I sit up groggily as the morning light streams in through the windows to the right of my bed; a result of the heavy curtains being thrown open seconds before. I grumble as the light illuminates the room, blinking sleep out of my eyes. As my eyes adjust, I squint at the feminine figure standing to my left, arms crossed.
"Morning, sunshine," Nëniel drawls lazily.
I growl and rolling my eyes, turn over and slam my pillow over my head to block out the light. A light pinch on my arm sends me chucking the pillow in her general direction. The dull thud of the pillow and laugh from the Captain of the Guard tells me I had missed my mark. I throw my blankets off, and sit on the edge of the bed, reaching for my robe but then changing my mind as the sunlight warms my shoulders, the feathery light fabric of the sleeves of my nightgown settling over them. I had changed into another nightgown when I returned to my rooms last night and tossed the stained one onto a chair before collapsing in bed, exhaustion overtaking any other emotion or instinct. I had planned to wash it myself this morning, knowing exactly how to clean out those stains, to save the maids the confusion and frustration of dealing with such a mess. Unfortunately, as I glance over to the chair on the other side of the room, I see that it is already gone, probably stolen away hours ago for cleaning. Along with my sparring leathers and boots, I realize with a soft sigh of disappointment, as my plans for training today leave my mind. I turn back to Nëniel, her eyes twinkling playfully as she flashes me a grin.
"You sleep like the dead," she teases.
This makes me crack a smile. "You think I'm bad?"
There is nothing but sheer amusement on her face as she nods cheekily.
I raise my eyebrows as a wicked smirk spreads across my lips. "You should see my brothers."
Her face lights up with mischief. Grey eyes sparking playfully, she drawls in a musing, uninterested voice, "How coincidental... I was just on my way to pay them a welcoming visit on behalf of the King."
I smile as she catches onto my train of thought, my smirk mirroring her own. Despite our past disagreements and differences, I realize that the elf captain is more alike to me than not.
We're going to get along quite well, I think.
Giving her my best innocent look, I tilt my head and extend a hand to the door. "Shall we?"
~~~
I tell Nëniel to wait in the entrance room as I get dressed. I emerge five minutes later, dressed in a emerald green gown made of satin, half my golden hair plaited along my head as the other half cascades down my back in soft waves. Nëniel raises her brows as I step out of my room, but she doesn't offer a comment.
As we walk down the hall I am greeted by choruses of 'my Lady' and 'Lady Celebríel' by the passing servants and nobles, offering a nod of my head and a smile in acknowledgment. I can't help but notice the unending amount of prestige in the palace of the Woodland Realm compared to Rivendell. At home, most people just call me by my name, although sometimes a 'my lady' might slip out from the servants. The situation is the same in Lothlórien, even if my title is mentioned there more often than not. I find myself growing uncomfortable with all the formalities as we walk to the hospital wing. I glance over to the Captain of the Guard walking beside me. Nëniel, on the other hand, seems completely at ease as friendly greetings for the captain echo down the hall. We turn the corner into a deserted corridor, the light whisper of my dress fluttering around my ankles the only sound now. I glance sidelong at Nëniel.
"You're quite the Captain," I say, my voice driving away the silence. She gives me a questioning look.
"The way your guards greet you," I say with a lazy toss of my hand pointing in the direction we had come from. "It seems as if you're personal friends with every one of them."
"Maybe it seems that way." She gives me a small smile and a shrug. "But besides my sister, none of the guards really regard me as their friend. More like a friendly overseer really."
She chuckles. "Tauriel on the other hand- stars of Varda, my sister fits right in with all of them."
A sigh as her eyes turn downcast. "They love her."
I frown, confused. "But not you?"
"Oh no, I'm sure they do in some way or another. But Tauriel is one of them, another common guard, whereas I'm just..." She shrugs, looking up at me. "Not."
I cross my arms, disapproval written across my face. "It seems to me that your guards are afraid of your authority, afraid of getting on your bad side and ending up in the dungeons. Clearly they do not know you very well."
She shoots me a look, her eyebrows raised. "Neither do you."
Now it is my turn to shrug. "I may not but I'm an excellent judge of character. And you don't seem like someone who would use their status for personal gain."
She gives me a small smile, confirming my judgement, and then shakes her head with a soft laugh. "I shouldn't be complaining to you, you don't want to hear about my problems." She rolls her eyes at her own rambling, still shaking her head. "Sorry my Lady-"
I cut her off with a scoff. "First of all Nëniel, I really do want to hear about it, I've heard nothing interesting or worth my time in an entire week."
Her dark eyebrows quirk at that.
"And second," I drawl with a smile, "I've heard enough 'my lady's' to last a lifetime, so please just call me Celebríel."
Her eyes narrow but there's a smile on her lips.
"Or if you prefer, call me Celé," I add with a shrug. "You might as well because you're not getting any 'captain's from me."
"All the better." She chuckles, her eyes twinkling. "You'd be the first not to use that title in a very long time."
I give her a lazy grin and she returns it with a small smile of her own.
"But enough with the sentiments," she says with a wave of her hand. "We passed the hospital wing a while back. But... the kitchens are right around the corner and if I am correct, they haven't served breakfast in the hall yet."
I turn to her. There's a wicked smile on her face. "If you know where I'm going with this..."
"Oh, I follow you." A slow smile spreads across my lips as I nod my head to her. "Lead the way."