Chapter 3: The Banquet

Rachel put a ribbon after what she had written then put it under her mattress, hiding it in the same place where her diary on Earth is hidden.

She then walked to the dining hall, finding that she was a bit early. She spotted Amras and walked over to him.

"Hello!" she greeted.

"Hello. How has your day been?"

"It's been fine. I talked to Gildor this morning, but then he had to leave to fight the spiders."

"Yes, I had to go then, too. It was interesting. Gildor received a small cut as did two of the guards, but those were the only injuries," Amras informed her.

"I'm glad. It probably could have been a lot worse. So... you're friends with Legolas?"

"Yes. How did you find that out? Did Linwë tell you?"

"No. I met him today. I couldn't find my way back to my room because Gildor left so quickly, so I wandered around for a while. I made it to the archery fields I guess, and he saw me and showed me back. We made small talk on the way."

"Oh. And, what do you think of him?"

"He's nice! I don't know exactly what to make of him. He seems almost... perfect. It doesn't really make sense, I know."

"You have not known him for as long as I have. If you had, you would know that he is far from perfect. He knows that well himself. He wishes he could be more like an elven woman sometimes because they never seem to get into as much trouble as he does," Amras laughed.

Rachel giggled.

"What are you two laughing about?" Linwë questioned, coming up behind her.

"Oh, we were talking about Legolas," Rachel said.

"You met him?"

"Yes. He's nice."

"He is very kind. He is also a troublemaker and a joker. When he was younger his father, King Thranduil, had the hardest time keeping him under control. He has grown up some."

"Enough to know that he will not get into trouble if people do not know that it is him who is pulling the pranks," Amras added.

"It seems like you know him pretty well."

"Yes. We've been friends for hundreds of years. He is friendly to anyone that he meets. How was your meeting with Gildor?" Linwë asked.

"Okay. He seemed concerned about me. But I didn't get the chance to talk to him for long. He was called away to help fight the spiders. So that's how I met Legolas."

"Were you out fighting spiders also?" Linwë interrogated Amras, looking truly worried. "Did you get injured?"

"Yes, I assisted them. No, I did not get injured. Only Gildor and two of the regular guards were hurt at all. And their injuries were minor."

"I am glad."

Soon after dinner was served. Rachel only drank one glass of wine. She decided she would like to be awake for the rest of the day.

After lunch, Rachel asked Linwë to show her to a library that had books in Common.

Linwë agreed. Amras also decided to join them, saying he could use some time to relax and since no one would suspect that he would be in a library, it was the perfect place to hide.

Rachel found a few books that she thought that she might like. They were elven tales. She took some about the Dark Years when Sauron was in power before he was defeated by Isildur and one about Beren and Luthien. She decided that if she was going to be an elf for a while, she had better know the basic stories that most of them knew.

Amras informed her that later that night that there would be a party in the dining hall. There would be singing, dancing, and storytelling.

"Will you go?" he asked.

"Yeah. I suppose I will."

"Good. You need to meet more elves," Linwë told her.

"Until then, I will be in my room reading."

"I shall help you get ready for the party. Everyone will dress their best," Linwë explained.

"Alright. See you later!"

"Good bye."

Rachel truly did spend the time until the banquet in her room reading. She could not put the books down. They, to her, were amazingly good. Even better than Tolkien's, which, up until now, had been her favorites.

She couldn't wait to get to the banquet to listen to the stories that they told because if they were as good as the ones that she was reading, they would be captivating. She had always loved adventure stories that had a bit of a love story entwined in them.

As she promised, Linwë knocked on Rachel's door about an hour before supper.

"So... what are we going to do?"

"We are going to ready to go to the banquet. We need to wear nice dresses and do our hair."

This sounds like a slumber party... let's do our hair and nails!

Linwë opened Rachel's closet. "I think that you should wear green. The dress that you have on now goes well with your eyes. And it should be sleeveless because it will get warm. It should also be long and flowing, but form fitting also. Try this one on."

She handed Rachel a dress fitting what she had described. Rachel pulled it on with Linwë's help tying the back. It had a V-neck and spaghetti straps.

"You look beautiful!" Linwë exclaimed.

"Thank you. What are you going to wear?"

Linwë picked out a purple sleeveless dress with a halter neck. The dress swept the floor. It clung to just the right spots, making Linwë look even more beautiful.

"Now for your hair. You have yet to wear it up, so that is what we will do."

Linwë pulled a brush threw Rachel's thick, straight, light brown hair. She then twisted sections of it back and pinned them in place until it was piled on top of her head. Rachel glanced in a looking glass and couldn't believe it.

"I... I look good."

"Yes, you do. I do not know what to do to mine though."

"Would you mind if I tried something?" Rachel asked timidly.

"Not at all. Try anything you wish."

Rachel took the brush and thought for a minute. She came up with something that she thought would look all right and tried it. She pulled Linwë's hair into a ponytail then took little sections at a time, twisted them and pinned them in place around it. It took her a few tries to get it to look right since she had never done it to such long hair, but in the end, it looked beautiful.

"I love it. Thank you very much!"

"It's nothing. Should we go now?"

Linwë glanced out the window at the sinking sun and decided that it would be about the right time so the two of them set out. When they arrived at the dining hall they sat down with Amras, Ireth, Itarildë and some of Linwë's other friends.

"You both look lovely," Ireth complimented them.

"Thanks," Rachel said, her face turning a slight red.

"You do look nice," Amras commented. "Linwë, there is a seat for you here."

Linwë took the seat next to Amras and Rachel sat down next to Itarildë.

The meal was beyond comparison. The food was fresh and expertly cooked. There were delicacies for any taste.

Once again, the elves slowly reverted to speaking Sindarin and Rachel could only catch snippets of their conversation. She didn't hear her name, and wasn't worried about them talking about her.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Rachel?" Aragorn whispered in her ear as he passed her table.

"Yes. The food is delicious."

"And the company?"

"It's okay. I'm leaning a little elvish, but not enough to join in."

"You could sit with Legolas, Gimli, and I. We are speaking Common, because Gimli does not understand Elvish. What say you?"

"That sounds good. Itarildë," she said, "I'm going to go with Aragorn."

"Alright. Have a nice time."

"I will."

Rachel followed Aragorn to a table, not far away and had a seat next to Gimli.

"We meet again, my lady," Legolas commented.

"Yes, we do. It's good to see you again. Nice to meet you, Gimli."

"And you also, my lady."

"Just call me Rachel. I don't like being called 'my lady'."

"If you insist," Legolas agreed.

"I do."

"So, why can't you speak elvish?" Gimli questioned. "Not that I mind. I'm glad that someone else here cannot speak the language."

Rachel giggled. "I'm not from Mirkwood. I just arrived here a few days ago."

"Really?"

"Yup. Why haven't you learned it yet? You spend so much time with Legolas, I am surprised that he hasn't taught it to you yet."

"I do not know Dwarfish either," Legolas informed her. "We have other things to do than teach languages if we both understand one well."

"I suppose, but when he's here, I'm guessing that it gets kind of boring when you don't know the language. Doesn't it for you when you're at his home?"

"Yes, but we do not spend enough time at either place for it to become a problem," Legolas told her.

"Okay. I was just wondering."

"It is fine to wonder. Would you like someone to teach you elvish? I am sure that Linwë would be honored to do so."

"I don't know. I might ask her to sometime."

"You should. It would make your stay much more enjoyable, I am sure."

a/n: Well... I don't have much to say. Um... this is really just leading up to later, but I am going to be sure that this is NOT going to be a Mary Sue.

Rayame: Thank you! I liked the journal entry too. That way you get more of her thoughts. I might not continue to do them... I'm not sure. But, it will serve a purpose later on.

Lothliana: Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you like it!

Lainfaer: Well, you waited. I'll try to update soon, but I'm not making any promises...

Anaclaime: I will use Gildor throughout this story. Thanks for reviewing! You can have Aragorn, but Arwen still gets him in my story.

WitchHunterRobinfan: I'm sorry, but this is going to be a Legomance... sort of. I don't know how to explain it. I'm really glad that you like it! Don't worry about reading too much manga. I do too! Secrets in the Darkness... I was wondering where you had gotten to.

-Elerrina