I recently realized how much I rely on dialogue in my stories. Does it bother you? Anything else you think I should change? I can make changes if you would like, and if it doesn't take away from the story I have already written. I am still open for suggestions on a new series based on this and I Keep Looking For Something More. Anyway, here's part 2, please send me reviews! Enjoy!
None of Thranduil's friends were able to find any hint of the girl he was looking for. With just her physical description, there was not enough for them to determine which of the fair-haired elleths of Harlond was the one the prince was after. A month passed, and they had all but given up.
"Sorry Thranduil," Novathin said as they sat around the table for breakfast. "But you are asking for a miracle. Without her name, there is almost no possibility of us finding her. There are just too many elleths that fit your description."
Thranduil sighed. He had all but given up himself. It hadn't taken long before he had had to leave the searching to his friends as he dove back into his studies. At this point, he wasn't even sure his memory of her was accurate.
"Maybe I'll run into her someday," Thranduil said heavily. "Thanks for trying."
"Well the midsummer festival is in a few weeks, maybe you'll run into her there," Balamaethor said, trying to cheer up his friend.
"Maybe," Thranduil said, standing up and abandoning his half eaten meal. "I think I'm going to go for a ride before returning to the library. Anyone want to come?"
"Can't," Lithiavas said, shoving the last bite of food in his mouth. "I have to work on the new wing today."
"How about you two?" Thranduil asked, looking at Balamaethor and Novathin.
"Why not? I was just going to work on the gardens today."
"I don't want to study, either," Balamaethor said, standing up. "Have fun with your rocks today, Lithiavas."
"Thanks," Lithiavas replied sarcastically as his friends headed towards the stables and he headed off to work.
"We really should get back to studying," Balamaethor said as he, Novathin, and Thranduil led their horses back to the stables. "As much as I hate to admit it, we have been rather lax in our work lately."
"I know, we'll head to the library as soon as we're done here," Thranduil said, leading Arandil towards the stable entrance. But before he got through the gate, the stallion's ears pricked up and he shook his head up and down.
"What's wrong, boy?" Thranduil asked, trying to get a hold on Arandil's bridle. But the horse bucked, pulling himself free of Thranduil's grip, and galloped away into the trees nearby.
"I'll get him, just put your horses away," Thranduil said as his friends made to mount up and go after the stallion. They turned back into the stable as Thranduil jogged after his horse, whistling sharply, hoping Arandil would return on his own. He was generally a well behaved, if spirited, horse, and Thranduil couldn't account for this new behavior.
As he followed the stallion's path through the trees, he came out suddenly on a clearing by a stream that cut through a small hill. He saw Arandil standing near a willow tree, but he was not alone.
Thranduil stopped short when he saw Arandil was standing beside the very elleth he had been looking for during the last month. When he had stepped out of the trees, he had seen her patting his horse's nose with a beautiful smile on her face, but when she caught sight of him, her smile vanished. She quickly let go of Arandil and retreated until her back was against the trunk of the willow tree.
Thranduil, who could tell she was on the verge of fleeing, made a move towards her.
"Wait a moment," he said before she could disappear. But he couldn't get anything else out, he was so enthralled by her beauty, despite the frightened look on her face.
"I am sorry, your majesty," she said timidly, looking down. "I didn't know this was your horse."
"It is alright," Thranduil said, finding his voice again and turning on the charm that had worked so often on other elleths. "I am just surprised to see Arandil show affection for someone other than myself. What is your name?" He felt his heart beating rapidly, having wanted to know the answer to that question for weeks now, and feeling that he was finally on the brink of finding out.
"My name is Ellissiel, my lord," she said, her face slightly pink, which Thranduil thought was adorable. "But I really must be going. I am sorry." With that, she disappeared into the trees before Thranduil could say another word. He was used to having a strong effect on ladies, but having them flee from him was new. He frowned, wondering what he had done to elicit such a reaction from such a beautiful elleth.
"Thranduil! Oh good, you found him." Novathin and Balamaethor came up behind him.
"What's wrong with you?" Balamaethor asked, looking in the direction Thranduil was staring.
"I can't believe it," Thranduil said quietly, regaining his motor functions enough to walk over to Arandil and grab his bridle. "What are the odds?"
"Of what?" Novathin said, concerned about this strange behavior.
"Arandil found her," Thranduil said, turning to look at his friends. "Arandil found the elleth I was looking for."
"You're kidding!" Balamaethor said, eyes wide. "What happened?"
"She ran away from me," Thranduil said, still in shock. "But before she did, I got her name."
"And?" Balamaethor said eagerly. "What is it?"
"Ellissiel," Thranduil said, pouring every ounce of emotion he could muster into that one word. "Her name is Ellissiel."
Armed with this new information, it was not difficult for Thranduil's friends to find her. It was Novathin who found her first.
He happened to be visiting his cousin later that week, to spend time with him and his new bride.
"I don't suppose either of you could help me with something," he asked on whim, thanking his cousin's new bride, Quessiel, as she handed him a cup of tea.
"What do you need help with?" his cousin Foroduin asked, smiling at his wife as she sat beside him.
"I have been given instructions to find a young elleth who goes by the name of Ellissiel," he said before taking a sip of tea. "It's important."
"Oh no, what has she done?" Quessiel said wearily, sighing as she looked at him over her teacup.
"You know her?"
"She is my sister," she replied. "Is she in trouble again?"
"No, no, nothing like that," Novathin reassured her. Then he paused, his brow furrowed. "What do you mean, again?"
"She is incredibly fond of horses, and more than once she has gotten in trouble, 'borrowing' them without permission."
"Really?" Novathin said, grinning. Maybe that's why Arandil was so attached to her.
"You haven't answered my question though," Quessiel pressed. "Why are you asking about Ellissiel?"
"It appears that she ran into my friend the other day and he was asking about her," he said cryptically. "I assume you know of Prince Thranduil?"
"My goodness, what did she do to him?" Quessiel asked, horrified. Novathin hadn't expected that reaction.
"I believe your sister truly is a thief, Quessiel. Do not tell her this, but I think she may have stolen the young prince's heart. It is too early to tell, but he was strangely insistent to know who she was."
"Well, well, that is an interesting bit of news," Quessiel said, her look of horror disappearing, replaced by a smile as she sipped her tea. "I will have to ask her about the encounter. She said nothing to me. Tell his majesty that she is the daughter of Lady Minuial and Lord Dintieron and a spirited young lady. If you have any more news for me after that, please, don't hesitate to share."
"Good afternoon, Lissi," Quessiel said with a sly grin on her face as her sister entered their parent's home.
"Good afternoon," Ellissiel said, smiling at her sister. "What are you doing here today? I thought I was going to come visit you?"
"I couldn't wait. I heard something interesting this morning and wanted to ask you about it."
"What's that?" Ellissiel said, hanging up the leather bag she had been wearing.
"I heard you met Prince Thranduil several days ago," Quessiel said, watching her sister closely. At the mention of the prince, Ellissiel paused, quickly returning to her task when she realized her reaction.
"I ran into him is all. We didn't have a long conversation or anything."
"Is that so? It appears that the young prince took an interest in you nonetheless," Quessiel said, her grin widening as her sister turned slightly pink. "Foroduin's cousin said he was asking about you."
"I'm sure he was just wondering what I was doing with his horse," she replied as if this wasn't anything special.
"I knew it! You stole his horse!"
"I didn't!" Ellissiel said defensively. "His horse found me in the woods."
"Oh really? Why would his horse be looking for you?"
"Well," Ellissiel said guiltily, biting her lip. "I may have brought him treats a few times. But I swear, I didn't ride him!"
Quessiel gave her sister a hard look, daring her to lie. When Ellissiel looked her in the eye steadily, her face softened, satisfied her younger sibling was telling the truth.
"Well whatever happened, he is asking about you. I think you should go to the midsummer festival and see what happens."
"I don't want to go to the festival!" Ellissiel said with a childish frown. "Why would I want to go, anyway? I have never liked that sort of thing."
"Oh please, all elves love music and dancing," Quessiel said, rolling her eyes. "You just want to go watch the falling stars."
"Well, it's not my fault they are both the same night. All elves are supposed to like stars, too."
"Yes, but you have an unhealthy obsession," Quessiel said, just as the door opened and their mother walked in. "Same with horses."
"What is going on?" Minuial asked, looking around at her daughters.
"I was just telling Lissi that she needed to go to the midsummer festival and not go stare off into space. It's your fault, you know."
"What's my fault?" Minuial asked, surprised.
"Her obsession with the stars. If you hadn't taken her out so often when we were little, she might have at least shown an interest in marriage by now."
"I can't help it that I'm an astronomer," Minuial said, sitting down beside her eldest daughter. "And why should she be worried about marriage now? She's young, she has plenty of time to think about that."
"Have it your way," Quessiel said, getting up and entering the kitchen. "But you should make her go to the festival!"
"I really don't want to go!" Ellissiel said, looking pityingly at her mother. Minuial smiled at her daughter.
"I know you don't dear, and I won't make you go. But you should think about it at least. The stars will be falling all night, you can go for a short time at least."
"She needs to, because there's a good chance Prince Thranduil will be looking for her," Quessiel said as she reentered the room with a tea tray.
"What makes you say that?" Minuial asked, taking a teacup off the tray and taking a sip.
"Foroduin's cousin says the prince was asking about her. They met earlier this week apparently, and she failed to share it with us."
"Really?" Minuial asked, turning to her other daughter with a smile. "Do tell."
"It wasn't a long conversation," Ellissiel repeated. "I was just sitting under the willow when this white horse came up to me. I didn't know it was his. Prince Thranduil entered the clearing shortly afterwards, asked me my name, and I left."
"You ran away didn't you?" Quessiel said accusingly. "Thought he'd caught you in your mischief, hmm?"
"I might have run away, but I'm sure he only wanted my name so he could tell the stable hands to keep me away from his horse," Ellissiel replied, her face pink again, but she stuck out her bottom lip defiantly. "I couldn't help it. Arandil is pure white. He is a beautiful horse."
"Well perhaps your horse obsession did something good for you," Quessiel said, eyeing her sister. "Now you've got the prince after you."
"I doubt that," Ellissiel said skeptically. "He's got far more beautiful ladies following him around all day. He is just curious, if anything."
"I don't know about that," Quessiel said doubtfully, but she didn't pass on the information Novathin had shared with her. She had promised not to tell her sister, but it was hard to resist the temptation.
"You won't believe this, Thranduil, but I found out today that Ellissiel is the sister of my cousin's new bride."
"What?" Thranduil asked, looking up from his book eagerly. "Did you see her?"
"Not her personally, but I talked to her sister. Quessiel said she loves horses, and has gotten into trouble borrowing them without permission before. Which is probably why she ran away from you. She may have borrowed Arandil before."
"Seems your lovely lady is a horse thief and a mischief maker," Balamaethor said with a laugh. "Have fun with courting."
"Shut up, Balamaethor," Thranduil said, scowling across the table before turning back to Novathin. "What else did you learn?"
"That's about it. I can probably get more information from Quessiel if you want."
"Not yet," Thranduil said, deep in thought. "I want to try to talk to her myself first."
"Are you going to ambush her at the midsummer festival?"
"I don't think 'ambush' is the proper word," Thranduil said, brow furrowed. "Maybe I'll run into her before that."
"You seem awfully antsy again," Celeborn said, watching the young prince as he shifted in his seat.
"Just excited for the midsummer festival tonight," Thranduil said with a shrug, gripping the arms of his chair to keep from fidgeting more. "When shall I visit the fields to talk with the planters?" Celeborn, however, wasn't done talking about Thranduil's behavior.
"You have been acting very odd lately," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Is there anything you need to tell me?"
"Not that I can think of," Thranduil said quickly. "What about my agriculture lesson?"
"What's so important about this year's festival?" Celeborn asked, ignoring him again. "It won't be significantly different from the last few."
"It will just be nice to take a break from studying," Thranduil said, before trying one last time to distract the elven lord. "Should Balamaethor and I go to the fields later this week or did you have other things planned for us?"
"If I'm not mistaken, your studies have suffered lately. You've been either taking too many breaks, or are barely reading the material. What is really going on?"
Sighing, knowing that Lord Celeborn wasn't going to give up, Thranduil tried to figure out how to voice his feelings casually, without sounding like a love sick puppy.
"I was just hoping to meet up with someone tonight. It's not a big deal; I just haven't had the opportunity to talk with them seriously in a while." He hoped Celeborn would not notice how he failed to express the gender of the individual he mentioned. Unfortunately, Celeborn apparently picked up on it immediately, a smile spreading across his face.
"Would this be a lady you speak of?" he asked, amused as the younger elf started fidgeting again.
"Yes, but like I said, it's not a big deal. Maybe it will happen, maybe it won't."
"But you would very much like it to happen," Celeborn stated matter-of-factly. "Who is the young lady?"
"Ellissiel," Thranduil said with a sigh, not quite able to hide the emotions that stirred within him when he said her name. Celeborn noticed and his grin broadened.
"Her father is one of my senior advisors," Celeborn said, watching Thranduil closely. "I have not had the pleasure of meeting her, but her father is a valuable member of the court."
"So you know her family well?" Thranduil asked, a little too eagerly. He caught himself and coughed, continuing in a more casual tone. "I am slightly curious, since I have only had a brief meeting with her before."
"Well enough," Celeborn said, remembering how he too had tried to act aloof after meeting Galadriel the first time. That plan had failed miserably, as it most likely would for Thranduil as well. "They are good people. Her mother is an astronomer, and spends a great deal of time making charts of the heavens at night. All I know about Ellissiel herself is that she is a sweet young lady, with a few interesting quirks, apparently."
"Novathin said she has been caught borrowing horses without the owners' consent," Thranduil said with a smile, forgetting to act nonchalant. "She may have borrowed Arandil at some point."
"You don't seem too upset about someone stealing your horse," Celeborn said, highly amused at the look on Thranduil's face.
"She brought him back if she did," Thranduil said with a shrug. He suddenly realized how badly the conversation had gotten away from him. Sitting up straighter, he cleared his throat and attempted to salvage his dignity. "Anyway, what about our visit to the fields?"
"We will talk about it later. Go get ready for the festival," Celeborn said, resisting the urge to laugh as Thranduil nodded and hurried out of the office as fast as he could. There was no doubt in Lord Celeborn's mind that the prince had fallen hard for Lady Ellissiel. He hoped he would get the chance to see Thranduil approach her at the festival and see how it turned out.