-THE GAMES OF THE GODS-
-Disclaimer:-
Captain Jack Sparrow: It's not hers, savvy?
CS: *beams and hugs Jack* He's mine, though.
Cap'n Jack: Only 'cuz you've handcuffed us together, luv.
CS: Shush, you're not supposed to tell them that! *bops him*
Rachel: Are you really THAT out of ideas that you have to bring in characters from other fandoms for the disclaimer?!
CS: I've done over 40 of these things! Give me a break, hm?! And besides, I lost the key to the handcuffs, so it was either me and Cap'n Jack, or no me at all.
Rachel: I could deal with that last one...
CS: Shush you, or I'll handcuff you to Barbossa's rotting corpse.
Rachel: *twitchspasm*
Cap'n Jack: That's just cruel, luv.
CS: That's the point!
-44: Evening-
After the meal, I found that there was going to be some dancing and socializing in another hall. In all my years in Gondor, there had been one thing I had never done - learned how to dance in a stately manner. I had learned Rohirric jigs and reels when I had been in Rohan because I'd discovered that they were quite close to Scottish and Celtic dancing, which I had loved before coming to Middle-Earth, but they were hardly fit for this occasion.
So I stood off to one side of the dance floor and talked to random Elves - for the most part, all I had to do was ask them about what they did around Lothlórien, or about any random Elf that walked by, and they would talk for several minutes without me having to encourage them any further. I, in turn, usually ended up telling them something about Rivendell, Rohan or Gondor, or talking about the snowstorm on my journey - just the non-personal bits, of course. Mostly it was: we got snowed in, we got so bored we sang, the horses got so hungry they ate our bedrolls, we finally dug out, etc. The horse bit turned out to be a favorite, especially when I ended it with a warning to never room with hungry horses.
Kari was in the dance hall, but I found out after asking that she never danced with anyone but Elrohir, Elladan, or the ruler of a land (IE, Celeborn, Elrond or Thranduil). So she was left doing the same thing as I, only staying on the opposite side of the room from me. She seemed intent on ignoring me as far as I could tell, and I was more than happy to let her.
After probably close to an hour of wandering around the room talking to random Elves, the Elf-woman I was currently talking with - one Lady Silimelumë - suddenly got very quiet, looking over my shoulder with the dreamy expression all females only reserved for looking at Very Hot Males. Since this particular maiden had been asking all about Glorfindel, I knew exactly who was behind me, and turned before he could try and surprise me, arching an eyebrow at him.
"Lady Asira." Glorfindel greeted me with a small bow, then nodded slightly to the Elf-maiden and acknowledged her with a polite "Lady Silimelumë."
"Lord Glorfindel." I said blandly, taking his hint to use formality. I was half tempted, however, to still use his nickname, just to see the response it got out of Lady Silimelumë. I had avoided saying much about Glorfindel, trying not to feed the ladies attraction to my Elf-lord. Yes, I considered him mine now. If I had my way, he would consider himself mine shortly, anyways.
"Lady Asira, I wonder if you might be so inclined as to dance with me?" Glorfindel then asked, greetings out of the way. I paused to do some furious thinking. If I refused, Glorfindel would have no choice but to then ask Lady Silimelumë to dance - she'd probably put herself forward even if he didn't consider it. And this would be a Bad Thing. Also, Glorfindel would be confused as to why I'd talked as I had at dinner, and then refused to dance with him. Maybe if I just explained? But then he'd probably still end out dancing with Lady Silimelumë...why couldn't he have waited until I was talking with someone ELSE? Ah well, explaining was better than confusing him or making a fool out of myself.
"I would be delighted to, Lord Glorfindel, except..." I motioned him to come a little closer, and then went up on tip-toe and whispered in his ear, "I can't dance." I pulled back, and Glorfindel let out an amused laugh.
"That would be a slight problem." he said. "Perhaps you would like to join me for a walk, instead?"
"That I can do." I said with a smile, pleased that Glorfindel had come up with a solution to my problem, then turned to Lady Silimelumë and added, "If you'll excuse me?"
"Of course." she said politely, her eyes fixed on Glorfindel the entire time. I'm quite sure that, had she been human, there would have been a rather possessive tinge to that gaze, and no small amount of envy would have been heard in her voice. As it was, I quickly took Glorfindel's arm and we two beat a hasty retreat - Glorfindel seemed about as eager to get away from Lady Silimelumë as I.
We slipped out of the hall without much notice, and then wandered around the walkways and platforms that made up the above-ground part of Lothlórien. For quite awhile, silence reined as we walked, but it was a comfortable silence. But silences, as I'm sure we have discovered by now, can be quite boring even when they're comfortable, and I don't do boring.
"You and Haldir seemed to know each other quite well." I commented to break the silence.
"Yes, I have known him since he first became Marchwarden." Glorfindel said with what looked suspiciously like a smirk.
"I sense a story." I said, arching an eyebrow.
"Oh, not much of one." Glorfindel said with a shrug. "Haldir was a little...full of his position when I first met him. He was quite indignant when I was not the least surprised when he and his men appeared. He soon overcame his indignation, though, and has been trying ever since to find out how I can always tell when he is near, even when he purposely gathers those in the guard that can move the most silently to greet me."
"And let me guess, you're never going to tell him?" I said with a grin, and Glorfindel nodded, also grinning.
"He could not develop or use the skill even if I told him, anyways." Glorfindel said.
"Oh? What is this skill, then?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.
"Ah ah, you shall just go tell Haldir." Glorfindel said, waggling a finger in my direction, and I snorted, half at the sight of Glorfindel waggling a finger at me, and half in disagreement.
"You just said there's no use in telling him, so why would I? Besides, it would be fun to drive him crazy just letting him know that I know and he doesn't!" I grinned then, and Glorfindel chuckled.
"Very well." he said, and then leaned close and whispered conspiratorially, "I sense their auras."
"Ooo!" I said, feeling my eyes go wide. "Where'd you learn to do that?"
"Sometime between the Fall of Gondolin and my arrival in Rivendell." Glorfindel said dryly, though with a funny twinge in his voice at the indirect reference to his death.
"Ah. Yeah, I could see Haldir would have trouble developing that skill, then. At least as long as he doesn't go to Helm's Deep." I frowned slightly, and Glorfindel looked at me curiously. "Remember when I told you that there were two different versions of the end of the Third Age that I knew about?" I said, and Glorfindel nodded, "Well, in one of them, Haldir leads a troop of Elves to Helm's Deep to honour the old allegiances, and he ends out dieing there."
"The old allegiances are long since dead and forgotten by most men." Glorfindel said in surprise.
"And most men have never seen Elves and are afraid of them, yes, I know." I said dryly. "It was a rather...hmm...romanticized version? Thus, Arwen went to rescue Frodo instead of you. Built the romantic connection between her and Aragorn."
"Arwen could not have dealt with the Ringwraiths." Glorfindel commented.
"No, but she didn't have to, in that version." I said with a shrug. "She just had to tell Asfaloth to run faster." Glorfindel twitched.
"Asfaloth? She rode Asfaloth?" he asked, and I nodded, grinning up at him.
"And most fangirls were greatly distressed that she not only stole your part but stole your horse, as well." I said. There was a pause.
"Would this perhaps be why Kari took several decades to become friends with Arwen?" Glorfindel asked, and I nodded vigorously.
"Kari absolutely detested that version of Arwen." I said, then gave an innocent smile and added, "And after meeting you, I do, too." Glorfindel looked down at me in amusement.
"You are in fine spirits this evening. I thought today...what was the word you used? 'Sucked'?" I made a choking noise, and then started laughing. Glorfindel? Using modern slang? Far too amusing.
"It did, but it got better." I finally said, still grinning.
"Did it now? And what caused this?" Glorfindel asked. I pondered this for a moment, then decided to have some more fun with Glorfindel and smiled innocently.
"Oh, everything's better after a nice snuggle." I said. Glorfindel's face was quite amusing. He looked as if he was quite sure whether to be amused, flattered, or just take it all in turn, or what. In other words, he was utterly confused. And Haldir, of course, picked that moment to suddenly drop down from the trees onto the platform in front of us. I yelped in surprise.
"Does everyone drop down from trees randomly around here?" I whined as Haldir smirked at me, and then I scowled at him. "Why can't you just walk up to someone like a normal person?!"
"Because it is my duty to be unseen when I approach someone." Haldir replied, as innocent as an Elf can be.
"On the borders." I grumped. "Silly Elf. I think I shall call you 'Hal' for that." Haldir blinked at me.
"'Hal'?" he asked, his horror clear in his voice, and I nodded serenely.
"It is better than 'Glory'." Glorfindel commented blandly from beside me.
"And here I thought you liked your nickname." I said with a pout, turning to Glorfindel.
"As it did not seem I was going to have any choice in it, I decided it best to live with it." Glorfindel said, and I whacked him on the arm.
"Bah." I muttered, and I heard Haldir chuckled.
"I believe that Lady Asira is the only lady who you have ever let hit you without retribution, Glorfindel." he said with a grin in Glorfindel's direction, and thereby earned himself a Glorfindel Scowl.
"It's because I'm special." I said with a beaming grin, and Haldir sighed dramatically.
"And here I thought I might have actually found someone who was a match for Lord Glorfindel in combat." he said sadly.
"Heck no. I can't even beat Elladan." I said, scrunching up my nose.
"You seemed to be doing fairly well the time I saw." Glorfindel commented.
"That was a fluke." I muttered. "Now he beats me as quickly as you did."
"Ah. It is pity that stops him from retaliating, then." Haldir said, nodding sagely.
"Did you interrupt our perfectly nice walk just to insult me, or was there another reason?" I asked, scowling at Haldir.
"There was something, actually." Haldir said, turning serious. "I spoke with Alkarisil today about her Yuletide Feast -"
"I know." I interrupted. "And let me guess, she suddenly got an odd look on her face and dashed off on you?"
"Not exactly, but she did have an odd expression for the last part of her conversation, and she seemed to...stalk...off when we finished speaking." Haldir said, tilting his head to one side thoughtfully. There was silence, and then Haldir arched an eyebrow at me. "Care to explain?"
"No, not really." I said.
"It is a long story." Glorfindel helpfully put in. "And confusing." Haldir arched an eyebrow again, but choose not to push the matter - or at least, not now.
"Very well then. I shall leave you two to your starlit walk, then." he said cheerfully instead, and then with a wave, literally jumped of the edge of the platform. No noise marked his passage, and the silence that his departure had left remained undisturbed for quite some time as Glorfindel and I simply stood there.
I don't know what Glorfindel was thinking about, but myself, I was wondering how Haldir could make such a simple thing as a walk sound so utterly scandalous, and where he had even gotten the IDEA to make it sound scandalous. Then I glanced around and realized there literally was no one else around - or if there was, they were well hidden. We were probably among flets that were used only during the day. I shot a glance at Glorfindel, wondering if he'd headed in this direction on purpose. He seemed deep in thought, frowning slightly at the spot on the platform that Haldir had jumped off of.
"Cheeky fellow." I commented finally, feeling somewhat rattled.
"Mm." was Glorfindel's response. There was a few more moments of silence, then Glorfindel seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts. "Perhaps it is time I escorted you back to your flet?" he suggested, and I nodded politely. I really didn't want to head back, but there really didn't seem to be anything else to do. Haldir had rather ruined the mood...I was going to have to thwap him again. Maybe when the Fellowship showed up - I could snag Boromir's shield and really teach Haldir a lesson about interrupting starlit walks.
Anyways, it took us a good while to get back to our flets, making me realize just how far from the night-time habitations of Caras Galadhon Glorfindel and I had walked. I cast a few suspicious glances at Glorfindel, but as I was currently trying to further this relationship, I didn't make any comment. I'd be darned if he took control of this out of my hands, though. I was barely holding onto my few remaining pieces of sanity as it was.
"Goodnight, Rachel." Glorfindel said with a small smile as we finally reached my flet, and he drew away.
"Thanks for the walk, Glory." I said with a smile, and then I, impulsively, went up on tiptoe and gave Glorfindel a peck on the cheek before disappearing into my flet. As soon as I had closed the door and had left enough time for Glorfindel to leave, I jumped onto my bed and let out a woosh of air. Then I started giggling, and didn't stop for several minutes. If Glorfindel had had any doubts about my new disbelief in Mary-Sues, he was now thoroughly disabused of such doubts.
I smiled to myself as I thought back over the evening, and decided that Kari's decision to not forgive me was probably one of the better things to happen since I had left Gondor 6 months ago. I don't think I could have summoned the ability or courage to be so direct with Glorfindel otherwise - especially without Kari there to urge me on. Out of the two of us, she was the one who always showed her emotions more, and was constantly trying to get me to show my emotions, as well. And now she was doing it again, though entirely unintentionally. Even if she never did forgive me for running off, I'd still be thankful to her for pushing me to such lengths to try and get her to forgive me - especially if the result was what I hoped it would be.
----To be continued...with questions about Rachel's ancestry!----
(And what Haldir has to do with it!)
-Authors Note:-
Ha, I love playing with Haldir's character...as emphasized by the fact that I recently started, out of boredom, to expand on 'Consequences'. I haven't posted anything yet, and am not likely to until I get a good majority (if not all of) it written, because I'm not sure if I'll finish it. But I might, and then I'll post it and Haldir can stop sneaking into my FanFictions.
Haldir: NEVER!
O.o Or maybe not. Oh well...
Anyways. Thanks to all my reviewers, you're all great! I'd give you all some of the brownies I made the other day, but that would be more punishment than thanks. Stupid recipe somehow got messed up...*continues mumbling implications at the tray of rock-hard brownies for several minutes before finally remembering the Author's Note*
Right, um, that's actually it. Short author's note, this time...
See ya Wednesday!
~Crimson Starlight
-Disclaimer:-
Captain Jack Sparrow: It's not hers, savvy?
CS: *beams and hugs Jack* He's mine, though.
Cap'n Jack: Only 'cuz you've handcuffed us together, luv.
CS: Shush, you're not supposed to tell them that! *bops him*
Rachel: Are you really THAT out of ideas that you have to bring in characters from other fandoms for the disclaimer?!
CS: I've done over 40 of these things! Give me a break, hm?! And besides, I lost the key to the handcuffs, so it was either me and Cap'n Jack, or no me at all.
Rachel: I could deal with that last one...
CS: Shush you, or I'll handcuff you to Barbossa's rotting corpse.
Rachel: *twitchspasm*
Cap'n Jack: That's just cruel, luv.
CS: That's the point!
-44: Evening-
After the meal, I found that there was going to be some dancing and socializing in another hall. In all my years in Gondor, there had been one thing I had never done - learned how to dance in a stately manner. I had learned Rohirric jigs and reels when I had been in Rohan because I'd discovered that they were quite close to Scottish and Celtic dancing, which I had loved before coming to Middle-Earth, but they were hardly fit for this occasion.
So I stood off to one side of the dance floor and talked to random Elves - for the most part, all I had to do was ask them about what they did around Lothlórien, or about any random Elf that walked by, and they would talk for several minutes without me having to encourage them any further. I, in turn, usually ended up telling them something about Rivendell, Rohan or Gondor, or talking about the snowstorm on my journey - just the non-personal bits, of course. Mostly it was: we got snowed in, we got so bored we sang, the horses got so hungry they ate our bedrolls, we finally dug out, etc. The horse bit turned out to be a favorite, especially when I ended it with a warning to never room with hungry horses.
Kari was in the dance hall, but I found out after asking that she never danced with anyone but Elrohir, Elladan, or the ruler of a land (IE, Celeborn, Elrond or Thranduil). So she was left doing the same thing as I, only staying on the opposite side of the room from me. She seemed intent on ignoring me as far as I could tell, and I was more than happy to let her.
After probably close to an hour of wandering around the room talking to random Elves, the Elf-woman I was currently talking with - one Lady Silimelumë - suddenly got very quiet, looking over my shoulder with the dreamy expression all females only reserved for looking at Very Hot Males. Since this particular maiden had been asking all about Glorfindel, I knew exactly who was behind me, and turned before he could try and surprise me, arching an eyebrow at him.
"Lady Asira." Glorfindel greeted me with a small bow, then nodded slightly to the Elf-maiden and acknowledged her with a polite "Lady Silimelumë."
"Lord Glorfindel." I said blandly, taking his hint to use formality. I was half tempted, however, to still use his nickname, just to see the response it got out of Lady Silimelumë. I had avoided saying much about Glorfindel, trying not to feed the ladies attraction to my Elf-lord. Yes, I considered him mine now. If I had my way, he would consider himself mine shortly, anyways.
"Lady Asira, I wonder if you might be so inclined as to dance with me?" Glorfindel then asked, greetings out of the way. I paused to do some furious thinking. If I refused, Glorfindel would have no choice but to then ask Lady Silimelumë to dance - she'd probably put herself forward even if he didn't consider it. And this would be a Bad Thing. Also, Glorfindel would be confused as to why I'd talked as I had at dinner, and then refused to dance with him. Maybe if I just explained? But then he'd probably still end out dancing with Lady Silimelumë...why couldn't he have waited until I was talking with someone ELSE? Ah well, explaining was better than confusing him or making a fool out of myself.
"I would be delighted to, Lord Glorfindel, except..." I motioned him to come a little closer, and then went up on tip-toe and whispered in his ear, "I can't dance." I pulled back, and Glorfindel let out an amused laugh.
"That would be a slight problem." he said. "Perhaps you would like to join me for a walk, instead?"
"That I can do." I said with a smile, pleased that Glorfindel had come up with a solution to my problem, then turned to Lady Silimelumë and added, "If you'll excuse me?"
"Of course." she said politely, her eyes fixed on Glorfindel the entire time. I'm quite sure that, had she been human, there would have been a rather possessive tinge to that gaze, and no small amount of envy would have been heard in her voice. As it was, I quickly took Glorfindel's arm and we two beat a hasty retreat - Glorfindel seemed about as eager to get away from Lady Silimelumë as I.
We slipped out of the hall without much notice, and then wandered around the walkways and platforms that made up the above-ground part of Lothlórien. For quite awhile, silence reined as we walked, but it was a comfortable silence. But silences, as I'm sure we have discovered by now, can be quite boring even when they're comfortable, and I don't do boring.
"You and Haldir seemed to know each other quite well." I commented to break the silence.
"Yes, I have known him since he first became Marchwarden." Glorfindel said with what looked suspiciously like a smirk.
"I sense a story." I said, arching an eyebrow.
"Oh, not much of one." Glorfindel said with a shrug. "Haldir was a little...full of his position when I first met him. He was quite indignant when I was not the least surprised when he and his men appeared. He soon overcame his indignation, though, and has been trying ever since to find out how I can always tell when he is near, even when he purposely gathers those in the guard that can move the most silently to greet me."
"And let me guess, you're never going to tell him?" I said with a grin, and Glorfindel nodded, also grinning.
"He could not develop or use the skill even if I told him, anyways." Glorfindel said.
"Oh? What is this skill, then?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.
"Ah ah, you shall just go tell Haldir." Glorfindel said, waggling a finger in my direction, and I snorted, half at the sight of Glorfindel waggling a finger at me, and half in disagreement.
"You just said there's no use in telling him, so why would I? Besides, it would be fun to drive him crazy just letting him know that I know and he doesn't!" I grinned then, and Glorfindel chuckled.
"Very well." he said, and then leaned close and whispered conspiratorially, "I sense their auras."
"Ooo!" I said, feeling my eyes go wide. "Where'd you learn to do that?"
"Sometime between the Fall of Gondolin and my arrival in Rivendell." Glorfindel said dryly, though with a funny twinge in his voice at the indirect reference to his death.
"Ah. Yeah, I could see Haldir would have trouble developing that skill, then. At least as long as he doesn't go to Helm's Deep." I frowned slightly, and Glorfindel looked at me curiously. "Remember when I told you that there were two different versions of the end of the Third Age that I knew about?" I said, and Glorfindel nodded, "Well, in one of them, Haldir leads a troop of Elves to Helm's Deep to honour the old allegiances, and he ends out dieing there."
"The old allegiances are long since dead and forgotten by most men." Glorfindel said in surprise.
"And most men have never seen Elves and are afraid of them, yes, I know." I said dryly. "It was a rather...hmm...romanticized version? Thus, Arwen went to rescue Frodo instead of you. Built the romantic connection between her and Aragorn."
"Arwen could not have dealt with the Ringwraiths." Glorfindel commented.
"No, but she didn't have to, in that version." I said with a shrug. "She just had to tell Asfaloth to run faster." Glorfindel twitched.
"Asfaloth? She rode Asfaloth?" he asked, and I nodded, grinning up at him.
"And most fangirls were greatly distressed that she not only stole your part but stole your horse, as well." I said. There was a pause.
"Would this perhaps be why Kari took several decades to become friends with Arwen?" Glorfindel asked, and I nodded vigorously.
"Kari absolutely detested that version of Arwen." I said, then gave an innocent smile and added, "And after meeting you, I do, too." Glorfindel looked down at me in amusement.
"You are in fine spirits this evening. I thought today...what was the word you used? 'Sucked'?" I made a choking noise, and then started laughing. Glorfindel? Using modern slang? Far too amusing.
"It did, but it got better." I finally said, still grinning.
"Did it now? And what caused this?" Glorfindel asked. I pondered this for a moment, then decided to have some more fun with Glorfindel and smiled innocently.
"Oh, everything's better after a nice snuggle." I said. Glorfindel's face was quite amusing. He looked as if he was quite sure whether to be amused, flattered, or just take it all in turn, or what. In other words, he was utterly confused. And Haldir, of course, picked that moment to suddenly drop down from the trees onto the platform in front of us. I yelped in surprise.
"Does everyone drop down from trees randomly around here?" I whined as Haldir smirked at me, and then I scowled at him. "Why can't you just walk up to someone like a normal person?!"
"Because it is my duty to be unseen when I approach someone." Haldir replied, as innocent as an Elf can be.
"On the borders." I grumped. "Silly Elf. I think I shall call you 'Hal' for that." Haldir blinked at me.
"'Hal'?" he asked, his horror clear in his voice, and I nodded serenely.
"It is better than 'Glory'." Glorfindel commented blandly from beside me.
"And here I thought you liked your nickname." I said with a pout, turning to Glorfindel.
"As it did not seem I was going to have any choice in it, I decided it best to live with it." Glorfindel said, and I whacked him on the arm.
"Bah." I muttered, and I heard Haldir chuckled.
"I believe that Lady Asira is the only lady who you have ever let hit you without retribution, Glorfindel." he said with a grin in Glorfindel's direction, and thereby earned himself a Glorfindel Scowl.
"It's because I'm special." I said with a beaming grin, and Haldir sighed dramatically.
"And here I thought I might have actually found someone who was a match for Lord Glorfindel in combat." he said sadly.
"Heck no. I can't even beat Elladan." I said, scrunching up my nose.
"You seemed to be doing fairly well the time I saw." Glorfindel commented.
"That was a fluke." I muttered. "Now he beats me as quickly as you did."
"Ah. It is pity that stops him from retaliating, then." Haldir said, nodding sagely.
"Did you interrupt our perfectly nice walk just to insult me, or was there another reason?" I asked, scowling at Haldir.
"There was something, actually." Haldir said, turning serious. "I spoke with Alkarisil today about her Yuletide Feast -"
"I know." I interrupted. "And let me guess, she suddenly got an odd look on her face and dashed off on you?"
"Not exactly, but she did have an odd expression for the last part of her conversation, and she seemed to...stalk...off when we finished speaking." Haldir said, tilting his head to one side thoughtfully. There was silence, and then Haldir arched an eyebrow at me. "Care to explain?"
"No, not really." I said.
"It is a long story." Glorfindel helpfully put in. "And confusing." Haldir arched an eyebrow again, but choose not to push the matter - or at least, not now.
"Very well then. I shall leave you two to your starlit walk, then." he said cheerfully instead, and then with a wave, literally jumped of the edge of the platform. No noise marked his passage, and the silence that his departure had left remained undisturbed for quite some time as Glorfindel and I simply stood there.
I don't know what Glorfindel was thinking about, but myself, I was wondering how Haldir could make such a simple thing as a walk sound so utterly scandalous, and where he had even gotten the IDEA to make it sound scandalous. Then I glanced around and realized there literally was no one else around - or if there was, they were well hidden. We were probably among flets that were used only during the day. I shot a glance at Glorfindel, wondering if he'd headed in this direction on purpose. He seemed deep in thought, frowning slightly at the spot on the platform that Haldir had jumped off of.
"Cheeky fellow." I commented finally, feeling somewhat rattled.
"Mm." was Glorfindel's response. There was a few more moments of silence, then Glorfindel seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts. "Perhaps it is time I escorted you back to your flet?" he suggested, and I nodded politely. I really didn't want to head back, but there really didn't seem to be anything else to do. Haldir had rather ruined the mood...I was going to have to thwap him again. Maybe when the Fellowship showed up - I could snag Boromir's shield and really teach Haldir a lesson about interrupting starlit walks.
Anyways, it took us a good while to get back to our flets, making me realize just how far from the night-time habitations of Caras Galadhon Glorfindel and I had walked. I cast a few suspicious glances at Glorfindel, but as I was currently trying to further this relationship, I didn't make any comment. I'd be darned if he took control of this out of my hands, though. I was barely holding onto my few remaining pieces of sanity as it was.
"Goodnight, Rachel." Glorfindel said with a small smile as we finally reached my flet, and he drew away.
"Thanks for the walk, Glory." I said with a smile, and then I, impulsively, went up on tiptoe and gave Glorfindel a peck on the cheek before disappearing into my flet. As soon as I had closed the door and had left enough time for Glorfindel to leave, I jumped onto my bed and let out a woosh of air. Then I started giggling, and didn't stop for several minutes. If Glorfindel had had any doubts about my new disbelief in Mary-Sues, he was now thoroughly disabused of such doubts.
I smiled to myself as I thought back over the evening, and decided that Kari's decision to not forgive me was probably one of the better things to happen since I had left Gondor 6 months ago. I don't think I could have summoned the ability or courage to be so direct with Glorfindel otherwise - especially without Kari there to urge me on. Out of the two of us, she was the one who always showed her emotions more, and was constantly trying to get me to show my emotions, as well. And now she was doing it again, though entirely unintentionally. Even if she never did forgive me for running off, I'd still be thankful to her for pushing me to such lengths to try and get her to forgive me - especially if the result was what I hoped it would be.
----To be continued...with questions about Rachel's ancestry!----
(And what Haldir has to do with it!)
-Authors Note:-
Ha, I love playing with Haldir's character...as emphasized by the fact that I recently started, out of boredom, to expand on 'Consequences'. I haven't posted anything yet, and am not likely to until I get a good majority (if not all of) it written, because I'm not sure if I'll finish it. But I might, and then I'll post it and Haldir can stop sneaking into my FanFictions.
Haldir: NEVER!
O.o Or maybe not. Oh well...
Anyways. Thanks to all my reviewers, you're all great! I'd give you all some of the brownies I made the other day, but that would be more punishment than thanks. Stupid recipe somehow got messed up...*continues mumbling implications at the tray of rock-hard brownies for several minutes before finally remembering the Author's Note*
Right, um, that's actually it. Short author's note, this time...
See ya Wednesday!
~Crimson Starlight