Question for my dearest readers:
Should Persie be mortal or immortal? Why?
The vote is on.
XOXO Ally Layne.
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As soon as I made it back to my room, I was met with a few familiar faces.
"What are you guys doing here?"
Arwen, Alma, and Gerda were sitting in the living space of my room just waiting for my arrival. Gerda must have told them about my little adventure this morning, and so here they are. After my grand entrance, the ellyth stood up to hurry to my side.
Alma, who has been angry at Glorfindel for leaving with Mirwen, looked at me fiercely. "I hope he apologized properly for how he treated you," she told me sternly. "What he did l last eve was extremely rude and volatile."
Arwen sighed, glided over and placed a hand on Alma's shoulder. "He is not normally as you witnessed him, Almarian. I know him to be a kind, protective ellon who cares deeply for those he thinks worthy of such affections."
Gerda kept her eyes on me with her arms crossed. "You still need to tell us what happened, Persie," she informed me.
What was this? 20 questions?
The other two immediately turned and faced me after Gerda's demand. Their stares told me they were expecting to hear what happened, too, and I was so not ready to give them the entire story. Sometimes, I like to keep things to myself.
"Well... I assume Gerds told you guys about how Glorfindel came to my door this morning-"
Alma waved a hand in acknowledgment. "Of course, that is why we are here!"
"Take your time, Persephone. We are here to listen without judgment," Arwen amended, shooting Alma a hard look. The blonde ellyth didn't seem fazed, which proved to me just how invested she was.
"Thank you, Arwen. Now, as I was saying, he came to my door and apologized and after making it long and drawn out I eventually forgave him and he took me out for a picnic at the riverside for breakfast. It was nice and thoughtful and I feel like I am walking on clouds right now. Does that satisfy your curiosity?" I asked, looking at Alma pointedly.
"Did the two of you kiss?" Arwen asked curiously. One could not be mad at her for the look of innocence she wore was too believable.
I huffed. "No."
"But it was for not a lack of trying?" Alma urged.
I glared at her. "Alma, it's none of your business. We simply had a good time and Geoffry interrupted before either of us could make a move, kay?"
"But what did he say?" She asked. "You cannot just leave out the details, mellon nin!"
Gerda coughed into her fist. "Persephone really made him drone on about how terrible he had acted and apparently would not even look at him!"
I gasped, looking at the kind, precious Gerda with completely different eyes. "Gerds! You listened in on us?"
At least she looked bashful. "The two of you were speaking rather loudly, Persie. It was quite easy to hear."
Alma hid behind her hands as she snickered, but Arwen held strong with only a small smile. "If it went wrong, I wanted to be there to help you when you needed it," Gerda furthered, and something within me melted.
"You are too good of a friend, Gerds." I pulled her into an embrace. She grinned after we pulled apart, and the four of us got comfortable and sat on the couches and chairs.
"I will admit he bringing you for a picnic is rather cute," Alma decided after she recovered from her laughing fit. "Even if you will not tell me more, I still have to admit that Lord Glorfindel planned it well."
Arwen smiled. "Of course he did, he does not lead my father's legions for nothing."
I ran a hand through my hair. "You guys are too much."
Alma shrugged. "You should have kissed him, Persie. Then you would know if he was your mate or not."
I paused.
"Wait, what?"
Gerda giggled, placing a hand over her mouth shyly. "You are not aware?"
I crossed my arms. "Apparently not."
"Does your world have mates?" Alma asked curiously. "I did not think you would not know."
"Eh... I suppose we have something called soulmates or whatever. But that seems a little different from what you're talking about," I admitted.
"What are soul mates?" Arwen asked.
I shrugged. "Some people in my homeworld believe that there are people out there made for you specifically- your soulmate. They're supposed to be the ones who complete you, I guess."
"That sounds similar," Alma said. "How does one know if they have a soulmate?"
"I don't know. I guess no one really knows, to be honest."
Arwen nodded solemnly. "It must be hard to not be able to know if you are destined to be with someone you cared for so strongly."
I tilted my head slightly. It sounded like... "Have any of you found your mates?"
The ellyth looked between each other with hidden smiles. Arwen blushed.
"Okay, I think you lot are keeping something from me-"
"Oh! I almost forgot I need to bring you to your lesson with Lady Heliel!" Gerda exclaimed, cutting me off. I could see Arwen's shoulders sink in relief, but at the knowledge that I was going to have to deal with another round of etiquette lessons, I turned to my other friend in shock.
"Please tell me you're just trying to change the subject, Gerds," I begged.
She grimaced. "We are going to have to get you into a proper dress before we leave, Persie. I wouldn't have Lady Heliel be angry with me again for letting you leave without the proper attire."
"I thought I looked great," I said, crossing my arms stubbornly.
Gerda smiled. "I thought you looked lovely as well. However, it is Lady Heliel who has the final say." She gestured over to my bed, where a beautiful blue silk gown lay. "I placed a dress out for you to change into."
"Arwen picked it out," Alma pushed knowingly. The Lady of Imladris was certainly someone I was never going to say no to.
"Fine." I moved over to grab the silk dress and went behind the dressing screen. "If Lady Heliel doesn't like this gown then I'm blasting her with water so she'll wake the fuck up."
I smiled wickedly at the shrill squeak Gerda made. "You will do no such thing!"
Unfortunately for me, Lady Heliel liked the gown. Or, at least, she didn't claim to dislike it as she had my other dresses before.
"Today we will fix your horrible posture," the Lady informed me, looking down her nose at where I was sitting. I had my ankles delicately crossed with my hands carefully clasped in my lap just as she wanted. "It looks as if you were raised by savages, mortal."
I smiled kindly up at her and slouched even more.
She tsked at my impertinence, but ignored the trap I had laid out for her.
"You must keep your shoulders back," she tutted, going behind me to pull my shoulders back. I let out a groan in response.
"I don't think my body will let me," I spat through gritted teeth. I could feel the internal popping of the scar tissue that littered my muscles.
Lady Heliel pulled my shoulders again. This time, she pulled even stronger, and I had to restrain myself from punching her- which would have been a completely normal response but I doubt Lord Elrond would be pleased. Another small groan escaped my lips, and Heliel decided to scold me for my behavior.
"Ladies do not groan, Lady Persephone." She walked around the stool to stand in front of me with a glare. "You are not a warrior who merely grunts in response to everything like a troll."
My jaw tightened. "Warriors don't grunt," I paused, thinking about all the times I let out a grunt in practice. "Well, not all the time, and certainly not to speak!"
She rolled her eyes. "Those horrible warriors are rugged and savage and shall not have a proper place amongst the courts," the elleth stated.
My blood curdled. "Those savages keep your frilly ass safe while you go about your day drinking tea with your friends! They sacrifice themselves to protect ungrateful souls like yourself."
Immediately, my mind flashed to the lives of my friends and everything they had given up for those who didn't even know how teenagers had fought... and died for them. They died for nothing- they have no legacy.
Lady Heliel didn't notice my discomfort "You shall never address me in such a way ever again." She moved behind me, and I heard a distant scuffle before quickly feeling a sharp pain along my back.
A sound echoed in the room that reminded me of a whip on skin.
This was the sound of a whip on skin.
"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed, lunging off the stool and getting as far away from that banshee as possible. I turned around just in time to catch the whip in the air, and didn't let go after the burning sensation I felt in my hand.
"You are a disgrace to the courts!" she shouted pulling the whip back out of my grip with a strength I didn't know she possessed.
I wretched my hand away at the sting of pain it left behind. "You're fucked in the head, you bitch!"
Her resulting sneer showed her true colors on her normally flawless face. "You will never be good enough to be a Lady!"
My hands flung up in the air, and I faintly felt a stream of blood rush down my arm. "I don't even want to be a Lady you fucking twat!"
"What is going on in here?"
It seems that Lady Heliel was going to live to see another day.
"Lord Elrond, this... this beastly mortal you set upon me-"
"She fuckin whipped me, Elrond! What kind of person did you send me to?"
Poor Lord Elrond opened the door to see the two of us about to brawl- or rather, me about to kick her ass. This was probably not what he was expecting when he opened the door.
"Lady Heliel, you whipped Lady Persephone?"
I immediately moved to stand to Elrond's side while still seething in anger. I showed him my hand. "She got me here and also in the back," I told him, using my other hand to try and staunch the blood flow.
The Elf Lord's eyes narrowed in on the female in front of him. "I trusted you to teach her, not maim her. I will deal with you later."
He moved and snapped some elvish at some of the guards that were now loitering in the hallways. I recognized Aldarian, who looked at all the blood covering me with wary eyes.
"You always seem to find trouble, do you not?" he asked lightly, coming to our side as the other guards whisked Lady Heliel away. She was screaming various Sindarian phrases out unlike a proper Lady, but I couldn't find it in me to care.
"What can I say?" I shrugged. "Trouble finds me."
Elrond sighed, and placed his hand on my shoulder to turn me slightly so he could see where the whip broke some of my skin. "I will have to bandage these."
I grimaced. "Do we have to go to the healing halls? If anyone I know sees me there they'll probably be all pissy."
Aldarian snorted. "I am not... pissy. I also happen to know you, Lady Persie. Did she really whip you?"
"What do you think happened, she decided to fillet me like a fish? She whipped me, Darian, don't be stupid."
I noticed the ends of Elrond's mouth start to curl upwards but they moved no more than that. "I will not make you go to the healing halls, I intended to bring you to my study and that is where we shall go. I have the essentials to help you there," he informed me.
I grinned happily. "Does this mean I get to change out of my dress?"
The two elves shared a look. Elrond turned and raised his eyebrow knowingly. "It does not look like you will need to, Persephone. There is someone waiting for us and we shall make haste to meet with him."
A girl had to try.
And who was this guy we were going to meet with?
When I asked, Elrond wasn't quick to name any names, but instead claimed that the person we were meeting with was going to be an ally. Aldarian escorted us to Elrond's study, which wasn't too far off of Lady Heliel's quarters.
I kept my hands clasped tight, both in slight nervousness for meeting with an unknown ally whilst covered in blood and for trying to keep said blood from spilling any quicker.
"You are excused, Lord Aldarian," Elrond told him as soon as we reached his doors. "You can go back to your normal rounds, but I have heard you are planning on assisting your sister and training Miss Varis upon request?"
My eyebrows raised. Since when was Varis going to be trained? A part of me was proud of the dwarrowdam for stepping out of her room and attempting to embrace her current position, but another part of me wished I could have been included.
Aldarian smiled and nodded to his Lord, then looked at me with a growing smirk. "I know that you would want to join, but you are busy dealing with other duties for the time being. Perhaps next time?"
Damn, I guess Aldarian has decided to start reading minds, too.
"I'll be counting on it," I told him with a grin.
He simply nodded once more and turned before walking off.
Elrond quickly opened the door and ushered me in, careful of touching my wounded back. "If you would sit down I will gather what I need to bandage you, Persephone."
I nodded and hummed my agreement, but felt a little confused when I didn't see anyone else in the room. Weren't we supposed to be meeting with someone?
The elf had walked behind his desk and knelt down to grab a basket that was laden with different tonics and bandages, along with some needles, some thin thread, and a lot of different herbs and poultices ready to go. Something told me he dealt with injured people more often than one could believe.
Oh right- he had twin sons. That makes a lot of sense.
"I apologize for what happened to you, Persie," he told me while ruffling through the basket of fun. "I never meant for any harm to come to you while working with Lady Heliel, however it seems that her idea of assisting you was far different from mine."
I snorted. "That's an understatement."
He looked up and smiled slightly. "Unfortunately you are right again, it seems." He handed me one of the tonics from the basket. I reached and grabbed it, carefully inspecting the orange-colored liquid that seemed a bit thick for my liking. "Drink, it will help with the pain."
I decided to believe that he wouldn't want to poison me, at least- not before I did anything to help save the world, and popped the top of the small vile off. I did my best to not wince again at the look of it before downing it like a shot.
The taste was just as bad as I thought it was going to be. Quite frankly, it reminded me of cruddy feet.
Not that I should know what that tastes like, but alas, I have had a few unfortunate encounters.
"That was disgusting," I grunted out, handing him back the empty vile.
The old fart just smiled at me kindly. "The best tonics always are."
I groaned. What I wouldn't do for some nectar or ambrosia. Those always tasted too good to be true. Unfortunately, after eating too much of the stuff, a demigod would burst into flames. But a part of me thought it would be totally worth it.
Lord Elrond walked over with the basket, now, and sat at the chair on my side, and started to wipe the cut along my hand with some damp cloth. "This is going to sting, but the tonic will help relatively soon."
I warily smiled at the elf and urged him to continue.
"You can come out now, Halbarad. I assure you Lady Persephone will not bite," Elrond said, not looking up from where he was mending. "You asked to meet with her, now is your chance."
From the shadows in the corner, came out a large hulking man who was dressed in a dark hunting cloak and wore traditional old-timey hunting clothes. I noted that his pants and tunic were both black and green in color- most likely to blend in with his surroundings.
His hair was dark, and he had a beard that was braided along two sides. His skin was tanned and his eyes were as dark as the rest of his wear.
But he didn't have pointed ears- this dude, I think, was mortal.
Thank the gods, I was getting annoyed with all these immortal clowns.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Persephone," he voiced. His voice was about as hulking as I had thought it would be- which meant it really was deep.
I nodded at the man, who came to stand along the edge of the room in our sight. He was as still as an elf, proving to me this man was a hunter. The only question was: what exactly did this guy hunt?
"This is Lord Halbarad from the Northern Rangers. He is second in command, behind a young Chieftain that goes by the name of Strider in these parts."
Something told me there was more to this Strider character than Elrond was telling me, but I decided to let that go for now. "Northern Rangers? One of the leaders? Is he one of the Dúnedain, then?"
Halbarad's lip quirked. "You seem to know your Histories well, Lady Persephone. Yes, I am of the Dúnedain, or as many call us- the Men of the West."
I gave myself a mental high-five. But the Ranger didn't need to see that. I hissed as soon as Elrond decided to not warn me that he was starting to give me stitches, but I didn't do anything to stop him. I wasn't the expert healer, nor did I want to look stupid in front of this new guy.
"I hear you are from another world," he continued. "I was wondering if you knew of anything that could help myself and my kin amid a few ongoing issues that have overtaken our lands."
"Okay... what kind of issues?"
He looked to Lord Elrond inquirily who nodded.
"There have been ongoing reports and vast amounts of activity of the trafficking of every race. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and even a few of my own people have been taken. I have not witnessed it spreading to the land of the Hobbits, but that will happen soon if not stopped."
I blinked.
"Who would have reason to take these people? Are they being sold?" I immediately felt myself stiffen and fell into my 'demigod leader mode' that many have come to enjoy and hate.
Halbarad pursed his lips, and leaned back against the wall behind him in a super swaggy way that I was jealous of. He looked like a model, well, a medieval model but whatever. "That is what I have scouts looking for. We do not know who is running it or why they are doing it. But from what we have seen so far we have noticed a movement to the south."
I titled my head. "Why are you telling me about this?"
Elrond looked up at me from where he was tying the last stitch off on my hand. "We want to know if you have dealt with anything like this before?"
I shook my head sadly. "Unfortunately I haven't. But, if I were you guys, I'd start looking for someone to plant in the system to see what is going on."
"A spy?" Halbarad asked.
I nodded. "Someone who can go in and get the information that you need. Whether they're an informant that you buy out or a spy that comes from your own- you will need to get more info if you're going to try and stop this."
Elrond moved to start working on my back, and I was pleased that I only felt a few pokes and a slightly painful pulling sensation once he began his work on the long cut. "Are most of those people female?"
Halbarad paused. "How did you guess?"
I shrugged. "For most, it's easier to get females captive than males. They also usually are more readily sold on markets as well. Sex trade, working in whore houses, slaves to keep up homes, and more. That's what happened a lot in my world."
The Ranger nodded stiffly, and the room lapsed into silence.
"What if you hired a woman to be captured but used the information she obtained to somehow send messages back? I know that slaveholders usually don't watch what information they leak in front of the slaves, as they don't expect much to come from them."
His eyes narrowed. "Are you suggesting we use a woman- or a female of any race- to be a spy?"
I smiled. "No one should ever underestimate a woman."
The Ranger let out a chuckle. "From what I have heard, you have lived up to that claim."
I heard Elrond laugh from behind me. "If her wounds do not provide service enough, young Lady Persephone is a true warrior at heart."
I felt my heart lighten slightly at Elrond's words. It also stunned me how different Lady Heliel thought- wasn't she a member of his courts? Why would she think so differently, then?
Oh well. At least now she will be dealt with.
"That is quite the compliment coming from a person with your prestige," Halbarad commented, before turning back to me. "Are you volunteering yourself for this role?"
The tugging stopped, and a sigh sounded out from behind me.
"Of course I am-"
"But you are not yet fit for battle, Lady Persephone," Lord Elrond informed me, placing his things back into his bag and walked around to stand in front of his desk. He leaned back slightly against the wood when he took in my angered appearance.
"Who says I'm not fit for battle? I just came back from one for gods sake!"
Halbarad looked curiously at Elrond. "What do you mean, mellon?"
His blatant use of Sindarin didn't even phase me. Nope. I was waiting for Elrond's response.
"Well, you were not completely cleared yet for battle at that point, either," Elrond informed me with pitiful eyes. "You were only offered to join the hunt as thanks for what you did-"
"So just because I saved your son I was allowed to ride off, is that it? Do you not trust me or something?" I demanded. "Because you all are asking a whole hell of a lot from me to not be trusting me on this."
The Lord crossed his arms as his gazed loomed upon me. "This is not my decision, it is not I who is in charge of our calvary."
My heart skipped a beat. But he wouldn't... he trusted me, didn't he? I'm fairly certain he said he trusted me, so why would he...
"But you can surely veto what he thinks!" I practically begged. "You're the Lord of Imladris, not him!"
He sighed. "There is a distribution of power, Persephone, that I have instilled in this land for quite some time. I am not the one who holds all the power over the warriors. Especially as you are my own ward, this is something I cannot properly judge."
"I can't believe this!" I stood up from the chair, clenching my fists. "Where is the Golden-Haired Bastard, anyway?"
I could've sworn that Halbarad choked at my nickname for the Lord the Golden Flower, but I chose to ignore it.
"Where he always is," Elrond informed, eyeing my steeling fists and puffing breaths warily. "Do not act rashly, Persephone. He is only doing as he sees best."
"Yeah, well he's not right!" I exclaimed.
"Just because you disagree with him does not mean-"
"I'm so gonna kill him!"
"Persephone, please-"
I didn't even allow Elrond to finish whatever he was trying to beg me not to do. Alas, of course, I could guess what the elf was going to say, and of course, I would never adhere to his demands.
No, my anger raged throughout my veins, and the earth below me rumbled with every running footstep as I raced to the training grounds. Glorfindel was going to feel my wrath, that was for sure.
Luckily, the tonic worked and I didn't have to feel it too.
---
Readers- Do Remember to
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And remember to vote for Persephone's impending mortality! Her life is at stake!
Sincerely,
Ally Layne.