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Winter Dreams

Beta: Half Elf Lost

20: gilded pears

December 20th

"No, Elrond!" Celebrían snapped as she shook her head, snatching the tacky piece of fruit from him. "You must place the gold leaf carefully, not in some haphazard way."

Elrond rolled his eyes, but only Glorfindel saw the expression. The Elda barely smothered his chuckle as he struggled in vain to gild the bright red apple in his hand. "Celebrían," Elrond sighed, "tell me again why we are covering perfectly good fruit in glue, silver and gold? It seems a waste."

The silver-haired Elf sighed with exasperation as she again demonstrated how to lay the thin metal sheets over the sticky surface of the fruit. "You did not have to help, but you insisted it would be a wonderful opportunity for us to all spend time together."

"That was our first mistake," Erestor grumbled as he tried to force the evergreen branches into large wreaths. His hand ached from the needles of the evergreen, his fingers were covered in sap, and if he saw one more black bug skitter across the worktable, he was going to scream. He twisted the branch, but his numb, sap-covered hands slipped and the branch unwound itself, whapping him in the face. "Dear Valar, this is torture!"

"Well, I know what the three of you did to warrant this treatment," a fourth Elf said, his hair shining gold in the spill of afternoon sunlight through the window, "but I cannot figure out how I was drafted to do this!" Thranduil wound more wire around the wreathes Erestor had completed, adhering the gilded fruit to the evergreen.

Celebrían smiled sweetly at the Mirkwood King. "My Lord, I do believe it was your wife who suggested that such an activity was exactly what you needed to keep your hands busy. She seemed to be under the impression that, if you did not find something to pass the time here in our fair valley, you and my husband would find some sort of trouble to make for us." She stared pointedly from Erestor to Glorfindel. "And we were sure you two would have a hand in it as well."

Glorfindel tilted his head and leaned closer to Elrond. "I thought you volunteered us for this."

Elrond shrugged. "I thought I did, too," he mumbled, but he was certain Celebrían had somehow maneuvered them into this position. He placed another piece of gold onto the pear only to have it snatched away from him again, another lecture of how to gild properly spilling from his wife's lips.

Next year, he decided, they would all go to Celeborn's wood and drink themselves silly.


	Navigation multi-part stories previous next		Winter Dreams Beta: Half Elf Lost 20: gilded pears December 20th "No, Elrond!" Celebrían snapped as she shook her head, snatching the tacky piece of fruit from him. "You must place the gold leaf carefully, not in some haphazard way." Elrond rolled his eyes, but only Glorfindel saw the expression. The Elda barely smothered his chuckle as he struggled in vain to gild the bright red apple in his hand. "Celebrían," Elrond sighed, "tell me again why we are covering perfectly good fruit in glue, silver and gold? It seems a waste." The silver-haired Elf sighed with exasperation as she again demonstrated how to lay the thin metal sheets over the sticky surface of the fruit. "You did not have to help, but you insisted it would be a wonderful opportunity for us to all spend time together." "That was our first mistake," Erestor grumbled as he tried to force the evergreen branches into large wreaths. His hand ached from the needles of the evergreen, his fingers were covered in sap, and if he saw one more black bug skitter across the worktable, he was going to scream. He twisted the branch, but his numb, sap-covered hands slipped and the branch unwound itself, whapping him in the face. "Dear Valar, this is torture!" "Well, I know what the three of you did to warrant this treatment," a fourth Elf said, his hair shining gold in the spill of afternoon sunlight through the window, "but I cannot figure out how I was drafted to do this!" Thranduil wound more wire around the wreathes Erestor had completed, adhering the gilded fruit to the evergreen. Celebrían smiled sweetly at the Mirkwood King. "My Lord, I do believe it was your wife who suggested that such an activity was exactly what you needed to keep your hands busy. She seemed to be under the impression that, if you did not find something to pass the time here in our fair valley, you and my husband would find some sort of trouble to make for us." She stared pointedly from Erestor to Glorfindel. "And we were sure you two would have a hand in it as well." Glorfindel tilted his head and leaned closer to Elrond. "I thought you volunteered us for this." Elrond shrugged. "I thought I did, too," he mumbled, but he was certain Celebrían had somehow maneuvered them into this position. He placed another piece of gold onto the pear only to have it snatched away from him again, another lecture of how to gild properly spilling from his wife's lips. Next year, he decided, they would all go to Celeborn's wood and drink themselves silly.