Eddy - January 14th - I'll Make a Man out of You

I'm frustrated. Really frustrated. And I'm taking it all out on Haldir, which I will probably feel guilty about later, but right now, I don't flippin' care.

And Aranor is like a drill sergeant. Even though what he's doing is for our good, I think he enjoys bossing us around. He's going to be a really great king. Yeesh.

Haldir just corrected my stance for the fifth time today. We just had breakfast, and I'm already wiped.

But, you know... I finally hit a bulls eye. And now I have like... 50% accuracy. But I'm still really slow. I can't load and shoot that fast. I'm like a snail compared to how fast Haldir can do it. And Aranor expects me to be able to do it as fast as Haldir. Seriously, he throws apples at me. And I'm supposed to shoot them.

After we gave him our whole explanation, Aranor kind of walked away in silence. But this morning, he walked into the breakfast hall, and told us that he was going to get us ready to save ourselves. So we've been training our butts off for the past week. I'm half expecting Aranor to break out in song and say stuff like, "You must be swift as a coursing river," and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who wants to pummel him.

He may have "legendary parentage" and all, but it doesn't give him the right to act like an ancient and grumpy five-star general on steroids.

So, our training regime. This is even worse than gym class (which you should never, ever skip). Aranor makes Liz throw daggers, like actually throw them, instead of the weird way she used to. She actually knows the proper form and strength that she needs and whatnot, but her aim is still off.

Aranor finds shadewalking really interesting. He makes Liz practice making herself invisible and changing her appearance. So she's not flickering as much anymore. But he can't really help her a lot, because he knows about as much about shadewalking as I do. But he makes her go on "secret missions" to the kitchen a lot to see if she can sneak some pastries out.

With Iris, he walks over a lot just to ask her something random in Sindarian (because he knows elvish) and she has to answer. She's gotten better. Yesterday, she did her first water spell. I was so proud.

And Hallie... Hallie works the hardest of all of us. Aranor pushes her through drill after drill, and even after we've all finished for the day, she's still there, hacking at dummies with Elyon. It's quite scary, actually. But she's a lot better.

We all are.

Except, right now, I'm trying to keep my inner predator from attacking Aranor. Or possibly to screech Aranor's secret so that all of Minas Tirith knows it. That would be so much more satisfying.

I know my thoughts are very Aranor-centric right now, but it's just so frustrating. He pretends to know everything about everything and is even trying to teach me how to control my shapeshifting.

Oh wait. Here he comes again. I swear, if he throws another apple at me, I will challenge him to a hand-on-hand sparring match. And we'll see how he does against a second degree black belt.

Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Iris. She nodded her head towards the back door of the training room. I silently set my bow down and ducked out of the room with her while Aranor was watching Liz throw daggers at the target. I'm pretty sure Hallie saw us leave, but I knew she wouldn't say anything.

"Oh, God, we're finally alone," Iris said as we walked through the halls together.

"I know. Ever since we told Aranor everything, he hasn't left us alone." I smiled at her and took her hand.

"I swear, if he asks me one more question about the price of oranges in Sindarian, I am going to punch him in the head with a fireball."

"Yeah. If he throws another apple at me, I'm going to scream his secret from the rafters so that all the living creatures in Minas Tirith know." I rolled my eyes.

"What secret?" Iris asked me, her eyes getting all big. I silently chided myself.

"I wasn't supposed to say anything. But... I think I can trust you," I joked, leaning closer to her. "Aranor likes Hallie."

"What?" Iris looked shocked. I smiled in spite of myself.

"Yeah. You can't tell anyone, though. He would kill me if he found out that you knew."

Iris smiled back at me, and I moved closer to her until our lips were touching. I hadn't kissed her in a week and a half, and it felt like forever. It was really nice just to... relax. And actually spend time with my girlfriend. I needed to take her out on a date. A full blown Middle-earth date. If Ralin would let us...

We wandered around the palace the rest of the day, avoiding Aranor... and training. Because you can really only train so much before your head starts to hurt. Like school. I just realized that if we were back home right now, we'd be in the second semester of school already. Geez. I don't think I'll ever get used to spending months in Middle Earth and having it be only seconds at home.

"Hey, love chickens." We turned around to see Hallie walking towards us. She noticed our expressions. "Don't worry, the Drill Sergeant isn't with me. I decided to cut off training early today. My arms are so sore." She grimaced. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to move tomorrow."

"Yeah, me too," I groaned. When I had my powers, it was a lot easier to fire the bow. But now... I was building muscles I didn't even know I had.

"One more mission to the kitchen," Liz said, appearing beside us, holding a loaf of bread, "and I will have to consider bread thievery my only career option."

"Yeah, just put that on your college application," Hallie joked.

We all laughed. It was nice to feel somewhat normal again.

"Hey, you guys want to hear a funny story?" Iris said, looking slightly embarrassed. We all nodded, eager for any distraction from our present situation.

"Well, you know how I'm learning Sindarian... again. It's like learning Chinese. And what's really stupid is you have one word- but if you pronounce it different ways, it's saying different things." Liz nodded- she spoke Chinese and totally got it. Hallie and I... we're Spanish-only kind of people. Although, I'm pretty sure Hallie speaks math... if that's a language.

"Anyways, Aranor walks up and he tells me he was injured- we were speaking in false scenarios- and I'm supposed to respond with something like, 'How's the injury feeling?', only instead of that, it came out, 'How's your butt look?' He looked at me like I was crazy and his face got all red and it took me a second to figure out what I had said."

Liz and Hallie burst out laughing. "That... sounds pretty embarrassing," Hallie said.

I was glad that our friendship was holding together this time around. Last time, we were all such hot messes that I'm frankly surprised we made it out alive. Or sane, for that matter.

Though, as I look at Hallie, Liz, and Iris, I'm sincerely doubting their sanity. But hey, if I hang out with them, what does that say about me?

"If you liked that, you'll definitely want to hear this one," I said. We spent the night exchanging funny stories. The session even extended into dinner- where Aragorn, Faramir, and Aranor added a few of their own. Haldir's were the best, though.

Haldir's just cool like that.

Hallie - January 21st (two months to go) - The Sand and the Sieve

I woke up this morning with an eerie feeling of urgency. Like I was late for school or something. But of course I knew as soon as I glanced at the high stone ceilings that I wasn't going to school today- or any day soon.

I wasn't in any hurry to get down to the training center- my arms felt like they were made of lead. Maybe I'd ditch today like Iris and Eddy did a week ago. I got up and crossed the room, taking a quick bath (which I had to fetch a maid for- I couldn't get used to having to ask someone to draw a bath). Then I dressed and stood in front of the mirror, brushing my short hair up into a ponytail.

That was when I noticed it. I moved closer to the mirror to make sure. There were a few grains of sand in the bottom of the Hourglass. I shook my head, trying to remember if they'd been there yesterday. This could only mean one thing.

The countdown had started.

I ran to the training room after that (I'd taken breakfast in my room- as ladies should- another thing I couldn't get used to) to tell the others. We were going to have to leave soon if we wanted to get everything to Ralin on time. If we couldn't, we'd-

No. Don't think about that.

"Guys," I said, darting into the room, "We're running out of time. We have to-" I paused. No one was there. I was about to turn around and start running through the halls like a madman when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eddy flicker into view. Iris followed him, then Aranor, then Haldir, and finally Liz.

"We were practicing Liz' shadewalking- shading a larger group," Aranor explained. He looked over at Liz. "She held it for... about a minute?"

"I could see the holes in my shade, though. I'm definitely still patchy."

Aranor turned back to me. "What were you saying?"

I held up the Hourglass necklace. "The sand has started to trickle."

Everyone gathered close to me, as if they had to see the necklace with their own eyes in order to believe what I was saying. "We should go talk to Aragorn," Iris suggested. "See if he has any new information."

It was as good a plan as any. The six of us walked down the hall towards the throne room. When we arrived, Aragorn was sitting on his throne, staring off into space. He noticed us and gestured us forward. We asked if he had any new information. He shook his head. "Sadly, there are no books on any character named Ralin. However," he said, which made us brighten up a bit, "I did learn some things about the things he wants you to collect for him."

"The first is a golden apple, yes? Such fruits only grow in the Fangorn Forest- in the Gardens of Temptation - a mere legend, really. Few have ever ventured into the garden, and fewer have survived to tell the tale." We all shuddered. I'd read some fables, and usually places named like the Gardens of Temptation weren't very happy places. You want to stay away.

"The second item is the alfirin flower. Fortunately, the flower grows here in Gondor- in fact, a nursery not far outside the city limits specializes in this type of flower. The flower is said to represent immortality- though if it has any magical properties, I do not know." Well. That sounded pretty easy, right?

"And the third item is the Star of Elendil, which, as you must know, is to be found in Lothlorien," Aragorn finished.

"Aragorn," I started, and then paused, unsure of how to continue. "We... we need to leave soon. The sand in the Hourglass has started to trickle- we only have two months left to collect everything and return to Isengard."

Aragorn thought for a moment. I was sure he was going to give us his blessing, maybe even send a few guards along with us to make sure we came back alright.

But no. Because Gondorian Kings can't be bloody predictable.

"No. You can gather most of these materials without ever leaving the castle. I will send for the flower, and in the meantime you will continue to work with your abilities. I will not let you face this journey alone."

"But-"

"That's final, do you understand? I will not have you running off to fight monsters you were not trained for, especially in this time of weakness." Aragorn stared at me, and I could tell he was thinking about our last journey here- how Iris and Eddy went off to fight Raordell, how I fought Buster, and how we ultimately defeated Raordell- but almost at the cost of our lives. And that was with our powers. Did he consider us weak without them?

"Fine," I grit out, and turned on my heel and left the room.

Was that all we were to him? Was I only special because of my "powers" with weapons- with the sword? If I hadn't shown that aptitude, we likely would have been simply guests in his house... annoyances.

Was my sword the only thing that made me a warrior?

"Hallie!" I could hear Aranor shouting behind me, and I slowed ever so slightly so he could catch up. "You understand he's just concerned for your well-being, right? He's not trying to cage you up or anything."

"I know he's concerned, and it's sweet and all, but he doesn't get it. It's not his problem." I stopped to face him.

"Hallie, I understand-"

"No, Aranor!" I shouted. "No, you don't! You don't have this thing-" I gestured to the Hourglass. "-around your neck! Your life doesn't hang in the balance! I can't just wait around for someone to do this for me! It's horrible, crazy, and just not bloody right!"

Aranor looked like I'd just slapped him. "I was only ever trying to help you," he said softly. Then he walked away.

For some reason I felt like I was going to cry, and before you say anything, no, it wasn't because I'd just hurt Aranor's feelings. It was because everything was falling apart around me and suddenly any semblance of control I'd had of my life had disappeared.

Iris walked up behind me and put her hand on my shoulder. "It's okay. We'll get through this."

"I know," I replied, still staring after Aranor's retreating back.

"Well, we're going to go after the items, right? I mean, it's not like we've got anything left to lose," Liz said, folding her arms.

I looked at each person in turn. Their eyes were full of determination, and I knew even before I'd breathed the words that we were all thinking the same thing.

"Of course we are," said Haldir.

The rest of the day was spent packing. Liz made several more trips to the kitchen to collect food and water for the journey (thanks for the practice, Aranor). Iris and Haldir ducked into the infirmary to gather herbs. Eddy and I snuck into the armory to gather arrows, extra daggers, and an "arrow-repair kit".

We then packed bags: one for the girls' clothes and toiletries, one for the boys', and one for food and supplies. We decided that it would be best to leave at night when we could easily escape the city through the sewers.

I glanced outside to see it was growing dark. We had all stuffed ourselves at supper and were now waiting until everyone fell asleep.

Suddenly I grabbed the journal Liz had given me for Christmas and tore out a page. I figured if we didn't leave a note, Aragorn might think we were kidnapped.

Aragorn-

We've left to collect the items Ralin needs. We have less than two months to do so, and we believe it is the best course of action. We appreciate your concern, but you must know this:

We need to do this alone.

Sincerely,

Hallie (and the rest of the gang)

I heard three knocks on my door. Two quick raps in sequence and then one after a pause. The signal. Placing the note on my pillow, I grabbed the pack I'd been assigned, strapped Elyon to my waist, and darted to the door to find Iris and Liz. Quietly (as quietly as one can be while trying not to sneeze- though thankfully I'd gotten it under control, for the most part), we crept through the castle to meet Eddy and Haldir.

We were heading down the East hallway towards the servants' exit when I heard it.

"Where do you think you're going?" We all turned around, probably looking like kids with their hands caught in the cookie jar. Does Middle Earth even have cookies?

It was Aranor, with his sword, Raderre, strapped to his waist and a pack on his back. He sauntered closer to us. "You shouldn't be leaving in the middle of the night."

"Isn't it past your bedtime or something?" Liz retorted.

Aranor said, "I'm coming with you." It was a matter-of-fact statement, said as simply as something about the weather. His grey eyes glittered in the dark.

Oh God. Did I just say that his eyes glittered?

Something is wrong with me.

"No, you're not," Eddy returned, "Aragorn would kill us if you went missing."

"Then you don't have much to lose, do you? Look, I'm coming with you, or I'll scream and wake the entire palace and you won't be leaving your rooms for a month."

And that is the story of how we were blackmailed into kidnapping a Gondorian prince.

They didn't necessarily kidnap him per se... but they didn't necessarily not kidnap him either...