Chapter 3(I DO NOT OWN LOTR)
Arain was thrilled with the name she had been told, and it seemed the newly named Zatalon was as well. But there was something else that bugged her, the way she felt inadequate in the clothes she wore in front of the elf. It had never bothered her to much before, she hated the confines of dresses but she did like the beautiful design of them, the freedom she desired was only found in the clothes of men but they were boring and ugly at times. She began to wonder if she could find a way to make them both work for her, and as she thought a picture formed in her mind and for the first time she willingly turned to her needle work.
When her mother found her willingly and diligently working the needle and thread she was thrilled, until she found the rough sketches of the design Arain made, then it just made her angry and appalled. It took Arain nearly a month to finish the outfit, trying to gather the correct martial then on finding a way to piece her idea together, but when it was done she was very proud of it. She unfolded the deep green cloth to try on the finished product. It was a long fitted tunic that fell to her hips but the back of the tunic extended like a skirt but left her legs free to move about , resembling the males long coats except more tailored to her body ,but it clearly was meant to be worn as a shirt not something that went over it.
Arain picked up the second bit of cloth a pair of dark brown colored leggings wearing them with it was feminine yet truly something made for fighting and moving easily in. It was in a deep color made with light and durable material. Pulling on the tunic she smiled at the way the sleeves clung to her arms to allow easy and free movement, it floated about her ankles but didn't tangle between her legs or hamper her movement. The shirt part of it laced and buckled in the front holding a shape that showed her budding curves off flatteringly and her budding chest in their place. Pulling on a pair of dark brown boots that came to a stop below her knees and were as light as any sturdy of her fighting boots, turning she found herself reflected in a mirror. She smiled at the way the clothes made her look.
The figure in the mirror was clearly a woman and the clothes did nothing to hide that fact, actually in Arain's opinion it went out of its way to show she was female. But she looked as dangerous and strong as any man she had seen, but still stayed feminine, it was the very picture of a female warrior in her mind, all strength and muscle, but still graceful and soft but in no way delicate. She smiled and the figure in the mirror copied her, it was an outfit that clearly said 'I'm a woman and a fighter, so just deal with it.' She liked that statement very much. Yet was still feminine and made her look graceful, her mother was scandalized by her creation while many of the older soldiers she got along with and her grandfather praised her on her creation saying it fit a female warrior well. She practiced her weapons in it, ran and climbed trees, and it neither held her back nor got in her way she was extremely pleased with her creation, and the fact her mother was appalled only made it better.
She experimented over the next few years with different cloth, even buying some of it from the elves when they came to trade, making them lighter and more durable even incorporating leather into it to protect her torso as she fought. She even made a couple that were more formal and would be acceptable to a banquet or ball, her mother hated it and she loved it. She worked on her studies and secretly on her weapons as her mother had found a way to stop her lessons during the day, meeting up with Master Elkon during the night so she could practice and working Zatalon when she wanted to escape her lady lessons as she had taken to calling them.
It was what she was doing now, her mother was getting more and more furious and adamant on her lessons all day every day, that Arain at 14 fall's old could no longer take it and escaped to the edges of the forest of Mirkwood for hours on end, after finding a hidden way to the outskirts of the forest. Letting Zatalon run and stretch his legs till they came to their favorite clearing just inside the forest where she would relax in a tree with a book in her lap. With some luck she had acquired an elvish book and had pain staking began to teach herself what she could. Saying she was doing it as a tribute to her mother and her own elvish heritage, it wasn't long after Tallish left Dale that Arain's ears began to become pointed, her sense keener and her features fairer. She also didn't get nearly as tired as most others did and could stay awake late into the night, which worked well for her nightly weapons learning.
Arain sat in her tree deeply entranced in her book as she twirled the single section of pale blonde hair around her finger. Enjoying the quietness of the woods with only the peaceful sounds of nature to distract her she relaxed as she tried to puzzle out the elvish words on the page. But after a second she made a frustrated noise as the meaning to the words eluded her still. Zatalon looked up at her expectantly, and she could have sworn there was a gleam of humor in his dark intelligent eyes.
"Don't look at me like that, you try learning a different language with no one there to help you." Zatalon just went back to chomping on the grass below and swishing his tail at her. "You should be thanking me, not giving me those looks, if it wasn't for me you would never leave the castle walls, though neither of us would if my mother had anything to say about it." Arain groaned and leaned back further in the tree nook, noticing that Zatalon's ears where flicked back towards her listening to her every word.
"I can't stand her now days, I love her but she is becoming too much if it continues I'm might just go insane. It is all I can do to escape her horrible lessons!" She tossed her hands up dramatically, Zatalon snorted but continued to eat at the grass she frowned to herself. "Maybe I already am, not only am I talking to a horse but that horse is my only friend." She sighed dejectedly and delved deep into her thoughts.
It was true Zatalon was her only friend, sure she liked and got along well with Master Elkon and her grandfather but they were adults, none of the others her age wanted anything to do with her. The girls in the castle she had absolutely nothing in common with, while the boys wanted nothing to do with her because she was a girl and didn't belong in battles. Even both she and they knew she could easily out maneuver any of them in a fight, and maybe that was part of the problem. Maybe it was there way at getting back at her for being better than them and for being different.
She carefully touched her ears at this thought, there were many that didn't like the fact she was half-elf, and royalty. Some thought her elvish blood tainted that of the royal blood of Bard the first king of Dale and slayer of Smog. Even her mother was appalled by it though she never said it out load, and tried to get her to cover up her ears, even though she knew that the action caused her sensitive ears pain. But she wasn't ashamed of her heritage and like with most of her mother's demands strongly rebelled against them, and always showed her heritage proudly.
It was the hair raising feeling on the back of her neck that had her quickly standing and balancing in the tree. Alerted by her quick movements Zatalon lifted his head and tested the air before pawing at the ground anxiously he had also felt the eyes watching them. Arain looked around but saw nothing from her spot hidden in the trees, but when Zatalon gave a soft worried nicker and lined up below her she dropped lightly and gracefully into his saddle taking up his reins. She scanned the trees another time and this time caught the almost unseen movement of something there, then spotted the beautiful cool grey blue eyes that watched her. She stared a moment more before heeding to her worried friends prancing beneath her and sent him back towards Dale in an easy canter.