Chapter Ten-Addiction Is Such An Ugly Word
Waking up the next morning at the crack of dawn, I felt a large hand clasping my breast and another hand wedged between my legs. Legs were tangled around my own and a pair of lips were lightly pressed against the back of my neck. I opened my eyes to see Elladan's open glazed eyes staring into my own. What a creepy way to sleep. I pulled his hand off my breast and then eased Elrohir's hand from between my legs.
Nudging Elladan I whispered, "Time to wake up. It's morning and you two have to leave soon." I poked Elrohir behind me.
I felt them rustle and watched as the glaze cleared from Elladan's eyes. He focused on me and smiled.
"Good morning melethril. You are a lovely sight to behold," he brushed my lips with his.
Elrohir pulled me over to face him, "Yes, we will miss seeing you as we face lonely days on patrol." He kissed me as well.
"All right. That's enough of this insincerity crap. You won't be lonely I'm sure. There are probably eager females along your route who will 'welcome' you with fun activities. Let's get up and get moving. Things to do and places to go, yada yada." I crawled over their prone bodies and jumped off the bed, "Okay, really. Let's go. I've gotta get dressed and you've got to get back to your rooms before you're missed. Vamoose! Arrivederci, adios, sayonara, good-bye!" I gave them my most imposing look until they rolled out of bed.
I handed their clothes to them and tapped my foot on the floor to imply impatience. Once dressed the twins moved towards the door.
"Oh no you don't! I will not be found out just because you're too lazy to go out the way you came in. There are people wandering those halls right now, and it's too risky for you to leave by traditional means." I opened the window wide enough for them to crawl out, "Here you go. And be quiet! I don't need knocks at my door wondering why there's a herd of angry rhinos stampeding through my room."
The twins grinned and climbed out the window.
"See you at breakfast Lady Karyn," Elladan whispered.
"Thank you for the lovely evening," countered Elrohir.
"Yeah, yeah. See you later," after they had climbed up on the roof, I closed the window. I didn't hear their footsteps so I assumed they had heeded my advice.
Dressing hurriedly, I was just leaving my room when I felt a presence behind me. Turning around I saw Erestor. Damn! Does he have telepathy or something?
"Good morning Lady Karyn. Did you sleep well last night?" He was getting at something, the wiener.
"Yes, thank you Lord Erestor. I think the additional sleep has assisted me in being more wakeful this early in the morning." I decided to be really pleasant, if it killed me. This was a guy who could use an adventurous roll in the hay. His entire attitude screamed, 'I need to get laid!' Poncy git. I wondered which way he swung. He gave off vibes both ways. A bi-elf! How novel! He was really getting on my nerves.
"May I escort you to breakfast?" Erestor held out his arm.
Blast! I couldn't wriggle out of this one. "Thank you Lord Erestor, that is very kind." I slipped my arm through his and walked with him to the dining hall.
Arwen waved to me from across the hall, but Erestor steered me away from her. I gave her a helpless look. She nodded and sat down. Erestor led me to Elrond's table and bade me to sit down.
I sat down as Erestor started to fill my plate. What was going on here? Why was Erestor being so nice to me? A cold chill struck my heart and I had a stark realization. Erestor liked me! Oh God, no! My nightmare had taken a cruel twist. I needed clonazepam and quick. I could feel my heart constrict and my stomach turn. Erestor smiled at me kindly, and filled my drinking cup. Oh fuck, it was worse than I thought! Maybe that's why he reacted the way he did when he lectured me about the twins. He was staking out his territory! My heart longed for the simplicity of pervy ranch hands and fighting for my dignity. A frozen look had pasted itself on my face. My lips were stretched into a thin, grim line. I had to take tiny bites to be able to get the food down. This was not a happy hallucinatory experience. I was reminded of nursing friends through bad acid trips back in college and wondered if this was the same thing.
Erestor chatted happily in my ear about the lesson plan for the morning, how he loved his job, and what it was like to live in Imladris for centuries. I listened politely, but it went in one ear and out the other. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I wanted this nightmare to end as soon as possible. Then, salvation presented itself in the form of Arwen.
Arwen slid up behind me and said to Erestor, "I'm sorry to steal Lady Karyn away like this, but it is vital that I speak to her in confidence Lord Erestor." She clasped my hand and helped me up from the table.
"Oh, of course Lady Arwen. Thank you for the pleasure of your company Lady Karyn," Erestor nodded to Arwen and smiled at me.
Arwen guided me away from the table and out into the hallway. She turned me towards her and looked concerned.
"You looked like you had just suffered the loss of both your parents. What was going on over there?" She motioned me towards a low stone bench.
"Oh Lady Arwen," I grabbed her hands in misery, "I think Lord Erestor likes me!"
Arwen looked like she was having a private war inside her head.
"What? This isn't funny Arwen!" I was so upset I forgot to add the 'Lady'.
That did it. Arwen started to laugh in a light tinkly manner. "Oh Lady Karyn, Lord Erestor is not interested in you. Not in the way you think." Her eyes twinkled in mirth.
"But Lady Arwen, he was so solicitous towards me. This is a huge change from his being cold and unfeeling towards me." I was confused as to what she thought was so funny.
"Trust me; Lord Erestor is not interested in you that way. He found out from my Ada that you are an accomplished academic. As you may or may not know, Lord Erestor is fond of knowledge and the pursuit of it." She patted my hand, "Besides, I think the object of his affection would be rather chagrined to find him courting another."
"What?" My head jerked up so fast I almost got whiplash, "What do you mean 'other' and how did Lord Elrond find out about my academic past? I never said a word to him. Spill it. I have a dire need to know."
Arwen giggled at my phraseology. "I told Ada about your education. Your friend Melima and Lord Erestor have been quietly courting. No one really knows because Lord Erestor is a private person. He was being friendly to you because you have such an extensive education and are extremely intelligent."
I was mortified. How egotistical had I become to think that every elf was falling for me. "Oh my God! I'm such an ass!" I stood up and flung my arms around, "Only the Mayor of Moronville could be this stupid, and guess what? I totally won that election. I need a lobotomy to cure my abject idiocy." I was unmitigatedly embarrassed.
Arwen pulled me down beside her, "No, you are not stupid. You had no idea why Lord Erestor changed his mind about you so suddenly. And you most certainly would have had no idea of his courtship of Melima. Just don't say anything about the courtship. Melima told me in confidence and I would not have broken it, save for your discomfort."
"I'm still an idiot Lady Arwen. I'm an empath. I should have known what was going on." I was still feeling like a really daft git.
"Lady Karyn," Arwen admonished, "Are you correct about the feelings of others all the time?"
"Well yeah…" my brow crinkled, "Except when the feelings are about me." Now I really was a git. "I seem to be blocked when it comes to me." Damn, damn, damnity damn.
Arwen smiled supportively, "It is all right. Empathic ability is not exact. Now you know and I am sure you will be fine. It is getting late; we should go see my brothers off. They will be leaving soon." She rose gracefully from the bench and led me away to the courtyard.
The courtyard was abuzz with activity. Several horses were standing in the yard, with human riders standing beside them. Two horses were being loaded up with gear in what looked to be modified saddle bags. I wondered why they weren't being saddled.
"Lady Arwen, why are those two horses not being saddled?" I pointed to the bare backed animals.
"Elves do not need saddles. We ride bare back and the horse agrees to carry us or we do not ride at all," Arwen explained.
Ah well, bare back. That would be uncomfortable after oh, say twenty minutes. And how on earth do they post? I had ridden a total of two times in my life and both were unmitigated disasters. The first horse really didn't want me to ride her, but the wrangler didn't listen to my protestations, and put me on the poor beast. I ended up getting pasted to the corral fence. The second was a gorgeous Arabian, English tack, and I spent the entire time getting yelled at for holding my hands incorrectly and being reminded to post with the rhythm of the horse. I apologized to the poor animal afterwards. No one should have to put up with my incompetence. Not even a horse.
Two voices brought me out of my reverie. The twins had planted themselves in front of Arwen and were giving her hugs and saying their goodbyes. I stood beside her silently.
"Did you think we would forget about you Lady Karyn?" Elrohir smiled widely at me.
"We could not leave without saying a fond farewell to our favourite mortal," Elladan grinned.
"Well you two had better be careful. I hear these are dangerous times." I looked stern and tried not to smile.
"We will. And we will be back before you know it," said Elrohir, "You will not have time to miss us."
Arwen slapped their backsides and laughed, "She will be too busy to miss you. I plan on getting her more involved around here. You may find she has found her heart with someone other than you!" Her smile was impish.
The twins looked stricken, "We will have to return to ensure that does not happen." Elladan said earnestly.
"Yeah, right. Like my heart would lie with the likes of you two guttersnipes." I smiled mischievously.
The twins took my hands and kissed the tops in a gentlemanly fashion.
"We bid you good day and take our leave from you then," said Elrohir.
"Our hearts will rejoice upon our return to our beloved home," Elladan nodded.
Arwen hugged them again and said, "Safe riding and have a fruitful journey."
The twins nodded and smiled at her and walked away to get up on their steeds. With calls of goodbye and waves from the elves that had gathered to bid farewell, the riders turned their animals and rode out of the courtyard. The human riders rode alongside the twins and soon they were out of view of those of us still standing in the courtyard.
"Lady Arwen, who were those human riders?" I was curious as I had not seen any other humans around Imladris since my arrival.
"They are the Dúnedain rangers. They protect the lands of the north from Sauron's minions." She turned to leave the yard, "You should get going to Lord Erestor's language lessons. I am sure you will be missed."
"Yeah, I'd almost forgotten about that," I vowed to be nicer to Erestor as I'd been such a buffoon earlier. I walked briskly off to Erestor's study to commence my lessons.
Melethril-lover (fem.)