-THE GAMES OF THE GODS-
-Disclaimer:-
CS: Not mine. To be honest, I don't even wish I owned anything so much as wished I could live IN Middle-Earth. Such a funky place...
Glorfindel: You just want to be an elf.
CS: And what's wrong with that? Elves are pretty! Or sexy, in the male's cases. And they don't get sick! Which is why everybody REALLY wants to be Elves, anyways.
Legolas: I thought the majority wanted to be Elves to marry me...
CS: Probably. Now scram, you're not in this fic.
-10: Riding-
The next morning found me curled up in the windowseat of the main room of Kari and my's rooms, reading a book on wilderness survival. Well, the early morning found me there. I had started reading almost immediatly after having breakfast, but I got no more then a dozen pages before there was a knock on the door. Kari was in bed, asleep, having spent the majority of the night out with Elrohir. So with a sigh, I put down my book and went to the door. Opening it, I discovered Elrohir and Elladan waiting in the hallway.
"Good morning, Rachel!" The purple one of the pair said cheerfully.
"Good morning Elrohir, Elladan." I said. "What can I do for you?"
"We thought you and Kari might like to come for a ride." Elladan said.
"Uhm, Kari's asleep. But I'd love to come." I said.
"Asleep?" Elrohir asked in surprise.
"Yeah. SOMEONE kept her out all night." I said pointedly. Elrohir had the grace to look sheepish. "I'd invite you to come in and wake her up to pay her back for waking you up, but she thrashes a lot in her sleep and usually throws her blankets on the floor."
"What does that have to do with me waking her up?" Elrohir asked curiously.
"She sleeps naked."
"Ah."
"So, do you want to try and wake her up so she can come with us, or shall we just leave her?" Elladan asked me. I pondered for a moment.
"I'll leave her a note. I don't want to have to deal with a grumpy Kari." I said.
"She does not take kindly to being woken up?" Elrohir asked with a smile as I stepped back into Kari and my's room to find a quill, ink and some parchment with which to write Kari a note. The twins followed me a few steps into the room so they weren't standing in the hall.
"She takes it about the same as most, but it's always best to let her sleep when you can, since if she starts to build up a bunch of sleepless nights, she gets rather cranky." I replied, finding the writing supplies I was looking for in a small window desk. I quickly scribbled out a note to Kari, telling her I was out riding with Elladan and Elrohir, then left it on the table, one corner pinned underneath a water jug.
"Right, let's go!" I said cheerfully, and set out towards the door, Elrohir and Elladan following.
The horse paddocks, I discovered once we left the room, were on practically the other side of Rivendell. The only place where there was room for the horses to run, really. The specific paddock we were going to had horses which had no specific rider in it, except for Elladan and Elrohir's horses, who the twins had put there before coming to get me - and, they had thought, Kari.
We arrived at the paddocks fairly quickly, and with two quick whistles, Elladan and Elrohir summoned their horses. Strangely enough, the horse were about as different as the twins were identical - Elladan's horse was a light chestnut brown, tall and lanky, with three tall white stockings and a prominant white blaze. Elrohir's horse, on the other hand, was sturdily built and dappled grey. I couldn't help but grin as I looked between the two horses, and Elladan noticed.
"Rachel, meet Narore and Hrivesure." he said with a smile, motioning to first his horse, then Elrohir's.
"Nice to meetcha." I said, still grinning. Elrohir rolled his eyes.
"Why does everyone have that reaction when they see our mounts?" he asked his brother. Elladan shrugged. Elrohir sighed, then turned back to me. "Stop grinning, Rachel, and come find your own horse."
"That's not a reason to stop grinning." I said, still grinning. Elrohir chuckled, then hopped over the paddock fence, quickly followed by his twin. I eyed the fence for a moment, wondering if I could hop over it without showing anything indecent. I decided I couldn't, so I climbed over it more sedately and carefully.
"Stupid dress." I muttered when I finally got into the paddock. Elladan and Elrohir looked at me in amusement.
"If you are ready?" Elladan said, nodding his head in the direction of the large clump of trees that Narore and Hrivesure had come out of. I nodded, and we set off at a brisk pace. Hrivesure followed us curiously, while Narore anticipated our destination and galloped ahead.
I wasn't sure what to expect when we entered the clump of trees, but I certainly wasn't expecting the large collection of variously coloured horses that were actually there. All the horses looked liked prime Thoroughbreds or Quarterbacks, and were absolutely amazing. I just stood there gaping for a few minutes, until Elladan nudged me.
"Pick one." he said. I looked up at him and blinked.
"Just one?" I asked, and he grinned.
"Just one." he said, then gave me a small push towards the horses. Very much in awe of the horses I was looking at, I moved slowly amoung them, and they, for the most part, gave me a cursory curious look before ignoring me completely. After a few minutes of wandering, it occurred to me that just about any horse owner would kill to own even the foal of one of these horses, and I giggled. One of the horses looked at me funny as I giggled, and I stuck my tongue out at it. To my surprise, it lifted its head from the grass it had been chomping and replied in kind. I stared at it for a moment, until it brought its tongue back into its mouth and went back to chomping on the grass. Then I grinned and skipped over to the horse.
"You are SO my horse." I said, bending down to look in one of the horses eyes. It looked back at me with as amused an expression as a horse could have. Still grinning, I straightened and looked over towards Elladan and Elrohir.
"Found one!" I called.
"Good, where are you?" One of the twins replied.
"Over here!" I called, then, at the request of the twins, I waved a hand in the air to mark my position. Even with several extra inches I was still frigging short.
I used the time it took the twins to find me to give my horse a good look-over, and was very pleased with what I saw - well, except for the fact that the horse was really really tall. I had a feeling I'd need a step stool to get on it. It had nice markings, though - it was black, with high white stockings on its front legs and low white stockings on its hind legs, a brilliant white star on its forehead, and a white mane and tail.
The twins eventually found their way to where I was standing by my horse, which was now busy cropping the grass in a circle around me. As the twins approached, I was surprised to see the horse I'd claimed casually bare its teeth at them. Frowning, I whacked the horse on the shoulder, and then looked back at the twins to see them looking between me and 'my' horse in surprise.
"I should have guessed." Elladan said dryly after a moment.
"Should have guessed what?" I asked curiously.
"The one troublesome stallion in the entire herd and you pick it." Elrohir replied with a small smile.
"Troublesome stallion?" I peered at my horse suspiciously. Feeling my gaze, it lifted its head and looked back at me. "Eh, he stuck his tongue out at me. He's cool - and mine." I wrapped my arms protectively around the horses neck, grinning like the an idiot.
"You criteria for picking him was that he stuck his tongue out at you?" Elladan asked in disbelief, and I paused for a moment, then nodded.
"Pretty much, yep." I said.
"Well, if you can handle him..." Elrohir said in resignation, shaking his head.
"I'll have to get UP on him first, but I'm sure I'll manage." I said, and the twins chuckled. "So, does he have a name, or do I get to name him?"
"All the horses have names, but it is traditional that you give him a new one." Elladan replied. I paused, looking at my horse thoughtfully, pondering what to name him. My eyes eventually settled on his forehead, and the star there pulled out of my memory a name I'd made up back when Kari and I had made up our Elvish names. It was another Elvish name, simply the translation of what I'd always said I would call the first horse I ever owned (if I ever owned one) - Liltalen, Star Dancer. Well, this stallion was my first horse, so it fit.
"Liltalen." I said quietly, and the stallion, as if already knowing it was his new name, lifted his head and nuzzled my arm briefly before returning to his grazing.
"What was that?" Elladan asked me, having not quite heard.
"Liltalen. His name is Liltalen." I said. Elladan and Elrohir glanced at each other.
"Sounds...feminine." Elladan said after a moment, and Liltalen bared his teeth at the Elf.
"Well then it fits, since Liltalen's so smart." I said with a smirk.
"Are you saying that males are not smart?" Elrohir asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Well, males invented war. And both the attempted Dark Lords have been male." I replied innocently, then added thoughtfully, "Exceptions are made, of course, for the good Valar and Maia."
"Of course." Elladan said, rolling his eyes. I smiled sweetly.
"Well then, since you have found your horse, shall we go see if you can mount him and stay mounted long enough for us to carry out the promised ride?" Elrohir suggested.
"Sure!" I said, and the twins set off out of the trees, with their horses following them. I, much to the twins amusement, skipped along behind them, Liltalen meandering after me, pausing here and there to touch muzzles with another horse, or to take a nibble at some grass.
"Do you need a saddle to ride?" Elladan asked me once we'd left the trees. I hesitated for a moment. I had had some riding lessons at home, but not enough to be able to ride bareback, and I knew most Elves were supposed to be able to ride bareback. Plus, I had supposedly spent the past few millenia travelling - I was somewhat surprised Elladan even asked, though glad he had. Now, however, I needed to come up with a reason for riding with a saddle. A quick glance back at Liltalen, Narore and Hrivesure, and a comparison of the three horses sizes, gave me my way out.
"Normally, no, but Liltalen is the biggest horse I've ever ridden. I'd prefer to start riding him with a saddle." I said, and made a mental note to go for rides by myself and practice riding bareback. For now, though, Elladan just nodded in acceptance of my need for a saddle, and the twins led me to the gate of the paddock - which was, it happened, not to far from where we'd hopped over the fence.
"You two could have told me the gate was here BEFORE I climbed over the fence." I commented when Elrohir opened the gate. The twins grinned at me.
"But it was much more fun to watch you climb over the fence!" Elladan said.
"You just wanted me to slip and show you both my underwear." I said with a snort, walking through the gate.
"Of course not! Whatever would give you that idea?" Elladan asked innocently as he and his twin followed me through. I just gave Elladan a look, and when Liltalen came through the gate, he bared his teeth - again - at Elladan.
"I'm beginning to think getting you a horse might have been a bad idea." Elrohir said with an arched eyebrow as I gave Liltalen a pat and crooned at him for being a good boy.
"Of course it's not! Whatever would give you that idea?" I said cheerily, then skipped off down the path to the stables of Rivendell, Liltalen following me.
When I got to the stables, I had the extreme fun of seeing the stablehands faces when they saw what horse was following me. Absolute panic. One actually thought that Liltalen had gotten loose and was threatening me. I had knocked that notion out of his head by the time Elladan and Elrohir arrived.
The twins, after having assured the stable staff that Liltalen was not loose, and that he was not going to do them any harm as long as I was around, got the stablehands to get some of the tack that was kept in the stables, primarily for human visitors and new riders. All the twins reassurance's went out the window, however, when Liltalen, upon seeing the tack, bared his teeth and started backing away.
I promptly whacked Liltalen on the shoulder and told him to behave. He rolled his eyes at me. I stuck out my tongue at him. He stuck out his tongue in response. I pulled on his tongue. Liltalen started, stared at me for a moment, then casually ambled over to one of the stablehands and nudged the saddle the Elf was holding. The stablehands, almost in a daze, bridled and saddled Liltalen, and I watched with a smirk. Elladan and Elrohir just shook their heads and mounted their horses to wait for me. Liltalen was ready quickly, and it was only then that I realized I was wearing a dress, and that the saddle that had been put on Liltalen was a side saddle.
"No." I said flatly when I noticed this. "Put a normal saddle on him while I go change." All the elves in the stable, including Elladan and Elrohir, looked at me in surprise. "I am NOT riding side-saddle." I said with an arched eyebrow.
"Well you shall have to." Elrohir said, stilling the stablehands that had just begun to move to change the saddle with a glance. "I helped father gather your wardrobe, and I know there are no riding dresses in it."
"No riding dresses, no." I said brightly. "But I do have some trousers and a tunic." Elrohir blinked in surprise.
"You cannot wear trousers!" he said after a moment. "It is not proper." I cocked my head to one side and looked up at Elrohir, considering how to answer that. I could answer many ways, but there was only one way that truly appealed to me.
"I don't bloody care what's proper and what's not, Elrohir, and the day I do start caring, I'll throw myself off the fucking tallest cliff I can find." I said flatly. Several of the stablehands just about fell over from shock, while Elrohir looked rather annoyed.
"Besides, brother, she's already worn the outfit once." Elladan put in, amused.
"What? When?" Elrohir asked with a frown, his head whipping around so he could peer at his brother.
"When we turned you purple. We originally climbed a tree, if you will recall what I told you, and she refused to do so in a dress. I leant her a pair of trousers and tunic, but I did not realise until just now that she did not return them." Elladan replied.
"Exactly. So, now that that's settled, I'm going to go change, Liltalen's saddle is going to be changed to a normal one, and if you have a problem with that, Elrohir, you don't have to come." I said, then turned and headed off in the direction of my room. Through the miracle of my pride and indignation, I managed to get to my room without getting lost or having to ask for directions.
Kari was still asleep, so I let her be and changed quickly before heading back to the stables. When I got to the stables again, I found that, to my surprise, while Liltalen was now sporting a normal saddle, Elrohir was nowhere in sight. I shot Elladan a questioning look as I went over to Liltalen and mounted up.
"He listened to you." Elladan said with a helpless shrug. I blinked.
"You're kidding. Elrohir actually decided not to come because he had a problem with me riding in trousers?" I asked increduously. Elladan nodded.
"He can be a...stickler for propriety sometimes." Elladan said, almost apologetically.
"Then he's not going to be spending a lot of time around me." I said flatly, and urged Liltalen into a walk, heading off down the road out of Rivendell. Elladan caught up quickly, and we rode in silence for awhile. While I have no idea what Elladan was thinking, I was brooding over Elrohir's intolerance. I hoped sincerely that his attitude towards me wearing 'men's' clothing wasn't a common one in Rivendell - it was such a nice place, I'd hate for it to be spoiled by something as small as no tolerance for women's lib. Especially since, if people did start muttering about me wearing men's clothing, I would have to leave. I was not going to give up pants.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not one who cares overly much about my reputation. But I also hate being lonely, and if my reputation dropped far enough, no one but Kari would talk to me. And even Kari might stop after awhile - peer presure can be an awefully hard thing to bear. I should know, usually I was one facing the pressure to stop being friends with Kari. I smiled wryly as I realized that Kari and I had effectively switched roles. But it wasn't my fault that Kari could go from one extreme to another - verging on slutty to what our world would consider almost prude - while I just stayed firmly in the middle, never quite accepted.
"Arwen seems quite nice." I said suddenly, deciding I needed to talk.
"She is." Elladan said with a small smile. "The best sister I could have ever hoped for."
"And the fact that she's the Evenstar only helps, yes?" I said wryly, and Elladan grinned in response.
"It helps somewhat." he said, and we fell into silence once more. I dug around for a topic that I could bring up that would lead to lots of talking on Elladan's part - for some reason I was in the mood to listen - and since we were now surrounded completely by forest, I picked on the first Middle-Earthian thing that I could think of related to nature.
"So, tell me, what do you know about the Dúnedain?" I asked. Elladan started somewhat and looked at me in surprise.
"You have heard of them, then? Not many people have..." he said, and eyed me appraisingly.
"I have." I said needlessly. "And I'm curious about them."
"What exactly about them are you curious about?" Elladan asked. He sounded as if he was being cautious, and remembering that the Dúnedain's origins weren't exactly well known, I realized why he was being careful. I smiled slightly.
"I was wondering why the people that could rightfully be ruling one of the largest Kingdoms of men are now hiding in the northern wilderness." I said. Elladan just arched an eyebrow this time at my newest revelation of my knowledge, then started in on an explanation about how the Dúnedain had tried to return to Gondor, but had been turned away, and now they were just staying in the wilderness until the right time came for them to return. I knew the bare basics of it, but Elladan had been directly involved in some cases, so his tale of the how and the why of the Dúnedain's forming was much more interesting than anything of Tolkien's that I'd read.
By the time Elladan had finished talking about the Dúnedain, we had gotten a good ways from Rivendell, and the sun was quite high in the sky. Elladan, to my surprise, pulled out a small lunch of dried meats and fruits, along with some lembas, from somewhere, and we ate while we rode, falling into silence. After eating, Elladan found a stream, and we had a brief drink before getting back on our horses and heading back to Rivendell. On the way out, I had been content to listen, but now, I felt like discussing something, and I grabbed at the most obvious thing that came to mind.
"Kari and Elrohir seem to be getting along quite nicely, don't you think?" I asked. Elladan nodded and chuckled.
"That they are. I have not seen my brother this interested in a maiden for several hundred years." he said.
"And I have never seen Kari so interested in any male." I said with a smirk. "Though she deffinately has not lacked for company throughout the years." I added wryly.
"Oh?" Elladan asked with an arched eyebrow. I smiled and nodded.
"Kari had quite the time whenever we went to town." I said.
"I take it I should warn my brother not to expect her to be a shy, inexperienced maiden, then." Elladan said ruefully.
"That would be a rather good idea." I said. "Though somehow I don't think he'll care." Elladan smirked and nodded.
"Me either." he said, "Serve him right, too. All the maidens around here are scared to say 'boo' to him." I chuckled.
"Let me guess - he reminds them too much of Elrond?" I asked.
"From what they have told me, I would assume so." he said.
"What they've told you?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. Elladan grinned slightly.
"It is amazing how much maidens will talk when they have some mirovur in them." he said.
"Elladan, have you been getting females drunk?" I asked him reprovingly. He nodded vigorously.
"It's quite amusing." he said.
"Remind me to stay away from you when there's alcohol in the vacinity." I said dryly. "I'll have enough problems keeping Kari from getting me drunk." Elladan arched an eyebrow.
"Oh ho. Does Kari get you drunk often?" he asked.
"She tries to. She usually ends up being the drunk one." I said with a smirk.
"Let me guess, you keep switching glasses with her, so you get the weaker alcohol that she is having?" Elladan asked with a grin, and I nodded viogorusly. "Sounds like the trick I use, both on maidens and Elrohir."
"Elrohir too?" I asked with amusement.
"What sort of a brother would I be if I did not supply Elrohir with alcohol?" Elladan asked innocently. I chuckled.
"Too true. Both Elrohir and Kari need it, anyways." I said. "Elrohir needs some loosening up, and I'm just getting Kari drunk for her own good. I'm nasty when I have a hangover."
"Hangover?" Elladan asked curiously. I blinked, then realized what I'd just done - Elves didn't get sick, and here I was mentioning myself getting sick when everyone assumed I was an Elf.
"Happens to me after I get drunk - I feel unusually tired, and cruelly giddy. I don't know why." I lied off the top of my head, hoping it would pass.
"Cruelly giddy? How is THAT possible?" Elladan asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Easily. One just has to be very hyper and in a bad mood. Then you're mean to just about anyone you run across, and happy while doing so." I replied. "Not something I like to be very often." Elladan nodded in agreement, but the look in his eyes told me he hadn't completely bought my story, or was somewhat disturbed by it. Whatever was going through his head, I decided I didn't want to know - in fact, I wanted to stop thinking entirely for awhile and just focus on the here and now. And what better way to do that than to race?
"I'll race you back to Rivendell." I said to Elladan with a grin.
"It's still a long ways off." he said with an arched eyebrow.
"And?" I asked impatiently. "Does Narore not have the stamina to make it back or something?"
"Of course he does." Elladan said stiffly, feigning offence. "But are you sure Liltalen does?"
"I shall have to discover that." I said with a grin, and Liltalen snorted indignantly. I arched an eyebrow at Elladan, and he hesitated for only a moment, then shrugged and kicked Narore into a gallop.
"HEY!" I called out, "NO FAIR!" Then I kicked Liltalen into a gallop, and took off after Elladan. I caught up with him fairly quickly, but then slowed Liltalen, wanting to save his speed for the end of the race. Elladan was apparently doing the same thing, however, as when Rivendell came into sight, both Narore and Liltalen sped up considerably.
It wasn't until we scared the guards out of their wits by blasting past them - Liltalen only a horse's head length ahead of Narore - that we slowed down, and then discovered that both of us were laughing giddily. Liltalen, knowing that he'd won, pranced around the stable yard, me still on top of him. Narore was walking around more sedately, being led around by a dismounted Elladan. And that was the scene Lord Elrond found when he came into the yard at a jog. He arched an eyebrow at Elladan and I, which only made me crack up more. Elladan grinned somewhat, as well, though he sobered immediatly when a scowling Glorfindel appeared behind Elrond. I sobered somewhat, too, though I was still grinning - it didn't take a genius to figure out that a scowling Elf-lord was not a good sign.
"I believe I spoke to you about galloping into Rivendell at top speed, Elladan?" Glorfindel said acidly, and I inwardly winced. Oops, if I'd known Elladan wasn't supposed to do that, I wouldn't have done it. Well, I probably would have, but we'd have stopped earlier.
"Yes, m'Lord, you did." Elladan said stiffly.
"But you didn't talk to me about it." I said blandly, coming to Elladan's defence. Glorfindel's scowl turned to me. I smiled back at him. Glorfindel's scowl turned into a glare. I continued to smile. Glorfindel turned away with a 'harumph'.
"I shall have to remedy that. When you have put your horse away, come to my study." Glorfindel said crisply, then stalked off. I watched him go with an amused smile. When he was out of sight, I turned my attention back to Elrond and Elladan, who were looking at me with mild surprise.
"What?" I demanded.
"THAT is something I have not seen in awhile." Elrond said dryly, shaking himself out of his surprise.
"I've NEVER seen that before." Elladan said, a touch of awe in his voice.
"What?" I asked again.
"It takes a very strong will indeed to stare down Lord Glorfindel." Elrond said, his lips twitching in an attempt to smile. "The last one to do so was King Gil-Galad."
"Meh. Perks of being slightly insane." I said with a shrug. "On that note, my apologies for riding into Rivendell at top speed. It was spur-of-the-moment, and if I had known we weren't supposed to do so, I would have seen about stopping before we reached the stables." Elrond accepted my apology with a nod.
"Very well, but you shall still have to speak with Glorfindel." he said.
"Wouldn't miss it." I said with a grin. Elladan looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "Insane." I said by way of a reminder, pointing to myself. Elladan just shook his head and went about rubbing down Narore while Elrond disapeared back inside the main house. I shrugged and dismounted, then set to work on getting Liltalen settled.
----To be continued...with a chapter full of, and named after, everybody's favourite Balrog-slaying Elf-lord----
('nuff said)
-Authors Note:-
I have no Author's Note. Or at least, I'm too tired to remember and write down an Author's Note. So I'll just go with the good ol' THANK YOU REVIEWERS! Y'all are great. And if all you readers out there submit a review, you can be amoung the privilaged number of the reviewers and get thanked, as well!
~Crimson Starlight
-Revision's Author's Note:-
Elladan and Rachel's conversation about Kari and Elrohir? Completely changed so it's more Tolkien-canon-like...
~CS
-Disclaimer:-
CS: Not mine. To be honest, I don't even wish I owned anything so much as wished I could live IN Middle-Earth. Such a funky place...
Glorfindel: You just want to be an elf.
CS: And what's wrong with that? Elves are pretty! Or sexy, in the male's cases. And they don't get sick! Which is why everybody REALLY wants to be Elves, anyways.
Legolas: I thought the majority wanted to be Elves to marry me...
CS: Probably. Now scram, you're not in this fic.
-10: Riding-
The next morning found me curled up in the windowseat of the main room of Kari and my's rooms, reading a book on wilderness survival. Well, the early morning found me there. I had started reading almost immediatly after having breakfast, but I got no more then a dozen pages before there was a knock on the door. Kari was in bed, asleep, having spent the majority of the night out with Elrohir. So with a sigh, I put down my book and went to the door. Opening it, I discovered Elrohir and Elladan waiting in the hallway.
"Good morning, Rachel!" The purple one of the pair said cheerfully.
"Good morning Elrohir, Elladan." I said. "What can I do for you?"
"We thought you and Kari might like to come for a ride." Elladan said.
"Uhm, Kari's asleep. But I'd love to come." I said.
"Asleep?" Elrohir asked in surprise.
"Yeah. SOMEONE kept her out all night." I said pointedly. Elrohir had the grace to look sheepish. "I'd invite you to come in and wake her up to pay her back for waking you up, but she thrashes a lot in her sleep and usually throws her blankets on the floor."
"What does that have to do with me waking her up?" Elrohir asked curiously.
"She sleeps naked."
"Ah."
"So, do you want to try and wake her up so she can come with us, or shall we just leave her?" Elladan asked me. I pondered for a moment.
"I'll leave her a note. I don't want to have to deal with a grumpy Kari." I said.
"She does not take kindly to being woken up?" Elrohir asked with a smile as I stepped back into Kari and my's room to find a quill, ink and some parchment with which to write Kari a note. The twins followed me a few steps into the room so they weren't standing in the hall.
"She takes it about the same as most, but it's always best to let her sleep when you can, since if she starts to build up a bunch of sleepless nights, she gets rather cranky." I replied, finding the writing supplies I was looking for in a small window desk. I quickly scribbled out a note to Kari, telling her I was out riding with Elladan and Elrohir, then left it on the table, one corner pinned underneath a water jug.
"Right, let's go!" I said cheerfully, and set out towards the door, Elrohir and Elladan following.
The horse paddocks, I discovered once we left the room, were on practically the other side of Rivendell. The only place where there was room for the horses to run, really. The specific paddock we were going to had horses which had no specific rider in it, except for Elladan and Elrohir's horses, who the twins had put there before coming to get me - and, they had thought, Kari.
We arrived at the paddocks fairly quickly, and with two quick whistles, Elladan and Elrohir summoned their horses. Strangely enough, the horse were about as different as the twins were identical - Elladan's horse was a light chestnut brown, tall and lanky, with three tall white stockings and a prominant white blaze. Elrohir's horse, on the other hand, was sturdily built and dappled grey. I couldn't help but grin as I looked between the two horses, and Elladan noticed.
"Rachel, meet Narore and Hrivesure." he said with a smile, motioning to first his horse, then Elrohir's.
"Nice to meetcha." I said, still grinning. Elrohir rolled his eyes.
"Why does everyone have that reaction when they see our mounts?" he asked his brother. Elladan shrugged. Elrohir sighed, then turned back to me. "Stop grinning, Rachel, and come find your own horse."
"That's not a reason to stop grinning." I said, still grinning. Elrohir chuckled, then hopped over the paddock fence, quickly followed by his twin. I eyed the fence for a moment, wondering if I could hop over it without showing anything indecent. I decided I couldn't, so I climbed over it more sedately and carefully.
"Stupid dress." I muttered when I finally got into the paddock. Elladan and Elrohir looked at me in amusement.
"If you are ready?" Elladan said, nodding his head in the direction of the large clump of trees that Narore and Hrivesure had come out of. I nodded, and we set off at a brisk pace. Hrivesure followed us curiously, while Narore anticipated our destination and galloped ahead.
I wasn't sure what to expect when we entered the clump of trees, but I certainly wasn't expecting the large collection of variously coloured horses that were actually there. All the horses looked liked prime Thoroughbreds or Quarterbacks, and were absolutely amazing. I just stood there gaping for a few minutes, until Elladan nudged me.
"Pick one." he said. I looked up at him and blinked.
"Just one?" I asked, and he grinned.
"Just one." he said, then gave me a small push towards the horses. Very much in awe of the horses I was looking at, I moved slowly amoung them, and they, for the most part, gave me a cursory curious look before ignoring me completely. After a few minutes of wandering, it occurred to me that just about any horse owner would kill to own even the foal of one of these horses, and I giggled. One of the horses looked at me funny as I giggled, and I stuck my tongue out at it. To my surprise, it lifted its head from the grass it had been chomping and replied in kind. I stared at it for a moment, until it brought its tongue back into its mouth and went back to chomping on the grass. Then I grinned and skipped over to the horse.
"You are SO my horse." I said, bending down to look in one of the horses eyes. It looked back at me with as amused an expression as a horse could have. Still grinning, I straightened and looked over towards Elladan and Elrohir.
"Found one!" I called.
"Good, where are you?" One of the twins replied.
"Over here!" I called, then, at the request of the twins, I waved a hand in the air to mark my position. Even with several extra inches I was still frigging short.
I used the time it took the twins to find me to give my horse a good look-over, and was very pleased with what I saw - well, except for the fact that the horse was really really tall. I had a feeling I'd need a step stool to get on it. It had nice markings, though - it was black, with high white stockings on its front legs and low white stockings on its hind legs, a brilliant white star on its forehead, and a white mane and tail.
The twins eventually found their way to where I was standing by my horse, which was now busy cropping the grass in a circle around me. As the twins approached, I was surprised to see the horse I'd claimed casually bare its teeth at them. Frowning, I whacked the horse on the shoulder, and then looked back at the twins to see them looking between me and 'my' horse in surprise.
"I should have guessed." Elladan said dryly after a moment.
"Should have guessed what?" I asked curiously.
"The one troublesome stallion in the entire herd and you pick it." Elrohir replied with a small smile.
"Troublesome stallion?" I peered at my horse suspiciously. Feeling my gaze, it lifted its head and looked back at me. "Eh, he stuck his tongue out at me. He's cool - and mine." I wrapped my arms protectively around the horses neck, grinning like the an idiot.
"You criteria for picking him was that he stuck his tongue out at you?" Elladan asked in disbelief, and I paused for a moment, then nodded.
"Pretty much, yep." I said.
"Well, if you can handle him..." Elrohir said in resignation, shaking his head.
"I'll have to get UP on him first, but I'm sure I'll manage." I said, and the twins chuckled. "So, does he have a name, or do I get to name him?"
"All the horses have names, but it is traditional that you give him a new one." Elladan replied. I paused, looking at my horse thoughtfully, pondering what to name him. My eyes eventually settled on his forehead, and the star there pulled out of my memory a name I'd made up back when Kari and I had made up our Elvish names. It was another Elvish name, simply the translation of what I'd always said I would call the first horse I ever owned (if I ever owned one) - Liltalen, Star Dancer. Well, this stallion was my first horse, so it fit.
"Liltalen." I said quietly, and the stallion, as if already knowing it was his new name, lifted his head and nuzzled my arm briefly before returning to his grazing.
"What was that?" Elladan asked me, having not quite heard.
"Liltalen. His name is Liltalen." I said. Elladan and Elrohir glanced at each other.
"Sounds...feminine." Elladan said after a moment, and Liltalen bared his teeth at the Elf.
"Well then it fits, since Liltalen's so smart." I said with a smirk.
"Are you saying that males are not smart?" Elrohir asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Well, males invented war. And both the attempted Dark Lords have been male." I replied innocently, then added thoughtfully, "Exceptions are made, of course, for the good Valar and Maia."
"Of course." Elladan said, rolling his eyes. I smiled sweetly.
"Well then, since you have found your horse, shall we go see if you can mount him and stay mounted long enough for us to carry out the promised ride?" Elrohir suggested.
"Sure!" I said, and the twins set off out of the trees, with their horses following them. I, much to the twins amusement, skipped along behind them, Liltalen meandering after me, pausing here and there to touch muzzles with another horse, or to take a nibble at some grass.
"Do you need a saddle to ride?" Elladan asked me once we'd left the trees. I hesitated for a moment. I had had some riding lessons at home, but not enough to be able to ride bareback, and I knew most Elves were supposed to be able to ride bareback. Plus, I had supposedly spent the past few millenia travelling - I was somewhat surprised Elladan even asked, though glad he had. Now, however, I needed to come up with a reason for riding with a saddle. A quick glance back at Liltalen, Narore and Hrivesure, and a comparison of the three horses sizes, gave me my way out.
"Normally, no, but Liltalen is the biggest horse I've ever ridden. I'd prefer to start riding him with a saddle." I said, and made a mental note to go for rides by myself and practice riding bareback. For now, though, Elladan just nodded in acceptance of my need for a saddle, and the twins led me to the gate of the paddock - which was, it happened, not to far from where we'd hopped over the fence.
"You two could have told me the gate was here BEFORE I climbed over the fence." I commented when Elrohir opened the gate. The twins grinned at me.
"But it was much more fun to watch you climb over the fence!" Elladan said.
"You just wanted me to slip and show you both my underwear." I said with a snort, walking through the gate.
"Of course not! Whatever would give you that idea?" Elladan asked innocently as he and his twin followed me through. I just gave Elladan a look, and when Liltalen came through the gate, he bared his teeth - again - at Elladan.
"I'm beginning to think getting you a horse might have been a bad idea." Elrohir said with an arched eyebrow as I gave Liltalen a pat and crooned at him for being a good boy.
"Of course it's not! Whatever would give you that idea?" I said cheerily, then skipped off down the path to the stables of Rivendell, Liltalen following me.
When I got to the stables, I had the extreme fun of seeing the stablehands faces when they saw what horse was following me. Absolute panic. One actually thought that Liltalen had gotten loose and was threatening me. I had knocked that notion out of his head by the time Elladan and Elrohir arrived.
The twins, after having assured the stable staff that Liltalen was not loose, and that he was not going to do them any harm as long as I was around, got the stablehands to get some of the tack that was kept in the stables, primarily for human visitors and new riders. All the twins reassurance's went out the window, however, when Liltalen, upon seeing the tack, bared his teeth and started backing away.
I promptly whacked Liltalen on the shoulder and told him to behave. He rolled his eyes at me. I stuck out my tongue at him. He stuck out his tongue in response. I pulled on his tongue. Liltalen started, stared at me for a moment, then casually ambled over to one of the stablehands and nudged the saddle the Elf was holding. The stablehands, almost in a daze, bridled and saddled Liltalen, and I watched with a smirk. Elladan and Elrohir just shook their heads and mounted their horses to wait for me. Liltalen was ready quickly, and it was only then that I realized I was wearing a dress, and that the saddle that had been put on Liltalen was a side saddle.
"No." I said flatly when I noticed this. "Put a normal saddle on him while I go change." All the elves in the stable, including Elladan and Elrohir, looked at me in surprise. "I am NOT riding side-saddle." I said with an arched eyebrow.
"Well you shall have to." Elrohir said, stilling the stablehands that had just begun to move to change the saddle with a glance. "I helped father gather your wardrobe, and I know there are no riding dresses in it."
"No riding dresses, no." I said brightly. "But I do have some trousers and a tunic." Elrohir blinked in surprise.
"You cannot wear trousers!" he said after a moment. "It is not proper." I cocked my head to one side and looked up at Elrohir, considering how to answer that. I could answer many ways, but there was only one way that truly appealed to me.
"I don't bloody care what's proper and what's not, Elrohir, and the day I do start caring, I'll throw myself off the fucking tallest cliff I can find." I said flatly. Several of the stablehands just about fell over from shock, while Elrohir looked rather annoyed.
"Besides, brother, she's already worn the outfit once." Elladan put in, amused.
"What? When?" Elrohir asked with a frown, his head whipping around so he could peer at his brother.
"When we turned you purple. We originally climbed a tree, if you will recall what I told you, and she refused to do so in a dress. I leant her a pair of trousers and tunic, but I did not realise until just now that she did not return them." Elladan replied.
"Exactly. So, now that that's settled, I'm going to go change, Liltalen's saddle is going to be changed to a normal one, and if you have a problem with that, Elrohir, you don't have to come." I said, then turned and headed off in the direction of my room. Through the miracle of my pride and indignation, I managed to get to my room without getting lost or having to ask for directions.
Kari was still asleep, so I let her be and changed quickly before heading back to the stables. When I got to the stables again, I found that, to my surprise, while Liltalen was now sporting a normal saddle, Elrohir was nowhere in sight. I shot Elladan a questioning look as I went over to Liltalen and mounted up.
"He listened to you." Elladan said with a helpless shrug. I blinked.
"You're kidding. Elrohir actually decided not to come because he had a problem with me riding in trousers?" I asked increduously. Elladan nodded.
"He can be a...stickler for propriety sometimes." Elladan said, almost apologetically.
"Then he's not going to be spending a lot of time around me." I said flatly, and urged Liltalen into a walk, heading off down the road out of Rivendell. Elladan caught up quickly, and we rode in silence for awhile. While I have no idea what Elladan was thinking, I was brooding over Elrohir's intolerance. I hoped sincerely that his attitude towards me wearing 'men's' clothing wasn't a common one in Rivendell - it was such a nice place, I'd hate for it to be spoiled by something as small as no tolerance for women's lib. Especially since, if people did start muttering about me wearing men's clothing, I would have to leave. I was not going to give up pants.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not one who cares overly much about my reputation. But I also hate being lonely, and if my reputation dropped far enough, no one but Kari would talk to me. And even Kari might stop after awhile - peer presure can be an awefully hard thing to bear. I should know, usually I was one facing the pressure to stop being friends with Kari. I smiled wryly as I realized that Kari and I had effectively switched roles. But it wasn't my fault that Kari could go from one extreme to another - verging on slutty to what our world would consider almost prude - while I just stayed firmly in the middle, never quite accepted.
"Arwen seems quite nice." I said suddenly, deciding I needed to talk.
"She is." Elladan said with a small smile. "The best sister I could have ever hoped for."
"And the fact that she's the Evenstar only helps, yes?" I said wryly, and Elladan grinned in response.
"It helps somewhat." he said, and we fell into silence once more. I dug around for a topic that I could bring up that would lead to lots of talking on Elladan's part - for some reason I was in the mood to listen - and since we were now surrounded completely by forest, I picked on the first Middle-Earthian thing that I could think of related to nature.
"So, tell me, what do you know about the Dúnedain?" I asked. Elladan started somewhat and looked at me in surprise.
"You have heard of them, then? Not many people have..." he said, and eyed me appraisingly.
"I have." I said needlessly. "And I'm curious about them."
"What exactly about them are you curious about?" Elladan asked. He sounded as if he was being cautious, and remembering that the Dúnedain's origins weren't exactly well known, I realized why he was being careful. I smiled slightly.
"I was wondering why the people that could rightfully be ruling one of the largest Kingdoms of men are now hiding in the northern wilderness." I said. Elladan just arched an eyebrow this time at my newest revelation of my knowledge, then started in on an explanation about how the Dúnedain had tried to return to Gondor, but had been turned away, and now they were just staying in the wilderness until the right time came for them to return. I knew the bare basics of it, but Elladan had been directly involved in some cases, so his tale of the how and the why of the Dúnedain's forming was much more interesting than anything of Tolkien's that I'd read.
By the time Elladan had finished talking about the Dúnedain, we had gotten a good ways from Rivendell, and the sun was quite high in the sky. Elladan, to my surprise, pulled out a small lunch of dried meats and fruits, along with some lembas, from somewhere, and we ate while we rode, falling into silence. After eating, Elladan found a stream, and we had a brief drink before getting back on our horses and heading back to Rivendell. On the way out, I had been content to listen, but now, I felt like discussing something, and I grabbed at the most obvious thing that came to mind.
"Kari and Elrohir seem to be getting along quite nicely, don't you think?" I asked. Elladan nodded and chuckled.
"That they are. I have not seen my brother this interested in a maiden for several hundred years." he said.
"And I have never seen Kari so interested in any male." I said with a smirk. "Though she deffinately has not lacked for company throughout the years." I added wryly.
"Oh?" Elladan asked with an arched eyebrow. I smiled and nodded.
"Kari had quite the time whenever we went to town." I said.
"I take it I should warn my brother not to expect her to be a shy, inexperienced maiden, then." Elladan said ruefully.
"That would be a rather good idea." I said. "Though somehow I don't think he'll care." Elladan smirked and nodded.
"Me either." he said, "Serve him right, too. All the maidens around here are scared to say 'boo' to him." I chuckled.
"Let me guess - he reminds them too much of Elrond?" I asked.
"From what they have told me, I would assume so." he said.
"What they've told you?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. Elladan grinned slightly.
"It is amazing how much maidens will talk when they have some mirovur in them." he said.
"Elladan, have you been getting females drunk?" I asked him reprovingly. He nodded vigorously.
"It's quite amusing." he said.
"Remind me to stay away from you when there's alcohol in the vacinity." I said dryly. "I'll have enough problems keeping Kari from getting me drunk." Elladan arched an eyebrow.
"Oh ho. Does Kari get you drunk often?" he asked.
"She tries to. She usually ends up being the drunk one." I said with a smirk.
"Let me guess, you keep switching glasses with her, so you get the weaker alcohol that she is having?" Elladan asked with a grin, and I nodded viogorusly. "Sounds like the trick I use, both on maidens and Elrohir."
"Elrohir too?" I asked with amusement.
"What sort of a brother would I be if I did not supply Elrohir with alcohol?" Elladan asked innocently. I chuckled.
"Too true. Both Elrohir and Kari need it, anyways." I said. "Elrohir needs some loosening up, and I'm just getting Kari drunk for her own good. I'm nasty when I have a hangover."
"Hangover?" Elladan asked curiously. I blinked, then realized what I'd just done - Elves didn't get sick, and here I was mentioning myself getting sick when everyone assumed I was an Elf.
"Happens to me after I get drunk - I feel unusually tired, and cruelly giddy. I don't know why." I lied off the top of my head, hoping it would pass.
"Cruelly giddy? How is THAT possible?" Elladan asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Easily. One just has to be very hyper and in a bad mood. Then you're mean to just about anyone you run across, and happy while doing so." I replied. "Not something I like to be very often." Elladan nodded in agreement, but the look in his eyes told me he hadn't completely bought my story, or was somewhat disturbed by it. Whatever was going through his head, I decided I didn't want to know - in fact, I wanted to stop thinking entirely for awhile and just focus on the here and now. And what better way to do that than to race?
"I'll race you back to Rivendell." I said to Elladan with a grin.
"It's still a long ways off." he said with an arched eyebrow.
"And?" I asked impatiently. "Does Narore not have the stamina to make it back or something?"
"Of course he does." Elladan said stiffly, feigning offence. "But are you sure Liltalen does?"
"I shall have to discover that." I said with a grin, and Liltalen snorted indignantly. I arched an eyebrow at Elladan, and he hesitated for only a moment, then shrugged and kicked Narore into a gallop.
"HEY!" I called out, "NO FAIR!" Then I kicked Liltalen into a gallop, and took off after Elladan. I caught up with him fairly quickly, but then slowed Liltalen, wanting to save his speed for the end of the race. Elladan was apparently doing the same thing, however, as when Rivendell came into sight, both Narore and Liltalen sped up considerably.
It wasn't until we scared the guards out of their wits by blasting past them - Liltalen only a horse's head length ahead of Narore - that we slowed down, and then discovered that both of us were laughing giddily. Liltalen, knowing that he'd won, pranced around the stable yard, me still on top of him. Narore was walking around more sedately, being led around by a dismounted Elladan. And that was the scene Lord Elrond found when he came into the yard at a jog. He arched an eyebrow at Elladan and I, which only made me crack up more. Elladan grinned somewhat, as well, though he sobered immediatly when a scowling Glorfindel appeared behind Elrond. I sobered somewhat, too, though I was still grinning - it didn't take a genius to figure out that a scowling Elf-lord was not a good sign.
"I believe I spoke to you about galloping into Rivendell at top speed, Elladan?" Glorfindel said acidly, and I inwardly winced. Oops, if I'd known Elladan wasn't supposed to do that, I wouldn't have done it. Well, I probably would have, but we'd have stopped earlier.
"Yes, m'Lord, you did." Elladan said stiffly.
"But you didn't talk to me about it." I said blandly, coming to Elladan's defence. Glorfindel's scowl turned to me. I smiled back at him. Glorfindel's scowl turned into a glare. I continued to smile. Glorfindel turned away with a 'harumph'.
"I shall have to remedy that. When you have put your horse away, come to my study." Glorfindel said crisply, then stalked off. I watched him go with an amused smile. When he was out of sight, I turned my attention back to Elrond and Elladan, who were looking at me with mild surprise.
"What?" I demanded.
"THAT is something I have not seen in awhile." Elrond said dryly, shaking himself out of his surprise.
"I've NEVER seen that before." Elladan said, a touch of awe in his voice.
"What?" I asked again.
"It takes a very strong will indeed to stare down Lord Glorfindel." Elrond said, his lips twitching in an attempt to smile. "The last one to do so was King Gil-Galad."
"Meh. Perks of being slightly insane." I said with a shrug. "On that note, my apologies for riding into Rivendell at top speed. It was spur-of-the-moment, and if I had known we weren't supposed to do so, I would have seen about stopping before we reached the stables." Elrond accepted my apology with a nod.
"Very well, but you shall still have to speak with Glorfindel." he said.
"Wouldn't miss it." I said with a grin. Elladan looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "Insane." I said by way of a reminder, pointing to myself. Elladan just shook his head and went about rubbing down Narore while Elrond disapeared back inside the main house. I shrugged and dismounted, then set to work on getting Liltalen settled.
----To be continued...with a chapter full of, and named after, everybody's favourite Balrog-slaying Elf-lord----
('nuff said)
-Authors Note:-
I have no Author's Note. Or at least, I'm too tired to remember and write down an Author's Note. So I'll just go with the good ol' THANK YOU REVIEWERS! Y'all are great. And if all you readers out there submit a review, you can be amoung the privilaged number of the reviewers and get thanked, as well!
~Crimson Starlight
-Revision's Author's Note:-
Elladan and Rachel's conversation about Kari and Elrohir? Completely changed so it's more Tolkien-canon-like...
~CS