A/N: I apologize for any misspellings due to my lack of reference here. And I will translate the English to Elvish later. This chapter will have to be short due to the fact that I have a major exam tomorrow.
*
Ren sat on the floor. It was unnervingly cold. Her head was swimming, trying to remember and utilize every legible piece of Quenya and every detail she could remember of Gondolin. She was well aware of the soft conversation of the Elves to her teachers and friends behind her, whom were all sounding more and more outraged as the moments went by, whilst Glorfindel sat below Turgon's high seat, fixing Ren with a stare that would have caused the Helcaraxe to melt. Turgon wore a mask of neutral aloofness, whereas Idril sat with Tuor by her side, both looking highly amused. Ren felt nauseous in return. After Glorfindel had filled Turgon in on what little he knew of Ren's strange company, Turgon cleared his throat, and the chatter soon ceased. His powerful voice boomed through the hall.
'Hail, strangers from afar, to Gondolin.'
The silence that followed rang loudly in Ren's ears, although that did not make any sense at all. She gulped. Turgon continued.
'Long has my city been hidden from the eyes of evil and of Melkor, and few mortals have passed our gates and glimpsed our houses. Speak, now, and say what you will.'
A eyebrow was raised in Ren's direction.
This is not good.
Nervously, Ren began.
'Turgon King, I fear that the presence of my friends and myself is unexplainable, by both me or by them. Our appearance here is as much a mystery to us as it is to you.'
Turgon's voice held doubt.
'So you, and your friends, come, uninvited, to my city, which is known to none and uncharted in all maps save for those of imagination?'
Ren nodded.
'And what knowledge have you of my city?'
Why do they always ask all the hard questions?
Softly, Ren answered, giving Diana behind her a fleeting glance. The two of them were the only ones in company who had read the Silmarillion and knew the outcome of the city.
'Much I know, lord, but nothing I can say.'
This seemed anger Turgon and confuse nearly everyone else and scare Ren half to Mandos.
'What mean you?'
'I cannot say, lord. Whatever I know of your city is nothing that you would wish to know. Beyond that, I will only say that I have basic knowledge of your city and your houses, and that it would be wise for you to heed Tuor's words when he gave you counsel.'
Turgon sighed, remembering Tuor's words of warning of long ago.
'These days are hard and dangerous times. Melkor growled bold, and the nights are darker than they have ever been before. But for the foresight that I have, I see no evil you bring.'
Relief was practically seething off Ren at that point in time. Turgon called Glorfindel to him. The golden haired elf moved up to his King, awaiting orders. Turgon spoke.
'Glorfindel, since it was you that found Sirithbrethil and her... company, I entrust it to your house of the Golden Flower and your duty as its chief to find boarding for them and to aquatint them with the city until further idea to deal with their... appearance surfaces.'
Ren grinned in glee. It was almost worth going through the trail with Turgon to see the barely masked look of fury and tormented agony on Glorfindel's face at the news that he had to deal with Ren for as long as their stay would last... which may be a long, long time. Voicing her thanks to Turgon, Ren happy grinned evilly to Glorfindel, who rubbed his temples as if having a headache of massive proportions. Retaining what dignity he had, he inclined his head in respect to Turgon and went down to Ren, while Turgon dismissed the court, leaving with his guard. Idril and Tuor came down with Glorfindel, interested in the new additions to their city. Glorfindel was seen to have a quiet whispered conversation with Tuor as goes:
'Tuor, are all the females of your race as insolent as her?'
Glorfindel's eyes darted obviously to Ren. Tuor grinned. He liked the young human, from what he had heard of Glorfindel's grumbling.
'No. 'Tis rare to see such rebellious courage, but I find it admirable on my part.'
Glorfindel let out a soft groan.
'I should send her to the House of the Hammer of Wrath, and see if they can do anything to help me by placing her head upon their anvils and striking hard.'
'I look forward to watching the Golden Flower wilt, if all of the going ons are as of such humour as this one.'
'Who's side are you on, Tuor?'
Ecthelion of the Fountain walked up to his friend, grinning almost as widely as Ren had. Holding up a hand in greeting, he laid a comforting hand upon Glorfindel's shoulder.
'Mae govannen, friend, why the glum look?'
A long finger pointed obviously to Ren, who was conversing with her teachers. Ecthelion grinned.
'Come now, meldir, it cannot be that bad.'
Glorfindel shot him a cold grey glare that clearly stated that it could be that bad, and probably much worse. Ecthelion grinned only wider to see his usually so composed and light-hearted friend so aggravated, watching as Earendil, son of Tuor and Idril, walked up to him. The young boy was hoisted up by Ecthelion, grinning in happiness at the thought that Ren could serve as a playmate to him.
'Uc'le 'Thelion, who's that?'
Idril rescued Ecthelion from her son, and spoke to him in her quiet melodious voice.
'That, my child, is a new comer to Gondolin.'
'Can I play with her?'
Glorfindel sent the human in question a dark look while he stroked Earendil's hair absently.
'Not if you treasure your sanity, youngling.'
*
Grudgingly, Glorfindel led the company out of Turgon's halls and towards his own house. Ren struggled to keep up with the long-legged Eldar, with her friends also in tow trailing further behind. He was muttering various forms of Elvish curses under his breath, but kept relatively silent. Ren absently recited the beginnings of the tale of Beren and Luthien, unfortunately forgetting that it was the time of the two in question. Glorfindel turned and looked at her.
'What is that you speak, of Beren and Luthien the fair?'
Ren cursed herself. How could she have forgotten to keep her mouth shut? Mumbling absently and avoiding the elf's eyes, she responded.
'Nothing, nothing.'
Glorfindel looked at her with new apprehension. He felt something was wrong. He mortal knew more than she should know. Shrugging, he dismissed it as nothing for the time being, keeping his mind on how he was to save his house from ending up as a smoking wreck of destroyed debris before the end of the day. He was going to lock up his sword too, for he did not trust himself with it, as its uses were more than a few... These were strange days indeed. However, Glorfindel made a mental note to wrangle this mystery out of the human. Her words were unclear to him, yet they spoke not well to his ears.
'Much I know, lord, but nothing I can say.'
How much did she really know?