Heyyy! New chapter! I had so much fun writing this. I hope you have just as much fun reading it. XP thank you for all of the faves, follows, and reviews. And if you haven't already, please go take the poll on my profile, it would mean a lot! Ayyo!
Chapter 8
Eruanna was ready to sigh at the absurdity of it all. Apparently Merry and Pippin had found a jar of herbs and accidentally knocked it into a cask of wine. And every meal in Imladris includes wine, even breakfast.
And of course, being hobbits, they didn't see it fit to tell anyone so instead just left all signs there for all to see and went on their merry way. Or should she say, their Merry and Pippin way.
The herb just so happened to have been one that was often used in the healers ward as a narcotic, and generally produced a gleeful, high disposition as side-effect. She sighed.
The game of hide-and-seek had gone well, and she had managed to learn at least how to be extremely quiet, among other things. Such as how to furl in her aura tightly so that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to be detected by those who could sense auras. Another thing she learned was how to do was to hide in plain sight, nearly literally, an example being that she could hide in the shadowy areas on the halls and stalk the person who was it without ever being caught.
Aragorn spent a good half hour trying to find her alone before he finally caught her as she tripped and fell. But he was impressed, and told her so in a very rarely-seen, happy-go-lucky manner.
Very few had escaped the accidentally-drugged wine, and even Glorfindel was rather giddy that day. Eruanna and many of the other ellith who had escaped, such as Arwen and Celébrian, found it difficult to keep back laughter that day at the drunken antics of the poor males.
As lady Celébrian noted: "The things we poor níssi have to go through with these hapless nerí." Arwen and Eruanna had lost their composure by then at the plaintive tone that it had been spoken in.
"At least we have a new stock of blackmail." Arwen said slyly, and Eruanna had gone into a spasm of laughter as the normally stoic elleth winked conspiratorially.
Lord Elrond had fallen into an angst-y mood from the herb, and had gone about smiling sadly and telling sob-stories to whoever would listen, to Eruanna's everlasting amusement.
"It only makes sense." Lady Celébrian had groused. "He never had a proper sense of humor. It perfectly describes him. Fitting." And she had punctuated her disgust with a vicious stab by her needle to the embroidery hoop. Though she couldn't be blamed: after all, she had been the one to hear most of his moaning.
Glorfindel, however, had been perfectly hilarious. No one disagreed, apparently, as he went about singing ribald songs from the First Age and bouncing everywhere all over the walls. "The Elf and the Fruit Vendor" was rather popular, and was met with more than a few roars as Glorfindel disclosed the information that King Arafinwë had attempted to learn the particularly- interesting- thirty-first verse in order to be able to sing it before Lady Varda, who rather liked that song.
Eruanna had shook her head amusedly as Arwen had blushed profusely at the lyrics. "How can you be amused?" Arwen had whispered embarrassedly.
Eruanna raised an eyebrow at her in reply. *You forget I was originally of Gondolin. Elves those days were much more- free- then they are now... And you also forget that I was in Angband among orcs for seven millennia.* She added with dark amusement, causing Arwen to pale.
"You mean-?"
Her only answer had been a thin smile, and Arwen had raised a hand to her mouth. Eruanna had seen on more than one occasion that kind of form of 'orc sport.' Seen, mind you, not experienced. She was physically much too small for that.
"Seler! I haven't seen you in a while!" Glorfindel had spotted his little sister after finishing a story from the times after he had been Reborn. He patted his lap, and Eruanna climbed into it cheerfully enough.
"What have you been doing, Eruanna?" He asked in a chipper manner, causing her to inwardly roll her eyes.
*Playing.* She replied dryly, and he had giggled. Yes, Glorfindel had giggled. Eruanna face-palmed as those gathered burst into roars, slapping eachother's backs and doubling over.
"What did I do?" Glorfindel asked, baffled, sending them into hysterics. Only you, Muindor, thought Eruanna with a sigh. Only he could giggle and not make it look utterly ridiculous but rather fitting.
It was a long day, on the whole. It wasn't until evening had come and everyone had retired that the effects of the herb had began to wear off. Glorfindel was knocked out on the bed, uncharacteristically snoring as Eruanna had smiled indulgently, kissing his cheek as she fell asleep as well. Glorfindel smiled unconsciously and tightened his grip around her as they both wandered the Path of Dreams.
Eruanna woke up to the baffled face of Glorfindel in front of her. She raised a sleepy eyebrow.
"What happened? I don't remember anything yesterday after the morning meal!" He said, sounding confused. Her eyes shot open. Oh dear Valar.
She moaned through their bond, shaking her head despairingly. *Better you not know.* She sighed.
His face turned into full-out panic. "What!? What did I do?" He asked frantically.
She grabbed his hand, pushing over waves of calm over their bond. *Relax, Muindor! It's okay!* She tried, and he calmed somewhat,
*Merry and Pippin accidentally knocked over a jar of herbs into the wine used for the morning meal.* Her lips twitched despite herself. *It was an herb used in the healing wards to numb pain, and the side effect was a rather giddy disposition.* She fought back a grin.
*Another effect seems to be amnesia if taken in large doses.* She gave him a droll look as he processed the information. *Soooo... The thirty-first verse of "The Elf and the Fruit Vendor" is Lady Varda's favorite, hmmm?* She asked coyly.
Glorfindel stared at her for a moment. And then as he registered her question, broke into a string of imprecations in both Quenyä and Sindarin that would have made Eonwë shake his head exasperatedly. Eruanna rolled on the floor, laughing her head off.
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The Valar were roaring as Varda smiled smugly at the conversation.
"Oh, that was priceless!" Vairë sighed, causing them to chuckle again.
"Well-" and Irmo smiled- "back to matters at hand..." They calmed, still smiling.
"How long will it be until it starts?" Oromë asked gravely.
Manwë's lips thinned as the atmosphere grew somber. "Soon. Very soon indeed." He replied enigmatically, staring at the skies above the Mahanaxàr.
"Vairë?" Several raised their eyebrows questioningly at the Weaver, trying to get more information out of the Valiër then their Lord, who rolled his eyes good-naturedly at the jibe.
She smiled. "Now now, you know that I don't predict times, I only weave events that happen." She chided amusedly as the disappointed snorts filled the air.
"I still say I can't wait for them to get here. It will be so much fun to see our rather complacent Maiar running about again." Nàmo said in unrestrained, sadistic glee. The others chuckled.
"Will it?" Vána asked interestedly. Then she giggled. "I remember the time Glorfindel decided it would be a good idea to challenge Eonwë to a duel of words. My my, so amusing." She mused, smiling.
The Valar sent their younger sibling a fond look. *Never forget it.* Eonwë's disgusted voice sent them all into another fit of amusement.
"Stop eavesdropping, Eonwë, it's not polite!" Estë scolded, holding back laughter.
*I don't eavesdrop, my lady, I merely hear my name and cannot help myself!* Came the indignant reply. Manwë rolled his eyes.
"Now if you don't mind, let us get back to him." He said significantly, and immediately levity dropped.
"How much has he remembered?" Varda asked gently.
"His death, some snatches of memory here and there of his life in Doriath, but not quite his true identity. He's still in the dark why so many of the Sindar idolize him so." Irmo replied evenly.
"He hasn't remembered his Judgement either." Nàmo added.
Manwë raised an eyebrow. "And is that important?" He asked.
Nàmo frowned. "It may be. Sometimes I have seen cases where reliving the memory of Judgement causes their emotional stability to increase, while in others it even sometimes causes them to remember many of their old memories. But each case is different." He added in a vague manner.
There was a pause of thought. "And is he adjusting well to life as ward of Arafinwë?" Estë asked.
"Very well indeed. Sador, as you well know, adore him, and yet another Gwador has been added to their brotherhood." Irmo smiled amusedly as the rest nodded in agreement.
"Yes, the brotherhood between Sador, Finrod, and Glorfindel did much for Aman." Nienna reflected thoughtfully, with a sad smile.
"And there are two more to be entered into that family before it will be truly complete." Nàmo added with a smile that they rarely ever saw. The same, foreshadowing smile that he had borne when he had built the halls of Mandos. And it made them wonder what exactly would come to pass in those swiftly-approaching days.
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It has been a month. A rather hard month, I must admit. Rigorous training, especially for an elfling; but it has made me stronger then I was before. I had been exhausted for the last two weeks, but after that I began to become stronger. It's so hard to hide my tiredness and growing tenacity, but I've been able to do it by making my aura unreadable as master has taught me.
He has been such a wonderful master. I know that- that I'm not supposed to become attached to mortals because they leave so soon, but... I can't help myself. Estel and master are close to my heart. I know that the parting shall be such sweet sorrow. But I look too far into the future.
In the meantime, Glorfindel has been worried about my 'hiding' my aura, but I made the true explanation that I'm trying to practice it 'just in case' anything might happen. It has mollified him, however, so I suppose I should be grateful for that.
The incident with the wine and herbs has blown over now, although there were sour faces and tempers for a while. Glorfindel has yet to forgive me for my little jest, even though I found him hiding a smile once.
Eruanna sat back and stared the at the diary, wondering where the dwarf that had given it to her was.
*I have to admit that that was funny. It made me almost laugh myself mute. No offense intended.* It was said in a clear smirk. Eruanna glared at the wall so hard she was sure it was going to have holes in it even as she took a deep breath.
That voice could aggravate her like nothing else could. She could have patience with anything, sit down working on one thing for four hours in a row, and yet she could not stand that voice sometimes. It didn't help that it was technically considered a part of her, either.
Deep breath. Focus. Center. Find your balance and stay there. Her master's lessons ran through her head. Thoroughly calmed, she closed her journal and put it away, making sure to clean the quill before hopping off of her chair and heading down the hallways.
There was a slight tug on the master/apprentice bond, and she tugged back in acknowledgement, slipping down to the basement with practiced ease.
As always, Ciaran was waiting for her. She paused and bowed, face emotionless and unreadable, common for her. He stared back, impeccable as always. He never looked into her eyes, however. It was dangerous, he knew, for he, too, could be sucked into those eyes and rendered vulnerable. And he was uncomfortable with the idea of being off guard, being highly unused to it.
He had been thinking lately, and he was not pleased with the conclusion he had come up with. It was dangerous. For who? For everyone. But when push came to shove, he knew what he had to do.
"Eruanna." It was just one word. One name.
Eruanna looked up at him. *Master.* One word. That's all it took.
"You have been doing well. I am pleased." He smiled. She smiled back. One word. It had to be done. There was no other way. "You are now to the point where we may begin with weapons. Your stamina will improve from it." He went on.
"I have been thinking on what type of weapon to teach you, and I have decided." He looked at her. She waited expectantly, an eager and willing look in her eyes.
He pulled it out, and handed it to her. She looked up at him. His lips thinned in acknowledged irony. "I know. But it has some poetic justice, no?" He asked dryly.
Her lips twitched as an eyebrow quirked. *And how is it a weapon?* She asked.
He smiled. It was not an amused smile. "Shall I show you?" He asked.
She handed it back to him. And they began. And as he watched as she began to pick up rapidly, he nodded to himself. Yes, he must. Even if it went against his morals, he felt that he must. He would do it.
A glint from a crate by the back wall caught his eye. It was just waiting to be used. And he knew who to use it on. It would happen. He might be gone long before then, but it would. Again, Ciaran smiled.
But it was not a happy smile.
The day was coming. The day when the most dangerous being on Arda would come into existence. Eru forgive him, but this was an opportunity that if he passed up on, it would be the equivalent of dishonoring all of his life's work and bringing his predecessor's deaths to naught.
They lived for that day. They died for that day. They suffered for that day. They believed that it would come. And it was coming. He would not fail them.
Activation.
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"This is uncalled for." Tulkas looked slightly alarmed. "We never expected this to happen, much less knew that such a thing even existed!" He exclaimed.
"Be calm. It is all part of Atar's plan. Think about it, Tulkas. Who better then her? Her experience makes her the perfect candidate." Manwë soothed calmly.
"How? What if she cannot make the right judgements when it comes to loved ones?" Tulkas shot back. The rest of the Valar watched, equally concerned.
"You think she cannot?" Manwë replied enigmatically. "I wouldn't say so." He gave them all a considering look. "This is her fate." He said quietly.
The Valar were stunned into silence.
"Atar says so?" Varda asked, troubled.
"Yes." Was the Elder King's reply.
"How did we not see the creation of such a powerful thing?" Oromë demanded. "It was even created in our names!" He said, upset.
"What would you have done if you had known such a thing existed?" Manwë pointed out.
"Destroyed it." He admitted.
"Exactly. Atar knew from the very beginning, and he made sure that it was kept safe, even from us." Manwë finished.
"Another pawn on the cosmic chessboard." Aulë murmured.
"Indeed."
There was a moment of thought. "Who was it created by?" Aulë asked out of professional interest.
"Findárato. On request of Beör." Manwë answered.
"Interesting." Was Aulë's only comment.
"Very interesting indeed. I wonder what this means for the rest of Arda- and Aman?" Irmo noted.
"Good. And bad." Nàmo replied.
And they could not but agree with that.
Peregrin Took the Falcon: oh yeah. XD
WoodElfJedi: well, you found out, didn't you? XD Oops, that's too bad. Better read it soon! I'm so glad you like Ciaran, he will pop up a lot in this story. I love him too much not to. ;) well, there have been quite a few aftershocks, but no more new earthquakes, thankfully. No, it wasn't confusing- I do that too. And you're totally welcome... Thanks for recommending SitCTE!
Guest: yes sir/ma'am! ;)
Kmartz95: well actually the elf has already been released... And as for who it is... Hmm... We'll see, won't we? ;)
Jesus' girl 4ever: I'm so glad you do! XD
Gwestiel: thank you!
FandomFangirl100: I know, right? Aww, I'm so glad it made you cry. ;) I love Thel too.
kiki272002: thank you! Actually, yes, I knew that from the very beginning, hence why I chose the name. ;) it's also my name in elvish. I'm glad you saw that, thanks for sharing!