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Elf Academy 3: The Enemy Within  by Fiondil

8: Dinner with Parents

Finrod and the sons of Elrond arrived home to the delicious smells of a roast wafting down the hall. Entering the kitchen, they could see the dining room table set with fine china and crystal wine glasses. Candles graced the table and the sideboard. Glorfindel, Serindë, Helyanwë and Melyanna were busy putting the dinner together. Daeron was there as well, but sitting in the breakfast nook reading a book and sipping on some tea. They all looked up at the three new arrivals and greeted them. Elrohir went to Serindë and they kissed.

“Just in time,” Glorfindel said. “Ron and Amroth will be over soon, though Della and Holly are staying home. Della said she wasn’t feeling up to it.”

“I am surprised Amroth is not staying with her then to lend her his strength,” Finrod said with a frown.

“And normally he would, but apparently Della threw him out,” Glorfindel replied with a grin. “She claimed that he was hovering and she couldn’t breathe. She’ll be fine. Misty’s gone over to the house to stay with her and Holly. I am sure the ellith will appreciate some time to themselves. I suspect they’ll spend the evening redecorating the house and gossiping about us ellyn and how useless we are.”

The twins grinned and the ellith snickered, but Finrod merely nodded. “I will go freshen up then. Will we all be here?”

“No, that would be impractical,” Glorfindel said. “It will be you, me, Ron, Amroth, Helena, Anna, Sarah and Roy. With Alex and Derek and their respective parents, that will bring the total to twelve.”

“You are not staying, then?” Finrod asked Elladan, who was leaning against the kitchen island with his arms and ankles crossed, apparently watching his brother and future sister-in-law snuggle with one another with some amusement.

“Hmm… what? Oh, no. There’s a string quartet playing tonight at the library. Some of us are going over to listen to it. It’s only for about an hour. We’ll stop afterwards for a bite somewhere.” He glanced at the microwave clock. “I’d better get going. I promised to meet everyone at the library.”

“And so should I,” Daeron said, closing his book and getting up. “I’ll be back a little later, of course, probably not until eight-thirty or so.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Glorfindel said. “Good luck with the class. What’s tonight’s topic again?”

“Gregorian chant. I will be discussing how it is still a viable musical form even today and not just as church music, either.”

“Well, have fun and we’ll see you later,” Glorfindel said. “Enjoy the concert, Dan.” Both Daeron and Elladan uttered their thanks, wishing everyone a good dinner and then left.

Finrod excused himself to freshen up and followed the two down the hall to the foyer. As they were grabbing the coats, the door opened and Ron and Amroth came in. Greetings were exchanged and Daeron  and Elladan left with Daeron offering Elladan a lift.

“Glorfindel is in the kitchen,” Finrod said to Ron and Amroth as he closed the door. “I am just going to freshen up.”

“Are you all right?” Ron asked, giving him a discerning look.

“Yes, of course,” Finrod replied, not quite looking at the ellon. “Are you all settled in?”

“Just about,” Amroth answered. “Still have a few boxes to unpack and the dining room furniture won’t arrive until Monday, but otherwise we’re pretty much moved in. Feels a bit strange with just the four of us, though. It’s almost too quiet. I hadn’t realized how much I would miss the hustle and bustle of everyone being here under one roof.”

“It seems emptier somehow,” Finrod said, “even though we still have over thirty people living here. Excuse me.” He started climbing the stairs, hoping to avoid any further conversation. He could tell that Vorondur was not convinced that he was fine. Truth to tell, his talk with Lord Manwë still troubled him and he was not sure how he should respond to it. He had yet to tell anyone about it and was debating when would be a good time to do so or even if he should. Pushing that thought aside, he concentrated on the dinner and its purpose as he went to freshen up.

He was coming downstairs when the doorbell rang and, as he was there, he answered the door. As expected, Alex and Derek were there with Anne and Andy, all of them looking cold. “Happy New Year,” they all said to him as he ushered them in.

“And to you,” Finrod said as he handed them hangers for their coats.

“Something sure smells good,” Andy said with a grin.

Just then, Glorfindel came down the hall and more greetings were exchanged. “Dinner will be ready in a while. Why don’t we go to the library in the meantime? Would you care for a glass of wine or we have some beer.”

“I wouldn’t mind something hot right now,” Derek said as they headed down the hall to the library. “I swear the temperature dropped ten degrees just in the time we took to drive over here from the inn.”

“There is a storm brewing in the mountains,” Glorfindel said. “We might get a blizzard by tomorrow night.”

“Hmm… we were going to drive to Fairbanks tomorrow,” Alex said. “Mom’s flight is Sunday and so is Andy’s.”

“Oh, I doubt the storm will get that far south,” Glorfindel assured them. “Everyone agrees that it will move eastward into the Yukon Flats, so you’ll be fine. I would recommend that you and Derek stay in Fairbanks until Tuesday though. The roads will most likely be impassable until then.”

“Thanks. We’ll keep it in mind,” Alex said. “As it is, I was going to stop at the university on Monday and get the books I need for my linguistics classes. They start in a couple of weeks. We can hang out for another day, no problem.”

They entered the library where Vorondur and Amroth were waiting for them, along with Helyanwë and Melyanna.

“Öh! You still have your tree up,” Anne exclaimed in delight as she saw the Christmas tree all lit up. “How lovely. I hate it when everyone takes their trees down the day after Christmas.”

“We’ll be removing the ornaments tomorrow and putting the tree back where we found it,” Glorfindel said, ignoring the puzzled looks the two older Mortals gave him. “Now, let me get you your drinks. You remember everyone, don’t you? Ron, Ryan, Helena and Anna. Sarah and Roy will be joining us for dinner as well. They’re in the kitchen keeping an eye on things. I hope you don’t object to a roast.”

“Not me,” Andy said with a grin.

Anne shook her head as she accepted a glass of wine. “It was kind of you to invite us to dinner on our last night here,” she said a little primly.

“Alex and Derek are our friends,” Glorfindel said with a smile. “And there was a reason for asking you here tonight, but we will get to that later. For now, let us just enjoy ourselves.” He turned to Ron and Amroth. “All settled in?”

Ron nodded. “Just about. Holly says to plan coming over next Saturday around five.”

Glorfindel nodded, but before he could comment, Alex asked a question of Amroth. “How’s Della doing? She okay?”

“Yes, she’s doing just fine. She was feeling a bit tired so she decided not to come. Holly elected to keep her company and Misty went over to visit. You know how devoted she is to Della. The two are practically inseparable.”

“They’ve survived much together,” Vorondur said solemnly. A pall seemed to settle over the three ellyn and for a moment they just stood there, lost in their own thoughts while the two ellith and the four Mortals looked on, not sure how to break the mood that had settled about them, but then Vorondur shook his head and gave Anne and Andy a bright look. “So how have you been enjoying your time here?”

“Oh, it’s been lovely if terribly cold,” Anne said. “I thought New England winters were bad, but this place takes the cake. How do you stand it? I’m surprised Artemus actually wants to live here.”

“Mom, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Alex,” her son protested with a great deal of exasperation.

“Now, dear,” Anne said, “I’m too old to change and beside it is your name. It’s on your birth certificate, and you don’t like me calling you Gordy the way I did when you were little. Why Alex? It’s so… ordinary.”

“Which is the point,” Alex groused. “I think I’m having my name legally changed. I should’ve done it long ago. Really, mom, whatever possessed you to saddle me with such a stupid name?”

There was a hurt expression in Anne’s eyes. “Your father loved the Wild, Wild West and Artemus Gordon was his favorite character.”

“Yeah, I know, but still….”

“Hey, you’re lucky your dad’s favorite show wasn’t Gilligan’s Island,” Derek interjected with a wicked look. “Gilligan Meriwether. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

The Elves all smiled while Andy laughed outright. Alex punched Derek in the arm. Just then, Serindë came in and announced that dinner was ready. “Shall we?” Glorfindel said, gesturing for the Mortals to precede him with the other Elves trailing. As they entered the dining room, the Mortals all exclaimed over the beauty of the table setting. Glorfindel directed the seating. “Anne, why don’t you sit here on my left and Alex can sit across from you. Derek, you and Andy can sit on either side of Quinn.” He then had Vorondur sit beside Anne while Amroth was asked to sit on the same side as Derek with Serindë between them and opposite them were Helyanwë sitting next to Alex and Melyanna beside Andy with Elrohir between them.

Once everyone was settled, Glorfindel carved the roast while the others began passing dishes around. For a while conversation was limited to comments on the food and how everything tasted so good, but then, Vorondur began asking questions of Anne and Andy, seeming innocuous questions on the surface, but actually designed to gauge their willingness to believe in things that were not part of their everyday experience. Surprisingly, Andy appeared to be more open-minded about such things than Anne and when Serindë commented on it, he just grinned.

“But I’m from California. We’re all weird.” He gave them a wink and they laughed.

“It’s not that I don’t believe in such things,” Anne said in her own defense, “it’s just that there’s no proof. I am an empiricist. I need tangible proof that such things exist or are at least possible.”

“There is no need to apologize, Anne,” Vorondur said smoothly. “No one is judging anyone here. I was just curious. As a student of Jung,” — and of the four Mortals, only Alex and Derek realized he was speaking literally — “I am always interested in what people believe about such matters and why. Granted, today, most people don’t think that Elves and dragons and the like actually exist or existed in the past, yet they are sometimes willing to admit to the possibility of other sentient life elsewhere in the universe. It’s just a matter of perspective.”

“Me, I wouldn’t mind meeting a Vulcan,” Alex interjected. “I always thought they were so cool.”

“Klingons were my favorite,” Derek said. “I even tried to learn Klingonese.”

“Oh, please!” Alex protested. “That’s so lame. It’s not even a real language.”

“Just like Sindarin, heh?” Amroth said, giving his former protégé a knowing grin. Alex blushed and busied himself with his meal.

There was a lull in the conversation and Finrod, who had kept silent up till then, paying close attention to what was being said and not said by the Mortals, suddenly spoke up, for some reason needing to fill in the silence that had settled among them. “I had an interesting visitor at the store earlier this week.”

Everyone turned to him with expectant looks. “Anyone we know?” Glorfindel asked as he took a sip of wine.

“Manny,” Finrod replied and watched with some amusement as his gwador started choking. Alex began pounding him on the back. Amroth, Elrohir and the ellith all gave him surprised looks while Vorondur’s eyes narrowed and he nodded to himself, as if he’d just received the answer he’d been looking for. The Mortals just looked on with polite interest. Alex gave Glorfindel a shrewd look.

“Friend of yours?” he asked.

“You can say that,” Glorfindel answered after he took a sip of water. He stared down the length of the table at Finrod. “So, what did… er… Manny have to say?”

“Oh, you know, the usual.” He gave them an unconcerned shrug but he knew he was not fooling any of the other Elves, though the Mortals remained oblivious to what was really being said.

Several eyebrows went up. “Oh, well, if it’s just the usual drivel he’s always going on about, I suppose we can forget it,” Glorfindel retorted in a nonchalant tone.

Finrod just smiled, picking up his wine glass. Amroth took the opportunity to ask Derek if he and Alex were all moved into their new apartment and the conversation continued to drift along a number of unrelated topics as they ate. Once done, Glorfindel suggested that they all retire to the library for coffee and dessert. “It’s much cozier there,” he added and they all agreed. Elrohir and Serindë offered to bring the coffee, tea and dessert while the others headed for the library. Anne volunteered to help clear the dishes, but Glorfindel assured her that wasn’t necessary. “You’re our guest,” he said. “We’ll deal with dishes later.”

As they were heading into the library, the front door opened and Elladan entered along with several other Elves, both Wiseman and Valinórean. “How was the concert?” Glorfindel asked in greeting.

“Lovely,” Elladan answered. “How was dinner?”

“We’ve just finished. Roy and Sarah are putting together coffee. Why don’t you all join us?”

“I’ll go see if they need any help,” Nielluin said, making her way to the kitchen. Finda, Calandil and Elennen followed her, but everyone else went into the library, several of them giving Alex and Derek warm and friendly greetings.

“Quite a crowd,” Andy commented to Vorondur as the two were standing by the fireplace along with Derek while Alex and his mom were listening to Elladan describe the concert. “You all actually live here? Must make for crowded conditions.”

“Not all,” Vorondur replied. “Ryan and I and our wives live elsewhere now and Roy and Sarah will be moving out soon. They’re getting married in April. Quinn’s son, Lawrence, and his niece, Nell, are going to be attending the college and will be living on campus along with Cal and Alan. Others will probably move out over the next few months as well.”

“Still, you’ve got, what, thirty-odd people under one roof. Isn’t that illegal? Are you all related?” Andy enquired. “I mean, it seems odd that all of you would just be living under one roof like this if you weren’t.”

“We consider ourselves family,” Vorondur said, refusing to elaborate, giving Derek a small smile, which the younger Man returned.

“…Beethoven and Brahms, mostly, but they also did some Borodin and even Fauré,” Elladan was saying to Alex and his mother while some of the Elves who had also attended the concert looked on. “It was a nice mix of styles and I was impressed by the range of their repertoire.”

“Is it a local group?” Anne asked.

“Yes. Two teach music at the college and one teaches at the high school. The fourth runs the music store here in town. They’ve been playing together for about two years now, mostly just for the fun of it, giving recitals every now and then.”

“What did you think of them?” Alex asked Lindorillë, standing there with her husband, Erestor. She now went by Linda.

The Vanya shrugged delicately. “They were all right, I suppose, for Mo… er… amateurs.” She blushed slightly.

“Snob,” Elladan shot back with a grin that bordered on the malicious.

The elleth was saved from responding by the entrance of Serindë and Elrohir, followed by the four younger Elves, all of them carrying trays and for several minutes everyone was busy with grabbing coffee or tea and filling their plates with Christmas cookies. Once everyone was settled, Glorfindel spoke.

“Anne, Andy, I said earlier that there was a reason for inviting you to dinner, beyond the fact that Alex and Derek are our friends. I should tell you that we debated about this for some time before deciding on this course of action.” He paused, flicking a glance around the room. Several of the Elves nodded at him. Finrod smiled encouragingly. Both Alex and Derek also nodded and Derek even went so far as to give him a thumb’s-up. He turned back to the two older Mortals.

“At dinner we spoke about the possibility of life on other planets and the beliefs of earlier peoples in the existence of otherworld beings like Elves and Dwarves and such.”

“Yeah,” Andy said. “Like I said, I don’t discount the possibility. I mean, the stories had to come from somewhere, though I think they are mostly garbled accounts of some primitive tribe meeting people of a more advanced civilization and thinking they were gods or something.”

“And that is certainly a valid viewpoint, given what you know or don’t know about the past,” Vorondur said, “but what if the stories are real? What if there truly are Elves? Oh, I don’t mean those disgustingly cute Victorian Tinkerbell types. I mean the ones described in Celtic and Norse mythologies. What if those stories are based on a truth that has long been forgotten?”

“So, what’s your point?” Anne asked in puzzlement from where she sat on the sofa with Alex. “You mentioned life on other planets. Are you somehow suggesting that all of you are aliens from another world or something?” She gave them a skeptical look. “And I thought Californians were a strange lot.”

An uncomfortable silence fell upon them for a moment.

“Show them,” Alex said. “They need to know.”

Glorfindel nodded and spoke directly to Anne. “No, we’re not aliens from another world. We were all born here on this world… er… sort of.” He glanced about and some of the Elves grinned. “Anyway, the thing is, humans are not the only or even the first sentient beings to arise on this planet. Before you Mortals woke, there were the Firstborn, what you call Elves, though we call ourselves the Eldar.” With that, he pushed back his hair to reveal his leaf-shaped ears and all the other Elves did the same.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Andy whispered, his eyes wide with shock. Derek grabbed his father by the elbow to steady him.

“Easy, Dad. It’s all right. Here, come over here and sit. Let’s get you some water. Oh, thanks, Cal.”

While Derek tended to his father, Alex watched his mother, anxiously waiting for her response. For a long moment she just sat there staring at Glorfindel, her mouth open in an ‘O’. Then she looked around at the others before she turned her attention to Alex. “Is this a joke?” she demanded.

“No, Mom, it’s not a joke. Loren and the others are Elves, immortals.”

“Immortals? What do you mean by that?” Anne’s expression now became one of disbelief.

“We do not grow old and die as you Mortals do,” Glorfindel answered. “All of us are in fact older than your own civilization. I remember when the first cities of the Sumerians were being built.”

“Nonsense,” Anne retorted with some anger. “That’s absurd.”

“It’s true, Mom,” Alex insisted. “Loren and the others are Elves.”

“Well, really, Artemus. I know you’ve been playing Christmas Elf and all this last month, but I think you people are taking it a bit too far.”

“How do you explain the ears, then?” Alex asked.

“Plastic surgery,” his mother replied with a sniff. “You’re obviously all part of some cult or other. Do you dance naked around mushroom rings at Midsummer as well? And these are the people who convinced you to give up your career at the Agency? Honestly, Artemus, I can’t believe you would throw your life away to join some silly cult. Are you going to get pointed ears, too?”

“Mom, please! We’re telling you the truth, and no, there’s no cult. Loren and the others are Elves, and… and... we’re related… I mean, we have Elvish blood in us, too… you and I….”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, Artemus, get a grip,” Anne fairly shouted, standing up. “Next you’ll be telling me there really is a Santa Claus.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you…”

“Annie, hush,” Andy suddenly said, speaking quite forcibly even though he still looked a bit pale.

Anne turned to him in astonishment. “Don’t tell me you actually believe these people, Andrew Lowell. There are no such things as Elves. It’s plastic surgery or a… a… recessive mutation… like those blue-skinned people in Kentucky. I read about them recently, some sort of genetic disorder.”

“Do you hear that, Dan?” Elrohir interjected with a grin to his twin as he stood with a loving arm around Serindë’s waist. “We’re a genetic disorder.”

“You, maybe, but there’s nothing disorderly about me,” Elladan quipped.

“Not now, you two,” Glorfindel growled, still keeping his attention on the Mortal woman who was looking both frightened and angry as Alex tried to calm her down.

“Anne,” he said soothingly, “there’s no need to panic—”

“I am not panicking!” Anne retorted, her voice rising. “Artemus, I absolutely forbid you to join this cult. The very idea! The whole thing is absurd. Now take me back to the inn.” She headed for the door, the Elves parting to give her room.

“No, Mom! Wait!” Alex shouted. He fished something out of a pocket of the tweed jacket he was wearing and thrust it into Glorfindel’s hands. “Play this,” he ordered.

“What—?”

“Just play it,” Alex nearly shouted as he ran after his mother, reaching her before she made it out the door. “No, Mom. Come back. We really need to discuss this.”

“There is nothing to discuss,” Anne protested as Alex dragged her back into the room. “And you can let go of me right now, young man. I’m your mother. I can still give you a spanking.”

“I doubt it,” Alex muttered. “Damn it, Loren! I said to play the CD.”

Glorfindel just stood there staring down at the CD in his hand, looking puzzled. Vorondur took the initiative and grabbed the CD, quickly going to the player and putting it in.

“Clear a space,” Alex ordered everyone and people complied with alacrity, opening an area in the middle of the floor.

“Really, Artemus, what are you doing?” Anne demanded, trying to pull herself out of Alex’s hold. Then the strains of Leroy Anderson’s Blue Tango filled the room and she blanched. “Oh no, oh no. Don’t you dare! Artemus Gordon Meriwether, I warn you, I will not—”

Alex spun her around so that she was facing him, giving her a wicked grin. “Calla, Madre, y baila,” he whispered huskily and, finding the beat, he swept her into the tango. Even more surprisingly, she allowed him to.

Jaws dropped all around.

Glorfindel pulled his attention away from the dancers to glance about, wishing to see what everyone’s reactions were. He wasn’t too surprised to see Elrohir and Serindë swaying to the music, wrapped in each other’s arms, and he thought perhaps they would love to join in, but there was barely enough room for Alex and Anne to dance. Amroth seemed to be watching with clinical interest, as if gauging how well the couple danced, or perhaps he was just concentrating on Alex’s form. Glorfindel wondered if the former king of Lorinand had taught the young Man how to dance as part of his training as an agent. Vorondur, on the other hand, had the silliest grin on his face, and Glorfindel wasn’t about to analyze that. Others from Wiseman seemed as nonplused as those from Valinor. Finrod, he noticed, had a yearning look on his face, and Glorfindel suddenly realized his gwador must be missing Amarië. He recalled how the two loved to dance. He reached over and gave Finrod a squeeze on his shoulder. Finrod looked at him and seeing the sympathy and understanding in his gwador’s eyes, gave him a grateful smile, then turned his attention back to Alex and Anne.

The music was coming to an end and Alex did a final dip. Anne, Glorfindel noticed with some amusement, had her eyes closed and there was a very serene look on her face. Alex helped his mother to stand, then in a very courtly manner, took one of her hands and kissed it. Anne just stood there, breathing a little heavily, blinking, as if waking from a dream. He led her over to the sofa and helped her to sit. Vorondur, meanwhile, was turning off the CD just as the next selection started playing.

Derek was the first to break the silence that followed, giving Alex a jaundiced look. “Tango? You can dance the tango?”

Alex rewarded him with an innocent look. “Doesn’t everyone?”

****

Calla, Madre, y baila: (Spanish) ‘Be quiet, Mother, and dance’.





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