By Khylaren
Chapter 4Eros was frustrated by Laurel's lack of progress. He ground his teeth in impotent fury, damning the Valar for not letting him interfere as he so desperately wished to. If he'd been allowed to meddle, Laurel would have had at least one lover by now, if not two. The dark-haired twin sons of the elf lord were prime candidates for such activities. It would take but a simple nudge to divert them from their orc-slaying pastimes towards much more congenial and pleasurable ones.
Of course, neither was the one that Laurel was meant for; he was inconveniently located at the moment, or rather, Laurel was. Still, Eros thought the elleth could benefit from a lusty tumble. Despite the fact that she had everything she could need, a stable environment, caring companions, she was still hopelessly locked within herself.
He scowled, wondering how he was to succeed in his plan if he wasn't allowed to directly interfere.
Eros' scowl faded slowly as he recalled Varda's words. He wasn't allowed to directly interfere with Laurel's life. However, there was nothing said about indirectly interfering to make events occur the way he wished.
It was a simple thing to ensure that the golden haired elf, Glorfindel, returned to the stables just in time to hear Laurel's confession to his horse. That wasn't directly interfering with Laurel. Nor was it difficult for him to place reminders of Galadriel and Celeborn in front of Arwen, thus making her long to see her grandparents, and thus plant the idea to visit them in her lovely head. She in turn, played her part by relaying her wish to her father. Then, Glorfindel, troubled by Laurel's words, fulfilled Eros' plan by relaying them to Elrond. Thus, the pieces fell in place.
Laurel would go to Lothlórien.
He was in Lothlórien.
It was almost too easy, Eros thought with a smug smile.
Laurel twisted her hands together, studying the arrangement of flowers on Lord Elrond's desk. "You're not sending me away because I did something wrong, are you?" she asked, lifting her eyes to meet the kindly elf Lord's gaze. "Not that I don't want to see Lothlórien," she added hastily.
Elrond shook his head. "You have done nothing wrong, Laurel, we are not 'sending you away'. Imladris is your home now, and you will always be welcome here." He rose to his feet and crossed around his desk to stand beside her, looking as if her reaction amused him. "You expressed an interest in seeing other elven realms, and Arwen is missing her grandparents. It seemed to be the perfect solution to have you accompany her on her visit."
"Oh." Laurel relaxed visibly, and offered him a shy smile. "Well, then I suppose I should go and pack."
"Indeed," he agreed, his lips curving slightly.
"Who else is going?" she asked him curiously.
"Lord Glorfindel has offered to escort Arwen, yourself, and several of her ladies. I do believe Elladan and Elrohir are planning on going as well," he answered.
Her smile brightened. "Oh, good."
Elrond could not resist. "Yes, well, Asfaloth would have missed you terribly while you were away." His voice lowered as he shook his head. "I am afraid Lord Glorfindel does not bring him pears stolen from my gardens the moment they are ripe."
Laurel flushed, knowing she was caught. "Well," she said, lifting her chin. "He likes them."
"So he does," Elrond replied with a sage nod. "And I do not begrudge such a valiant steed fruit from my gardens, so long as he remembers to leave me at least one or two, that I might enjoy them as well."
She surprised him then by turning and hugging him swiftly. "Thank you," she murmured, and was gone in a flurry of skirts. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"You are welcome," he murmured, before returning to his work.
Erestor looked up from his work as Laurel entered the library, her eyes bright and her cheeks flushed with color. He sat back in his chair, dropping his quill on the parchment and regarded her with raised eyebrows.
"What have you been doing, pen-rein?"
Laurel smiled, reaching for a stack of books and hugging them tight to her chest. "Funny you should call me that," she said, moving with barely contained energy to the bookshelves. "Lord Elrond has said I'm going to Lothlórien!"
Erestor nodded, smiling faintly. "Yes. I knew that already."
"I'm going to see the Mellyrn, Erestor!" she said excitedly. "And Caras Galadhon. I'm going to sleep in a talan and meet Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn."
"Yes," he replied dryly. "And I have resigned myself to working in peace and quiet for a change." He affected an air of martyrdom. "Alas, how shall I manage?"
"I'm sorry, Erestor," she said, sobering quickly. "I didn't mean to interrupt you."
He surprised her by chuckling softly. "I am not bothered," he replied. "To be honest, I have enjoyed teaching you. It is rare that my students have such a thirst for knowledge as you have often demonstrated."
Laurel nodded, smiling briefly. "Well, it was either learn as much as I could, or remain hopelessly lost and ignorant. I'm just glad you had the patience to put up with it all." She finished shelving the books and turned, wiping her dusty hands on the skirt of her dress. "Anyway, I just came to say goodbye."
Erestor nodded. "A suggestion, Laurel, while you are a guest in the Golden Wood. Lord Celeborn is a knowledgeable elf, and has a rather extensive library. It would behoove you to seek him out and ask for his assistance in continuing your education, if you are so inclined." His smile grew at her hopeful expression. "Like myself, he enjoys sharing the gift of knowledge with those who truly appreciate it."
"Thank you. I'll do that," Laurel said, her eyes brightening once more. "I have to pack, now." She turned and left, closing the door the library quietly behind her.
Peace descended, blessed silence filling the library once more, and Erestor sighed before returning to his work.
pen-rein = wandering one
The Hall of Fire was warm and lit with the bright glow of so many fires that lamps were not needed. Laurel found herself seated on a cushion near Arwen, her chin resting on her hand, as she listened to Lindir sing.
She wasn't paying much attention to the words. Quite frankly, she was half-drowsy from the wine she'd had at dinner and from the warmth of the fires. But it was pleasant, sitting here among the elves, listening to Lindir's sweet voice.
It almost felt right.
Laurel sighed, shifting slightly on the floor, wishing she could simply sprawl out like Elrohir was currently doing. Of course, that wouldn't be very ladylike, but she wasn't feeling very ladylike at the moment.
What she was feeling was rather…well, horny, not to put too fine a point on it. The sultry looks Elladan kept giving her weren't helping, and she idly wondered how many cups of wine he'd had at this point.
It was out of the question, of course. She liked Elladan and his twin very much, but she felt more like a beleaguered friend of their sister than any sort of romantic interest in them. The way Arwen spoke of them, they had quite the reputation for being utter scamps, rascals, and flirts, and while they'd both had lovers aplenty between them, neither seemed willing to settle on any single elleth. They were both sexy beyond anything that Laurel had ever seen, but she had no interest in becoming yet another elleth to succumb to their wit and charm, only to be left with a broken heart and an empty bed as they went off on other pursuits. She wondered what their father thought of their behavior, and whether he approved of it or not.
Thinking of Lord Elrond made her search for him in the crowd, and she found him quickly, seated beside Lord Erestor, a cup of wine held in his elegant hand.
Now there was an elf who made her feel weak in the knees without even trying. It figured, Laurel silently grumbled, all the while admiring his handsome form, the way his robes fell open to reveal the broadness of his chest. He was kind, intelligent, handsome, and gentle; the one elf she could see herself totally falling for, and he was already taken. It just wasn't fair.
Or perhaps, the not-so-nice-had-a-bit-too-much-wine-at-supper part of her mind thought, the reason she was attracted to him was because he was unattainable, and therefore safe. He could never break her heart.
It didn't matter, she decided, accepting another cup of mulled wine from a passing servant with gracious thanks. She had enough on her plate as it was, and she had all the time in Arda to find the right someone she could trust not to rip out her heart and stomp on it. Repeatedly. With cleats.
She finished her wine, and found herself morosely wishing that the powers that had stuck her in this world would have at least had the consideration to send her vibrator along.
Elladan was looking better by the minute, so she decided it was a good time to excuse herself and go to bed before she made a regrettable mistake.
Anteros sat back with a heavy scowl, cracking his knuckles irritably. His nudge hadn't worked, for he hadn't counted on Laurel's strength of will.
Well, it didn't matter. There were other ways to best his brother. Perhaps he should try his hand at Eros' own game. After all, if it worked for his brother, it would work even better for him.
With that thought, he set his sights on Earth, and began to plan.
To be continued…