Disclaimer- I own a bottle of mustard,
a pair of Puma sneakers,
a key chain flashlight,
and a little rubber ball,
not to mention my criminal record *pulls pantyhose over head*.
Note I did say lord of the rings? well, that's because I won't admit it's
really not mine! *sniffles*
A/N: This story is AU, so if you don't like it don't read it! It's in middle earth but I don't think I will have many (if any) characters from LOTR.
Flames will be cast back into the fiery chasm from whence they came! As Elrond once said...or...it was something like that.
This IS NOT not not not not not not and I REPEAT NOT a Mary Sue (we hateses wretched nasty cannonses)! If it seems like it at first, it's too early for you to judge the characters! The two main characters have flaws (*collective gasp*) and ISSUES! (*collective gasp*) Aerin doesn't turn out to be the queen of such and such or have super powers. (although x-ray sight would be nice. *giggles as a naughty idea comes to mind*
Don't blame it on the poor, innocent author. (yeah like hell! says brother who is walking by and catches the phrase innocent. shut up, prep The-Oh-So-Wonderful-Magnifecint-Author says. ) So if you don't like the story, bugger off and don't read it!
Constructive criticism (put nicely) is good, so if you have any complaints urmm... ideas on how to make my writing better, that would be greatly appreciated.
Ellipsis- thank you for your help! *crowd cheers madly for Ellipsis*
Also...
words in bold like this are Aerin's thoughts.
// italic words in slashes are flashbacks or memories //
ONWARD!!
:::cough:::
Chapter 1
~Visitors in the Wood~
Aerin* rode across the field, her horse's hooves thudding softly on the
ground. Her heart raced from the exhilarating gallop on that Thrimidge*
evening. Her black hair whipped across her face, dark eyes scanning the
blurred scenery as she rushed past.
Horse and rider entered a grove of lush trees.
Tugging sharply on the reins, Aerin slowed her horse
to a stop at the muddy bank before a stream. She caught her
breath as her black steed took a drink. Aerin's
eyes darted to and fro. An eerie silence fell heavily around the
woods, wrapping the trees in an ominous and foreboding blanket.
Aerin swore she heard soft foot falls but as if
they sensed her presence they
seemed to stop abruptly.
Jumping from the saddle, hands trembling slightly,
Aerin cautiously led her horse from the stream.
She hesitated, wondering if she should turn around
and go back to the field, but the open air seemed too treacherous.
Aerin walked deeper into the woods, and the uneasy
feeling became too strong. She unsheathed her father's sword, long blade ringing cold and metallic in the stiff air.
Prickles on the back of her neck alerted Aerin she
was not alone. She flew
around, pointing her sword tip dangerously close to
the face of the man.
His worn clothes hung off his lean frame. A sword
hung at the stranger's
hip. His dark hair fell into his sea-green eyes
which blazed with caution
and anger, piercing through Aerin like burning
embers.
"What business do you have in the wild?" The man
asked gruffly, pushing the
sword tip away from his face with a gloved hand and
advancing towards Aerin, hand on sword hilt.
"My business is my own and I would like it to stay
that way." She answered
in a wary voice, raising the sword to point it once
again at the mysterious
man.
"I don't have time to play games." He taunted, as if
speaking to a small child.
A sudden pang of dislike pulsed through Aerin like a
throbbing drum. A derisive glare swept across her face.
"Is that so? And why not?" She retorted, eyebrow
curved mockingly.
Chuckling, the man made a move to push past Aerin.
As swift as a thunderbolt, Aerin flicked the sword across his
face, slashing the skin
along his cheekbone.
Filled with rage, the man spun around to face her,
not bothering to wipe
away the trail of red blood that was slowly making
it's way down his cheek.
// Do not anger men of Gondor as they will do almost
anything to justify heir wounded pride."//
Isn't that what he had always told her?
Aerin chided herself.
"Well then, why not!" He shouted, withdrawing his sword
from it's sheath.
The man parried with such a force in his anger that
Aerin stumbled
backwards. She barely managed to block his blow with
her blade before it
decapitated her head.
Metal to metal, the blades created their own dance:
slashing, clanging, cutting across the air.
Fury and contempt: intense emotions flowed through
their bodies, alive,
colliding in a tangled web of destruction.
Destruction. Like fire.
A burning sensation alerted Aerin's nerves there was
a gash etching a way
along her collar bone tearing through her drab brown tunic.
Deciding she had had enough, Aerin built up all the
momentum in her leg
muscles and sent her foot flying into the back of
the man's knees. Caught
off his guard, the man crumpled to the ground.
With a weather-beaten boot stepping down on his arm,
she wrenched his weapon
away from him. She examined the sword, surprised to
see that it was Elvish.
Thin, Sindarin runes scrawled across the double blade.
A sudden kick from behind sent Aerin toppling to the
ground. She barely had
time to register what had happened before her back
collided with the ground,
giving off a dull thud.
A rush of wind was forced from her lungs and a
painful ache in her chest
reminded Aerin she couldn't bring air into her body.
// The Ranger swung the little girl in his arms, the
child laughing and
shrieking with delight as she was whirled around
then set back down on the
ground. Surging with happiness at his arrival, the
girl wrapped her small
arms around the man's neck and whispered in his ear:
"I love you Ada*." //
Aerin pushed the painful memory from her mind and
silently scolded herself
for not watching her opponent. He slammed his weight
on top of her, pinning her down with his forearm.
Fear coursed through her every bone, recognition
sinking in with a bitter
shock. I'm going to die! The thought struck her
mind with tremendous force.
Aerin struck out at him, kicking and beating at him with her legs and arms, but the man was much stronger and bigger then Aerin and he gripped her tightly.
"Checkmate." The man sneered, smirking haughtily.
Aerin shut her eyes tight, expecting the last blow
to come.
She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She could
only think.
You have to pay for what you have done. Said the nasty voice in her head.
You have to pay with your life.
But before either of the two could move, the
air was filled with the cry of hundreds of orcs, that came flooding through
the trees.
*Aerin- named after the woman who was forced to be a wife to, Brodda, the Easternling. Aided Morwen after Nirenaeth Arnoediad. (From the Silmarillion, if you haven't read it)
*Thrimidge- the month of May in the world of Tolkienness (Appendix D, Lord of the Rings
*Ada- Sindarin (high elvish) word for father or daddy.
A/N: Like? No likes? * stomach rumbles: *
Yeah, like my stomach said, I'm hungry for reviews!
~Indigo~