3. The Condensed Council of Elrond
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The Condensed Council of Elrond
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The lord of Imladris sat silently looking around the council circle. The cool breeze wafted through the trees and tossed up the ends of his hair. For a moment, he thought it might be nice to take a walk, then quashed the thought. Sometimes he really missed the use of his legs.
All around the circle, he could tell the others were waiting for him to start the meeting as they talked amongst themselves. They were all prepared for a day of conversation and decision-making. But he had a better idea.
He watched them carefully, sizing up each first by appearance. 'Too old...too young...too feeble...ugh, dwarves. But no,' he thought, 'appearances could be deceiving. Probably best not to even take them into account.'
So he settled back into his reason for gathering them all here so conveniently. With the careful precision that comes with centuries of practice and a subtlety that made his efforts imperceptible to his targets, he expanded his awareness until he could hear the thoughts of the others.
'When will this be over? I’ve got a smithy to get back to.'
'Who let all these dwarves in here?'
'Look at him. Smarmy elf.'
'I sure am looking pretty today. I hope the others are noticing.'
'Hey, a grasshopper. I wonder what grasshoppers taste like.'
Elrond paused. 'What the-' But he was stopped by a thought of such an unnerving nature that he didn’t even need to listen for it.
'The One Ring. That’s what father said. Where is it then? I’ll get it. I’ll steal it. No, impossible. I’ll convince them to let me take it. Yes, I’ll act noble, even helpful, then when I get the chance...'
'Okay, not sending the Gondorian,' Elrond thought, '...But who?' Again his mind reached out, touching many minds, until finding one that could have easily gone unnoticed.
'Why am I here? What right have I to sit alongside such great people? I only carried the Ring a short way. And now I wish to have no more to do with it, if that is possible. Yes, a nice long holiday here in Rivendell. That would be lovely.'
'Well,' thought Elrond, 'the hobbit it is, then.'
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
