Where You Stand

Chapter 1

Summary: All her life Lairiel let herself be hurt, never fighting back, building a wall around herself and letting no one come close. But there comes a time when one has to let go of their fears and realize not everyone wants to hurt them.

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Lord of the Rings or any of its characters. They are the sole property of J.R.R. Tolkien. Lairiel is an original character of mine.


"Don't forget who you are."

He spat, kicking dirt from his boots and onto her limp body. Her face was pressed against the cold stone floor, her body stinging with pain in some places and devoid of sensation in others. She couldn't move, her lungs screamed in a silent agony, feeling as if they were about to cave in on her. And how she wished they would, as sharp, silent gasps of air forced themselves into her lungs to keep the blood pumping through her veins – keep the shame resounding throughout her body. She was bloodied, her rags for clothes covered in mud. She gingerly pushed herself to a sitting position, cringing as her arms trembled beneath her, barely able to support her starved, lithe body.

"All you are is a lowly orphan; you have no place to ask for things." A swift kick to the back of her head sent her falling back to the ground with a sharp grunt of pain. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and she began to inwardly scold herself.

No, she would not let him have the satisfaction of seeing her tears.

"Next time you step out of line, you may not be so fortunate to be simply sent to your chamber. There is plenty room on the streets for the likes of you." She could hear him stepping away, the click-click of the heel of his boots against the floor growing more distant as he walked towards the door. She jumped when she heard it slam and the gust of wind blew out her candle, leaving her laying motionless in the glow of the moonlight through the only window in the room.

The quiet sound of her breathing filled her ears and she laid there, silent, unmoving. If someone had stumbled upon her like that, they would've thought her a corpse. Pale skin, hollowed cheeks and knotted hair that clung to her face, sticky with blood. She sat up, slowly, and leaned herself against the wall, breathing slowly against it. Her eyelids soon grew heavy, but she fought the need to sleep, fearing being woken up in a way that wasn't nearly as delightful as the chirping of birds.

This wasn't the first time, and it would probably not be the last unless she found a way out of the orphanage.

But where could she go? A young girl like her was lucky enough to be taken in, in the first place. Unfortunately lucky.

"Miss," She looked up, sharply, a shiver of fear running through her spine at the sound of a whisper.

"W-who's there? Show yourself!" Lairiel croaked, her arm draped over her torso in pain from straining to speak.

"Over here, by the window, miss." She didn't move, but her eyes travelled to the curtained window. Through it she could see the silhouette of a young, boyish figure.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"I want to help you! My name is Estel, I've come from Rivendell. I can take you there where you will be safe."

"Rivendell? You're an elf?"

"No, miss, I am not."

"Why should I trust you? How do I know you aren't trying to harm me?"

"Miss, I don't think I can harm you any more than you are being harmed now." They were both momentarily silent.

"Estel of Rivendell, if you save me, I will forever be in debt to you." She breathed, her voice quivered at the thought of being free, being safe. Just the thought seemed too good to be true.

"Please." She whispered, and she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and spilling down her face.

"Please, help me."


"What? Tell me you aren't in your right mind." She barked, swinging her arms up over her head in disbelief. Her light brown, almost a dirty blond hair, pulled back into a braid earlier had now begun to fall in front of her face, doing well to hide her fuming anger.

"I am not kidding. Calm yourself, Lairiel."

"How could you ask me to be calm?" She dropped her hands by her side again as he brushed past her, packing things left and right into various hidden compartments all over himself.

"I'm coming with you."

He paused, his ears perking up at her declaration. Turning slowly, he looked over his shoulder at her with a curious raised eyebrow before quickly becoming serious again.

"No. You are not."

"Aragorn! You're being completely ridiculous!"

"On the contrary, I'm being quite serious."

"You could not possibly ask me to simply sit in silence and brood while you are out on an adventure, possibly throwing your life away for a couple of hobbits and a wizard. Even if that wizard is Gandalf." She crossed her arms and stood her ground, glaring at him while he turned his back to her.

"I do expect that from you." He said matter-of-factly. "And do you not put yourself in danger every day when you ride out on a horse bearing the title of a female ranger?"

"No man would dare challenge me but you, Aragorn." She sighed heavily, sounding quite bitter and angry at the same time.

"That's because I know your weaknesses."

"Well then you should know well enough that I would not simply let you run off on your own." She walked over to him, putting her hand over his as he picked up a dagger. "Just let me come, brother, I could not rest at night knowing you are in constant danger and I am safe here, tucked away from the world."

Aragorn looked up at her, his gray eyes glancing into hers; surprisingly pale in comparison to his own. And he sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

"Fine." He sighed, "But do not make yourself a burden." He scoffed with a smile to himself as she shoved him with a pout.

"You say that, but it will probably be I, who rescues you." She shot back with a smug look of victory. He shook his head and laughed to himself, grabbing a bag from underneath a cot and tossing it to her.

"We shall depart for Bree immediately."


"How revolting." Lairiel scoffed to herself as she stepped away from the bar to lean against the wall of the back of the den. The Prancing Pony was filled with greasy drunken men, the air laden with the stench of sweat, alcohol and smoke. She eyed them carefully, the four hobbits, seated together at the same table and whispering quietly amongst themselves. Her cloak draped over her shoulders and concealed her noticeably feminine figure even under her masculine clothing. Her hood was thrown over her head and her braid tucked into her shirt. From the distance she simply looked like a slender young boy.

She watched quietly in the shadows of the inn and out of sight and way of others. Her eyes dashed to and from them and Aragorn, seated alone in the corner. She was supposed to be resting right now. Or at least that was what she told Aragorn she was doing. But she couldn't shut her eyes for more than a moment without turning over restlessly. There was a stirring in the air and she could feel it, something was going to happen tonight.

"Baggins? Sure I know a Baggins! Why, he's over there. Frodo Baggins."

Lairiel stood at attention, her back stiffening as her head darted over to one of the hobbits that had wandered away from the table and drew unnecessary attention to the other three. She watched intently as one of them leaped to his feet in fright, dashing over to the other. He tripped over someone's foot on his way over, falling backwards and in an instant; disappearing.

Aragorn rose to attention, his head darting momentarily to Lairiel in acknowledgement of her presence before he rose to his feet with urgency. She nodded in response and stepped away from the wall as well, slipping past Aragorn in silence as he scoured the floors for the hobbit and she approached the remaining three hobbits. She stopped at their table just as the stray hobbit returned to the table in fright.

"Where's Frodo?" One of them cried, grabbing the returning one by the arm and shaking him. Lairiel set her glass on the table heavily as she leaned in close, grabbing the hobbits' attention.

"Second floor through the southern staircase," She gestured to the back of the room, her voice hushed and urgent under the ruckus the vanished hobbit caused, "Last door on the left. Be swift."

And just as quickly as she approached them, she disappeared into the crowd again to allow them to gather their wits and dash up the stairs before she followed quietly after them. She heard a sword being drawn as they burst in through the door, urging her to quicken her footsteps after them.

"You are stout hearted." She heard Aragorn say as he re-sheathed his sword.

"And loud." Lairiel interjected as came up behind the three hobbits and took the stool from one of the hobbit's hands and simultaneously blew out the candles that another held. The hobbits jumped, startled by her sudden appearance.

"But that will not save you. You will no longer wait for the wizard, Frodo; they're coming." Aragorn's voice fell to a hush as he turned to face Frodo.

"Let us waste no more time here, boys." Lairiel set the stool down and lowered her hood, revealing to the hobbits her face as she turned to lead the way down the hall. "We haven't got much of it."


Lairiel looked up in response to the shrieks, shivers running down her spine as she rose to her feet from her seat by the door. The sleeping hobbits sat up in their beds and Aragorn looked out the window wearily, looking just as restless as her. None of them could really sleep.

"Rest." Lairiel placed her hand on Merry's shoulder as he watched the window in fear. He jumped, but then looked up at her appreciatively.

"Yes, Miss."

"What's out there?" Frodo was the first to ask, throwing out the question they were all itching to ask.

"They were once men." Aragorn started as he turned to them. Lairiel listened quietly as she heard the story recited by Aragorn a second time. And when he finished, she picked up a log by the fire place and tossed it in, gathering the hobbits' attention.

"We shall leave before the rooster's crow. The closer the sun is to rising when we depart, the more danger we will be in." Lairiel said, squatting in front of the fire and watching it burn for a moment before looking over her shoulder at them.

"I suggest you get your rest while you are still able."


A/N: Hi everybody! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I'm trying very hard not to make Lairiel into a very mary-sue kind of character, but it's hard to have her keep up with everything as well, haha. More will be revealed about her in coming chapters, but I promise she isn't some cliche princess half elf super awesome super hero kind of character. Reviews, constructive criticism and whatever are more than welcome! Thanks for reading~!