Still no bites on the challenge. Just a refresh, the challenge is what meaning/importance/context do the chapter titles have. I will give you a hint and say that this one has a play on words in it.

Chapter 10 Take A Bow

The next day Aragorn showed up at her door looking pissed. In a stiff voice he said

"We have to go to the armoury, to get you your weapons."

"Good morning to you too." she was wearing a dress to save her own clothes for the journey, every little bit helped, she knew what they had to go though and wanted them to last. Also she thought she would have it burned, no chiselled, into the fellowships heads that she was a woman; so that when they were traveling they could see that woman were more than pretty dresses and dancing. Clearly they had never been to high school and had no idea how mean women could be. Not that she wanted to be mean, her goal was toughness. Like Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep or in to Have and Have Not, or even better like Marion Ravenwood in the Indiana Jones movies. Yes that was her goal.

Aragorn walked in an angry silence while Annwn skipped along beside him, unaffected by the proverbial thunder cloud over his head. Man did he ever need to get the stick out of his ass.

When then reached the armoury they had displayed a number of shorter Gondorian and Roheriam style swords/knives in their sheathes. Annwn thought they all looked very beautiful, as swords go.

"Well don't just stand there! Try them!" Aragorn snapped. He only got stuck with this because Gandalf said it had to be done and Boromir didn't want to have anything to do with her and Aragorn was the better swordsman of the two. It was the first time he regretted his skill with a sword.

Annwn walked up and down the line and touched each one. Then she saw it. It was the most beautiful sword she had ever seen and with elf made blades hanging next to it that was saying something, it was longer than the ones for her to choose from, almost as long as the men's swords. It was not in the line up but hanging with other larger swords on the wall.

She left the table and went over to it. Running her fingertips along its length she knew it was the one for her, how, she didn't know. She just...knew. It was so shiny she could see her face in the blade (she felt like Mulan), the hilt was gilded with gold and engraved with leaves and horses as well as stars and at the pommel there was a dark blue stone the size of a loonie. She was about to take it off the wall when Aragorn sternly said

"Not that one! You're to choose from these. That one is too long." And women shouldn't fight the battles of men. He thought to himself. Especially this one. She was tiny, weak and soft, her only power was in her tongue. She'll be complaining in no time.

"How do you know it's too long?" she challenged

"There is a relationship between the size of the person and the size of sword they should use." He said it like he was talking to a four year old.

"Then why do you have me choosing from hobbit sized swords?" she gave him the Spock eyebrow.

"Because these are the ones you allowed to choose from."

"Fine." Annwn the first word in the line and unsheathed it. The sound was satisfying, but she didn't like anything else about it. The grip was too short, the pommel jammed into her hand. She put it back. Aragorn rolled his eyes.

The next one's blade was too short, the next, while it looked finer was way too heavy. They all seemed to have something wrong with them. This made Annwn surer as to which one was for her, while it made Aragorn more pissed off. She could practically see the steam coming out of his ears.

"None of them are right."

"How should you know, you've never held a sword before in your life." He muttered. Yes thought Annwn, he'll make a great king, once he grows up.

"No, but I would think it's like getting a pair of shoes, you know when they don't fit. I know that one fits." She pointed at the one on the wall.

"That one, while it looks pretty and shinny, is not fit for use."

"Why not?" she challenged

"Because it was made by an apprentice sword maker and the balance is off. Along with the fact that it's too long for you, as an inexperienced swordsman."

"No harm in trying." Annwn hurried over to the sword took it off the wall and unsheathed it in one fluid motion before he could stop her. She looked it over in her hand and swung it around in the same way she would a wrapping paper roll at Christmas. It felt like an extension of her arm. Not too heavy, not to light and definitely not too long.

"See?"

"Fine. Let's see if it's still so great when you have a sword against it." He rushed her through the basics and found that she had a good memory for the moves. Aragorn was also shocked to find that she seemed to be doing better than fine with this odd, miss balanced sword then he would ever have imagined. And there was the fact that she was in a floor length dress.

"Have you had any training in swords?" Now he asks! Thought Annwn

"Other than this and what I learned playing with wrapping paper rolls at Christmas, no."

"Very well. Now you get to go over to Legolas and find a bow. Come!"

With her new sword in hand Annwn followed. When they reached the archery area Aragorn seemed only too happy to dump her with Legolas. She swore she heard him muttering what sounded like 'good riddance'.

"Good bye Aragorn." She called after him in a sweet voice. He didn't respond.

"Good morning Lady Annwn, have you ever fired a bow before?"

"Yes."

"Good, do you know what kind of wood it was made of?"

"No." But she did, it wasn't wood at all, it was one of those synthetic ones, but he didn't need to know that.

"Very well, how was your shot?"

"Alright, but the target was big, ten feet away and not moving." It was a hay bale.

"Very well. Let's try this one." He was a lot better at this than Aragorn was. After trying all of the short bows it was evident that Annwn was the most competent with the one that Legolas had suggested in the beginning. It was made from dark brown yew wood and, unlike her sword, clearly elvish.

"With practice you will improve steadily. Though for a human learning as an adult you are better than most." He handed her a quiver of arrows.

"Thanks." He proceeded to walk her to Gandalf's room. He wanted to talk to her and asked Legolas to escort her. They walked in silence until Annwn broached a question on the elf.

"How long have you known Aragorn?"

"Many years. Why?" he looked at her

"Is he always so grouchy?" there was a small smile on his face now.

"In general yes, though you seem to anger him more than most."

"Oh fantastic." Annwn said wearily

"He is kind to those who do not anger him. I would suggest you try to be less combative with him."

"Yeah. Sure." Annwn agreed but knew that she wouldn't be, not ever. If he was going to be king, he had to learn to suffer fools, and people with stronger wills than his own, like her.

Review thanks to Kyonkichi9

Story Alert thanks to milerz the narwall

Favourite Author thanks to Kyonkichi9

So...you didn't get another chapter because I watched Pulp Fiction, Shaun of the Dead (my first zombie film) and Fargo in the last three days, at a rate of one per night. That much...um culture, kinda blew my mind for a bit. But have no fear, I collected all the bits of my brain and put them back in order so here is your chapter. I still like to know what you think.