"Wait," Shelby said. "What about me? Am I supposed to stay a cat forever?"
"Oh no," said Gandalf as he stood. "You can turn yourself to your normal self whenever you choose. You all were given a special power to help you survive. Lady Shelby was given the power to shape shift and understand any language. Lady Paige can understand any language like Lady Shelby and she can also turn her hands into solid rock. Sir Alejandro can turn his skin into armor, like a dragon's skin. Lady Daniela can create force shields. Lady Cynthia can turn invisible while Lady Lucero can go through even solid rock."
"Awesome!" said Lucero. "We have super powers!"
"Okay, so we have super powers and I can turn back to my human form," said Shelby in an irritated voice. "But how do I turn back?"
"Easy," he exclaimed. "Just think of yourself in your human form and you will turn back. It also works that way when you want to turn into an animal."
So Shelby turned back and we were lead to our room. Alejandro obviously got a separate room, being a boy and all, but it was still pretty close; actually it was just next door. As soon as we were alone, we went to Alejandro's room to discuss what was happening.
"So where exactly are we and why are we going on a quest?" Alejandro asked. And for the next hour or so, I explained what was happening and what not to do in Spanish so the elves wouldn't be able to listen.
"…and so, we cannot save Gandalf, Boromir or anyone else who is supposed to die," I said. I was nearly finished and was repeating the most important thing so they wouldn't forget.
"Why not?" asked Lucero.
"We can't change the events," I explained. "It's like being in the past; if we change anything, something might go wrong. Arwen might leave Middle Earth; Sam might not marry Rosie or worst: the Fellowship could fail and Sauron might win the war. Do you understand how important it is that we stay out of the plot as much as we can?"
They all nodded, and then there was knock on the doorframe. Standing there was Aragorn. He told us that it was time to start our training. We followed him to the armory and he asked us of what we knew.
"What do you know of sword fighting?" Aragorn asked.
"Nothing," said Alejandro. The others said the same thing.
"Well," I said. "We've seen sword fighting, but never participated in it."
"I see," Aragorn said.
"But, hey," said Paige, "if the Hobbits can learn, why can't we?"
"Very well," he said. "And you make a good point. We will go and see if we can find you all suitable weapons."
"Wait," I said. "Why are you teaching us? I thought women in Middle Earth weren't usually taught how to fight." I mean, it was Middle Earth. I saw the movie and saw that they can be pretty sexist, so how come we were learning?
"You are right," he said. "But Gandalf told me and Legolas that we have to teach you how to protect yourselves."
"Who's Legolas?" asked Cynthia.
"The elf that'll be traveling with us," said Paige. She gave her a look that said she still didn't know who it was so Paige explained further, "The guy with the long blonde hair with the bow."
"Oh."
"Enough talk," Aragorn said. "We must begin your training."
We entered the armory and found some suitable swords for each of us, but with some minimal complications. You see, it was our first time holding swords, so the first few we tried, we let the tips fall to the floor since they were pretty heavy. Cynthia nearly cut off her toes when she tried the first sword. But before you say anything, it wasn't as bad as MY first sword. Aragorn was in front of me and I let the tip drop to the floor, where his toes were located. I nearly sliced them off, but he wasn't hurt or mad, or at least he didn't show it.
We left the armory and went to the training grounds. We learned the basics and by far, Lucero, Alejandro and Paige were naturals. Shelby, Cynthia and I had some problems, but Aragorn was kind and patient so we caught on quick. After two hours he dismissed us to our rooms. On our way we ran into the hobbits, who invited us to lunch. We couldn't decline, well, Alejandro could but majority rule. We told them that we had to clean up first and we would meet them outside for lunch. We went to our rooms and changed from our original clothes and into Middle Earth attire. The others had no problem, except Alejandro and me. He wouldn't change because he didn't want to wear leggings, but we managed to convince him. My problem was that I don't wear dresses.
"Come on Daniela," said Cynthia. "You'll look pretty."
"I don't care, I'm not wearing a dress," I said.
"Why won't you wear a dress?" asked Lucero.
"I feel very exposed with a dress," I said. This was true. I hated the feeling I got whenever I wore one, I mean it feels so open wearing one.
"You can wear your shorts under it," suggested Paige. I agreed to it and we left to meet the Hobbits. Lunch was great and Bilbo told us about his adventure. But then Legolas came and took us to the archery grounds. He asked the same of us like Aragorn and we answered the same. It went well for the most part. Shelby, Cynthia and Lucero were great and learned quickly, the others weren't that bad, but I was awful. The first time I tried I missed it completely, not to mention I nearly killed an innocent bystander.
So before anything, let me just say, that if one was to take an afternoon stroll, they should steer clear of the archery range. And if you're wondering, the innocent bystander was Erestor. The arrow implanted itself to the tree next to him, which was three feet from him. I immediately apologized and kept on apologizing until he told me I could stop. I still had a guilty feeling after the incident and afterwards, he kept a safe distance from me whenever I carried a bow.
Legolas suppressed a smile with the best of them. He said it was a good try and that if I practiced more I could hit the target. He was as patient and kind as Aragorn, but I was still awful at archery. After two more hours of training, we were dismissed. We went to our rooms and later and had dinner with the others. Bilbo told us his story again and by the time he finished, we were nodding off. Gandalf noticed this and told us to go back to our rooms because we had a full day ahead of us. And so, our first day in Middle Earth and training ended with no one being seriously hurt, yet.
