-THE GAMES OF THE GODS-
-Disclaimer:-
The purple peanuts have allied with the ladybugs and are going to take over the world five days after the two days before the end of the world.
Glorfindel: Translation - Crimson Starlight owns nothing.
-5: Lunch-
Elladan, after learning what a poor shot I really was, quickly gave up entirely on improving my archery skills. He said he couldn't figure out why I was such a horrible shot - I had perfect stance. Didn't really occur to him, I suppose, that it's because I never really try to improve my aim, and I was getting very easily distracted by all the other incredibly hot Elves that were also practicing. Kari had been right when she said that Elrond, Elrohir, Elladan and Glorfindel were the norm for looks around Rivendell. Well, to be truthful, they were all a little above the norm, but that was to be expected - after all, they're Elf Lords. They're supposed to be a little handsomer than your average every-day Elf.
Anyways. Instead of practicing archery, I sat on the ground underneath a tree not far from Elladan and bugged him with questions while he practiced. The questions started out with basic things about archery, if he knew how to make arrows and did he make his own and such. Then, gradually, the questions turned away from archery and started to become about the Elvish realms in general. Elladan, to my surprise, didn't find this the least bit odd, and when I commented on it, his reply was that he expected me to have questions about the doings of my people after spending such a long time traveling away from them. With that revelation, my questions got bolder - and less important. I soon started discovering things that were mentioned nowhere in Tolkien's books - mostly because they were trivial things, but it was nice to find out something new. The questions continued for quite some time, until around lunchtime, when an annoyed looking Kari showed up at the practice field, followed by a grinning Elrohir.
"Identical twins should be banned." Kari said loudly as she came to stand by the tree I was sitting under, glaring at the two twins that were now standing side by side, and impossible to tell apart if you didn't know which twin was wearing what that day. I could hear several of the practicing archers laugh lightly, and suppressed a laugh myself. Instead, I grinned.
"Having trouble finding out which one is which?" I asked, and Kari nodded vigorously.
"And he's such a double-talker that just when I think I've figured out which one he is, I suddenly become quite sure I'm wrong!" she exclaimed indignantly.
"Just ask him if he's fallen out of any chairs recently." I replied dryly. "That should solve the problem." Several heads turned towards the twins with raised eyebrows, and Elladan coughed, shifting nervously from foot to foot. It didn't help, either, that Kari was suddenly grinning like a maniac and Elrohir himself turned to his twin with raised eyebrows. Elladan glared at me and I grinned up at him.
"Too bad you're not a horrible shot, eh?" I commented, still grinning. Elladan held the glare for a few more seconds, and then burst out laughing.
"I'm going to go put my bow away." He said when he calmed down, still laughing slightly as he shook his head and walked off.
"So you're Elrohir." Kari said, eyeing the remaining twin.
"At your service, m'Lady Kari." he said, grinning and making a mock bow.
"Rach, remind me to think up plots for revenge later tonight." Kari said, glancing down at me.
"Will do!" I replied cheerfully. Elrohir just grinned cheekily.
"I don't think he believes I'll do anything." Kari said to me in a stage whisper after eyeing Elrohir for a few minutes.
"He'll learn." I replied, seriously enough that Elrohir looked worried for a moment. But before anymore could be said, Elladan returned, and I stood up because I was feeling distinctly short and not liking it.
"Now that you've put away your bow, brother, father asked me to tell you that you and the Lady Rachel are invited for lunch." Elrohir said.
"Just us two?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. Elrohir chuckled.
"Nay, Lady Kari and I, as well as Lord Glorfindel, shall be there." he said.
"Ah, a meeting of Those We Have Met So Far." I said sagely, nodding my head. Elrohir chuckled again.
"Mother will not be there?" Elladan asked with curiosity, turning to Elrohir.
"She's *ahem* still tired from the journey." Elrohir said, with such an innocent look on his face that you knew he didn't believe that was the reason at all. What the real reason was that Elrohir was hinting at, I didn't care to guess, though my mind naturally supplied several reasons of it's own that were none too clean. I twitched as I pushed them out of my head, and Elladan and Elrohir looked at me strangely.
"Are you alright, m'lady?" Elrohir asked, eyeing me.
"Fine. I just like to twitch at random intervals." I said seriously. The twins looked at me even more strangely, as did a few nearby Elves. "What, you don't think we've been able to travel for over four millennia without going slightly crazy, do you?" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kari start slightly when I mentioned how long we'd supposedly been traveling, but since everyone's attention was focused on looking at me strangely, I don't think anyone else noticed. The silence of everyone looking at me strangely stretched on for a moment, then Elladan shook his head and grinned.
"We shall have to investigate this further, but for now, I believe we were invited to lunch." he said.
"Mmm, lunch, good idea." Kari said. "Back the way we came?" Elrohir nodded, and Kari set off confidently, with us following. To my surprise, the twins didn't correct Kari at any point, and we arrived at what appeared to be Lord Elrond's study without getting lost. Upon knocking and entering, we found Lord Glorfindel and Elrond already there, seated across from each other at a table that barely looked large enough to hold six people, though the other chairs placed around it indicated that it was, in fact, where we would be eating. The two Elven Lords looked up as we entered and smiled welcomingly. Their expressions were creepily alike, and I had a feeling that if they didn't look so different, it would be harder to try and tell the two of them apart than Elrohir and Elladan.
"I see you found them without too much trouble, Elrohir." Lord Elrond commented.
"Elladan was someplace predictable for once." Elrohir replied as we approached the table. "Due, no doubt, to Lady Rachel's presence."
"Hey, the archery range is an unpredictable place to find me." I countered. Lord Elrond's lips twitched, trying to smile, and he motioned for us to be seated. Elrohir and Kari went to the other side of the table and seated themselves - well, Elrohir seated himself after pulling out Kari's chair for her - while Elladan and I took the seats on the nearer side of the table. No sooner had we sat down, it seemed, then three Elves appeared carrying trays. They set the trays down on the table, and then disappeared. A few moments later, before we had much time to start any sort of conversation, the Elves returned again carrying more trays. They set these down on the table, as well, and this time didn't return. I eyed the food now on the table with interest - none of it looked familiar, but it all looked delicious.
From somewhere, Elladan managed to produce plates, which were distributed around the table, and we all filled up our plates. It was eerily silent while we did so, but as we started eating, Elrohir apparently decided that now was a good time to find out what my comments about Elladan falling out of chairs were about.
"So, Elladan, what's this I hear about you falling out of chairs?" Elrohir asked innocently. Elladan coughed, swallowed the food that was in his mouth, and glared at his twin.
"It is nothing." he said.
"It has to be SOMETHING if Lady Rachel keeps referring to it." Elrohir said practically, eating calmly. Kari and I were also eating calmly, ignoring the conversation while smiling slightly, and Lord Glorfindel and Elrond seemed to be listening curiously. Elladan had stopped eating completely and was devoting all his energy to glaring at his brother.
"It is nothing." he repeated.
"Very well, perhaps Lady Rachel would be so kind as to supply us with an explanation?" Elrohir said, turning his attention to me. I stopped eating when I felt the attention of everybody at the table turn to me, and adopted an innocent expression.
"Elladan was asleep when I woke up, and when I poked him to wake him up, he fell off of his chair." I said, and then added with a smirk, "He was already falling off, anyways." Elladan glared at me, and I grinned back at him as Elrohir snorted with laughter. Lord Elrond and Glorfindel looked as if they were trying not to laugh, as well, though they were barely succeeding.
"You were supposed to watch for her to wake, not fall asleep to be awoken by her, Elladan." Elrond scolded lightly after a moment.
"Well it's not my fault she stayed asleep almost the entire night. I got tired." Elladan grumbled.
"Of course I slept the entire night. What's the point in waking up in the middle of the night if there's no need?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. Elladan paused, and then shrugged.
"I guess there is no point, m'Lady." he admitted.
"Stop calling me Lady. I have a name, use it." I said. THAT caught the attention of all the Elven Lords at the table.
"You do not wish to be addressed according to your title?" Lord Elrond asked with curiosity. I blinked, looking at him, and then turned to Kari, who shrugged.
"I do not have now, nor have ever had, a title." I replied. Elrond looked at me thoughtfully, then nodded.
"Very well. Rachel." he said with a smile.
"And what about m'Lady Kari?" Elrohir asked, turning to Kari.
"I don't officially have a title, either, but I'm not complaining at being called a Lady!" Kari replied with a grin.
"Only because you wish you were one." I shot off.
"Says the one who used to be mistaken for a boy when she was younger!" Kari shot back just as quickly. I flicked a grape-like fruit at Kari, which she ducked, and we mock-glared at each other for a moment, then started giggling when we noticed the slightly freaked-out looks on the other Elves faces.
"So, is there any particular reason you invited us to lunch, Lord Elrond?" Kari asked when she calmed down, turned her attention to Elrond. By now, we were all mostly done eating, and before Lord Elrond could answer, the three Elves from before entered the room again and removed some of the now-empty trays. When they were gone, Lord Elrond answered.
"I am curious as to how you could have been wandering over Arda for around four millennia and I have never heard of you, to tell the truth." he said. Kari and I glanced at each other across the table, then as one, shrugged.
"We haven't exactly traveled to the most well-known places." I said. "We've mostly traveled in the east and far south, and stayed in the smaller towns and villages, if not the wilderness. We were more traveling to see the land than the peoples. I can honestly say that until we arrived here, we had not seen one of our own kind besides each other for over a millennium."
"Such separation from your own people must have been hard." Lord Glorfindel said with a frown. I shrugged.
"We hardly noticed. We were traveling with each other and enjoying ourselves. We weren't exactly lonely." I replied.
"You must have entered some towns to discover what was going on with the world, at least." Glorfindel said skeptically.
"Of course. Not all our provisions could be found in the wilderness, after all." I replied.
"Quite often none of them could be, in fact." Kari said dryly, and I nodded, smiling slightly.
"We learned of some of the major events in the world, but on the whole, we did not seek out news. All the news we received had very little effect on us, anyways." I finished, and Elrond arched an eyebrow at me.
"I find it hard to believe that news of Sauron's attempt to conquer Arda would affect you little." he commented. I hesitated, glancing at Kari. She shrugged slightly, telling me it was up to me to answer that one.
"When one lives mostly in the wilderness, m'Lord, who that wilderness belongs to does not trouble one overly much." I said carefully.
"I would think it would matter somewhat in the case of Sauron, since the land would become blackened and desolate under his rule." Elrond said with a light frown. I shifted uncomfortably, looking to Kari for help. Kari sighed.
"It mattered not, Lord Elrond, for we had no fear that Sauron would be ruling Arda anytime soon." she said. All the elves eyebrows shot up at that.
"Even the leaders of the Last Alliance, at the base of Orodruin, feared that Sauron would yet rule Arda. Why did you not?" Glorfindel asked with interest. Kari looked at me pointedly, as if saying 'see what happens when you make me talk?'
"Let us just say we're optimistic to a fault and leave it at that." I said flatly. The Elves, especially Lord Elrond and Glorfindel, looked as if they would like to continue on that topic, but thankfully, didn't.
"So you must have some interesting stories from your travels." Elladan tried for the second time that day. "Especially if you stayed in a human village long enough for the local children to give you a new name." That got surprised looks from everyone at the table, though Kari quickly hid it.
"Rachel is not your true name?" Elrohir asked with curiosity. I shook my head and explained to them all what I'd told Elladan earlier that morning about staying in a human village and being given a nickname, and then shortening Kari's name in revenge when she started calling me the nickname.
"Elenlómë." Elrond said with a light frown. "Night Star. That is a strange name." I shrugged.
"I truly don't know what possessed my parents to call me it." I said. "And I can't really go and ask them now."
"Oh? Have they sailed to Valinor?" Glorfindel asked with interest. I considered using that excuse for an instant, but quickly realized it could present problems later and shook my head with barely a visible pause.
"No, unfortunately. I received a message not long after Eregion was laid to waste that they had died there. Kari's parents, as well. It's one of the reasons we remained traveling instead of returning to one of the Elven realms for safety when Sauron's forces became more plentiful. We had no family to return to, and thus, didn't see the point." I replied softly, smiling sadly. Kari caught on and adopted a sad, far-away look, as if remembering her parents. I had no doubt she was probably thinking of how there was no chocolate or fanfiction in Middle-Earth or something, but it did the trick. The four Elven Lords murmured various forms of sympathy, and the subject was dropped.
We finished what little food there was left for lunch rather quickly, and after the three mysterious Elves had come and taken away all evidence that we had just had lunch there, Lord Glorfindel got up and politely excused himself. Kari and I, after a bit of idle conversation about Rivendell and it's sights - and a promise to be found horses to ride - excused ourselves as well, leaving Elrond and his twin sons to talk.
"I'll bet you anything Lord Elrond's asking them what they think of us." Kari said once we were out of hearing range of Elrond's study.
"And I'll bet you anything else the answer includes the words 'slightly crazy'." I replied with a grin.
"I'm sure." Kari replied, also grinning. "By the way, good work with the story about our names."
"Well, Elladan was asking about our names. I remembered that it took me about a month to learn how to pronounce that Elvish name of mine, so I just went from there." I said, then made a face and added, "But if I have to make up anymore stories off the top of my head, I think I'm going to have a major headache tomorrow."
"Well, let's just avoid the inquisitive Lords of Rivendell until supper, then!" Kari said cheerfully. "Up for a hike to investigate the sights of Rivendell and see if they were telling us the truth about all that stuff?"
"Lead on!" I said. "In the mean time, Elladan has told me down to the month what the date is, so I'm going to start rambling off to you what all has happened, and what's yet to happen, so you don't reveal anything you shouldn't." So, cheerfully, we set off down one of the more unused paths in Rivendell, with me reciting all the things that had and had not happened yet in Middle-Earth. Sometimes I really scare myself.
----To be continued after these messages!----
(Please note that messages do not exist, unless you count FF.N's pop-up ads...)
-Authors Note:-
Oh, I am having far too much fun with this FanFic. *amused smile* Really. This is the most fun I've had in a long time writing a FanFic. But now I need to go mess with a chapter I just wrote, because I just realized that I forgot to make Elladan and Elrohir hard to tell apart...*bops self*
Once again, thanks to all my lovely reviewers. You're all munderful, and I appreciate all of your comments! Now I'm off to edit, read, and write.
~Crimson Starlight
-Disclaimer:-
The purple peanuts have allied with the ladybugs and are going to take over the world five days after the two days before the end of the world.
Glorfindel: Translation - Crimson Starlight owns nothing.
-5: Lunch-
Elladan, after learning what a poor shot I really was, quickly gave up entirely on improving my archery skills. He said he couldn't figure out why I was such a horrible shot - I had perfect stance. Didn't really occur to him, I suppose, that it's because I never really try to improve my aim, and I was getting very easily distracted by all the other incredibly hot Elves that were also practicing. Kari had been right when she said that Elrond, Elrohir, Elladan and Glorfindel were the norm for looks around Rivendell. Well, to be truthful, they were all a little above the norm, but that was to be expected - after all, they're Elf Lords. They're supposed to be a little handsomer than your average every-day Elf.
Anyways. Instead of practicing archery, I sat on the ground underneath a tree not far from Elladan and bugged him with questions while he practiced. The questions started out with basic things about archery, if he knew how to make arrows and did he make his own and such. Then, gradually, the questions turned away from archery and started to become about the Elvish realms in general. Elladan, to my surprise, didn't find this the least bit odd, and when I commented on it, his reply was that he expected me to have questions about the doings of my people after spending such a long time traveling away from them. With that revelation, my questions got bolder - and less important. I soon started discovering things that were mentioned nowhere in Tolkien's books - mostly because they were trivial things, but it was nice to find out something new. The questions continued for quite some time, until around lunchtime, when an annoyed looking Kari showed up at the practice field, followed by a grinning Elrohir.
"Identical twins should be banned." Kari said loudly as she came to stand by the tree I was sitting under, glaring at the two twins that were now standing side by side, and impossible to tell apart if you didn't know which twin was wearing what that day. I could hear several of the practicing archers laugh lightly, and suppressed a laugh myself. Instead, I grinned.
"Having trouble finding out which one is which?" I asked, and Kari nodded vigorously.
"And he's such a double-talker that just when I think I've figured out which one he is, I suddenly become quite sure I'm wrong!" she exclaimed indignantly.
"Just ask him if he's fallen out of any chairs recently." I replied dryly. "That should solve the problem." Several heads turned towards the twins with raised eyebrows, and Elladan coughed, shifting nervously from foot to foot. It didn't help, either, that Kari was suddenly grinning like a maniac and Elrohir himself turned to his twin with raised eyebrows. Elladan glared at me and I grinned up at him.
"Too bad you're not a horrible shot, eh?" I commented, still grinning. Elladan held the glare for a few more seconds, and then burst out laughing.
"I'm going to go put my bow away." He said when he calmed down, still laughing slightly as he shook his head and walked off.
"So you're Elrohir." Kari said, eyeing the remaining twin.
"At your service, m'Lady Kari." he said, grinning and making a mock bow.
"Rach, remind me to think up plots for revenge later tonight." Kari said, glancing down at me.
"Will do!" I replied cheerfully. Elrohir just grinned cheekily.
"I don't think he believes I'll do anything." Kari said to me in a stage whisper after eyeing Elrohir for a few minutes.
"He'll learn." I replied, seriously enough that Elrohir looked worried for a moment. But before anymore could be said, Elladan returned, and I stood up because I was feeling distinctly short and not liking it.
"Now that you've put away your bow, brother, father asked me to tell you that you and the Lady Rachel are invited for lunch." Elrohir said.
"Just us two?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. Elrohir chuckled.
"Nay, Lady Kari and I, as well as Lord Glorfindel, shall be there." he said.
"Ah, a meeting of Those We Have Met So Far." I said sagely, nodding my head. Elrohir chuckled again.
"Mother will not be there?" Elladan asked with curiosity, turning to Elrohir.
"She's *ahem* still tired from the journey." Elrohir said, with such an innocent look on his face that you knew he didn't believe that was the reason at all. What the real reason was that Elrohir was hinting at, I didn't care to guess, though my mind naturally supplied several reasons of it's own that were none too clean. I twitched as I pushed them out of my head, and Elladan and Elrohir looked at me strangely.
"Are you alright, m'lady?" Elrohir asked, eyeing me.
"Fine. I just like to twitch at random intervals." I said seriously. The twins looked at me even more strangely, as did a few nearby Elves. "What, you don't think we've been able to travel for over four millennia without going slightly crazy, do you?" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kari start slightly when I mentioned how long we'd supposedly been traveling, but since everyone's attention was focused on looking at me strangely, I don't think anyone else noticed. The silence of everyone looking at me strangely stretched on for a moment, then Elladan shook his head and grinned.
"We shall have to investigate this further, but for now, I believe we were invited to lunch." he said.
"Mmm, lunch, good idea." Kari said. "Back the way we came?" Elrohir nodded, and Kari set off confidently, with us following. To my surprise, the twins didn't correct Kari at any point, and we arrived at what appeared to be Lord Elrond's study without getting lost. Upon knocking and entering, we found Lord Glorfindel and Elrond already there, seated across from each other at a table that barely looked large enough to hold six people, though the other chairs placed around it indicated that it was, in fact, where we would be eating. The two Elven Lords looked up as we entered and smiled welcomingly. Their expressions were creepily alike, and I had a feeling that if they didn't look so different, it would be harder to try and tell the two of them apart than Elrohir and Elladan.
"I see you found them without too much trouble, Elrohir." Lord Elrond commented.
"Elladan was someplace predictable for once." Elrohir replied as we approached the table. "Due, no doubt, to Lady Rachel's presence."
"Hey, the archery range is an unpredictable place to find me." I countered. Lord Elrond's lips twitched, trying to smile, and he motioned for us to be seated. Elrohir and Kari went to the other side of the table and seated themselves - well, Elrohir seated himself after pulling out Kari's chair for her - while Elladan and I took the seats on the nearer side of the table. No sooner had we sat down, it seemed, then three Elves appeared carrying trays. They set the trays down on the table, and then disappeared. A few moments later, before we had much time to start any sort of conversation, the Elves returned again carrying more trays. They set these down on the table, as well, and this time didn't return. I eyed the food now on the table with interest - none of it looked familiar, but it all looked delicious.
From somewhere, Elladan managed to produce plates, which were distributed around the table, and we all filled up our plates. It was eerily silent while we did so, but as we started eating, Elrohir apparently decided that now was a good time to find out what my comments about Elladan falling out of chairs were about.
"So, Elladan, what's this I hear about you falling out of chairs?" Elrohir asked innocently. Elladan coughed, swallowed the food that was in his mouth, and glared at his twin.
"It is nothing." he said.
"It has to be SOMETHING if Lady Rachel keeps referring to it." Elrohir said practically, eating calmly. Kari and I were also eating calmly, ignoring the conversation while smiling slightly, and Lord Glorfindel and Elrond seemed to be listening curiously. Elladan had stopped eating completely and was devoting all his energy to glaring at his brother.
"It is nothing." he repeated.
"Very well, perhaps Lady Rachel would be so kind as to supply us with an explanation?" Elrohir said, turning his attention to me. I stopped eating when I felt the attention of everybody at the table turn to me, and adopted an innocent expression.
"Elladan was asleep when I woke up, and when I poked him to wake him up, he fell off of his chair." I said, and then added with a smirk, "He was already falling off, anyways." Elladan glared at me, and I grinned back at him as Elrohir snorted with laughter. Lord Elrond and Glorfindel looked as if they were trying not to laugh, as well, though they were barely succeeding.
"You were supposed to watch for her to wake, not fall asleep to be awoken by her, Elladan." Elrond scolded lightly after a moment.
"Well it's not my fault she stayed asleep almost the entire night. I got tired." Elladan grumbled.
"Of course I slept the entire night. What's the point in waking up in the middle of the night if there's no need?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. Elladan paused, and then shrugged.
"I guess there is no point, m'Lady." he admitted.
"Stop calling me Lady. I have a name, use it." I said. THAT caught the attention of all the Elven Lords at the table.
"You do not wish to be addressed according to your title?" Lord Elrond asked with curiosity. I blinked, looking at him, and then turned to Kari, who shrugged.
"I do not have now, nor have ever had, a title." I replied. Elrond looked at me thoughtfully, then nodded.
"Very well. Rachel." he said with a smile.
"And what about m'Lady Kari?" Elrohir asked, turning to Kari.
"I don't officially have a title, either, but I'm not complaining at being called a Lady!" Kari replied with a grin.
"Only because you wish you were one." I shot off.
"Says the one who used to be mistaken for a boy when she was younger!" Kari shot back just as quickly. I flicked a grape-like fruit at Kari, which she ducked, and we mock-glared at each other for a moment, then started giggling when we noticed the slightly freaked-out looks on the other Elves faces.
"So, is there any particular reason you invited us to lunch, Lord Elrond?" Kari asked when she calmed down, turned her attention to Elrond. By now, we were all mostly done eating, and before Lord Elrond could answer, the three Elves from before entered the room again and removed some of the now-empty trays. When they were gone, Lord Elrond answered.
"I am curious as to how you could have been wandering over Arda for around four millennia and I have never heard of you, to tell the truth." he said. Kari and I glanced at each other across the table, then as one, shrugged.
"We haven't exactly traveled to the most well-known places." I said. "We've mostly traveled in the east and far south, and stayed in the smaller towns and villages, if not the wilderness. We were more traveling to see the land than the peoples. I can honestly say that until we arrived here, we had not seen one of our own kind besides each other for over a millennium."
"Such separation from your own people must have been hard." Lord Glorfindel said with a frown. I shrugged.
"We hardly noticed. We were traveling with each other and enjoying ourselves. We weren't exactly lonely." I replied.
"You must have entered some towns to discover what was going on with the world, at least." Glorfindel said skeptically.
"Of course. Not all our provisions could be found in the wilderness, after all." I replied.
"Quite often none of them could be, in fact." Kari said dryly, and I nodded, smiling slightly.
"We learned of some of the major events in the world, but on the whole, we did not seek out news. All the news we received had very little effect on us, anyways." I finished, and Elrond arched an eyebrow at me.
"I find it hard to believe that news of Sauron's attempt to conquer Arda would affect you little." he commented. I hesitated, glancing at Kari. She shrugged slightly, telling me it was up to me to answer that one.
"When one lives mostly in the wilderness, m'Lord, who that wilderness belongs to does not trouble one overly much." I said carefully.
"I would think it would matter somewhat in the case of Sauron, since the land would become blackened and desolate under his rule." Elrond said with a light frown. I shifted uncomfortably, looking to Kari for help. Kari sighed.
"It mattered not, Lord Elrond, for we had no fear that Sauron would be ruling Arda anytime soon." she said. All the elves eyebrows shot up at that.
"Even the leaders of the Last Alliance, at the base of Orodruin, feared that Sauron would yet rule Arda. Why did you not?" Glorfindel asked with interest. Kari looked at me pointedly, as if saying 'see what happens when you make me talk?'
"Let us just say we're optimistic to a fault and leave it at that." I said flatly. The Elves, especially Lord Elrond and Glorfindel, looked as if they would like to continue on that topic, but thankfully, didn't.
"So you must have some interesting stories from your travels." Elladan tried for the second time that day. "Especially if you stayed in a human village long enough for the local children to give you a new name." That got surprised looks from everyone at the table, though Kari quickly hid it.
"Rachel is not your true name?" Elrohir asked with curiosity. I shook my head and explained to them all what I'd told Elladan earlier that morning about staying in a human village and being given a nickname, and then shortening Kari's name in revenge when she started calling me the nickname.
"Elenlómë." Elrond said with a light frown. "Night Star. That is a strange name." I shrugged.
"I truly don't know what possessed my parents to call me it." I said. "And I can't really go and ask them now."
"Oh? Have they sailed to Valinor?" Glorfindel asked with interest. I considered using that excuse for an instant, but quickly realized it could present problems later and shook my head with barely a visible pause.
"No, unfortunately. I received a message not long after Eregion was laid to waste that they had died there. Kari's parents, as well. It's one of the reasons we remained traveling instead of returning to one of the Elven realms for safety when Sauron's forces became more plentiful. We had no family to return to, and thus, didn't see the point." I replied softly, smiling sadly. Kari caught on and adopted a sad, far-away look, as if remembering her parents. I had no doubt she was probably thinking of how there was no chocolate or fanfiction in Middle-Earth or something, but it did the trick. The four Elven Lords murmured various forms of sympathy, and the subject was dropped.
We finished what little food there was left for lunch rather quickly, and after the three mysterious Elves had come and taken away all evidence that we had just had lunch there, Lord Glorfindel got up and politely excused himself. Kari and I, after a bit of idle conversation about Rivendell and it's sights - and a promise to be found horses to ride - excused ourselves as well, leaving Elrond and his twin sons to talk.
"I'll bet you anything Lord Elrond's asking them what they think of us." Kari said once we were out of hearing range of Elrond's study.
"And I'll bet you anything else the answer includes the words 'slightly crazy'." I replied with a grin.
"I'm sure." Kari replied, also grinning. "By the way, good work with the story about our names."
"Well, Elladan was asking about our names. I remembered that it took me about a month to learn how to pronounce that Elvish name of mine, so I just went from there." I said, then made a face and added, "But if I have to make up anymore stories off the top of my head, I think I'm going to have a major headache tomorrow."
"Well, let's just avoid the inquisitive Lords of Rivendell until supper, then!" Kari said cheerfully. "Up for a hike to investigate the sights of Rivendell and see if they were telling us the truth about all that stuff?"
"Lead on!" I said. "In the mean time, Elladan has told me down to the month what the date is, so I'm going to start rambling off to you what all has happened, and what's yet to happen, so you don't reveal anything you shouldn't." So, cheerfully, we set off down one of the more unused paths in Rivendell, with me reciting all the things that had and had not happened yet in Middle-Earth. Sometimes I really scare myself.
----To be continued after these messages!----
(Please note that messages do not exist, unless you count FF.N's pop-up ads...)
-Authors Note:-
Oh, I am having far too much fun with this FanFic. *amused smile* Really. This is the most fun I've had in a long time writing a FanFic. But now I need to go mess with a chapter I just wrote, because I just realized that I forgot to make Elladan and Elrohir hard to tell apart...*bops self*
Once again, thanks to all my lovely reviewers. You're all munderful, and I appreciate all of your comments! Now I'm off to edit, read, and write.
~Crimson Starlight