Mary Goes to Mirkwood

Mary Goes to Mirkwood

Chapter 13 / ?

Revised 2004 Edition

Co-Authors: Mary A & Malinorne

Introducing: Sheraiah

Warnings: Some naughty grape eating again... no table manners at all...

Disclaimer: Just playing with Tolkien characters, for fun, and not profit, do not claim to have created them. Thaladir, the king's seneschal, is our own creation.

Summary: Mal wakes up with the king, Mary wakes up with a hangover. Both have lunch and a new POV is presented from Sheraiah in Rivendell.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

~ Mal ~


It felt heavenly to wake up beside Thranduil, realizing that he had stayed in bed to wait for me to stir, though his need for sleep must be minimal. I nestled my nose into that warm place under his ear, just enjoying his scent and his hair that was like silk against my skin. My arm was resting on his chest, and my leg half-way over his and a feeling of pure happiness overwhelmed me when he ran his hand over my side, gently, slowly, softly.

Then he shifted a little, and the light touch of his fingers continued over my neck, my back, my . . . backside. His fingers moved in tentative little circles, only the fingertips touching my skin, and barely. At one point he stopped his movements, and I could almost feel his question.

"No," I said quietly. "I am not sore. He didn't hurt me."

The king answered by suddenly grabbing my rear and, as he pulled me a little closer, catching my lips in a tender, but much too brief, kiss. His voice was serious when he spoke, and I think there was a hint of a threat under the calm surface.

"Nobody is allowed to hurt you. Nobody."

He began to stroke my body again, every part that he could reach, and as I relaxed, revelling in his touch, the events of the night before came back to me. The dinner. The dancing. The shy treasurer, the young Haryl, the horrible wine merchant and his greedy hands. And Thaladir.

I felt my cheeks heat as I remembered the stern seneschal and what he had done on the king's order. And how much I had enjoyed it. I felt ashamed that I had lost my self-control so totally in front of Thaladir that I had practically begged for him to take me. Only the final decision had been made by the king.

Thranduil placed playful little kisses on my shoulder, and when he chuckled I understood that he had been reading my mind again.

"Do not fear my seneschal," he said. "Thaladir had more self-control to lose than you. And he lost it. A most complete surrender, and a highly enjoyable performance. I am proud of you."

He was right, of course, and it made me feel a little better. I felt a lot better when the king shifted under me and pulled me on top of him. I sought his lips in a kiss, and this time he didn't pull back, but buried his hands in my hair as he possessed my mouth. When he finally ended the kiss, I was breathless, and I wanted more.

Thranduil however, had his self-control intact, and he pushed me gently to the side when he sat up in the bed. I understood that his mind was set on the waiting business of this day, as he told me that there was no time for further play this morning.

"The negotiations will begin after breakfast, and they will require most of my attention these days."

His eyes brightened and he gave me a naughty smile before he reminded me of the conversation we had the day before. "Have you thought about the young sentinel?"

As my thoughts had been full of the king and everything that happened in these halls, I had to admit that I had not.

"Then decide without delay," Thranduil said, impatientl"You"You need more company than just Mary. I expect to be informed about your decision before this day is over." Then his mood shifted again, like so often, and he sounded playful when he continued. "Before breakfast, I suggest you try these. They are very tasty."

I sat up, and saw that the king picked up something from the small table beside the bed. His mithril crown was lying there, shimmering in the light from the candelabras. The yellow birch leaves were dry and rolled up now, but the red berries that Ithilwen had so carefully adorned my hair with the night before sat in the circlet, still fresh and ripe. The fact that they had been used in my hair obviously didn't bother the king, as he threw some of the berries into his mouth and chewed them with a delightful expression on his face. Then he put one between my lips and I sucked it into my mouth, nibbling his fingertip in the process.

We ate some more berries and then the king declared that it was time for breakfast. As I stood and went over to the chair where my clothes were, I noticed an ugly, red blotch on the stone floor, not far from the door. I realized that some berries must have fallen from my head during the night's stormy events, which was only natural, but for some reason it made me ill at ease.

I immediately felt better when the king helped me into my green dress and then put on his own clothes, the same tight black leggings and dark green tunic as the evening before. He did not put on his crown, and he didn't need it to look the great king he was. The Elvenking was hbreabreakingly handsome and unmistakably regal all by himself.

As we went out of the room, he noticed that my gaze was again glued to the nasty stain and reassured me. "Pay no heed to that. My seneschal must have crushed them unintentionally when he left us. He was quite agitated, I must say. The servants will clean this; the damage is not permanent."

We did not talk much on our way to the great hall; the king seemed to be absorbed in thoughts of the upcoming negotiations, and, despite Thranduil's reassuring words, all I could think of was the seneschal and how I could possibly stand to face him. And the others. What if they knew? I squirmed inside, and was incredibly relieved to find that nothing seemed to have changed.

The palace elves were as courteous and friendly as before, and the three men seemed to prefer to keep to themselves this morning. They were seated at a small table near the entrance, with their heads close together asdiscdiscussing a secret. The youngest of them, Haryl, looked up briefly as we passed, and gave me an unsteady little smile. I smiled back, struggling not to laugh as I recalled our funny conversation, and felt a little sorry for him having to occupy himself with numbers and calculations all day. I saw no trace of the seneschal.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

~ Mary ~


When I awoke the next morning, I had no idea where I was or how I had got there. I tried to open my eyes but the light in the room was too dazzling and it pierced right through my skull like a sharp blade. I could hear movement, and a soft voice tunefully humming, from the next room.

"Miriel?" I croaked out. Unwilling to open my eyes, I heard her come into the room. Her normally silent footsteps scraped annoyingly across the flagstone floor.

"Yes, my lady?" Usually, elf voices do not hurt my ears.

"Turn down the lights, please."

"There is only the one candle, my lady." I heard her blow it out, but I still had trouble opening my eyes. The lids felt stuck together. After lifting my head from the pillows, and propping myself on one elbow, I looked at her, although she refused to come into focus.

"Water?" I asked. But, when she brought me a cupful I changed my mind. It looked too thick, or something. My head was one big throb. I did not even dare lower my consciousness below my neckline. Just the feeling of the inside of my mouth was bad enough. "How did I get here?" I asked. My own voice hurt my ears.

"His Highness, Prince Legolas carried you here, my lady," replied Miriel. I lay back on my pillow as I recalled the previous night. I had finally seen the prince's chambers, where we had ended up after our walk under the stars. But the events following that were hazy. It seemed that I had been upset and he had taken me to his room to comfort me. No, he had upset me after we were in his rooms and I had cried on his shoulder.

How many bottles of wine had we consumed then? One? No, two. I groaned and put my pillow over my head. There was a third, I recalled. At the time it had seemed like a good idea. I peeked out at the elf-maid from beneath the pillowcase flap.

"Legolas is leaving, Miriel," I moaned. "He's going away. Did you know that?" I felt sad all over again, remembering what my only ally in Mirkwood had told me the night before. He was leaving for Rivendell as soon as the negotiations with the men from Esgaroth were over. I had been devastated when he told me the night before. I still felt devastated. "What am I going to do without him?" I asked her.

Miriel patted me as she sympathized with my grief. The prince, she said, often was gone from the halls, a regular gad-about, so unlike his father who never went anywhere for long. I tried to move my arms and legs under the blankets, as she spoke, and found myself restricted.

"What am I wearing?" I asked. I sat straight up in horror as I became aware of the tent I was swaddled in. A nightgown! As I looked down at the monstrosity I had on, I vaguely remembered large hands undressing me during the early morning hours, after I had been delivered back to my rooms, and those same hands dressing me, in this gown, with its billowing sleeves...a monumental task.

And they had not been Miriel's hands.

"Who dressed me?" I was not sure I wanted to know. "Was it Legolas?"

Sitting up had been a mistake. And now my head hurt even harder as I tried to k wik with it. I put my hands over my face as if that would help.

"No, my lady, it was..."

"The king?" I interrupted, hopeful.

"No, my lady. It was..."

"Don't say it!" I put the tips of my fingers on her lips and paid heavily for raising my voice. Twin spikes of pain entered into my brain at both temples. Her eyes grew wide but her expression was one of amused sympathy. "Thaladir?" I whispered. She could not answer with my hand on her mouth but her eyes grew even more sympathetic as she slowly nodded.

"No, no, no..." I groaned and let myself drop back down to the bed, which was another mistake. Clutching my scalp, I realized it was true. I remembered suddenly how I had teased him about his ability to undress me without looking at me. "You mean that really happened?" Oh, what had else had I done?

As I remembered more, I thought I was going to die from mortification. He had been waiting outside the door when Legolas brought me to the room. Positioned by my door he had stood, like a proud, but oddly exhausted-looking, soldier. I told him he looked cute standing there, like he was my dad. I think I even poked him, or, had I only tried to? After Legolas handed me over to him, he had put up with me better than I would have predicted. And he had so so gentle. So gentle. I had tried to crawl under the bed when he came at me with that long white nightgown held out to ensnare me.

It seemed to me that I had tried to scream, but was laughing too hard. I think I kicked him. Or maybe he had caught my foot just in time? Everything seemed out of focus in my memory, but vivid enough to make me feel regretful.

"Just kill me now and get it over with, Miriel," I sobbed. "How am I ever going to look that elf in the face again?" Eventually, with soft words of reassurance, the sweet elleth tried to convince me that there was a reason to live, after all; namely Thranduil. She stroked my hair and told me that he would not be pleased to see me in such distress over a matter of so little consequence.

The elleth sat patiently on the bed beside me until I quieted down and offered the cup to me once more. It was not water, she explained, but a tea made by the king for my headache. His Majesty had been by, she told me, to check on me. Hearing this made me feel a little better. Since it had been his first night alone with his new concubine, I considered myself lucky that he even remembered I was alive. And I was comforted a little that he had been to see me, even though I was not aware of it.

Tentatively, I sipped at the brew, but it seemed to go down easier than I would have thought by looking at it. It smelled of mint and had a slightly bitter taste, but it settled my stomach and made my head feel better. When I was finished with it I was ready to eat. Really eat.

"What time is it?" I asked. "And why is it so dark in here?"

Although I had missed breakfast, I was not about to miss lunch. I meekly allowed Miriel to both help me into the gown of her choice and brush my hair. There came a knock at the door that I recognized like it was a familiar voice.

"Let her in, Miriel."

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

~ Mal ~


Not only Thaladir had been absent from breakfast; Mary hadn't been there either. While I could easily imagine the seneschal busying himself with his scrolls and missing breakfast in order to get everything ready for the negotiations, Mary's absence made me worried. She had left the dinner early and I hoped that she wasn't ill. I asked the king about it and he promised to check on her. It was obvious that he wouldn't volunteer any more information that he might have, so I turned my attention to the fresh bread and the aromatic tea that was served this morning.

After the meal, the king accompanied me back to my room and wished me a pleasant day. He said nothing about meeting me again, which made me a little unsure, but I soon shrugged it off, thinking that he must be all caught up by the negotiations already.

Shortly after he had left, Ithilwen came in. She was carrying a large book that turned out to be full of pictures of elves in different costumes. She said that she were to see to that more clothes were sewn for me, and asked me to show which of all the dresses appealed most to me. It felt like we spent hours leaning over that book, discussing designs and colours, and I was incredibly happy for the pictures, as it would have been hopelessly difficult to have a conversation like this in Elvish.

But, at last, when we had finally gone through all the possibilities, I decided to leave the choice to Ithilwen. I fully trusted her judgement after the wonders she had done with my hair the evening before, and as all the elven garments were tasteful, I was sure I would like whatever she chose. My only request was that one gown should glitter and sparkle, and she smiled conspiratorially when she nodded her approval. The king's love for glittery things was no secret.

When Ithilwen was gone again I spent some time just admiring the beauty of the Lorien forest on my mural paintings, but then I got restless and wanted to talk with someone. I just couldn't keep quiet about the king's generosity; he had almost seemed to want me to sleep with that sentinel. Though I wasn't sure yet that I wanted to, I appreciated that Thranduil was so concerned about my wishes that he had noticed my attraction to the young elf and acted upon it so unselfishly.

Come to think about it, he hadn't exactly delayed responding to my attraction to his seneschal either, once he found out. But that was not a topic I wished to ever discuss with Mary. Or anyone else, for that matter.

Her room was just across the corridor, and Miriel opened the door almost immediately. She showed me into the bedroom, before retiring modestly, and I found Mary sitting on her marvellous bed, looking more than a bit tired, but not ill. I was so happy to see her. Nothing wrong with the elves, but I was very happy to have a friend from the modern world here. There were just too many things that couldn't be discussed with the ever-smiling ellith. Like their king.

"Mary! I have the most wonderful news!" I started off in a rush that was uncharacteristic for me, but I just felt I had to tell someone, or burst. "You know the cute elf with almost black hair and dark blue eyes? He's one of the guards outside the dinner hall and he always smiles whenever I look at him? Thranduil says he will have him posted outside my bedroom instead, isn't he sweet!? The king, I mean!" She did not respond.

"And you know what else? He told me yesterday that all the elves here are attracted to us, because we're so exotic to them, and they are just dying for a possibility to get to know us! Isn't it awesome! The king is so unselfish and kind and says I can have anyone I want! Any elf, at least."

I giggled and thought that Mary would giggle with me, but she just muttered something inaudible, so I continued. "But I don't know if I really want to have that guard transferred. I mean, that wouldn't be too nice towards the king, would it? It would be like telling him I want someone else instead of him, and that wouldn't be right, would it? But it was he who suggested it, so then it should be okay. And he didn't say anything about me being with Haldir, so..."

The king hadn't said anything about Orophin or Rumil either, come to think about it. I felt my cheeks heat, and went on. "But I don't know if I want to, anyway, because, I mean, I love Thranduil and he's just too kind to us, don't you think?"

Mary listened patiently to my confessions but I could tell that she did not share my overwhelming happiness with the king. I should have stopped and asked her if something was wrong, but I just couldn't help myself as I told her everything.


~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

~ Mary ~


I did not want to kill Mal when she came into my room and started babbling about how many elves the king would let her sleep with. Oh, just about any old elf she wanted. Like the cute door guard with the blue eyes. While I got to be locked in my room every night, althou was was too embarrassed to tell her about that.

At least I did not want to kill her dead. More like just temporarily kill. Preferably, with my bare hands. But it could be an arranged hit, too. Or maybe just an accidental fall down one of those long flights of stone steps.

"Good for you, Mal," I said. But she was chattering away too much to even hear me. It was a pity that Haryl was not in the room, he would have heard for himself how annoying a girl raised by squirrels could be. Even if I did make up that whole story.

"He didn't say anything about me being with Haldir," she was saying. That got my attention. I looked at her closely and her cheeks got pinker as she stuttered to a stop. Before I could ask her about it she added something even more disturbing. "But I don't know if I want to, anyway, because, I mean, I love him and he's just too kind to us, don't you think?”

Her large, beautiful green eyes were so open, and trusting, that I could not bear it. I was too completely stripped of my last shreds of dignity that I found I could not tell a lie.

"Oh, sure, too kind, yes," I replied. "Too, too kind." Her smile faltered, I continued, "Like when he let that swine merchant feel you up on the dance floor? That was really kind of him." I did not know why that had bothered me the night before, or why it still did, but I was surprised she felt so kindly towards Thranduil.

But it hurt her, now, when I said that. I could see it in her eyes, briefly before she turned her head. "And I thought I had made him promise to treat you nicer, too," I added. "I guess I was foolish to think he would..."

"You did what?" she said through her teeth, her voice low, after turning to face me again. Oops. Her hands balled up into fists in her lap. Her green eyes got greener as her face reddened.

"I was just sticking up for you, Mal." She glared at me. "Because, I didn't like the way the king treated you, that first night, remember?"

Her face softened and she relaxed a little as I talked about that terrible night when I was tied to the chair. I reminded her that I had just read her story, too, right before the king brought her into the room to be with us in his royal bed.

"Do you remember what I told you?" I asked. "When we were in the bathing pools the next day? How upset I got when I read about him..." I stopped when the words "magnificent behind" came into my mind. Mal prodded me to continue. "When I read about him hitting you?" She narrowed her eyes, clearly not happy with that term. "Okay then, spanking you? You know the part I am talking about. And I called him a girl-hitter?"

She nodded automatically, with a far-away look in her eyes, as if she was suddenly thinking about something entirely different. "Well," I continued, "That night when he found me all muddy? I made him promise not to spank you, ever again, too." Her head snapped to face me as if I had slapped it that way. Her eyes widened with some type of inner realization.

"You? How could you do that?" I could tell she was upset. "How dare you?" Very upset. She looked away from me and put her face in her hands, and sort of slumped over. She was turned from me and her back was shaking.

"Mal? What is it? Look at me." I tried to pull her back around but she resisted. I continued to speak, frantically, "But, I don't think he was listening to me anyway, or really meant it when he promised he wouldp. Mp. Mal? Mal are you...? What are you doing? Are you laughing?" She was. And my last question made her laugh even harder. She was laughing so hard she ended up lying down on the bed as she wiped her eyes.

"Perhaps," she said slowly while looking up to the ceiling, "I actually should thank you..."

But I never got a chance to hear why. There was a knock at the door. Before Mal or I could even react, Miriel came out from the dressing room to open it. The two of us followed her out into the sitting room as Legolas was stepping in, with a worried expression on his usually serene features. There were unexpectedly severe storms approaching from the east, and he was going to have to leave for Rivendell earlier than expected. The eagle would be arriving soon.

"But," I asked him, "what about the negotiations? Didn't you tell me that your father needed you to help him?"

"Apparently," said Legolas with a shrug, "that is no longer necessary. Adar says he can handle these men without my help this year. He seems to have developed a new technique..."

The prince never completed his explanation for there was a familiar sound of throat-clearing disapproval from behind him. Thaladir had arrived to escort Mal and me to lunch. He greeted the prince with a respectful nod but barely glanced in my direction. I felt better immediately. If he wanted to act as if nothing had happened, then so would I.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

~ Mal ~

It felt so good to talk with her that I would have told Mary the full story about Haldir right then, if she had asked, but instead she said something nasty about the king not being kind at all when he had let the awful merchant behave like that during the dance. I still did not fully understand why Thranduil had let Renk get away with that, but I had been in Mirkwood long enough now to realize that it was impossible to follow what went on in the king's keen mind.

That didn't mean that it was nice to be reminded of the merchant, and I thought it was mean of Mary to bring it up like she did. It made me sad that she didn't think better of the king. And then she said things that made me furious. That she had asked him to be nice to me, as if I wasn't perfectly happy with the king being himself, kind or not. She didn't understand! Not that I didn't want him to be nicer to me, but he should be because he wanted to, and not because Mary had told him to!

Was that why he had been so gentle with me this morning; no, I couldn't believe it, I refused to believe it. If I hadn't been so upset I would have realized much sooner that it was even a bit funny to think that the mighty Elvenking would change his behaviour to fit Mary's whims.

Then she brought up something that really made me explode, that she had asked Thranduil not to spank me ever again. I yelled at her at first, but then the humour of last night's adventure made me shake with laughter and I had to turn away from her. What a mess she had put me in with her meddlesomeness!

I guessed that the poor seneschal was unaware of the reason for his services being required in the royal bedchamber and I just couldn't stop laughing. I tried to imagine what would shock him the most; that he had Mary to thank for thvitavitation, or that his king had taken to such measures in order to fulfil a promise to her.

Before I could tell her what was so funny, Legolas came in and said something about having to leave earlier than planned, and that made me serious again. I would miss him; he was the only elf in the halls who actually behaved like a normal person. We said our goodbyes and then Thaladir came, frowning as usual and apparently displeased with something the prince had said. He announced stiffly that he was to show Mary and me to lunch.

I carefully avoided looking at Thaladir as he accompanied us to the king's private dining room. The mid-day meal was to be held there, under less crowded circumstances, due to the negotiations. That was all the information he volunteered along the way and I was happy that he said nothing about our last meeting. Perhaps he would let it fizzle out, just pretend it never happened. At least that was what I hoped.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

~ Mary ~

Legolas said his last goodbyes, then turned and walked down the hallways to prepare for his departure. I felt stunned and numb. Mal and the seneschal came out into the corridor and we proceeded towards the king's area of the palace. Feeling a bit woozy, I wanted to just hurry up and get the walk to lunch over with. I thought maybe some food would make me feel better.

The cup of tea that Thranduil had prepared for me may have eased my headache and queasiness, but I still had wine in my blood. I could feel it, especially when I turned my head too fast. Mal walked briskly beside the seneschal as he strode along, his robes billowing out like wings on either side of him. It was hard to keep up with the both of them in the long skirt I wore that seemed to deliberately wrap around my legs unless I walked slowly.

As soon as we entered the section of the palace where I recognized the halls, and knew how to find my own way without assistance, I gave up trying to keep up. I let them go on ahead of me as I trudged along. My forehead felt as if it had a plate of metal stapled to it, pushing my eyelids downwards. The door to the king's smaller private dining room stood open and a few other late arrivers were finding seats when I came in.

The natural sunlight that illuminated this particular area was brutal, even though it usually seemed only slightly less dim than the torchlight, as it had to travel through the thick granite walls of the hill through narrow tubes drilled into the stone.

Mal was just sitting down next to the king, as I entered, on his right. To his left sat Helca. In my seat. I froze for a moment at the sight. She was looking right at me; her icy-blue gaze was triumphant. I smiled at her as if I was the happiest person in the world to see her sitting there, next to the king. She was almost too easy to fool. Her own smug little grin disappeared.

Reluctantly, I took the last seat remaining. Unfortunately, it was right next to hers. I refused to take any further notice of her presence at the table although it was impossible to escape listening to her voice while she participated somewhat shrilly in the conversation. She only spoke Elvish today, which was fine with me; I had no desire to know what she was saying. It was bad enough having to see her paw the king every time she had the chance or a free hand.

At least I had decent faces to rest my eyes on. I was sitting across from the king's treasurer, Canath, and the Town Master sat beside him. I could not see Thranduil unless I sat up straight and leaned forward a bit. Both of which seemed to increase the pressure of the invisible band of iron that pressed against my forehead. I found it easier to just slump back gracefully. I could see the king's hands, though, as he talked with the men and his advisers. I thought of them on Mal. Last night. All night.

He was absorbed with the Long Lake men in negotiation discussions. Apparently there was some dispute over the price of apples this year, as opposed to last year's price, that needed endless repetitive argument. The king was the orchard owner's largest customer. If he refused to make an order, the orchard owner would suffer great losses; but, if he refused to pay the asking price, the owner might balk and not sell.

After I got over being irritated that the orchard owner, himself, was not here to negotiate and, instead, this middle-man approach was being used, I tuned out of the conversation. Slumped further in my seat, I longed to place my elbow on the table so I could support my spinning head.

One thing I was sure of, after I got the gist of the dealings, was that Thranduil was going to have his apples if he had to cut off some heads to get them. I felt sorry for the men, but I supposed they were all far more accustomed to losing every single negotiating debate point with His Majesty, than I would ever hope to be. Renk came to the table a more subdued man than he had behaved the night before. He sat far from me. I could not wait to never see his ugly face again.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

~ Mal ~

When we came into the dining room, I was shocked to see Helca in Mary's customary seat, but relieved when Thaladir let me understand that I was to keep my place at the king's right hand side. I was less relieved when he sat beside me, and the calmness I had felt just minutes before was gone in an instant when the seneschal spoke.

"Le hannon, hiril nín." [I thank you, my lady] He said it in a neutral, conversational tone, as if merely referring to the fact that I had just handed him the small bowl of salt, but soon confirmed my fears when he made it clear that he had meant something completely different. "I derived the most pleasure from seeing that side of you." Then he lowered his voice, and leaned close to me, before he added the last devastating words, in a whisper. "Across my lap."

The seneschal looked into my eyes briefly, his gaze lustful to the edge of depravity, before he turned away to reach for a platter with ample chunks of white cheese.

Shocked, and blushing, I looked at the elves around us. Apparently none of them had been listening, or they had simply not heard the last of seneschal's words. I did not know what to answer him; I just wanted to die from embarrassment.

The king was absorbed in a silly discussion about apples, so I found myself mostly talking with the elves that sat at the other side of the table. They were just as delighted to hear my Elvish as the day before. I enjoyed the simple conversation, and my meal, that consisted of various small dishes, both meat and vegetables. Many things were new to me, but everything tasted delicious, especially now when Renk, who was seated across from Thaladir, didn't ruin my appetite with his sleazy remarks.

I don't know if it was the seneschal's immediate presence that had a sobering effect on the merchant, or if the king had let him understand that he had gone too far the previous night, but it didn't matter, as long as it meant he didn't continue his advances on me. Haryl was very quiet as well, at first, and I suspected he was still afraid to make a mistake and thus not very comfortable with having the honour of sitting opposite the Elvenking.

Thranduil looked in Mary's direction now and then, with a gaze I could not quite identify, but I got the impression that she wasn't sitting where she should be. Helca seemed determined to make the most of showing how close she was to the king. Often she said "we", and touched his arm as if to confirm the existence of some kind of bond between them. It was incredibly irritating, and I was glad to notice that the king frequently leaned closer to me, away from her touch. And just as frequently, he seemed to look at Mary.

Then, suddenly, the seneschal cleared his throat, which made me automatically turn my head to look at him, though I had so far managed to avoid doing that. I couldn't take my eyes from him when I saw what he was doing. He was eating grapes, and in a manner that couldn't be misunderstood.

With long, flexible fingers he picked one and turned it carefully between his fingertips as if some delightful secrets could be had from feeling its soft surface. Then he lifted it to his mouth, that suddenly looked full and supple, and with a facial expression that was almost sinful he bit the grape in two, crushing its flesh between his teeth.

For a few frozen moments, I was mesmerized and couldn't stop watching, even if it made me feel like a voyeur, and a very embarrassed one. One by one, the seneschal continued to devour the small fruits, licking them, caressing them with his lips, and then biting resolutely. By now, I was blushing more furiously than he had ever done in my presence.

The king rescued me. There was some kind of commotion at Mary's end of the table, that made him rise from his chair, and for a short while I was released from the seneschal's performance. It didn't seem like any of the elves had found his table manners strange in any way, not even the men across from the king appeared to have noticed, except for Haryl, the treasurer from Long Lake Town. "Really fine fruit you have here," he said happily, picking some grapes from the platter in front of him, and gesturing towards the seneschal. "Last delivery before winter, I presume?"

I heard Thaladir mutter something inaudibly in response, as I leaned forward to better see what the king was doing. I was interrupted in my movement by the seneschal, who laid his left hand on my arm, making me turn towards him again. When he was sure that had caught my attention he looked straight into my eyes, leaned into me slightly and said something that really made me squirm in my chair.

"Le gevedithon ad." [I will see you again]

These words Thaladir accompanied by a smirk worthy of his king and I realized that I had misjudged the grouchy old seneschal gravely.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

~ Mary ~

Despite my empty stomach, my lunch sat on my plate for a long time before I dared take a bite. I heard Mal speaking Elvish and I was suddenly not as hungry as I had thought. From behind me the kitchen doors would swing open now and then. There would be a puff of warm, oven-heated air containing pungent odors, and the sound of busy kitchen activity, for a few brief moments, until the doors swung closed. It added a surreal quality to the unsteady way I felt.

Every once in a while Helca would toss her head in such a way that I would get a face full of her hair before she swiftly smoothed it back into place. After a few times, I pulled my soup-bowl to the edge of the table and waited. As the shimmery curtain came swinging around to slap me, I directed a handful into the contents of the bowl and she learned to control herself after that.

The table seemed to be rocking slightly, so I put my hands to either side of my plate and considered asking for permission to leave. Then, as if startled awake from a short nap, I found myself leaning chin in hand with my elbow on the table. I removed it quickly, laid my offending arm out flat, and looked around to see if anyone was paying attention.

Beside me I could feel Helca moving her legs, and shifting in her seat. If I had not have assumed to know better, I would have thought she was playing footsie with Master Darek after he flashed her a startled glance. The king was talking to Renk, as the subject had finally changed from apples to wine, and no one around me seemed to notice my faux pas. I leaned forward to see if the grouchy seneschal was all frowns over my unseemly table manners.

Thaladir was staring right at Mal, right into her eyes from what I could tell. He was putting grapes into his mouth and biting them in a lascivious manner. It made me feel very odd to watch him doing that but I could not stop staring. I felt a soft pat on the back of my outschedched hand. Master Darek was trying to get my attention.

"Are you ill?" He indicated with a slight nod of his head toward my untouched lunch plate. He was so sweet to notice that it touched me and I felt near tears. Instead, unexpectedly, I laughed. Although I admit it was a bitter laugh, it still seemed to have come unbidden from my mouth. I felt I had to exert some control over myself.

"No, I am not ill." I replied instead, to my own surprise, and not quietly, "I am a bridge. That's what I am. And that's worse than being ill." I took in a deep breath and wished I had not drunk so much wine. What on earth compelled me to say that?

"A bridge?" The poor man looked around the table for help but found none. Canath smiled pleasantly at us, seemingly unconcerned with my behavior and oblivious to my words. Helca was jabbering away at the king and I wondered if she was raised by jaybirds. Master Darek's eyes grew even more worried. "Did you say a bridge?"

"That is my job title here, in the palace. I am the bridge." Again, I felt puzzled by my own words. There was no reason to share this with the men-folk. I was determined not to say another foolish word, but instead I blurted out, "Do you know what a bridge does?" He tried to withdraw his hand but I could not let go of it. I could see a small amount of desperation enter his kind eyes.

"No," he answered warily. "I have no idea."

"Me. Either," I was even less quiet now as I spoke to him, "But, so far, it seems to involve being mauled, pawed, slobbered on and insulted by fat, hairy, smelly men!" The king had risen from his seat and was standing behind me. I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"That is enough." Thranduil's voice was quiet, not angry, but it silenced me, and seemed to break a spell. The table had grown silent as I let go of Master Darek's hand but I did not look up at the king. I glanced sideways at Helca, and her self-satisfied smirk bothered me. The doors behind me swung open again, and the sounds of pots clanging and dishes clattering, along with the voices of the busy elves in there, swept over me again along with the aroma of the lunch preparation.

"May I be excused from the table?" To my surprise, I was standing upright. "I think I am going to be sick," I added, which was close enough to the truth. I did not wait for a response. The kitchen doors were open and I was walking through them, passing through the cooking and serving elves, who had suddenly quieted and just stood there watching me. It felt as if I were walking in a dream, as if my feet were not moving and I was standing still watching things move by me, the huge ovens, smaller cooking stoves, and racks of pots and pans. Then I was out into the corridor and moving through the halls.

My face felt wet and when I put my hand to my cheeks I found tears, which surprised me. I was through the gate, running. It was difficult with the long gown so I held the skirt higher. Legolas was just boarding the eagle which sat in the courtyard, its massive body filling almost the whole area. "Wait!" I shouted. "Wait! I am coming with you!" I had no idea this is where I was headed when I left my seat in the dining room, and yet, there I was.

I jumped on the eagle's great muscular back and clung to Legolas as the enormous bird lifted us up and over the hill beneath which lay Mirkwood, and the king, and his concubine, and the icy elleth, and the grumpy sehal.hal.

Now they could all be happy elves together, I thought, and I will never have to worry about proper palace protocol ever again. Instead I held onto the prince with my face buried in his chest. I was sobbing now, because it felt like my heart was breaking. Which was confusing me because I had never, ever thought that my heart was involved.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

~ Sheraiah ~


Mary had asked me to allow the twins to stay with me while she was in Mirkwood but, not trusting Thranduil, they had decided to come home so that they would be close by if it was necessary to affect a rescue at the end of the promised seven days. I was very glad that I had let Elladan and Elrohir talk me into coming with them. I had the opportunity to pick their father's brain for story fodder and was now making full use of the information he had graciously given me.

From Lord Elrond, I had gleaned all sorts of lovely, and potentially embarrassing, information about the twins' and Legolas' childhood. This was going to make a great series of stories. I normally tended to write Mirkwood fan fiction, but lately had started branching out to include Elladan and Elrohir, much to their amusement.

I chuckled, startling the elleth who had been assigned to assist me and translate for me. Duiniel looked askance at me and I grinned and pointed at my laptop. She nodded, gave me a perplexed look, and then returned to her book.

She'd either get used to me or not; I wasn't about to pretend to be something I wasn't. After all, I'd only been in Rivendell for two days. How much can a rowdy human wench scandalize a group of elves in that short a time? Not that I hadn't done a fair bit of it already, mind you. I spoke my mind, regardless of what anyone thought of it. I flatly refused to wear dresses, insisting on either my own rather gothic wardrobe or tunics and leggings. The twins had been openly amused, and I had caught a twinkle in Lord Elrond's eyes suggesting that he was as well.

For back ground music, I was listening to the storm as I sat in the massive library of Elrond's Last Homely House, my fingers flying over the keys of my laptop. Even in the middle of a downpour, Imladris was inspirational. The patter of raindrops drew my attention to the open archway. Most of the House is open he ohe outside. It feels like being in a huge gazebo. It's fortunate that elves don't feel cold, but humans do and I really needed my shawl. As I stood to get it, one of the household staff entered the library.

"My lady, Lord Elrond asks that you come to the entrance hall, please." He bowed politely. I still wasn't used to that level of courtesy and I'm afraid I was blushing a little, which made Duiniel smile inentlently.

"Of course, just give me a minute to save my work and shut this thing down," I replied, swiftly clicking on 'Save'. A moment later, I was following him through the halls, glad for his assistance. Rivendell is huge and I doubt I could have found my way around even if I'd had a map and a compass.

As soon as I got into the entrance hall, however, I stopped dead in my tracks. Of all the things I'd expected to see, Lord Elrond carrying a rain-dampened, madder than a wet hen Mary wasn't one of them. He turned his attention to me immediately, forestalling whatever I might have said.

"My lady, if you would be so kind as to see to my other guest while I see to this one, I would be in your debt." Humor twinkled in his eyes, and I nodded, nonplused. He continued on down the hall, and the other guest came into my line of vision. My jaw dropped.

"Well, I did not expect to see you here, Rai! Mae Govannen." Legolas took my hand, and kissed my knuckles. To Duiniel I'm sure it looked very pr, br, but she didn't see his tongue flick across my hand or his fingers stroke my palm. I had a sudden and very vivid flashback to the honey pot incident during his visit to me and had to very sternly think of scrubbing floors for a minute before returning his greeting. He glanced over at the elf that had accompanied Duiniel and me from theraryrary and smiled. "Am I to be quartered in my usual chambers?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Your belongings have already been taken there. Will you require food and drink?" Legolas gave me a searching look before he replied.

"Yes, I believe we will. Thank you." He tucked my hand into the crook of his arm and we started off towards his chambers. "I am very glad to see you again. We have some catching up to do." He gave me a wicked grin then and I laughed. A sudden thought occurred to me and anceanced behind us to see Duiniel dutifully following us. Well, that needed remedying and soon!

"Duiniel, I'll be fine with Prince Legolas. If I need you, I can always send for you. You've been so sweet to me the last two days that I really think you deserve some time to yourself." She shot me a look that said she wasn't fooled for a minute but dipped her head respectfully and departed. Legolas chuckled and I elbowed him in the ribs. "You're evil; you know that, don't you?" He grinned again and opened the door to his chambers. As soon as we were inside he shut the door and then pinned me against it with his body.

"Shall we see how evil I really am?" He grinned down at me for a minute then sobered. "I really am glad to see ygaingain." I couldn't leave that one alone.

"Yeah, I can tell. Unless that's an arrow in your pocket." He blinked, startled, then burst out laughing and kissed me thoroughly.

To be continued...