Lord of the Rings
Co-written by Blood-Debt. Go read her stuff. ( )
Disclaimer: Lord of the Rings does not belong to either Blood-Debt or elven dreamer. It is the property of Professor J. R. R. Tolkien and has been borrowed (is licensed the right word?) by Peter Jackson. And if it did, well, we wouldn't be wasting our time typing, we'd be with the characters this very second.
Warnings: This IS a MARY SUE. In fact, two Mary-Sues and one Gary Stu!!! Do NOT read if soppy stuff makes you sick. And it IS an INTENTIONAL Mary-Sue.
Two For The Price Of One
Chapter One: Prologue
The two girls avidly discussed their favourite Lord of the Rings characters and, of course, drooled. Marie was in love with Legolas, and Su-Ann with Aragorn, but Su already had a boyfriend – and yep, you guessed it – his name was Gary Stu. However they all loved Lord of the Rings. In fact, they had gathered at Gary's mansion (lucky rich boy) to have a total movie fest and slobber over their favourite characters.
On her way there, Su-Ann picked up her best friend. She rang the rusted doorbell, a simple bell on a chain, and after a few seconds Mrs. Lorina Diario, Marie's foster mother, answered it.
"Is Marie there?" Su asked tentatively, hoping not to receive a lecture on how she had woken little two-year-old Carlo. Mrs Diario was subject to frequent, wild mood swings, which Su-Ann often bore the brunt of, much to Marie's irritation. This time, however, the Italian lady appeared to be quite content and, turning towards the stairs, called "Maria!" Mrs Diario smiled at Su-Ann and promptly disappeared again, probably into the kitchen to perfect some new recipe.
Marie poked her head out of the door a moment and smiled tiredly. "Just a sec, let me get my coat." A moment later the girl emerged, wearing old hand-me-downs from her older foster siblings. Even so, she managed to look stunning in her ripped jeans, t-shirt, and faded jacket. Marie – or Maria as her Italian foster-family called her – was unlucky in love, as all boys wanted her for looks, rather than persona. She had only recently broken up with her boyfriend of a month and a half, after finding he was cheating on her.
Su-Ann was nearly the same, but Gary seemed devoted to her. She wasn't as popular as her friend, as she sported a heart-shaped birthmark on the right side of her neck, which she tried to hide with her hair. She, too suffered, as she had to care for a dyslexic brother, alcoholic mother, and calm her abusive father- she constantly sported bruises.
Su was trying not to attract attention, but she stood out even in her sleeveless black top, and long, dark jeans. Marie ducked beneath her foster-mother's arms, but snagged her long, blue-black tresses on the door's lock as she passed.
"Ouch!" Her hair was always getting in the way. She had tried to cut it numerous times, but it had always miraculously grown back the next day. Even when she shaved bald - for cancer research funding, but also doubling as an experiment – still, the next day, her hair was back to its normal length – just an inch above her hips. Su, on the other hand, kept hers long by choice, and her glossy raven-black locks never caused any trouble. Marie envied her luck, but never let it get in the way of their friendship.
The girls had met in third grade, and been friends ever since, with no arguments: nothing (nothing major anyway). That had been a whole nine years now – at 17 it was the summer holidays just before they started college. Su-Ann had been lucky enough to win a scholarship to the local college, as her family couldn't afford the expensive fees.
"How was work?" Su asked, stepping out onto the pavement.
"It was okay…" Marie said, adding a quick goodbye to Lorina. Actually, her boss had made advances towards her- they all did. She would have to try to find another one. There were rarely females that hired her, they were all jealous of what they thought was 'good fortune'.
Slowly they walked in the direction of Gary's rich neighbourhood – neither of them could afford a car. In complete contrast, Su's boyfriend had six cars to his family: a Ferrari, two Mercedes-Benz's, a Rolls-Royce, a Porsche and a stretch limo; plus two chauffeurs, of course. He always offered to lend them to the girls but Su refused. She had been amazed when he had bought a mobile phone for her birthday, in colour! She'd always hidden it from her parents, as she knew her drunken father would probably steal it or try to sell it. They hardly knew anything about her. She was just there to look after them, an unpaid housekeeper and cleaner.
Grinning, the pair of girls passed the guard, a delightful old man with pictures of his grandchildren in his wallet. They walked through the gardens to the front door – it took them a minute to get there, even using the shortcuts they'd found. Su knocked loudly on the door and another minutes later, the butler answered it, smiling as he saw the two.
"Good evening, Miss Eddings, Miss Russell," he said, nodding to Su and Marie in turn.
"Evening, George," they chorused, and laughed gaily, running past him, upstairs to Gary's suite.
Gary smiled in genuine delight as he saw his girlfriend, and swept her up into a bear hug. Her petite size meant he could pick her up - no fuss.
Marie looked away swiftly, trying to erase the painful memories that seized her. There were no hugs for her. No loving arms to embrace her and sweep her away.
Su noticed her friend's internal anguish and quickly disentangled herself from Gary's arms. He looked in the direction that Su-Ann indicated, and let her go. Gary felt slightly guilty, as her had introduced Marie to her former boyfriend. He had thought they would make a great pair, but obviously, her had thought wrong. Fredrick had always been a bit of a playboy, but loyal to friends, and Gary had expected it would be the same for both genders.
"Come on, I've already got the popcorn. Let's go downstairs," he injected, hoping it would bring the cheery atmosphere back. It succeeded, and the girls squealed in anticipation of seeing their idols on screen, life size. Gary's TV wasn't just a television, it was a mini-cinema. The chairs were furnished with thick cushions, indents for cups and bowls, and there were no windows so that the projector was the only light source. The credits started rolling, and the other lights on the ceiling slowly dimmed and blacked out. Su-Ann snuggled up to Gary, content with her life and all within. Marie sipped at her Diet Coke, hoping Legolas would dispel any lonely thoughts and dreams.