Stella became both excited and anxious in the passing days. She was eager to see this world she had landed in but feared her lack of skill would allow herself to become an easy target. In the midst of her panic she noticed that there were rushed preparations being made for the fellowships departure.
Stella hoped she could find another shirt and pair of pants, although she noticed that the women here only wore long dresses. The thought made Stella shiver; she had been forced into annoying and constrictive dresses for her job and had every intention to never go back to that.
The group was set to leave in a week when Aragorn approached her looking as if he was struggling with the words he wanted. She smiled at him encouraging him to speak his mind.
"I want to see your skills with weapons," he paused looking at her, "you said before that you had taken the time to learn the weapons of your home. I want to make sure that you are as familiar with the weapons of this world."
Stella knew that this was coming, she didn't want to explain the types of weapons that she knew how to use mostly because they would make no sense and make her sound crazy.
"Okay, I can do that. I do have to warn you, where I am from nobody uses a sword." Stella smiled at him "That doesn't mean I can't learn, and you have already seen that I can take care of myself hand-to-hand." She said, "I have a pretty decent shot, but I guess if I had to pick one I was best at, it would be knives."
He nodded taking her hand and leading her to a large grassy area. From his belt he drew a small dagger and handed it to her. She smiled weighing the object in her hand it was different from anything she had at home it was elegant and light.
"What can you do with it?" Aragorn asked.
"Attack me." She stated drawing the dagger up into her sleeve pressing the blade against her wrist.
He circled her for a minute before lunging at her side right out of her line of sight. She reacted quickly spinning to the side, catching him off guard, before facing him head on slowly letting the dagger drop past her palm still concealed enough that it could not be seen by her opponent. Aragorn looked shocked before coming at her again, this time fists raised.
Stella laughed, 'completely different worlds and still all men fight the same' she thought ruefully. She sparred with him for several minutes using the dagger to leave small cuts just deep enough to weaken his attacks. She soon tired of this style of fighting, knowing that it wasn't exactly fair because he had no weapon. She grabbed his arm as he moved to throw another punch, that she easily side-stepped, using his weight to fling herself over his shoulder and landing on his back the dagger pressed to his neck.
Stella let out a light laugh before whispering in Aragorn's ear.
"I think that means I won." She was excited, glad that she still had some amount of skills here.
Letting out another short chuckle she quickly threw the dagger into one of the surrounding tree, lodging it directly into a knot in the tree. She dismounted Aragorn's back and moved to retrieve the dagger.
"That was very impressive." Aragorn stated, though Stella could tell he was a bit peeved that he had lost to her. "You said you have a good shot, want to show me?"
Stella shrugged, when she had said that she meant with a gun but 'what was the difference really?' she asked herself. She had only picked up a bow and arrow twice, and both times she had been corrected for ding something wrong, but she knew the basic rules behind it.
'Three fingers to pull back and don't hyperextend either arm' she thought to her self as she picked her target. She pulled back careful not to draw back too far but weary of not pulling back far enough. She took a deep breath; this part is the same as the firing range. Line up the shot; feet shoulder width apart, eyes open, aim, and fire. She released the arrow and to her surprise it didn't land at her feet, as she had half expected, instead it glided through the air landing not anywhere near the centre of her target but it did reach her intended goal. She smiled as she looked back to Aragorn.
He frowned "were you aiming to miss?" he asked, his face was serious although his voice held a small amount of humour.
"Well to be fair, when I talked about my shot I wasn't talking about this." She gestured at the bow and quiver that now lay in the ground. "Back home we have these things called guns. They are very powerful and work by using a small spark to ignite an explosive powder that shoots a piece of metal at a target."
She smiled at his confusion and look awe as she described a gun.
"It works sort of like an arrow but it's stronger and takes significantly less skill that a bow." She looked down "I hate guns but I wanted to feel safe so I learned anyways."
Aragorn nodded still lost by her description of that weapon. Not noticing when she had asked him a question. She waved her hand in his face trying to get his attention.
"Woohoo! Anyone there, did you even hear what I just asked?" she laughed.
Aragorn shook his head coming back to the conversation.
"I asked if I could ask you a question?" she looked up at him shyly.
He nodded again not sure where this was going.
"I don't really know anyone else on this adventure thing besides you," she started, "and Boromir", she added with a shiver "I was just hoping you could introduce me, or at least tell me a little bit about them." She was smirking now, knowing just how to get under his skin.
"Especially Legolas he is so beautiful." she sighed adopting a wistful look in her eye, "I mean have you seen the way he walks, with so much importance, and his eyes, I could get lost in his eye." She chuckled as she saw Aragorn's shock turn into disgust.
''Forgive me I was under the impression that I held your affections, if that is not the case I suppose I could say something to him." He looked down in true disappointment.
Stella couldn't help but laugh at Aragorn's disappointment.
"I was only joking!" she exclaimed "You do hold my affections, I wouldn't look twice at him when I could look at you. Besides blond men aren't my type. I always preferred dark hair, a tall man, with a little stubble." She whispered
She was stroking his cheek, moving up on her toes, snaking her hands around his neck, pleased when his arms came to rest on her hips. She was so close to him, she could easily close the small gap, and she looked up into his eyes. He was inching his head closer to hers never breaking eye contact. Just as their lips were about to touch Stella heard a small rustling sound, she looked around and her eyes grew large. Aragorn looked around following Stella's gaze and then he saw her, Arwen.
She stood there analysing the situation she had walked in on. She looked at them with a small frown and wet eyes. Stella felt awful, just because she was with Aragorn now didn't mean that she had to flaunt it in the woman's face. Arwen opened her mouth to say something before shutting it again and rushing away. She was not quite fast enough as they heard her cry only a few seconds later.
Stella slowly withdrew her arms looking guilty but not wanting to brig it up again. Aragorn looked somewhere between angry and guilty.
"So how about you introduce me to the rest of this motley crew?" she asked hoping it would diffuse the tension.
It only worked half as well as she wanted it to as he smiled at her before leading her back to the building they had come from and into a room with many tables. The three people she would be spending the foreseeable future with occupied one table in the corner far out of the line of sight. It looked as if Gimli and Legolas were in a heated argument and Gandalf sat there trying to lessen the tension between the two.
"For the last time, it really is good! Just give it a try." Legolas implored, pushing the plate of greens towards the dwarf.
Gimli harrumphed looking down at the plate in disgust.
"I will not even grace it with the title of food!" He exclaimed
"The stubbornness of a dwarf is truly unparalleled. No wonder you all decide to live in caves, rock is the only substance that can withstand the strength of your head!" Legolas fumed.
Gimli opened his mouth to retort but the old wizard intervened, effectively ending the argument.
"Ah, Aragorn, how nice of you to join us!" he exclaimed, "And Stella, we have not yet met." Gandalf's eyes looked friendly as he observed the couple. "Sit! Sit!" he motioned to two free chairs.
"Legolas, Gimli, this is Stella." Aragorn introduced her to the group.
"How could we forget such a pretty face," Gimli stated gruffly "not to mention the amazing display the other day." He laughed.
This comment earned a chuckle from the three other men and Stella beamed.
"Ah, master dwarf, do not underestimate the girl's talent," Aragorn chuckled "She showed me up today with a dagger." He was boasting now.
Stella figured it was because he wanted to keep the conversation ignoring Legolas. 'Maybe I made him a little jealous' Stella thought with a smirk as she continued to talk to Gimli about her talents.
"Daggers are all well and good," Legolas cut in sharply "but you will need to know far more than that to survive on this journey."
Stella scowled and Aragorn couldn't help but feel pleased that they weren't getting on well.
"I am perfectly capable of other things. Back home I had one of the cleanest shots, head and chest every time." she boasted, "It is hardly my fault that the weaponry here is rather lacking in my strong suit." She said with a small smile.
Legolas looked shocked unsure of how to respond.
"What does that mean? An archer is an archer regardless of location." He finally responded with a furrowed brow.
"Well that would be the problem then wouldn't it? I am not an archer." She concluded.
"But you shot things?" Gimli interjected looking just as confused as the elf.
"Well, yes but not arrows. You know what just forget it. I have already explained it once today and I really don't think I could do it again." She resisted the urge to yell at their naïveté remembering that she wasn't home anymore.
"Well I could help you," Legolas offered, "If you want, that is." The second part of his sentence was lost as he caught the furious look Aragorn shot him before he looked away.
Stella looked over at Aragorn confused 'great his super possessive, why does this not surprise me?' she thought. She reached for his hand that rested in his lap giving it a small encouraging squeeze while smiling. She saw his shoulders relax before re-joining the conversation.
"What is it that you did in your home?" Gimli questioned
Stella smiled, 'even it different worlds the questions are the same'.
"I was a student," she started "but really the whole reason I went to school was to ride horses." She stated. "I wasn't half bad either, I rode them competitively." She smiled remembering Ares she missed him desperately.
Legolas' eyes lit up as she mentioned the horses.
"You are sure you are not an elf?" he joked
Stella smiled
"I'm pretty sure. Seeing, as elves don't exist back home. I mean we have stories about elves but in every story they are under 4 feet tall and either work for a fat man making presents for boys and girls, or they are enslaved and forbidden from wearing proper clothes." She smirked at the horror Legolas' face.
Gimli snorted into his drink causing him to cough and splutter.
"Excuse me?" Legolas shouted, "That is insulting!" he fumed turning red.
The rest of the group just laughed at his reaction to the news.
The group continued talking for a while more before Stella could no longer suppress her yawns. She excused herself and as she left the room she heard Aragorn excuse himself as well. She walked to her room knowing Aragorn was following close behind her.
As she made it to her door she paused. She liked him a lot but she really didn't want him in her room, mostly because she didn't trust herself. He came up behind her mid thought. He wrapped his hands around her waist, turning her around to face him and pressing her into a hug.
Stella giggled into the hug, not wanting it to end. Finally when he pulled away she saw the look in his eye.
"I just had to come and say goodnight. And apologise for my behaviour back there I just couldn't help but think about what you said earlier." He looked guilty.
Stella laughed.
"Oh you are just a big sweetie under all of that!" she exclaimed running her hand over his arm, she noticed his small wince as she ran her hand over her forearm. She was at a loss for the reason until it dawn on her, when they were fighting earlier that day she had nicked him several times with the dagger.
Her mouth formed a small 'oh' shape as she looked down at his arms, the sleeves of is white shirt were speckled with red dots.
"Why didn't you say something?" she questioned, embarrassed that she hadn't noticed earlier.
"They are nothing, it's fine." He shrugged.
Stella was not about to ignore the cuts now that she saw them.
"Here, why don't you come in and I can at least clean them up." She offered. He opened his mouth to protest but Stella was hearing none of it. "Don't be stubborn, besides it isn't everyday I ask a man to come into my room." She smirked.
Stella opened the door and took a calming breath before motioning for him to come in. He still looked uneasy, but followed her in. She pointed to a small table and he sat down allowing her to roll up his sleeves. He hissed as she pressed a wet cloth to the cuts.
"I'm sorry," She whispered, "for hurting you, I just wanted to prove that I could take care of myself."
He nodded "Well I would say that you did that." He chucked.
She tried to find a position for her to sit in that was going to be comfortable as she saw the multitude of cuts she had left on him. She had him sit facing the table and she climbed up facing him, letting her legs dangle over the edge falling at the sides of his thighs. She noticed him tense as he took in their position and proximity. She smirked as she cleaned the last of his visible cuts they now just looked like red lines.
"Any more?" she asked.
He looked uncomfortable, but nodded his head.
"Are you going to show me?" she asked again, getting annoyed with his standoffish behaviour.
"It's fine," he started to protest.
Stella cut him off by suddenly tugging his shirt over his head, looking at his torso. 'Calm down, Stella, you have seen guys in much less' she reminded herself, but boys back home never quite looked like this. He was beautiful; he had strong muscles that rippled under her touch. She took another calming breath and then sucked it in again as she saw the rather nasty gash she had left on his side. 'Great now I can add injuring a king to list of things I have done' she thought sarcastically.
She slowly began cleaning the cut, inching her body closer to his, pretending that she was doing it to get more comfortable as she cleaned the gash.
When she was done she pulled away looking at his face. He didn't look upset by her actions so she took that as a good sign.
"I'm sorry." She stated again.
He just shook his head moving closer to her.
"Don't be, you are strong." He whispered.
His body kept creeping closer to hers before slowly his lips touched hers. It was a slow sweet kiss, not demanding in any way. She pulled his head closer to hers with her arms around his neck. His hands to the top of her thighs making slow patterns that drifted up further and further. She moved her hands over his shoulder blades and down his well sculpted back.
Slowly she pulled back looking in his eyes before she let out a small yawn. He chuckled before moving away putting his shirt back on. Stella couldn't help but pout a little. He laughed and kissed her forehead.
"You should get some rest." He said with a chuckle still in his voice.
"You should get some rest too. Oh look there's a bed right there" she joked pointing over at the bed.
He laughed,
"Goodnight Stella." He whispered before heading out of the room.
She shook her head, unsure of that made her act and say those things. 'I guess it's just what he does to me. Next time I should probably hold my tongue' she thought as she got into the bed.
