-THE GAMES OF THE GODS-
-Disclaimer:-
Glorfindel: Erestor and I have taken over the disclaimer because Crimson Starlight is...doing something I don't care to guess at.
Erestor: Didn't you ask her why she was letting us do the disclaimer.
Glorfindel: No.
Erestor: ...
Glorfindel: When the Author lets you have power, you take it, and don't ask questions.
Erestor: Oh. Right.
Glorfindel: *shakes head* You are so naive about Authors and FanFictions.
Erestor: Can I help it if I've only made cursory appearances in FanFictions?! (except for the odd slash)
Glorfindel: Well, no. I guess not. I'll have to go hunt down a few Authors and get them to write FanFictions about you so you can have the expierience...
Erestor: ...You could get the Authors to do that?
Glorfindel: A few well-placed IOU's and promises work wonders, my friend.
Erestor: IOU's? Promises? What for?
Glorfindel: Oh, various things. The IOU's are usually for the Prince of Mirkwood bound, gagged and delivered in a box with a bow on top. Or Estel, Elrohir, Elladan, Elrond, Haldir, Boromir, Faramir, Frodo, Merry or Pippin. The promises are usually that I'll come back when it's night. Or whenever their boyfriends have left.
Erestor: ...O.o
Glorfindel: Crimson Starlight owns nothing.
-27: Calm-
It turned out it was nearer to lunch than I'd thought, and Aragorn and I were just in time to join the rest of Rivendell in eating. Elladan, Elrond and Gandalf were still missing, so there was still some large gaps in the table, though not as large as before. Boromir had shown up, however, and I was forced to leave Aragorn to Arwen, who looked surprised that Aragorn was up - I stopped my mind from wondering why - and sit between Boromir and the Elf-lord that sat next on my other side, whose name I'd yet to learn. I am really not that talkative when it comes to boring Elf-lords.
On top of Arwen looking surprised to see Aragorn up, there were numerous other surprised faces as I walked in and sat down. Glorfindel looked surprised that Aragorn and I had come in together, as did Elrohir, Aragorn looked surprised that I had a seat at the head table, and Boromir looked surprised to find another human in Rivendell, especially one that got to sit beside Lord Elrond's daughter. Actually, Boromir looked more grumpy about that than anything else. Despite all I had tried to stop it, he'd still developed a rather big ego, and Aragorn sitting farther up on the table wounded that ego.
"He's Lord Elrond's foster son." I explained to Boromir with an amused smile as I sat down. Boromir blinked in surprise.
"I was unaware Elves were in the habit of fostering humans." he said.
"They aren't." I said dryly. "Aragorn's a special case."
"Oh?" Boromir asked curiously.
"You'll find out at the council." I replied dismissively. Boromir snorted.
"That's your answer to everything these days." he said.
"Hey, I can't help it if a lot of things are going to be discussed at the council!" I said defensively.
"No, but you could explain SOME things to me instead of making me wait." Boromir retorted. "It's annoying."
"I can't help it, either, if most of the things you want to know about are important things that would take forever to explain." I muttered. Boromir just shook his head, and we turned to our food. All in all, with some Elf-lord that didn't seem particularly inclined to speak to me on one side, and a sulking Boromir on the other, it wasn't a very pleasant meal. I was glad when I finished and was able to get up and head off.
I was intending to go for a walk and think about recent events, something I hadn't actually stopped and done for awhile, but Glorfindel caught up with me just outside the hall.
"Going anywhere in particular?" he asked.
"Not really." I replied with a shrug.
"Would you like to go for a ride, then?" he asked.
"Sure." I replied with a shrug. "Just let me go change into a riding dress."
"I shall meet you at the stables shortly, then?" Glorfindel asked with a small smile, and I nodded before he went off down one hallway, leaving me to head for my room. I changed quickly, left Gandalf's hat on my bed, and then found my way out to the stables. Glorfindel was there, already mounted on Asfaloth, and my own horse from Gondor, named Black Thunder for a horse I'd written into a story - never mind the fact that this horse was a mud grey mare, while the horse in the story had been a jet black war stallion - was standing beside him placidly, already bridled and saddled. I eyed her for a second.
"Right, off with the saddle." I said to the groom that was holding Thunder's reigns. The Elf looked at me in slight surprise, then quickly shook off said surprise and obliged, taking off Thunder's saddle. Thunder shifted nervously as I mounted, but I had made sure she had been trained to be ridden bareback, so that was all the reaction I got out of her.
"So, where are we going?" I asked.
"Anywhere that involves spot checkups on the border guards." Glorfindel replied, an evil gleam in his eyes, and I chuckled.
"Evil Elf." I said, and then followed Glorfindel as he set off.
I had hoped that perhaps I might still be able to think on the ride, but Glorfindel was in a mood to talk - particularly about hobbits - and I was soon absorbed in a conversation discussing different cultures and how they got along from day to day. It was fascinating, really, especially since Glorfindel had been around so long and seen so many different cultures rise and fall.
Soon, though, Glorfindel went quiet, and Asfaloth's footsteps audibly quieted even to my untrained ear. Thunder, I'm sorry to say, tromped along just as noisily as ever. I was still able to catch what Glorfindel had heard, however, with a minimal amount of concentration - the airy voices of some Elven sentries, not far ahead. To Glorfindel's visible disgust, as we got closer, there was no indication from the guards that they knew we were there, even with Thunder's loud clomping. Eventually, we stopped underneath a tree, the branches of which hid the sources of the Elvish voices.
"A fine lot of guards you are!" Glorfindel called up. Abruptly the voices stopped, and moments later two heads appeared through the branches of the tree.
"Lord Glorfindel. We did not know you were coming out today." one of the elves said, slightly sheepishly.
"That was the point." he said. "After all, how else am I supposed to discover which guards are so inept that they can not even notice the approach of a human horse?" The two elves managed to squirm uncomfortably, even though all we could see of them were their heads.
"We are sorry, Lord Glorfindel, we got...bored." the other elf said.
"Guarding usually is boring. But you must remain alert despite that." Glorfindel scolded.
"We understand. It will not happen again." the first elf said.
"See that it doesn't." Glorfindel said, then turned Asfaloth and headed off, leaving the two guards to sheepishly return to their post as I followed after the Elf-lord.
"New guys?" I asked as I caught up to Glorfindel. He nodded curtly.
"Most of the guards are, unfortunately. And those that are not new, are long out of practice." he said, sounding slightly bitter. "Despite the growing danger of Sauron, most of the Elves have let their strength diminish, trusting in their leaders, and the powers they wield, to protect them. They train themselves in disciplines of the mind, instead of disciplines of war. Very few, I think, would survive even single combat with a common Orc." I resisted the urge to comment that it was a good thing they wouldn't have to, then.
"What about the Mirkwood Elves?" I asked. Glorfindel brightened slightly.
"Ah, they are some of the few that have kept up their skills." he said.
"Nasty spiders and dragons, not to mention necromancers, will do that to you." I said dryly. Glorfindel nodded.
"The Lorien Elves have also kept up their skills somewhat, but here in Rivendell...it is like Elrond's love of peace and tranquility has transferred onto all who come here." Glorfindel waved a hand vaguely through the air in the direction of Rivendell. "While I will admit that peace and tranquility has its place, now is not the time, with war brewing all around us."
"Hear hear." I said with an emphatic nod. "Of course, I tend to find peace and tranquility boring unless I'm in the mood for it, which isn't often, so I could be slightly biased." Glorfindel chuckled.
"You really can find anything boring, can't you?" he commented.
"Yep." I said, and then started abruptly as a voice came down out of the trees.
"Hail, Lord Glorfindel!" Glorfindel smiled slightly, then hailed the guard elf that had snuck up on us right back, and they exchanged a few simple pleasantries before we continued on our way.
Glorfindel and I continued on that routine - circling around the border of Rivendell, checking on the guards - for the entire afternoon, and only twice more were we able to sneak up on the guards. The second time it happened, Glorfindel chewed out the guards again, but the third time, once we were stopped underneath the tree the guards were up in, chatting away, Glorfindel looked at me and arched an eyebrow, silently asking if I wanted to startle the guards. I did so with great pleasure. Somehow, and unknown female's voice seemed to startle the guards more than Glorfindel's had startled the other guards.
In the end, with the sun beginning to set and the air beginning to chill - it WAS October - we headed back to Rivendell, skipping the last few guard stations in favour of some food. We went to the main hall, again, and this time the head table was full, all those that were supposed to sit there having decided to show up for this meal. Gandalf, I noticed with a smug smile, was still missing his hat. He apparently was feeling the lack, as well, as he pursed his lips and gave me his best 'parent-scolding-a-misbehaving-child' look. I smiled innocently, and then went to my seat.
Boromir seemed to have recovered from his sulk, thankfully, and I was able to chat with him a bit about various things. He'd apparently wandered into the library during the afternoon, and had ended out speaking with Bilbo, so he was full of stories. Most of which I had heard before, though I didn't tell him that. Near the end, though, Boromir wanted to talk about the Hall of Fire, and why I hadn't mentioned it before, and how I would be showing him to the hall after supper whether I wanted to or not. So when Glorfindel popped up after supper asking if I was up to going to the Hall of Fire THIS night, I was obliged to tell him that since Boromir needed a guide, yes, I was going to the hall. And so off I went, leading Boromir, with Glorfindel tagging along for no apparent reason other than that he was going the same place.
----To be continued...with wine!----
(I ain't sayin' no more.)
-Authors Note:-
Alright, I'm updating rather quickly because of several things. Foremost is that I am ALMOST done my NaNoWriMo novel, and am very very happy about that. After that, it's becuase I have a few things to say. Which really could have waited, but hey, I felt like updating again.
First thing to say is: Who thinks I should save Boromir in this fic? Or have him save himself by using his shield? I don't particularily care one way or another, as I already devoted an entire fanfiction to him, so I'm leaving it up to you, my reviewers.
Second thing: To clarify, the secondary genre of 'romance' for this story is NOT just for Kari and Elrohir. Oh no. This will end with Rachel/Glorfindel romance, one way or another. I thought I mentioned it earlier on, but I guess I didn't - probably because I wasn't sure if it was going to be Elladan/Rachel or Glorfindel/Rachel until I wrote the chapter where Rachel ran off (the first time).
Anyways. I'm off to read something humourous...or watch the movies again...anything, really, that stops me from going into shock at the fact that three libraries in my city are closing, one of which I frequent and another one my dad works at. In four months. Bah.
~Crimson Starlight
-Disclaimer:-
Glorfindel: Erestor and I have taken over the disclaimer because Crimson Starlight is...doing something I don't care to guess at.
Erestor: Didn't you ask her why she was letting us do the disclaimer.
Glorfindel: No.
Erestor: ...
Glorfindel: When the Author lets you have power, you take it, and don't ask questions.
Erestor: Oh. Right.
Glorfindel: *shakes head* You are so naive about Authors and FanFictions.
Erestor: Can I help it if I've only made cursory appearances in FanFictions?! (except for the odd slash)
Glorfindel: Well, no. I guess not. I'll have to go hunt down a few Authors and get them to write FanFictions about you so you can have the expierience...
Erestor: ...You could get the Authors to do that?
Glorfindel: A few well-placed IOU's and promises work wonders, my friend.
Erestor: IOU's? Promises? What for?
Glorfindel: Oh, various things. The IOU's are usually for the Prince of Mirkwood bound, gagged and delivered in a box with a bow on top. Or Estel, Elrohir, Elladan, Elrond, Haldir, Boromir, Faramir, Frodo, Merry or Pippin. The promises are usually that I'll come back when it's night. Or whenever their boyfriends have left.
Erestor: ...O.o
Glorfindel: Crimson Starlight owns nothing.
-27: Calm-
It turned out it was nearer to lunch than I'd thought, and Aragorn and I were just in time to join the rest of Rivendell in eating. Elladan, Elrond and Gandalf were still missing, so there was still some large gaps in the table, though not as large as before. Boromir had shown up, however, and I was forced to leave Aragorn to Arwen, who looked surprised that Aragorn was up - I stopped my mind from wondering why - and sit between Boromir and the Elf-lord that sat next on my other side, whose name I'd yet to learn. I am really not that talkative when it comes to boring Elf-lords.
On top of Arwen looking surprised to see Aragorn up, there were numerous other surprised faces as I walked in and sat down. Glorfindel looked surprised that Aragorn and I had come in together, as did Elrohir, Aragorn looked surprised that I had a seat at the head table, and Boromir looked surprised to find another human in Rivendell, especially one that got to sit beside Lord Elrond's daughter. Actually, Boromir looked more grumpy about that than anything else. Despite all I had tried to stop it, he'd still developed a rather big ego, and Aragorn sitting farther up on the table wounded that ego.
"He's Lord Elrond's foster son." I explained to Boromir with an amused smile as I sat down. Boromir blinked in surprise.
"I was unaware Elves were in the habit of fostering humans." he said.
"They aren't." I said dryly. "Aragorn's a special case."
"Oh?" Boromir asked curiously.
"You'll find out at the council." I replied dismissively. Boromir snorted.
"That's your answer to everything these days." he said.
"Hey, I can't help it if a lot of things are going to be discussed at the council!" I said defensively.
"No, but you could explain SOME things to me instead of making me wait." Boromir retorted. "It's annoying."
"I can't help it, either, if most of the things you want to know about are important things that would take forever to explain." I muttered. Boromir just shook his head, and we turned to our food. All in all, with some Elf-lord that didn't seem particularly inclined to speak to me on one side, and a sulking Boromir on the other, it wasn't a very pleasant meal. I was glad when I finished and was able to get up and head off.
I was intending to go for a walk and think about recent events, something I hadn't actually stopped and done for awhile, but Glorfindel caught up with me just outside the hall.
"Going anywhere in particular?" he asked.
"Not really." I replied with a shrug.
"Would you like to go for a ride, then?" he asked.
"Sure." I replied with a shrug. "Just let me go change into a riding dress."
"I shall meet you at the stables shortly, then?" Glorfindel asked with a small smile, and I nodded before he went off down one hallway, leaving me to head for my room. I changed quickly, left Gandalf's hat on my bed, and then found my way out to the stables. Glorfindel was there, already mounted on Asfaloth, and my own horse from Gondor, named Black Thunder for a horse I'd written into a story - never mind the fact that this horse was a mud grey mare, while the horse in the story had been a jet black war stallion - was standing beside him placidly, already bridled and saddled. I eyed her for a second.
"Right, off with the saddle." I said to the groom that was holding Thunder's reigns. The Elf looked at me in slight surprise, then quickly shook off said surprise and obliged, taking off Thunder's saddle. Thunder shifted nervously as I mounted, but I had made sure she had been trained to be ridden bareback, so that was all the reaction I got out of her.
"So, where are we going?" I asked.
"Anywhere that involves spot checkups on the border guards." Glorfindel replied, an evil gleam in his eyes, and I chuckled.
"Evil Elf." I said, and then followed Glorfindel as he set off.
I had hoped that perhaps I might still be able to think on the ride, but Glorfindel was in a mood to talk - particularly about hobbits - and I was soon absorbed in a conversation discussing different cultures and how they got along from day to day. It was fascinating, really, especially since Glorfindel had been around so long and seen so many different cultures rise and fall.
Soon, though, Glorfindel went quiet, and Asfaloth's footsteps audibly quieted even to my untrained ear. Thunder, I'm sorry to say, tromped along just as noisily as ever. I was still able to catch what Glorfindel had heard, however, with a minimal amount of concentration - the airy voices of some Elven sentries, not far ahead. To Glorfindel's visible disgust, as we got closer, there was no indication from the guards that they knew we were there, even with Thunder's loud clomping. Eventually, we stopped underneath a tree, the branches of which hid the sources of the Elvish voices.
"A fine lot of guards you are!" Glorfindel called up. Abruptly the voices stopped, and moments later two heads appeared through the branches of the tree.
"Lord Glorfindel. We did not know you were coming out today." one of the elves said, slightly sheepishly.
"That was the point." he said. "After all, how else am I supposed to discover which guards are so inept that they can not even notice the approach of a human horse?" The two elves managed to squirm uncomfortably, even though all we could see of them were their heads.
"We are sorry, Lord Glorfindel, we got...bored." the other elf said.
"Guarding usually is boring. But you must remain alert despite that." Glorfindel scolded.
"We understand. It will not happen again." the first elf said.
"See that it doesn't." Glorfindel said, then turned Asfaloth and headed off, leaving the two guards to sheepishly return to their post as I followed after the Elf-lord.
"New guys?" I asked as I caught up to Glorfindel. He nodded curtly.
"Most of the guards are, unfortunately. And those that are not new, are long out of practice." he said, sounding slightly bitter. "Despite the growing danger of Sauron, most of the Elves have let their strength diminish, trusting in their leaders, and the powers they wield, to protect them. They train themselves in disciplines of the mind, instead of disciplines of war. Very few, I think, would survive even single combat with a common Orc." I resisted the urge to comment that it was a good thing they wouldn't have to, then.
"What about the Mirkwood Elves?" I asked. Glorfindel brightened slightly.
"Ah, they are some of the few that have kept up their skills." he said.
"Nasty spiders and dragons, not to mention necromancers, will do that to you." I said dryly. Glorfindel nodded.
"The Lorien Elves have also kept up their skills somewhat, but here in Rivendell...it is like Elrond's love of peace and tranquility has transferred onto all who come here." Glorfindel waved a hand vaguely through the air in the direction of Rivendell. "While I will admit that peace and tranquility has its place, now is not the time, with war brewing all around us."
"Hear hear." I said with an emphatic nod. "Of course, I tend to find peace and tranquility boring unless I'm in the mood for it, which isn't often, so I could be slightly biased." Glorfindel chuckled.
"You really can find anything boring, can't you?" he commented.
"Yep." I said, and then started abruptly as a voice came down out of the trees.
"Hail, Lord Glorfindel!" Glorfindel smiled slightly, then hailed the guard elf that had snuck up on us right back, and they exchanged a few simple pleasantries before we continued on our way.
Glorfindel and I continued on that routine - circling around the border of Rivendell, checking on the guards - for the entire afternoon, and only twice more were we able to sneak up on the guards. The second time it happened, Glorfindel chewed out the guards again, but the third time, once we were stopped underneath the tree the guards were up in, chatting away, Glorfindel looked at me and arched an eyebrow, silently asking if I wanted to startle the guards. I did so with great pleasure. Somehow, and unknown female's voice seemed to startle the guards more than Glorfindel's had startled the other guards.
In the end, with the sun beginning to set and the air beginning to chill - it WAS October - we headed back to Rivendell, skipping the last few guard stations in favour of some food. We went to the main hall, again, and this time the head table was full, all those that were supposed to sit there having decided to show up for this meal. Gandalf, I noticed with a smug smile, was still missing his hat. He apparently was feeling the lack, as well, as he pursed his lips and gave me his best 'parent-scolding-a-misbehaving-child' look. I smiled innocently, and then went to my seat.
Boromir seemed to have recovered from his sulk, thankfully, and I was able to chat with him a bit about various things. He'd apparently wandered into the library during the afternoon, and had ended out speaking with Bilbo, so he was full of stories. Most of which I had heard before, though I didn't tell him that. Near the end, though, Boromir wanted to talk about the Hall of Fire, and why I hadn't mentioned it before, and how I would be showing him to the hall after supper whether I wanted to or not. So when Glorfindel popped up after supper asking if I was up to going to the Hall of Fire THIS night, I was obliged to tell him that since Boromir needed a guide, yes, I was going to the hall. And so off I went, leading Boromir, with Glorfindel tagging along for no apparent reason other than that he was going the same place.
----To be continued...with wine!----
(I ain't sayin' no more.)
-Authors Note:-
Alright, I'm updating rather quickly because of several things. Foremost is that I am ALMOST done my NaNoWriMo novel, and am very very happy about that. After that, it's becuase I have a few things to say. Which really could have waited, but hey, I felt like updating again.
First thing to say is: Who thinks I should save Boromir in this fic? Or have him save himself by using his shield? I don't particularily care one way or another, as I already devoted an entire fanfiction to him, so I'm leaving it up to you, my reviewers.
Second thing: To clarify, the secondary genre of 'romance' for this story is NOT just for Kari and Elrohir. Oh no. This will end with Rachel/Glorfindel romance, one way or another. I thought I mentioned it earlier on, but I guess I didn't - probably because I wasn't sure if it was going to be Elladan/Rachel or Glorfindel/Rachel until I wrote the chapter where Rachel ran off (the first time).
Anyways. I'm off to read something humourous...or watch the movies again...anything, really, that stops me from going into shock at the fact that three libraries in my city are closing, one of which I frequent and another one my dad works at. In four months. Bah.
~Crimson Starlight