Written for the ficvariations challenge on livejournal:
5-7 drabbles 100-500 words long
All on the theme dark/light (or darkness/lightness)
So I humbly present to you:

Daddy's Little Girl

She was daddy's little girl, a real life princess and beautiful, with long dark hair that hung in light waves all the way down to the small of her back. Why, then, did Lothiriel cry? Why did she cry in her bed at night, why did she cry while she paced back and forth in the privacy of her room, why did she cry whenever she was on her own?

Loneliness. Family and servants and suitors surrounded her, but she was all alone. Her mother had died giving birth to Lothiriel, leaving her as the only girl in a family of men. The men that pursued her only wanted a beautiful wife, never looking past her aristocratic bloodline or her high cheekbones, and the servants scurried away from her quickly whenever they could, fearing a scolding from the imposing princess.

She didn't mean to be imposing, it was just something inside her that made her walk with her back straight, her head held high, and an expression that showed her pride in her lineage. All she wanted was a friend, a sister of sorts, but she didn't know how to reach out.

So Lothiriel cried. Only on her own where no one could see her, but she cried. Her dark hair fell forward when she hung her head, obscuring the pale skin marred by tears. And when a knock on the door sounded through her room, she would quickly sweep her hair back and brush the tears away so that the visitor would only notice the striking contrast of black hair and ivory skin, and not the redness of her eyes. No one ever noticed the red eyes.

A/N I'd just like to shamelessly pimp the fic I write with one of my best friendlings. Legolas Is Like Marmite, by Tinuviel and Lady Alatar. Go read and laugh. And poke me to remind me to finish writing the next chapter.
And another shameless plug: go check out my livejournal for lots of wonderful (ok, that's debatable) ficcy goodness - http colon slash slash airelement dot livejournal dot com