And since you know you cannot see yourself
so well as by reflection, I, your glass,
will modestly discover to yourself,
that of yourself which you yet know not of.
-William Shakespeare
What few outsiders ever realized about the administration of the Last Homely House of the Westwasit wastruly nothing but mayhem. When dear Lord Erestor started to crack all of those below him would start to crack to the point where the Ladies Celebrian and Arwenwere allowed to advise Elrond and the Hall of Fire suddenly became decorated in pastels and frills. However, thosewere not the only ramifications that occured. When Erestor cracked, Glorfindel cracked and therefore Elrond cracked. When Elrond cracked Morwen cracked and therefore Elladanwould lose his small bit of better sense, which in turn led to Elrohir losing his mind. After one of the most horrible debacles Imladris had ever seen it was decided by Lord Elrond that when Lord Erestor, chief of the Household started to break, all councilors and scribes were to be as far from his study as possible and Lord Glorfindel was to be kept at the training fields for an indeterminate amount of time.
With the upcoming ball and Spring Festival, today was one of those days.
The Children of Elrond, both those of his blood and those of his generous adoptions, sat in one of the gardens, enjoying the gentle breeze and the free time. Arwen, still a few years off of her majority listened in jealousy to her older "siblings" speak of their plans for the upcoming ball.
Elrohir looked towards Morwen,
"Are we still going to this waste-of-time together?"
Morwengalnced back at Elrohir,
"Are you finally going to grow a spine and ask Nithiel to accompany you?"
"No."
"Then yes."
"Good. I will be wearing a light blue; find something that matches."
Morwen gave Elrohir "the look', not as scary as Erestor's "look", but very close.
"You are truly one for romance and chivalry, Elrohir."
Elrohir scoffed, "If you were a maid I was smitten with, you would find yourself swept off your very dainty feet."
"Dainty are they?"
Elladan snorted, "One of the few dainty things about you. Now who I am to take to this thing since Rian has so graciously turned down my offer."
Rian, shaking her mane of red hair like a proud mare, held her head up high, "I will be no one's pawn, Elladan son of Elrond. If you wish to obtain the full attention of that...Lady, then you must push past all of her games and go on your own. Do not follow the foolish example of your brother here, and use another to make the one you desire jealous. It always ends badly."
Elrohir gave Rian an uncharacteristic dark look,
"Well it certainly will now that you have said that!"
Arwen, quite amused at the playful banter and tense undertones between her "siblings" just laughed at the fools everyone was making each other. Morwen caught her eye and they both shared a moment ofsilent laughter as Rian continued to shred Elrohir's confident plan into tiny little pieces of rotted parchment.
Two very amused Elf-Lords watched the children below, memories of long ago flowing through their minds.
"We were once like them." Elrond remarked.
Glorfindel shook his head,
"We were never so wicked. Those five could rule this land in the blink of an eye."
Elrond sighed, "They may very well one day."
"If that is so then there is nothing we can do about it. Rian and Morwen would be able to sail."
"Perhaps they may not wish it. Morwen holds a deep resent towards her parents and brother; Rian has always expressed her desire to travel West at the last possible moment."
"Rian is tied to this land. And can you blame Morwen? To be abandoned by your family simply because.." Glorfindel stopped, his anger still strong and deeply connected to those memories of so long ago. "She was one of the most mature children I had ever met, why they could not stay longer than they did..."
"They had no desire to raise another elfling, even if it was the Valar's bidding. And thanks to this family she has turned out very well, much better than if she had grown up in a homewhich had no desire for her presence. Now come my friend, we must go rescue Erestor before he finds a way to kill himself."
"I removed all objects with sharp edges and length enough to fit around his neck."
"He is an advisor, he will find a way."
Morwen walked to the kitchens in search of a snack that would tide her over until dinner. Curse that Thalion for causing her to miss lunch. She could seriously cause harm to that elf. Did he not understand the phrase "No, thank you."? Steadfast indeed. He was likeable enough, just not the one for her. She could more than understand pursuing someone who never returned your affections. In her case she did not even have the courage to pursue. It truly was sad. She had tried many things over the years to vanquish her childhood crush, and short of leaving Imladris nothing had worked. She had no desire to leave her homeland for an extended amount of time. However when she did she was always too busy to even think of the golden Elda.
As she walked through the many corridors that led to the kitchens she bid hello to many of the guests and servants roaming the halls of the Last Homely House. Entering the kitchens she realized she was not the only one in need of some slight nourishment as she saw Glorfindel preparing a small plate. A blonde head shot up as she entered, a sheepish look on the fair face.
"Morwen, why are you in the kitchens at this time?"
"I missed lunch, Lord Glorfindel. I was….making myself indisposed."
"Are you apt to decline every courtship invitation that comes your way? A young elf such as yourself should not be without love or the pretenses of it in their life."
Morwen gave a disinterested sniff at the apples and proceeded to pick through the muffins. "I have no need for pretenses in my life, I wait for love and love alone. I am sure something will alert me to the person, and if not, and if it is also so for him, Elladan and I made a pact long ago."
Glorfindel gave a small laugh, "If ever you two did wed you would be fulfilling everyone's predictions. Now, who would want that?"
Morwen gave a smile, "Their gossip will be even more fed come the next banquet. If all goes according to plan, I shall be accompanied by Elrohir. And if he finally digs up the nerve to ask Nithiel to accompany him, I will just go by myself and spend the night conversing with Erestor."
Glorfindel cocked his head to the side,
"You two are spending an awful lot of time together. Are you….?"
"Valar, no, Glorfindel! I work with him, I am his assistant and his former pupil. I am under his direction as one of the scribes. We find many things to discuss. I was the only child who did not find him terrifying or an old bore. We have always had an interesting kinship. He is a surrogate brother for me, the family I no longer have."
She finally selected her muffin and started to make her way out of the kitchens, however her curiosity got the better of her,
"Why are you preparing such a large….snack?"
Glorfindel ducked his head as a blush started to spread across his features, turning the tips of his ears pink.
"I was..that is to say…..I….."
She hid her disappointment with a knowing smirk, "No one would expect you to be celibate for the whole of your life, Glorfindel; they would just not expect you to be so...active in the middle of the day."
Love it, hate it, don't care..tell me, I do wonder how you all feel about this. Flames will be read but I do respond to them. Constructive criticism encouraged.