*Don't tell me that I'm slow.  I already know that.  If you will remember, the dinner bell at Rivendell had just rung and Arwen had a brush in with Galadriel as she headed towards the dining hall.  Well, here it is.*

Chapter 3: Ironic Though it Seemed

            In the dining hall Celebrian was the center of attention.  She sat at the head of the table with Estel and, to everyone's delight, Elrond.  Sitting five seats down and across the way, Arwen looked on with the rest of the elves as he stood to greet them.

            "My dear elves!  It is good to be well again!  I am so glad I can again eat with all of you!  And joining us once again is my dear Celebrian, whom my sons and daughter have courageously rescued from the band of Mordor-spawn."  There were cheers all down the table.  A few people patted Arwen on the back.

            "On a sadder note," Elrond continued, "I have an announcement regarding our dear friend Galadriel.  Though her original plan was to leave when Celebrian came back, I would have been happy to allow her to stay longer.  However, due to some sort of eczema outbreak which she feels vulnerable to, it is her decision to leave immediately.  I, for one, know that I shall miss her dearly.  But it is-"

            "Wait Elrond, darling, I have something to say!" Galadriel stood up at the other end of the table.  All heads turned to look at her expectantly.

            "Although it is true that I wished to leave because of this horrendous outbreak, I have just received word that the information was false, and I no longer need to worry.  Though it is true, I have been away from home a long while and Celeborn is missing me, I feel a duty to stay here and carry our young Estel through his rebellious age.  I therefore accept Elrond's offer to stay a few more years."  Galadriel beamed.  Arwen could see everyone groan inwardly.  The response was slow and the clapping was somewhat less enthusiastic than it had been before.  Estel clutched his fork, looking ready to fling it across the table.  Elrond looked stricken.  He opened and closed his mouth, trying to pull his thoughts together.

            "My dear Galadriel!" he finally managed.  "That is a very-very generous offer.  But surely you are not implying that I cannot control the children of my house?"

            "I am implying nothing of the sort!" Galadriel said, as though offended, "though you will remember when Arwen was being potty-trained-"

            "Grandma Galadriel!"

            "-didn't really want to learn and made that quite clear with a demonstration.  Took hours to clean up-"

            "Mother!" Celebrian said sharply, "In Rivendell such matters are not to be discussed around the table, nor are such things spoken of around the table of Lorien if I remember correctly.  Might I also point out that during that incident Arwen was with you in Lothlorien." 

            "Quite right she was!" Galadriel exploded, "After that she took a skinny dip into my mirror and, well, that was nearly disastrous-"

            "GRANDMOTHER!" Arwen stood, knocking down her chair.  Her cheeks were burning.  "That is enough!  Sit down and be silent if you still expect a friendly welcome!"  Arwen's clenched fists must have intimidated Galadriel because she sat down quickly.

            "Now, in the name of Elbereth, let us eat!"

            "Hear, hear!" cried Estel and dove into the plate nearest to him.

            Though many elves giggled about the confrontation, dinner continued as it usually did.  Arwen spoke to all the people she hadn't seen for the past few years, getting more accurate information on what had been happening.  Again, Estel seemed to be the center of the action.  It seemed he had left out many details, including being grounded from his bow and arrow for three months after shooting it at a visiting hobbit, who had thankfully been wearing a mithril coat, therefore managing to escape harm.  There had also been a few incidents in which he'd tried to paint the halls neon green but was caught early enough for the process to be stopped.

            "What about his room?" Arwen asked one of her friends, an elf named Hisilome.

            "What about it?  Master Elrond will not do anything about it.  He is quite lenient with Estel.  One would question which one of them was the child.  He wants Estel to be happy, even if it means letting him run wild."

            "But the walls!  There are holes in the walls!"

            "Oh, we know.  Don't worry.  We mend those at the end of the day."

            "You mean-"

            "You'll get used to the routine.  Really, it's not that terrible.

            Arwen looked across the table to where Estel was sitting.  He was engaged in a conversation with Elrond and Arwen noticed that her father addressed the teen as 'Lord Estel.'  She made a face.

            "He actually calls him that?"

            Hisilome shook her head helplessly.  "Yes.  Like I said, he likes to keep her happy."  Arwen finished her meal in pondering silence.

            Before she left the table, Arwen peeked over at Estel again to see how he and Celebrian were getting along.  Estel must have been telling a story because he was gesticulating wildly and Celebrian was laughing.  The boy stopped and seemed to make an inquiry and Arwen's mother nodded.  To Arwen's horror, she reached for the strawberry jam.  In slow motion, it seemed, Celebrian lifted the jar and began to pull it towards her.  Arwen didn't stop to think.

            "Noooooooooooooooooooo!" she cried and she slid across the table on her stomach, crashing into the plates of many startled elves.  She grabbed the jar and tried to yank it away.  "You cannot Mother!  You see, he's-"

            "What is wrong, love?" Celebrian asked bemusedly, still holding tight to the jar.  "I need some jam for my biscuits!"

            Arwen stared.  "Oh," she said, slowly letting go and blushing furiously.  "Sorry, Mother.  I…just thought-"

            "You needn't worry about that anymore, Lady Arwen," Estel stated glumly, "I probably won't be asking for something sweet anytime soon.  Now sugar makes me break out it hives instead of giving me energy.  I guess it is some sort of medical capriciousness.  Last year I ate one seed cake and swelled to the size of an overweight oliphaunt.  Took a while to figure out what had done it, of course, but-"

            "What are you two talking about?"  Celebrian asked.

            "Just do not give his any sort of sugar," Arwen sighed, pulling herself off of the messy table and pulling a piece of beef off of her sleeve, "and consider yourself lucky that  you did not have to witness its past effects."

            Then she marched out of the door, trying to feel dignified despite her food-stained clothing.  But when she got to her room she couldn't help but laugh at the thought of young Estel's face swelling up and the reaction it would draw from dear old Grandma Galadriel.

*Sorry if I bored you.  It was not the most action-packed chapter.  In chapter 4 the fun begins.*