[the phantom]

"How often do I dance? Well, not as often as I'd like" The Phantom replied. "Unfortunately, there are always obstacles that seem to hinder us in our pursuit of the things we love."

At this, there was an extremely awkward silence. Anafangwen played with her hair and The Phantom stared at the table. In an effort to end the moment, The Phantom rose and took her hand and led her towards the Moderators' table where Gimli was. "I think we should go and keep him some company" said The Phantom. This was a ridiculous statement, for Gimli was fast asleep, but at least it broke the tension.

As he seated himself, The Phantom glanced over at the sleeping form of Gimli.

"I believe our dwarf friend has the right idea", The Phantom remarked. "Here's a proposition for you- how would you feel about taking a little rest. I'm quite tired, and I'm sure you are too."

It was only then that Arafangwen noticed the rip in The Phantom's glove. She reached out and took his hand and slipped her finger inside of the rip, and to her dismay she felt the warmth of blood. "How did this happen?" she asked as she pulled the glove from his hand.

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine" answered The Phantom, swiftly pulling his glove back onto his hand. "The business I attended to earlier was a bit rough."

Arafangwen was a bit taken aback by his quick retort. "No wonder he doesn't have many close friends" she thought. "He's so secretive and closed, even when he's shown pity."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude", he said, interrupting her thoughts. "I'm just very tired."

"What was this 'business' you keep talking about?" queried Arafangwen, encouraged by his apology.

"Well, I'll tell you this much. There is a faction that plans on making some sort of statement at this party, and they plan on doing it in some disastrous fashion. Many of the cooks, security guards, and valets are secretly spying for me, as are some of the 'guests' here. They've been keeping me updated throughout the evening."

"What faction could possibly get through the security here and cause major problems?" asked Arafangwen. Then a terrible thought suddenly occurred to her. "Wait! You don't mean-"

"They are shield maidens! Shield maidens, Arafangwen, if that means anything to you."

"Save us!" cried Arafangwen.

(neither of them noticed they had nearly copied word for word the exchange between Strider and Barliman while in The Prancing Pony in Lord of the Rings)

"I don't know what they're up to exactly, but I'm working on it" continued The Phantom. Earlier, I caught ten of them attempting to steal my limo. That's how I got the cut."

"But you could've taken them with one hand, I've heard about your fighting!"

"Yes, but I did not wish to harm them. I very much dislike striking women, much less killing them", answered The Phantom.

"Then how did you stop them?" asked Arafangwen.

"Well, I've been working on a spell to use against shield maidens for some time, and I've recently perfected it."

"What does it do?"

"It causes the shield maiden I cast it on to immediately become timid, passive, and have a strong desire to do housework" The Phantom answered mischeivously. Arafangwen smiled at the thought. "But I've really got to get some rest, Ara. I'm sorry".

"No, I understand, Phantom. Anyway, I need some rest too. I'll see you later."

With a smile, The Phantom turned and disappeared into the shadows in the corner.