Lord Elrond, King of the elves of Rivendell, wise, venerable and gentile, was not in a good mood. More precisely, Elrond was irritated. Albeit he knew there was nothing much to really get worked up about, and that what had happened had probably saved them alot of trouble, but....
There was always that but...
To tell the truth, he was irked that he, the great and wise king, had not been able to foreshadow or even have the slightest glimmering of a premonition that the human girl would run off in the middle of the night, dragging along with her two of the most eligible elves in the palace! He could almost hear the tongues wagging when the coming of morn heralded the news of Joari's 'escape'. Some elves were bemused, and had put it down as a youthful endeavor, whilst others (mainly of the female populance) had frowned at the thought of the crown prince of Mirkwood 'carousing' off with Joari.
He entered the study. "Gandalf, I presume you've heard the news already?" The grey wizard looked up from his book, and smiled at the expression on Elrond's face. "Of course. But you don't seem too pleased about it, Elrond." The King sighed, "Not really, in fact, it is a relief, considering that I was reluctant for Arwen and Aragorn to join us, but now her sudden disappearance has solved that," he shook his head, "I have to say that I did not expect this though." Gandalf eyes practically twinkled, "I can't say I'm surprised, that girl is a lot more perceptive then she lets on. She knew that they were going, and it wasn't supported, so she simply did the best thing for everyone, though I must say I didn't expect her to go with Legolas and Trestar." He fingered his pipe, "I think I wasn't the only one who'd guessed her intentions."
Elrond blinked, "You knew she was
going."
The wizard puffed contentedly and nodded at the statement.
"Legolas and
Trestar knew she was going."
Gandalf continued puffing, looking at the king
half-bemusedly. Elrond sighed and shook his head, "I guess I have nothing to
say," he the proceeded to walk out and deal with a few more wedding
arrangements, leaving the wizard happily puffing away.
***~~~In the forest, somewhere…~~~***
"Clop. Clop. Clop." Okay, even though she had woken up at 2 in the morning, Joari knew that there was no reason for Legolas or Trestar to think she was brain-dead by 6. By the looks of their conversation, or lack thereof, it would one think that either they were mad at her or she was totally mute. She sighed. Maybe I should apologise… she looked up at Legolas, who had a totally neutral expression on his face. She turned to Trestar, with the same results. She couldn't help but feel a little chagrin. "Will you two stop doing that?"
The two elves halted and stared at her. "Stop what, Lady Joari?" Legolas asked as innocently as possible, struggling to keep a straight face. A side glance at Trestar showed that he was doing likewise.
For once, Joari was at an absolute lost for words. Afterall, you don't just order anyone, people or elves, to talk right? But… I can't believe I'm doing this. What is wrong with me?
Legolas couldn't help it. The flicker of emotions on her face could be seen so clearly in her struggle between pride and interaction. He looked at Trestar, and he knew that the other elf was having similar thoughts. He sighed, this girl will be the death of us "We accept your apology. We'll be stopping soon at one of the travelers ridges if we continue now." Joari gaped, turning red. "Hey –I –What do you mean by apology…" she choked, regaining her composure. "Fine. Let's go. Thanks for stopping though." Okay, maybe I deserved that
Man, the things I do for conversation.
After a few seconds, both the elves started laughing.
***~~~~~***
It was around 7 by the time they reached the ridge, and they'd started talking as if nothing had happened, as if this 'trip' had been planned from the start. They brought the horses to the small field, leaving them there, headed towards a stream. Joari splashed water on her face. "I think we needn't fill the canteens now," Trestar remarked, as he scooped a handful of water into his mouth. Joari's eyes widened. "You just drink straight from the river?" she asked, mystified with a mixture of horror, "Don't you guys boil water?" Trestar smiled at her, although he wasn't quite too sure why she was so shocked, "not unless we want something warm to drink Joari. What's wrong?" "Oh dear… and here I took for granted…" she stared hard at the sparkling river. True, it didn't look the least bit dirty, but what about all those microorganisms they'd always taught you about in school? Water purification was such an integral part of the world she'd been in that she hadn't considered that it wasn't the same here. Maybe the water here is already pure… she stared grimly, half-hoping that her guess was right. "Forget it, its all in my head anyway," she shrugged, stepping away from the streambed.
She sat down on a patch of grass and leaned against the rock, glad to feel the solid ground beneath her butt. A minute later, Legolas and Trestar had joined her. "We'll carry on later, and stop about 3 hours before the sun sets so that we can set up a campsite and start a fire." Legolas smiled at her. "We're not in a hurry anyway." Trestar agreed, "We wouldn't want you to be too saddle sore later," he grinned, "I doubt you'll be able to even walk properly though." Joari smirked, "Don't count on it. I already know how to ride, although I haven't ridden a horse for a really long time." "Oh?" he raised an eyebrow, "and when was the last time?" she looked up in thought, "about… 10 years ago? More I think… my first and last time though." Legolas was a little taken aback. 10 years to an elf was nothing, but he knew that to humans… "How did you learn so fast? How do you still remember?" he asked, curious. Even Aragorn would protest to being rusty if he hadn't practiced a skill for a year.
"Let's just say I have a good memory okay? It helps me pick up things faster then normal… though that's not exactly a good thing either." She stood up, "I think I'll go look around, if you two don't mind." Legolas, being a true gentleman(elf) didn't press further, but both his and Trestar's curiosity was piqued.
The two of them stood up, "I'll go check on the horses, Prince Legolas can walk around with you." Trestar stepped away and moved towards the horses. Joari bit her lip, why do I feel like I'm under supervision!?
But looking up at Legolas, hair shining in the sun, looking as every bit of gorgeous he was, she changed her mind. "Hey at least he's a cute babysitter," she mumbled, before turning to beam radiantly at him.
"Let's go!"
~~~*****~~~~
hello again everybody! It's been a long time since I've updated (as many friend and reviewers have been banging my head about) and I'm so sorry! ^_^ it's mainly due to my laziness and procrastination. Haha… and not to mention my disintegrating memory. Anyhow, if anyone gets really impatient, you can always go to my webby www.surfingsaint.cjb.net to hurry me along! Till next time, Read and Review!!!! ^_^
Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life.
--Leo Buscaglia
Life in abundance comes only through great love.
--Elbert Hubbard