Hello, my lovelies! I do apologize for the slightly later update. I have just come home for my Thanksgiving break and I have been super lazy, and it has been absolutely wonderful, let me tell you! Breaks from university are the greatest things ever.
In other news: Only had six reviews for this last chapter. I am thrilled, of course, but I would really love to hear from all of you! Can we get to 145 reviews? That would be awesome! Thanks to those who consistently review, and then obviously to everyone who favorites this story or follows it. It makes me super happy!
Everyone also seems to be super excited for the Boromir/Arathell plot-line. And I believe one of my wonderful reviewers actually gave them their pairing names: either Borothell or Aramir. I love both, but I myself and leaning towards Borothell because Aramir could almost be construed as Boromir/Aragorn. Haha I may be vague about my pairings, but I can assure you guys that that one is not on the agenda! Haha But let me know what you think about Borothell - name or otherwise!
Disclaimer: I own nothing in relation to Tolkien's or Jackson's works, however I do own Arathell, Kara+kiddos, and horses! :)
OH AND THIS CHAPTER PICKS UP RIGHT WHERE THE LAST CHAPTER LEFT OFF! THAT IS A THING NOW!
Part Three - We Barely Make It
Undisclosed Desires - Muse
"I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask
I want to exorcise the demons from your past
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart"
"Ten companions," Elrond finally said, stopping her laughter. "So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring," he said with a clear ringing.
"Right," Pippin commented. "Where are we going?"
"Oh my," Legolas sighed, closing his eyes.
"Master Hobbit, I do not know if such a quest truly is for you," Gimli warned, not sounding very amused.
Arathell hastily shook her head and laid her hand on Pippin's shoulder. "If you had the experience with Hobbits as I have had, you would not be so quick to judge them about their playfulness. I daresay there is not a hardier folk than them. Not even Dwarves, Gimli."
"And how much time has this Elf spent with such races?" Gimli retorted, glaring at her.
Arathell did not take offence to him though, but it seemed that Boromir had. "You do not know who you are addressing," he growled. "She is Lady Shadow. There is not another maiden in the world who is more traveled than she, I assure you. She has spent time with all of the races, even Dwarves."
Gimli huffed and walked away, probably to find food, but she did not mind.
"I appreciate your desire to defend me, my lord, but you must know very well that I am capable of taking care of myself," she told him.
Boromir only smiled, undisturbed by her scolding and bowed to her. "You'll have to forgive me for the ways of my people, for they teach us to shelter our women and look out for them. And while you are no woman of weakness, it is only in my nature to behave in the way that I was raised, my lady."
"Well, then I suggest you quickly adapt to the customs of Imladris and realize that being a woman is no defect," she snapped. "Women are who birth the warriors and suckle them until they are strong. Women are the ones who never lose faith and persist in ways that the men cannot. Women need no sheltering; we know of everything regardless of whether you would discuss it with us or not. And you choosing not to discuss it is only a proof of men's cowardice." Boromir looked affronted by her proclamation, and the little Hobbits looked at her with something a little more than nervousness.
Only Mithrandir, Aragorn, and Legolas did not seem bothered, but this was only due to how well they knew her temperament and her thoughts regarding feminism. And they wisely remained silent after her small rant.
Arathell turned and looked at the three of them, all looking anywhere but at her. "Legolas, I would train with you," she announced. "I have trained with Aragorn recently and would like to practice archery now, and I work best when I have competition."
Legolas nodded and followed her to the training grounds. "I do not think that Lord Boromir meant any harm in his words, Arathell." His words were cautious and slow, obviously trying his hardest not to provoke any sort of anger from her.
"Lady Arathell to you," she retorted, taking out Finelleth and a red feathered arrow. She aimed steadily, easily hitting the seventh target in the distance. "And why do you care about how I treat him? You were verbally jousting him not even moments ago. I do not believe that you are in the position to lecture, Prince."
"You truly do believe yourself to be above everyone, don't you?" he surmised, making her pause and turn to look carefully at him.
"If I know I'm right, then I do not presume to care for the feelings of others to tell them they are wrong. We don't have the time anymore to pretend to be anyone other than who we are. If I want Lord Boromir to know fully that I am not a woman to be tamed like the Women of Gondor then he will know," she explained. "And I do not think it to have been presumptuous to say what I just did to you. You argue with him without being scorned, and I expect to have that same ability."
Legolas nodded, looking defeated. "I didn't mean to offend, my lady."
"You don't need to have the intention in order to be offensive," she remarked, stringing another bow to her arrow and releasing it. "Now, practice with me or be gone with yourself. I only brought you along because I do better when I compete with someone."
"Your technique is already rather perfect with the target practice. If we are going to really benefit you, I would suggest we try other techniques," he mentioned, walking to grab a small acorn that had fallen to the ground. "Shoot this," he instructed and then threw the acorn into the air.
She was positively fuming after their practice, having a strong desire to take one of the Prince's eyes and shoot at its soaring self instead of that bloody acorn. Out of the dozens of times he had thrown it, she had still missed it three times, and she hated herself for it. It was never that she was trying to impress Legolas in the first place, but she did feel more than embarrassed to know that she couldn't shoot a simple acorn from the sky. And though he had thrown it a quarter of a mile through the air, it was no excuse to her.
Perhaps that is why she did not sense another presence when she huffed angrily by the fountains. "My lady?" She spun around, looking at the pair of Hobbits at her feet. Both recoiled at the mad look that had to have been in her eyes. "Is there something that ails you?" the taller one asked.
Arathell couldn't help but soften her features at their kind looks. "And what would you do if I were to answer affirmatively?"
"We Shire folk don't normally get upset about a great many things, to be sure," Pippin supplied. "But I find that whenever we are truly angry, we often feel better when we talk about things."
She laughed and sat on the edge of the fountain. "And what would I talk about, Master Hobbit?" she inquired, raising her eyebrow.
"What I would wonder more ardently, my lady," Merry mentioned with a bright blush staining his cheeks, "is how one as fair as you could ever be angry about anything."
Arathell sighed and the smile slowly vanished from her face. "Oh, there is a great deal in this world to be saddened about. And there is even more in the world to be angry about. I have watched Sauron creep from the hole he was thrown into, and I have seen him exact his revenge on this world. I have seen his fury ransack joyful homes and I have seen his evil slit the throats of those he would deem lesser than himself. In the distance I can see the great towers of smoke that fume from his mountain, and I watch with utter helplessness as those clouds grow darker and come closer and closer. One day, I imagine, they are going to wrap around the earth and squeeze all of the happiness out until there is none left."
Both Hobbits now looked rather dismal, but Pippin cheered up quicker. "But that is why we fight, isn't it?" he asked with a bright smile. "We fight it because we don't want the happiness to go away. We fight it because it keeps the bad things away for a little longer. Isn't that why we are going on this quest?"
Arathell frowned and was about to tell the Hobbit how hopeless it was when the taller one interjected, "But, my lady, I think that the trick to this quest is to stay positive. It is hard to do so now, clearly, but it can be done. Just look at me and Pippin here. You can't give up before we have even begun. Then your bad vision will definitely come true, and that is not the quest of the Fellowship at all."
"Merry is right, miss," Pippin chirped with a nod.
She suddenly found the will to smile and reached to take both of their hands. "Are all Hobbits this cheerful, I wonder? For if they are, then I believe a visit to the Shire is long overdue. It must be wonderful to never have a worry or a fear."
"Oh, we fear a great many things," Merry replied dismayed.
"We fear the Black Riders!" Pippin squeaked.
"Yes, I heard of your journey to Rivendell. It was very brave of all of you to come all this way."
"Strider is a very good fighter," Merry remarked, Pippin nodding fiercely. "There was a fire in his eyes that night on Weathertop that I have never seen before. He was so strong in his conquests, and so determined to protect the four of us. We were so greatly outnumbered, and he fought all of them by himself and saved Frodo." They both shivered at the memory. "But even with his fighting skills, I daresay that I would not want them to have to be put into practice again. Once was quite enough for me."
"Well, I fear that that desire may not be fulfilled," another voice entered and she turned to look at Lord Boromir. "You agreed to go on this quest with us, and there will be many perils, Master Hobbits."
"We know," Merry agreed with a solemn nod. "Frodo needs his friends though."
"Friends are sometimes better than warriors," Arathell agreed, thinking of Balin and Thorin. "Warriors can keep your heart beating, but I think that it is friends who urge each other to keep living."
The Hobbits nodded in agreement with happy smiles. "May I have a word, my lady?" Boromir asked. She remained sitting and watched Merry and Pippin dismiss themselves with hearty bows that nearly reached their hairy toes. She smiled at them as they walked away from her. Once they were out of earshot, she looked back up at the Man, wishing more than anything at that moment that she could look beyond the veil that was before him. At this distance from the Ring, she could catch glimpses of the Man beneath it, but it was still tricky. From what she could see, there was goodness and bravery that triumphed in him. Goodness was such a hard trait to find in these times, especially in one who had grown amongst the evil and dark. He was a rose in a field of corpses.
"What is it you wish to tell me, my lord?" she asked keenly, hiding any emotion from her face.
Boromir sighed and gestured to sit beside her. She arched her eyebrow but nodded, moving away slightly when he did take his seat. "I would pray that you know that my words before were not meant to offend you. I understand very well your prowess in the field of war, and I have long heard of your abilities to do the unthinkable. I know that you have never let your sex define you, rather the swing of your arm, and I admire this, my lady. I think that if anyone can muster up the courage to go against the grain to do what they believe to be right, they ought to be thanked and acknowledged for their efforts. And you have had many valiant efforts, Lady. What I said was not in the want to diminish those efforts."
She nodded with a small smile. "So is this an apology for your words or an explanation; you must speak plainer, my lord."
He gave her a coy smile and leaned in close to her, and she held her breath expectantly with wide eyes. "What would you like it to be?"
"Truthful," she muttered.
Boromir chuckled and reached for her and only then did she snap from her reverie, pulling away harshly and standing to look down on him. "My lord, you say you have seen Elves in Ithilien, and yet you pretend to be ignorant of their customs. Surely, you must know how forbidden it is to touch an Elven maiden in such a way." Her hand carefully reached for her own hair, tenderly stroking it with protection.
He sighed and stood as well, standing close enough to her that her head was bent at an awkward angle. There was a gleam in his eyes that made her shiver with anticipation. "Forgive me, my lady. I had assumed that since you threw away some of these Elven customs, you would throw away but one more." He looked down at his hands and she followed his gaze. They were very large hands, the tips and palms calloused, with dirt buried too deep in them to ever be scrubbed away. "My hands are treacherous, Lady. They ache with the most inappropriate wishes."
Arathell's eyes widened and she backed away, staring at the hands. "You are much too forward, my lord, Boromir," she said. "I am not a wanton woman with such mortal desires. Your initial desire to capture the heart of an Elf is already highly unlikely. The fact that you pinpoint me to be the object of your desire only fuels this notion of madness that you no doubt are guilty of. And then you presume that you could win a heart such as mine with words such as 'treacherous hands' and 'inappropriate wishes!'"
Again Boromir laughed and stepped closer again. "I would believe your words more devoutly if your voice did not shudder so much."
"It does not quake with desire," she retorted. "It quakes with apprehension and fear, knowing that I am about to trek the world in your company."
"You profess to be afraid of me?" he purred, taking a step closer so that his nose nearly touched her hairline. The smell of crisp mountain air entered her nose and her breath was suddenly shakier. "You could kill me now if you wanted to, and I do not claim to be so arrogant to think that you wouldn't if you really wanted to. But here we stand - a hair's breadth from one another and you do not push me away."
Arathell stepped away once more, putting more distance between them. "You are right: I do not push you away, even when I know that I should." He moved to her again, but she held her hands up, keeping him away. "I would tell you this, my lord. If you are truly determined to win my affection, then you should know that my heart is not likely to settle on a Man in only one day. I will not fall in love with a Man I do not know. And already, you ask much of me to want me to fall for a Human and not one from my race. Time is short for you, I know this. But Elves are not known for acting spontaneously. You have to prove yourself to me." She curtsied to him. "I appreciate your explanation for your offensive words." His eyebrow raised and she mirrored the gesture. "You cannot expect me to not be able to tell the difference between an apology and an explanation, my lord. I have been breathing for millennia and I am wiser than you will ever be. Good day to you, I say."
She abandoned his presence quickly and walked to her room, closing the door hard behind her. Her heart was racing in her chest and when she looked at herself in the mirror, she saw just how flushed her cheeks were.
What do you guys think? A little short, I know. But the next scene was too long for me to include here. It will have to wait. But, on that note, it is rather exciting because it will mean essentially that one day will take three chapters to adequately describe! I'm not saying this will be an everyday sort of thing, but more things are being included and the story is moving along now!
Any love for Borothell, anyone? What about Mystery Male? Who are we thinking is the real winner of our Arathell's heart? Oh, and how did we like our intro to lovely Merry and Pippin? I seriously love writing those two. Haha
Check out the song, as always!
Love, you all lots, and I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving!
Oh, and one more thing: Given that this site is accessible to everyone over the world, I just wanted to give love to everyone out there who may be struggling for whatever reason at this time. Stay safe, lovelies! And keep finding a reason to smile! :)
- LM