Title: Starting Over
Authors: Pengwinn, Hawk, and Ostrich.
Summary: Pengwinn: I'm making this LOTR universe work, damn it! ;
Author's Note: Okay, so this is a very, very odd universe. At first it was completely messed up, and I had to revamp the whole thing. Like...the WHOLE thing. So here it is, in all it's...:laughs.: Glory. Fixed. As much as you can fix a fanfiction universe that makes no sense what so ever. XD I tried, I swear. x.x;...So follow it as best you can.
"It just isn't fair." She whined, sitting down on the enormous bed angrily. "I don't understand."
"Well, you wouldn't be one to understand these things." Her sister replied, finishing tying her long red hair back in a braid and turning around to face her. "Honestly, Liahmae, it's not like we have special treatment."
"But Lio, we should have special treatment! We're his daughters!"
Liorana sighed, smiling and sitting down on the bed next to her, idly lacing the back of her sister's dress. "I know, I know. But Father doesn't have all day to swoon over his three daughters, especially when he has such extensive guests."
"So how come Arwen's the only one who gets to go to the dinner tonight with them?"
"Because she's the oldest."
Truth be told, Liorana was a bit embittered herself about Arwen's stroke of luck. But alas, unlike her blunt twin sister, she was holding her tongue. If father heard her talk about the situation like that, he'd just tell her exactly what she was telling Liahmae right now. To shut up and deal with it.
"Well, at least it's not as bad for me as it is for you. Arwen isn't out there flirting with my soon to be boyfriend." Liah teased.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Lio insisted, absentmindedly playing with the younger twin's hair.
"Oh c'mon. I see the way you've been looking at Aragorn."
At this, Liorana turned the slightest shade of pink and smiled. In all honesty, she had been looking at the ranger for quite some time. But the older man wasn't interested in her, as Arwen had been fit to remind her on multiple occasions. "Well, Liah, if that's what you referring to, then I'm sorry, you're mistaken. He's not going to be my 'soon to be boyfriend' as you so eloquently put it, because he doesn't have any interest in me."
"Don't listen to Arwen. He's been looking at you for weeks." Liahmae laughed at this and stood up, shaking Liorana's hands out of her hair, pulling it back with a ribbon herself. "Arwen's just jealous. She wants Aragorn almost as much as you do. That's why she's at the dinner tonight. She's probably flirting like mad with him."
"Now Liah, hold your tongue. The dinner will be ending any minute, and we'll have to go out and bid the damned guests good night with Arwen and father, so she'll be returning here to fetch us. You wouldn't want her hearing you, would you?" Liorana stood up and looked at herself in the mirror, twirling her hair around her finger letting it fall loose. "I feel so awkward in this dress, Liah"
"It's not natural for you." She snickered, teasing. "You never were one to get all pretty."
"It's not in my personality." Lio chuckled, sighing. "But father wants me to wear this dress, so I'll deal with it for tonight."
"And only tonight?" Liahmae questioned.
"Any time father asks, I suppose." She shrugged, turning to face her twin. "Liah, your hair looks horrendous. Get over here." She pulled at Liah's hair, braiding it loosely and letting it fall on her shoulders. "There. That looks much better." She said, turning her sister to face her. "You look marvelous."
"You always were the prettier one."
"Now, now. You're identical. So you both look equally shameful when you're standing next to me." The rich, haughty female voice filled their bedroom, and the twins, wearing matching grimaces, turned to face their older sister.
"Why hello, Arwen." Liorana sneered. She did not hide her contempt for her older sister. "How was the dinner."
"Wonderful. They all praised the beauty of the Evenstar." Arwen smiled, holding her head up a little higher at this thought. "Aragorn spent half the night flirting with me. It was splendid. Come now, sisters, we must bid the guests good night, for tomorrow they'll leave on their journey."
"Oh, like you know everything?" Liahmae snapped. "Beauty of the Evenstar my"
"Watch the language, little sister. Hold your tongue. It will often get you into trouble."
"She doesn't talk like that when there aren't any guests around." Liah muttered under her breath to Lio. Lio mumbled her agreement, and they followed the chestnut haired elf out of the bedroom, towards the entrance hall. The awkward party stood before them, looking travel worn and weary.
Liorana bowed her head in greeting, curtsying just slightly. Liahmae followed her example, while Arwen just bowed her head in the slightest at the party. Elrond smiled at his daughters. "Now girls, no need to be so fancy about it. You're just saying goodnight." He chuckled.
"Good night, everyone." Liorana said, smiling at them all. "I hope your journey is well, and I wish to see you all soon."
"Sweet dreams." Liahmae added. This derived a chuckle from all of the party, even the dwarf. She looked at her father, confused. "What? What did I say?"
"Nothing, sister." Arwen said, sounding as though she were talking to someone with a mental disability. She turned to Aragorn. "You know, I swear, she's not right?"
Aragorn laughed, but looked at Liahmae and smiled right up to his eyes. He rolled his eyes in Arwen's direction, and Liah nearly snorted, she was laughing so hard. Liorana elbowed her sharply in the ribs, and Aragorn caught her eye. She smiled at him sheepishly, trying to ignore the feeling of butterflies in her stomach, and bowed her head slightly. Arwen was moving on to assault the other party members, hoping to hear more praise, and Aragorn advanced slightly on her. Liahmae winked, and moved off towards Legolas, hoping to get a good conversation in with her close friend before they retired.
Liorana stood awkwardly by the doorway to the hall as Aragorn leaned against the wall next to her. "You were missed at dinner tonight." He said, bowing his head in respect. "M'lady."
"Aragorn, such chivalry is not needed, nor expected." She chuckled, pushing a piece of hair out of her face. "You and I both know that I am not, if anything, a lady."
"You look like one tonight, extraordinarily enough."
"Father's doing." She replied. He nodded, knowingly.
"I see. Well, you look amazing."
At this comment, the slight blush Lio had been working up in the bedroom went fully to her face, and she averted her gaze from him. "Arwen mentioned how everyone was glowing in the beauty of the Evenstar." Even she was surprised by the venom that had seeped into her voice. She tried to reduce the damage, but only made it worse, stumbling over her words partly in anger, partly out of embarrassment. "She even mentioned how you were flirting with her, to an insane extent."
"Did it make you jealous?"
The fire in her eyes died, and she returned to inspecting her marble floor. She muttered a quick response and coughed over it.
"What was that?"
"Oh, look. It seems the rest of your party is retiring. You should go to bed, you have a long journey ahead of you. Good luck, Aragorn." She smiled, kissing him softly on the cheek and whispering softly into his ear. "Yes."
x.T.H.R.E.E.x.Y.E.A.R.S.x.L.A.T.E.R.x
"Lio! Lio, get over here!"
She rubbed her eyes sleepily and peered out into the darkened gardens. "It's just Arwen, running around late at night like she always does." She muttered, turning back around to stare at her friend, Andrea. Andrea was a hobbit who hardly ever left the Rivendell palace, and she was Liorana's best friend. The cousin of Samwise Gamgee, she had taken up residence at Rivendell shortly after the party had left three years ago, and was eagerly awaiting their return.
"No! No! Look who it is!" Andrea tugged at her friend's nightgown and dragged her back to the window. Liorana sighed, obliging, and stared closer into the darkness sprawled before her. There, again, was her sister's milky white nightgown, dancing in the moonlight, running towards……….a tall, dark figure, wearing a cloak and…."Aragorn?" She whispered.
Andrea nodded enthusiastically. "That must mean Sam's here too! Rosie will be so happy!"
Lio stood in front of the window, frozen. She watched as her sister threw her arms around Aragorn, kissing him lightly on the cheek. The man returned the gesture with much fervor, hugging her tightly to his chest. Sure enough, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Gimli followed. Frodo was being carried by Legolas, who was lagging behind. He looked in the worst condition.
"Let's go meet them! I missed Sam so…and Merry, and Pippin."
Lio nodded, slightly taken out of her trance, and looked around the room for a decent pair of pants and a shirt to go meet the party. Thinking nicely enough to lightly try to wake her sister before she left, she shook Liahmae lightly, but to no avail. She grumbled and rolled over in her sleep. Lio laughed. "Ladylike."
"You're one to talk. Let's go." Andrea whispered, climbing out onto the balcony and finding the nearest vine to climb down. Liorana followed suit, and they walked, Lio slightly stone-legged, eagerly towards the party.
Once the men were standing before them both, Arwen giddily chatting to Aragorn, Andrea announced her presence and threw her arms around Sam. "Oh Sam, I missed you so much! Are you all right? How is Frodo! Rosie's going to be so happy to see you, you have to go see her at once…Merry, Pippin, I missed you both so much…"
Lio leaned against the nearest tree and smiled, watching the scene. Everyone seemed relieved to be home. She raised an eyebrow at Legolas, who looked ashen faced as he walked past her, holding Frodo. She motioned to her father's window, nodded at him, and gave him a kind look as he continued. He, in turn, smiled at her and winked, looking back at Aragorn.
"You were all he could talk about." Legolas whispered. "Is your father awake?"
"He should be, by now, what with all this ruckus we're causing."
"And Liahmae?"
"Sleeping like a baby."
"As always."
"As always."
They shared a laugh, and he continued, carrying his burden through the garden. Liorana sighed. Well, if Legolas was right, then Aragorn would stop flirting with her sister and at least pay some attention to her, right? Interrupting her thoughts, Andrea walked over to her, smiling.
"Lio, will you go get me a cloak, it's chilly." She demanded.
"You can go get one yourself, you know full well where it-"
"But I want to catch up." The hobbit nearly growled. Liorana rolled her eyes and stalked off towards her bedroom window, muttering a 'fine' and glaring at the ground. Once she was a safe distance away from the party, she stopped at a nearby wall and punched it, hard, sliding down it, holding her head in her hands once she reached the ground.
"It was stupid to even assume that. Three years. He might not have even heard it, and Arwen is the prettiest one…she's the Evenstar. She's father's favorite, everyone else loves her too. What were you thinking? Getting your hopes up. It's not like he ever showed any interest in you, anyway." She grumbled to herself.
"Now, now, that's no way to talk about things you don't understand."
"Damn." Liorana looked up, growing red in the face as a pair of brown eyes met her own. "Heard everything, I suppose?"
"Quite a bit." Aragorn replied, stooping down next to her, putting three fingers on the ground for support.
"Well, glad to know you heard it, then." She muttered, and, deciding that one humiliation was enough for tonight, moved to get up. However, she was to be humiliated again, because Aragorn just grabbed her and pulled her into his lap.
"You know, that dress you wore when you were bidding me a safe journey was simply ravishing…but I still think you look amazing when you just wear what you feel comfortable in."
"Thank you." She growled. "Can you let me go."
"Will you let me talk, first?"
"No."
"Then no. Hear me out."
Resigned to having no choice, she grumbled her agreement and sat still, prepared to listen to him speak. "Go."
"Your sister, Arwen, seems to think that I'm infatuated with her. And she seems to have passed this idea onto you. However, she's completely out of her mind. I don't like her in the slightest. Yes, she's beautiful, but she's not my type."
"Neither-"
"Let me finish."
"Fine."
"I don't want Arwen. She's too girly, she can't have fun, she's always being prissy, and mean, and catty. She wants everyone else around her to worship her, and I don't have the energy to worship such a high and mighty queen. I need someone who's smart, funny, rugged. I need someone who's sensible enough to tell me when to cool it down, but who's noble enough to rule with me. I need someone who can stay by me at any cost, not flutter away in the earliest sign of danger, just because they're the woman and it's what they're supposed to do. I want someone with fire in their soul, who'll fight me against protecting them, who'll keep me on a tight leash, and who'll match my temper."
"Well, then you'll need to search for one helluva girl, because-"
At this, she stopped, because Aragorn had tightly pressed their lips together, and she couldn't help but melt into the kiss.
)(Yeah, I know. What a weird way to end a chapter? XD Yeah. This is actually a pretty big part of our fanfiction verse, the fact that Lio and Aragorn get together...it causes huge rifts between characters, and all that. At any rate...yeah. So that's the first chapter.
If you want more, review, I guess.
YFFSM,
Pengwinn)(