Only Time

Ch. 19 ~ Melchel

It had been a few weeks since I had returned to Rivendell after my long absence and I had my nose buried in a book as I sat outside in one of the gardens. It was a very lovely day indeed and just was not the type of day to stay cooped up in the library studying when I could do the same thing in the out of doors. Arwen came to sit with me and hummed softly. It was a bit before I noticed her presence. She shook her head at me.

"There you go again; you come home, rest a while, and stick your nose in a book. At least Ada is glad you are doing so outside." I sighed and closed the book I was carefully looking at and frowned at her.

"Have a lot of people been to the library in my absence?" I asked her.

"No, hardly any. Other than the archivist, I would wager. Why do you ask?"

"Because the two books about the Dunedain on Strider are not where they should be standing. I looked all over the library, even in the vaults, and they are just simply not there. Like someone took them but either forgot to return them or does not want me to know more about him." I said still frowning. Books did not just disappear from Rivendell. Arwen frowned suspiciously herself then, stood up, whirled around toward me pointing her finger and said:

"I bet it was Melchel!"

"Who?" I was confused for a moment as the name did not register.

"Fanuiel from the house of Nobility? Or Melchel as her nickname proceeds her?" Arwen waited until the names finally registered something in my eyes.

I had to shake my head to even remember her. Melchel was the thorn in the side of every royal of Rivendell. She was an only child of noble elves living in Rivendell but she had not a drop of royal blood in her veins. That had not however stopped her from trying to attain the unattainable to her. She wanted to be a princess of Rivendell. Arwen and I became aware of her when we were younger. She made her presence known in the most nasty of ways; she pointed out that I had no lineage as I had no mother nor father and that uncle Elrond should appoint her as princess based on her wishes alone and the fact that she was of noble standing.

All of this happened in the dining hall. At first my uncle ignored her with a dismissive hand. But she was persistent; even shouting at him that she demanded his attention to her matter at once. To which practically everyone froze in place including her mortified parents; you do not shout a command at Lord Elrond of Rivendell unless there is a battle field involved and you were the enemy. Arwen and I exchanged glances as did Arwen's brothers. Uncle Elrond had narrowed his eyes at her and told her to mind herself and who she was.

Tears came to my eyes as he defended me roaring at her that though I was parentless, the royal blood of two lands flowed through my veins and she was no more than an elven maiden in this land. That if she ever dared approach him in such a manner again--no matter how much he admired her parents--she would be banished from the land for all eternity. After which he left her standing there without a word as her parents all but forcefully dragged her home. Dinner for the evening was forgotten though I later, with Arwen's help, brought food to my uncle in his private chamber and we shared his meal with him. He told me then that I would always be like a daughter to him and no one or nothing would change that.

That was the day her nickname "Melchel" or greedy was born and no one has called her by her real name since; not even her own parents. But her peskiness, over privileged, and downright nasty behavior started way before that. I should describe to you what she looked like for starters; she was a little on the heavier side which mattered naught for us elves and her dirty blonde hair she always wore in braid around her head. She always felt that for reasons still unknown to me, I was her biggest competition. She would always walk past me when we were growing up with her nose stuck so high up in the air that I thought she would inhale the branches from our lowest trees.