-THE GAMES OF THE GODS-
-Disclaimer:-
CS (with all the main disclaimer characters behind her): Bwahahaha, I am back.
Erestor (who is tied together around a big post like Jack's crew was in PotC, only this is with all the secondary characters who just tried to take over. Except for the Balrog, who is in a big cage off to the right): *sulks* It's not fair. There was no way you could get out of that Pit without help!
CS: And what's so unimaginable about me having help?! I mean, I have over 2000 reviews, fer gosh sakes! (actually, that's kinda scary, now that I come to think of it...)
Frodo (who is hanging with his feet off the ground because he's so short and everybody else is so tall): So you're saying one of your reviewers helped you? How could they? *turns puppy-dog eyes on reviewers*
SplendiferGoddess: You're wasting effort. They did not aide in Crimson Starlight's Pit Break.
Rúmil: *blink* Who're you?
SplendiferGoddess: I'm Crimson Starlight's partner in crime.
CS: Who actually hasn't read all of TGotG yet -
SplendiferGoddess: *deffensively* Hey, it's long, and I've got punk bois to drool over and sheep to scare!
CS: - but I decided to put her in the last disclaimer, anyways. Besides, you didn't REALLY think you could trap an Author in a pit, did you? I have another story all ready to go, so my Author Powers aren't going anywhere for awhile!
Halbarad: So...er...what're you going to do with us?
CS: Hmm...leave you here when the disclaimer void collapses. *secondary characters panic*
Glorfindel: HEY! *snaps fingers and secondary characters shut up* She's doing it to all of us. Because otherwise we'd run amok and Tolkien would return from the grave and sue the pants off CS.
Haldir: *appears* Did someone say something about CS with her pants off?
CS: PERVY ELF! *whaps Haldir* GO TO THE SPECIAL FEATURE! Do not pass go! Do not collect $200!
Haldir: *gives CS a not-amused amused smile and goes*
Frodo: What, so he's pervy and he just has to go to the Special Feature?!
Balrog: That is SOOOOO not fair.
SplendiferGoddess: Dude. Why does the balrog sound like a sheep?
CS: Becuase...it is? Maybe some of Glorfindel's blonde-ness rubbed off on it.
SplendiferGoddess: Ooo! *begins to torture Balrog with an endless stream of blonde jokes*
Glorfindel: ...I resent that.
Rachel: You mean you resemble that. Now is anybody going to actually DO a disclaimer, or are we just going to ramble on and on?!
CS: Oh, I suppose we can do one. But first, everybody but...*checks special feature roster* Glorfindel, Gil-galad, Rachel and Elrond say bye.
Everyone but Glorfindel, Gil-galad, Rachel and Elrond: BYE!
CS: And now, the disclaimer.
SplendiferGoddess: Crimson starlight owns nothing because the government repossessed everything she owns due to the fact that she didn't pay her FanFiction taxes.
CS: Yeah. Hey, wait, what?!
Government guys: *come and drag CS off*
CS: AGH!
(Please note that I am, in fact, blond myself, and thus really don't have anything against blonds - I just find blonde jokes extremely funny. Oh, and the sheep thing of SplendiferGoddess'? It's an injoke that I'm not even going to bother to explain because it'd take up the whole chapter.)
-79: Finale-
The next three months were a flurry of activity that I hadn't thought the Elves were possible of. It seemed that while they'd take their own sweet time with just about everything else, weddings - even more so for mine because it was 'rushed' - were something they'd go all-out for and end up scurrying around like a bunch of mice. It was rather creepy, and more than once I went and hid in Glorfindel's study for awhile, despite having Valinlot, Kari and Mírëría to help me. At any rate, as I stayed up in the tree with the star-gazing platform, and Glorfindel kindly informed those looking for me that he hadn't seen me, my hiding place was never discovered.
Not that I made frequent use of the platform, but it was nice to know that I could escape for a few moments if I wanted to - I could always just divert my attention from the wedding plans to meddling with Elladan and Mírëría's relationship, anyways. That was quite fun, and a very thorough distraction. THAT I did quite a bit, in fact, and by the time the wedding came around, Elladan and Mírëría had finally conceded that there was, at the very least, some attraction between the two of them.
As for the actual plans for the wedding, well, until the day of the wedding, even *I* wasn't sure how everything was going to turn out. It was a mostly an Elvish ceremony, except for the fact that I, in a fit of romanticism, decided that I wanted the ceremony at dawn. That got changed to twilight after I told Glorfindel and his disturbed look reminded me when Gondolin had been attacked. The rest of the ceremony was based on a combination of the currently favoured ceremony for the Elves, and the type that had been favoured back in Gondolin when the city had been at it's best. That had actually surprised Glorfindel, when Kari and I had informed him about it, and later he told me that he was actually rather touched that I had thought to include Gondolin customs.
I just grinned, and informed him that he hadn't seen anything yet. After all, though I hadn't told him, I had discovered that the night-blooming golden flower that had been around the little picnic-blanket the night he'd proposed was actually the golden flower of his House. It was rather funny to see his face when he finally got a look at the preparations and realized that I'd gotten the golden flowers sprinkled around into almost every bouqet of flowers there.
That's was the last bit of amusement for me that night, however - the rest was pure, unadulturated bliss. I literally felt like I was floating, and that was not helped any by the fact that I made no noise when I walked. I honestly can't even remember the ceremony. I did, of course, know the basics of what was going to happen, due to having planned it all, but I really don't remember it - I knew Elrond was there to stand in for Glorfindel's father, and Kari stood in for my mom (who I think would've been insulted by that) but I never once saw them.
All I can remember from the wedding is Glorfindel. Just...Glorfindel. He was glowing, and with the glow and the make of the clothes he was wearing, it almost looked like he was wearing gold and emeralds. It was incredible, and I knew as soon as I saw him that if I hadn't loved him before, I was as sure as hell in love with his looks, at the least, now. You haven't seen sexy and droolalicious until you've seen an Elf-lord in full wedding dress preparing to get married.
And as for what happened after the ceremony and the feast when Glorfindel and I finally escaped from all the well-wishers (I think everyone in Rivendell - and half of Mirkwood, Lothlórien and the Grey Havens - knew Glorfindel and came for the wedding, despite the short notice) well, I think you can guess, and even if you can't, it's none of your business. Suffice it to say that it made everything even more worthwhile, and Glorfindel and I fell asleep around dawn in a happy daze, so tangled together I don't think even a nuclear warhead could've blown us apart. The happy daze was just extended by the fact that neither of us really moved from the bed for another full day - not even for food, since we'd eaten far too much at the feast as it was.
When we finally did move from the bed - in Glorfindel's quarters, since they were nicer than mine - it was only to start packing and getting ready to go on the little last tour of Middle-Earth. Kari and Lindir, our two travelling companions, had naturally taken the time Glorfindel and I had been celebrating our marriage to pack, and so they now hung around and annoyed the bejeezers out of Glorfindel and me while we packed.
At least, they did that when we weren't in the same room while packing - as soon as Glorfindel and I were in the same room, they claimed that we were acting sickeningly in love, then left - Kari to go find Elrohir and be sickeningly in love with him, and Lindir to go flirt with whatever maidens of Rivendell he could find who wouldn't slap him the instant he started talking. Glorfindel and I eventually used it as a way to get rid of them. And as we had discovered that somehow we'd managed to get a bond strong enough that we could speak to each other mind-to-mind, Lindir and Kari never really got much time to annoy one of us before the other came to the rescue.
Actually, the fact that Glorfindel and I had a bond strong enough to speak mind-to-mind rather startled everyone. Elrond confessed, looking somewhat confused at the time, that usually only couples that consisted two very powerful Elves - such as Celeborn and Galadriel, or him and Celebrían - or of two Elves that knew each other very well had such bonds. Glorfindel just kind of shrugged, and I promptly said that it was all the Goa'uld's fault. Which I didn't expect them to get, but surprisingly, Glorfindel got a funny look on his face at that remark and asked me where I had seen THAT creature.
Thus came a quick lesson in how to keep my thoughts to myself unless I wanted to share them. Some damage, however, had already been done, as it was discovered a day later when Kari and I tried to hold a conversation in English that Glorfindel now understood our native tongue. We quickly declared this unfair, and took to re-learning the language we had made up, with me being sure to keep it from leaking into Glorfindel's mind. If we hadn't, I think Glorfindel probably would have made a good imitation of a stop light when he heard what sorts of words we had to make up translations for. Let us just say that Kari's and my new favourite topic for discussion was our Elf-lords' 'abilities'.
Finally, on September 29th, exactly one year before we absolutely HAD to be at the Grey Havens or we'd miss the ship we were supposed to be heading out on, Glorfindel, Lindir, Kari and I set out from Rivendell. Just for the amusement of it, after we got our horses saddled up, I sat in front of Glorfindel instead of on Aratelpe, though she ambled along behind Asfaloth. Lindir was appropriately disgusted, while Kari returned the favour by giving Elrohir a quite publicly inappropriate kiss right in front of us.
And so our trip began, with two newly-married love-sick fools, one bard who couldn't handle balladic-quality romance when face to face with it, and a crazy friend who was leaving a rather dazed husband behind. Well, actually, not really. We awoke on the first day out of Rivendell to find that Elrohir had followed us. We didn't have the heart to send him back.
When we reached Lothlórien, Galadriel, of course, tried to send Elrohir back anyways, claiming that Elrond was quite upset with Elrohir for skipping out. To say nothing of Elladan. We spared a moment for surprise that Elrohir had managed to get out of Rivendell without the help of, or even informing, his brother, then turned to Celeborn, who was having great fun teasing Lindir. Apparently the bard and Lord knew each other from a long time ago.
We were only going to be staying in Lothlórien for a week at most, and Haldir had supposedly gone out on patrol on the eastern borders with Rúmil and Orophin JUST before we arrived, but they still managed to make it back before we left - much to the displeasure of Galadriel, who apparently was trying to keep Haldir and I apart for fear of some public arguments. Haldir and I had, however, matured somewhat, and now acted as just really close friends, instead of people who hated each other's guts. We would take the occasional jab at each other, of course, but nothing more than that - Lindir said that it was probably due to my almost fading. So it really shouldn't have surprised Galadriel when Haldir requested leave to come with us. It shouldn't have, but it did - mostly because Galadriel can be incredibly dense when she wants to be.
At any rate, Haldir came with us when we left Lothlórien, after having had a short long-distance communication with Lady Valinlot, with Celeborn's help, and agreeing that they would meet up at the Grey Havens the next year, the return to Rivendell for their wedding, as Lothlórien would be slowly emptying itself of Elves. I was a little disapointed that I wouldn't get to see their wedding, but nothing could be done about it, and as Haldir said, turnabout is fair play. He didn't get to see my wedding, I didn't get to see his.
That was one of the occasional jabs we took at each other, by the way.
Anyways, having Haldir with us led to many interesting conversations - though I suppose the conversations before had been interesting enough. Haldir just seemed to cause more of them, though. Those in our band came from such different background and had such different views on things that we usually had a spirited debate about something or another going on. When we finally reached Minas Tirith, we came through the main gate bickering about how Eärendil could have been turned into a star if stars were, as Kari and I knew, big balls of gas (there was no arguement that Eärendil had been turned into a star, due to Elrohir being in our little group, the only question was how). Lindir, Elrohir, Haldir and Glorfindel did not, of course, understand the science behind it all, but they had picked up a few things during the journey, and I could share with Glorfindel, mentally, the explanation to anything that went right over their heads, leaving it up to him to explain to Haldir, Elrohir and Lindir in understandable terms.
The debate ended, of course, when we found ourselves in front of the Citadel with most of the court waiting for us. We all exchanged looks, silently asking each other if we knew what was going on. Then Aragorn and Faramir appeared, and we soon discovered that, having spotted us when we crossed the border, they had prepared a little welcoming party for us. It was also, Faramir admitted, sort of in honour of Glorfindel and I getting married, as I HAD lived in the city since before he and Boromir were born, and the people had come to regard me as one of their own. Nevermind that I turned out to be an Elf. I was touched, and said so.
Not even the feast and obvious love from the people of the city could force us to stay longer than the month we'd planned, however - it was going to be hard enough travelling in near-winter conditions as it was. We wanted to reach Ithilien by the new year, stay there 'til spring, then go to Dol Amroth until mid-summer or so. When we left was dependant on whether or not we could get a boat, and learn how to sail it, up to the Grey Havens, or if we'd have to ride.
To our surprise, however, when we did leave, Faramir decided that it was high time he went to Ithilien, anyways, since he was supposed the Prince of that particular part of Gondor, and he came with us. This made Glorfindel, Elrohir and Haldir quite happy, as they had been somewhat worried about what sort of evil, nasty creatures might still be lurking around that close to Mordor. It was also rather nice because Ithilien still had no permanent buildings, and the only truly weather-proof place to stay was the cave Faramir and his men had used while in the forest. So, of course, with Faramir with us, we were able to find and use said cave. Kari and I had a blast cracking Gollum-jokes, which - unfortunately or fortunately, I don't know - nobody else seemed to get.
Anyways. We spent the winter traipsing around Ithilien, generally having a blast of a time. At one point we managed to get a full-fledged snowball war going - Glorfindel, Haldir and I were on one side, and Lindir, Kari and Elrohir were on the other, each of us being backed by roughly half of Faramir's off-duty men. They had deserted us when Faramir had shown up on the scene, demanding to know what was going on. Us six elves merely pelted him with snowballs in response. He looked like a snowman by the time he finally roared out an order to stop. We did so, then disappeared so quickly that by the time he had cleared the snow out of his eyes, there was not an Elf to be seen. We stayed hidden for several days after that.
Eventually, however, spring came around, and we all discovered that Ithilien liked to turn into a mini-swamp during quick melts. Thus, the departure of our party of six Elves was delayed long enough that Legolas and a company of woodelves showed up. That delayed us for another month, as the woodelves wanted to know everything about the land that we could tell them. I think they were a little disapointed at how little we'd found out, but then I reminded them who they were dealing with. Half of us were insane (Lindir had been admitted into Kari's and my Club of Insanity after he calmly responded to a question of Faramir's by saying that there were purple orcs in pink sparkly dresses swimming in the Forbidden Pool making plans to fly off to NeverNever Land - we'd just told him about Peter Pan and faeries), two of the others were married to two of the insane ones, and the other one just couldn't help but be dragged along. The woodelves conceeded the point, and let us go.
We didn't have to travel long to get to Dol Amroth, but even before we reached it, I knew I had done the right thing in not going to visit before now. The smell of the Sea, and the cries of the sea birds that drifted on the wind were more than enough for me - I'd felt drawn to the oceans back home (the oceans and the mountains) and that feeling had transferred over to Middle-Earth with a vengeance. The rest of the company didn't even need to ask if I felt the call of the Sea - they took one look at me when the first whiff of sea air came our way, and they knew. Prince Imrahil, however, seemed a little disturbed at my dazed look when we arrived in Dol Amroth.
"Rachel, are you alright?" he asked me with no little concern as he led us into the...well, I suppose it could be called a palace, where he and his family lived, along with many of the heads of state.
"Give me a room with a view of the sea and I'll be fine." I said somewhat dreamily, still listening to the gulls and the sea. Imrahil looked confused for a moment, then Kari went up to him and explained in low tones, and he understood. He made a few comments about some part of the Elvish longing for the Sea probably being why his family found it so hard to leave the sea, and the trip to our rooms continued.
Lothíriel was, we discovered, not yet married off to Éomer, so we had great fun talking to her for awhile, and then Éomer showed up with what looked like half of Rohan, followed by a group from Minas Tirith that contained most of the Fellowship (Legolas managed to pull himself away from Ithilien long enough to come in for four days, and Gimli stayed about as long, as well). That was when we discovered that they had planned things so that they would have their wedding, in Dol Amroth, when we six elves were there. We were all touched by that, even those of us that had had nothing to do with getting Éomer and Lothíriel together. After the wedding, of course, Kari and I decided to admit the real truth to Imrahil, since we were feeling somewhat embaressed by the thanks, but the news apparently came as no surprise to him - he'd guessed a few days after we'd parted company, he said.
Finally, late summer came around, and we inquired to Imrahil about a boat. We'd already learned how to sail one, since one couldn't stay in Dol Amroth very long without learning how to sail a boat (unless they were Rohirrim - they were rather clumsy on boats, and had been all but banned from them after the first few accidents when they had been visiting for the wedding). Imrahil was absolutely delighted to give us a boat.
Actually, Imrahil used the word 'lend', but we didn't notice that fact until later, when he insisted that he, Erchirion and Amrothos must come with us so that they could see to the proper return of the boat. Much arguing and several bargains later, Erchirion and Amrothos joined us on the boat, Imrahil having been forced to stay behind by not only us, but by just about everyone else who found out about his plan, including Erchirion and Amrothos themselves.
So, two weeks before the last day of summer, a surprisingly large crowd gathered on the dock to see us off. I absently wondered as we cast off how many of the people were there to see their Prince's sons off, or to see us elves off. It was probably pretty much a tie, since we, the elves on the boat, had been making ourselves quite at home in Dol Amroth over the summer, helping out and meeting people and all sorts of things. This was only aided by the fact that, as Elves, we seemed to have gained a natural immunity to the normal consequences for associating with several different classes of people. We could go from a sedate party in the palace, to a rough-and-tumble tavern down in the nether regions of Dol Amroth, where the city guard feared to tread, with only a change of clothes between, and nobody would comment on it, even when we weren't at all secretive about what we were doing. This, needless to say, pleased Kari and me greatly.
At any rate, we were soon off, despite the crowd of well-wishers, and the pitiful looks Imrahil kept sending us in a last-ditch effort to be allowed to see the Grey Havens. I felt somewhat sorry for him, but I knew we couldn't, in good concience, take him with us. Not without leaving an unpleasant reputation for any Elves that came after us. So we made ourselves as immune to his pitiful looks and made our way out of the harbour.
Erchirion and Amrothos spent the first few days watching the seas behind us, and when questioned, they confessed that they and their father had some fears about someone following us. Elrohir, Lindir and Glorfindel quickly assured them that if that was so, the scout ships from the Havens would spot the ships and send them back. That, of course, prompted a conversation about the Grey Havens in general, and the conversation basically lasted the entire trip, with only short breaks for other topics and things like eating and sleeping. Poor Elrohir, Lindir and Glorfindel soon had their minds picked bare by Erchirion and Amrothos. Kari, Haldir and I just watched on with amusement.
On the 19th of September, however, our journey came to an end as the Grey Havens came into sight. We docked smoothly, and were met by none other than Círdan himself. I was immediately absorbed by his beard, the novelty of which hadn't grown old since I'd last seen him at Elrond's Council. Thankfully, this seemed to amuse Glorfindel more than anything else, especially when I sent a questioning thought his way accompanied with a mental image of him with a beard...well, more of a goatee, actually. Everyone looked at him rather strangely when he burst out into spontaneous laughter, though they didn't need to guess at what - or rather, who - caused it.
Erchirion and Amrothos didn't really seem to notice much, actually, both apparently being a little overwhelmed by the whole thing, and Círdan seemed to understand, not really addressing the brothers until the next day, after they'd had some time to recover. When he finally did talk to them, it was to engage them in a discussion about ships, and...well, it was another one of those topics that Erchirion and Amrothos, and apparently Círdan, could talk on forever. Erchirion and Amrothos left a week later with heads abuzz with ideas, and a blueprint for one of the Grey Havens scout ships tucked under their arm. Círdan had felt it was a good exchange for some of the more useful ship-board human innovations that they had shared with him.
And then, finally, Elrond, Galadriel and Gandalf arrived with the hobbits and other elves, including a happy Lady Valinlot, in tow. They seemed a little surprised, but quite pleased, to see that we were actually there - which, naturally, led to a little argument between Galadriel and I about the virtue of 'trust'. It was settled by Glorfindel turning me around so I could see the Sea, thus becoming thoroughly distracted, especially when mental plans of Glorfindel's about how to keep Galadriel and I apart on the voyage to Valinor seeped into my mind. Out of sheer amusement and for no small amount of revenge, I decided to help the plans along and gave him several 'helpful' hints about how to keep me 'occupied' and insure that Galadriel couldn't accidentally come across me.
Glorfindel's face remained red until it was time to board the boat. He is far too easy to embaress sometimes.
"Well, time for me to go." I said to Kari with a sigh as I saw the hobbits saying goodbye to each other.
"I'm going to miss you." Kari said with a sigh. "Even two or so years worth of insanity isn't enough to make up for 800 years missed."
"'Course not. Only 800 years of insanity would make up for 800 years missed." I replied promptly. "And anyways, Elrond and Galadriel have threatened Elladan and Elrohir - and Celeborn, though he doesn't really matter in this specific discussion - with death if they don't come to Valinor by ship within the next 500 years. So we won't be seperated too long." Kari nodded, sighed, and hugged me, and then Glorfindel was calling me from the ship, having already boarded. I sighed, myself, then stepped back and bowed slightly to Kari.
"Farewell, and do your utmost to hold back the ladybugs and pickles." I said sollemnly.
"I shall - until I leave these lands, I shall hold back their invasion with my last ounce of strength. And stomach space." Kari was as sollemn as I until the last part, when she grinned. I made a face.
"Eugh, you and your pickle eating." I said. Kari snickered.
"At least you won't have to put up with it for the next 500 or so years." she said.
"Hmm, yes, that's deffinately an upside..." I pondered.
"Rachel, even the HOBBITS are done saying goodbye." Glorfindel called from the boat. I looked over and saw that the hobbits were, indeed, done saying goodbye - and were watching Kari and I with amusement, the little buggers. I shot them a brief, mock scowl before turning back to Kari.
"Right. Bye!" I gave Kari one last quick hug, then dashed up into the ship, making for the back of it, where Frodo was already standing, so I could wave good-bye to Kari.
---
Twilight that evening saw two figures, a lady and her husband, standing on the back of a silver-grey boat that was sailing into the West. The male was tall, with fair hair that glowed a fiery gold in the light of the setting sun, and held the dark-haired lady, who was looking mournfully back the way they'd come.
And as the sun set, the universe faded into darkness, going out not with a bang, nor a whimper, but a loud 'I KNEW IT, GODDAMMIT!' followed by an irritated sigh...
While in another universe, an author sat back in their chair and sighed with relief, contentment and no little amount of sadness as they surveyed the end of their handiwork.
----The End----
(OK, not quite. Still the special feature.)
-Author's Note:-
Bwahahahaha, and you thought I'd pushed the Mary-Sue thing aside when Rachel had gotten over it! *snicker* And for those of you finding weapons and preparing to hunt me down and kill me, there is an alternate ending in the Special Feature, inspired by a review of Angel Queen's. I assure you that you will find it enjoyable. (Heck, if it wasn't for the fact that this ending actually clung to the little bit of plot that I actually had, I would have switched this ending with the alternate one)
Yep. Well, I know people are going to ask about future works, and some of you already have, so I figured I'd say what I have to right here. There is a plan for a non-romance Cirdan story shooting around in my brain (HurriCanine, you know about that one) but I can't get started on it, so it's been put on hold. I'm stuck on the expansion of 'Consequences', so I won't be posting that one soon, unless I miraculously get inspired. (Where IS Haldir when you need him...? Oh, right, on a video I haven't watched in several months. Whoops. Maybe I should go watch FotR again...)
Now that I've told you what I'm NOT going to do next, I will tell you what I AM going to do next. It's a fic called 'The House of the Golden Flower', and as you can probably guess from the title, it does indeed involve Glorfindel. And some other fun, neglected people...like Thranduil! And I think I'll see if I can make Erestor show up at some point...I have sadly neglected him in this fic. At any rate, the story is going to be my first attempt at a pre-War of the Ring FanFic - pre-Last Alliance, in fact. And it will be MUCH shorter. It's looking to be around ten or twenty chapters, max, in length. But long chapters, and packed with stuff. Like pizza pockets!
...
Anyways. I don't know when I'll begin posting that fic, but I do already have three chapters written, and a plot that I am about half-way through already...
But until then, thank you to all my reviewer for sticking it through, and for now - because I won't get to say it in the special feature on Friday (you'll see why) - adiós amigos, au revoir amis, auf wiedersehen freunde, arrivederci amici, and namarie mellon! (Is that last one in the same language? Or is that Quenya and Sindarin, or Sindarin and Quenya? *pauses thoughtfully, then dismisses it with a shrug*)
~Crimson Starlight
-Disclaimer:-
CS (with all the main disclaimer characters behind her): Bwahahaha, I am back.
Erestor (who is tied together around a big post like Jack's crew was in PotC, only this is with all the secondary characters who just tried to take over. Except for the Balrog, who is in a big cage off to the right): *sulks* It's not fair. There was no way you could get out of that Pit without help!
CS: And what's so unimaginable about me having help?! I mean, I have over 2000 reviews, fer gosh sakes! (actually, that's kinda scary, now that I come to think of it...)
Frodo (who is hanging with his feet off the ground because he's so short and everybody else is so tall): So you're saying one of your reviewers helped you? How could they? *turns puppy-dog eyes on reviewers*
SplendiferGoddess: You're wasting effort. They did not aide in Crimson Starlight's Pit Break.
Rúmil: *blink* Who're you?
SplendiferGoddess: I'm Crimson Starlight's partner in crime.
CS: Who actually hasn't read all of TGotG yet -
SplendiferGoddess: *deffensively* Hey, it's long, and I've got punk bois to drool over and sheep to scare!
CS: - but I decided to put her in the last disclaimer, anyways. Besides, you didn't REALLY think you could trap an Author in a pit, did you? I have another story all ready to go, so my Author Powers aren't going anywhere for awhile!
Halbarad: So...er...what're you going to do with us?
CS: Hmm...leave you here when the disclaimer void collapses. *secondary characters panic*
Glorfindel: HEY! *snaps fingers and secondary characters shut up* She's doing it to all of us. Because otherwise we'd run amok and Tolkien would return from the grave and sue the pants off CS.
Haldir: *appears* Did someone say something about CS with her pants off?
CS: PERVY ELF! *whaps Haldir* GO TO THE SPECIAL FEATURE! Do not pass go! Do not collect $200!
Haldir: *gives CS a not-amused amused smile and goes*
Frodo: What, so he's pervy and he just has to go to the Special Feature?!
Balrog: That is SOOOOO not fair.
SplendiferGoddess: Dude. Why does the balrog sound like a sheep?
CS: Becuase...it is? Maybe some of Glorfindel's blonde-ness rubbed off on it.
SplendiferGoddess: Ooo! *begins to torture Balrog with an endless stream of blonde jokes*
Glorfindel: ...I resent that.
Rachel: You mean you resemble that. Now is anybody going to actually DO a disclaimer, or are we just going to ramble on and on?!
CS: Oh, I suppose we can do one. But first, everybody but...*checks special feature roster* Glorfindel, Gil-galad, Rachel and Elrond say bye.
Everyone but Glorfindel, Gil-galad, Rachel and Elrond: BYE!
CS: And now, the disclaimer.
SplendiferGoddess: Crimson starlight owns nothing because the government repossessed everything she owns due to the fact that she didn't pay her FanFiction taxes.
CS: Yeah. Hey, wait, what?!
Government guys: *come and drag CS off*
CS: AGH!
(Please note that I am, in fact, blond myself, and thus really don't have anything against blonds - I just find blonde jokes extremely funny. Oh, and the sheep thing of SplendiferGoddess'? It's an injoke that I'm not even going to bother to explain because it'd take up the whole chapter.)
-79: Finale-
The next three months were a flurry of activity that I hadn't thought the Elves were possible of. It seemed that while they'd take their own sweet time with just about everything else, weddings - even more so for mine because it was 'rushed' - were something they'd go all-out for and end up scurrying around like a bunch of mice. It was rather creepy, and more than once I went and hid in Glorfindel's study for awhile, despite having Valinlot, Kari and Mírëría to help me. At any rate, as I stayed up in the tree with the star-gazing platform, and Glorfindel kindly informed those looking for me that he hadn't seen me, my hiding place was never discovered.
Not that I made frequent use of the platform, but it was nice to know that I could escape for a few moments if I wanted to - I could always just divert my attention from the wedding plans to meddling with Elladan and Mírëría's relationship, anyways. That was quite fun, and a very thorough distraction. THAT I did quite a bit, in fact, and by the time the wedding came around, Elladan and Mírëría had finally conceded that there was, at the very least, some attraction between the two of them.
As for the actual plans for the wedding, well, until the day of the wedding, even *I* wasn't sure how everything was going to turn out. It was a mostly an Elvish ceremony, except for the fact that I, in a fit of romanticism, decided that I wanted the ceremony at dawn. That got changed to twilight after I told Glorfindel and his disturbed look reminded me when Gondolin had been attacked. The rest of the ceremony was based on a combination of the currently favoured ceremony for the Elves, and the type that had been favoured back in Gondolin when the city had been at it's best. That had actually surprised Glorfindel, when Kari and I had informed him about it, and later he told me that he was actually rather touched that I had thought to include Gondolin customs.
I just grinned, and informed him that he hadn't seen anything yet. After all, though I hadn't told him, I had discovered that the night-blooming golden flower that had been around the little picnic-blanket the night he'd proposed was actually the golden flower of his House. It was rather funny to see his face when he finally got a look at the preparations and realized that I'd gotten the golden flowers sprinkled around into almost every bouqet of flowers there.
That's was the last bit of amusement for me that night, however - the rest was pure, unadulturated bliss. I literally felt like I was floating, and that was not helped any by the fact that I made no noise when I walked. I honestly can't even remember the ceremony. I did, of course, know the basics of what was going to happen, due to having planned it all, but I really don't remember it - I knew Elrond was there to stand in for Glorfindel's father, and Kari stood in for my mom (who I think would've been insulted by that) but I never once saw them.
All I can remember from the wedding is Glorfindel. Just...Glorfindel. He was glowing, and with the glow and the make of the clothes he was wearing, it almost looked like he was wearing gold and emeralds. It was incredible, and I knew as soon as I saw him that if I hadn't loved him before, I was as sure as hell in love with his looks, at the least, now. You haven't seen sexy and droolalicious until you've seen an Elf-lord in full wedding dress preparing to get married.
And as for what happened after the ceremony and the feast when Glorfindel and I finally escaped from all the well-wishers (I think everyone in Rivendell - and half of Mirkwood, Lothlórien and the Grey Havens - knew Glorfindel and came for the wedding, despite the short notice) well, I think you can guess, and even if you can't, it's none of your business. Suffice it to say that it made everything even more worthwhile, and Glorfindel and I fell asleep around dawn in a happy daze, so tangled together I don't think even a nuclear warhead could've blown us apart. The happy daze was just extended by the fact that neither of us really moved from the bed for another full day - not even for food, since we'd eaten far too much at the feast as it was.
When we finally did move from the bed - in Glorfindel's quarters, since they were nicer than mine - it was only to start packing and getting ready to go on the little last tour of Middle-Earth. Kari and Lindir, our two travelling companions, had naturally taken the time Glorfindel and I had been celebrating our marriage to pack, and so they now hung around and annoyed the bejeezers out of Glorfindel and me while we packed.
At least, they did that when we weren't in the same room while packing - as soon as Glorfindel and I were in the same room, they claimed that we were acting sickeningly in love, then left - Kari to go find Elrohir and be sickeningly in love with him, and Lindir to go flirt with whatever maidens of Rivendell he could find who wouldn't slap him the instant he started talking. Glorfindel and I eventually used it as a way to get rid of them. And as we had discovered that somehow we'd managed to get a bond strong enough that we could speak to each other mind-to-mind, Lindir and Kari never really got much time to annoy one of us before the other came to the rescue.
Actually, the fact that Glorfindel and I had a bond strong enough to speak mind-to-mind rather startled everyone. Elrond confessed, looking somewhat confused at the time, that usually only couples that consisted two very powerful Elves - such as Celeborn and Galadriel, or him and Celebrían - or of two Elves that knew each other very well had such bonds. Glorfindel just kind of shrugged, and I promptly said that it was all the Goa'uld's fault. Which I didn't expect them to get, but surprisingly, Glorfindel got a funny look on his face at that remark and asked me where I had seen THAT creature.
Thus came a quick lesson in how to keep my thoughts to myself unless I wanted to share them. Some damage, however, had already been done, as it was discovered a day later when Kari and I tried to hold a conversation in English that Glorfindel now understood our native tongue. We quickly declared this unfair, and took to re-learning the language we had made up, with me being sure to keep it from leaking into Glorfindel's mind. If we hadn't, I think Glorfindel probably would have made a good imitation of a stop light when he heard what sorts of words we had to make up translations for. Let us just say that Kari's and my new favourite topic for discussion was our Elf-lords' 'abilities'.
Finally, on September 29th, exactly one year before we absolutely HAD to be at the Grey Havens or we'd miss the ship we were supposed to be heading out on, Glorfindel, Lindir, Kari and I set out from Rivendell. Just for the amusement of it, after we got our horses saddled up, I sat in front of Glorfindel instead of on Aratelpe, though she ambled along behind Asfaloth. Lindir was appropriately disgusted, while Kari returned the favour by giving Elrohir a quite publicly inappropriate kiss right in front of us.
And so our trip began, with two newly-married love-sick fools, one bard who couldn't handle balladic-quality romance when face to face with it, and a crazy friend who was leaving a rather dazed husband behind. Well, actually, not really. We awoke on the first day out of Rivendell to find that Elrohir had followed us. We didn't have the heart to send him back.
When we reached Lothlórien, Galadriel, of course, tried to send Elrohir back anyways, claiming that Elrond was quite upset with Elrohir for skipping out. To say nothing of Elladan. We spared a moment for surprise that Elrohir had managed to get out of Rivendell without the help of, or even informing, his brother, then turned to Celeborn, who was having great fun teasing Lindir. Apparently the bard and Lord knew each other from a long time ago.
We were only going to be staying in Lothlórien for a week at most, and Haldir had supposedly gone out on patrol on the eastern borders with Rúmil and Orophin JUST before we arrived, but they still managed to make it back before we left - much to the displeasure of Galadriel, who apparently was trying to keep Haldir and I apart for fear of some public arguments. Haldir and I had, however, matured somewhat, and now acted as just really close friends, instead of people who hated each other's guts. We would take the occasional jab at each other, of course, but nothing more than that - Lindir said that it was probably due to my almost fading. So it really shouldn't have surprised Galadriel when Haldir requested leave to come with us. It shouldn't have, but it did - mostly because Galadriel can be incredibly dense when she wants to be.
At any rate, Haldir came with us when we left Lothlórien, after having had a short long-distance communication with Lady Valinlot, with Celeborn's help, and agreeing that they would meet up at the Grey Havens the next year, the return to Rivendell for their wedding, as Lothlórien would be slowly emptying itself of Elves. I was a little disapointed that I wouldn't get to see their wedding, but nothing could be done about it, and as Haldir said, turnabout is fair play. He didn't get to see my wedding, I didn't get to see his.
That was one of the occasional jabs we took at each other, by the way.
Anyways, having Haldir with us led to many interesting conversations - though I suppose the conversations before had been interesting enough. Haldir just seemed to cause more of them, though. Those in our band came from such different background and had such different views on things that we usually had a spirited debate about something or another going on. When we finally reached Minas Tirith, we came through the main gate bickering about how Eärendil could have been turned into a star if stars were, as Kari and I knew, big balls of gas (there was no arguement that Eärendil had been turned into a star, due to Elrohir being in our little group, the only question was how). Lindir, Elrohir, Haldir and Glorfindel did not, of course, understand the science behind it all, but they had picked up a few things during the journey, and I could share with Glorfindel, mentally, the explanation to anything that went right over their heads, leaving it up to him to explain to Haldir, Elrohir and Lindir in understandable terms.
The debate ended, of course, when we found ourselves in front of the Citadel with most of the court waiting for us. We all exchanged looks, silently asking each other if we knew what was going on. Then Aragorn and Faramir appeared, and we soon discovered that, having spotted us when we crossed the border, they had prepared a little welcoming party for us. It was also, Faramir admitted, sort of in honour of Glorfindel and I getting married, as I HAD lived in the city since before he and Boromir were born, and the people had come to regard me as one of their own. Nevermind that I turned out to be an Elf. I was touched, and said so.
Not even the feast and obvious love from the people of the city could force us to stay longer than the month we'd planned, however - it was going to be hard enough travelling in near-winter conditions as it was. We wanted to reach Ithilien by the new year, stay there 'til spring, then go to Dol Amroth until mid-summer or so. When we left was dependant on whether or not we could get a boat, and learn how to sail it, up to the Grey Havens, or if we'd have to ride.
To our surprise, however, when we did leave, Faramir decided that it was high time he went to Ithilien, anyways, since he was supposed the Prince of that particular part of Gondor, and he came with us. This made Glorfindel, Elrohir and Haldir quite happy, as they had been somewhat worried about what sort of evil, nasty creatures might still be lurking around that close to Mordor. It was also rather nice because Ithilien still had no permanent buildings, and the only truly weather-proof place to stay was the cave Faramir and his men had used while in the forest. So, of course, with Faramir with us, we were able to find and use said cave. Kari and I had a blast cracking Gollum-jokes, which - unfortunately or fortunately, I don't know - nobody else seemed to get.
Anyways. We spent the winter traipsing around Ithilien, generally having a blast of a time. At one point we managed to get a full-fledged snowball war going - Glorfindel, Haldir and I were on one side, and Lindir, Kari and Elrohir were on the other, each of us being backed by roughly half of Faramir's off-duty men. They had deserted us when Faramir had shown up on the scene, demanding to know what was going on. Us six elves merely pelted him with snowballs in response. He looked like a snowman by the time he finally roared out an order to stop. We did so, then disappeared so quickly that by the time he had cleared the snow out of his eyes, there was not an Elf to be seen. We stayed hidden for several days after that.
Eventually, however, spring came around, and we all discovered that Ithilien liked to turn into a mini-swamp during quick melts. Thus, the departure of our party of six Elves was delayed long enough that Legolas and a company of woodelves showed up. That delayed us for another month, as the woodelves wanted to know everything about the land that we could tell them. I think they were a little disapointed at how little we'd found out, but then I reminded them who they were dealing with. Half of us were insane (Lindir had been admitted into Kari's and my Club of Insanity after he calmly responded to a question of Faramir's by saying that there were purple orcs in pink sparkly dresses swimming in the Forbidden Pool making plans to fly off to NeverNever Land - we'd just told him about Peter Pan and faeries), two of the others were married to two of the insane ones, and the other one just couldn't help but be dragged along. The woodelves conceeded the point, and let us go.
We didn't have to travel long to get to Dol Amroth, but even before we reached it, I knew I had done the right thing in not going to visit before now. The smell of the Sea, and the cries of the sea birds that drifted on the wind were more than enough for me - I'd felt drawn to the oceans back home (the oceans and the mountains) and that feeling had transferred over to Middle-Earth with a vengeance. The rest of the company didn't even need to ask if I felt the call of the Sea - they took one look at me when the first whiff of sea air came our way, and they knew. Prince Imrahil, however, seemed a little disturbed at my dazed look when we arrived in Dol Amroth.
"Rachel, are you alright?" he asked me with no little concern as he led us into the...well, I suppose it could be called a palace, where he and his family lived, along with many of the heads of state.
"Give me a room with a view of the sea and I'll be fine." I said somewhat dreamily, still listening to the gulls and the sea. Imrahil looked confused for a moment, then Kari went up to him and explained in low tones, and he understood. He made a few comments about some part of the Elvish longing for the Sea probably being why his family found it so hard to leave the sea, and the trip to our rooms continued.
Lothíriel was, we discovered, not yet married off to Éomer, so we had great fun talking to her for awhile, and then Éomer showed up with what looked like half of Rohan, followed by a group from Minas Tirith that contained most of the Fellowship (Legolas managed to pull himself away from Ithilien long enough to come in for four days, and Gimli stayed about as long, as well). That was when we discovered that they had planned things so that they would have their wedding, in Dol Amroth, when we six elves were there. We were all touched by that, even those of us that had had nothing to do with getting Éomer and Lothíriel together. After the wedding, of course, Kari and I decided to admit the real truth to Imrahil, since we were feeling somewhat embaressed by the thanks, but the news apparently came as no surprise to him - he'd guessed a few days after we'd parted company, he said.
Finally, late summer came around, and we inquired to Imrahil about a boat. We'd already learned how to sail one, since one couldn't stay in Dol Amroth very long without learning how to sail a boat (unless they were Rohirrim - they were rather clumsy on boats, and had been all but banned from them after the first few accidents when they had been visiting for the wedding). Imrahil was absolutely delighted to give us a boat.
Actually, Imrahil used the word 'lend', but we didn't notice that fact until later, when he insisted that he, Erchirion and Amrothos must come with us so that they could see to the proper return of the boat. Much arguing and several bargains later, Erchirion and Amrothos joined us on the boat, Imrahil having been forced to stay behind by not only us, but by just about everyone else who found out about his plan, including Erchirion and Amrothos themselves.
So, two weeks before the last day of summer, a surprisingly large crowd gathered on the dock to see us off. I absently wondered as we cast off how many of the people were there to see their Prince's sons off, or to see us elves off. It was probably pretty much a tie, since we, the elves on the boat, had been making ourselves quite at home in Dol Amroth over the summer, helping out and meeting people and all sorts of things. This was only aided by the fact that, as Elves, we seemed to have gained a natural immunity to the normal consequences for associating with several different classes of people. We could go from a sedate party in the palace, to a rough-and-tumble tavern down in the nether regions of Dol Amroth, where the city guard feared to tread, with only a change of clothes between, and nobody would comment on it, even when we weren't at all secretive about what we were doing. This, needless to say, pleased Kari and me greatly.
At any rate, we were soon off, despite the crowd of well-wishers, and the pitiful looks Imrahil kept sending us in a last-ditch effort to be allowed to see the Grey Havens. I felt somewhat sorry for him, but I knew we couldn't, in good concience, take him with us. Not without leaving an unpleasant reputation for any Elves that came after us. So we made ourselves as immune to his pitiful looks and made our way out of the harbour.
Erchirion and Amrothos spent the first few days watching the seas behind us, and when questioned, they confessed that they and their father had some fears about someone following us. Elrohir, Lindir and Glorfindel quickly assured them that if that was so, the scout ships from the Havens would spot the ships and send them back. That, of course, prompted a conversation about the Grey Havens in general, and the conversation basically lasted the entire trip, with only short breaks for other topics and things like eating and sleeping. Poor Elrohir, Lindir and Glorfindel soon had their minds picked bare by Erchirion and Amrothos. Kari, Haldir and I just watched on with amusement.
On the 19th of September, however, our journey came to an end as the Grey Havens came into sight. We docked smoothly, and were met by none other than Círdan himself. I was immediately absorbed by his beard, the novelty of which hadn't grown old since I'd last seen him at Elrond's Council. Thankfully, this seemed to amuse Glorfindel more than anything else, especially when I sent a questioning thought his way accompanied with a mental image of him with a beard...well, more of a goatee, actually. Everyone looked at him rather strangely when he burst out into spontaneous laughter, though they didn't need to guess at what - or rather, who - caused it.
Erchirion and Amrothos didn't really seem to notice much, actually, both apparently being a little overwhelmed by the whole thing, and Círdan seemed to understand, not really addressing the brothers until the next day, after they'd had some time to recover. When he finally did talk to them, it was to engage them in a discussion about ships, and...well, it was another one of those topics that Erchirion and Amrothos, and apparently Círdan, could talk on forever. Erchirion and Amrothos left a week later with heads abuzz with ideas, and a blueprint for one of the Grey Havens scout ships tucked under their arm. Círdan had felt it was a good exchange for some of the more useful ship-board human innovations that they had shared with him.
And then, finally, Elrond, Galadriel and Gandalf arrived with the hobbits and other elves, including a happy Lady Valinlot, in tow. They seemed a little surprised, but quite pleased, to see that we were actually there - which, naturally, led to a little argument between Galadriel and I about the virtue of 'trust'. It was settled by Glorfindel turning me around so I could see the Sea, thus becoming thoroughly distracted, especially when mental plans of Glorfindel's about how to keep Galadriel and I apart on the voyage to Valinor seeped into my mind. Out of sheer amusement and for no small amount of revenge, I decided to help the plans along and gave him several 'helpful' hints about how to keep me 'occupied' and insure that Galadriel couldn't accidentally come across me.
Glorfindel's face remained red until it was time to board the boat. He is far too easy to embaress sometimes.
"Well, time for me to go." I said to Kari with a sigh as I saw the hobbits saying goodbye to each other.
"I'm going to miss you." Kari said with a sigh. "Even two or so years worth of insanity isn't enough to make up for 800 years missed."
"'Course not. Only 800 years of insanity would make up for 800 years missed." I replied promptly. "And anyways, Elrond and Galadriel have threatened Elladan and Elrohir - and Celeborn, though he doesn't really matter in this specific discussion - with death if they don't come to Valinor by ship within the next 500 years. So we won't be seperated too long." Kari nodded, sighed, and hugged me, and then Glorfindel was calling me from the ship, having already boarded. I sighed, myself, then stepped back and bowed slightly to Kari.
"Farewell, and do your utmost to hold back the ladybugs and pickles." I said sollemnly.
"I shall - until I leave these lands, I shall hold back their invasion with my last ounce of strength. And stomach space." Kari was as sollemn as I until the last part, when she grinned. I made a face.
"Eugh, you and your pickle eating." I said. Kari snickered.
"At least you won't have to put up with it for the next 500 or so years." she said.
"Hmm, yes, that's deffinately an upside..." I pondered.
"Rachel, even the HOBBITS are done saying goodbye." Glorfindel called from the boat. I looked over and saw that the hobbits were, indeed, done saying goodbye - and were watching Kari and I with amusement, the little buggers. I shot them a brief, mock scowl before turning back to Kari.
"Right. Bye!" I gave Kari one last quick hug, then dashed up into the ship, making for the back of it, where Frodo was already standing, so I could wave good-bye to Kari.
---
Twilight that evening saw two figures, a lady and her husband, standing on the back of a silver-grey boat that was sailing into the West. The male was tall, with fair hair that glowed a fiery gold in the light of the setting sun, and held the dark-haired lady, who was looking mournfully back the way they'd come.
And as the sun set, the universe faded into darkness, going out not with a bang, nor a whimper, but a loud 'I KNEW IT, GODDAMMIT!' followed by an irritated sigh...
While in another universe, an author sat back in their chair and sighed with relief, contentment and no little amount of sadness as they surveyed the end of their handiwork.
----The End----
(OK, not quite. Still the special feature.)
-Author's Note:-
Bwahahahaha, and you thought I'd pushed the Mary-Sue thing aside when Rachel had gotten over it! *snicker* And for those of you finding weapons and preparing to hunt me down and kill me, there is an alternate ending in the Special Feature, inspired by a review of Angel Queen's. I assure you that you will find it enjoyable. (Heck, if it wasn't for the fact that this ending actually clung to the little bit of plot that I actually had, I would have switched this ending with the alternate one)
Yep. Well, I know people are going to ask about future works, and some of you already have, so I figured I'd say what I have to right here. There is a plan for a non-romance Cirdan story shooting around in my brain (HurriCanine, you know about that one) but I can't get started on it, so it's been put on hold. I'm stuck on the expansion of 'Consequences', so I won't be posting that one soon, unless I miraculously get inspired. (Where IS Haldir when you need him...? Oh, right, on a video I haven't watched in several months. Whoops. Maybe I should go watch FotR again...)
Now that I've told you what I'm NOT going to do next, I will tell you what I AM going to do next. It's a fic called 'The House of the Golden Flower', and as you can probably guess from the title, it does indeed involve Glorfindel. And some other fun, neglected people...like Thranduil! And I think I'll see if I can make Erestor show up at some point...I have sadly neglected him in this fic. At any rate, the story is going to be my first attempt at a pre-War of the Ring FanFic - pre-Last Alliance, in fact. And it will be MUCH shorter. It's looking to be around ten or twenty chapters, max, in length. But long chapters, and packed with stuff. Like pizza pockets!
...
Anyways. I don't know when I'll begin posting that fic, but I do already have three chapters written, and a plot that I am about half-way through already...
But until then, thank you to all my reviewer for sticking it through, and for now - because I won't get to say it in the special feature on Friday (you'll see why) - adiós amigos, au revoir amis, auf wiedersehen freunde, arrivederci amici, and namarie mellon! (Is that last one in the same language? Or is that Quenya and Sindarin, or Sindarin and Quenya? *pauses thoughtfully, then dismisses it with a shrug*)
~Crimson Starlight