A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I have posted. Real life has been crazy and I have had major writers block with my current stories! To keep my readers happy, I have decided to post anything that I have completed, regardless of timeline in the hope it allows me to push through and get more of the other stories done. So, without further ado, here is the first "outtake" for Truly Elven.
True sighed as she continued to draw pictures of swords in the margins of the paper before her. She was supposed to be working on yet another essay on some boring topic she had no interest in learning about but she could not focus. Glorfindel left unexpectedly yesterday and no one would tell her where he went. Ever since he adopted her a few decades ago she had been able to feel his strongest emotions through their growing bond. She could feel something now though she was hard pressed to find a word to identify the exact emotion. It was some combination of fear, excitement, upset and concern and she did not like not knowing what was going on.
"True."
Startled, she dropped her quill, splattering ink all over her paper and herself. She looked up into the stern gaze Erestor was directing at her and gave a small smile. "Sorry."
Erestor could see the worry in her eyes and felt his irritation melt. "Glorfindel is well and will return soon."
"Ada has never left without telling me where he was going."
"I understand, however, it is not something you needed to know." He gave an internal sigh, knowing he was not going to be able to keep her attention focused on her studies. "I think you have done enough for today."
"Really?" She asked hopefully. At Erestor's nod, she stood and threw her arms around his waist. "I am really worried about him." She whispered into his robes.
Erestor returned the hug then pushed her back so he could see her face. "Your Ada is the best warrior in Middle Earth. He is not doing anything he has not done before so there is no need to worry." He hugged her once more then sent her on her way.
True wandered aimlessly without thought of a destination and was surprised when she ended up at the river. It was not a place that she went to often on her own as she preferred the trees. She picked up a few rocks and tossed them into the river before laying down on a large boulder to stare at the sky.
She didn't know how long she was there before she heard horses coming towards her at high speed. She sat up and was surprised to see Asfaloth racing ahead of a bunch of riders in black on black horses. She did not know why Glorfindel had a child sitting before him or why he was being chased, but she knew she had to help him. The moment the black riders ran into the river she created a huge wave and used it to wash the riders downstream. It was the strongest she could create and she hoped it sent them far away from Rivendell.
Glorfindel slowed down enough to let her hop up behind him, then raced for the main house where Elrond was waiting to whisk the child to the healing rooms. Glorfindel took True's arm and lowered her down to the ground before dismounting. She threw herself into his arms. "Ada! I was so worried! What were those things?"
"Those were the black riders, minions of Sauron."
The next two days were tense and everyone was on edge, even the recently arrived Mithrandir. True eventually learned that the child Glorfindel brought to Rivendell was not a child at all but a Hobbit named Frodo and that he had been stabbed by a Morgul Blade. Three more hobbits and Estel arrived in Rivendell as well but they were all whisked away as soon as they stepped into the courtyard and she has not seen them since.
Frustratingly, all of this excitement did not stop her lessons so she was once again doodling in the margins, this time with an impressive scowl on her face. Erestor had redirected her wandering attention to her essay twice and had reached the limit of his patience with her stalling. He rose and brought his ruler down onto her desk with a loud crack making True jump. "What?" she asked testily.
"You would do well to moderate your tone." Erestor warned.
"Sorry." She replied even though she obviously was not. Before Erestor could apply his ruler where it would do the most good a voice sounded from the door.
"I should hope so. I do not fancy seeing you have your deserving backside roasted."
True jumped up and ran to Estel, who scooped her up into his arms. It had been a really long time since she'd seen him. After the whole fiasco with Arwen he had made it a point to stay away and only returned when he absolutely had to. There was still some discontent in the family, and a deep sadness on Estel's part, but it seemed like everyone was at least trying to move on.
"I hope you are not acting like a warg with a sore head on my accord."
"I missed you!" She leaned back to see his face and saw a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. "No one would let me go see you and everyone is being all secretive and will not tell me why."
"Some things are not meant for young ears."
"I am not young - I just look like it because I do not age!"
"You are to the elves, just as I am." He kissed her cheek. "Go back to your lesson and for the love of the Valar complete it without any more sass. I do not want to see you squirming at the table during the evening meal." He gave her a stinging swat to the seat of her leggings to get her moving, earning him a glare.
True managed to contain her frustration long enough to complete her studies but once freed she felt it return ten fold. Even more visitors had come to Rivendell and she heard Lirien complaining about not having enough time to prepare for this last minute council meeting of Elrond's, presumably to address whatever was causing all of this secrecy.
"Iel-nin."
True spun from the window she was staring out. "Ada."
Glorfindel saw the look on her face and heard the clipped tone in her voice, a combination that never boded well for anyone. He picked her up and set her on the window ledge. "I know not what is causing this attitude but you would do well to rein it in. We will have many guests in this house over the next several days and I will not have you acting like an ill mannered brat."
"Maybe people should stop treating me like a child and let me in on all of the secrecy going on around here. Do not think I have not noticed how everyone is locked away in their studies. I'm not an idiot Ada." The stern look this comment generated only deepened the scowl on her face.
"We know you are not but you are a child. If there is anything you need to know I will tell you. Right now, none of this concerns you." He could not tell her the real reason she was kept in the dark. No one knew if or how her powers and the one ring would interact should they be near each other and it was determined that keeping her away from it was the best course of action. When her expression did not change, he took her chin in his hand so she could not pull away and he could maintain eye contact. "Do I need to remind you about what I expect from you or what will happen if you are not on your best behavior?"
"Once again Ada I am not an idiot." She spat out only to yelp when she was lifted and two hard swat landed on her rear.
"I do not think I heard you correctly."
True definitely did not want more swats so she reluctantly gave in. "No Ada, you do not need to tell me."
"Good." He dropped a kiss on her head. "Now, be sure to bathe before dressing for the evening meal. We will be going to the Hall of Fire after the meal so you will not have time to do so before bed."
"Frodo will be joining us for the evening meal. He is doing much better and would benefit from being with his kinsman and company."
Glorfindel cursed under his breath. "I just told True we would be going to the hall of fire tonight. She will need to be told she cannot attend now."
"Not it!" Four voices echoed at once.
Glorfindel glared at his lord's sons and Legolas. "How very brave of you." He sneered.
Elladan looked at his three brothers (for Legolas was practically a brother) and after some silent communication looked at his father. "Ada, we do not want to question your decisions, however, do you think it is wise to keep this a secret from True?"
"You know she will stop at nothing to find out what is being kept from her and we will not be able to keep her away from Frodo forever." Elrohir added.
"Her anticipated misbehavior should not be a deciding factor in this Elrohir." Glorfindel scolded.
"Agreed, but we are only assuming that we need to keep her away from the ring. What if we are wrong and there is some benefit to her being near it?"
Everyone stared at the Erestor with various looks of disbelief. "Forgive me Erestor, but you are the last elf I would expect to take our side in this." Elladan stated.
Erestor smiled. "Normally I would not, however we do not know much about True's power. It has been growing for reasons not known to us. It is possible that this growth is happening to help us battle the evil times coming." Silence followed that statement as all in the room thought through the ramification of that statement.
After several minutes, Elrond finally spoke. "Erestor provides a good argument and I am inclined to agree. I am not her father though so the choice is not mine."
The wisdom of his Lord and friend seldom let them astray and Glorfindel did not expect it would now. "I am honestly relieved we came to this accord. I did not relish the idea of corralling True until the halflings left." He said with a grin. "Legolas, please go find her so we can let her know what has been going on."
"Why me?" He said without thinking.
"Because you were told to." Glorfindel replied sternly. "But also because she does not know you are here and is less apt to hide from you. Now go."
Legolas hurried to do as he was bid. He was just as excited to see True as she would be to see him. It took him a few minutes to track her down and he quietly made his way to stand under the tree she was currently hiding in. Moments later he heard an exclamation of joy and he braced himself to catch True.
"Legolas!" She threw her arms around his neck as she landed in his arms. "I did not know you were here!"
"I arrived early this morning." He dropped a kiss on her head and set her on her feet. "I was sent to find you. You have been summoned to the study."
"What? Why? I did not do anything!" Legolas raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Well, nothing that would warrant a call to the study."
"You will find out when we get there." He swung her up and onto his shoulder. "I will even give you a ride."
"You are just afraid I will run off."
"Well, there is that." He gave her leg a gentle pat. "It is best to not keep them waiting."
When they arrived at the study, only Elrond and Glorfindel were there. Legolas put True on her feet and gave her a little push inside. "I will see you later."
True floated in her pond-sized tub with only her face sticking out of the water, her mind racing after everything Glorfindel told her. She knew about Sauron and the ring from the studies Erestor forced her to do. What surprised her was that it was found and the small hobbit she saw brought it here to Imladris at Estel's direction. She was also told that the council session was to discuss what to do with it and was threatened with all kinds of horrible punishments if she even thought of trying to sneak into the meeting. She has no plans to do that anyway. She was self-aware enough to know that if she were to see the ring, there was a huge possibility she would not be able to resist its pull. She was already very powerful and could only imagine the havoc and destruction she would cause if she were to be corrupted by it.
"Are you finished?"
Startled True pushed herself to a sitting position, causing a wave of water to flow over the edge of the tub. Only Glorfindel's quick reflexes saved his boots from being completely saturated. "You scared me Ada!"
"Goheno nin, nin dilthen eirien (Forgive me, my little Daisy)." He used some nearby towels to sop up the water then took a seat on the step beside the tub. "You have been here for quite a while. Have you even washed yet?" He asked after seeing a smudge of dirt by her ear.
"I was thinking."
Taking that as a no, he grabbed the hair lotion and quickly but efficiently washed her hair then soaped up a cloth and handed it to her. "Well think AND wash while I lay your clothes out. It is not long until the evening meal."
True emerged from the bathing chamber a few minutes later to find a dress on her bed. "Ada!"
"We have a lot of visitors and guests. Elrond asked that you look presentable."
With a sigh she put on her small clothes and grabbed the dress without complaint. She had given up the fight since Elrond rarely asked her to wear one and was considerate enough to ask the seamstresses to find a way to make the dresses as comfortable as legging and a tunic. Since True was the only child in Imladris and had charmed her way into everyone's heart, they doted on her and were happy to take up the challenge. While comfortable, it wasn't quite the same but she was grateful they even made the attempt. "Can you help me?"
Glorfindel slid the silky blue dress over her head then pulled the silver lacing down the back of the dress tight before tying it into a bow at the small of her back, leaving the remainder of the ribbon to flow down over her rear to the middle of the skirt. He then took a seat on the vanity chair and called her to his side to dry her hair as much as possible in the short time they had. It was still fairly wet so he decided to put in a few slightly elaborate braids before gathering it all up into a ponytail and securing it with a silver ribbon. "There, that should make Elrond happy."
He waited for her to put on her shoes before he scooped her up into his arms and carried her towards the dining hall only to stop just outside of it. He sat her on a ledge so they were eye to eye and put both hands on her shoulders. "I want you to promise me something."
"I promise I will behave." True replied immediately.
"Yes you will, however that is not what I am asking." He replied with an amused sparkle in his eye before becoming serious again. "I want your promise that if you feel in any way affected by the ring Frodo carries, positively or negatively, you will come to me immediately so we can determine if the feelings are truly yours or something the ring is making you feel. As I said in the study, you are very powerful and we do not know what to expect. Your safety is all that matters. Do you understand?"
"Yes Ada. I promise."
He kissed her forehead then lifted her off the ledge and onto her feet. "Then let us go in before we are late. I do not feel like hearing Elrond's veiled comments about timeliness all evening."
True quickly noticed that the seating arrangements had been changed. Normally when everyone was home she was seated towards the middle of the table, across from the twins with Estel on one side of her and Legolas on the other. She was now surrounded by some of the most powerful elves on Arda. Elrond was on her left at the head of the table, Glorfindel was next to her, Erestor was across from her, and Mithrandir sat next to him. She looked up at Glorfindel and quirked an eyebrow. "It is for your protection as well as ours until we see how you react."
They did not have long to wait as Frodo and Sam entered the hall less than a minute later, followed by Merry and Pippin. A wave of dizziness hit her as she felt the power of the ring, causing her to grip the table to steady herself. The power grew stronger as Frodo took his seat at the far end of the table, but other than that initial rush, she felt nothing evil. The most she felt was a surge of her own power, which felt incredible, like she could do anything and everything she wanted, but it quickly subsided. She looked up into Glorfindel's worried eyes. "I am fine Ada."
Glorfindel drew her attention to the table where she was shocked to see the candle flames flaring to twice the normal size and she quickly tamped down on her power until they returned to normal. She noticed Mithrandir watching her intently and when she met and held his gaze he nodded. "I do not see evil in her eyes. I believe all is well."
The meal progressed, thought not without a lot of side-eyeing from everyone. Most of the visitors assumed what happened was a defect with the candles, so only those that knew about her powers were actually scrutinizing her, but she did notice the looks that passed between a few guests as they noticed her family watching her intently. "Stop looking at me like I am going to destroy the hall or kill everyone. I am fine and people are giving us strange looks." She growled quietly in frustration.
"You are sure?" Glorfindel asked.
"I would not lie about something like this. I promised I would tell you if anything felt different and I feel the same as I did before Frodo walked in here. I swear it." True thought that would get everyone to relax but her words did nothing. "Fine. Keep watching me and make everyone even more curious. That will surely calm everything down."
Elrond cleared his throat. "True has a point. If anything was going to happen it would have occurred by now. Let us relax and enjoy this fine repast."
Those words calmed all but Glorfindel, but True expected as much. She ignored him and watched the Hobbits as she ate. The one called Sam was encouraging Frodo to eat while the other two were eating more food than she thought possible for such small beings. It was not long until Frodo was exhausted and Sam gently led him away from the table and back to his room to rest.
The meal ended and everyone started to make their way to the Hall of Fire for the evening's entertainment. The moment True stood her family immediately surrounded her in a diamond formation, Glorfindel and Erestor to each side, Elrohir in front and Elladan behind her. She scowled at her father but chose not to say anything.
As they passed the remaining hobbits she heard the old called Pippin speak. "She must be really important, Merry, what will all of those guards." He said in a not so quiet whisper.
True stopped to address his comment. "No, not important. My father is just an overbearing pr…" She felt a hard poke in the back. "An overbearing loving parent who wants to make sure I am safe." She smiled up at Glorfindel before looking back at Pippin. "I do not think we have formally met. I am True, resident troublemaker and only child of Lord Glorfindel."
"I am Pippin and this is my cousin Merry. We two are also resident trouble makers only of the Shire."
"Then we should get along just fine." She said with a laugh.
"Will you be joining us for the evening festivities?" Erestor asked politely.
"Aye, just as soon as we finish this delicious dessert."
"Then we will see you in a few moments."
They entered the Hall of Fire and took their places on the various comfortable padded benches and chairs. True listened to Merry and Pippin sing a song from her homeland and was cajoled into singing a few songs herself. Growing tired from the long day, True she settled herself in Glorfindel's lap and sighed contently when he wrapped his arms around her and she quickly drifted off to sleep.
