Ch 15:Homecoming

The smell of fresh parchment and ink filled his nose as he walked into the large spacious room that was Elrond's private study. It was always so regal looking and clean. Every piece of parchment had its place in a pile on Elrond's desk and awaited him to sign them or read them.

Erestor smiled and breathed in the comforting smell. There was nothing like a nice quiet afternoon with nothing to do but read a good book, which is exactly what Erestor had planned on doing. He would have read in the library, but it was stuffy in there and even though you were supposed to be quiet in there, someone was always talking and breaking his concentration. So here he was in his best friend's personal study. He curled up on the couch and opened his book to where he had last left off. It was one of those rare days that he had all to himself.

Elrond shook his head. "You win mellon-nin. I can not best you at this game."

"I told you that earlier and you were quite adamant to change that fact," the golden-haired warrior smiled at his friend. "You are an excellent challenger though. One of the best."

"Don't think that this is the last game of chess between us. I challenge you to a rematch the next time I have a free day. Are you up to it?" Elrond shot his friend a playful glance.

Glorfindel matched his friends expression with a wider smile. "I accept and I don't want you sulking around for a week because you lost to me once again. It isn't very lord-like."

Elrond rolled his eyes and walked out of Glorfindel's room with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"I don't think that I have ever been so happy to be home," Elladan reached over to Stephanie to hold her hand. "Are you glad to be back meleth?"

She nodded her head, yawning. "I'm tired. The sooner we get home the sooner I can crawl in bed and go to sleep."

Courtney and Allison looked at each other smiling. "I'll give her ten minutes after we get there before she's passed out on a couch somewhere. She sleeps like the dead when she wants to."

"I know it. I'm really not all that sleepy just yet. I have to talk to Elrond and get some things straightened out," Allison looked away from Courtney to the large valley ahead where the city of Rivendell was nestled in the crook of the Misty Mountains. It looked so peaceful and less busy than Gondor.

"You'll be fine Al. Steph and I managed and so will you. You just need to relax and let things come to you as they will," Courtney watched a small sad smile come to Allison's face.

Elrohir noticed the concern on Courtney's face for her friend and kissed her cheek. "Is everything okay anor-nin?"

"I hope so. I'm just worried about her. She has a way of not letting things go. I bet she misses Tim," Courtney looked up into his eyes. They were so warm and caring. "I want her to be happy, not grieve for what she no longer has."

"I know Courtney, I know. She'll come around. She just needs some time to adjust," He offered her a warm smile. "Things will get better."

Courtney stared straight ahead at the place that had so fast become her new home. "I hope that you are right 'Ro. I really do."

Elrond, Erestor, and Glorfindel stood outside of the Last Homely House and awaited the twins and the girls to arrive. It wasn't long until they could make out the figures of the twins, followed by three girls.

Elrond felt his heart lift at the sight of them. He didn't quite know what it was about them that made him feel so free, but it was very enjoyable.

Elladan and Elrohir reached the steps to the palace and dismounted, the girls followed suit. "Ada! It's good to see you!"

"I have missed you my son," He caught his eldest son in his arms and held him tight. He pulled away to hug Elrohir as well. "It is wonderful to have you all back. You have been sorely missed."

It was then that Glorfindel noticed Courtney and Stephanie standing at a distance, patiently waiting for their turn to greet Elrond. He waved them forward and they gladly ran over to him, hugging him tight.

Courtney kissed his cheek. "We have missed you so."

He smiled back at her. "I have missed you two and your banter. I have to admit that I miss the pizza too."

Stephanie laughed and rolled her eyes. "I think we've created a monster Court. He's obsessed with pizza now. What were we thinking?"

"Any one who tasted pizza for the first time would be obsessed with it Steph. It's understandable," Courtney laughed then remembered that they had left Allison standing by the horses all by herself. She ran over to Allison and grabbed her hand, dragging her up to Glorfindel. "This is our friend Allison that we have been talking non-stop about."

Glorfindel smiled coyly at Allison and kissed her hand softly. "Welcome to Rivendell my lady. I am Glorfindel."

"Just call me Allison please. Thank you for welcoming me. I have to admit that this will take some getting used to," She blushed when he winked at her.

Elrond watched this display with interest. "I am Lord Elrond and this is my Chief Advisor Erestor." He waved his hand in front of Erestor, introducing him.

Erestor bowed to her and kissed her hand, like Glorfindel had done. "It is a pleasure to meet you Allison. Welcome to Rivendell. I hope you'll like it here."

"I'm sure that I will," she was beginning to like it here, especially now that she had met Glorfindel. He seemed nice enough to her. Maybe she could have an actual conversation with him another time.

Courtney and Stephanie grabbed Allison's arms and started to drag her into the palace to get her settled in.

"Wait, why are we leaving the really hot elf guys?" Allison laughed at their shocked expressions. "What? You guys know how I am around really cute guys."

Stephanie shook her head. "Only you, Allison. Only you."

"So you think Glorfindel is cute?" Courtney smiled inwardly, liking that her and Stephanie's plan was working already. On their way home from Gondor, while Allison was sleeping, she and Stephanie had talked about hooking Allison up with Glorfindel. It was a good match and he already seemed to like her. Things were going smoothly.

"Cute just isn't the word Court. It's more like…amazingly hot!" Allison realized at that moment how happy she was to be with her friends again. It was like old times, even though they weren't in their own world anymore. She felt like she was slowly becoming herself again.

Leading Allison to a room close to hers and Courtney's, Stephanie giggled. "You think that anything male with two legs is hot Ali. But I'm glad that you like Glorfindel. He's a genuine guy and I think that he already likes you."

This last statement made Allison blush a deep shade of red. "It's too early to be thinking about me and him hooking up Steph, so don't you or you," she pointed at Courtney, "try to do anything stupid."

"Who, us? Never!" Courtney opened the bedroom door and ushered Allison in. "There's a hot bath that has already been prepared for you and I gave you one of my dresses to wear to dinner tonight since you don't have any of your own just yet. We'll come get you when it's time to go eat. Sound good?"

Allison nodded her head and took a look around her room. She was only vaguely aware of Stephanie and Courtney leaving her to herself to settle in. She flopped down on the bed, sinking into its softness. It felt so good to lay her head on something soft after that two week long journey here to Rivendell. She sat up and grabbed the fluffy white towel that had been sitting by her bed. She quickly undressed, wrapped the towel around her body and walked into the bathroom. Allison inhaled the aroma of sandalwood and patchouli oil that drifted around the room. She guessed it had come from the bath oils in the bath tub. She unwrapped the towel and gingerly stepped into the hot water, letting her body adjust to the heat. Once she was used to it, she sank into the water, closing her eyes in bliss, glad to be rid of the dirt and grime from the journey. She laid there for a while, thinking about nothing in particular, and then she washed her hair and body with the honeysuckle soap that was next to the tub. After that, she crawled out and went back into the main bedroom to look at the gown that Courtney had left her. It was a pale baby blue color. It had a low v-neckline and the sleeves were long and bell-shaped. It was a soft almost cotton-like material and she couldn't wait to put it on.

"Steph? Are you decent?"

Stephanie grabbed the towel from her bed and quickly wrapped herself in it. "Yeah, do you need something?"

"I just wanted to talk about Allison while we have a little time to do so," Courtney opened the door slowly and there was her friend, hair dripping wet and a towel tied loosely around her body. "Do you want me to wait out in the hall until you're dressed?"

"I'd appreciate that!" Stephanie threw a pillow at her laughing friend. When she was sure that Courtney was out in the hallway, she grabbed a pair of comfy sleep pants and a T-shirt that she had managed to get the seamstress to make, and sat down on her bed, drying her hair with a towel. "You can come back in now."

Courtney stepped into the bedroom again and plopped down next to her friend on the bed. "You just got out of the tub too? What did it smell like?"

Stephanie looked at her friend like she had grown two heads. "Why?"

"Allison said hers smelled like sandalwood and patchouli. Mine smelled like strawberries and Vanilla. I just wondered what yours smelled like," Courtney grabbed the towel that was draped across her neck, stood up, and started to scrunch her hair.

"Mine smelled like cinnamon apples. It was amazing! I don't think I've ever enjoyed a bath so much in my life!" They both laughed and carried on, talking about gossip they'd heard around the palace that day and about Stephanie's upcoming wedding.

Courtney smiled at her friend. "What about Allison?"

Stephanie matched the smile. "I think that things are going well, for her first day here. Compared to my first day, she's doing okay."

"Do you think she misses Tim?"

Tim. That was a name that she thought she'd never hear. Stephanie walked over to her vanity and began to brush out her hair. "I wouldn't doubt it, but she really needs to let him go. She's not going to see him again."

"I know. I just wonder if maybe that's what's causing her to be so, I don't know, depressed," Courtney put her towel around her neck and headed for the door. "I hope Glorfindel can distract her and teach her to move on. She really needs to Steph."

Stephanie nodded her head. "I know Court. But she won't move on unless she finds it within herself to do so. We can't make her move on. It doesn't work that way."

Courtney nodded in agreement and walked out of Stephanie's room, head hung low in defeat.

"What is taking her so long?" Courtney looked at Stephanie.

She shrugged her shoulders and knocked on the door again "Come on Ali! We're gonna be late!" Stephanie shook her head and watched Courtney roll her eyes.

Allison hurriedly slipped on the silver slippers by the bed and swung open the door. "Alright! Alright! I'm here! Don't have a cow."

Courtney stared at her. "You were in there getting ready long before we even started to get ready and we were done before you. You take too long."

The three girls headed off towards the dining hall together, occasionally seeing a face that they recognized. When they reached the doors to the dining room, Allison suddenly felt her appetite begin to die off. "I don't know if I can do this guys. I don't know any one in there."

"Yes you do. You know Elrond, Erestor, Glorfindel, and the twins. Believe me, that's all you'll need to know for now," Stephanie pushed her friend to the front. "You go first since you're the new one."

"Oh thank you so much for the honor," Allison remarked in a sarcastic tone of voice.

Courtney smiled at her. "No problem. We knew you'd appreciate it. Now go!"

Allison slowly opened the doors to the dining hall. Immediately, every pair of eyes were on her. It was majorly overwhelming, but she could handle it.

Seeing her uneasiness, Glorfindel stood up from the table and walked over to the three girls, smiling at Courtney and Stephanie as they walked away to join the twins at the table.

Allison curtsied, just like how Steph and Courtney showed her how to do. "Good evening my lord." She kept her head bowed low, too nervous to look at him.

Gently he lifted her chin and flashed her a brilliant smile. "I am just Glorfindel. May I escort you to the table? You may sit next to me if you wish to."

She softly laid her hand in his upturned palm. Allison felt like she was being swept away so suddenly. They reached the table and he pulled out a chair for her right next to his seat. When she as seated, he sat down as well and regular conversation was resumed as the dinner was served. Courtney and Stephanie winked at each other in satisfaction. Yes, everything was working out perfectly.

"I don't think I'll ever get this. It's too hard," Allison sat back against the couch and sighed heavily. "I could just kill Court and Steph for this."

Erestor smiled at her agitated state. "It's not as hard as you're making it sound and they want you to learn so that things are a little easier for you. They only care for you."

She scowled and sat forward again. She appreciated that Courtney and Stephanie cared so much for her, but making her learn the elvish language was just going too far. "I'm just not so good at learning languages. I took Spanish in high school and that was about it. I barely passed it! So how do they expect me to master this one?"

"It's not any different than learning another language Al. Just relax and let me help you," Erestor held out the book in front of them and had her read out what was written. She's really going to flip when she finds out that they want her to be able to write elvish too. He grimaced at that thought, then returned his attention to Allison, who was once again pronouncing most of the words the wrong way.

Courtney put on her jeans that she hadn't worn in a long time and the comfy T-shirt that she had worn when she first arrived in Middle Earth. She was planning on going to the market today to look at the fabric for Stephanie's brides' maids' gowns as well as fabric for her own bridesmaids gowns. Both weddings were fast approaching and there was so much to do before then.

She grabbed the small purse that Elrond had given her with money in it and tucked it into her pocket. She slipped on her tennis shoes and walked out of her bedroom and headed for Elrohir's room in the next hall over. When she got there, she was surprised to see the door hanging open. That's odd. He usually keeps his door closed. Oh well. She knocked lightly on the door to let him know she was there, just in case he was just getting out of the tub or something.

Elrohir stood in his bathroom with a blue towel wrapped around his waist. He was cleaning his teeth when he heard someone knock on his door. "Just a minute! I'll be right there!" He completely forgot that he had nothing on but a towel when he saw Courtney standing in the doorway.

She wouldn't deny that she liked what she saw. Perfectly toned muscles and softly tanned skin greeted her eyes. There were small water droplets here and there and his hair was wet and stuck to the sides of his face. Courtney quickly averted her eyes to the tiled floor, remembering that it was rude to stare, her cheeks flushing red.

He smiled at her modestness, though he couldn't help but know that she had liked what she'd seen. "It's alright. There's really nothing showing that you should be embarrassed of." When she refused to look up, he walked over to her and lifted her chin.

"I didn't mean to interrupt. Your door was open so I thought it was okay. I didn't know that you were," she looked him up and down, "Bathing."

"It's alright. Let me go get dressed and we can talk, okay?"

Courtney nodded and watched him go back into his bathroom. While she was waiting she decided to make herself comfortable. So she climbed up onto his bed and laid down. His bed was soft like hers was, but it had his warm pine scent on it. She closed her eyes and enjoyed being comfortable, it was almost enough to make her forget about her plans for the day.

"Enjoying yourself?"

She sat straight up and looked toward the bathroom door at a smirking Elrohir. "I was just laying down."

He joined her on the bed and held her hands. "Was there something that you wanted to talk about?"

"Kind of. I wanted to ask you if you'd come with me to the market. I have to get a fabric for brides' maids' dresses and I don't know my way around out there," Courtney watched his smile spread from ear to ear.

"I will join you. I get to show you off to my friends this way," He leaned in and kissed her slightly pouting lips deeply, exploring her sweet mouth.

Breathless, Courtney smiled at him. "Show me off? I'm not a prize cow at a fair you know."

Elrohir laughed heartily at that statement. "This I know. You are much prettier than a cow."

"Thank you so much for that," She replied sarcastically. "We need to go now if we want to be back before lunch."

"I think we'll skip lunch at the palace today. I'll buy you lunch at the finest café in town. How does that sound?" He hoped that this would please her. It was also a chance for him to create the one moment in her life that she would never forget.

She smiled at him. "That sounds wonderful. So we have time for a nap before we go?"

He laughed and pulled the bed sheets down, then once they were settled in, he covered their bodies and spooned behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist, the other one playing with her hair. "Comfortable meleth?"

Courtney brought his hand from around her waist and kissed it, then replaced it where it had been. "Very comfortable."

They both drifted off to sleep, warm and alive in each other's arms.