They were gathered together on a secluded patio off Elrond's house; the chosen representatives of
Elves and Dwarves and Men, as well as the wizard Gandalf and the Hobbit, Frodo. They sat on
chairs arranged in a somewhat elongated semicircle.

Elrond took his place at the open end of the arrangement, flanked on one side by Elladan, on the
other by Elrohir. He took a moment to glance over the conclave, frowning nearly imperceptively
as he saw the empty seat among the Elves, the place where Glorfindel should have sat. The mere
thought of the Elf-lord sent a twinge of pain through his head from the small lump Arwen's vase
had left.

He shook himself from his thoughts and began the meeting.
 
 

Elven eyes of clearest blue watched the secret council from the concealment offered by the
shadows of one of the many plants around the patio, a doorway nearby offering a quick escape if
needed.

The eyes that widened as the Ring was brought forth also narrowed in anger as one of the humans,
one Boromir of Gondor, spoke to Aragorn in a manner both dismissive and insulting, not even
apologising once the truth of the Ranger's birth was revealed. Blue eyes also glared at the
foreign Elf who lept to Aragorn's defense against Boromir; her emotions vascillated wildly
between gratitude for the defense of her beloved one to posessive anger at the Elf who dared to
try to gain the Dunadan's appreciation and favor.

A slender hand cast about, searching for a missile of some kind. Blue eyes remained locked on
the trio, calculating angles and trajectories, even as slender fingers at last found a suitable
object.
 
 

A cry of alarm broke free from more than one throat at the Council as a stone thrown from hiding
first impacted the back of Boromir's head with enough force to snap it forward and send the human
into unconsciousness before bouncing off the head to strike the Elven Prince of Mirkwood directly
between the eyebrows, sending him into unconsciousness as well. The stone then fell to the floor
as Boromir collapsed unconscious into Aragorn's arms, even as Legolas fell back to fall limply
over the dwarf Gimli's lap before slithering unconsciously to the floor at his feet.
 
 

Blue eyes danced with amusement at the Mirkwood Elf's collapse onto the dwarf, sparked with
indignation at Boromir's deliberate - it had to be! - collapse into her beloved's arms. She
watched as Aragorn gently lowered the other man to the floor and checked the rock's impact point.

Then she saw her father Elrond speak to her brothers and point in her direction, saw the two
hurry towards her.

It was definitely time for her to be somewhere else.

She slipped quietly through the shadows and through the doorway, then ran.
 
 

Elrond felt his head throbbing as he called an end to the day's meeting, knowing full well that
nothing more would get done that day after that bit of excitement. He had the man Boromir and
the Elf Legolas taken to the infirmary where he would soon tend to their wounds.

He could only hope Elladan and Elrohir would manage to find Arwen before they had to return for
the next council session on the morrow. If not, perhaps he should hold it in an inside roon, one
with no windows and no plants to hide behind.

After the others had all left the meeting-place, he walked into the semicircle and picked up the
stone that still lay upon the floor. He saw upon it blood with a single russet hair trapped in
the drying fluid. Both Boromir's.

A shiver of premonition raced down his spine at the sight.
 
 

*****
Part 2

Fortunately, Elrond found, Boromir's injury was as minor as his own and would cause no more than
a headache. He wouldn't even need a bandage.

Legolas had already awakened on his own by the time Elrond got to the Prince's bedside. Or so he
guessed, as the Mirkwood Elf lay curled up on his side, the thin sheet pulled up to cover his
face.

"Legolas?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes?" came the sheet-muffled reply.

Curious now, the half-Elf tugged gently at the sheet, was met with fierce resistance. "Legolas,
let go of the sheet."

"No."

"No? Legolas, I must tend to your injury."

"I shall be fine," came the reply. Still, the sheet did not move.

"I am not leaving until I see to your face."

An exasperated sigh came from beneath the sheet. "Very well," came the grudging response.
Legolas lowered the sheet, looked to Elrond.

There wasn't even a cut, Elrond saw. But still, he understood the Prince's reluctance to show
his face. The stone hadn't broken the skin, but it had left a bruise. A large bruise. A large
bruise that had quickly spread to darken both eyes.

"I shall make you a potion," Elrond said, head throbbing with the effort of holding back his
chuckles. "For you to bathe the bruise with. It shall be gone by the time the Council is next
summoned."

Legolas nodded, queried, "when is the next session?"

"Not until tomorrow," came the reply. "And now I shall go prepare the medicines."
 
 

The next session of the secret council was indeed held the next day, and in the interior room
Elrond had chosen, as Arwen hadn't yet been found.

This session had no unexpected events and the decision was made to take the Ring to Mount Doom in
Mordor to destroy it. Chosen to go were the Hobbit Frodo, the wizard Gandalf, the Elf Legolas,
the Dwarf Gimli and the Men Boromir and Aragorn. Then the only surprises of the day occured as
first the hobbit Sam, rushing to Frodo's side from where he had been eavesdropping, refused to
leave the other hobbit's side for the journey. His pledge was quickly echoed by the voices of
two other hobbits, Merry and Pippin, as they came out of hiding as well, to stand with the others
in front of a somewhat bemused Elrond.

And so the Nine Walkers were chosen, and named the Fellowship of the Ring by Elrond Half-Elven
himself.
 
 

From her hiding place behind where one of the hobbits had stood listening, Arwen frowned, her
blue eyes narrowing dangerously.

Those eight sought to take her beloved from her?

Arwen knew she had to work fast; her father would not let her leave Rivendell for some time
because of her actions - undoubtedly he'd already alerted the guardians and they would not let
her pass freely as before. So that meant that she had to somehow sabotage the eight kidnappers'
belongings. She wouldn't touch the weapons, as they would be needed to protect her beloved
Dunadan, or the food for fear *he* might accidently eat it, but all else was fair game.

Now, if only she could remember where she had hidden the dyes, paints, and itching powders...
 

END