Chapter 12: A Fresh new Day.

The day had dawned bright and true, but as bright as the day was it did little to improve my dark mood. As I had suspected Boromir took it upon himself to pretend as if I didn't exist, choosing instead to have his breakfast with Aragorn. It felt odd not to have the company of the Gondorian for breakfast; he'd been sharing the meal with me for months now, and his sudden departure from the tradition wasn't missed by the rest of the fellowship. Aragorn had given his companion a questioning look, one that was met with a glare by the flaxen haired male. Boromir really was in a miserable mood, and it was entirely my fault. One person, however, found this all rather amusing, and that was Legolas. As soon as the elf had figured out myself and Boromir had fallen out he had broken out into a grin, and was now making it his personal mission to make my life a misery.

"So, did Boromir finally figure out your pathetic little plan to seduce him?"

Geeze, was the elf still on that? Did he seriously think that was why Boromir wasn't speaking to me? I found the whole thing so pathetic, I never thought that Elves could be so petty, but then again from my knowledge of the books there did seem to be a great many elves that thought themselves to be above the over races. It wouldn't surprise me if Legolas was one such elf, especially given whom his father was and his upbringing.

"I am not trying to seduce anyone, far from it. I am here to help Frodo, as are you ... now if you would excuse me, I am going to go check on Bill."

I pushed my empty bowl toward Pippin seeing as it was his task to clean the wooden cutlery today. The hobbit took the item from me gleefully, and I couldn't tell if it was because he could finish with his washing, or if he was now pleased to be away from the argument. As for Legolas, he seemed to take my comment in stride, a pursed look on his face that made me wonder if he was secretly eating lemons. Perhaps he should eat some; it might well have improved his mood. As I walked past the elf, I made a rude motion with my fingers, letting the elf know my pent up feelings toward him.

The elf wouldn't know what the gesture meant, it was a recent sign and couldn't be more than a few hundred years old - but it still felt nice to flip the two fingered salute toward the elf. It wasn't often that someone got me to make such a rude gesture, I was generally a calm person and not easily riled, but it had been a very long time since someone picked on me like this. As a child, I might have withdrawn into my own thoughts, and let such things happen, but now I felt like it was time to defend myself against the elf. It wasn't as if Boromir was going to come along to stand up for me now! I gave a shake of my head at the audacity of the elf I slowly made my way to where Bill was tethered.

The pony seemed to be at ease, chewing at the sparse grass that grew at our current altitude. He had no awareness of the politics around him; he was just solely focused on filling his belly for the journey ahead. I brushed my hand over the coat of the equine, enjoying the sensation of his beautiful coat and warm body. The pony was well muscled, a great beast of burden for all our extra gear - and for the most part, Bill seemed to enjoy the task that had been given to him. I heard footsteps approaching and was surprised to find that it was Gimli that was approaching. The dwarf had not talked to me since I joined the fellowship, and I was not expecting him to come up to me as he just had.

"Don't you be listening to that stupid elf. Dunno what he is talking about, Thinks he is so high and mighty. Pah. He's a fool."

I gave the dwarf a smile, my palm resting on the brow of the grazing pony. It was nice to hear that someone else felt the same way about the elf, that I wasn't alone in my distaste of the immortal. The journey would change Legolas, that much I knew. By the end of the journey Legolas and Gimli would be friends, and I could only hope that he could be a lot nicer to me by that point also.

"I don't pay him any mind; I just wish he would focus on the task at hand. You wouldn't think he was thousands of years old; he's more like a petulant teenager."

Gimli chuckled, slapping me on my back so hard that I almost choked. The dwarf didn't know his own strength! The slap may have been quite hard, but I didn't mind at all, I knew that this was Gimli's way of being comradely. I felt a great joy that I had won a friendship with another member of the fellowship, and I felt that perhaps things wouldn't be so bad after all. I gave the straps of the pony a final check before I started to lead Bill toward where Gandalf was now waiting. Gimli followed close to my side, one hand resting on one of his axes.

"I misjudged you Freya. You're not so bad after all."

It was nice to hear the dwarf say that, and I, in turn, gave the short male a friendly slap on his shoulder. It was something that was met by a hearty yell of amusement from the auburn-haired man, and he flashed a gesture toward the elf that had to be somewhat rude in this world. Not that I knew what it meant, and I made a note to ask the dwarf later. Gandalf was calling for the rest of the fellowship to gather up so that we might get back on the road. By the time Gimli and I arrived at the spot the wizard was leaning on his staff heavily, his weary eyes watching the hobbits as they finished up with their breakfast. The hobbits seemed to be most disappointed that they were not getting their second breakfast if their soft mutterings were anything to go by.

"Come now young hobbits. We don't have much time, and there are many miles to walk."

Pippin groaned, as did Merry, but despite their protests they hurried with their packing and eventually came over to where we stood. Sam seemed to be a lot less vocal about the lack of a second breakfast, but I knew that to be because he took this journey a lot more seriously than what the other hobbits did. Frodo himself was quiet and withdrawn, and I felt sorry for the poor fellow. He'd already suffered so much during his travels, and I knew that there were many more trials to come for the poor young man. I was pulled away from my thoughts by a poke in my side, a poke that caused me to jump and look at Gimli with wide eyes.

"Come on lass, don't want to get left behind now do you."

Were we already walking? Geeze I really wasn't paying the least bit of attention if I had missed that. I instantly set out after Gimli, jogging so that I would be able to catch up with the rest of the fellowship. I could just about make out Gandalf's hat bobbing along right at the front of our column with Legolas not far behind. Hopefully, the elf would stay with the wizard for the rest of the day because then, at least, I wouldn't have to deal with him! Snorting I kept up my pace until I was in the middle of the fellowship with Merry ahead of me, Gimli to one side, and Pippin behind. The rear of the fellowship was brought up by Aragorn and Boromir, each man seeming quite at ease in this wild landscape.

Despite their calm looks, I could tell that two humans were still on high alert, their eyes scanning the wilderness as they talked in low whisperers. I couldn't quite hear what they were talking about, but I got the feeling they were talking about me, every so often I caught one or the other looking in my direction. I scowled and turned my attention to Gimli, wanting to distract myself from the pair. I gave the small male a bit of a nudge with my elbow, drawing his attention to me in the process.

"So Gimli, that gesture you made ... how rude was it exactly?"

The dwarf offered me a toothy grin. Any other male of this time would not have offended my 'sensibilities' by revealing the information, but the dwarf wasn't one such person. Perhaps it was because their women folk were treated more like equals in dwarven society. Gimli looked around to make sure the Elf wasn't listening before responding to my question.

"It's quite the obscene gesture lass. It is the strongest way to show my displeasure to him. I imagine it is almost the same as the gesture you made toward him."

"Oh that, yes, very much so."

Gimli gave me a wink, the amusement clear to see on his face as he walked along beside me.

"Think I may have to add that to my repatrior. I can think of a few elves that I could use it on."

I didn't want to know what elves he meant, and what they had done to him. Elrond had told me much, and I still didn't quite understand why the two races hated each other. Something about one group being created before the other, and the other not liking it. It all seemed so petty to me, and I just didn't know why they were all still at each other's throats - perhaps the feud was now so old that they would never get along. Chuckling I tried to keep a tab of exactly where in the landscape we were. The land around us was a lot more rugged than the day previous, and I had to make sure that the route I picked over that area was stable enough for me. It wouldn't do for me to slip and fall over now would it.

"So lass, what brought ye to Rivendell? It seems most unusual for a human to call that place home."

The question caused me to groan internally. Surely the world was conspiring against me. I had only just admitted what my past was to Boromir, and I had hoped that I might keep it between us just awhile longer. I ran a hand through my hair, wondering when my luck would improve, so far on this journey, it had been pretty rotten. I let out a breath, deciding that if one person already knew then I might as well start telling everyone else - because I didn't want to alienate everyone else by telling lies about myself.

"I don't know what brought me to Rivendell. I lived far from here, in another world ... some kind of magic was the cause of my arrival I think.

It was simple, and it didn't reveal too much. It was perfect. Gimli looked at me from the corners of his eyes, looking at me as if seeing me in an entirely new light, and for a moment, I thought that I had lost his friendship after only just earning it. I need not have worried about him too much; he gave me a sad look, his eyes turning to the wizard that walked ahead of us.

"Ye poor wee lass. Pulled from a place of comfort against your own choice. I don't know much about magic, but what I know of it tells me that I want no part in spells beyond what we use in our smithing."

Yes, that was right. Dwarves used magic to imbue some of their weapons and armors. I had forgotten that other races had access to such abilities. I breathed a sigh of relief that Gimli understood, and while I didn't need his pity I, at least, appreciated that he saw that this was hardly what I had asked for. I hadn't asked to be brought to this place. Hadn't asked to be brought into a world not my own, and have some unspoken quest thrust upon my shoulders. I was here because someone else wanted it! I shook my head, looking up at the drifting clouds overhead.

"If only Boromir saw it the way you do."

I spoke in barely a whisper, one that Gimli hardly even heard. Our conversation ended there as we turned our attentions to the path ahead of us, I mainly lost track of time after ending my conversation with the dwarf. The day drifted past in a whirl of hushed conversations. The hobbits, in particular, talked a lot while we were walking - often talking about food, or of friends that had stayed in Hobbiton. There was even the odd teasing comment thrown toward Samwise about a young hobbit girl called Rosie Cotton and it was nice to see that Sam took the teasing in stride. It was enjoyable to see some casual banter being made among the group, and that at least for a short time we could all relax and enjoy such company.

Thus, the morning passed, the sun following our progress as we continued on our way, our path taking us high into the hills of Hollin.