As the day aged, Dani came to her, inquiring if she would join the banquet. She didn't really want to, but she supposed she should. So she exited her room. Dani wanted to follow her as a sort of chauffeur, but she didn't want to walk in and draw too much attention to herself. So she quietly walked down the halls, slowly approaching the noisy bustle of the dining room. She was hesitant to proceed as she reached the door. She could hear the loud singing and chatter and wanted desperately to go back to her room. But, swallowing her anxiety, she silently crept into the room.

She had hoped to be inconspicuous, but the moment she walked in, a hush crossed the room. She turned to face the room and was met by dozens of staring faces. She tried a smile, hoping that would make people look away, but not one of them so much as blinked. She tried clearing her throat, but that did nothing. She began wondering if it would have been better had she just not left her room. She certainly didn't want to. "Ah, Elayin. Come, sit to my side." Said the king, breaking the silence, turning the attention back on him. She quietly walked to the chair to the left of the king as he sat at the table's head.

Slowly people began talking again, but it was talk about her. The daughter of Lady Elena that disappeared only to reappear years later with an Uruk Hai. By the end of the night, she would have been held captive by hundreds of Uruks instead of just one. She hated being the center of attention. She could see her mother staring at her from across the table. She looked to the plate in front of her, any where that wasn't her mother's gaze.

"So, how are you feeling, child?" Asked the king. She looked up to him in surprise. "Um, fine, my Lord." she said, "Ah, good! Now the best cure to any ailment I know of is a glass of wine and a good tune." he said, hinting for the musicians to cease their chattering and play. They suddenly jumped, picking up on the king's ever so subtle hints. She gave a faint chuckle, which pleased the king and he turned his attention back to the party. The rest of the crowd began talking again on more pleasant topics, namely those without her in them. Even her mother began to relax and talk amongst her family and friends. Elayin sat silently, listening in on the occasional conversation, but saying little. She wasn't used to this. These gatherings were among the reasons she had left in the first place.

The noise, the crowd! She immediately remembered how much she hated it. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the noise. Her hand absently moved to her necklace, her eyes shooting open as she realized that it was missing. She moved her hand in search of it till it hit her that it was gone. While this might have amused her, she couldn't really see the humor in it then. her hand fell back to her lap as did her gaze. Yet another painful reminder. Then her head shot up as she suddenly remembered. She glanced about the room in search of him, but couldn't see him anywhere.

The king looked to her with a questioning expression. "Um, excuse me my Lord, but where is your son?" she asked. "Oh, right, you dont know." he said, "Know what?" she pressed, "He's gone, a few months ago." he explained. "What? Where?"/"Rivendell, to a counsel. You really are out of the loop." he answered. "Oh... Well, when will he be coming back?" she asked. "I really dont know. I dont even know if he's still there, but he's likely going to be involved in this... Business for some time." she looked down to her lap, gritting her teeth. Of course. War...

"Elayin." said her mother, drawing her gaze up. Her mother nodded her head to the crowd. She raised a brow, and her mother rolled her eyes. "You could talk to some one." She whispered through a gritted smile. Elayin shrugged signifying that she didn't know any of them well enough. "Well, why dont you introduce yourself to Cirlyn, here."She said, gesturing to a man that sat a few seats over. The man looked up upon hearing his name. He smiled, slightly confused. Elayin rolled her eyes, "Let me guess, he's a well to do young bachelor." she whispered to her mother. "Dont be so cynical." she said. "But he is a nice boy, so be courteous."

Elayin looked to him. He had the look of a lost puppy, trying to work out why he heard his name. She smiled to him which he returned cheerfully. His hair was a sleek brown, his skin flawless porcelain, and his eyes the most piercing green she had ever seen. His figure was lean and dressed in green velvet and gold. She supposed he was quite handsome with an angled chin, straight nose, and smiling lips. He looked nice enough, but she knew what her mother was doing as she watched her expectantly.

"A pleasure to meet you, my lady." he said in a soft, pleasant voice. "The pleasure is mine." She replied, politely. Her mother nodded with approval and she rolled her eyes. "Cirlyn works with the king." said her mother. Great, a politician. He chuckled, "Yes, mostly with diplomacy and the like. But let us not talk shop." well, that was one point in his favor. "What of you, my lady? Any interests?" he asked. Her mother shot her a death glare, warning against what she might say.

She was quiet as she tried to think what to say. "Um... Im fairly active." She said finally, not fully satisfying her mother. "Oh, really. I mean of course! I've been told you enjoy hunting." he said casually. "Um, yes, but of course that was before things became less safe." her mother interjected. She narrowed her eyes at her mother. "Ive never really let that bother me." she said, challengingly. "Yes, well, the young and impulsive." Replied her mother in a faux joking tone. "Well, unfortunately im a little out of the loop regarding typical hobbies here." she said, making her mother's face turn red.

Cirlyn looked between the two of them as they shot back and forth comments dripping with passive aggression, and he wasn't quite sure why. Her mother smiled to the boy. "Please excuse my daughter, she's a little excitable." he smiled nervously, "Really, it's no problem!" he said, "Oh im sure you dont need to tell him, he's bound to know how impulsive I can be." she said, staring unblinkingly at her mother. Cirlyn chose, wisely, to wash his hands of this apparent feud, and took a silent drink of wine.

"Well, we dont know if he listens in on gossip." said her mother, "Oh, no doubt, but I can trust you to have given him all the details about me, though I suppose you might glance over that one." she shot back. "My only objective is to help your social life." she replied. "And the family tree." she growled quietly. If looks could kill, she and her mother would have been sparring. Her mother, being more skilled at schooling her face, recreated a look of calm. "One needn't regard actions with pessimism. My only concern is your happiness and protection." said her mother. At this, she rose to her feet. "The last thing I need is someone else deciding what is best for me regardless of what I really need!" she snapped, then turned on her heel, walking out of the dining room, leaving the table in a confused silence.

She closed the door and began quickly marching to her room when she heard the door open behind her. She prepared herself for a verbal battle, but instead of her mother, she saw Cirlyn jogging after her. "Um, my lady! Wait for a moment, please!" He said. "What is it?" she asked as he caught up with her. "I just wanted to check, I didn't do anything did I?" he asked. "What? No, of course not! Why would you think that?" she questioned. He gave a light chuckle. "Well, it seemed as if everything was calm, I joined the conversation, and things escalated." he explained. "Ah, well its not you. It's just... Just my mother. You didn't do anything, I probably shouldn't have come out I the first place." she said.

"No, no, you mustn't think that, everyone will have forgotten it by the end of the day!" he chuckled. She smiled, "Your diplomatic side is coming out, we both know I'll be making rounds for days." she said. He smiled, "I suppose you're right. But you shouldn't let a slightly awkward conversation affect enjoyment." he reasoned. "I dont really find enjoyment in these parties any way. Im not really the ideal noble woman." she said. "Well, I find you a perfectly charming noble woman, er, my lady!" he said. She smiled, "You're sweet, but you really shouldn't think that. You'd be disappointed." she said. "Nonsense! Now please, come down tomorrow evening." he urged. She sighed. He wasn't really understanding, but she supposed there was no way for him to understand.

"Alright, but I cant guarantee that mother won't do anything. And im out of practice with being patient." She said with a faint smile, he chuckled, "I suppose patience is my main asset in my field of work."/"I suppose so." she replied. "I'll see you then, but for now I should go." he nodded taking a step back, "Of course, my lady. Good night." he said giving a courteous bow. She smiled to him, then turned back to her room as he returned to the dining room.

She closed the door behind herself, pressing her back to the door with a sigh. He was charming, but the little fool didn't know just how bad she was at being a noble lady. She slid down to the floor. Her hand moved to her breast bone, but found it bare of comfort. She wondered what he would do with the necklace. He might forget it. She wasn't so foolish to think he would forget her, she might have thought that before, but after everything they had done together, he couldn't! She supposed that was unimportant anyway. He was going to war, and he wouldn't be coming back. This wasn't like the first time he left her and she tried to move on, she knew and accepted that she would never be able to be ok. She would never recover. She knew she'd cared for him, but she couldn't have known how much until then. She wanted to kill him! And she wanted him to hold her again. But that was gone, all of it, gone... She rested her face in her hands. She needed something, but she didn't know what, all she knew was she had lost too much of herself to ever heal.