17. Choice and Chance
"Celeborn, here?" Galadriel whispered, gasping as her lover's lips descended on her throat, his hands firmly grasping her hips.
"What is wrong with here?" he asked between kisses, his arm snaking possessively around her waist as he backed her against the wall, his other hand inching her gown up over her knees "You are here, I am here."
"How very fortunate." she purred, pulling open his tunic as she gently nibbled his ear, drawing a groan from him. He rubbed against her forcefully as she wrapped one leg around his hips, clinging to his shoulders and tangling her fingers in his silken hair. Their lips met in a soul searing kiss as Celeborn's hands found his wife's breasts and he began to stroke her taught nipples through her gown.
"Faer nin, I think you are getting better at this." she teased with a delighted moan.
"After so many millennia I should have improved a little." he chuckled, tasting her lips hungrily. Galadriel tensed, her eyes growing wide as she looked up in alarm at her husband.
"Did you hear that?" he hissed.
**************************************************
A cloaked and hooded figure entered the gates of Imladris on a dappled gray horse. There was no mistaking the rider for an elf though she was obviously a woman of high breeding. She dismounted swiftly, leading her mount to the stables and pausing only as the stable master met her. With a heavy sigh she drew off her riding gloves and pulled back her hood, her honey curls falling about her shoulders. The sound of footsteps from the river path met her ears and she smiled.
"Mother?" Aragorn asked in surprise as he came to the stable yard. Gilraen turned to meet him with an adoring smile and he hurried to her, wrapping her in his arms.
"I am so surprised to see you." he said with a smile, catching her hand in his. Gilraen's fingers brushed his ring and a sad smile settled on her face. She took his hand in both of hers, looking down at the serpents twined around his finger.
"And I you... Aragorn." she whispered, there were tears in her eyes as she met his gaze and she slipped her arms around his shoulders. hugging him fiercely.
"My son, please forgive me." she said softly.
"There is nothing to forgive." Aragorn shook his head "you did what you had to in order to protect me. I can not fault you for that. I only wish it could have been different."
"I have wanted to call you by your name for so long." she said, caressing his cheek as she gazed up at him with tear stained eyes. "My Estel, how you've grown."
"Much changes in a year." he said gently, giving her hand a squeeze.
"And how is Lord Elrond and your dear brothers?" she asked with a smile.
"They are well." he replied "The twins and I have only just returned from the wilds."
"They took you out into the wilds?" she asked in shock, "Estel! The north lands are overrun with orcs, you might have..." he held his hand up to silence her and she let out a sigh at the meaningful look he gave her.
"Oh, Estel," she said heavily "you can not blame me for my worry."
"I do not." he said softly holding one of her hands in both of his "It could not have been easy to lose your husband and Lord and then be forced to give up your son as well, but I am not a child for you to fret over."
"You have held all my hopes, Aragorn." she whispered, caressing his cheek again. "All the hopes of our people, were I to lose you there would be nothing left."
Aragorn met her gaze, his chest constricting at her words. From the moment Elrond had placed the ring of Barahir on his finger he had know what it all meant, what was expected of him. The future's uncertainty swirled around him and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"I had thought to check on my horse but if you have need of me." he began as Gilraen shook her head.
"I should greet Lord Elrond." she said with a smile, "Would you come to see me once I've settled in?" he nodded and she planted a kiss on his cheek before moving off toward the house.
Aragorn sighed as he watched her go, the peace of the morning suddenly melting in the blinding blaze of the world that was to come.
**************************************************
Meril huffed as she climbed the stairs, muttering angrily to herself. She passed several of the servants who openly stared at her dark glower and disheveled appearance.
She hated Orophin and his incessant advances. He seemed to exist for the soul purpose of distracting her from her goal. Prince Legolas had been quite a desirable catch in Imladris since well before she was born but she was undaunted. She was not some giggly, empty minded elleth easily wooed by a pretty face and she would prove it to him. If only Orophin would get out of the way.
She had dealt with elves like Orophin before. Always ready to lure an elleth who proved bold and adventurous. Truth be told, she had dealt with so many of them over the years it was a wonder she had not built up a reputation, despite the fact that she had never caved to a single admirer. If she was brutally honest with herself she would have to admit that she found the attention rather flattering. But it could be nothing more than flattery. Orophin couldn't possibly see her as anything more than some plaything for his own amusement. His reputation, at least, was well earned and Imladris was brimming over with less cautious elleths who had believed his words of devotion only to find themselves cast off later.
She had high aspirations, and she was not about to let them fade for a fool who could not control himself. But deep inside she dearly wished someone would look at her, speak to her as Orophin did and really, truly mean it. She came to her chamber and stopped dead. A single rose lay before the door, it's blood red petals resting on a slip of parchment. Meril knelt, clutching the bud as she slowly unfolded the note.
Meril Meleth nin,
A rose for the fairest Rose in all Arda. All my heart belongs to you, greatest of the daughters of the Eldar.
Forever Yours, Orophin
Meril crushed the note in an angry fist as she stared at the rose in her other hand. Clearly he would not give up easily.
*******************************************
Elladan was getting a bit impatient. He had been searching the woods for hours now and still there was no sign of Arwen or Estel. He had nearly resigned himself to the fact that their devious little sister had once again slipped through their grasp.
Where, by the Valar, was Elrohir?
He circled back toward the stone bench again, a scowl creasing his face. The sun would set soon and he had no intention of missing dinner. He would make one more pass by the river and then surrender to the inevitable. One thing was certain, breaking the two up would be a far more difficult prospect than they had imagined. Estel was resourceful and Arwen was cunning, a dangerous combination he decided. Clearly they would need to be far more aggressive in their approach. He sighed, at least things could not get much worse.
"Elladan, is that you?"
"Elrohir?" he looked around crossly, trying to determine the direction of his brothers voice. There was no one on the path and no hint of movement in the surrounding undergrowth. "Where have you been? I have been searching the woods all afternoon!"
"Well," Elrohir sighed "That is complicated."
"How complicated?" Elladan demanded in annoyance.
"Look up."
The older twin tilted his head back and felt his jaw go slack. Elrohir was dangling some fifteen feet above him, tied by his ankles.
"What are you doing up there!" Elladan's expression was somewhere between shock and confusion.
"I am watching all the blood run to my head!" Elrohir replied angrily "Cut me down!" Elladan drew his knife and searched the base of the tree, finally finding the place where the rope was tied off.
"What happened?" he asked, carefully cutting the rope as he watched his twin, spinning lazily over the ground.
"I was searching for Arwen when I was caught in a snare." he replied testily, "I think I hit my head on the trunk of the tree."
"Did you see who did this?" Elladan asked, looping the rope around a branch and slowly lowering Elrohir to the ground
"Of course not, but I will give you two guesses." he snarled, the rope twisted from Elladan's grasp and his twin landed on the ground with a thud.
"Oh, that hurts." Elrohir groaned, rubbing his back.
"You did not fall as far as I," Elladan replied, helping him to his feet and brushing the leaves off of him "do not complain to me."
"This has been the most wretched day." Elrohir grumbled, rubbing his head as he swayed, falling against his twin. Elladan steadied him with a shake of his head.
"That, brother, is an understatement."
**************************************************
Aragorn slipped inside the stables to check on his horse. It had been a habit of his since childhood and he seldom let a day go by without stopping in to see to his mount, despite the excellent care provided by the stable master. He expected to find only the horses but as he slipped inside he saw Glorfindel, carefully removing the saddle from a pure white stallion.
"Young one!" the elf greeted cheerfully, "come to check on your friend?" Aragorn nodded in reply, crossing to gently pat his horse's nose.
"I see you have a new friend." Aragorn said with a smile. Glorfindel nodded, brushing down the animals mane. "What do you call him?"
"Asfaloth." Glorfindel smirked. Aragorn frowned.
"Wasn't your last horse named Asfaloth?" he asked.
"Young one, my last one hundred horses were all named Asfaloth." the elf replied with a mad grin that left Aragorn speechless "You've no idea how irritating it is trying to come up with new names for horses."
Aragorn shook his head, he had nothing but the deepest respect for Glorfindel. The elf had trained him in hand to hand combat, as well as sword and knife fighting. The skills of the Balrog Slayer were legend but that did nothing to assuage the human's suspicion that Glorfindel was a bit insane.
He began to chuckle in spite of himself, mad or not he found the old elf entertaining.
"Glorfindel, what do you know about women?" he asked trying to force a serious look.
"They are soft, pleasing to look at and most of them smell quite lovely." Glorfindel replied.
"That wasn't what I meant." Aragorn smiled, trying to hold in a laugh.
"Beyond that I am afraid I know very little." he said with a grin. "In two lifetimes I have learned only one useful thing about women."
"What is that?" Aragorn asked curiously.
"They are very particular about all things pertaining to kissing." he frowned. Aragorn could not keep from laughing as the elf continued "How you kiss them and where and the time of day, the number of others who happen to be watching... the potential that others might be watching, how long the kiss is. They seem to have a complex list of expectations involving kissing."
"What sort of expectations?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
"I haven't the faintest notion." Glorfindel shook his head "For all the kissing I have done I have yet to do it to a lady's satisfaction."
"How do you know when a lady wants to be kissed?" Aragorn asked, the elf gave him a cocky smile.
"Ah, now there is a good question." He leaned against the rail, letting his arms dangle casually "Are we discussing a particular lady or simply the fairer sex in general?"
"Females in general," Aragorn replied quickly, Glorfindel glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.
"Well, I would probably be happier not knowing who she is." he sighed, Aragorn began to sputter in protest but the elf continued as if he could not hear him "Most ladies will make excuses to touch you, your chest, your face, they lean close when you dance. And then when you do kiss them they generally slap you."
Aragorn burst into laughter, holding onto the rail for support as Glorfindel gave him a placid smile.
"That certainly explains your record on marriage." Aragorn said, trying desperately to reign in his laughter.
"If you are so easily discouraged you will not wed either, young one." He said, arching his eyebrows "My Lady Love could not let a day go by without smacking me for something and we were together for nearly thirty years." Aragorn paused, staring at the elf as if he had never seen him before.
"Glorfindel, I did not know you had a mate." He said with a low voice.
"I do not." the elf sighed heavily, shaking his head. "We were never bound. She was much younger than I and she wished for time. I loved her too much to deny her. When Gondolin fell I stood against the balrog, covering the retreat so that she and the others could flee to safety. Hers was the last face I saw. When I returned from the Halls of Waiting I sought her but I could not find a single soul who could tell me of her fate. I chose to return to Middle-Earth for her alone but in all these long years she is still lost. I fear now I shall never see her again."
Aragorn stared at the elf dumbstruck. The mad glint in his eye was gone, replaced by a wistful, far off look. Glorfindel shook his head sadly and when he turned back to the human his usual aberrant expression had returned.
"Women." he shrugged with a grin.
"Glorfindel, I know nothing of my own people." Aragorn said, leaning against the rail and folding his arms over his chest with a frown "Ada says that as the heir of Isildur it is my fate to lead them. No matter how hard I try I cannot see myself as a king in a great hall with a queen by my side and the armies of middle-earth under my command. I cannot see myself anywhere but here. This is my home, in my heart it is the elves who are my kin." The old elf shook his head, taking a few steps closer to the human and slipping an arm around his shoulders.
"Estel, you stand at a crossroad in your life." he said, serious for the moment "To choose safety, or to choose greatness. There is none who can choose for you but I will tell you this, I have known elves and men, dwarves, hobbits, races whose names are all but forgotten. And with the exception of the servants of the enemy I have found that the differences between the races lie not within but without. Believe me when I tell you that Elrond is as much the very finest of men as he is the finest of elves. You know all of the hearts of men that you need to know, so long as you know yourself."
Aragorn considered his words a moment before nodding. He gave the elf a half smile and Glorfindel pushed him toward the door with a grin before returning to see after his horse.
"Glorfindel," he said, pausing at the threshold. The elf looked back to him with a smile. "thank you." He only nodded as the young human disappeared leaving him alone again.
"Well Asfaloth," Glorfindel said, his eyes dancing with mischief "It looks as if you need some hay. He reached for the pitch fork, haphazardly tossing hay in the air so that it fluttered down over several nearby stalls.
"Oh, clumsy me." he said, with a mocking grin. He was humming happily to himself as he slipped out the door.
Celeborn brushed hay from his face with a menacing frown and looked down at his wife, pinned in the straw on the stable floor beneath him. She was tediously picking hay from her hair, her eyes angry slits.
"I hate that bloody elf." he said angrily.
**************************
Faer nin - my soul
Meleth nin - my love
*************************
Converted - I'm afraid you don't get to quit school, I have to go to work so you have to put in at least 40 non productive hours a week. I think this chapter might have answered the rest of your questions.
TSS - Gotcha!
rainbow butterfly- thank you
grumpy - I think he's already lost but wait until ch 19
"Celeborn, here?" Galadriel whispered, gasping as her lover's lips descended on her throat, his hands firmly grasping her hips.
"What is wrong with here?" he asked between kisses, his arm snaking possessively around her waist as he backed her against the wall, his other hand inching her gown up over her knees "You are here, I am here."
"How very fortunate." she purred, pulling open his tunic as she gently nibbled his ear, drawing a groan from him. He rubbed against her forcefully as she wrapped one leg around his hips, clinging to his shoulders and tangling her fingers in his silken hair. Their lips met in a soul searing kiss as Celeborn's hands found his wife's breasts and he began to stroke her taught nipples through her gown.
"Faer nin, I think you are getting better at this." she teased with a delighted moan.
"After so many millennia I should have improved a little." he chuckled, tasting her lips hungrily. Galadriel tensed, her eyes growing wide as she looked up in alarm at her husband.
"Did you hear that?" he hissed.
**************************************************
A cloaked and hooded figure entered the gates of Imladris on a dappled gray horse. There was no mistaking the rider for an elf though she was obviously a woman of high breeding. She dismounted swiftly, leading her mount to the stables and pausing only as the stable master met her. With a heavy sigh she drew off her riding gloves and pulled back her hood, her honey curls falling about her shoulders. The sound of footsteps from the river path met her ears and she smiled.
"Mother?" Aragorn asked in surprise as he came to the stable yard. Gilraen turned to meet him with an adoring smile and he hurried to her, wrapping her in his arms.
"I am so surprised to see you." he said with a smile, catching her hand in his. Gilraen's fingers brushed his ring and a sad smile settled on her face. She took his hand in both of hers, looking down at the serpents twined around his finger.
"And I you... Aragorn." she whispered, there were tears in her eyes as she met his gaze and she slipped her arms around his shoulders. hugging him fiercely.
"My son, please forgive me." she said softly.
"There is nothing to forgive." Aragorn shook his head "you did what you had to in order to protect me. I can not fault you for that. I only wish it could have been different."
"I have wanted to call you by your name for so long." she said, caressing his cheek as she gazed up at him with tear stained eyes. "My Estel, how you've grown."
"Much changes in a year." he said gently, giving her hand a squeeze.
"And how is Lord Elrond and your dear brothers?" she asked with a smile.
"They are well." he replied "The twins and I have only just returned from the wilds."
"They took you out into the wilds?" she asked in shock, "Estel! The north lands are overrun with orcs, you might have..." he held his hand up to silence her and she let out a sigh at the meaningful look he gave her.
"Oh, Estel," she said heavily "you can not blame me for my worry."
"I do not." he said softly holding one of her hands in both of his "It could not have been easy to lose your husband and Lord and then be forced to give up your son as well, but I am not a child for you to fret over."
"You have held all my hopes, Aragorn." she whispered, caressing his cheek again. "All the hopes of our people, were I to lose you there would be nothing left."
Aragorn met her gaze, his chest constricting at her words. From the moment Elrond had placed the ring of Barahir on his finger he had know what it all meant, what was expected of him. The future's uncertainty swirled around him and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"I had thought to check on my horse but if you have need of me." he began as Gilraen shook her head.
"I should greet Lord Elrond." she said with a smile, "Would you come to see me once I've settled in?" he nodded and she planted a kiss on his cheek before moving off toward the house.
Aragorn sighed as he watched her go, the peace of the morning suddenly melting in the blinding blaze of the world that was to come.
**************************************************
Meril huffed as she climbed the stairs, muttering angrily to herself. She passed several of the servants who openly stared at her dark glower and disheveled appearance.
She hated Orophin and his incessant advances. He seemed to exist for the soul purpose of distracting her from her goal. Prince Legolas had been quite a desirable catch in Imladris since well before she was born but she was undaunted. She was not some giggly, empty minded elleth easily wooed by a pretty face and she would prove it to him. If only Orophin would get out of the way.
She had dealt with elves like Orophin before. Always ready to lure an elleth who proved bold and adventurous. Truth be told, she had dealt with so many of them over the years it was a wonder she had not built up a reputation, despite the fact that she had never caved to a single admirer. If she was brutally honest with herself she would have to admit that she found the attention rather flattering. But it could be nothing more than flattery. Orophin couldn't possibly see her as anything more than some plaything for his own amusement. His reputation, at least, was well earned and Imladris was brimming over with less cautious elleths who had believed his words of devotion only to find themselves cast off later.
She had high aspirations, and she was not about to let them fade for a fool who could not control himself. But deep inside she dearly wished someone would look at her, speak to her as Orophin did and really, truly mean it. She came to her chamber and stopped dead. A single rose lay before the door, it's blood red petals resting on a slip of parchment. Meril knelt, clutching the bud as she slowly unfolded the note.
Meril Meleth nin,
A rose for the fairest Rose in all Arda. All my heart belongs to you, greatest of the daughters of the Eldar.
Forever Yours, Orophin
Meril crushed the note in an angry fist as she stared at the rose in her other hand. Clearly he would not give up easily.
*******************************************
Elladan was getting a bit impatient. He had been searching the woods for hours now and still there was no sign of Arwen or Estel. He had nearly resigned himself to the fact that their devious little sister had once again slipped through their grasp.
Where, by the Valar, was Elrohir?
He circled back toward the stone bench again, a scowl creasing his face. The sun would set soon and he had no intention of missing dinner. He would make one more pass by the river and then surrender to the inevitable. One thing was certain, breaking the two up would be a far more difficult prospect than they had imagined. Estel was resourceful and Arwen was cunning, a dangerous combination he decided. Clearly they would need to be far more aggressive in their approach. He sighed, at least things could not get much worse.
"Elladan, is that you?"
"Elrohir?" he looked around crossly, trying to determine the direction of his brothers voice. There was no one on the path and no hint of movement in the surrounding undergrowth. "Where have you been? I have been searching the woods all afternoon!"
"Well," Elrohir sighed "That is complicated."
"How complicated?" Elladan demanded in annoyance.
"Look up."
The older twin tilted his head back and felt his jaw go slack. Elrohir was dangling some fifteen feet above him, tied by his ankles.
"What are you doing up there!" Elladan's expression was somewhere between shock and confusion.
"I am watching all the blood run to my head!" Elrohir replied angrily "Cut me down!" Elladan drew his knife and searched the base of the tree, finally finding the place where the rope was tied off.
"What happened?" he asked, carefully cutting the rope as he watched his twin, spinning lazily over the ground.
"I was searching for Arwen when I was caught in a snare." he replied testily, "I think I hit my head on the trunk of the tree."
"Did you see who did this?" Elladan asked, looping the rope around a branch and slowly lowering Elrohir to the ground
"Of course not, but I will give you two guesses." he snarled, the rope twisted from Elladan's grasp and his twin landed on the ground with a thud.
"Oh, that hurts." Elrohir groaned, rubbing his back.
"You did not fall as far as I," Elladan replied, helping him to his feet and brushing the leaves off of him "do not complain to me."
"This has been the most wretched day." Elrohir grumbled, rubbing his head as he swayed, falling against his twin. Elladan steadied him with a shake of his head.
"That, brother, is an understatement."
**************************************************
Aragorn slipped inside the stables to check on his horse. It had been a habit of his since childhood and he seldom let a day go by without stopping in to see to his mount, despite the excellent care provided by the stable master. He expected to find only the horses but as he slipped inside he saw Glorfindel, carefully removing the saddle from a pure white stallion.
"Young one!" the elf greeted cheerfully, "come to check on your friend?" Aragorn nodded in reply, crossing to gently pat his horse's nose.
"I see you have a new friend." Aragorn said with a smile. Glorfindel nodded, brushing down the animals mane. "What do you call him?"
"Asfaloth." Glorfindel smirked. Aragorn frowned.
"Wasn't your last horse named Asfaloth?" he asked.
"Young one, my last one hundred horses were all named Asfaloth." the elf replied with a mad grin that left Aragorn speechless "You've no idea how irritating it is trying to come up with new names for horses."
Aragorn shook his head, he had nothing but the deepest respect for Glorfindel. The elf had trained him in hand to hand combat, as well as sword and knife fighting. The skills of the Balrog Slayer were legend but that did nothing to assuage the human's suspicion that Glorfindel was a bit insane.
He began to chuckle in spite of himself, mad or not he found the old elf entertaining.
"Glorfindel, what do you know about women?" he asked trying to force a serious look.
"They are soft, pleasing to look at and most of them smell quite lovely." Glorfindel replied.
"That wasn't what I meant." Aragorn smiled, trying to hold in a laugh.
"Beyond that I am afraid I know very little." he said with a grin. "In two lifetimes I have learned only one useful thing about women."
"What is that?" Aragorn asked curiously.
"They are very particular about all things pertaining to kissing." he frowned. Aragorn could not keep from laughing as the elf continued "How you kiss them and where and the time of day, the number of others who happen to be watching... the potential that others might be watching, how long the kiss is. They seem to have a complex list of expectations involving kissing."
"What sort of expectations?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
"I haven't the faintest notion." Glorfindel shook his head "For all the kissing I have done I have yet to do it to a lady's satisfaction."
"How do you know when a lady wants to be kissed?" Aragorn asked, the elf gave him a cocky smile.
"Ah, now there is a good question." He leaned against the rail, letting his arms dangle casually "Are we discussing a particular lady or simply the fairer sex in general?"
"Females in general," Aragorn replied quickly, Glorfindel glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.
"Well, I would probably be happier not knowing who she is." he sighed, Aragorn began to sputter in protest but the elf continued as if he could not hear him "Most ladies will make excuses to touch you, your chest, your face, they lean close when you dance. And then when you do kiss them they generally slap you."
Aragorn burst into laughter, holding onto the rail for support as Glorfindel gave him a placid smile.
"That certainly explains your record on marriage." Aragorn said, trying desperately to reign in his laughter.
"If you are so easily discouraged you will not wed either, young one." He said, arching his eyebrows "My Lady Love could not let a day go by without smacking me for something and we were together for nearly thirty years." Aragorn paused, staring at the elf as if he had never seen him before.
"Glorfindel, I did not know you had a mate." He said with a low voice.
"I do not." the elf sighed heavily, shaking his head. "We were never bound. She was much younger than I and she wished for time. I loved her too much to deny her. When Gondolin fell I stood against the balrog, covering the retreat so that she and the others could flee to safety. Hers was the last face I saw. When I returned from the Halls of Waiting I sought her but I could not find a single soul who could tell me of her fate. I chose to return to Middle-Earth for her alone but in all these long years she is still lost. I fear now I shall never see her again."
Aragorn stared at the elf dumbstruck. The mad glint in his eye was gone, replaced by a wistful, far off look. Glorfindel shook his head sadly and when he turned back to the human his usual aberrant expression had returned.
"Women." he shrugged with a grin.
"Glorfindel, I know nothing of my own people." Aragorn said, leaning against the rail and folding his arms over his chest with a frown "Ada says that as the heir of Isildur it is my fate to lead them. No matter how hard I try I cannot see myself as a king in a great hall with a queen by my side and the armies of middle-earth under my command. I cannot see myself anywhere but here. This is my home, in my heart it is the elves who are my kin." The old elf shook his head, taking a few steps closer to the human and slipping an arm around his shoulders.
"Estel, you stand at a crossroad in your life." he said, serious for the moment "To choose safety, or to choose greatness. There is none who can choose for you but I will tell you this, I have known elves and men, dwarves, hobbits, races whose names are all but forgotten. And with the exception of the servants of the enemy I have found that the differences between the races lie not within but without. Believe me when I tell you that Elrond is as much the very finest of men as he is the finest of elves. You know all of the hearts of men that you need to know, so long as you know yourself."
Aragorn considered his words a moment before nodding. He gave the elf a half smile and Glorfindel pushed him toward the door with a grin before returning to see after his horse.
"Glorfindel," he said, pausing at the threshold. The elf looked back to him with a smile. "thank you." He only nodded as the young human disappeared leaving him alone again.
"Well Asfaloth," Glorfindel said, his eyes dancing with mischief "It looks as if you need some hay. He reached for the pitch fork, haphazardly tossing hay in the air so that it fluttered down over several nearby stalls.
"Oh, clumsy me." he said, with a mocking grin. He was humming happily to himself as he slipped out the door.
Celeborn brushed hay from his face with a menacing frown and looked down at his wife, pinned in the straw on the stable floor beneath him. She was tediously picking hay from her hair, her eyes angry slits.
"I hate that bloody elf." he said angrily.
**************************
Faer nin - my soul
Meleth nin - my love
*************************
Converted - I'm afraid you don't get to quit school, I have to go to work so you have to put in at least 40 non productive hours a week. I think this chapter might have answered the rest of your questions.
TSS - Gotcha!
rainbow butterfly- thank you
grumpy - I think he's already lost but wait until ch 19
