Summary: A Birthday gift for Jael. Set in her Not Fade Away universe completely without her permission but I couldn’t help myself! The fateful day that Thranduil, aka Aaron Rivers, finally sees The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey…
The Viewing
There was no way this was going to end well. They had all kept it from him as long as possible. And by all, Glenn meant ALL. Every single employee of Dale Toys had gone out of their way to keep any mention of the film from Aaron Rivers.
Of course, it was impossible to keep it from him forever, and eventually, Aaron found out about it and insisted upon seeing it. Thankfully, that was not until the film was out of most theaters. Not that Aaron Rivers would go to a public theater to see a movie anyway. Not when he had his own private screening room.
Which was where they were now. Just the two of them. Somehow, Glenn had found himself the only one left to suffer through the viewing. Everyone else had made themselves scarce with previous commitments and deadlines and whatever other excuse they could come up with.
Mariposa had to shop for new paint.
“I need that color, Glenn! And it’s more than an hour drive to the only store that carries it! No, I can’t order it. I need it NOW!”
Why did she need fifteen shades of blue? Glenn could see no difference between the color she insisted she needed and four others listed beside it on the web site.
Galen needed new clothes.
“Recent growth spurt,” Leif said, while shuffling his family out the door.
Leif — who normally would find any excuse to avoid shopping for clothes with a son who would rather be practicing his archery — had volunteered to take Galen! And Linda, not trusting them to come home with clothes rather than targets and arrows insisted on being present as well.
And Felice… Glenn closed his eyes.
“I saw it with Leif and Linda. Not all the Rodyn combined could force me to be in that room when Aaron sees it!”
Felice had gone to have her nails done. And her hair. Probably a massage.
Glenn sat biting his nails as the film began. It was silent for now, but the comments would start soon enough.
“You’d think Peter Jackson would at least have watched the first three again before writing this one to get the continuity right,” Aaron said, his voice sounding only slightly annoyed.
“Huh?”
“Bilbo didn’t know where Frodo was in Fellowship! Now, here he is telling Bilbo he’s off to meet Gandalf! And what happened to Bilbo being all surprised when Gandalf showed up? Where’s the continuity? If you’re going to tell a story, at least keep the facts straight!”
Oh, it was going to be a LONG movie, Glenn thought. Especially if Aaron was going to comment on every little…
“EXCUSE ME??”
And this was what he’d been fearing.
“Did he just say Erebor was the greatest kingdom in Middle-earth?”
Oh boy. Here it comes.
“The dwarves never left Erebor to BE a mighty kingdom! They just kept digging and making things! Greatest, my ass!”
But the worst was yet to come…
“All would pay homage to him, even the great Elvenking, Thranduil.”
Silence.
There was no explosion. Glenn waited. Had Aaron missed it? He could only hope.
“The filmmakers have lost their ever loving minds.”
Nope. He’d heard it.
“What is wrong with Peter Jackson?”
The comment was too casual.
Glenn blinked.
“Apparently his make up department doesn’t even know that those with blond hair do NOT have thick black eyebrows. Ridiculous. And that man looks nothing like me.”
Glenn decided silence was the best answer.
Aaron snorted. “As if I’d pay homage to a dwarf. I went simply as a courtesy. And I was not that haughty!”
Glenn snorted, then pretended to sneeze when a glare was cast his way.
“Wait… What’s this?”
Oh dear.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me! As if I could have raised an army and marched to Dale within hours of the attack. We didn’t even hear about it for two days…” Aaron’s voice faded.
Glenn waited.
It started as a snicker. Then progressed to full blown, hearty laughter. Aaron was holding his sides and nearly slipping from his chair. “I’m riding a moose!”
Actually, it was Lee Pace riding a CGI created animal, but Glenn wasn’t foolish enough to mention that.
“A war moose! I need me one of those!”
“It’s an elk, sire,” Glenn dared to say.
“Elk, moose, whatever! Get me one.”
Glenn stared. Aaron was serious. And he was still chuckling. “You want to ride on a reindeer like Santa?” he asked.
Aaron smirked. “Well, I do make toys…”
