70: Meanwhile, Back at Elf Academy....

Alex and Derek returned from Fairbanks later than they had expected and were pleasantly surprised to find that the cafeteria was still open even though it was after eight. When they asked, they learned from one of the staff that, during the test period, the cafeteria would remain open until nine to accommodate those students whose tours went late, since everyone was assigned a particular time to bring their families to Santa’s grotto. Derek, for instance, was scheduled to bring his family to see Santa during the four o’clock hour while Alex wasn’t scheduled until six.

"I promised Ron I would check in with him after dinner," Alex said to Derek as they settled at one of the tables where some of their friends were congregated, listening to a couple of the students speak about their tours which they had conducted that day. Derek was more interested in listening to them than in answering Alex, but he gave his roommate a considering look.

"It’s pretty late. Do you think he’s still here?" he asked.

Alex shrugged. "Only way to find out. I’m going to eat up and head over to his office. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?"

Derek nodded, his attention already drifting back to George Calhoun giving a description of his tour. Alex wolfed down his spaghetti and meatballs and wrapped the chocolate chip cookies in a napkin to take with him and left, heading to where the administrative offices were, half convinced that the Elf had given up on him and had gone home. So, he was surprised to see a light under Vorondur’s door. Giving it a knock, he opened it to see the ellon sitting at his desk, working on his computer. Vorondur looked up and gave him a smile.

"Sorry," Alex said as he closed the door and took a seat. "We ran into some weather on the way back and it slowed us down. I wasn’t even sure you would still be here. I left Derek at the cafeteria."

"Did you get anything to eat?"

"I scarfed down some spaghetti. I’m not all that hungry. At one point we actually had to pull over and wait for the white-out to pass so we whiled away the time snacking."

Vorondur nodded, leaning back in his chair. "So, how was Fairbanks?"

"It was great. Went to a couple of museums, discovered a couple of nice restaurants and generally just relaxed. Oh, and we saw Della and the others. They’re doing fine." He paused and shifted uneasily in his chair.

"What?" Vorondur asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Oh, nothing really and it may have just been because I’m naturally paranoid but...."

"Go on."

"Well, and I know this will sound crazy, but the whole time we were in Fairbanks, I could’ve sworn we were being followed, yet, I never caught sight of a tail, and believe me, I know all the tricks. If there was a tail, I should’ve been able to spot him, but I never could. Derek didn’t sense anything when I asked so I just made a joke about letting the stress get to me and dropped it, but the feeling never left, not until we were at least ten miles north of the city coming back here."

"Amroth told us about the tracer on your car," Vorondur said. "Could there have been another one?"

Alex shook his head. "I double-checked the car from top to bottom before we set out. It was clean. Do you think someone found out about us going to Fairbanks and decided to keep us, or rather, me under surveillance? That presupposes that somehow our plans were leaked to certain people, but we told no one."

"I have no answers for you, of course," Vorondur said carefully. "Do you sense that you are being watched now that you’re back?"

"No, I don’t, and I’ve been pretty vigilant. As I said, the feeling left me as we picked up the James Dalton Highway and headed north." He shrugged again. "Probably my over-stimulated imagination."

"Perhaps, but I wouldn’t dismiss it too cavalierly. In the meantime, did you have a chance to look over your tour plan while you were away?"

"Oh yeah," Alex said with a grimace. "Derek brought his as well, and kept insisting it was all wrong and how he wished he could change it. I finally took the damn paper away from him and told him it was perfect and not to sweat it." He gave Vorondur a grin which the Elf returned. "Anyway, I looked mine over and I see what you mean. Alex never created that plan; that was purely Artemus. I still don’t know if it was a good thing or not."

"I’ve looked over the plan as well," Vorondur said, "along with all the others as I’m on the committee that checks to make sure every student’s plan is doable. Your plan is both militarily precise and highly flexible at the same time. I suspect that you have had to execute certain plans in your life that needed exact precision to carry out, yet also required enough flexibility to allow for, shall we say, the unexpected."

Alex nodded. "Yes, that’s correct. But, you know, as much as I wasn’t really looking forward to playing a Christmas Elf, I wished it had been Alex who had designed the tour instead of Artemus."

"What would you change if you could?" Vorondur asked. "What would Alex have done differently?"

"That’s just it," Alex griped in frustration. "The tour as planned is picture perfect, or just about. Alex could never have improved on it. It allows for the vagaries of weather as well as unexpected time gains or losses. I wouldn’t know where to change it without ruining it."

"Then here is an example of where Artemus is able to contribute positively to your environment and circumstances. You, Alex, allowed Artemus to use his skills and knowledge to create the near perfect tour. It was unconscious on your part, that’s true, but now that you see how it works, you may be able to draw upon Artemus on a more conscious level the next time."

"I guess," Alex admitted reluctantly.

"You fear Artemus," Vorondur stated, "and that is something you should not do. Artemus is not to be feared; he’s too important to your continued survival. You need to befriend him and welcome him without letting the darker aspects of that personality take control as it did at the bar last week. Do you understand what I’m saying?"

Alex nodded after a moment of reflection. "I think so. It’s not going to be easy, though."

"Nothing worth doing is ever easy," Vorondur said. "Now, I think you should go find Derek and offer him moral support. He’s probably a nervous wreck by now."

Alex grinned. "I hope he can get some sleep or he’s not going to be any good to anyone tomorrow."

"Oh, don’t worry about that," Vorondur replied with a knowing smile. "We have that covered."

But what exactly he meant by that he refused to say and Alex bade him a good night and went back to his room where he found Derek pacing.

"Hey, you should try to get an early night," Alex said as he closed the door. "It was a long drive back and I know I’m tired."

"I don’t think I can sleep," Derek said. "I already feel sick to my stomach."

"Yeah, I can appreciate that," Alex said. "But I really think you should try. Did you ever learn how to meditate?"

"Not really."

"Well, I know a couple of techniques involving deep breathing. Why don’t we get ourselves ready for bed and I’ll show you them?"

"Sure. How did it go with Ron?"

"Okay. I think I’m beginning to get a handle on things."

Fifteen minutes later, with the lights out, Alex talked Derek through the breathing exercises, speaking softly, doing the exercises as well. And as they lay there, breathing in and out, they heard someone singing somewhere down the hall. The words were indistinct, but the melody was clear and between the song, which sounded somewhat like a lullaby, and the deep breathing exercises, both men fell asleep within minutes.

****

Alex woke around six. It was still dark out and he was tempted to roll over and go back to sleep for an hour or so, but then recalled that today was Derek’s test day, so he climbed out of bed and padded over to his still sleeping roommate, giving him a shake.

"Rise and shine, Celepharn," calling him by his Elvish name. "Time for your tour."

Derek jerked awake, took a quick look at his clock to see the time and then scrambled out of bed.

"Hey, slow down," Alex said with a grin. "It’s early yet, but I know they’re opening the cafeteria early, so once you’ve gotten dressed you should get something to eat."

"I’m way too nervous to eat anything," Derek replied as he struggled into his robe and grabbed his toiletry bag and a towel.

"Still, you should try to have something or you’ll be fainting long before lunch and that won’t do," Alex said as he grabbed his own shower paraphernalia and the two headed out the door and down the hall. "At least try some toast."

Derek nodded and then they were in the bathroom being greeted by a couple of other students who were also taking their tours that day.

Once dressed they made their way to the cafeteria, which was eerily quiet in spite of the fact that there were a large number of students all sporting the distinctive winter wear that was the uniform of the Elf Guides. Alex encouraged Derek to take some toast and juice and some coffee while he piled his plate with waffles and home fries. As they looked around for a place to sit, they spied Findalaurë and the other two ellyn and went to sit with them.

"Hi. So you’re back," Alex said.

The three ellyn greeted them gravely. "We were told that you were allowing us to join you on your tours," Findalaurë said.

"It’s going to be pretty crowded with all three of you, though," Derek said.

"Yes. Lord Glorfindel pointed that out to us," Calandil answered. "So, we drew lots. Elennen and I will come with you, as you do not have as large a family as Alex has and Finda will go with Alex. That is, if it is still all right with you."

Derek shrugged. "Sure. I don’t have any objections. Let’s hope whoever is grading us does not."

"Lord Glorfindel already has spoken to these people to let them know," Findalaurë said and the matter was dropped. Derek played with his toast, constantly looking up at the wall clock, until Alex leaned over and said, "Relax. Remember those deep breathing exercises I showed you last night? They do wonders in keeping you calm so try one of them now. You’re going to be fine. Your plan is a good one and the family will have a good time."

Derek nodded and attempted one of the breathing exercises Alex had shown him and after a couple of minutes he did appear less nervous and was able to finish his breakfast. Then it was time to head downstairs and Alex and the three ellyn followed him. They found Cennanion, Ercassë, Elladan and Elrohir there with clipboards. Each was standing under a poster with a spread of letters and everyone was lining up appropriately. Derek lined up in front of the poster that said ‘G-L’ and Alex and the Elves joined him. When they got to the front of the line Elladan gave him a smile of encouragement.

"Let’s see. You’re with Rainbow Lake Holiday Resort today, Derek," he said as he consulted his clipboard, putting a check against Derek’s name. "That’s the van over there to your left." He pointed to the outside where a number of different vans belonging to the various resorts were lined up waiting to take the students to the Grange Hall. "Good luck and don’t forget to have fun. Calandil, Elennen, try to keep out of trouble."

The two younger ellyn rolled their eyes even as they all followed Derek outside. They found the van easily enough and as they approached the side door opened and a young woman greeted them. "Good morning. I’m Rebecca. You’re Derek, right?"

"Yes, ma’am," Derek replied, "and this is Cal and Alan. They’ll be following us around. I was told it was okay."

"Yeah, well hop in and we’ll get going. Your tour ends during the four o’clock hour, so we’ll be back at the Grange Hall probably no later than five-thirty."

"Good luck," Alex said in Sindarin as Derek started climbing into the van. "I know you will do well."

Findalaurë said something in Quenya which sounded like a blessing and Derek just nodded his thanks. The other two Elves also climbed in and then the door closed and the van set off. Alex and Findalaurë stood there for a long moment and then Alex started shivering, for he had not bothered with a coat. "Let’s go back inside before I freeze," he said. Inside, the last of the students were being directed to their vans and then the foyer was emptying out as roommates and friends of those doing their tours wandered off. Alex made his way to where the older Elves were standing.

"Well, they’re away," he said somewhat unnecessarily. "Now the hard part begins."

All four Elves nodded while Findalaurë gave them a puzzled look. Alex noticed and grinned. "Waiting. It’s the worst part of any campaign. So, how do you want to while away the time until we go to the Grange Hall and welcome Derek and your gwedyr back from the tour?"

Findalaurë raised an eyebrow and then realizing that Alex was being sincere, gave him a shy look. "I wonder if you would help me with throwing people. I cannot seem to do it properly."

Alex smiled. "Sure. Let me grab my coat and we’ll go over to the gym and I’ll show you all the moves." He couldn’t help noticing the looks of approval on the faces of the older Elves but decided not to comment as he left them. Five minutes later he was back down and he and Findalaurë bade the others goodbye and headed outside.

****

The self-defense lesson lasted only for a couple of hours and by the end of it even Findalaurë looked washed out, for Alex had not given him any quarter, insisting that it was the only way he was going to learn how to handle himself. "And if you think I’m being hard on you, you should have Amroth spar with you," he said at one point when Findalaurë was protesting Alex’s treatment of him. Still, by the time they called it quits, the ellon appeared more confident about his techniques and Alex praised him for his efforts, saying that with time, he should be quite the expert.

They returned to the Academy and had lunch, joining those who were also waiting for their friends to finish their tours. Afterwards, Findalaurë stated he would return to Edhellond for a time and would meet Alex at the Grange Hall. Alex, for his part, decided to take a nap after emailing his mom. There was still no word from Maddie Washburn or anyone else for that matter and that worried him, but as there was nothing he could really do about it, he let it go.

After his nap, he ended up reading until it was nearly five o’clock, at which time he headed out for the Grange Hall. It was already full dark by now and with the temperatures dropping the roads proved to be a bit slick, so he had to drive carefully. He reached the Grange Hall around five-fifteen to find the parking lot nearly full. A couple of resort vans were already there but not Derek’s van, so he found a parking space and wandered into the hall where he found it full of people milling about. There was a table at one end near the stage where he spied Amroth and Vorondur sitting and several students, all sporting Elf Guide outfits, standing before them, obviously checking in. He looked for Findalaurë, but did not see him so he wandered around a bit and chatted with one or two of his friends from the Academy who were also there to greet the returning tour guides.

Ten minutes later, he spied Derek and the two ellyn coming in along with four people, two of them children, so he assumed they were Derek’s test family. Derek was shaking their hands and the two Elves gave them bows as they parted company. Alex wended his way through the crowd to intercept them as the three headed for the table to check in.

"So, how did it go?" he asked, putting out his hand for Derek to shake.

"Better than I thought," Derek replied with a relieved look as he removed his hat and undid his coat, for the hall was becoming overly warm. "The kids were great and they seemed to have a good time. You really should’ve planned your tour to include the ice maze. That was wicked cool."

Alex grinned. "I’ll keep it in mind for next time." He turned to Calandil and Elennen. "And how did you fare?"

"Where’s Finda?" Calandil asked, looking around.

"He said he would meet us here," Alex said, "but I haven’t seen him. Maybe something came up at Edhellond. I’m sure we’ll see him soon. Anyway, what did you think?"

"It was quite interesting," Elennen answered. "I got to hold the reins when we were at the reindeer farm," he said proudly. "They are amazing creatures."

"Yes, they are," Alex returned with a smile. "Well, I’m glad you all had a good time. Let’s get you checked in and then I’ll drive you back to the Academy and you can tell me all about it over dinner."

"Good, because I’m starved," Derek said as he moved up the line and found himself facing Vorondur who gave him a nod.

"Everything go all right?" the Elf said as he looked down the list in front of him, making a check against Derek’s name.

"Yeah, it went well," Derek replied. "Rebecca, she’s from the resort, said I did a real good job in planning the tour and the family seemed happy with it."

"Good. And now you can relax and it’s your turn to hold Alex’s hands." He gave them all a wide grin and a wink and they laughed, bidding him and Amroth a goodnight.

"You know where Lawrence is?" Alex asked just before they left. "He said he would meet us here."

"Sorry, we’ve been here all afternoon coordinating the tours," Amroth answered. "If he shows up I’ll drive him over to the Academy. Ron can handle things here."

Alex nodded and then they left. When they got into the car, Derek breathed a large sigh of relief. "Lord, I’m so glad that’s over."

"Still want to be a Christmas Elf?" Alex asked, giving him a sly look.

Derek nodded. "Yeah, I do. Once I stopped being nervous, I really enjoyed myself."

"I’m glad," Alex said as he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

****

Findalaurë did not show up all the time they were eating. Calandil and Elennen expressed concern, so after dinner, Alex called Edhellond and spoke with Barahir who answered. The Elf assured him that Findalaurë was fine.

"Something came up and Finrod asked him to stay with him," Barahir said. "Nothing serious, just a family matter." But as he refused to elaborate, Alex had to be content with the rather vague explanation.

"I’ll drive Cal and Alan over then. They’re really worried about their gwador."

"Wait a moment," Barahir said and Alex could hear him speaking to someone else, then he was back on the line. "Dan and Roy are still at the Academy, setting things up for tomorrow’s tours. They can give them a ride back when they’re ready to leave."

"Okay. We’ll go find them. Thanks." Then he closed down his phone and told the others what Barahir had told him and they went in search of the Twins.

****

Sunday morning, as Alex and Derek were enjoying a late breakfast, Findalaurë, Calandil and Elennen showed up, all of them sporting wide grins. They didn’t bother to get into the cafeteria line, stating that they’d already broken their fast.

"You three look like the cat who swallowed the canary," Alex said as he took a sip of his coffee. "What’s up?"

"It is why I did not join you at the Grange Hall last night," Findalaurë said.

Alex nodded. "Barry said there was a family matter that required your attention."

All three ellyn started snickering, as if enjoying a joke. Alex and Derek exchanged amused looks. "Care to let us in on the joke?" Derek asked.

"It is Nell," Findalaurë said. "My father decided to punish her by having her watch over the children of Nicole Lord while she and her... um... betrothed went away." All three ellyn had disapproving looks on their faces and Alex realized that they must come from a more restrictive society where lovers did not just go off on their own without a proper chaperone.

"Punishment, huh?" Derek asked. "Seems a strange way to punish someone, and I wonder who ended up being punished, Nell or the kids?"

"Oh, Nell, definitely," Findalaurë replied with a grin. "It seems that all was going well until yesterday afternoon. I still do not know what caused her to panic, but around the time I would have gone to the Grange Hall she called, sounding frantic. I was in the kitchen with my atar and Lord Glorfindel and some others, helping with dinner, though I planned to eat with you, when the phone rang. Lord Glorfindel answered it and had to hold the phone away from his ear for my cousin was practically screaming. He told her to calm down and then we all heard several voices in the background screaming and then... then Nell yelled, asking what was wrong and... and we heard someone yell back, ‘Adam got stabbed with a sword and he’s dead.’"

He paused and it was obvious that he was trying to hold back his laughter while his two friends were also trying not to laugh.

"Getting killed by a sword isn’t exactly a laughing matter," Derek said with a wry look.

"No, no. You do not understand," Findalaurë said. "When we all heard those words, Lord Glorfindel started cursing in Quenya and shouted into the phone, stating that he was on his way. Then he was calling for Lords Vardamir and Laurendil and the Lady Manwen and we all ran to his van and I never saw Lord Glorfindel drive so fast and looking so white. We came to the house and we ran to the front door and Lord Glorfindel was pounding on it, shouting Nell’s name and then the door opened and...."

He suffered another bout of giggles and it took him a couple of minutes to calm down long enough to continue his narrative, all the while, Alex and Derek and a few others who were nearby listening, looked on with various expressions of bemusement.

"It was Nell, but it was not," Findalaurë finally said. "Her hair was...." and lacking the words to describe it, he mimed hair standing on end. "And her face was strangely painted so that it made her look horrid. I think Lord Glorfindel called it makeup."

Both Derek and Alex nodded. "So I take it that she looked a fright with her hair standing on end and the makeup?" Alex asked and Findalaurë nodded. "So what happened next?"

"We all ran into the house with Lord Glorfindel shouting the children’s names and when we found them in the main gathering room...."

"It’s called a living room," Derek supplied and Findalaurë nodded his thanks.

"Living room. Yes. There were the children and Adam was very much alive. Lord Glorfindel stood there and said, ‘Why are you not dead?’ All of the children looked at him in surprise and then Adam seemed to understand what Lord Glorfindel was asking and gave everyone a disgusted look and said, "Video Game. Prince of Persia? This is the fifth time I’ve died and now I have to start all over again.’"

By now both Alex and Derek were laughing. "Are you kidding?" Alex said. "She got all upset over a video game?"

"Apparently," Findalaurë replied. "She thought it was very violent and could not understand how Mistress Lord could allow her son to play it."

"So what did Loren do?" Derek asked.

"He gave a great sigh and for a long moment stood there with his eyes closed," Findalaurë said. He gave them a sly grin. "Methinks he was counting to twelve in several different languages."

Everyone laughed at that. "And Nell?" Alex asked. "What about Nell?"

"Oh, this is the best part," Findalaurë assured them. "When everyone calmed down, my atar decided that Nell should return to Edhellond while Lord Laurendil and Lady Manwen remained, but before we left he suggested that Nell remove the paint from her face for it did not become her. She gave us a puzzled look and then Lady Manwen took her by the hand and led her over to a mirror hanging near the front door. Nell took one look at herself and started screaming."

He paused again and started laughing. "I think she was heard all the way to Edhellond because suddenly there were several dogs barking and these strange noises coming from nearby houses that Lord Glorfindel said were car alarms."

Alex was laughing so hard by now that tears were falling. "Oh my, I can just see it. Poor Nell."

"It took Lady Manwen and my atar several minutes to calm her down and then Lady Manwen took her to the bathroom to wash everything off while Lord Glorfindel spoke to the children. When we finally left, Nell was still crying from shame." He gave them a pained look. "I have never seen her cry before. It was most upsetting."

"I can imagine," Alex said sympathetically.

"My atar had some difficulty in calming her, assuring her that all was well and that she had no reason to feel ashamed. I do not think she believed him, for when we returned to Edhellond, she went to her room and refused to come out even for dinner." He sighed. "She still will not speak with anyone."

"It’ll take her time to get over it," Derek said. "Once she’s had some time to think about it, she might even see the humor of it all. Give her space and don’t tease her."

"That is what Atar and Lord Glorfindel said," Findalaurë said with a nod.

"Well, I suppose all’s well that end’s well," Alex said. "So, what do you guys want to do today?"

Derek shrugged. "You don’t seem too nervous about tomorrow," he said, giving Alex a shrewd look. "Not like me."

"Trust me, I’m as nervous about tomorrow as you were about your own tour, but I’ve learned to sublimate my nerves and keep a clear head. It’s vital to be able to do that when you’re out in the field. So, let’s think of something to do to keep my mind off tomorrow."

"We could go hiking or something," Derek offered. "Maybe we can get a box lunch and spend the day in the great outdoors. It’s not that cold out today."

"What about you three?" Alex asked. "You game?"

They all nodded and in minutes, after consulting with Grace, who assured them that she would have a box lunch ready for them within the hour, they left the cafeteria and went to get ready. Calandil suggested they return to the valley with the waterfall even though it was a couple hours drive, and they all agreed, so by ten o’clock they were on their way.