A Middle Earth Quest
Chapter 6
Disclaimer- Don't own anything Lord of the Rings. Humans are mine. Blah, blah, blah...
Suuki-Aldrea- O, I don't know... Do you think he'll turn good in time? Hmm... he could, or he could not. We'll just have to see how it turns out. Either way, it won't be long now.
A/N- hey, sorry it took so long to get this posted. I was really busy there for a while and had no time to write. It's amazing how much time softball takes up. That and getting myself sucked into the Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban game. It's really addictive. Anyway, time to meet new characters! Yea! No longer just the three of them! Well, here goes.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Standing on the edge of the helo pad with Owen and Freddy, Mel thought over all she had done this past week. It had been a trying week, from start to finish. Owen had delegated to her the tasks of making all the arrangements for their guests stay. She had dealt with the difficult hotel staff, brought in three days before, and made sure they would have all they required. She had also been required to make all the flight arrangements and catering needs. Though what all that had to do with a psychologist's duties, Mel had no idea. But by far the hardest thing she had had to do was explain what was about to happen to her friends. The hobbits had only been confused, but had agreed to let strangers into their home. The dwarves had shrugged it off, saying they didn't care what happened as long as they were left undisturbed to continue mining in their caves. The elves though, the elves had taken the news horribly, which is as Mel expected. She had dreaded telling them. Veromen had told her explicitly that even though they all loved her and were grateful for her help and wisdom, they would, under no circumstances, become the object of someone else's amusement and enjoyment. Of course, she had tried to tell Owen, and of course, he would have none of it. He had dismissed her, saying she would figure something out and smooth it all over with the elves.
Mel was worried. Unlike her two colleagues standing next to her, she knew their creations, intimately. And she knew this visit was not going to go well. She could feel it. She just hoped that somehow, as Owen had said, she would figure it out. She knew she couldn't plead with the elves, they were adamant. But maybe she could talk to Freddy and maybe together, the two of them could convince Owen to leave the elves out of this tour. AT least until Mel could come up with a more permanent fix.
Feeling anxious and antsy, Mel put all thoughts of the elves out of her head. Their guests were due here any minute and it wouldn't do for her to be dwelling on other things when they had people here to entertain. That's all this was really. They were coming here to be entertained, hopefully to the point where they would be so pleased they would agree to endorse the park. Then Owen could begin advertising and finally start the steps to begin opening the park. Opening the park successfully depended on this visit going well. And Mel was the only one nervous about this little tour.
Five minutes later there came the faint sound of a helicopter prop. It was coming from the south, and Mel and Owen and Freddy all turned around. Above Lothlorien was a little dot, the helicopter. Mel looked at her watch, it was 11:30 and they were right on time. They all backed off, giving the helicopter room to land and their guests room to get off. The helicopter landed gently in front of them and the pilot jumped out and hurried around to open the door for his passengers.
Two men, one short one with sandy blonde hair and dark eyes, the other tall and lean, stepped out of the helicopter and looked around. The tall one had nondescript brown hair and steely gray eyes. The taller one stuck Mel as a no-nonsense type of person who knew what he was doing and wouldn't suffer fools. The short one, the one she assumed was the actor, was grinning ear to ear like an idiot as he turned in circles to get a better look around. Finally he laid eyes on Mel, his eyes widened and he tried to covertly check her out. It didn't work so well, and Mel frowned at him, hoping to get him to stop.
Without hesitation, Owen marched up to them and introduced himself. "Hello, sir's, my name is Owen Bridges, and I own the park. Welcome to the Orkney Islands!"
# # # # #
The tall man shook Owens hand while the short one just smiled even wider.
"Hey Owen," the short one said. "I'm Liam Morgan! I just wanted to thank you for having us come out here. It's really pretty out here, man." Owen nodded and smiled back.
"Well, Mr. Morgan, it's our pleasure to have you out here," Owen replied merrily.
Liam Morgan frowned dramatically. "Whoa," he said. "Please, just call me Liam. Mr. Morgan is my father!"
The tall man took a half step forward. "And I am Caleb Major, from Speedfree Enterprises."
"Well, Mr. Major, I hope you enjoy yourself while you're here," Owen said.
Caleb Major shook his head. "Please just call me Cale. I dislike being called Mr."
"Very well then, Liam, Cale, I'd like you to meet a couple of my more valuable employees. This is Freddy, my head geneticist, and Melissa Cowan, my park psychologist." Mel and Freddy exchanged handshakes and "how do you do's" and "nice to meet you's" with their guests, then stepped back to let Owen do all of the talking.
Cale looked confused. "Mr. Bridges, may I inquire as to why you need a psychologist here in your park?"
Owen smile warmly at him. "All will be explained to you shortly. Let me assure you that. But for now, let's get you two settled in your rooms. Mel," he said, turning to her. "If you will be so kind as to assist them, Freddy and I are needed back at headquarters. Liam, Cale, it is very nice to meet you, and I will see you again later this afternoon."
And with that Owen and Freddy turned and left, leaving Mel there floundering for something to say. She turned to their guests.
"Well," she said, sounding falsely bright. "Let's get your luggage and things and get you to your rooms." Together, the three of them loaded their luggage onto the jeep Owen had been kind enough to leave her. Normally she would just have walked to the hotel, the distance wasn't that great. But somehow it seemed rude to make her guests walk there carrying their luggage with them. She started the engine and drove slowly up the north road toward the hotel.
Cale sat next to her in the front seat and Liam sat in the back, twisting and turning this way and that trying to see as much as he could. She and Cale made small talk until they reached the hotel; that was all they had time for. She put the jeep in park and got out to begin unloading luggage. She had no more gotten one bag off the back than Randall showed up, looking worried. Thankfully, two bell hops came out to assist them, which left her free to talk to Randall without seeming rude.
Randall beckoned her out of earshot of their guests. "Mel," he whispered. "I have been looking for you every where. We have a serious problem." Mel's eyes widened.
"Why? What?" she asked, forgetting her dislike of the man.
The weapons master wrung his hands together helplessly. "I went today to Lothlorien for that new kid's lesson and to check up on some of the others just like normal, right? Well, when I got there all of the elves had barred the gate and met me there and ran me off at bow point. I didn't know what to do, so I came and found you."
"You didn't tell anyone else?" she asked quietly. He shook his head no. Mel thought quickly. She needed to see both Owen and the elves right now, to get this thing settled.
"Okay, I need you to go over there and help those two get settled nicely in their rooms. Do whatever they ask of you, within reason. I need to go find Owen. Just stay here with them. Answer all their questions, but don't mention the elves and the others just yet. I don't think they know what exactly is here and I don't think Owen wants them to know just yet," Mel whispered hurriedly. Then she walked back over to Cale and Liam.
"Gentlemen, I am sorry but something has just come up. It's kind of urgent and I have to leave now. But this is Mr. Randall and he'll help you get settled here, if you have any questions just ask him. I'll see you all later, and I hope you find everything to be satisfactory." Mel turned around and hopped back into the jeep and drove off toward the main building. She would find Owen first, and then deal with the elves.
# # # # #
Randall watched her drive away and grimaced. He was not exactly the best person for this, but he was stuck so he had to make do. He turned around to introduce himself.
"Hello, my name is Randall. Shall we get your stuff to your rooms?" He didn't know what to say, so he grabbed the nearest bags and motioned for the bell hops to do the same. The company representative had packed light, but the actor had packed like he was taking a month long excursion in the wilderness.
The tall representative dodged ahead and held open the door for Randall and the others. "My name is Mr. Major, and this is Mr. Morgan," he said. He waited until all of them were in the door before he asked a question.
"So, Mr. Randall, what type of park do you help run here exactly?" he asked, trying to catch Randall off guard. Randall thought for second. Mel had said not to mention what exactly was here, but he didn't know how to answer that question without mentioning the elves and hobbits and dwarves. He decided vague was the best way to go.
"Well, we've pretty much got your standard park here. We offer a full tour of the park right now, but later, about when we open to the public, we'll have rides and other stuff here. They'll come on line one at a time about every six months," he answered truthfully. They would have rides, and they did offer a park tour at the moment.
Mr. Major nodded. "Sounds interesting," he commented as they made their way down the hall to the elevators. "So what exactly do you do here, Mr. Randall?"
Damn it, Randall thought, he's going to ask me all kind of prying questions. He's too smart. Randall set his load down for a second as he reached the elevator doors. Mr. Major pushed the up button and waited for an answer.
"I guess you could say that I'm just a park tech," Randall said, taking the vague way out, again. "I work with the people here and make sure everything stays safe, and nothing breaks." It was a half truth, but not a flat out lie. He did, in a sense, make sure everything was safe. He helped keep the elves busy, which helped keep every one else safe. It was a stretch, but there was some truth in what he had said.
The doors to the elevator opened and the four of them piled on. It was a tight fit, with four people and all that luggage, but they made it. They were only going to the second floor, so the ride up was silent. When the elevator beeped and the doors swung open again, they went three rooms down from the elevator.
Here you are, Mr. Major, room 214," he said cheerfully. The nearest bell hop handed him his card key. "And you, Mr. Morgan, are right across the hall in room 215." The second bell hop gave the actor his card key. Randall helped Mr. Major get his stuff in his room, and then turned to the tall man.
"Well here you are sir. I'm sure you'll want to rest and get cleaned up before lunch and before you meet with Mr. Bridges again this after noon, so I'll leave you now. Before I go, do you wish to have lunch here in your room, or would you like me to arrange for you and Mr. Morgan to eat in the hotel restaurant?" Randall asked, eager to get out of here. Mr. Major made him nervous. It was hard to answer his questions when he wasn't allowed to mention the parks details.
"Oh, we'll just eat in our rooms, thank you. But I have a few more questions for you," he said, tossing his suit coat on the bed. Randall smiled.
"I really must be going now, but I can assure you, all your questions will be answered later when you meet with Mr. Bridges and his staff. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask. Have a nice visit here Mr. Major," Randall smiled again. And with that he left.
Out in the hall the actor caught him. "Hey dude, is there a beach here or something? And where can I get a bite to eat?"
"Sir, we have no swimming beaches here, but we have a nice outdoor pool. I doubt it would be much in the way of entertainment with no one else here to use it, but you are welcome to it if you wish to swim. As for lunch, I am on my way to arrange with the cooks for lunch to be brought to you in your rooms," Randall answered him politely.
The actor looked disappointed. "Oh, thanks anyway," he said, and went back into his room.
Randall breathed a sigh of relief and headed back to the elevator. On his way out he stopped at the front desk and ordered two meals. Then he left. He had no idea where he would go because the elves refused to let him in and he had nothing else to do. He could go home, or he could go find Mel and tell her he had gotten their guests settled in.
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A/N- wow, that was a lot longer than I had intended it to be. I even cut it short. There was supposed to be another section in here, but I thought it would go better in chapter seven. Ha ha ha, I finally got it posted though. It took a while, between playing Prisoner of Azkaban, and softball games (Yeah, being undefeated!) I had little time to sit down and write. Oh, and bonus points will be awarded if you can tell me where there is a reference to Catch-22. It's kind of obscure. Anyway, tell me what you think. Thanks!
Chapter 6
Disclaimer- Don't own anything Lord of the Rings. Humans are mine. Blah, blah, blah...
Suuki-Aldrea- O, I don't know... Do you think he'll turn good in time? Hmm... he could, or he could not. We'll just have to see how it turns out. Either way, it won't be long now.
A/N- hey, sorry it took so long to get this posted. I was really busy there for a while and had no time to write. It's amazing how much time softball takes up. That and getting myself sucked into the Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban game. It's really addictive. Anyway, time to meet new characters! Yea! No longer just the three of them! Well, here goes.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Standing on the edge of the helo pad with Owen and Freddy, Mel thought over all she had done this past week. It had been a trying week, from start to finish. Owen had delegated to her the tasks of making all the arrangements for their guests stay. She had dealt with the difficult hotel staff, brought in three days before, and made sure they would have all they required. She had also been required to make all the flight arrangements and catering needs. Though what all that had to do with a psychologist's duties, Mel had no idea. But by far the hardest thing she had had to do was explain what was about to happen to her friends. The hobbits had only been confused, but had agreed to let strangers into their home. The dwarves had shrugged it off, saying they didn't care what happened as long as they were left undisturbed to continue mining in their caves. The elves though, the elves had taken the news horribly, which is as Mel expected. She had dreaded telling them. Veromen had told her explicitly that even though they all loved her and were grateful for her help and wisdom, they would, under no circumstances, become the object of someone else's amusement and enjoyment. Of course, she had tried to tell Owen, and of course, he would have none of it. He had dismissed her, saying she would figure something out and smooth it all over with the elves.
Mel was worried. Unlike her two colleagues standing next to her, she knew their creations, intimately. And she knew this visit was not going to go well. She could feel it. She just hoped that somehow, as Owen had said, she would figure it out. She knew she couldn't plead with the elves, they were adamant. But maybe she could talk to Freddy and maybe together, the two of them could convince Owen to leave the elves out of this tour. AT least until Mel could come up with a more permanent fix.
Feeling anxious and antsy, Mel put all thoughts of the elves out of her head. Their guests were due here any minute and it wouldn't do for her to be dwelling on other things when they had people here to entertain. That's all this was really. They were coming here to be entertained, hopefully to the point where they would be so pleased they would agree to endorse the park. Then Owen could begin advertising and finally start the steps to begin opening the park. Opening the park successfully depended on this visit going well. And Mel was the only one nervous about this little tour.
Five minutes later there came the faint sound of a helicopter prop. It was coming from the south, and Mel and Owen and Freddy all turned around. Above Lothlorien was a little dot, the helicopter. Mel looked at her watch, it was 11:30 and they were right on time. They all backed off, giving the helicopter room to land and their guests room to get off. The helicopter landed gently in front of them and the pilot jumped out and hurried around to open the door for his passengers.
Two men, one short one with sandy blonde hair and dark eyes, the other tall and lean, stepped out of the helicopter and looked around. The tall one had nondescript brown hair and steely gray eyes. The taller one stuck Mel as a no-nonsense type of person who knew what he was doing and wouldn't suffer fools. The short one, the one she assumed was the actor, was grinning ear to ear like an idiot as he turned in circles to get a better look around. Finally he laid eyes on Mel, his eyes widened and he tried to covertly check her out. It didn't work so well, and Mel frowned at him, hoping to get him to stop.
Without hesitation, Owen marched up to them and introduced himself. "Hello, sir's, my name is Owen Bridges, and I own the park. Welcome to the Orkney Islands!"
# # # # #
The tall man shook Owens hand while the short one just smiled even wider.
"Hey Owen," the short one said. "I'm Liam Morgan! I just wanted to thank you for having us come out here. It's really pretty out here, man." Owen nodded and smiled back.
"Well, Mr. Morgan, it's our pleasure to have you out here," Owen replied merrily.
Liam Morgan frowned dramatically. "Whoa," he said. "Please, just call me Liam. Mr. Morgan is my father!"
The tall man took a half step forward. "And I am Caleb Major, from Speedfree Enterprises."
"Well, Mr. Major, I hope you enjoy yourself while you're here," Owen said.
Caleb Major shook his head. "Please just call me Cale. I dislike being called Mr."
"Very well then, Liam, Cale, I'd like you to meet a couple of my more valuable employees. This is Freddy, my head geneticist, and Melissa Cowan, my park psychologist." Mel and Freddy exchanged handshakes and "how do you do's" and "nice to meet you's" with their guests, then stepped back to let Owen do all of the talking.
Cale looked confused. "Mr. Bridges, may I inquire as to why you need a psychologist here in your park?"
Owen smile warmly at him. "All will be explained to you shortly. Let me assure you that. But for now, let's get you two settled in your rooms. Mel," he said, turning to her. "If you will be so kind as to assist them, Freddy and I are needed back at headquarters. Liam, Cale, it is very nice to meet you, and I will see you again later this afternoon."
And with that Owen and Freddy turned and left, leaving Mel there floundering for something to say. She turned to their guests.
"Well," she said, sounding falsely bright. "Let's get your luggage and things and get you to your rooms." Together, the three of them loaded their luggage onto the jeep Owen had been kind enough to leave her. Normally she would just have walked to the hotel, the distance wasn't that great. But somehow it seemed rude to make her guests walk there carrying their luggage with them. She started the engine and drove slowly up the north road toward the hotel.
Cale sat next to her in the front seat and Liam sat in the back, twisting and turning this way and that trying to see as much as he could. She and Cale made small talk until they reached the hotel; that was all they had time for. She put the jeep in park and got out to begin unloading luggage. She had no more gotten one bag off the back than Randall showed up, looking worried. Thankfully, two bell hops came out to assist them, which left her free to talk to Randall without seeming rude.
Randall beckoned her out of earshot of their guests. "Mel," he whispered. "I have been looking for you every where. We have a serious problem." Mel's eyes widened.
"Why? What?" she asked, forgetting her dislike of the man.
The weapons master wrung his hands together helplessly. "I went today to Lothlorien for that new kid's lesson and to check up on some of the others just like normal, right? Well, when I got there all of the elves had barred the gate and met me there and ran me off at bow point. I didn't know what to do, so I came and found you."
"You didn't tell anyone else?" she asked quietly. He shook his head no. Mel thought quickly. She needed to see both Owen and the elves right now, to get this thing settled.
"Okay, I need you to go over there and help those two get settled nicely in their rooms. Do whatever they ask of you, within reason. I need to go find Owen. Just stay here with them. Answer all their questions, but don't mention the elves and the others just yet. I don't think they know what exactly is here and I don't think Owen wants them to know just yet," Mel whispered hurriedly. Then she walked back over to Cale and Liam.
"Gentlemen, I am sorry but something has just come up. It's kind of urgent and I have to leave now. But this is Mr. Randall and he'll help you get settled here, if you have any questions just ask him. I'll see you all later, and I hope you find everything to be satisfactory." Mel turned around and hopped back into the jeep and drove off toward the main building. She would find Owen first, and then deal with the elves.
# # # # #
Randall watched her drive away and grimaced. He was not exactly the best person for this, but he was stuck so he had to make do. He turned around to introduce himself.
"Hello, my name is Randall. Shall we get your stuff to your rooms?" He didn't know what to say, so he grabbed the nearest bags and motioned for the bell hops to do the same. The company representative had packed light, but the actor had packed like he was taking a month long excursion in the wilderness.
The tall representative dodged ahead and held open the door for Randall and the others. "My name is Mr. Major, and this is Mr. Morgan," he said. He waited until all of them were in the door before he asked a question.
"So, Mr. Randall, what type of park do you help run here exactly?" he asked, trying to catch Randall off guard. Randall thought for second. Mel had said not to mention what exactly was here, but he didn't know how to answer that question without mentioning the elves and hobbits and dwarves. He decided vague was the best way to go.
"Well, we've pretty much got your standard park here. We offer a full tour of the park right now, but later, about when we open to the public, we'll have rides and other stuff here. They'll come on line one at a time about every six months," he answered truthfully. They would have rides, and they did offer a park tour at the moment.
Mr. Major nodded. "Sounds interesting," he commented as they made their way down the hall to the elevators. "So what exactly do you do here, Mr. Randall?"
Damn it, Randall thought, he's going to ask me all kind of prying questions. He's too smart. Randall set his load down for a second as he reached the elevator doors. Mr. Major pushed the up button and waited for an answer.
"I guess you could say that I'm just a park tech," Randall said, taking the vague way out, again. "I work with the people here and make sure everything stays safe, and nothing breaks." It was a half truth, but not a flat out lie. He did, in a sense, make sure everything was safe. He helped keep the elves busy, which helped keep every one else safe. It was a stretch, but there was some truth in what he had said.
The doors to the elevator opened and the four of them piled on. It was a tight fit, with four people and all that luggage, but they made it. They were only going to the second floor, so the ride up was silent. When the elevator beeped and the doors swung open again, they went three rooms down from the elevator.
Here you are, Mr. Major, room 214," he said cheerfully. The nearest bell hop handed him his card key. "And you, Mr. Morgan, are right across the hall in room 215." The second bell hop gave the actor his card key. Randall helped Mr. Major get his stuff in his room, and then turned to the tall man.
"Well here you are sir. I'm sure you'll want to rest and get cleaned up before lunch and before you meet with Mr. Bridges again this after noon, so I'll leave you now. Before I go, do you wish to have lunch here in your room, or would you like me to arrange for you and Mr. Morgan to eat in the hotel restaurant?" Randall asked, eager to get out of here. Mr. Major made him nervous. It was hard to answer his questions when he wasn't allowed to mention the parks details.
"Oh, we'll just eat in our rooms, thank you. But I have a few more questions for you," he said, tossing his suit coat on the bed. Randall smiled.
"I really must be going now, but I can assure you, all your questions will be answered later when you meet with Mr. Bridges and his staff. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask. Have a nice visit here Mr. Major," Randall smiled again. And with that he left.
Out in the hall the actor caught him. "Hey dude, is there a beach here or something? And where can I get a bite to eat?"
"Sir, we have no swimming beaches here, but we have a nice outdoor pool. I doubt it would be much in the way of entertainment with no one else here to use it, but you are welcome to it if you wish to swim. As for lunch, I am on my way to arrange with the cooks for lunch to be brought to you in your rooms," Randall answered him politely.
The actor looked disappointed. "Oh, thanks anyway," he said, and went back into his room.
Randall breathed a sigh of relief and headed back to the elevator. On his way out he stopped at the front desk and ordered two meals. Then he left. He had no idea where he would go because the elves refused to let him in and he had nothing else to do. He could go home, or he could go find Mel and tell her he had gotten their guests settled in.
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
A/N- wow, that was a lot longer than I had intended it to be. I even cut it short. There was supposed to be another section in here, but I thought it would go better in chapter seven. Ha ha ha, I finally got it posted though. It took a while, between playing Prisoner of Azkaban, and softball games (Yeah, being undefeated!) I had little time to sit down and write. Oh, and bonus points will be awarded if you can tell me where there is a reference to Catch-22. It's kind of obscure. Anyway, tell me what you think. Thanks!