, but was interrupted by an Elf bursting through the door, out of breath, which was quite a feat considering that Elves did not tire easily.
"My lord," he cried. "We need you at once............" his voice trailed off as Thranduil turned towards him, exposing his face to the Elf's view. Thranduil walked with all the dignity he could muster to the door.
"I will be there momentarily," he said before walking out of his room in the direction of his chambers. Once he was sure that Thranduil was out of range of hearing Legolas burst into laughter.
Erin felt her insides begin to quiver with unreleased mirth. Finally, she broke down into laughter. Everyone else in the room seemed to break at the same time, bursting into raucous laughter.
Legolas turned to Erin, laughter choking his voice. "You- you-" he had to take a break due to his fits of laughter. "I can't believe- ahahahaha! I can't- ahahahaha, oh my, you, you- hahahahaha! No one has ever- HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
Erin, although he was unable to speak, received the message quite clearly. Her sides were now aching with her laughter and tears were pouring down her cheeks. Oh dear, she was most definitely going to feel Thranduils wrath, but at the moment she could not force herself to worry over such a thing, for her laughter at what just happened had barely begun.
