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AYYO GG ~ !

*eating strawberry cheesecake* #Just'Cause #CakeIsSexyFreeSingle #ReadyToBingo

(I meant to get this out two weeks ago, but lately I've been so tired . . . And busy . . . O.O)

*** Note I – A big thank you to those favoring, following and reviewing my fanfic; it really makes me happyyy~ =') You people are awesome, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter~! =D ***

*** Note II – Disclaimer: I obviously do not own the too-awesome-for-words Tolkien Universe. I own my ever-growing long list of OCs and my imagination~ :3 ***

*** Note III – Random thought: I just realized that Thranéal's sorta like a cockblocker between her brothers and Lyrial . . . Huh . . . (._. ) Anyways, some Glor-feels emerged whilst writing this one~ x333 ***

*** Note IV – Out of curiosity: Of all the couples in the Tolkien Universe, which one is your favorite~? (Personally, my heart goes out to Fëanáro/Nerdanel) ~ #TheFeels \(*–*)/ ***

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~ 009 – Imladris ~

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"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson's Essays

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Imladris, known in the Common Tongue as 'Rivendell,' was a place Lyrial thought too elegant and gorgeous for words. The white stoned and marbled structures were perfectly placed and had very lovely architecture. Overall, they were quite . . . Noldoresque. Gardens adorned many areas; and she can hear the soothing hum of the various waterfalls, which poured out of many of the surrounding wall-like mountains. Overall, the sparkling snow perceived the whole place as a winter wonderland; as it did Greenwood.

Lyrial could not remember much since arriving here last night. She was exceedingly tired and sleepy. After being shown to a guest room and taking a warm bath, she trudged exhaustingly to her bed and immediately fell asleep under the warm covers – not really attentive to the fact that she was naked.

Currently, it was the morning of the next day, specifically after breakfast. Elrond Halfelven and the majority of his household were rather occupied for the moment; however, the Lady Celebrían was not. She offered to take Lyrial on a tour around the settlement – Thranéal and Aeluin joining them.

When she first set her eyes upon Celebrían, Lyrial was flabbergasted by the elleth's snow-like angelic self. The Lady of Imladris had a soothing melodious voice; a pair of marvelous, clear icy blue eyes; and soft, wavy white-silver hair that fell two or three inches beyond her hips. Her smile was beautiful, radiant and welcoming . . . And then Lyrial briefly mused to her lovely teacher, Hiriel. If Lyrial thought Hiriel resembled a snow princess, then she thought a resemblance of Celebrían to a winter queen.

The four of them walked and talked amiably down one of the many hallways. Said hallway had an indefinite row of window-like arches to one of the sides; and they could feel the warm sunlight and cold winter breeze. Lyrial inwardly sighed in relief at the fact that getting around this place was not going to be much of a challenge as it was – and still somewhat is – Greenwood's maze-like passages. They strolled in the direction of the very large library; right after Lyrial was shown the Hall of Fire.

Half a second later after entering the library, Lyrial squealed and jumped in delight at the glorious sight of countless books. She heard sniggering behind her from her companions . . . And then she calmed and blushed; for a few random elves stared at her with expressions of amusement, incredulousness and irritation. After a moment (and some eye-rolling), they turned away to whatever they were previously doing.

"Elfling," Aeluin quietly coughed as the four of them sashayed out of the library; the doors quietly closing behind them.

"I heard that!" The amethyst-eyed elleth whipped around and pointed her right index finger towards the prince. "And I'll have you know –"

The princess and the lady surveyed the bantering between the two, and were entertained by it. Shaking her head, Celebrían turned to Thranéal. "I am so pleased you brought her here – she's such a darling!"

Thranéal giggled and made to open her mouth; though before she could answer the wintery elleth, a new voice resonated throughout the hallway: "Ah, what's this? I leave for a month on patrol; and then I return to find a lovely surprise."

It was Thranéal whose face lit up, immediately as soon as the voice was heard. She could not hold in her inner elfling. The princess spun around with a stunning grin; ran about four strides; and jumped, flinging her arms around the neck of a very tall, attractive golden-haired ellon. "FINNYYY! I missed you!"

"And I you!" the ellon chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and upper back. "I really do love it when you're here . . . Why do you have to live so far away?"

Lyrial stared at the two, and Aeluin had a wide smirk plastered onto his face. Celebrían giggled and strode closer to the two, addressing the ellon as 'Glorfindel.' She seemed to be asking him a few things, and he gave her answers as his strong arms stayed situated around Thranéal.

Ahh, so THAT'S Glorfindel . . . Lyrial turned to a still-smirking Greenwood prince. "Aaaaand they're not a couple . . . Why?"

Aeluin laughed. "Believe me, I ask myself that all the time! They should just hurry up and simply express how they truly feel about each other . . . I want a wedding."

Lyrial blinked at the prince, vaguely tilting her head to the side. She knew Thranéal secretly loved Glorfindel, but . . . "Wait, he loves her as well? How do you know?"

Aeluin winked at her. "Persuasion, my dear; with a side dish of blackmail. And he was very unwilling at first," he said in a sing-song as he then smirked impishly, briefly reminiscing the memory.

"Just what are you talking about?" a voice asked skeptically.

Lyrial turned to her right side, and found Glorfindel with his eyes glued in inkling towards the prince. She studied the ellon before her: He was ethereal (albeit her subconscious decided that Thranduil was more so). His silky, straight golden hair came to his lower hips (the longest length she had seen on a male so far); and a few slim, decretive warrior braids held it back from being blown into his face. The soft tresses shined in the sun as though they were made out of the purest and loveliest of gold. His face, though maturely handsome, was quite youthful, and his smile perceived him as one so innocent – and mischievous, even. This tall ellon's beautiful sapphire eyes sparkled in mirth; and yet, they held deep wisdom, and many emotions of joy, sadness, longing, and hints of ages-long anger. Additionally, he had a couple smudges of dirt – on his left cheek and neck – as remnants from his patrol.

. . . Withal, Lyrial made a quick mental note that he somewhat resembled Siraphin.

Said prince's smirk morphed into an impish smile. "Do you really want to know?"

Glorfindel snorted. "Not really." He then transferred his gaze downwards, towards Lyrial; and his eyes widened before he turned slightly towards the princess. "Wow . . . Ané, you're right! She does bare a close resemblance to your mother!"

Lyrial just blinked at him.

Thranéal delivered him a smug expression and said, "Told you so, Glorfee."

The former Gondolin warrior playfully stuck his tongue out at the princess before turning to Lyrial, again. He smiled and delivered a friendly, respectable bow. "Pleased to meet you, Lyrial; and welcome to Imladris. Feel free to call me –"

"– Glorfindel!" Lyrial tittered and procured a curtsey. "And thank you for the welcome. 'Tis lovely to meet you."

"You seem to know me. . ."

"Thranéal doesn't stop talking about you."

Glorfindel's eyebrows faintly rose, as he then casted a blushing Greenwood princess a sly grin. "Ah, and what does she say?" he wondered as he lent a few millimetres closer, bringing his hand up to the side of his mouth in the whispering gesture. "Charming things, I hope?"

"I do not talk of you!" Thranéal exclaimed in a defensible lie as she darted in between Lyrial and Glorfindel.

Celebrían and Aeluin gave each other a knowing, entertained look; to which they then smirked.

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The bright, grey eyes of the Lord of Imladris caught sight of his lovely wife chatting with a smile on her face to Lyrial. He knew that the elleth was Lyrial, for he pin-pointed her resemblance to Laarëlas.

Lord Elrond sauntered towards the two ellith. He shall introduce himself and give her the opening words. Whilst studying the amethyst-eyed elleth, he made a mental note to summon Lyrial to his office as soon as the busyness in his schedule subsided.

Although he cannot entirely read her, or look into her thoughts – as she was from another world – he could sense deep waves of distress and longing within her fëa. He would assist her in some emotional and psychological healing.

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"Good afternoon, my lady. I hope I am not intruding onto your privacy."

Entranced by the flames from within the Hall of Fire, Lyrial almost jolted at the sudden voice. She lightly gasped as she turned to her left side. A few feet away was a regal man with wavy, shoulder-length black hair that had a few, thin and sneaky grey-white strands. He had a short beard and stormy grey eyes.

"Good afternoon, You're Highness," Lyrial replied, accompanied with a curtsy. She recognized this human as that king who rode with a large group of his men, across the plains on that day Thranéal first brought her to Eryn Galen. "You are definitely not intruding; what brings you here?"

"Fire," Isildur began, "is calming. I find that watching the flames dance is soothing to me. Although, it does give me many things to ponder about . . . Especially my thoughts regarding the decision I made about the ring."

It was then that Lyrial noticed: Dangling from a thin and long silver chain, was a golden ring. The light of the flame only enhanced the beauty and "purity" of such a seemingly dainty piece of jewellery. "Is that . . . Sauron's ring . . . ?"

"It was his. It is mine, now, and mine alone," the High King of Gondor and Arnor snapped almost immediately. His voice sounded as though the One Ring was indeed his; and that the thought of it belonging to that fallen Maia was blasphemous in a way. He turned and began walking down the hall towards the entrance of the room.

Lyrial suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She had previously read more in detail about this ring (Thranéal assisted in the translations), and was revolted by it. Though its' master was "gone," she felt such malicious energy from the ring.

Ash nazg durbatulûk,

Ash nazg gimbatul,

Ash nazg thrakatulûk,

Agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.

Lyrial inwardly scoffed. No, Sauron was not destroyed. Though very, very weak, his spirit was still in that ring. And she could hear his voice in her head; that dreaded Black Speech reciting the ring's hidden inscription.

She vaguely shuddered. "So why didn't you?" she asked in a quiet, monotone voice.

Isildur ceased in his steps. He turned around with a raised eyebrow. "Pardon me?"

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

She felt sick in her stomach.

Oh, dear Lyrial; being from another world,

We may be weak now, but we will grow,

And grow;

And this world that you are now apart will succumb to darkness.

It will burn and burn and be covered in the blood and twisted, mutilated bodies of the so-called innocents.

I will kill every single man, woman, and child;

And their screams shall echo in

Stupid, fucking damned ring! Lyrial mentally cursed at the voice that seemed to invade her mind. Glaring at the Gondorian, her voice grew in forcefulness after every word. "Why did you not destroy that ring? You could have ended Sauron's reign forever had you headed Lord Elrond's command. But you didn't; and because of that, Sauron could return. He is still alive. You should have destroyed it, so why exactly didn't you?!"

"HOLD YOUR TONGUE, SHE-ELF!" Isildur roared, and his face contorted in rage. Taking long strides towards an uneasy Lyrial, he griped either of her shoulders. A pained cry released from her lips as he shoved her harshly against the stone wall; and her clothing did little to protect her skin from his short nails.

Isildur continued; still yelling, though not nearly as loud as that sudden outburst. "How dare you speak to me in such a way?! The ring in MINE! I could never destroy it; I would risk no hurt to it! Sauron is vanquished, and what you speak of is nonsensical!"

Lyrial's hands shook and her jaw and lips quivered. She was afraid. And angry. "Your pretending ignorance is dangerous."

The human king sneered at her, soon releasing her and storming out of the Hall of Fire. Lyrial closed her eyes and rubbed her hurt shoulders.

"Lyrial!" a familiar voice called joyfully, about ten minutes later. The elleth turned her aching head and saw Valandil waltzing towards her. "What's wrong?" he asked as he now stood in front of her. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Lyrial quietly sighed and procured a tiny smile. "Ah, it's nothing . . . I only feel strangely tired. Do you need me for something?"

"I was searching for an opponent to play chess with," replied the prince. "But you just said that you're tired, so –"

"It's alright!" Lyrial interrupted him, widening her smile a bit. "I'm decent, though not professionally good at the game."

Valandil chuckled. "It does not matter – decent is good enough. But are you sure? You do, in fact, seem tired. . ."

Lyrial shook her head. "I'm fine, I assure you. I'll simply go to sleep earlier today."

The young elleth was shaken from that ordeal with Isildur and that damn ring. Perhaps a lovely game of chess shall settle her nerves – even if it was only by a little.

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"Numbers in Tengwar . . . Wherefore art thou, numbers in Tengwar . . . ?" Lyrial mumbled to herself – comically adding a bit of Shakespeare lingo – as she flipped through the pages of the textbook she brought with her on her travels.

She sat in the library during the early hours of the next day's morning; at the end of a lengthy mahogany table that had a few books and scrolls scrambled about it here and there. The last time she had a lesson with Hiriel, they began with the basics of numbers in Elvish, and Lyrial thought that she may as well continue it on her own for recollection. Finally arriving at the desired pages, Lyrial settled the book onto the table; and she then opened her notebook and readied her quill.

She practiced her handwriting in Tengwar for the next thirty minutes, and she took moments to pronounce the words.

"When you pronounce them, don't overextend the vowels," an unfamiliar masculine voice stated, about forty-five minutes later.

As Lyrial had not known at all that she had company, due to her intense concentration, she flinched and screamed. Oh good lord, how long was he there?! She turned in her chair and looked up and wide-eyed towards a comely ellon, who donned flowing navy blue robes and a silver circlet.

"Are you alright?" the ellon asked with a straight face; though, some amusement twinkled within his rather interesting blue-grey eyes. His silken, straight jet black hair came faintly past his waist, though it was not like Glorfindel's hip-length hair.

Blinking and clearing her throat, Lyrial procured an awkward smile. "Yes . . . Sorry – you just scared me for a moment. . ."

"That letter," the ellon instantly spoke as he sat in the chair to Lyrial's right. He pointed to a somewhat swirly character that resembled the combination of a lowercase 'w' and 'y.' "In this specific context, it should have the two-dotted accent."

She thanked him and asked him why, to which he delivered an explanation. For the next hour, the ellon patiently assisted Lyrial with her Sindarin; though, mainly focusing on her Tengwar.

And that was how Lyrial met Erestor.

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"Alright; I see the resemblance now," Aeluin sniggered as a smug Lyrial held a mini, palm-sized honey cake by her stallion, Honeycake.

"Of course; it's obvious – Honeycake, daro ha!" Lyrial playfully chastised her horse as he tried to take a bite out of the cakelette. "You can't eat cake!"

"Why in Eru's name are you comparing a cake to your horse?" Glorfindel asked incredulously as he strolled into the stables. He stood behind Thranéal, and he wrapped his strong arms around her waist.

The Greenwood princess giggled and relaxed into his cozy embrace. "Well, Lyrial named her horse 'Honeycake' because he resembles what the cake would have looked like if it was a horse. . ."

". . . And Aeluin couldn't see that bare fact," Lyrial finished with a snicker and ignoring said prince's glare.

The golden-haired ellon deadpanned at them with his lips slightly parted; not entirely knowing what to think . . . Though he kind of wanted to laugh. Hard.

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Daro Ha – Stop It - (Sindarin)

Ash Nazg Durbatulûk; Ash Nazg Gimbatul; Ash Nazg Thrakatulûk; Agh Burzum-Ishi Krimpatul – One Ring To Rule Them All; One Ring To Find Them; One To Bring Them All; And In The Darkness, Bind Them – (Black Speech)

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*** After Note I – Feel free to drop a review and let me know what you think~! :D ***

*** After Note II – Next chapter: Meeting a few more peeps . . . Oh, and the equivalent of a New Year's Eve PARTAY~! Will this time feature drunk elves and Gondorians~ \(*–*)/ ***

*** After Note III – So I originally planned for Isildur, his three eldest sons, and his entourage to die in this chapter whilst on their way to Imladris (as the Battle of the Gladden Fields). But then I altered it so that they are killed on their return to Gondor – in a few chapters from now~ I'm doing this 'cause I really wanted to add that scene with Isildur, Lyrial, and the One Ring . . . So, thank you wisdom-jewel, for giving me that unexpectedly pleasant idea~! \(^-^)/ ***

*** After Note IV – A quick note in regards to the dragons (a couple peeps pointed stuff out; and whereas I did answer them via PM, I'll be detailing it here for anyone else 'wondering' :3): With the dragons in this story, they won't be completely 'Tolkien,' as I shall be taking some creative licencing and incorporating many of my own views with them [especially since this story's like an AU and fanfiction is indeed fanfiction (and not really "canon-fiction")]. I'm keeping some dragons as being evil; however, I shall be having the other some as being peaceful and good because this latter portion has managed to "free" their minds. It's kinda like developing a stronger, healthier mind and sense of self, or what have you~ (Also, I find hard and unrealistic to believe that every single being from a race is completely evil – or completely good; whatever the race is . . . Ya know: Yin-Yang, or whatever). In addition, even though a dragon is good now, does not mean that he/she will stay righteous for the rest of this story~ =D ***

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Anonymous: Thank you so much for your review; for liking the story; and, for your compliments~! \(*0*)/ I truly appreciate it, and I hope thou hast a lovely day~! =D

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