A/N: I'm not sure of the dinning customs of Gondor, so I assumed that in the dinning hall normally the royal family and the steward would eat there. Correct me if I'm wrong…
Meleth: Love
Naneth: Mother
Ada: Father
Rhaich: Curses
My Little Fighter: Chapter Two: Sneaking Around
Maethoriel wandered out into the dinning hall the next morning, feeling like she had slept for days. Around the table sat her family along with her uncles and the Lord Faramir and his family. She trudged over to the empty seat between her sisters.
"Good morning, darling," her mother greeted.
"Morning," she muttered.
"Are you feeling alright?" Aragorn asked.
"Just tired," Mae replied. Her chest felt much better and she was able to breathe. She felt like a heavy wait had been taken off her chest suddenly. Mae looked into her ada's eyes and he saw that she meant it. She was telling the truth this time.
Mae put little on her plate to eat. She put a few strips of bacon onto her plate, a bit of eggs and some fruit. "Aren't you hungry, meleth?" Arwen asked.
"Not very," Maethoriel replied. Mae ate quietly as the others talked amongst themselves.
After Mae had eaten her fill she excused herself and took to wondering the gardens. Finding a quiet place to sit where she could look over the city quietly Mae took to daydreaming. She had only been out of the upper city once and that was quite some time ago. She had begged her parents to let her go and roam the city but they always said no. It was her attacks that kept her stuck in her room most of the days.
She had always wondered what it would be like outside the walls that kept her in. From where she sat she could see the plains that surrounded her home. They were green and lush and far away she could see a mountain range on the skyline. She had heard her uncles tell stories of how horrible the place beyond the mountains was. They had told her that it was a horrible place to be. She always asked why but they never told her much. They said it was all in the past and to thank her lucky stars that the society that had once been there had lost the War. She never asked much about the war. She only knew that it was a long battle. All Mae wanted was to learn to fight. Something that everyone seemed to be against.
Maethoriel was startled out of her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see her sisters standing over her. "What did I do now?" Mae asked.
"Nothing dear sister," Falathiel said sitting down on the ground next to her. "We just came out to see if you were alright."
Miriel joined her sisters on the ground. "You seemed a bit sick at breakfast," she added.
"Well I'm fine. You can stop worrying," Mae said crossing her arms.
"Well it's not just that," Falathiel began.
"Then what is it?" Mae asked looking at one sister, then the other.
"Well it's just that… you've been more and more interested in sword fighting and warfare," Falathiel said.
Maethoriel gave her sister a blank look. "And that's a problem because…?"
"Because it's not a woman's place," Miriel chimed in.
"I think that's something for naneth and ada to worry about. Not you two," Maethoriel said standing up.
"Maethoriel, you're a princess. You should be worrying about such things. You don't need to fight," Falathiel said standing up as well.
"I'm not like you two," Mae said watching as Miriel joined her standing sisters. "I don't like sitting my room studying or sewing or whatever it is that everyone wants me to do. I hate it."
"It's still not your place," Falathiel told her. "Elladan and Elrohir should not have tried to teach you yesterday."
"They understand that I don't want to be what you want me to be," Mae argued.
"No. They only helped you because you begged them. Every time you bat an eyelash you get what you want," Miriel replied.
"You know it is really not your place to be telling me this. You're not naneth or ada," Mae shot back.
"But we're you're sisters. We're only looking out for you," Miriel said.
"Well stop. I don't need to be looked out for. I can take care of myself," Mae shouted.
"We just don't want you to get sick again," Falathiel told her.
"Like I said. I can handle myself. I don't need you two looking out for me," Mae told them before stalking off out of the gardens.
Falathiel and Miriel stood side by side watching as their angry sister left them.
"That didn't go so well," Falathiel said.
"Not at all," Miriel agreed. "Where do you think she's going?"
"Well not back to her room obviously. Probably went off to find Eldarion," She replied.
Falathiel was right. Maethoriel had gone off to find her brother. And he was exactly where she'd thought he'd be. In the library.
Maethoriel opened the giant doors to the library and snuck in quietly. She gently closed the doors behind her. She weaved in and out of the rows of tall shelves until she saw her brother sitting near a window with his feet up on a table in front of him. She quietly snuck up behind him.
"Ahh!" She yelled jumping behind the chair.
"Ai!!" he yelled dropping the book he was reading. He turned to glare at Mae, who was doubled over laughing at him. "Rhaich, Mae!" Maethoriel continued to giggle as Eldarion bent to pick up his book. "What do you want?"
"Mm… I don't know. That really cheered me up though. So you shouldn't be mad at me," she informed him.
"And what were you upset about?" he asked nonchalantly as he tried to find the page he was on.
"Falathiel and Miriel were trying to tell me how I should act and what I should like," She said.
"Well they're your older sisters. They're just watching out for you," He said getting up and walking over to his sister. Mae stood, looking out the window, watching the people down below going about their daily business. Eldarion put an arm around her neck and pulled her in to a headlock as he ruffled her hair. "It's what us older sibling like to do."
Maethoriel pulled herself out of his grip and smoothed her hair. "Well, I don't like it," she said.
"No one ever said you had to," Eldarion said standing next to her.
He watched her as she looked back down over the city. "Will you take me down there?" she asked him.
"What?" he said.
"Will you take me down to the market place where all the buildings are? I want to look around. I haven't been down there for the longest time," She said.
"Mae, I don't think ada would like that very much," he said.
"Please? We could ask. And you and I haven't done something together in a long time. Please?" She asked.
"Alright. Come on kid," he said ushering her to the door.
~~~***~~~
"No! No! Absolutely not!" Arwen exclaimed.
"Naneth! Please?" Mae asked again.
"No. Meleth, can't you stay within the palace walls? I don't want you going out there alone," she told her daughter.
"But I won't be alone. Eldarion will be with me," She said.
"Meleth, no," she said.
"Ada?" Mae asked, turning to her father.
"Why don't you wait until I have a spare moment? Then I can take you down myself," he offered.
"You have a moment right now," Mae said.
"Just a small break until I must get back to the citizens," He said. "Maybe tomorrow."
"But ada!" she said.
"Tomorrow," he promised her.
Maethoriel sighed. "Fine," she said.
"I'm sorry, meleth," He said.
"It's okay," She said as she moped out of the throne room. Eldarion followed her.
"I'm sorry Mae, but what they say goes," he said.
"Well since they are in there why don't we go anyway?" she asked.
"What? Are you mad?" he asked.
"Maybe just a little. But come on! They won't know anything. We'll be back before they'll notice," She offered.
"No. You are not dragging me into your deceitful little plan to sneak around behind out parents' backs," he said.
"Then I'm going alone," She said as she turned to walk down the pathway.
"Mae! Mae! Maethoriel! Get back here!" Eldarion yelled after her. She made a very rude gesture toward him and kept on walking. "One day you're going to get me killed little one," he muttered to himself as he ran after her.
It seemed like no time before the two of them were walking through the streets of the city with shops on either side. The streets were bustling with going through their daily routines. "Wow," Mae muttered. "It's so busy."
Eldarion sighed. "Yeah, well, now you've seen it. Let's go," he said.
"Are you afraid of momma and papa?" She asked him.
"No. I'm afraid of what they'll do," he said.
"That's the same thing," She said looking up at him. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a tailor shop. "What's that?" she said as she ran to the door.
"Mae!" Eldarion called after her.
Mae went inside and looked around. The tailors were going in and out of a back room with fabric. All along the walls hung newly made dresses. A light green and blue one caught Mae's eye. She hurried over to look at it. "Mae! We aren't getting anything," Eldarion said, following her.
"I'm just looking at it," She said. The gown was a light blue with green flowing sleeves. Small jewels decorated the neckline and shoulders. "It's so pretty," She muttered.
"Mae. Put it back. We're leaving now," he said.
Mae sighed. "Hello," came a voice from the backroom.
Mae and Eldarion turned to see a young tailor coming into the shop. "Hello, miss," Eldarion said.
"Oh, your majesties. I did not recognize either you," she said.
Eldarion smiled. "It's alright. We were just leaving," He said pulled Mae after him.
"No we weren't," Maethoriel said, still looking at the dress.
"Sisters. You know what I mean? Can't leave with them," He said as he watched Mae examine the dress.
"Can't live without them either," the young tailor said.
"I beg to differ," Mae muttered.
Eldarion shot her a dirty look and she shrugged it off. "Little ones. What are you going to do with them?" he chuckled.
The tailor laughed. "Try being the middle one," she said.
As Eldarion and the tailor talked Mae heard yelling coming from outside. Putting the dress back in its proper place, Mae went to investigate.
What she saw out on the street both shocked and angered her.
Well how was it? Bit of a cliffy? Heh, well tell me what you thought just push that little button down their that says 'Review this chapter'. Kay?