RELUCTANT GUEST
After the discussion in Elrond's office Eruraviel was surprised when Lord Glorfindel offered to take her on a tour of Imladris. Knowing that she had little else to do and wanting to some time with the only other Gondolin warrior this side of the seas, she had accepted.
She nodded to a passing elf as they left Elrond's office behind.
"Well as I am sure you can deduce this is the administration wing, with both Erestor and I also having offices here. Erestor manages the day-to-day activities and the running of the household. I manage the guards and their training as well as patrols. Should the need arise I will also be a general of our forces as well. Elrond manages the healing wing and all diplomatic issues between the other elven realms and the humans and dwarves." Eruraviel nodded as they passed the two other doors that he indicated were the doors to his and Erestor's office. Just past Glorfindel's office was a hallway that led to the left and a little further down past Erestor's office was another hallway to the right.
"This hallway," Lord Glorfindel gestured to the hallway to their left, "leads to the Sleeping Quarters, Kitchen, Courtyard and Training Grounds. Currently we have just over 650 elves living in the valley with only 38 currently in this structure, the rest stay in their homes scattered in the valley. We gather every fortnight for feasts and dancing as it is a way to socialize and field questions from the others." Lord Glorfindel then pointed to the hallway that led to the right a little further down.
"Down that hallway is the Hall of Fire where we generally gather for meals and entertain any guest staying with us. A little further down you will find the healing wing, which is Elrond's domain. Do your best to stay out of there as a patient for he will not let you leave until he is completely sure that you are healed, as a matter of fact I am somewhat surprised he didn't place you in the healing wing earlier with your arm the way it is." With that, he turned us down the left hallway, as we walked past a set of double doors leading to a small garden Eruraviel couldn't help but ask the question that had been at the back of her mind since she had awoken in the chambers they had placed her in.
"Why did Lord Elrond let me sleep in his office before transferring me to that room? Wouldn't it have been more convenient to just have woken me?" She asked as they paused in front at another junction in the hallway. She was unable to comprehend all this curtesy for someone they didn't know. With the dark times that they lived in, she was flummoxed by the openness she was greeted with as she was so used to suspicion, from both humans and dwarves. When she was in or near their settlements she had to make sure to take extra caution that she did nothing that could be construed as a threat or attract to much attention. Over time, she had a few places that she visited often enough that they were more comfortable with her presence and actions so she had a little more leeway. The two places she planned to check for information were Pelagir, which was a shipping settlement populated by both humans and dwarves selling goods. It was a busy settlement due to the amount of shipping traffic passing through but it was also a very good place to gather information. She was well known there and people wouldn't be suspicious of her asking questions.
The other settlement she planned to visit was much more dangerous. It was called Celedir and was located in Harad. It was a large settlement 20 leagues westward towards the sea from the city of Corsairs. It was a very dangerous place for an elf, in fact, elves were considered an enemy there and no one in the city would hesitate in the slightest to kill an elf. The last time an elf had traveled there, he had been slaughtered and his killer had been celebrated for his achievement. Since then no one had dared to travel there, well except her. She had been the eight times and hated every journey. It was hot, dry and everything there from the inhabitants to the wildlife wanted nothing more than to kill her. However they would be one of the best places to learn about any attempt to create strife between the different races of middle earth, as they were longtime allies of Sauron. She would not be informing the others of all of her travel plans or they would do everything in their power to stop her.
She brought her attention back to the present as Glorfindel answered her questions.
"Eruraviel, you were hurt and tired from your journey to bring Celebrían back to Imladris. You may not realize just how much everyone in Imladris appreciates what you have done in saving her. You are our ally and friend and we will not sit idly by and see you hurt. As your friends we will always be concerned for your safety and well-being. We let you sleep because you obviously needed to do so in a place where your body, mind and faer knew was safe. There is no shame in needing help or accepting it. We understand your need to roam and travel but we do want to see you every now and then in your travels. We will worry while you are gone and celebrate your safe return." Glorfindel told her seriously not letting her look away, keeping his eyes locked on hers. A part of her faer rejoiced in knowing he and others cared for her, while at the same time part of her was screaming in fear. The more that cared for her the more she had to loose. The death of her brother nearly destroyed her and in a way it did. She didn't know if she was strong enough to be willing to risk letting others get close. Little did she know that the very same people she was worrying about planned to give her very little choice in the matter.
Celeborn had wormed his way in as a friend who also understood the ravages of war. Who could reminisce with her when she thought about middle earth when the elven rule reigned supreme. Celebrían had simply stuck to her side like glue dragging her father along until she was well on her way to being the little sister Eruraviel never had. Elrond was that irritating older brother that always seemed to know better, and let nothing stop him from taking cared of those he loved. Glorfindel was…
She didn't know what he was to her. He seemed to fill all those little gaps she didn't know she had and wouldn't let her sink inside her walls and retreat from living. It was maddening. Why did her faer sing whenever he was near? She couldn't help but notice him from the very moment that they had ridden into the Imladris courtyard. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, trying not to think on her reactions to the Golden Lord in front of her. He seemed to sense that she was incapable of responding for he simply smiled and pulled her into a hug once again holding on until she had relaxed. She had to admit, she told herself, that his scent was calming. As soon as the thought passed through her mind she blushed and mentally slapped herself.
Clearing her throat hoping, in vain though she didn't know it, that her blush went unnoticed she patted his back and withdrew from the embrace.
"Well thank you for the well wishes, I admit I don't fully understand but thank you nonetheless. Now what else is there to see in this abode?" Eruraviel asked hoping to move to a less awkward conversation lest her embarrassment climb to a level she was unable to hide. He smirked slightly at her indicating that he knew what she was doing but let her shift the focus of the conversation without fussing over it.
"Very well," he said and pointed down the left hand hallway. "Down there is the sleeping quarters Elrond and Celebrían's room is the last of them at the very end of the hallway. Guest quarters are here in these five rooms." He said this while pointing to the three cream doors on the left and the two on the right.
"Your room is actually next to mine halfway down the hall with the green/blue doors. Celeborn's is next to Elrond's behind the silver door he shares that room with his wife Lady Galadriel when she visits. The red door is Councilor Erestor's, while the Purple is Arwen's. The White doors belong to Elrond's twin sons Elladan and Elrohir. The grey doors belong to the other staff that live in the main household." He turned away from the left hand corridor and gestured to the middle corridor.
"This is the way to the kitchens, where you can go if you just need to grab a quick meal or don't feel up to handling the crowds in the Hall of Fire. It has a staff member in it at all times, so don't worry if it is late at night." With that said he then led us down the right hand corridor few a few minutes before we left the building and were outside.
"As you can see that hallway leads to the main courtyard and the training fields." We walked through the courtyard an took a well-traveled path that led us down a hill for a few minutes before I could hear horses moving about and the clash of swords. We entered into a wide-open space that had a large structure off to the left that Eruraviel guessed were the stables judging from the sounds and close proximity to the grazing fields below. To the right she could see seven elves practicing swords techniques and three were practicing archery. Just beyond them, she could see another building that was large but obviously well-traveled. It was several dozen feet across and went back even further. She could see that it had four large windows up front and through it, she could see traveling cloaks, Saddlebags and what looked like day rations. She looked at Glorfindel as he gestured to said building.
"That's is the supply master building. In your travels as you pass through feel free to come here and stock up on supplies. Again, someone will be there at all hours as we often have patrols that leave early and return late. Once your arm is healed you will have free access to train with the others should you wish to do so. I imagine there is many who would love to get advice from you in regards to combat." Glorfindel stated and She couldn't help but huff at the reiteration of her failure to get Elrond to accept her assurances that she was fine and could take care of herself. Glorfindel smirked at her expression no doubt knowing her exact train of thought, she threw a mild glare at him and asked a question she had been curious about since leaving Lothloríen.
"So how do you handle all of your admirers? Lord knows I've had to throw a few into the river to cease with the endless questions. I at least can run away but your somewhat trapped here so what do you do?" Eruraviel asked. He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, as he no doubt reminisced over some of his more persistent followers.
"Why didn't I think of that?" He whined plaintively and she couldn't help but start laughing at his expense, drawing the attention of the elves in the clearing, who were until now unaware of their presence. She would later swear that they moved faster than an elven steed to where she and Glorfindel stood with identical looks of horror on their faces due to their approach. Without hesitation both turned and ran back up the trail as fast as they could manage not bothering to try to look dignified as they did so. Three elves in the courtyard glanced up and their eyes widened when the saw a red and golden blur pass by them with 10 elves hot on their heels.
They ran down the hallway and turned left shooting past the small garden area and the library before rounding around the corner and slamming through Elrond's office door and closing so fast it was as if the air had been removed from the room. They stood panting with their palms against the door as if to hold it shut as they hoped and prayed the wouldn't be found. They froze when they heard a cough like snicker followed by a feminine giggle. They turned their heads slowly fearing what they would see only to find out that Elrond, Celeborn, Celebrían and Erestor currently occupied the office. All of which had expressions of upmost humor on their faces. At the sight of hers and Glorfindel's faces all four broke down into laughter hard enough to send tears down the face of Celebrían and turned the other three's faces red. Both her and Glorfindel huffed and glared at each other before exclaiming while pointing to the other.
"This was your fault!" They both shouted.
"You're the one who laughed and drew their attention to us!" Glorfindel growled.
Eruraviel was determined to give as good as she got.
"You're the one who took me there when you knew other elves would be here. You live here one would think you would know better!" She huffed back. They glared at each other before turning the glare to Elrond.
"Why did you send me out to give her a tour now? We could have just as easily gone during dinner when no one would be around! This is your fault!" Glorfindel snarled, as the others were now forced to lean on each other for support. Both her and Glorfindel huffed and rolling their eyes collapsed in chairs in front of Elrond's desk. While irritated with the others for laughing neither were willing to risk leaving the safety of his office. It took a few minutes for their laughter to subside but when they did Elrond let out one last chuckle before looking at Eruraviel.
"While you're here," he said grinning. "Just what were your travel plans when you leave? I know you said you wanted to look into the situation between the humans and the work with the orcs but did you have any concrete ideas as to how you wanted to proceed?" He asked. It didn't take much to hide her natural response to fidget under the question. She needed to watch what she said here lest the press her into giving them enough information about her plans to go into Harad.
"Yes I plan to start in Pelagir. It is a shipping city near the Bay of Belfalas and they hear a lot of rumors and information. Depending on the information I get while there I may either return here or continue to pursue the investigation, I don't know for sure yet. I have been there enough that they know me so asking questions won't seem at all odd, I just need to be careful as to what questions I ask lest I alert the enemy that I am looking into their activities. The more who know what information I'm seeking the higher chance I will be found or all relevant information will disappear." They nodded appearing to be lost in thought for a moment. It was five hundred miles from Rivendell to Pelagir but if her suspicions held true and she had to go to Celedir she was already hallway there as Celedir was 800 miles from Pelagir over hot arid desert. The journey to get to Pelagir was a three week trip of hard riding she imagined that it would take her around five weeks due to not wanting to alert dark forces to her activities. The trip from Pelagir to Celedir was a month and a half and would probably take her close to four months to get in and out of Harad, due to having to go on foot. She needed to use stealth more than anything and unfortunately Arvellas was well known and easily noticeable. She would have to leave Arvellas in Pelagir and travel on foot the rest of the way.
She shook herself from her thoughts and saw that she wasn't the only one to be lost within her mind. "I will try to send information as I come across it but I don't want to risk too much getting out while I am investigating as it could lead to a trap, if they find out. If I have to pursue more than one lead I may be gone for close to a year before returning." She told them, as she didn't want them to think too hard about what she was doing. The less suspicions they had, the easier it would be for her to leave. No doubt, once they realized she was going or had been they would be angry but they needed the information. This recent attack spoke of a mastermind, and an intelligent one at that. This had been unusual and if the patterns of their enemy was changing they needed to know how, why and where.
If they didn't figure this out soon, it could very well cost them the war. Many of the every day civilians didn't realize that the war was still ongoing. They had become used to the rare attacks from orcs that the rangers and the elves had missed. Most of the orc armies were tied up fighting Gondor, Lothloríen and Mirkwood. If the enemy started thinking about strategy they would soon find more and more villages being turned to ruin. The average town and settlement was no match against an army of orcs. Rohan and Gondor were focused on helping their people they wouldn't spare a thought to those outside their kingdoms. Lothloríen and Mirkwood could fight but Mirkwood was currently being attacked on all fronts, and it was taking everything they had to hold back the darkness. Lothloríen was safe due to Lady Galadriel's influence but they lacked the sheer numbers needed to form an army. Now more than ever she was saddened to think of a time when the elves were numerous enough to be able to challenge Melkor's armies and force them to a stand still. Now the time of the elves was fading as more and more sailed west; the memory of elven might and power was fading like the last flowers of summer. But would the spirits of men be strong enough to face an enemy when they themselves still fought against one another?
A/N PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU LIKE OR WANT CHANGED OTHERWISE. YOUR REVIEWS KEEP ME GOING...