My Strange Persephone

Part nine: the woodland elves

Galadriel was glad to leave where her group of elves were staying. The awkwardness between Gilgalad and Adar was getting to be a bit much for everyone, and the constant arguing between Theo and Arondir was difficult for Galadriel to listen to. Why was it that all the people in her life couldn't just get along with each other? Well, for the most part, Adar and Elrond seemed to get along now, so at least there was that.

The ride to the homeland of the woodland elves was nice. It was a few days of travel, and Galadriel happened to 'accidentally' only find one horse for the two of them to ride. Adar had seen right through this, but hadn't called her on it, and they rode with Adar sitting behind Galadriel, arms around her waist, the whole way there. Galadriel wasn't exactly complaining.

Adar, however, had frequent complaints. He was a bit shorter than Galadriel, and as her hair was incredibly long, he couldn't see anything. The same probably occurred when Adar sat in front of Galadriel. His hair was also long enough that she couldn't see. His hair was actually slightly longer than hers, and even pulled back in a ponytail, still reached down to the middle of his back. Galadriel had tried to braid it once, but Adar had strongly objected to the idea, as he didn't want to look like an elf. Galadriel just hoped he could keep that part to himself when they met the king. Thranduil could be a bit interesting sometimes.

"Okay, so, Thranduil is an old friend of mine." Galadriel said. "I have to warn you, he's a bit excitable." Adar raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?" He asked. Galadriel smirked. He'd have to find out for himself. "You'll see." She said. Galadriel saw a blond figure approaching the gates. "Here he comes." She said. Adar looked carefully at the figure. "Is it just me, or is he riding an elk?" Galadriel laughed softly. "Thranduil is just extra like that."

The elk stopped prancing in front of Galadriel and Adar, and Thranduil dismounted. He grinned widely at the sight of Galadriel. "Lady Galadriel, my old friend!" He exclaimed. "And what's this?" He asked at the sight of Adar. "Who is he?" Thranduil asked excitedly. "Don't tell me that you finally have a boyfriend." Thranduil smirked. "One that isn't secretly Sauron, I mean." Galadriel sighed. "Why do I tell you anything?"

"This is Adar." Galadriel said. "And he's my boyfriend." Thranduil's eyebrows shot up. "Lady Galadriel, high elf and commander of the northern armies." He said, sounding all fake scandalized. "Did you just call your boyfriend 'daddy' in public?"

Never before had Galadriel seen Adar turn so pink. "Adar is like my name, but it's also a title." He said quickly. "It's not something weird. I also go by Celeborn, if that makes things easier." Galadriel glared daggers at Thranduil. She'd be having a talk with him about boundaries when all of this was done.

Thranduil just laughed, clearly having fun, and wrapped an arm around Adar's shoulders. "So, how did someone actually end up with Galadriel anyway?" Thranduil asked. "I mean, from what I hear, she can be kinda homicidal." Adar shrugged. "Well, she isn't anymore." He said. "She's really nice. And we like each other. Why is that your problem?"

Thranduil paused for a moment, and Galadriel worried he'd be angry, but he just snorted. "You've found yourself a real winner here, Lady Galadriel." He said. "Let's get the two of you inside. I have a little nephew for you to meet." Galadriel allowed herself to smile. She and Thranduil had been like siblings for a while now. She was glad that their dynamic was at least somewhat back to normal, and that everything hadn't become weird now that she had a boyfriend.

"So, this is my realm." Thranduil said, as he led Galadriel and Adar inside, his elk still walking behind them. "It's a lot fancier than Gilgalad's, right?" Galadriel made a gesture for Thranduil to stop talking about that. Gilgalad and Adar still weren't on good terms, and Galadriel saw Adar's fist clench slightly at the sound of his biological father's name.