[VanimaEdhel]

Menelya sat down, satisfied, as the group halted and allowed her lady-friends and herself a brief rest. She sat down and looked around. As she had hardly ever been out of Imladris since she arrived all those years ago as a young Elf maiden with Anwaelme as a mere child, Menelya had already lost her general sense of where they were. She could tell their direction, she thought, by the sun, but it felt as though they had travelled an extraordinary distance already.

She smiled to herself at her good fortune. She noticed that Anwaelme had travelled with Melost most of the way so far. That meant that things were going well. Soon, Menelya thought, things would be perfect. Anwaelme and, in turn, Menelya, would benefit greatly by this joining. But it was all for Anwaelme's benefit, of course.

"Are we nearly there?" Menelya asked, turning to Thelian, who she saw not too far away. Thelian merely gave her a surprised look.

"No, dear lady, we are not," he said.

"Very well. Be off then," Menelya said, going back to the conversation she was having with her female friends.

"How far do you suppose we are?" one woman asked, "This heat is beginning to kill me. And I do not have nearly enough supplies with me. What if I need to change gowns? There are all these men around."

"They did not let you take everything you wanted either?" Menelya asked, "They have some nerve, do they not?"

The women twittered on for some time. Menelya caught the other travellers giving them confused and sometimes even annoyed glances. Her own dagger-like expressions quelled these utterly rude displays.

After some time, the women were called. They were told they must continue on. Every one of them complained that the wait had been too short. It felt as though they had only rested for a brief while. The ladies were not used to travelling and could not be expected to endure the heat and athletic demands made of them.

However, a short time later, Menelya found herself and her friends on the road again. They were quiet for some time, as they moved along fairly dejectedly. Soon, however, they were back to their old, obnoxious twittering.

[ July 01, 2003: Message edited by: VanimaEdhel ]