Chapter 19 - Diplomatic Business
"The Imperative Picnic"
Amarthel figured he could reach the palace by sunset. But he had been planning this for so long, he wanted to make sure everything turned out perfectly. And Lord Elrond had decided to visit the city. Which unnerved him a bit. The Lord of Rivendell was very powerful, even if he had only brought a few soldiers from Rivendell in his traveling party.
But, he put it in the back of his mind. Because he was powerful, too. And he had an army of orcs and the element of surprise. So, he sent out fifteen scouts to make sure there were no soldiers near the backwoods of the palace that would figure them out and warn the King. In order to keep his Raukos from charging on the blood they smelled so near, he had to tie them to a nearby tree. But he patted their heads lovingly before returning to the fire. He knew the damage they could inflict, and he loved them for it.
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About an hour after sunrise, Jocelyn heard voices shouting outside. She silently cursed herself for leaving the balcony door open, and went to see what the commotion was all about.
Of course, Lord Elrond's party had arrived. She saw the regal looking Elf with his long black hair, and the elleth riding next to him was unmistakably Arwen. From inside the room, she heard Legolas groggily asking what was going on. She just shushed him and strained her ears to listen to Thranduil's words as he greeted the Lord of Rivendell and his party.
"Lord Elrond, you grace us with your presence." He said in over propriety with a smirk.
"It is I who is graced to be welcomed into your lovely city." Elrond replied in the same manner. Thranduil laughed and clapped Elrond on the shoulder, leading him inside the palace. His party followed.
Jocelyn rushed from the balcony with a grin. Legolas was sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes as she scurried to find her robe and slippers.
"What is going on?" He asked again. Jocelyn turned to him only a moment to say gleefully,
"Lord Elrond has arrived!" and she rushed out. The news flushed all sleep from Legolas, and he shot up to dress hurriedly and follow his wife to greet the guests.
Jocelyn skidded around the corner and slid to a halt before the study door. She raised a fist to knock, but the door opened. She jumped back, and the servant who had opened the door looked quite surprised as well. Behind her, Arwen was following. Upon seeing Jocelyn, Arwen grinned.
"We meet again!" She exclaimed, and the servant stepped aside so Arwen could embrace her old acquaintance.
"Good to see you, Arwen." Jocelyn said, and felt, rather than heard, Legolas jog up behind her.
"Legolas!" Arwen exclaimed, and jumped into his arms. The trio chatted excitedly on recent events as they followed the servant to Arwen's guest room. She was particularly interested in hearing about their wedding. Jocelyn beamed as Legolas described every detail to Arwen, who listened enraptured.
Legolas's conversation did not cease as they entered Arwen's room. The other two were too enthralled in reliving the wedding to thank the servant, so Jocelyn did. Arwen set her pack in the corner carelessly and sat beside Legolas on the divan. Jocelyn pulled up a chair. Many questions and laughs later, Legolas and Jocelyn agreed to let Arwen unpack while they went down to see if they could find Elrond, and see if Calenmir had found him yet, too.
Turns out, Calenmir had found him. He, Elrond, and Thranduil were in the middle of having a discussion of opinions about some matter when Legolas and his wife entered.
"I see he's found you." Jocelyn chuckled when they noticed their presence.
"Of course I have. Elrond draws me to him like a moth to a flame." Calenmir smirked. Elrond suppressed a smile as he stood, and placed a hand on the Prince's shoulder in greeting.
"Legolas. Good to see you well, mellon."
"And you, Elrond. Our frequent meetings are a pleasure." Legolas replied with a smile and stepped away.
"So, Elrond, what business have you come on, anyway?" Jocelyn asked politely. Elrond's dark eyes twinkled, and he waved a hand in the air.
"Business? Only a few matters of security, but mostly I wanted to come check up on you and your family." He replied.
"Security?" Legolas interjected.
"The orc sightings have increased and are becoming alarmingly close to the city. I hear they have even attacked in your forest. Mithrandir seemed very upset about it, said something about evil spreading over Middle Earth. But I have neither seen nor heard anything of the sort."
"There was only a band of ten in the forest. I reckon small groups have broken away from their homeland and are looking for necessities." Legolas replied. As the men talked, Jocelyn grew bored, and excused herself.
As she meandered back to her room, she met Arwen in the hallway.
"Hullo again, Arwen!" Jocelyn quipped.
"Hello. Is my father still in the study?"
"Yeah. The guys are talking." Jocelyn said, less than enthusiastically. Arwen rolled her eyes.
"Always talking. That's all he ever does when he comes here is talk. Gets very boring." She said, and chuckled at Jocelyn's fervent agreement.
"Say Arwen, would you like to go for a ride?" Jocelyn asked with an excited grin, raising her eyebrows as if to urge her to agree.
"Sure. I would love to."
"Do you mind if my sister comes along? You haven't met her yet have you?" Jocelyn asked as she led Arwen out of the palace and down the steps.
"No I haven't. Though I have heard of your similar appearances." Arwen smirked.
"Similar? More like exact. But surely your father has told you my tale."
"Vaguely. He said he didn't want to gossip about his friend's family." Arwen shrugged. So Jocelyn sighed and began the story, summarizing it of course, otherwise it would have taken too long.
"Wow. It's like an old love legend." Arwen smiled amazedly as they reached Leyna and Tyron's home. Jocelyn rapped loudly on the door before Leyna swung it open.
"Jocelyn!" Her sister smiled, and looked over Arwen.
"Leyna, this is Arwen, Elrond's daughter." Jocelyn introduced them. Leyna's jaw sort of dropped, and she curtsied.
"Pleasure meeting you, Arwen. Welcome." Leyna said, stepping aside to allow her two guests to enter. "Would you like anything? Drink, eat?" Leyna asked politely, stepping into the hostess role.
"No, thank you Leyna." Jocelyn answered for the both of them. "We came to ask if you'd like to come for a ride with us."
Leyna beamed. To go anywhere with the Lady of her city. Well, her old city. And her new city, too, actually. But the latter was just her sister.
"It would be my pleasure!" She exclaimed, and excused herself to change into a more suitable riding outfit. While she was changing, Arwen and Jocelyn raided their kitchen cupboards, and packed a picnic lunch in a brown wicker basket. Leyna came back wearing a knee high dark brown dress and tight fitting khaki breeches, the bottoms of which were tucked into her calf high, laced up riding boots.
"Ready." She stated proudly.
"Let's go." Her sister replied, holding up the basket. As they walked outside, Leyna furrowed her brow.
"Is that mine?" Jocelyn nodded. "You went through my kitchen!" She exclaimed, and Jocelyn grinned evilly.
"Hey I'm your sister. I can do those things. It was Arwen's idea anyway." Jocelyn added, and the Elf's jaw dropped, aghast. The corners of her slack jawed mouth turned up in a half smile, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
"It was not!" Arwen argued, but Jocelyn just laughed. They picked up three horses from the stable. Arwen used her own horse, while Leyna and Jocelyn both got chestnut brown mares. Jocelyn held the basket in her lap as the trio trotted around to the back of the palace. The back yard was large and open, with flowers planted close to the building. They rode their horses along the edge, near the forest. Jocelyn pointed out, like a tour guide, the direction from which she came on her first day in Middle Earth.
They found a small trail off to the side that the maids used to gather herbs from the forest, and trotted along in single file for a bit. When they could no longer see the palace, the right side of the trail dipped down into a ditch, and the left side was a small clearing. They stopped here and tied their horses to a low tree branch. Sitting in the green grass, the trio dug into their picnic basket.
The horses munched happily on the grass, and Jocelyn crunched a bite out of her apple. They sat cross legged, in a circle, and began to talk, as women do.
"So you both are married now." Arwen stated, and the sisters nodded. "I feel left out." She said, mockingly pitiful.
"And you both are royalty. I feel left out!" Leyna exclaimed, mockingly distressed.
What they didn't notice through their conversation was how the horses stomped their feet lightly, and snorted through their noses in alarm. Their eyes wide, they backed as far as their tied reins would allow.
Animals are always the first to know.
My typical brother gave me my birthday present a week late. But I didn't care. Because 1: better late than never. And 2: it was a SIGNED picture of ORLANDO BLOOM & JOHNNY DEPP in potc!! I couldn't believe it! Orli and Johnny Depp actually touched a picture that I hold in my posession as I type this to you right now. -sighs- I'm too obsessed.
Orlando's Hot Chick - thanks for reviewing, and I'd love to check out your stories sometime very soon! Look for reviews from me!
KT - Don't freak out. I wouldn't dream of killing dear sweet Leggy-pie.
The election...didn't really turn out how I expected it to. Maybe I just live in an anti-Bush town. As for me, I don't have strong opinions one way or the other. I like Bush in some things and not in others, but I feel the same way about Kerry. So I didn't know who to root for. But, on a happy note, my mom voted! My parents usually never vote! I was so proud of her. GO mom!!
No. Don't watch E.R. on NBC. Do you watch Lost on Thursday nights at 8? Great show, I love it! It's got Dominic Monaghan from LOTR in it! Every time I see him I'm like...look it's Merry! (It's hard to separate him from that character because it made him so popular. But I'm sure in a while, he'll become more distinguished and people will know his name is Dominic and not refer to him as Merry.)...anyway...
Loved your play! Totally hilarious! Those hobbits, you gotta love 'em.
Artria - lol, I feel the same way. Sad, their lives are gonna get screwed up, but happy, that I get to share the drama my twisted mind has invented with all my lovely reviewers and readers.
Nessa Inwe - Don't worry. Evil dudes very soon.
LittleCrazy1 - Still no kids.
Ms. Unknown, TPfan333 - : ) Thanks!