Chapter Five: Eve It didn�t take long for the remaining party-goers to retire to more private chambers, though the subject of discussion remained consistently the same. Rather than running to her own room, where she would certainly be found, Uruviel dashed down the corridors to her cousin�s own, rather empty, apartments. Granted, it didn�t take much time for Elrohir and Elladan to find her, on their second guess of course. Traipsing into Elrohir�s bedroom, where Uruviel was curled over on his bed, the duo, along with the delectable Prince Legolas, gaily paraded about with several full wine bottles. Elrohir, being his flamboyantly drunken self, dove carelessly onto his bed, followed by Legolas. Elladan, who in his unnaturally drunken state was attempting to protect the wine, fell sideways into a chair. The trio, whose attitudes could not be dampened by any side thought, smiled zanily at the poor she-elf whose face now harboured an expression the polar opposite of that which she had worn earlier. �Uhh� Uru � you look like you�re gonna be sick,� Elladan mumbled, trying to focus his blurry vision on his pallid cousin. �Yea� d�you eat something bad?� Elrohir snickered, brain filaments no longer connecting from the high alcohol content. Uruviel simply stared at the ceiling, eyes out of focus and detached from the rest of the world. Legolas, the ever-concerned and somewhat-brainwashed friend, sidled up to her and placed his hand on her forehead. �You know� if she wunn�t an elf, I�d think she was dead,� he muttered before taking a rather large swig from a bottle he had hidden under his tunic. Elrohir, seeing no other method of catching his cousin�s attention, simply took to poking her repeatedly until she chose to awaken from her reverie. The poke-method was, of course, a proven method of awakening slumbering victims. Shaking her head to slough away the more numbing thoughts, Uruviel blinked, realising for the first time that it was Elrohir plaguing her, and not something else, like she had imagined. (Her cousin�s presence often provoked rather awkward thoughts in people.) �Leave me be � you bloody drunkard.� Elrohir smiled, quite proud to have succeeded in arousing his cousin � not like that, you perverts � where others had failed. Her comment, most naturally, slid off of him as though it had never been spoken. �Welcome back to the land of the living, Uru!� He hiccoughed, handing over a bottle that was, in his mind, half-full. His twin brother and their mutual blond companion cheerily raised their bottles in toast, muttering compliments before drowning themselves in what remained. �I shouldn�t have done that�� Uruviel whispered, voice barely audible over the clinks and gurgles of her male comrades. Rolling onto her back, she stared drearily at the ceiling. �Complete lunacy. I�m going to die. Haldir will win the competition, he�ll rubs it in my face, I�ll be a laughing stock, my grandparents will be ashamed, I�ll never be able to go home, and I assuredly wouldn�t be able to stay here�.� Half muttered comments like those poured from her mouth in a senseless string for quite some time before Elladan could put two and two together, or at least pretend to. Smiling in a manner he had though was sympathetic, but was actually more like someone who�s had a gong rung next to their head, he leant over toward the bed and attempted to reassure his upset cousin. �Dun worry! Worse comes to worse� I can hide you under m�bed.� He paused for a moment to hiccough before continuing. �An� then I can sneak you food � and wine� and� stuff.� The thought, as well-intentioned as it had been, did little, however, to quell Uruviel�s fears. If anything, it worsened them. Sighing dejectedly, she spared a solitary glance at the bottle in her hand, and upon seeing it to be half-empty, downed the lot. Though Haldir allowed for the end of the feast before retiring to more private chambers, he did not do so in good humour. Much like Uruviel, a feeling of utter hopelessness overcame him, and refused to let go. Abandoning the idea of returning to his own chamber, he silently trudged to his younger brothers� apartment � a room they shared, but rarely spent quality time in. Though Haldir had wanted nothing more than to sit and mope in silence, his brothers soon came to his aid, bringing Fereveldir with them. �Hello Hal! Woah � you look awful.� Haldir spared his youngest brother a brief glare before sighing melodramatically and returning his head to his hands. Though he was perched on the edge of Orophin�s bed, it did little to deter the middle brother for clambering up behind him and toying with his hair. Fereveldir � who of all the elves at the banquet, excepting Erestor, was probably the least drunk � spun a chair about and grinned bemusedly at his long-time friend. �I�m not sure what to say� whether I should console you or tell you Elrohir was right.� He commented cheerily. Being in full possession of his wits, something that could be said for many others, he was allowed the full use of his generally sarcastic nature. The notion that he was, of course, absolutely right only dismayed Haldir even more. �But � Haldir�s � Haldir! He�s won the competition five times! Nobody can beat him!� R�mil quipped, slightly unaware of the situation. Orophin dragged himself to the side, to stare at his younger brother. �No� this time, Ru! This time�� he blinked, having gone cross-eyed in his attempts to explain. �This time Princess Uruviel is competing!� Having said his share, he keeled over, staring absently at the ceiling. R�mil, who looked mildly confused, or at least, more than usual, could only utter monosyllabic responses: ��oh.� Haldir raised his head, a pained expression written across his face, as he directed conversation toward the only capable being in the room. �Fereveldir � there�s no way I can win� is there?� Pausing to give reasonable thought to the question, Fereveldir decided upon his answer. �No.� he replied plainly, shaking his head. �You trained her yourself, Hal� so she�s more than capable of winning on skill. But she�s also an elf with a vengeance and no matter how much she likes you, that vengeance must be satisfied.� Trust a councillor to counsel truthfully. �Why couldn�t you have just lied?� �Because it�s not my job.� �I�m going to kill Dinendel. It�s his fault.� �This is true� but believe me when I say � kinslaying is not the way to go. Just win the competition.� �I thought you said I couldn�t.� �I, personally, don�t think anyone stands a chance against Uruviel, but you�re not just anyone � are you, Haldir?� A knowing smile crossed Fereveldir�s lips as he surveyed his companion�s face. Only the smallest of ticks gave away the answer, though Haldir feigned by raising an eyebrow in question. �I don�t know precisely what it is you�re talking about�� he replied. �� but I do believe Elrohir summed up my future quite nicely.� From their places on opposite beds, R�mil and Orophin looked at each other, giggling quite childishly and quoted the famed anecdote of the evening. �You�re screwed!� Exactly like every other person in Imladris who wasn�t involved in a more important activity, the Royals themselves sat down together after the banquet to discuss the events of the night. Though Thranduil had apologized profusely for his councillor�s tongue, Galadriel had yet to stop glaring at him, despite her protests that she didn�t know she was doing it. Celeborn, who was more concerned with the outcome of the competition than the manner in which it would begin, was simply giddy with the thought that LothL�rien now had a greater chance of winning than ever before. Elrond, ever quiet and good natured, rubbed his temples to soothe away the headache that was quickly building. His primary concern had always been the geniality of the competition, and fostering unity between the three elven lands � but the competition, it seemed, always brought divisions. �I believe that all we can do is to cross our fingers, and hope for the best.� Thranduil said calmly, carefully avoiding Galadriel�s gaze. Upon hearing soft mutterings inside his head, he spared a glance to her mouth, which remained motionless, and consigned himself to misery. �Nonsense � there is nothing bad in this competition.� Celeborn retorted. �If anything, Thranduil, we should thank your servant for his folly � for it is certain that this shall prove to be among the most entertaining of Hunts we have yet seen.� �This is true, Celeborn,� Elrond replied, attempting to slide in a comment of good will and prosperity. �And think how much the simple actions of your granddaughter advance this competition into an equal and non-discriminatory event.� Though the Lord of LothL�rien was on most occasions among the most wise of all elves, the buzzing in his head from successive bottles of wine did not allow for the comprehension of words above three syllables in length. �� right. What he said!� �And yet�� Elrond began. �I must ask myself� which of the competitors is most likely to triumph in tomorrow�s competition? For all my gift of foresight � I cannot see it.� Had anyone else breached the subject, it would have been seen as disgraceful. However, seeing as Elrond was � well- Elrond, it made it perfectly alright. Galadriel smiled, though it was obvious that her primary attentions were focused elsewhere. (Thranduil had begun humming to himself, in hopes of drowning out the nagging comments in his brain.) �Nor have I the power to see what has yet to be written.� Always one to be mystical, her deep voice echoed throughout the room, giving everyone the feeling as though ice had just run up their spines. �Yet to be written?� Celeborn questioned, piecing the words together slowly to be certain he fully understood them. �D�you mean they�ve changed the course of the future?� Unlike mortals, elven life has been decided since Ea first came into being � hence, why a select few of the elven race have the gift of foresight, or being able to discern the future. Mortals, who are not bound to any choice or morality unless by their own decision, make amends and crossroads in their daily happenings that continuously change their life paths, making it rather difficult to see exactly lies in wait for them, except at a precise moment. The silence of the room was the only affirmative the elven royals needed. Whatever the outcome of the next day�s events, it would change the patterns of the stars. Back |
