Chapter Five
After she had been resting a while, lying on that incredibly soft, carved sleigh bed (she was already trying to figure out how to stash it in her suitcase to bring it home with her since it beat the hell out of her lumpy, twin sized bed), a soft knock at the door startled her.
She sat up on the edge of the bed, trying to smooth both her hair and her clothes before rising to answer the knock. Glorfindel stood on the other side of the door, and he simply took her breath away.
He had changed from the deep ruby red robes she had seen him in before, to a dark blue tunic and matching leggings of what appeared to be butter soft leather. The tunic and leggings molded to his form like a second skin, perfectly highlighting the golden cascade of his hair, which hung free down his back, held away from his face only by two tiny braids on either side of his magnificent face.
He was dressed to kill.
And she died, right there at the door.
"May I have the honor of escorting you to dinner?" he asked, holding out his arm for her to take.
"Yes, of course. Thank you," she tried to say, but all that came out of her mouth was, "Wow."
"Wow? Is that some type of greeting from your world?" he chuckled, leading her out to the landing, knowing perfectly well the effect he was having on her.
"Wow."
"You're repeating yourself. Would you like to try for a different word this time? I thought you were a writer…surely you know more than one word…"
"Hot."
"Well…it's a start, I suppose." He smiled, leading her downstairs and into the dining hall, where a group of Elves were already gathered. She tore her eyes away from the Golden Lord, and scanned the assemblage.
If Glorfindel had taken her breath away, then the Elves in attendance reduced her to a pile of smoldering embers. Elrond looked resplendent in his most formal robes, even having chosen to wear his mithril crown for her benefit. He smiled, welcoming her as Glorfindel walked her up the aisle to the head table, and introduced her to the three silver-haired Eldar sitting near him.
Celebrian, and her mother and father, Galadriel and Celeborn, all welcomed the visitor graciously, extending their hands to be shaken as was the custom of Men. Glorious and beautiful, the three glowed softly at the table.
"My dear, I have been looking forward to meeting you!" Celebrian said, leaning across her husband. "I've read some of your stories and found them delightful!"
Elrond's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he turned to stare at his wife. "You…you read…HER stories?"
"Of course, dear…we've all read them," Celebrian answered, patting his hand patiently.
"Elrond…really…we're married women! Not to mention older than dirt!," Galadriel put in with good humor, "There's nothing in those stories we didn't know about…try out…or fantasize about ourselves!"
"Good Heavens…Celeborn…do you hear your wife?" Elrond asked, his eyes about to pop from his head onto the table like a pair of stuffed olives.
"I hear her…I hear her…I've been hearing her for nearly ten millennia…" Celeborn replied, nodding his head wearily. "Believe me, there is nothing in those stories that could shock her. She probably could have written most of them herself…from experience."
Elrond's jaw dropped to the tabletop. Celebrian rolled her eyes at her husband's naiveté, then rang a small silver bell to summon dinner.
Dinner was a sumptuous affair, with several rich courses, and a great deal of fine wine being poured. Toward the end of the meal, Elrond stood and addressed the assemblage.
"I believe that we all are interested in our visitor, and I think that the best way to get to know one another would be with a series of individual interviews. We'll start first thing in the morning - who would like to go first?"
A hand shot up so quickly that it was nearly nothing but a blur. Looking at the owner of the hand, the visitor blanched.
Legolas stared at her with cold, hard eyes, his hand still in the air.
"Uh, oh…" She thought, flinching from the Elf's angry look. "Methinks he's still a bit peeved about the tutu thing…"
"Ah! Legolas…excellent. You will meet with our lovely visitor for breakfast tomorrow morning."
Elladan nudged Elrohir as they looked at Legolas looking at the visitor. "I think breakfast won't be the only thing being eaten tomorrow morning…he's going to chew her up and spit her out!"
"Do you have the video camera we bought on Ebay ready?"
"Of course…this MUST be recorded for posterity!" The Elven twins snickered behind their hands, still watching the Prince glaring at the visitor, and the visitor clearly shaking in her booties.