Hey you guys, here is the second chapter. Also, I don't own LOTR.
Four days into traveling with the Fellowship was interesting for Diya, to say the least. Actually as she predicted, it was really hard. Diya knew they would be walking all day, but didn't predict hiking would be twice as hard with rocks and roots in the way. 'I guess I took the sidewalks for granted,' Diya thought.
Along with walking, the chores were very difficult to do. Maybe it was because she was a woman or she was not a warrior, the Fellowship thought it was a great idea for Diya to help Sam with the cooking and cleaning of the pots and pans. This was fine with Diya since she wanted to "earn her keep." Sam was shocked to find out the Diya could not cook. "Ms. Diya! If you did not know how to cook, how have you been living? Obviously, not well! You are just skin and bones, if you don't minding me saying so," Sam said to her while preparing the food. "No Sam, I don't minding you saying so," she said slowly, "The way you cook out here is different from the way I was taught. I'm just "skin and bones" because I was sick for a very long time and I am just recovering." At this Sam budged ever so slightly away from Diya.
Other than a few conversations with Sam, the rest of the Fellowship didn't talk to her much or give her much attention. 'They probably still don't trust me,' she thought. So along with the chores and the walking, Diya was very lonely and homesick. With no one willing to talk to her, Diya's thoughts would often dwell to her family. 'I wonder if they miss me because I sure do miss them,' she thought often when walking in silence. Sometimes a tear or two would roll down her check, but Diya was quick to wipe them away. She didn't want to Fellowship to think she was really weak.
On the third night when the Fellowship was deciding who should take what watch, Aragorn surprised Diya by saying, "Boromir and Diya should take first watch." At this Boromir agreed but obviously didn't want to be anywhere near Diya. Boromir's attitude toward her also upset her because Boromir was always Diya's favorite character. She thought he would be nicer. Boromir rolled his eyes when Diya plopped down right next to him. "This is my first watch. What do I do?" Diya whispered so she wouldn't wake up the rest of the Fellowship. "Nothing," Boromir replied, "except watch out and listen for anything unusual." "Oh," Diya said as she wrapped Aragorn's cloak around her.
An hour of silence went by before Diya suddenly whispered to Boromir, "Do we have to this quiet when on watch?" And hastily added, "My lord?" Boromir looked over at her and actually gave a little smile. Boromir admitted he did not trust her and had no idea who she really was, but he thought her to be adorable. She reminded him of a small little girl or a sad lost puppy; Diya was always shy and a bit naïve. He taught it was funny when she asked Aragorn how to relieve herself a few hours after they just met her. He wanted to bowl over with laughter when he saw Aragorn's face. 'By Valar! He looked so shocked and embarrassed at the same time!' he reminisced. "No," Boromir said, "We do not have to be completely silent. What did you want to speak to me about?"
Diya froze. Boromir, her favorite character from Lord of the Rings, wanted to talk to her. 'Ok Diya, be cool and don't screw this up!' she thought before saying,"I have no idea." 'Shoot! Not cool!' she mentally chided herself. Boromir chuckled a little bit. 'Oh sweet mother of pearl, he laughed!' she thought again.
"Well Mistress since you do not what to speak, might I ask you a personal question?" Boromir whispered to Diya. She nodded. "Why do you always wear that green scarf?" Boromir noticed she never took it off. He almost regretted asking that question when he saw her pause for a moment, but began to unwrap her scarf. Once she removed her scarf, Boromir gasped. "By Valar! You are bald!" he said.
Diya looked down on the ground since she was to embarrassed to look him in the eyes. "Yes I am bald because I was very sick with cancer about a year ago. You see, my womb had very small tumors on them, " she began slowly, "and so the healers removed my womb and then tried to cure the rest of me. Treatment is the thing that made me bald."
"That does not sound like you went to very good healers if your medicine made you bald," Boromir commented as Diya tied her green scarf back on her head. "Oh no my Lord, but it is. You see tumors grow very fast in your body and so the medicine kills very thing that grows fast in your body, like hair," Diya explained. Boromir nodded and began to ponder what she said. "Will your hair grow back?" he asked. She nodded. "That is good news, but what of your womb?" Boromir could not help but ask again. "My womb? Well it will not come back. I guess I will never know the phenomena of child bearing," Diya said as she rubbed her stomach.
Boromir did not know what to say. 'Women of Gondor lived for their husbands and children. If they were barren, no man would marry them. Would Diya be an old maid all her life?' Boromir pondered. "I am truly sorry Mistress Diya," he said softly. "Oh do not worry Lord Boromir," Diya replied. "I do not want any children now and when I am ready to become a mother, I guess I will adopted an orphan as my own." Boromir stared at her. 'Adapted an orphan? What a strange idea!' Boromir thought. He continued to stare at her for the rest of their watch wondering what kind of woman this is who sits before him.
I hoped you liked it! This chapter was pretty short, but that's okay. Tell what you guys think!