Deck the Halls

[woodking]

Who: Thranduil and you!
What: Thranduil arrives! Kissmas shenanegins likely.
When: Now
Where: Floor 3
Rating: ... kissmas shenanegins likely. PG-13 to be safe?

When Thranduil had taken a step forward and found himself somewhere entirely different from where he had intended to be, the first thing he did was stop and examine his surroundings. Behind him was an open door of fine wood, behind that was an entirely unfamiliar hallway, in front of him was a room. It was furnished richly - too much so for his tastes, especially after having spent the past several thousand years becoming accustomed to the constraints and realities of living in Mirkwood, and even longer away from those whose business was crafting luxurious items that fulfilled no other purpose; the wood-elves made many beautiful things, but rarely anything so needlessly opulent. The sheer extravagance of his surroundings was in itself off-putting. Luxury was all well and good, but this....

Half because of the room and half because he should have been in a forest, and was beginning to wonder if the creatures he had come to attempt to dissuade from disturbing his people had somehow managed to reflect his magic back at him (but he was not asleep), Thranduil had turned and walked into the hall. It was nearly as rich as the room had been, gold and rich fabrics strewn everywhere, expensive woods and stones and glass as clear as water unfolding like a painting.

This was not home. This was nowhere familiar.

Exploring further was probably a good first step.

The door behind him had, in graceful script, his name on it, which was both thought-provoking and rather disquieting. It did, however, make him decide that it was as good a place as any to set down the bowl half-full of Dorwinion wine he was still holding, from the feast which he should still have been at; he had no real desire to carry it everywhere he went. Which left nothing to do but explore.

He both did and did not fit in with the grandeur of the castle - his robes were fine enough when the source was considered, but still rougher than what he was surrounded by, and there were a few dead leaves caught near the hem. He was crowned in leaves, with flowers braided through his hair, and although beautiful gems and gold and silver were winking at his belt and collar and fingers, they were not what lent him the aura of splendor that he carried with him. It was how he held himself which turned this all into a place where he could belong.

Comments

[woodking]

There is a pause as he internalizes the information, looking all around himself for more sprigs. Elvish eyes are very sharp, and he was able to catch more than most would have been able to, but he wonders if he has missed something regardless.

Time would tell, he supposes. The thought leaves him slightly disgruntled. But the look encompasses the rest of his surroundings as well, which once again are unsettling. He tries to conceal that as well, but there's a trace still in his eyes and manner when he looks back to her with another question.

"Do you know where we are?"

[inafadingcrown]

She nods. "Both the castle and the land are called Paradisa. All you will meet within these halls have been brought here as we have, in much the same manner- and suffer the same indignities." That last bit is accompanied by a pointed glance at the mistletoe- though, really, that's the least of it.

"None have yet found a means of leaving this land and few have ventured from the castle for long." For a variety of reasons, but she'll pause there and let him ask his own questions.

[woodking]

"What do you mean? Why have they not done so? What is outside, that so few leave for long?" He looks around at his surroundings again, eyes lingering briefly on the mistletoe. It seemed that there were many advantages that could be gained from leaving, even if the distance was brief.

"Or are the same tricks practiced outside these walls?"

[inafadingcrown]

"It is difficult to explain." She frowns and purses her lips; this is going to sound more cryptic than usual, even coming from her, simply because there is so much that no one knows.

"We are bound to the castle from the moment we arrive, whether we will it or no. One may only travel so far before one becomes keenly aware of that fact- it calls to us, for lack of a better term, and it seems more than capable of simply returning us here at a whim. There are some, of course, who live outside the walls- in the nearby town or the forest. Yet even they are not always spared these tricks, as you put it."

[woodking]

It is vague, cryptic, but in this case does not sound as though it is intentionally so, as though she is deliberately withholding information. He listens, expression neutral, until she has finished with her explanation.

"Still, it seems a forest would be pleasanter, even if it is not wholly spared. If nothing else, these halls and rooms are somewhat... over done, to my taste."

[inafadingcrown]

Her expression does not change.

"You are free to do as you like, of course." It's not as though she particularly cares.

[woodking]

They had been beginning to calm down, to speak instead of fight. Unfortunately all that progress that they'd made went right out the window, and Thranduil was back to all but bristling, albeit in about as regal a way as someone could bristle.

"It is kind of you to give me your permission. Do you know of any reason why I should not?"

[inafadingcrown]

Why is speaking with Thranduil always so exceedingly frustrating? She's bristling a little now too, at that tone.

"Do you insist on misunderstanding me? I am well aware that you have no need of my permission, Thranduil. I mean to say only that the forest will likely serve you as well as the castle; it is more a matter of preference than aught else."

[woodking]

"Only sofar as you insist on acting in such a manner as will lead you to be misunderstood." The remark is somewhat biting, and Thranduil huffs slightly in irritation after he speaks, forcing himself to be courteous again.

"I thank you for the information on the Castle and what is happening, it has been illuminating."

[inafadingcrown]

"I am glad I have been of some assistance, despite my easily misunderstood manner." She has a few more biting remarks, but she decides against voicing them.

"There is more I could yet tell you, but perhaps I should instead direct you to your son. He, no doubt, will be capable of explaining matters in a more acceptable way."

[woodking]

He almost wants to grind his teeth.

"Now it is you, Galadriel, who insists upon misunderstanding me." It's the second comment that draws him up, that makes him suddenly sharp and fierce and protective. "Legolas is here?"

[inafadingcrown]

That, at least, is something she can sympathize with- that protective parental urge. She nods. "He spends a great deal of his time in the forest, though he also has a room on this floor." With that, she'll gesture... right across the hall, actually.

[woodking]

His fists clench, though he gives few other outward signs of any sort of feeling except a sudden sense of fierceness. Legolas's name was on the door, and it had been careless to miss it, though he had not been looking for it. Clearly the name plates should not be ignored.

"Who else is here?"

[inafadingcrown]

"Many whom you would not know." Obviously. But she's not trying to be frustrating, so she continues. "From Arda, there are only two others: Thorin Oakenshield and Master Bilbo Baggins."

She watches his face once she says the names; how he reacts will tell her a great deal about what time period he's from.

[woodking]

He gives her a slightly frustrated look at the first statement, but as she continues it drops. The second name he doesn't recognize, the first he does, though it has been long since he has heard it.

"Thorin? Son of Thrain, son of Thror? I had thought that line had died out some time ago."

[inafadingcrown]

The lack of reaction to the second name is almost as telling as the reaction to the first. There is a lot that he should be told, but most of it can wait. For now, she's sticking with the vitals.

"The very same. He is alive, I assure you, and bears you no small amount of ill-will for reasons that I am certain you will hear a great deal about."

[woodking]

That is... perplexing, and Thranduil looks slightly confused by the news.

"What quarrel may he have with me? Unless it is that I did not move to rescue his father, but his plight I heard of only after his fate had been sealed. I do not know if he was dead, but I would not send my people to die in that place of evil, and he cannot honestly have expected me to."

[inafadingcrown]

"He seems to have expected exactly that. What's more, he seems to have decided to hold this perceived failing against our entire race." She finds it as baffling as he does, really.

"I only give you warning; I make no attempt to explain it."

[woodking]

His voice turns slightly cooler. "Unwise, I think, to hold the actions of one against a race of people, unless he wishes to invite others to make the same judgements of dwarves."

He remembers Doriath, of when Thingol had been murdered by the dwarves he had commissioned, of the wars that followed. They both had been there.

[inafadingcrown]

It's not precisely something that she would expect to hear from the son of Oropher, but she shows no indication of surprise. Instead she simply nods. "I believe I told him something of that nature when first we met."

She remembers Doriath too. Even if she is more forgiving than her husband, she does not forget.

[woodking]

"If such are his views, perhaps I may be glad that he shall not inherit the throne that the dragon guards. I do not think I would care to have him as a neighbor." There is something incredibly dry to his voice as he speaks, almost humorously so.

[inafadingcrown]

She smiles slightly at that. It's fairly amusing, but it does bring up another point. "There is another point about this place which I should mention, Thranduil. It has been known to bring us here from varying points in time. I, for instance, arrived here from the year three thousand and nineteen of the Third Age. I suspect that you cannot say the same."

[woodking]

Thranduil looked over, surprised, curious. "The year was 2941, and autumn was beginning.

"How is it possible for us to have been brought from different times?"

[inafadingcrown]

"That is one question even I cannot answer. As I said, much of the magic here is beyond my ken."

[woodking]

"Rare it is, to hear you admitting to such weakness." Despite the words, his tone isn't really baiting. It's meant as an observation, nothing more. Of course, as far as he was concerned, the very fact that she had done so said much about their current circumstances.