Chapter 10: Horse Trading (Legolas & Co)

(~***~)

The elves argued that night about the next step. Lossrilleth convinced them that if they wanted their cover story to be believable, a quick jaunt into town could look too strange. It would be better to arrive in the town square during the busy market day and start asking around as newly arrived traders from the North country would surely do. Their task was set – they would be looking to buy and sell horses for profit and to bring back to the North (allegedly), trading their way through the Reunited Kingdom and – if they were not successful in Minas Tirith – then to the Long Lake. Their poor language skills and lack of local knowledge could all be explained away due to their being foreigners. Lossrilleth warned the father and son that they would need to call each other brothers instead, as to human eyes they were too close in age to be parent and child.

Backtracking to the road between towns to keep their entry point vague, the disguised elves made their way into the town square with their pack horse. Legolas and Thranduil were on high alert for threats and unwanted attention. Their lady's single-minded focus was on creating their cover story and navigating the market. Get currency. Buy some horses. Figure out where people gather on the road so they could listen for useful rumors. Get out.

In the busy square a cacophony of human noise washed over them: vendors shouting, children laughing, and men arguing with each other. In the melee the fair-haired strangers attracted a lot of looks, but they became more comfortable as they realized the crowd was only curious. A few men gave them polite nods before turning their attention back to their tasks. Some vendors eyed the quality of their cloth, appearing to assess them as potential customers.

There was no awe, or disbelief, or aggression shown towards them, and the elf-men begrudgingly admitted to themselves that this might actually work. The elves meandered through the vendors as Lossrilleth watched the humans' trading customs, particularly the women's attitudes while they bartered. She grinned inwardly as she saw them sass and harass overcharging vendors.

"Well," she thought to herself, "Thranduil did say I need to keep my spirits up to make it through this…" She was going to have some fun shedding two hundred years of elvish inhibitions and tender manners to tap into her inner brassy human woman.

Leaning over to her companions, she quietly said in Sindarin, "Please forgive my manners in this venture, my lords. The women here are bold negotiators. I have no reservation about joining them, except that I wish to keep your good opinion."

Legolas could feel his wife's amusement and even a little excitement radiating off her. "Are you actually enjoying this?" he said to her, not sure what to feel. Thranduil gave her a skeptical look. He couldn't imagine what there was to be happy about. They were walking on thin ice trying to hide among humans and the stakes were high.

"My lords, forgive me. I do not forget the seriousness of our task. It is just that… well it is the first time in over two hundred years that I have had some useful experience to contribute instead of being a thousand years behind everyone I speak with. I was an educated woman in my time. Negotiations were an important part of my duties for years," she explained.

It occurred to Thranduil that it must have been difficult for his daughter-in-law to have gone from being a competent adult in one place to a clueless youngling in another. He let out a rare chuckle for her enthusiasm. So long as it wasn't too much of a distraction from their real task, he didn't think it would hurt to indulge her a little.

"Let us see what you can do then, iell nin," the old king said, shooting Legolas an amused look, encouraging his son to give his wife a little breathing room.

"Yes, let us," she replied, suppressing a devilish grin.

Lossrilleth made her way to the gem trader that Brigid had directed her to. She looked over the wares he displayed slowly, letting her face settle into a mask of noncommittal disdain. The gem trader watched the strangers who had approached his stall, scoping out their level of interest. He noticed the two fair men were both openly armed, and that their cloth was of fair, but not excellent, quality. Still, he was pretty sure this had been the source of those most excellent pearls the servant woman Brigid had traded to him…

"Greetings, friends," the gem trader said, rising from his seat and approaching the pale woman. "My dear friend Brigid had mentioned the arrival of some Northern traders in our town, am I right to assume that this is you? What can I interest you in, perhaps a garnet for the pretty lady?"

"Yes, Brigid friend," Lossrilleth replied in her rusty New Westron. "She trade you three gems. We have more. We want King's coin. You wish trade?" The male elves followed along but did not speak. They had looked at the grammar and listened along with Lossrilleth in the past weeks, but she had put in more effort on language than they had at this point. The old Westron they both knew was only a little help – perhaps one word in ten was known to them.

The gem trader stopped himself from hopping with delight. Clueless foreigners with high quality jewels were his dream come true. He bowed to his guests and invited them into his small store. He nodded to his hired man at the door, who took charge of the guests' horse and made sure his sword was fully visible as the proprietor disappeared from view.

The man looked at the three Northmen and guessed that the tallest was the leader of the group. With a bow he handed Thranduil a wooden tray lined with velvet. The tall man gave the merchant a slight nod and handed the tray to the woman. Lossrilleth set it on the table, feeling gleeful – this was beginning wonderfully. She loved being underestimated in a strategic contest. (The gem trader was equally happy about his prospects when he saw he was going to be dealing with the woman. Who left valuable business deals to girls? Foreign idiots.) Slowly, Lossrilleth drew a tiny cloth packet out of her hidden belt pouch. She concealed from the merchant how many gems she really had.

"No tea?" she asked smoothly as she deliberately began placing a mix of pearls, white topaz, and moonstone on the velvet tray. (She was not going to trust the few higher value jewels she had to this clown.) She had seen vendors offering drinks to their guests when they sat down to negotiate larger deals. She wanted this man good and committed to doing business with her by the time she flipped the tables on him – she hoped that getting them tea would be enough to trap the merchant in the sunk cost fallacy.

Thranduil and Legolas sat on either side of her, making sure to slump or lean appropriately for their roles as they scoped out their surroundings, identifying the exits. They feigned cool interest in the proceedings, although they were both curious – Legolas to see this new side of his wife, Thranduil to better understand the skillset available in his small command.

"Of course, of course," the merchant said, jumping up and giving an instruction to his hired man to get someone to bring them tea service. The merchant snickered inwardly – this young lady thought she was so canny, calling him out for failing to offer refreshment. He began to make a show of checking over the gems on the tray with his looking glasses as they waited for the tea, making skeptical sounds and expressions as he looked at 'flaws' in the pieces. In reality he was getting more and more excited. As with the specimens Brigid had brought, these were the highest quality gems that had made their way through this small city in some time.

Finally, a lad arrived carrying a large ceramic carafe of spiced tea. The merchant made a spectacle of serving his guests, pouring the steaming liquid into a silver tea service with a cup, plate, and spoon for each of them, and finishing it off with a sprig of fresh mint. Lossrilleth took her cup languidly, using a hand to waft some fragrant steam onto her face to smell before sipping it with sigh of pleasure. (The merchant was taken aback for a moment by the pale beauty of this sensuous girl but refocused himself. He wanted these gems and he was pretty sure he could practically steal them from this silly creature.)

"So," the merchant said, beginning the 'small talk' phase of negotiations. "May I have the name of my honorable lady, and know your purpose in our kingdom?"

Lossrilleth cursed to herself. Why hadn't she thought of names? She thought as quickly as she could, enjoying another swallow of tea and dabbing her mouth with a napkin. She thought their clothes looked vaguely Slavic or Scandinavian…

"I am Elsё," she said calmly. "We buy horses. My husband," she said, gesturing at Legolas, then Thranduil. "Him brother."

The merchant nodded along, asking a few polite questions about their travels as they all sipped their drinks. He thought these men must be pathetic to have to drag a wife along on a long and dirty horse-trading expedition just to do their business for them. Finally, he thought it was time to get to it.

"So," the merchant repeated, "Shall we talk price?"

Lossrilleth allowed her feeling of wicked pleasure to wash over to Legolas, as if to say "watch this". "Yes, price," she agreed. "Brigid say you pay same price all three gem. But I know one pearl better. So – you cheat Lord's servant, or you do not know gems?"

Thranduil let his gaze shift to the merchant to see his reaction, letting his solemn expression add to the pressure on the man. The old king was both amused and a little impressed at his young daughter-in-law. She had deftly maneuvered the man into a tricky spot, keeping him convinced he had the upper hand, and unsettling him subtly before walking him into a trap.

Legolas returned Lossrilleth's dark delight, thoroughly enjoying his sweet, young, private, and playful wife's cleverness. It seemed she could use a little appreciation after receiving so many corrections lately. He was glad to give it to her. This was a safe way for her to stretch herself.

The merchant was silent for a moment, feeling sweat break out on his back and deciding whether to take offense and kick them out. He badly wanted the jewels for an especially rich customer he expected to come in next month… The gem trader relied on the Lord's manor for much of his business, so he could not risk it getting back through the servants that he had been dishonest with one of them. He was going to have to take the insult to his credentials instead, though he resented it. It seemed there was a reason these men left business to their woman, he thought with a grudging respect.

Finally, he stood up and retrieved the pearls he had already accepted from Brigid, for he had been saving them for his special customer. He looked them all over again with his looking glass, pursing his lips and trying to display nonchalance. Lossrilleth gestured that he should give her the looking glass, and she made a show of looking at the pearls herself. Settling back into her chair, she bobbed her head lightly and raised her eyebrows, as if to say, "as I thought."

"Hmmmm, well, perhaps there was some minor error…" the man said, trying to make it sound like it was a small thing.

"All man does error," Lossrilleth said soothingly. "Now you make good, yes?"

Thranduil and Legolas were enjoying the show, although they continued to keep their expressions stony. For the first time in almost two hundred years of marriage, Legolas began to wish he had had a chance to meet the woman his wife had once been. Thranduil, who had continued to be hesitant about the idea of acting like traders and successfully fooling humans, found that he was feeling much more optimistic now that their 'business' had a clear candidate for its mouthpiece.

With the pecking order firmly established, Lossrilleth and the gem trader haggled ruthlessly over a price. Lossrilleth had grilled Brigid about currency and thought she understood what she should get for the goods.

Finally, the pair had almost landed very close to her desired price, when Lossrilleth added, "Now, for Brigid good pearl, please show bag." She gestured to the display of leather coin purses the merchant kept in his window.

Lossrilleth was concerned about carrying all their money after walking through the town. The men she'd met so far either ignored her, seemed to assume she was incompetent (like this fool), or gave her lecherous looks.

Turning to Thranduil she said quietly in Sindarin, "Pick out something you are willing to carry. I want it known that I am not holding our valuables. I believe this man will gossip when we leave. The men here do not seem to respect women, but they will respect you and those swords you carry."

Lossrilleth discretely touched Legolas's knee while Thranduil began inspecting his options. She made a special effort to send a thought to her husband – something they did rarely now as it had become more difficult and somewhat unpleasant for Lossrilleth as she had grown older, "Please do not mind, muin nin. He is so tall it will intimidate men. You they may underestimate if they are not paying attention – to their very great regret, I am sure."

Legolas sent her reassurance. He was not offended. He was painfully aware of how intimidating Thranduil could be and had long practice operating in the shadows of his father's glory.

When Thranduil had selected a satchel that he could live with, Lossrilleth placed it on the table purposefully. "We agree?" she asked the merchant.

The merchant was pained to see the supple deerskin purse go without anything more to show for it, but he had no doubt this sharp woman would ruin his business with the town's lord if he did not make up for the insult of the first pearl. Reluctantly, he conceded and counted out the gold, silver, and copper coins they had agreed on. Lossrilleth watched him measure the coins by count and on a scale, then inspected them carefully to make sure they were genuine. Satisfied, she pushed the velvet tray across the table to the merchant, loaded their money into the leather satchel, keeping a few copper and silver pennies, and handed it to Thranduil. The old king secured the bag to his person, making sure that the merchant got a view of both of his cruel swords while he did so.

(~***~)

The elves reclaimed their horse and made for the food stalls – it was afternoon now and a real hot meal was very appealing after their long travels. Legolas took his lady's hand and kissed it, looking her directly in the eyes.

"Who is this cunning woman of mine?" he asked, echoing her teasing the night before. Lossrilleth blushed in pleasure at his attention, wishing she could return it – but not here.

"Ah, to be competent again!" she joked instead.

"That was well done, iell nin," Thranduil praised her. Perhaps a little boost to her confidence where it was actually warranted would help cool down her need to push so hard in areas where she truly had no skill, he thought. "If I still ruled a kingdom I would press you into the service of my household to deal with merchants."

"And I would gladly serve, lord father," she said graciously. "When we find a private spot, allow me to give you the rest of the gems. These men make me nervous. I can feel their eyes on me."

Thranduil nodded, but Legolas replied, "One pair of eyes is always mine. I will not let them touch you." He offered her his arm, which she took gladly. It couldn't hurt, she thought, and she enjoyed the excuse to be close.

Legolas decided not to mention that he'd caught sight of her stalker from the the first night on the way out of the gem trader's store. The man had watched Lossrilleth too long, a strange look on his face as he could not place where he had seen her before. He had started to wade through the crowd towards them until Legolas placed a proprietary hand on her back and shot the man a murderous look. Thranduil had noticed and followed his son's gaze, a hand casually resting on his sword hilt. The man had thought better of it and moved in a different direction than the pale, armed men and the ghostly beauty they traveled with.

After a short and spirited conversation with a woman who sold hot pies the elves set themselves up against a wall where they could watch the market and eat their prizes in peace. There was nothing artful about the heavy, greasy food, but after nibbling at lembas, foraged plants, and rangy game for weeks it was a welcome change.

"You both need human names," Lossrilleth said between bites. "I have been thinking about what might sound like Northmen." She had been nerdy about names back in the day, so she managed to dredge up a few good Slavic or Scandinavian names from old, old memories.

"What about Leif," she gestured to Legolas, "And Téodor?" she said to Thranduil. "The first can mean love," she winked at Legolas, "or it can mean 'something ancient'. The second means 'a gift from the One', which seems appropriate, for I am grateful you are here, lord father." She bowed her head towards Thranduil, who appreciated the gesture. The elves shrugged and accepted the suggestions. Neither had ever met the Northmen before and had no better ideas.

"What does Elsё mean?" Legolas asked.

"It means 'pledged to the One'," Lossrilleth replied, trying to avoid further explanation.

Thranduil caught her awkwardness and pushed her out of curiosity. "You thought of that quickly in there. Does it mean something to you?"

Lossrilleth sighed, feeling embarrassed. "It is a Northern short form of my own old name," she admitted. "I was Elizabeth. It was my grandmother's name as well."

She found her cheeks and ears were burning as she spoke. A lot about her past was coming out on this quest – most of it she would have been happy to let lie for the rest of Arda. It was uncomfortable to be two very different people.

"Elizabeth. It is pretty. Almost elvish sounding." Legolas said thoughtfully. He had never thought to ask her her old name, and now he wondered why. Standing so their horse blocked the public view of them, he pulled her towards him and kissed her forehead, feeling tenderness for the one who came before. What he would give to have been able to protect her as well. He stroked her red cheeks and ears, while his father scanned the crowd, giving them privacy. "Elizabeth."

She shook her head in distress, shrinking against the wall. "I am not her anymore. She is not me."

"I am grateful to her nonetheless," Legolas said quietly before tipping her chin up giving her a chaste kiss. How many years had it been, she wondered, and even that much still made her feel like she was melting.

"Indeed," Thranduil added, still looking straight on at the marketplace and away from them. "I think we may all be grateful to the woman you once were before this is over."

"Alright, alright," she said, resting her face against Legolas's neck for a moment and accepting his affection. "Let us see if her human sensibilities can find us a couple of horses and a place to stay for the night. I will leave picking out the horses to you two – you certainly know better than I do."

As he made a show of looking into the crowd, the old king was mulling over everything he'd learned about his daughter-in-law so far in their travels. She had strengths, to be sure. Some was knowledge she had that they did not. She also had the benefit of seeing things with fresh eyes that belonged to the young. He doubted he or Legolas would have considered contacting the abbess, or trying disguises, if not for her insistence.

But for all that she was unique and strange in some ways, he thought, her youthful follies were entirely normal in others. She ignored some dangers that should not be ignored; or took them personally when they were not about her. And this desire to prove herself… he had seen young people under his charge make grave errors motivated by such drives for self-actualization. There was a time and place to make such mistakes and learn from them. This was not it. Thranduil determined he was going to keep a very close eye on Lossrilleth.

(~***~)

Author's Note:

I know there are a lot of names floating around. I've tried to make them as easy as possible by doing things like matching the first letters of names for characters who will be using more than one name. (e.g. Legolas = Leif, Thranduil = Téodor) I'll keep trying to work in pneumonic tricks as descendants arise (Ginnar/Gimli, Master of Lake Town/Mr. Masterson, etc.). As much as possible, if a character is transient I've tried not to name them at all so you don't have to keep track. I'm trying!

Self-insert haters: My name is not Elizabeth. It actually was my grandmother's name, though, sorry. You write what you know, what can I say? I think it sounds a little elvish - it starts with 'El', ending with 'eth'. I liked the idea of her having a name they could kind of relate to. Funny thing, I tried figuring out what it might mean in Sindarin and the closest I could come up with was "cloven star word" – who knows what that should symbolize, really.

Finally, I acknowledge this character can be kind of 'Mary Sue' at times. If you read the prequel, she's probably even more that way in that story, although I did try there, too. I originally thought her up when I was about 15 and decided to finally write the idea down, so… you know … she's not perfect. I am trying to make her a more whole and complicated character than your typical 'Mary Sue', though. I think there's a kind of poetic justice for her major character flaw to be that she's a little too self-absorbed and clueless sometimes. I've thought about whether this whole story would be better if she was a natural-born elf OC instead of a 'modern girl in middle earth' OC. In the end I enjoy playing with the possibilities a modern insert presents. Hopefully it can be fun to read, too. I will continue to try to make her a whole and interesting character.