A knock wakes me up. I groan, turning to face the door, wiping drool from my mouth. I'm so exhausted that crust has formed round my eyelids.
"Raina?" I hear Arwen. knock early this morning
"I'm coming Caroline..." I reply groggily
"Just getting up..."
I almost fall back asleep, but another loud knock shocked me out of sleep.
"Raina? It's not Caroline. It's me Arwen. Is everything alright?"
"Yes. Everything's fine Arwen...w-What time is it?"
"Breakfast. Everyone is dining now."
"Breakfast....hmmnnn...Oh shoot!"
I throw my covers off and run to the door.
"How long have I over slept for?"
"About an hour."
"Get me Beririel!"
She nods, laughing at my panicked state and closes the door. I draw the bath myself and give myself a rapid scrub down and am still dripping wet when Beririel walks in. She helps me redress quickly, and before I know it, she's leading me up to the stairs by the hall. Soft music flows through the air, and the clamber of cutlery, plates and utensils ring past my ears.
"Thank you Beririel." I breathe.
"Av-'osto my lady." She pats my arm chirpily, leaving me by the doors. I push them open, and are greeted by some of the stares of people familiar with me.
"It's alright." I smile "I'm here."
I move to sit down, and tuck in my chair so fast my knees hit the wood of the table and I have to bite my lip to stop myself from groaning. Ow!
I recovered quickly enough, sitting up straight and picking up my knife and fork.
"You're late." Elrond tells me
"I'm sorry. I over slept." I yawned, starting to eat.
From my left I could see Merry and Pippin yawning heavily too.
"What time did you all go to bed?" Gandalf queries as I spread butter on my toast.
"Eleven o'clock." Merry yawns heavily "But I didn't fall asleep until half about an hour later."
"Same here." I add sheepishly
"I'm surprised it took you so long. You were only supposed to wash our dishes."
"But...we thought that...all the servants left us their dishes and cutlery too?" Pippin puzzles
"Yeah. Why would they do that if?..." realisation hits me. I grimace slightly.
Those twins are going down.
"Elladan and Elrohir." I growl, scrunching up my napkin.
From my position, I gaze up toward the head of the table, where the twins are looking at me with a triumphant smirk. I scowl deeply.
"This means war." I whisper to Merry and Pippin.
From then on, I eat dinner rapidly, all the while plotting the demise of the twins who have become my personal enemies.
****
When Raina didn't show up for breakfast this morning, Legolas' heart skipped a beat. Just a small one. He barely even noticed it.
But, as soon as she had graced them, his heartbeat returned to normal. He smiled at her as she sat down, but she was too preoccupied to notice. That seemed to be how they were communicating. Through smiles...though he wished it could be something more.
She was looking bothered now, staring fiercely at her plate.
of eggs and bacon. He wondered what it was. Legolas sought to make her laugh – maybe that would do it. Get her to talk to him.
"If your eyes keep burning at your food like that, I'm sure you'll leave it to a crisp."
She looked up at him and smiled. There it was again. He was going to smile back. He did. But he didn't say anything afterward and he kicked himself for not doing so.
The truth is Raina was just plain shy. She knew that she was not pretty at all, nor did she possess some unique talent, so it was a bit strange to have Legolas' bright blue gems on her constantly. She knew that he wanted to be her friend, but she couldn't imagine why.
She was standing up. Now was his chance. Ask her to go for a ride with him, or maybe to the library, or on a walk. He could get to know her better. Alone. With no distractions.
"Raina..." he began. She looked toward him and smiled. He smiled back. Nothing came.
"Bye." She said, and left.
He watched her hand her plate and cutlery to a servant with a small thanks, and then sail out of there. He was annoyed. Another chance had slipped out of his grasp. He turned around, and began twirling his food on his plate.
Although he did not know it, Aragorn had also noticed his change in demeanour. He followed his friends gaze and blinked in surprise. Raina. Did Legolas...no! Impossible! They were just friends. Not that she wasn't pretty, but her beauty was nothing untoward the elves.
Aragorn expected his friend to eventually settle down with someone of his own kin, not a human from another world. He brought his friend out of his stupor with a clap on the shoulder.
"Prestad?"
"Û. I was just thinking about...never mind."
Legolas stood up abruptly.
"I think I'll go to play my flute."
Aragorn nodded. His friend always seemed to think more clearly after he sat there twiddling his fingers on one of the last things his mother gave to him.
"I'm going out riding later. Do you wish to come?"
Aragorn nodded.
"I'll meet you at the stables mid-afternoon."
Legolas left promptly. In all honesty, he did really try and play but all he could think about was the girl who his brain wouldn't leave well enough alone. He played harder, trying to forget his stupidity earlier, but, it was no use. He had to see her again. And soon.