[Nurumaiel]

Adrama's eyes fluttered open as the first rays of morning shone through her open window. Pushing the covers off, she rolled over onto her stomach and let the sun warm her back. She lay her chin in her hands, staring at the headboard of the bed. She knew something rather exciting was going to happen today, but she couldn't quite remember what it was.

A merry laugh escaped her as the door to her room opened and her mother peered in. That was all she had needed to remember. Her mother was holding the luncheon party today for the ladies of Minas Tirith, and there she was sure to find revenge on Finduilas.

Rolling back over, she sat up in bed and smiled sweetly and Pelien. "Good morning, Mother," she said, jumping out of bed, her bare feet softly hitting the floor as she hurried on light and springy feet to her wardrobe. Opening it, she flipped through the row of dressed impatiently, until at last she decided on a cream-colored dress trimmed with black, and a black leather belt around the waist. Catching it up, she held it to herself and spun in a few circles, humming a little tune. Then, looking back up at her mother, she said, "See, it still shall fit me!"

Pelien laughed at her daughter as she advanced. Laying her hands on Adrama's shoulders, she kissed the young woman's cheek. "Good morning, my little one," she said. "You are in quite a good mood today. Are you that excited about the luncheon?"

"Yes, Mother, I am," said Adrama, picking up the brush on her desk and gently running it through her dark hair, wincing a little whenever it would hit a tangle. "I think it will be most exciting and wonderful." She paused a little, her brow wrinkling as she studied her mother carefully. "That is, if you intend to bring me?"

"I was intending to," Pelien replied.

Heartened by this, Adrama chattered on as she searched through a drawer, at last triumphantly bringing out a black ribbon, which she tied in her hair after putting it up in a simple fashion. Gesturing for her mother to turn, she tossed her nightgown carelessly onto the bed and slipped into her cream-colored dress. After surveying herself in the mirror, she had her mother turn about again, asking a little anxiously, "Do I look all right?"

"You look wonderful, dear," said Pelien. "But I think it would be a good idea for you to take your hair down and fix it up again before the luncheon. It looks all right now, but by the time our little party comes, it might need some redoing."

"Very sensible, Mother," said Adrama with a little nod. "Yes, thank you for mentioning it." Singing to herself, she picked up one end of her skirt and began to twirl around the room. Her mother smiled fondly at her and went to the bed to recover the abandoned nightgown. Putting it back in the wardrobe, she left Adrama's room to answer a soft knock at the door.

Adrama twirled round and round, singing nonsense to herself, admiring the skirt of the dress she hadn't worn in so long and thinking forward to the luncheon party. Yes, it would be very exciting. Not only would she be treated like an older person, as she considered herself to be, but she would also be able to hear so many horrible things said about Finduilas. The latter was to be the best part of all. Sitting down on her bed to clear her dizziness, she wondered if anyone would mention the jewel that she had worn last night. She hoped so.

The door opened and Pelien came in, a curious expression on her face. Adrama described the air of her mother to herself in her thoughts as the air of one who was predicting the future. Pelien spoke in a rather bored way, as if she knew what the answer was. "Addruran is at the door. He wanted to know if he could see you."

"Oh." Adrama stood up again, irritated. Did that pest always have to annoy her? Well, no wonder her answer was so predictable. "Tell him to go away and never come back," she said. Her mother left the room, and Adrama guessed that Addruran would be told in a different way than instructed. As long as he just realized!

Adrama sighed and looked out the window, clenching the sill tightly. If only Addruran would be like he used to when they were just children. They had been the best of friends. Why wouldn't he leave her alone? Why couldn't they be friends? He cared for her more than a friend, and she was coming to hate him, just like she hated Finduilas. Did everyone have to annoy her and make her life worse than it was already?

"Don't think about it," she murmured. "Think about the luncheon, where there will be no Addruran, no Finduilas... just a peaceful luncheon with the kinder people of Gondor."