Chapter Thirteen: On French Food, Scientific Laws, and Swirly Ceiling Designs

DISCLAIMER: Baklava+extra honey=sugar high.

Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm back from the dead. I have resurrected from a self imposed locking my computer in a closet death. I had finals.

Brief Recap: They are in Lothlorien. Adonnenniel is beast at sword fighting, and Estela is learning Sindarin.

Random Quote: "Dear Waldo: Please return my invisibility cloak ASAP. Sincerely, H. Potter." ~dearblankpleaseblank dot com

The next morning was dark and hazy. Tendrils of mist circled through the trees and the entire forest seemed bathed in a languid fog. Early in the morning, when the sun had barely begun to peek out from the gray curtain of the sky, Estela had woken up and met Legolas to once again practice archery. The golden targets on the trees seemed blurred by the mist, and the forest was calmingly still and silent, it's surreal tranquility broken only by sporadic conversation.

Estela found the time to be relaxing, and knew that Legolas felt the same way. He certainly did not need to practice, and Estela knew she would more than likely never use a bow and arrow in an actual battle, so there was no urgency or necessity involved. She shot the arrows slowly, listening to the delicate twang they made as they fled the bow, and the sharp thud when they made contact with the targets. Legolas' demeanor was likewise, his movements relaxed and fluid.

They shot together until the sun had fully risen and the mist had dissipated. Estela then proceeded to seek out Boromir and Aragorn in an attempt to redeem herself from yesterday's horrible swordsmanship.

When she found them, they were on the practice grounds, already sparring with Adonnenniel and the hobbits. Here the sunlight shone brighter than it had in the recesses of the forest, and the air was filled with the sharp clanging of metal. Estela stared in awe at her sister, watching as she skillfully parried Boromir. Even though she could tell instantly that Boromir was not by any means going hard on her, in fact he wasn't even breaking a sweat, she still thought it was amazing that her sister could actually hold the sword without dropping it while simultaneously parrying another person. Why can't I do that? Estela thought jealously.

"Lady Estela!" Aragorn called, having spotted her and Legolas. He walked forward brusquely to meet them. "Would you like to practice? Perhaps you have improved since yesterday." He grinned, as though the thought of her having improved was comical.

"Yep," she said jokingly, "Maybe I'll manage to hold the sword on the pommel this time."

"That would be quite an improvement indeed," Aragorn said seriously. He turned towards Legolas. "Do you wish to join us? At the least, it will prove to be entertaining."

Estela glared reproachfully at him, but chose to ignore the jibe.

"No, I will simply watch," Legolas said. He walked closer to Aragorn, and whispered something to him. Both men started chuckling.

"What are you guys whispering about?" Estela raised her eyebrows at them.

"Nothing," Aragorn said quickly.

Estela rolled her eyes. "You guys are laughing at me, aren't you? It's kind of obvious."

Legolas and Aragorn exchanged a glance, and then Aragorn spoke. "He merely informed me that simply watching you attempt to wield a sword would prove entertaining in and of itself. I apologize, but swordsmanship is simply not your strongpoint."

Estela gaped at them, unsure of how to respond to that. She tried to think of some witty comeback, but nothing came to mind.

"Come," Aragorn said, laughter still evident in his voice, "Your sister has been asking for you all morning."

They approached Adonnenniel at the practice grounds where she was sparing back and the forth with the hobbits. Estela watched as she fought with Pippin, their swords clanging sharply.

"En garde!" Adonnenniel laughed. She appeared to be quite enjoying herself and not taking it very seriously at all.

"What does en garde mean?" Pippin asked as they both paused for a moment.

"It's French. It means you'd better pull out your sword unless you wanna get smote." Adonnenniel giggled. "Did I seriously just say smote?"

Sam looked at her curiously. "What is French?"

"Umm…it's a language. From a country called France that always loses in wars. Right, Estela?" Adonnenniel called, having spotted her sister.

"Come again?" Estela said as her, Legolas, and Aragorn reached the practice grounds.

"The French always lose."

Estela nearly fell over laughing. Legolas and Aragorn stared at her with a mixture of confusion and concern. "Aaaah…I suppose so, yes. Where'd that come from?"

"Well, Pippin asked me what en garde meant, and I told him it was French. And then Sam asked what French meant."

Estela approached her sister, and looked at her seriously. "Adonnenniel, when a hobbit asks you about France, don't tell them about the wars. Tell them about the food."

Adonnenniel grinned. "Alright then. Hey, Merry!" she called. "Ever heard of crème brulee? French fries? Waffles? No wait, those are from Belgium…"

Estela rolled her eyes and turned around to face Aragorn. "French fries aren't French," she said pointedly, knowing full well that he had no idea what she was talking about. "And the French are actually quite smart. They spend all their time on agriculture instead of warfare, which enables them to garner mass amounts of food and numerous varieties of foods. Then they're able to simply buy their way out of war by bribing the enemy with some form of tribute."

"Interesting," Aragorn said briefly.

"Sorry," Estela smiled. "Random history tangent. We can start now."

"Let's try this again, shall we?" He handed Estela the same sword she had used yesterday. She wrapped her fingers around it, and immediately it felt ungainly and awkward in her grip.

"Pommel, Estela," Legolas reminded her.

"Right…"

A mere ten minutes later, Aragorn was pretty much fuming with exasperation. "No, no, no! You cannot point the sword at the ground unless you are blocking your legs, in which case you should have it tilted sideways."

Despite her obvious physical and mental handicap with sword fighting, Estela kept at it and refused to give up. Her efforts weren't exactly paying off, though, and she was beginning to become annoyed with herself. Every once in a while, she would glance up and see Adonnenniel disarm someone or parry a blow, and then become even more frustrated.

On some level, Estela was quite confused about her inability to sword fight. After all, back in Moria she had held her own pretty well when using a makeshift weapon. As she thought on this more, she came to the conclusion that perhaps when battle was imminent and the primal need and instinct to fight were present, she could pull herself together and fight half way decently. Perhaps she reacted better to urgent situations. Or at least, that was what she kept telling herself so she wouldn't feel so bad.

After a while, Aragorn looked about ready to explode on her, so Estela called it quits. "How about you go help Adonnenniel? I'm getting pretty tired anyway."

"Very well," Aragorn said, poorly concealing his relief. With that, he walked away, and Estela went to the outskirts of the practice grounds where Legolas stood.

"Did you fare better today, Lady Estela?" he asked.

"You tell me," she said. "You were watching."

He looked at her seriously. "In all honestly, you did improve acutely. You held the sword by the pommel, after all."

Estela couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "Umm…thanks?" A moment of silence fell between them briefly.

"Would you like to accompany me to the library? We can embark on a task which I feel you are much better suited to."

"Embark on a task?" she echoed. "You mean teaching me Elvish?"

"Yes," Legolas nodded.

She smiled. "I would very much like that."

Ten minutes later, Estela and Legolas were once again seated on the library floor, in the same place they had been yesterday. As Estela read the words over his shoulder, she felt exhilarated with the familiar thrill of learning.

"Suilaid," Legolas said. "Do you recall what it means?"

"Suilaid," Estela repeated. "Umm…hello? No, no, that was something else with a different connotation. Oh! It means greetings," she said with certainty.

"Very good. However, your pronunciation is somewhat off. The last syllable is pronounced 'lied', not 'laid'."

"Okay," she nodded, and then repeated the word with the correct pronunciation. "And what was hello? I remember it started with an M."

"Mára aurë," he said.

Estela repeated the phrase.

As she learned new words and phrases, she wrote them down and each night studied them vigorously. It was a much more rewarding process than sword fighting. As their time in Lothlorien continued, each day she and Legolas spent virtually the entire afternoon, from lunch until dinner, in the library. Some days they would return to the library even after dinner. On their third day, Legolas asked her to repeat the basic phrases of greetings she had learned previously.

"Suilaid means greetings, and it is a formal way of speaking. Mára aurë is a more familiar way of saying hello," she said. "And elen síla lumenn' omentielvo means 'a star shines on the hour of our meeting," she said proudly. "Pronunciation wise, the tiel in omentielvo is slurred together."

"Excellent!" he exclaimed.

"I studied on my own," she told him.

"Would you like to try a conversation sometime soon? It a greater challenge because you must actually produce the words without being prompted."

"Sure!" Estela said excitedly. This was what she loved about learning. If you worked hard enough, then you could see the results rapidly. She was confident in her abilities to have a conversation.

"For now," Legolas continued, "I would like to test your knowledge of general vocabulary and phrases."

Estela glanced upwards at the treetops. A faint golden light had wound itself through the green of the treetops, and its light was fading fast. "Alright," she said, "But let's make it quick. The sun's almost set."

Legolas looked up, startled. "I did not realize so much time had passed." He tilted his head sideways, and stared at Estela. "Time seems to have a different meaning in Lothlorien, and it is even more distorted when I am with you." A distant look passed over him.

Legolas shook his head, and the strange look vanished from his features. "Let us return to our lesson."

"Okay," Estela nodded. She mentally shifted through the list of words she had been vigorously committing to memory. "Do you want me to spell the words or just say them?"

"Saying them will suffice. I would like to hear your pronunciation as well. Simply translate what I say in Westron into Sindarin. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Estela said.

"Yes," Legolas said.

"Umm…I just said that."

He glanced sideways at her. "No, Estela, I meant for you to translate the word."

"Oh!" she realized. "Yes is mae."

"No."

"Yes it is!" she said indignantly.

Legolas sighed.

"Oh," she said again. "Sorry. No is lau."

"May the Valar be with you."

"Belain na le," she translated.

"Good. Raise the last syllable slightly, and it will be perfect."

And so for the next half hour, Estela's verbal knowledge of Westron to Sindarin was put to the test. Every word and phrase came easily, and she felt acutely perplexed by this. She hadn't studied on her own that much. However, she basked in her clear affinity for the language, and she could tell that Legolas was pleased with her progress.

As they studied, the golden light in the treetops gradually unwound itself, retreating into the horizon along with the sun. The stars peeped out from their dark curtain, tentatively at first, and then shed their clear glow over Lothlorien. The moon was not present, but the stars sufficed in lighting the forest. They painted the trees a bright silver that reflected everywhere like a room full of mirrors. A stark silence hung over the forest, broken only by the soft whisper of the wind brushing the trees, and the faint sound of rivers in the distance. Gradually, the other Elves in the library closed their books with a slight shuffling of paper, and left. Neither Legolas nor Estela seemed to realize that night had fallen, and so absorbed were they in their lesson that the silence pervading the rest of the forest did not affect them.

After having her translate Westron into Sindarin, Legolas reverted back to translating Sindarin into Westron. Estela found this slightly more difficult, and ended up second guessing herself a lot.

"No ce ammaer ab lû thent," Legolas said.

"May you…Errr…Feel better?"

"In essence," he responded. "The exact translation is 'may you be better soon'."

"Heca, firimar!" he continued.

Estela laughed. "Doesn't that mean 'stand aside, mortals'? When exactly would you say that?"

Instead of answering her question, he smiled at her and said, "Melin ceni hin lîn síla i 'eladhach." (I love the way your eyes shine when you laugh)

She stared at him in shock, and then felt an intense blush color her cheeks.

"Do you not know what it means?" he raised an eyebrow at her, and she could have sworn that he was trying not to laugh.

"N…No…" she stammered. "You…umm…You spoke too fast."

"Estela," he said, assuming an air of seriousness, "You are horrible at lying."

For a moment she let her flustered thoughts run their course, and then tried to compose herself. "You really shouldn't tease me, you know. Ya línna ambanna tulinuva nan, Legolas."

It happened suddenly: Legolas threw his head back and laughed. As in, compared to his normally melodic and light hearted laughter, he completely and utterly lost it. Estela stared at him with apprehension and confusion. She had never seen him laugh so hard before. She glanced around the library, and saw that they had attracted the attention of several other Elves who had lingered in the library after sundown.

"Legolas," she tentatively touched his shoulder, and felt his body shaking with laughter beneath her touch. "They're all staring at us," she whispered.

"Estela…" Laughter. "Do you…" More laughter. "Have any idea what you just said?"

She looked at him with farther confusion. "Yes. I told you that you shouldn't tease me, because what goes around comes around."

Legolas calmed down slightly, but a large smile remained plastered on his face. "Is that what you thought you said?"

"Well then, what did I say?" she asked.

"You told me that I should refrain from teasing you because what goes up must come down."

Estela laughed. "Is that all? I think I know your weak spot now. I'll just recite scientific laws in Sindarin, and you'll keel over laughing. But I don't think I quite understand how that was funny enough for you to…well…completely lose your regal composure like you just did."

Legolas shook his head. "I do not know exactly. It may have just been the way you said it. You sounded so serious. Also, I suppose I am not accustomed to, as you so phrased it, losing my regal composure. Once I began laughing, I could not stop, and it was like a powerful force I could not contain."

"Like dominoes," Estela said wisely.

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind…Should we commence the actual lesson now?"

"No," he said decidedly. "You have more than proven yourself today." He stood up, and then extended a hand to help her up. For some reason, Estela found herself trying not to laugh as she grasped his hand and stood.

"Estela," Legolas began, "There is a place in Lothlorien that is particularly beautiful after night fall. I wish to show it to you, if you will accompany me. And if not tonight, then at least before we leave Lorien."

Estela again fought the urge to laugh, this time because of his extremely polite tone of voice. "I would love to, but just not right now. It's already late, and Adonnenniel is probably wondering where I am. But I would like to eventually. Between archery, sword fighting, and these lessons, I haven't seen much of Lothlorien at all."

Legolas smiled as they started walking. "We will have to remedy that. Perhaps you should accompany your sister and the hobbits in the mornings once in a while. I have heard from Haldir and others that they can be seen daily wandering about Lothlorien." He suddenly laughed. "Most whom I've spoken with about them have commented on your sister."

"Really? What do they say about her?" Estela asked.

"That she is as peculiar as she is beautiful. They also wonder at her appearance, and how it is she has such dark hair and fair skin."

"Well, I think she's probably wondering why all the Elves she's ever met have blonde hair."

"I suppose so. Did you know that Rivendell Elves have darker hair than those who hail from the Woodland Realm or Lothlorien?"

"Why exactly is that? You'd think it would be the other way around, since those who live in Rivendell are exposed to the sun more."

Legolas looked perplexed at this. "I do not know…"

After she reached her room, Estela closed the door softly behind her, so as to not wake her sister. Adonnenniel was sprawled across the still made bed, her dark hair brushing the floor and her arms outstretched. She looked a bit comical.

Estela quietly went into the washroom to bathe and change her clothes. She was slowly becoming more accustomed to changing in and out of these dresses, but this one was proving to be particularly consternating. She gradually pulled the dress over her head, and half way through doing so remembered that she should probably have unlaced the strings on the back first. She tried to pull it back on, and then realized that she had already removed her arms from the sleeves. She stood there frowning for a moment, and then counted to three and yanked the dress upwards.

"Ow!" she shrieked.

She had caught her hair between the strings. She grimaced as it pulled her hair, and then slowly turned her head to assess the problem. Estela nearly laughed. How does something like that even happen? she thought. She was standing in a Lothlorien washroom in Middle Earth, half naked with a dress tangled in her hair. However, the comical aspect of it vanished in a second, as she realized that this was a bit of a serious problem. Her hair was completely tangled with the strings, and she couldn't even turn her head all the way because she had yanked the dress up past her head.

For a moment she just stood there, breathing deeply and trying to calm herself. She felt quite trapped. After a while, she composed herself enough to think coherently. Slowly, she brought her hands to the back of the dress and began meticulously untangling her hair. It was a tedious process, but she eventually managed. Next, instead of pulling the dress over her head, she brought it down to her waist and let it fall to the floor so she could simply step out of it.

Estela was tempted to burn the dress, but instead neatly folded it and then bathed. When she at last emerged from the washroom, she spotted her sister sitting on her bed, arms folded across her chest and a small frown plastered on her face.

"Hey," Adonnenniel nodded. "Where were you?

"I was in the washroom." Estela glanced at her suspiciously. "I thought you were asleep."

"I was. But you woke me up. Good thing, too, because I meant to be awake when you got back. We need to talk, Estela. Where were you?" she repeated. "And I don't mean just now. I mean before you came back to our room."

"Why do you want to know?"

Adonnenniel narrowed her eyes as she spoke. "Do you have something to tell me, Estela?"

Estela's thoughts instantly turned towards the Prophecy. "No," she said hastily. Her gaze darted around the room fearfully, refusing to meet her sisters' eyes.

"Yes, you do."

Estela bit her bottom lip, and sat down on her bed. She nervously ran her fingers through her hair. She spoke waveringly. "No, I don't.

"You're biting your bottom lip, Estela. I know that look. You're either really nervous or you're trying to keep a secret. You suck at lying, you know."

Estela felt a strong urge to bolt out of the room.

Adonnenniel spoke without looking at her. "Just tell me where you were right now."

Estela took a deep breath, and then told her sister the truth. "I was with Legolas. And, Adonnenniel, there's something I should tell you but I…"

Suddenly, Adonnenniel stood up. "Ha!" she said. "I so totally knew it! So you and him are like a thing now?"

Estela blinked.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Adonnenniel whined. "I thought you were pissed at me or something. Ever since we've been here you've been acting weird around me and now I know why. For whatever demented reason, you were trying to keep him secret!" She sat down next to Estela, and glared fiercely at her. "From now on, missy, you tell me everything. And you'd better not start hanging out with him all the time and ignoring me. Remember: Sisters before misters. I actually will get mad at you if you don't follow that little piece of girl code."

"Girl code?" Estela said faintly. She hadn't quite processed what had just happened yet.

"Yeah, you know, those unspoken rules. Like, if you break up with someone then you don't date again for at least three months and two weeks. And you have to date someone for at least a month before responding to his text messages right away, because otherwise you seem jealous."

"You know," Estela said, her voice shaking, "For a moment there I thought you were actually angry with me."

Adonnenniel looked confused. "Angry? Naah. Just slightly annoyed. I just wanted you think I was angry so that I'd scare you and you wouldn't ever do that again."

"Do what?" Estela asked, bewildered.

"Not telling me! That's what! You really should have told me first thing, you know. If I even get one whiff of you doing things with him without my knowledge, then I will smite you." Adonnenniel paused. "That's the second time I've said some form of the word smite today," she mused. "I hope the weird word usage here isn't rubbing off on me. Anyway, I need to educate you on How to Behave With a Boy. Because no offense, but I'm way more experienced than you. Step one…"

Estela burst out laughing. "Adonnenniel…Legolas and I are just friends."

Adonnenniel narrowed her eyes. "Don't give me that crap, Estela."

"I'm being serious," Estela insisted.

Adonnenniel seemed to consider this briefly. "If you're lying to me about this…"

"I'm not lying!" she laughed. "Really. We're just friends. I promise."

"Oh. Okay then," Adonnenniel shrugged. "Glad we got that straightened out. I just have one more question for you, and I want you to swear that you'll answer honestly."

Estela rolled her eyes. "What is it?"

"Will you answer honestly?"

"Yes."

"Good." Adonnenniel took a breath, and then spoke slowly. "Do you have any interest in him whatsoever? As in, being more than friends? Are there ever moments when you just want to lean in, and you know, kiss him? "

Estela felt an intense blush color her cheeks. "That was more than one question."

Adonnenniel sighed. "Fine. I can see you're not ready to tell me yet. It's alright." She stood up, and went back to her own bed. She lay down and rolled over, pulling the blankets up to her chin. "Just let me know when you do feel like sharing."

Estela slipped into bed, and did not answer her sister. She looked up at the ceiling, becoming dully absorbed in its' design. Though the lighting in the room was dark, she could still vaguely make out the carvings. The wood had one large circle encompassing the entire span of the ceiling, and then a seemingly random pattern of numerous other smaller circles. As she stared at it longer, she noticed that the little circles had even smaller circles within them, and so on.

Estela sighed, and willed herself to remove her thoughts from ceiling designs.

And then without warning, her thoughts turned towards Legolas. Images of him flashed through her mind, insubstantial and fleeting…Walking with him on their way to Moria…Sitting with him on the forest floor in Lothlorien…Reading over his shoulder in the library... Discussing everything from history to their childhoods…Exchanging a laugh or a smile with him…

She realized that as more images of him filled her mind, she was filled with a strange emotion that she couldn't quite figure out. She tried to pin the feeling down, to give it a label and make it comprehensible, but it was elusive and fleeting, like trying to catch thin air. And beneath the elusive feeling, was an even deeper emotion. It was a sense of simple warmth and comfort, that for a moment filled her so completely that she backed away from it instead of embracing it.

It was in that moment that Estela shook herself, and willed herself to close her eyes and sleep. She shut her eyes tightly, and somehow managed to quickly fall asleep.

Coming Up Next!

-Bellethiel, Adonnenniel, and the hobbits will hang out!

-Something about the Estela's and Adonnenniel's mother!

-GIMLI! Who's normally very much neglected in Sue stories, but I feel like I have to include him somewhere!

Another Author's Note: I'm part French. I therefore feel no guilt for poking fun at them. Hehe ^.^