Yesterday was the worst day ever,
And tomorrow won't be better
Its history repeating...on and on...
I feel like, I'm living the worst day, over and over again.
Everyday is the worst day ever.
-Simple Plan, The Worst Day Ever.
Dinner that night was held with the Fellowship, some advisors to the king, and, to Melanie's surprise, Eowyn.
As she took her seat, she said to Eowyn, "Thank you for the clothes."
Eowyn smiled at her, "You're quite welcome, and I daresay they look far better on you than they do me."
'I doubt that,' Melanie said, but then-
"Yes," said Aragorn, "you do look quite lovely in them." This earned a quick smile from Melanie.
They ate the food in silence, Melanie was too hungry to care what she was eating. She was so wrapped up in food, she did not notice one of the king's younger advisers was staring at her through the meal. In fact, his eyes never left her as he ate. Legolas, on the other hand did notice this, and so did Aragorn. They exchanged looks. Legolas kept shooting death glares at the man.
After dinner Melanie walked alone out into the Hall. The men had all decided to have a smoke, and she couldn't take the stench. Eowyn had left the Hall prior to dessert, saying she had tend to her uncle.
She locked the door and threw off her green dress. With a lot of hard work, she was able to find a way out of the corset. She slipped into the white see though gown. Melanie was extremely surprised to see that it was wonderfully soft and comfortable. She brushed her hair quickly and slumped on her bed. God was it good to sleep in a bed!
Then, about an hour later, she heard a knock on the door. Hoping it was Legolas she ran to it and opened it. It was not Legolas.
It was a man from dinner. Melanie strained her brain to remember his name, but she couldn't.
"Hello, uh-"
"Artimas," he said quickly.
"What do you want?" she asked shifting her weight from one foot to another. Melanie didn't like the way his eyes were raking all he could see of her body.
"I would like to ask you if you'd offer me your services for the night, I can pay-" "What do you mean 'my services'?" she asked.
"Your services, you are a prostitute, are you not?"
"NO!" she said, her voice dripping with disgust.
"Then why were you traveling with four men?" he asked.
"None of your business!" she said in anger.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes, take a hint!"
Almost at once, Artamis snapped. He pushed her in to her room, closing the door behind him. He flung her to the floor. She started screaming, and he jumped on top of her. He silenced her with a smack across the mouth. He placed his hand on her forehead, and it seemed as if all troubles were wiped away. How nice it would be to do whatever Artamis wanted. Just relax, a part of her brain told her, it'll be over soon. Artimas smiled in a sick way. He reached out and stroked her chest.
"Yes, yes, you'll do nicely," he said, and brushed his fingers against her lips. He kissed her roughly. Then some other part of her brain took over.
"AHHH! Get off!" and with one gigantic push, she threw him back. As she turned to run, she felt a hand grab her. She turned and swung her fist without looking. Her fist collided with a human skull, and the hand grabbing her released. She was out of the room in three seconds flat, and across the hallway in two. She banged on the door to her friends' room.
"Let me in let me in let me in let me in! OH GOD LET ME IN!" she screamed at the door. It opened to show a shirtless, very confused looking Aragorn. She flew at him, and he found himself holding a shivering, squeaking, and crying Melanie. He closed the door and brought her over to his bed, with Legolas following them the whole way. Once Aragorn set her on the bed, Legolas sat down beside her.
She crawled into his lap and sobbed. He wrapped his arms around her and rocked her back and forth. He softly sang to her, his wonderful voice soothed her. She started to hiccough, and Legolas rubbed her back in slow, steady circles.
"What is wrong, Melanie?" he asked, once she had calmed down.
"Yes, what happened, lass?" asked Gimli. It was the first time she had noticed that not only Aragorn and Legolas were in the room, but that Gimli and Gandalf also stood there.
Her lip started to tremble again, but Legolas pressed his finger against her lips.
She took a deep breath, and as she did so, she noticed that everyone in the room was staring at her.
"I-I was in m-my room," she said, her head pounding as though she was going to throw-up.
"Yes?" said Gandalf.
"And then, Artimas c-came in," as she said this, she saw Legolas stiffen visibly.
"H-he s-said he wanted my services," she said her face screwed up tight at the memory. Legolas stood up in anger. Aragorn laid a hand on the shoulder of Legolas, but he too looked angry. Gandalf looked meditative, and Gimli looked upset.
"And I told him no, and then he barged in. And then, he put his hand on my h-head, and I stood there, I just god-damned stood there!" She took a few breaths.
"He tried to-he tried to-" she buried her face in her hands. Aragorn was angry, but Legolas was livid.
"We must go to the King!" he said vehemently, "And make him punish the foul creature! Nadorhaun [cowardly dog] I call him!"
"We can't," said Melanie quietly. And then Legolas sat back down next to her, confusion evident in his gaze.
"Why not?" asked Legolas.
"Because he won't believe me," she said in an exasperated tone, while bringing her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, protecting herself from the world.
"Unfortunately, she is right," said Gandalf.
"What?" said Legolas, "But this cannot go unpunished!"
"Yes it can," said Melanie, "Besides we need to gain the king's trust, and how can we do it when we start pointing fingers at his men?"
Gandalf, Aragorn, and Gimli looked at her in admiration. Here she was, having just been assaulted, yet she was unwilling to go tell the King. Legolas had never been so furious. But he was not angry at Melanie. He was terribly angry at this fool, Artimas.
"But I don't want to go back there," she said, pointing a trembling finger towards the door. "What if he's still there? Waiting . . ." Suddenly she felt sick. Like disgusted with herself. She could still feel his scabbed hands and rough tongue . . . Gross.
She ran to the bathroom, found the chamber pot, and emptied her dinner into it. She turned around shivering, and saw Legolas and Aragorn in the doorway. She turned and retched again, only to bring up nothing. Then she started to cough up blood. She did not care, if only she could get that terrible feeling out of her system-
"Stop it!" said Aragorn, and she turned around, face red, a tiny bit of spit was trickling down her chin. She wiped it away with the back of her hand.
"It feels so gross," she said, to nobody in particular.
"You must stop, or you will damage your stomach," said Aragorn.
"Don't make me go back there," she said.
This was all Legolas could stand. He walked over to her, flipped her up as if she weighed nothing, and then brought her over to his bed, where he set her down gently.
"You will sleep here," he said, in his princely commanding tone, "I shall sleep in your room," he said, unwavering.
"No, don't leave," she said, before she could stop herself.
"Fine, then the floor," he said, without a blink of the eye.
Before she could do anything, Gandalf and Gimli had left the room, and Aragorn had blown out the light, and the room was sent into pitch darkness.
She tried to get to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she would see his eyes, burning with desire, and it made her ill. After she could not take it anymore, silently as she could, she scooted over to the edge of her bed. "Legolas?" she whispered.
"I am here," answered a voice from directly below her.
"Can you come up here please?" she asked nervously.
There was a silence, and then, "If that is what you want." And he stood up and laid down at the edge, as though he was trying to not touch any part of her. Melanie sighed and grabbed him by the waist and pulled him closer to her. He let out a startled little noise, but Melanie did not care. Right now she needed a teddy bear.
She ran her fingers through his hair absentmindedly. She breathed in deeply. He smelled of the woods, fresh and clean.
"What are you doing?" he asked. It sounded as if he was extremely startled.
"I dunno," she said sleepily.
"Go to sleep," he whispered.
She woke up nice, warm and cozy. Legolas's wonderful woodsy smell hit her. Normally she wouldn't be a morning person, but waking up like this was too wonderful for her to be crabby.
"Good morning blondie," she said in her small voice.
"Good morning," said Legolas, still in sleep mode. She rubbed his back, pressing on the pressure points. "To many knots in your back, Legolas." she said.
Legolas smiled. Then Aragorn stepped into his line of vision. He sat up quickly. Melanie sat up too, stretching and yawning.
Aragorn was wearing a slight frown. Legolas stood up. "Legolas, may I please speak to you privately?" asked Aragorn.
Legolas turned to Melanie, who nodded. The two men walked out of the room together.
"Yes, Aragorn?" said Legolas, once they were out in the hallway. Aragorn turned and looked straight into his eyes. "It is about Melanie," he said finally.
"What about her?" said Legolas innocently.
"I spoke to Gandalf privately about her," Aragorn continued.
"So?"
"So," said Aragorn, his voice becoming softer and softer.
"So what?"
"I found out from Gandalf how she might be able to serve the Dark lord."
"How?"
"She is the the Morier [Dark One], the one able to bear the Dark Lord's child."
Legolas opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. Her grey eyes came to mind. Had they seen more than they should have? "But-but she's not- she hasn't-"
"No," said Aragorn, "Not yet anyway, but I am telling you this because she must be protected. The rising of another Dark Lord, is something that I do not believe this world can handle. The Dark Lord's child would destroy the world, Legolas, as he is not bound to the ring as Sauron is. The destruction of the ring would kill the father, but not the son. Although Sauron is busy, he has not forgotten his back-up plan, in the rare case he feels he will be defeated, the child will be planted. We must make sure this does not happen."
"I know this," Legolas responded, "I will protect her with my life."
"And if she is taken, what then? We must make a back up plan. We die, there will be no one to watch her. If we die, she must be killed too."
Legolas said, "She must know."Aragorn suddenly shook his head but Legolas was already heading back into the room. He opened the door and ran headlong into Melanie, who had been listening at the keyhole.
And tomorrow won't be better
Its history repeating...on and on...
I feel like, I'm living the worst day, over and over again.
Everyday is the worst day ever.
-Simple Plan, The Worst Day Ever.
Dinner that night was held with the Fellowship, some advisors to the king, and, to Melanie's surprise, Eowyn.
As she took her seat, she said to Eowyn, "Thank you for the clothes."
Eowyn smiled at her, "You're quite welcome, and I daresay they look far better on you than they do me."
'I doubt that,' Melanie said, but then-
"Yes," said Aragorn, "you do look quite lovely in them." This earned a quick smile from Melanie.
They ate the food in silence, Melanie was too hungry to care what she was eating. She was so wrapped up in food, she did not notice one of the king's younger advisers was staring at her through the meal. In fact, his eyes never left her as he ate. Legolas, on the other hand did notice this, and so did Aragorn. They exchanged looks. Legolas kept shooting death glares at the man.
After dinner Melanie walked alone out into the Hall. The men had all decided to have a smoke, and she couldn't take the stench. Eowyn had left the Hall prior to dessert, saying she had tend to her uncle.
She locked the door and threw off her green dress. With a lot of hard work, she was able to find a way out of the corset. She slipped into the white see though gown. Melanie was extremely surprised to see that it was wonderfully soft and comfortable. She brushed her hair quickly and slumped on her bed. God was it good to sleep in a bed!
Then, about an hour later, she heard a knock on the door. Hoping it was Legolas she ran to it and opened it. It was not Legolas.
It was a man from dinner. Melanie strained her brain to remember his name, but she couldn't.
"Hello, uh-"
"Artimas," he said quickly.
"What do you want?" she asked shifting her weight from one foot to another. Melanie didn't like the way his eyes were raking all he could see of her body.
"I would like to ask you if you'd offer me your services for the night, I can pay-" "What do you mean 'my services'?" she asked.
"Your services, you are a prostitute, are you not?"
"NO!" she said, her voice dripping with disgust.
"Then why were you traveling with four men?" he asked.
"None of your business!" she said in anger.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes, take a hint!"
Almost at once, Artamis snapped. He pushed her in to her room, closing the door behind him. He flung her to the floor. She started screaming, and he jumped on top of her. He silenced her with a smack across the mouth. He placed his hand on her forehead, and it seemed as if all troubles were wiped away. How nice it would be to do whatever Artamis wanted. Just relax, a part of her brain told her, it'll be over soon. Artimas smiled in a sick way. He reached out and stroked her chest.
"Yes, yes, you'll do nicely," he said, and brushed his fingers against her lips. He kissed her roughly. Then some other part of her brain took over.
"AHHH! Get off!" and with one gigantic push, she threw him back. As she turned to run, she felt a hand grab her. She turned and swung her fist without looking. Her fist collided with a human skull, and the hand grabbing her released. She was out of the room in three seconds flat, and across the hallway in two. She banged on the door to her friends' room.
"Let me in let me in let me in let me in! OH GOD LET ME IN!" she screamed at the door. It opened to show a shirtless, very confused looking Aragorn. She flew at him, and he found himself holding a shivering, squeaking, and crying Melanie. He closed the door and brought her over to his bed, with Legolas following them the whole way. Once Aragorn set her on the bed, Legolas sat down beside her.
She crawled into his lap and sobbed. He wrapped his arms around her and rocked her back and forth. He softly sang to her, his wonderful voice soothed her. She started to hiccough, and Legolas rubbed her back in slow, steady circles.
"What is wrong, Melanie?" he asked, once she had calmed down.
"Yes, what happened, lass?" asked Gimli. It was the first time she had noticed that not only Aragorn and Legolas were in the room, but that Gimli and Gandalf also stood there.
Her lip started to tremble again, but Legolas pressed his finger against her lips.
She took a deep breath, and as she did so, she noticed that everyone in the room was staring at her.
"I-I was in m-my room," she said, her head pounding as though she was going to throw-up.
"Yes?" said Gandalf.
"And then, Artimas c-came in," as she said this, she saw Legolas stiffen visibly.
"H-he s-said he wanted my services," she said her face screwed up tight at the memory. Legolas stood up in anger. Aragorn laid a hand on the shoulder of Legolas, but he too looked angry. Gandalf looked meditative, and Gimli looked upset.
"And I told him no, and then he barged in. And then, he put his hand on my h-head, and I stood there, I just god-damned stood there!" She took a few breaths.
"He tried to-he tried to-" she buried her face in her hands. Aragorn was angry, but Legolas was livid.
"We must go to the King!" he said vehemently, "And make him punish the foul creature! Nadorhaun [cowardly dog] I call him!"
"We can't," said Melanie quietly. And then Legolas sat back down next to her, confusion evident in his gaze.
"Why not?" asked Legolas.
"Because he won't believe me," she said in an exasperated tone, while bringing her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, protecting herself from the world.
"Unfortunately, she is right," said Gandalf.
"What?" said Legolas, "But this cannot go unpunished!"
"Yes it can," said Melanie, "Besides we need to gain the king's trust, and how can we do it when we start pointing fingers at his men?"
Gandalf, Aragorn, and Gimli looked at her in admiration. Here she was, having just been assaulted, yet she was unwilling to go tell the King. Legolas had never been so furious. But he was not angry at Melanie. He was terribly angry at this fool, Artimas.
"But I don't want to go back there," she said, pointing a trembling finger towards the door. "What if he's still there? Waiting . . ." Suddenly she felt sick. Like disgusted with herself. She could still feel his scabbed hands and rough tongue . . . Gross.
She ran to the bathroom, found the chamber pot, and emptied her dinner into it. She turned around shivering, and saw Legolas and Aragorn in the doorway. She turned and retched again, only to bring up nothing. Then she started to cough up blood. She did not care, if only she could get that terrible feeling out of her system-
"Stop it!" said Aragorn, and she turned around, face red, a tiny bit of spit was trickling down her chin. She wiped it away with the back of her hand.
"It feels so gross," she said, to nobody in particular.
"You must stop, or you will damage your stomach," said Aragorn.
"Don't make me go back there," she said.
This was all Legolas could stand. He walked over to her, flipped her up as if she weighed nothing, and then brought her over to his bed, where he set her down gently.
"You will sleep here," he said, in his princely commanding tone, "I shall sleep in your room," he said, unwavering.
"No, don't leave," she said, before she could stop herself.
"Fine, then the floor," he said, without a blink of the eye.
Before she could do anything, Gandalf and Gimli had left the room, and Aragorn had blown out the light, and the room was sent into pitch darkness.
She tried to get to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she would see his eyes, burning with desire, and it made her ill. After she could not take it anymore, silently as she could, she scooted over to the edge of her bed. "Legolas?" she whispered.
"I am here," answered a voice from directly below her.
"Can you come up here please?" she asked nervously.
There was a silence, and then, "If that is what you want." And he stood up and laid down at the edge, as though he was trying to not touch any part of her. Melanie sighed and grabbed him by the waist and pulled him closer to her. He let out a startled little noise, but Melanie did not care. Right now she needed a teddy bear.
She ran her fingers through his hair absentmindedly. She breathed in deeply. He smelled of the woods, fresh and clean.
"What are you doing?" he asked. It sounded as if he was extremely startled.
"I dunno," she said sleepily.
"Go to sleep," he whispered.
She woke up nice, warm and cozy. Legolas's wonderful woodsy smell hit her. Normally she wouldn't be a morning person, but waking up like this was too wonderful for her to be crabby.
"Good morning blondie," she said in her small voice.
"Good morning," said Legolas, still in sleep mode. She rubbed his back, pressing on the pressure points. "To many knots in your back, Legolas." she said.
Legolas smiled. Then Aragorn stepped into his line of vision. He sat up quickly. Melanie sat up too, stretching and yawning.
Aragorn was wearing a slight frown. Legolas stood up. "Legolas, may I please speak to you privately?" asked Aragorn.
Legolas turned to Melanie, who nodded. The two men walked out of the room together.
"Yes, Aragorn?" said Legolas, once they were out in the hallway. Aragorn turned and looked straight into his eyes. "It is about Melanie," he said finally.
"What about her?" said Legolas innocently.
"I spoke to Gandalf privately about her," Aragorn continued.
"So?"
"So," said Aragorn, his voice becoming softer and softer.
"So what?"
"I found out from Gandalf how she might be able to serve the Dark lord."
"How?"
"She is the the Morier [Dark One], the one able to bear the Dark Lord's child."
Legolas opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. Her grey eyes came to mind. Had they seen more than they should have? "But-but she's not- she hasn't-"
"No," said Aragorn, "Not yet anyway, but I am telling you this because she must be protected. The rising of another Dark Lord, is something that I do not believe this world can handle. The Dark Lord's child would destroy the world, Legolas, as he is not bound to the ring as Sauron is. The destruction of the ring would kill the father, but not the son. Although Sauron is busy, he has not forgotten his back-up plan, in the rare case he feels he will be defeated, the child will be planted. We must make sure this does not happen."
"I know this," Legolas responded, "I will protect her with my life."
"And if she is taken, what then? We must make a back up plan. We die, there will be no one to watch her. If we die, she must be killed too."
Legolas said, "She must know."Aragorn suddenly shook his head but Legolas was already heading back into the room. He opened the door and ran headlong into Melanie, who had been listening at the keyhole.