Ch: 19 Early Morning Meeting
He sat up in bed and stretched. It was early morning and the sun was just creeping above the hills. He looked next to him and smiled. There she was, sleeping next to him. She smiled even in her sleep. He kissed Stephanie's cheek softly so as not to wake her up and quickly dressed.
Elladan yawned and went over to the mirror where a water pitcher and a bowl were sitting. He poured the water into the bowl and washed his face and cleaned his teeth. Then he combed and braided his hair in the typical warrior fashion. He grabbed his sword and bow and with one last kiss to Stephanie's cheek, he walked out of his bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him.
Elrohir had been up for quite some time, watching her sleep. Her shallow breathing was almost enough to make him want to crawl back in bed with her and go back to sleep. She was so calm and peaceful while sleeping, but he knew that as soon as she woke up she would be energetic and bouncy and ready to start a new day. He smiled and laughed to himself quietly. It was amazing at how much his world revolved around her. He kissed her lips gently, that's when he noticed that she had the necklace on that he had given her yesterday. He stood up from his chair, cleaned himself up, and grabbed his sword and bow. He had to meet Elladan this morning for their routine morning spar. He kissed Courtney's forehead and whispered that he loved her into her ear, and then quietly left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
They were about an hour into their sword fight when Erestor showed up wanting to talk to them, mostly to Elrohir.
"What is it Erestor?"
He smiled at the twins. "Courtney's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks."
Elladan raised his eyebrows. "She never told us. Come to think of it, neither did Steph or Allison."
Elrohir nodded his head. "Stephanie said something to me yesterday night about a birthday surprise for Courtney. It was late and she couldn't tell me details. What's going on?"
"Mara had her kittens yesterday and Steph and Allison told me how much Courtney adores cats," Erestor lead the twins to a stone bench and had them sit down. "Allison thought that it would be nice for you to give Courtney a kitten for her birthday Elrohir. What do you think?"
He smiled. "I think that's a wonderful idea. But won't she find out about the kittens? I mean, she's not stupid."
Erestor stood up from the bench. "I have it all figured out. Don't worry about the kittens, but try to keep it a secret. Your father, Glorfindel, and I are trying to arrange a huge birthday feast and party for her. Arwen has already volunteered for the decorations."
"I can take her into town the day that you guys are getting ready. That way she'll be out of the way and you won't have to worry about where she's at and if she'll catch on," Elrohir stood up as did Elladan and they picked up their shirts that they had discarded while sword fighting.
Erestor shook his head. "I need you and Elladan to help me prepare a few things here around the palace."
Elladan looked at Erestor, confused. "Then who's going to keep her away?"
"Allison and Legolas will keep her occupied in town the day we prepare everything. Don't worry. Everything is all set and ready," Erestor started to walk away then remembered something. "Elrohir?"
"Yes?"
"She's very lucky you know."
Elrohir stared at Erestor. "Why do you say that?"
Erestor smiled brightly. "She has someone like you."
Ch 20: Chocolate Chip Cookies
It was midday and the smell of chocolate and cookie dough permeated the palace. Stephanie wiped a smear of flour from her cheek and smiled at her friends. "I can't believe that these people have never had chocolate chip cookies."
Courtney nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it. That's sad."
"Do you think they'll like them you guys?" Allison took a cookie tray out of the oven and inhaled the chocolate buttery smell. She sat the tray on a towel and scooped the cookies off the tray onto a decorative plate with a flat knife.
"They better like them or I'll have to eat them all and I don't want to have to do that!" Stephanie stared at the cookies, wishing she could eat every last one of them.
Laughing, Courtney grabbed a cookie and took a bite. "I don't see how they couldn't like them." She picked up a small plate that was littered with the sweet morsels and headed for the kitchen door. "I'm taking these to Elrond, Celeborn, and Thranduil. Wanna come Steph?"
Stephanie wanted to go. She'd never met King Thranduil or Celeborn, but she had to meet Elladan by the large fountain in an hour. "I can't. I have a date."
"Alright, how about you Al?"
Allison looked up at her friend. "I'm gonna finish this last batch of cookies and then I'm going to go talk to Glorfindel."
"You guys an item yet?" Stephanie grabbed a cookie and took a bite, unable to just look at them any longer.
"Not really. I just like to talk to him. He's very smart and I can actually be myself around him," Allison took the last of the cookies and popped them into the oven.
Courtney smiled. "Well I'll see you two later on at dinner. I'll take this tray of cookies to Elrond. I'm sure they need them. After missing two meals, those guys have to be hungry. Have a good day!"
Stephanie and Allison waved at her and watched her leave. Stephanie shook her head and smiled. "I never thought I would say it, but I'm glad that we're here instead of home."
Allison sat down next to Stephanie. "This is home now Steph. Even I have begun to accept that fact."
"I know and I accepted it a long time ago, but i'm genuinely glad that we're here. I feel more at home here than I ever did in Jackson," She slid off the chair and walked over to the door. "I have to go meet Elladan. I will see you at dinner."
"Alright. Have fun!" Allison smiled and followed her friend out of the kitchen to watch her walk down the hall. Yes, this was home. Not just any home, she had her two best friends right here with her. What better home is there than that?
"Come on in," Celeborn had been talking to Thranduil and Elrond all morning, not realizing that they had missed breakfast and lunch. A young human girl walked in with a plate of cookies and a pitcher of what looked like milk.
She smiled at them and sat the plate and pitcher on Elrond's desk. "Good afternoon Elrond. I brought you guys something. I thought you might be hungry missing two meals and all."
Elrond smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "I thank you. What is it?"
Courtney laughed. "They're cookies. Chocolate chip to be exact. Steph, Allison, and I made them. They're hot right out of the oven. And that's milk to drink with them."
Thranduil stood up and bowed politely to her while he kissed her hand. "Courtney, it is always a pleasure seeing you again. How are you?"
"I am well sire. And how are you and your family?" She poured three glasses of milk and handed each of them a cookie.
"My wife is forever attending to the needs of others and my son Legolas is here, as you know, visiting," Thranduil smiled at her. There was something about this girl that just made him want to smile inside and out. "And my daughter is visiting some friends in Lothlorien."
Elrond turned Courtney to look at Celeborn. "This is Elrohir's grandfather, Lord Celeborn of Lothlorien."
Celeborn stood up and kissed her hand. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Elrond and Elrohir write and speak of nothing else."
"You flatter me my lord, but thank you just the same. I am what I am," She smiled at them one last time then turned to leave. "I hope you enjoy the cookies and milk."
Thranduil nodded his head. "I'm sure we will. Will we be seeing you at the evening meal then?"
She curtsied. "I will be there sire."
Elrond laughed. "We will talk to you then pen-neth. Good day."
"Good day my lords," with that last statement she closed the study doors and headed for her bedroom for a bath and a good book to read.
Ch 21: The Journal
Knock, knock!
Courtney looked up from her book to her bedroom door, wondering who could want to see her. "Come on in."
Legolas stepped into her bedroom, smiling his charming smile. "Good afternoon Courtney. May I speak with you?"
"Of course Legolas. One of your visits is always a pleasure," She sat up and laid her book down on the nightstand next to her bed. She took a sip of milk from the glass on the nightstand and looked at Legolas. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"I just wanted to know if you could go into town with me next week. I have a few things that I need to get done and I thought that you might like to get out of the palace for a while," He smiled at her and walked around her room, stopping every now and then to inspect a particular painting that caught his eye or a book that interested him.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I have nothing else to do. Elrohir and Elladan said something about having to tutor their new archers overtime every night next week."
Legolas walked over to her bed and sat down. "Elrohir loves you and would spend every moment with you if he could. You know that."
"I suppose I do. It's just strange to not have him around, you know? I feel like half of me isn't there," Courtney looked up into his bright blue eyes, filled with love and friendship for her.
"You are loved by everyone who meets you. You could charm a snake from under a rock if you wanted to," her musical laughter rang through his ears, making him grin like a fool.
Courtney kissed his cheek. "You're so good to me and a wonderful friend to have. I don't think I would have been able to handle this if I hadn't had you to help me through it."
Legolas nodded his head in agreement. "Do you remember the first time you woke up in Mirkwood?"
"Oh please, do we have to talk about that? I can't believe how I acted toward you and your family. I still feel bad about that to this day," Courtney pulled out a black leather-bound journal. "I have written down everything that has happened to me since I first arrived here in this journal. I had just bought this a few days before the accident and it must have carried through when I was brought here."
He smiled at her and took the journal from her. He looked up to her face and smiled shyly. "May I?"
"Go ahead," Courtney watched him open it to the first page. It was the first entry that she had written in it, the night that the accident had happened before Stephanie had come to pick her up for their girl's night out.
Legolas lightly ran his fingers down the page and stared at the words. It was a language that he didn't know. "Can you read this to me? I do not understand it."
Courtney grabbed the journal from him and scooted closer to him so she could hold it up for both of them to see. "I will do more than just read it to you. I'll teach you to read it for yourself. I'll read it to you first and then I'll try to teach you how to read it."
Dear Journal,
Well, tonight is a girls night out for me, Steph, and Allison. We always have so much fun with it's the three of us. You would think that one of us would feel like a third wheel, but it just doesn't work out that way with us for some reason. I love them so much, like they were my own sisters and it's almost like God intended us to meet and have an everlasting friendship. There is only one thing bothering me though. I know that it might sound silly, but it kind of worries me. I have this odd feeling in the pit of my stomach that something is going to happen tonight. Call me crazy, but it's just a weird feeling that I have. Maybe that taco I ate for lunch today isn't agreeing with me, but there's something strange at work. I can almost feel it, taste it in the air. I wanted to tell Steph and Allison this at school today, but it wasn't the right time or place to be discussing such things. Besides, what if they thought I was crazy or something? What if they laughed at me and decided that they didn't want to hang out with me anymore? I don't think I could handle that at all. Oh well. I think I'll just let it go for the time being. I mean, who's to say that something bad will happen tonight? It's just a weird feeling that can easily be caused by something that I ate earlier today. I will admit that lately, I have been worrying a lot about my family. Just over little things, like Kaylee going over to a friends house for the night or Joey going places with a friends family that we don't know very well. I've even been worried about mom and dad. Isn't it their job to worry about me? I feel a deeper appreciation for them for some reason and I can't quite put my finger on the reason why. I've been wondering if it might be God's way of telling me or warning me that something in my life is about to change. But how much change could I possibly go through? Well, I think I hear Steph pulling in to the driveway. I will write back as soon as I figure out what the heck is going on with my life.
Love Always,
Courtney
She stopped reading and looked up into the eyes of her close friend. "That was the night that we got in the accident. The night that I was brought here to Middle-Earth for God knows what reason."
Legolas wrapped an arm around her and hugged her shoulders. "Please don't be so melancholy. You were brought here for a reason. Even if that reason hasn't yet been made known, it'll show its face soon." He kissed her forehead and closed the journal, setting it on the nightstand on top of the book she had been reading earlier.
"Sometimes I lay awake at night wondering what my family is doing and if they miss me at all. Knowing them they're probably worried sick about me," Courtney picked up the journal and opened it to a new blank page, a couple pages after her first entry. "I think I need to write down a few things before they escape my mind."
"I will leave you in peace to write. If you need me for anything at all, I am right down the hall from your room," He smiled at her and hugged her close. "Thank you for sharing that journal with me. Someday soon you can teach me that language."
Courtney laughed. "I would love to teach you. If I can teach Elrohir I can teach anyone."
He laughed and kissed her cheek one last time before walking out of her bedroom and closing the door softly behind him.
She sat down at the small desk in the corner of her bedroom and sat her journal down in front of her. She dipped her quill into the small pot of ink and began to write:
Dear Journal,
The last time I wrote I was in Mirkwood under the care of Prince Legolas and his father. They have treated me with great care and affection as if I was a member of their family. I, however am very aware of the fact that I am human and there's nothing changing that. Which brings me to the reason as to why I am writing right now. I haven't spoken to Elrohir about this yet, but that is only because I am afraid to. We have so much going for us right now that I couldn't bear to ruin it now. My concern is, if Elrohir is in love with me will he choose to be mortal as I am? This scares me more than anything. I don't want to rob him of his immortality. He was born a half-elf and has the choice of either being mortal and dieing like one, or staying immortal and sail to Valinor as all elves to. He and Elladan both must make this decision. I fear that my heart would break if he would ever leave me behind, but I can't be selfish. He shouldn't forsake his immortality for me. I couldn't bear the thought of him dieing. I wonder if Steph has had any of the same thoughts as I have. Maybe I should talk to her about it when the time is right to discuss such things. If only there was a way that everything could be okay. So that no one would have to worry about dieing or leaving someone that they love behind. The time is getting late and I can hear the dinner bell ringing. I have to go now, but be assured that I will write soon. Sooner than last time, I promise.
Love Always,
Courtney