My writing time has severely dropped. And for that I am sorry!
Hey, don't blame me! I'm lost in Skyrim. Be back after I thoroughly enjoy 100 hours of playing time. That's quite difficult, too, when you're in a musical that absorbs the life out of you.
By the way... I've got a wonderful, super spectacular idea for sequel to This is Home...
PERFECT.
My friend said that he preferred Frodo over Sam today...
I nearly killed him.
Forgive me if my writing's off, or my brain seems a bit kookled. Hours of RPG goodness can do that to a person. Mostly me.
Who actually reads these author's notes, anyways? I sure as heck don't.
Oh, and I temporarily deleted Collin's story. It wasn't going anywhere. I'll re-post it later. :)
I don't own Lord of the Rings.
(James)
"What did you say we were looking for, again?" I asked Aragorn as Kristy and I followed the mighty man through the outer edges of Rivendell.
The poor soul was most distressed, looking around every corner, bewildered.
"My bed disappeared last night..." He looked over another bush, and continued forward. "I believe that someone has stolen it."
Kristy's eyebrow raised in confusion, and I silently chuckled to myself.
Who steals beds?
"So... What's the plan?" Kristy tried to go along without sounding offensive, but I knew that she thought that this was ridiculous.
"Well..." Aragorn sighed as he checked another clearing. "I am not quite sure, at this point. This is the first time that I haven't been able to track a thief..."
Wow, Aragorn. So you have a lot of things stolen?
"Perhaps we should split up?" I suggested, hoping he'd say yes. Then I could make my getaway.
Kristy stopped and did a double-take through the trees. A small smile grew on her face, and she tugged on Aragorn's sleeve, forcing him to stop.
"I think we've found your bed, Aragorn." She pointed through the woods, and into a small clearing surrounded by bushes.
Barely visible through the trees, I could see a small figure curled up on what looked to be a mattress. Aragorn, with a new determination to challenge the thief of his beloved bed, marched through the trees. Suprisingly, he stopped short, and his eyebrows shot up.
"What is it?" I moved closer, and finally, it was my turn to smile.
Laying on the mattress was a silently sleeping Sophie, curled up with numerous blankets. She looked like an eskimo. Collin was sprawled out on the ground, blankets tossed on his legs. It was cute.
Why did we not automatically guess that Collin was the thief? Only he would think of stealing someone else's mattress, when he had a perfectly good mattress of his own.
"Is there something I don't know?" Aragorn looked at the two best friends in shock.
Crap, he's probably jumping to conclusions. We have to understand that people here tend to frown upon pre-marital 'getting-it-on.' Fortunately, Collin and Sophie are good kids... Even though they're reaching their late twenties.
Dang... Are we that old?
"Don't worry, budd." I clapped Aragorn on the shoulder and smiled down at my two sleeping friends. "They're just friends."
The ranger relaxed a little, but his expression remained confused. "They'll bring my bed back later, I suppose." He turned and walked away, shaking his head.
"Hey, Aragorn!" I called out after my friend. "When are we going to start training, today?"
"We're not." He shrugged. "It's about time we had a good break from it all."
Dang it! I sighed, hating the fact that Aragorn had cancelled this morning's practice. I love training. Well, I enjoy the fact that it gets my mind off of the painful homesickness that I was feeling. Honestly, there's nothing I want more than to go home right now. I'd never been away from Maerwen for so long, and I was not a fan of it. Not at all.
What the hell was Legolas thinking when he volunteered me for this? It's bad enough that he hauled me all the way out here, in the first place. I mean, yeah... I found my sister and my best friends in the process, but...
Well... There is no 'but.' I guess I should just be happy with it. I'll see Maerwen soon enough...
That is, unless I die trying to get that stinking ring to Mordor.
I hate you, Legolas...
(Sophie)
"What do you think about this one?" Arwen pulled out a beautiful, sparkling circlet and held it out for me to see.
The girliest of giggles erupted from me, and I clapped my hands in anticipation. It's not every day you get to dress up like a princess, now is it?
Arwen smiled and took a step back to admire her handiwork. She'd taken great care to make sure that I looked perfect, understanding that us mortals only had so many birthdays to enjoy. I'd never met an elf with such a love for mortals as Arwen. My hair was now perfectly perfect and pretty and I felt like it was prom all over again.
Wait... I hated prom?
Anyhoo. I looked decent. Wearing fancy things always makes a girl feel happy.
"You look lovely, Sophie." My elven friend continued to smile as she gently re-adjusted my circlet.
"Truely." Kristy grinned from her spot on Arwen's lounge chair. "Now all you need is a prince to come and sweep you off your feet. Oh wait! That's Boromir."
My cheeks turned red and I rolled my eyes. Silly Kristy... Boromir's not a prince!
"Yeah, well. Don't think I haven't noticed your recent love interest."
Kristy's eyes widened and she fought to keep her composure. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't worry." I sighed and looked back to mirror for more self-admiring. "I'm not mad that you like an elf. You should have told me, though!" Seriously, we've been best friends for a bajillion and one years. You would think that I'd be the first person to find out about her crush.
My friend looked down at her hands shyly. "I'm sorry... I was just worried that you wouldn't approve..."
"Wouldn't approve?" I laughed. "Why wouldn't I approve? Ainion is awesome!"
(Kristy)
My jaw dropped.
Ainion?
Sophie really thought that I had a crush on Ainion?
In case you don't know this, Ainion is Legolas's best friend from Mirkwood. He was one of the elves that nearly got James killed by a giant spider multiple times. He's also one of the few council members left in Rivendell. Most of the elves from Mirkwood stayed for an extended visit, the majority of them having family, here.
It's understandable that Sophie would get along with Ainion; he's the least elvish elf we'd ever met. He is quite an interesting character, but I would never think of him as more than a friend.
Really, Sophie?
Just as I was about to correct my dear friend, she continued.
"As long as you don't like Legolas, I approve!" Sophie laughed and took a swig of some wine she'd taken from the kitchens. "Altough, I would prefer it if you gave Gimli a chance..."
Arwen choked on air, and a rather unpleasant thought flashed into my brain.
"Gimli?"
Sophie smiled. "Mmhmm!"
"The dwarf?"
Sophie rolled her eyes and giggled. "Of course!"
... Wow...
"Why, Sophie, why?" I cried, burying my face in my hands, trying to get the image out of my head.
Arwen shook the thought out of her head and tried to occupy herself with a book, while Sophie laughed triumphantly.
"Why not?" Sophie complained. "He's a great guy!"
I can't even begin to count the number of things wrong with the suggestion of me dating Gimli. "He is a dwarf!"
Sophie frowned and chucked a brush at me. "Racist! To the dungeons!"
Oh, great. She's going to be the 'Birthday Queen' all day.
Collin burst through the door at that moment, I have no idea why. Still, he never ceases to have perfect timing. He was wearing a pathetically crafted crown made from parchmet, which was clumsily painted to resemble jewels.
"I am Collin! King of the Lonely Mountain!" He shouted, wielding a wooden sword around like a madman.
I can see that Bilbo's been telling him stories from his youth, again.
Collin turned around and noticed the crown-like circlet upon Sophie's head, so he fell to the ground and bowed to her.
"My lady! How can I serve a queen as fair as you?"
Sophie's eyes met mine, and I knew that I was in for some trouble.
My friend pointed at me and shouted, "To the dungeons!"
Collin stood and pointed his sword to the sky. "To the dungeons!" He charged me and threw me over his shoulders.
"Collin, put me down!" I slapped at his back and did my best to kick him in the gut.
Unfortunately, my friend was unphased, and he booked it out of the room, screaming, "To the dungeons!"
I could hear Sophie and Arwen laughing their hearts out all the way down the hall. That girl's lucky it's her birthday, or I would spit in her cake.
Collin ran through the halls of Rivendell, all the while leaving me flung over his back. No one even gave us a second glance; by now, the elves had learned to ignore Collin and his shennanigans. After we were a good distance away from Sophie, he gently set me down, a look of confusion on his face.
"I feel quite embarrassed, at the moment." Collin sighed, while scratching his head. "All this time I've been looking for the dungeons, and I believe that Queen Sophie may have been mistaken. I can't recall ever seeing a dungeon here in Rivendell, do you?"
"Nope! Looks like you're gonna have to let me go, then!" I hastily tried to make my escape, but Collin took hold of my sleeve.
"Oh, no no!" He turned me around, and I noticed that mischevous glint in his eyes. "You're still my prisoner, Lady Kristy! Besides, I've got a better idea..."
This isn't good...
"Am I going to die?"
Collin chuckled and gave me a playful shove. Well... To him, it was playful, but to me, it felt like a punch. "Oh, Kristy! You're so funny."
He took my hand and dragged me even further through Rivendell, all the way to his bedchamber.
You know, I almost expected his room to be a total mess. Instead, I was greeted with a flawless bedroom that smelled like lavender. He had his armor neatly set out on a table, and his numerous weapons were hung on racks on the wall. Out of curiosity, I opened up his closet, hoping to see some kind of a flaw.
His clothes were organized by color, and his boots were neatly organized at the bottom, according to the season.
"Collin, do you have a maid?" I asked quietly, stunned my the purity of his room.
"No, why?" Collin kneeled down by his bed and pulled a box out from underneath it.
I got down beside him and took a look underneath the big bed: nothing.
"Oh... No reason... Your room is just really... clean."
"Yeahh..." Collin raised an eyebrow at me. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"I dunno..." Casually, I stroked his dresser: dust-free. "I just was expecting something a bit more chaotic."
He laughed and shook his head. "Well, that's silly. No wonder you got thrown into the dungeons." He set his box on the table and motioned me over to him. "Come here, I need your help."
Collin opened up the small box and pulled out a round locket. It was made out of shining silver, and hung from a thin chain. A beautiful flower was engraved into the front, and carved out of the back was three letters: SGM.
Sophie's initials!
"Collin, this is beautiful!" I smiled and took the locket from his hands.
"Open it." He shrugged.
I carefully pried open the two halves and looked inside with anticipation.
It took my breath away.
Inside, the locket held two small drawings. One was of Sophie and Collin, and the other held James and I. Although they were very small, they were very neatly drawn in beautiful colors. Whoever drew these knew what they were doing.
"Collin... This is amazing." I studied the pictures and found them flawless. The artist had perfectly captured the four of us, all the way down Sophie's bright eyes, to Collin's cheeky smile. "Sophie's going to love it."
Collin smiled and sat down on his bed. "I hope so. I can't tell you how long it took me to get those right."
"Wait..." I looked to my friend in disbelief. "You drew these?"
He shrugged and ruffled his faux-hawk. "Yeah, why?"
"How did you do it?" I knew that he was a good artist, but this was insane! The detail was perfect!
Collin opened up one of his drawers and pulled out a thin, leather wallet. He opened it up and pulled out two worn pieces of paper. "I had a model to look at."
He handed me the papers and I noticed that they were pictures. The same pictures that were now condensed in Sophie's locket. One was of Sophie kissing Collin on the cheek, while he flashed the camera a big, toothy smile. The other one was of James and I, hugging.
"I can't believe you still have these!" Tears prickled in my eyes as I stroked the fading photos. "These were taken forever ago!"
Collin shrugged and placed the locket back into its case. "They were in my wallet when we crashed. They'd made it here, along with us."
I smiled and carefully placed them back into his wallet. "Well, now we've got to keep them forever."
He smiled. "I planned on it."
I wiped the few tears from my eyes and shook the emotions out of my head. "Anyways, what did you need my help with?"
"Oh, yeah!" Collin looked down to the small box and tapped it. "I need you to wrap this for me."
"Can't you wrap it yourself?"
Collin laughed. "Yeah, like that's going to happen."
Sigh... "You could just give it to her as it is." I suggested kindly.
Collin's jaw dropped, and he looked at me like I just suggested that Santa Claus wasn't real in front of a five year old.
"Kristy, have you gone mad? You can't give someone a birthday present without wrapping it!" He shook his head in disappointment. "It's like, a natural law!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I took the box and sighed. "Any particular color?"
"Nope!" He smiled, back to his normal self. "It's whatever." He then turned and moved for the door.
"Hey, where are you going?"
Collin waved me away and ran out the door. "I'm going to slay some dragons! I'll be back for dinner!"
Sigh... That boy needs help.
.
.
"Wooo!" Collin cheered as another firework blew up in the sky. The sun had fallen beyond the horizon, and night was now upon us in the beautiful, quiet Rivendell.
Well... I suppose that it's not so quiet, now.
Somehow, a miracle occured, and Collin had convinced Gandalf to light some fireworks on this night of celebration, and the boy was taking full advantage of it. Lights were flying through the sky, and the stars were blurred out by the smoke left behind by the fireworks. It was far better than New Years, for I'd never seen such a spectacular display in all my years. Fireworks of every size and color were shot off into the night, and I was surprised that we'd managed to avoid setting the trees on fire. This was the secret that Collin and James had planned; a beautiful firework show.
Although several elves had complained about the noise, almost everyone was beyond content on this fine night. There was a great deal of dancing and singing, as well as drinking and story telling. It was a good old fashioned celebration in fair Imladris, and the food had never been better.
The Hobbits sat together, along with Gimli, and the six happily devoured every morsel they could get their hands on. The elves were all over the place, feasting, singing, and dancing. Elrond sat in his elevated chair, looking quite content, despite his recent angsty moods. James sat further off with Legolas and Ainion, where he tried to teach them how to play numerous card games. The birthday girl sat next to Boromir and I, enjoying every second of this glorious day. As for Collin, he remained by Gandalf, having a jolly old time blowing things up.
It was the perfect night.
Then again... There was a slight disturbance in my heart.
Sophie still didn't know about Legolas. After this morning, I found myself afraid to tell her. For whatever reason, she held an intense dislike for the poor elf, and she still had this idea that I was in love with Ainion. Goodness, that woman was killing me. All night she'd been pushing me closer and closer to him, forcing us to eat and dance together. Poor Ainion seemed equally as confused as me.
It felt so odd... Legolas and I had this unspoken agreement, it seemed, to keep our relationship a secret. It felt like one of those ridiculous teenage moments where the parents forbade the relationship, but it still continued in private. Only no one forbade our relationship?
Also, I had his immortality to think about... From all of the stories I'd heard, when an elf falls in love with a mortal, they tend to die... And dying is not something I want for him.
Life is a beautiful thing! I've been blessed with a great life, and every moment is precious. I've always lived knowing that I would die, but he's been raised for thousands of years, thinking that he was going to live for all eternity. Death is quite a mystery for an elf, and it's not something that I want him to deal with.
But the way he makes me feel... It may sound ridiculous, but I find it almost impossible to imagine myself with anyone else, at this point. After all, we've only known each other for nearly two months... Perhaps we've both been struck with infatuation?
As the party raged on, I found myself drowning in my own thoughts. I decided to take a walk, hoping that the cool night air would do something good for my stressed mind. I quietly made my way through the partiers, not wanting to draw any attention to myself. I just needed to be alone for a moment.
I followed the path to my favorite garden and sat down on a bench with a sigh.
Who could have known that I'd be having guy problems in Middle-earth?
"Kristy?"
I looked up from my lap to see the root of my crazed mind: Legolas.
"Hello." I smiled shyly and looked back to the ground. Why did he have to follow me?
He moved towards me and sat down on the bench opposite of me. It was quiet for what felt like years, and my heart was racing wildly.
"I have thought about what you said, yesterday..." Legolas began, slowly. "About my immortality."
Ohh boy, I'm gonna be sick...
"Did you? It's really only been a day..."
Legolas sighed and looked to the ground. "I know, but I was awake all night, thinking about it. I believe that I have come to a conclusion."
It was silent, as I waited for him to continue. "Go on..." I insisted.
He sighed once more, and he seemed quite uncomfortable. "These are not good times, Kristy. War is nearly upon us, I can feel it..." He stood and began to pace about the garden. "I believe that... Perhaps you are right. I did not completely think this through, before, and that was wrong on my part."
My heart dropped, slightly, expecting to hear something unhappy come out of this.
"But..." He began, while turning to look at me. "That does not change how I feel about you." Legolas moved back to the bench, and he took my hands in his. "You are entirely beautiful, Kristy, and it is true that I feel incredibly drawn to you. I have come to understand that perhaps this is not the proper time for a relationship, and that is alright. After all, I could very well die on this journey that will take place very soon. So, I have decided that we should wait until I return. If I do survive, then we can continue from there. If not... Well, I believe that is obvious."
Hmm.
So, basically, we're interested in each other, but we're waiting to see if he's going to die? I don't see how this solves this issue of immortality, but it doesn't sound like such a bad idea.
I smiled, and nodded. "That sounds reasonable."
Legolas smiled as well, and leaned in to kiss my forehead.
And that's where things went crazy...
"Hey, Legolas?" James's voice rang through the cool night air. "Want to play some soc...cer?" James walked into the garden right as Legolas kissed my forehead. His jaw dropped, and his eyes were wide open. "What... the?"
Collin ran in, followed by Sophie, and his cheeky smile fell when he saw us. "Ohhh..." He looked from James, to me, and back to James, then back to me. "Uh... Sophie?" He looked to our little friend, who looked just as shocked as he was.
My cheeks turned a bright red, and I quickly hid my face from view. James's face was turing a bright red, and his eyes were fixed in a dangerous death glare directed at Legolas.
This can't be good...
James began to shout. "That's my sister, you - !"
"Don't listen, Sophie!" Collin clamped his hands over her ears to drown out the foul language.
James took off towards the elf's direction, and Legolas immediately sprang up and ran into the trees. Collin chased after them both, shouting.
"Don't kill him, James! He's a nice guy!"
I could hear foul language from James and Collin's random shouting until they finally died out through the trees. Sophie remained, staring wide-eyed where the men had just disappeared into the forest.
"So..." She began. "Legolas, huh?"
I nodded, still looking into the trees. "Yepp..."
She moved to stand by me, a look of confusion on her face. "Why didn't you tell me?"
I sighed. "Because, you hate him, and I thought that you'd be mad..."
Sophie pulled me into a tight hug, nearly suffocating me. "Kris, I could never be mad at you." She pulled away from me, a small smile on her face. "If he makes you happy, them go for it. Besides... He's a real prince."
"Yeah, well... It's nothing big... We just kind of like each other, is all..."
Sophie raised an eyebrow at me and shook her head. "Honey, I've known you my whole life. You don't just 'kind of like' anything."
With a sigh, I relaxed my head in my hands and rubbed my aching head. "I know..."
(Collin)
Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow...
Do NOT chase after two seasoned warriors. They will outrun you, and you will trip on a tree root.
I limped all the way back to Rivendell, leaving my angry friend and his unfortunate prey behind. It's their battle, not mine. Besides, there was something I needed to take care of.
"Sophieee..." I peeked my head into her room. It was well past midnight, and the party had died out a while ago. The only reason I was still awake was because 1, I had to chase down my raging best friend; 2, limping isn't the most effective way to travel; and 3, I saw some lightning bugs and I wouldn't be able to sleep without catching some.
Unfortunately, Sophie was already snoozing, sprawled out adorably on her bed. The blankets were kicked to the bottom of her bed, and to poor girl looked like she was freezing to death. I smiled at her and gently pulled the blankets back on top of her. She rolled over in her sleep and mumbled something into her pillow.
I was partially tempted to start a conversation with her, but I remembered that she hates it when I make her sleep talk. That's how I get her secrets out of her, and it's safe to say that she doesn't appreciate that!
So, I decided to simply leave her birthday present by her bed. She'll get it in the morning. I blew her bedside candle out and stumbled through her room to find the door.
"Collin?" Sophie partially woke up when I tripped over a chair and made a ridiculous amount of noise.
"Go to sleep you fat cow!" I whisper-shouted.
No, it's not mean. Sophie's sleeping self responds well to insults, oddly enough. I've had plenty of practice, dealing with her sleepiness back when we used to travel around with Gandalf. I know she's not a fat cow. We all know I love her to death.
Sophie giggled and fell back onto her bed. "Ohh you're crazy..." Within seconds, she was back to sleep.
"Whew..." I quietly picked myself up off of her floor and finally made it out the door.
One objective down, one more to go!
Yeah, I've got more stuff to do in the middle of the night. This is really important, though! I've been procrastinating on it, and I'm afraid that it's time to finally face it.
"Hey, Gandalf?" I knocked on his bedroom door. I knew for a fact that he was still awake, because I ran into him while catching lightning bugs.
The old wizard answered the door and let me inside. "What brings you here at such an hour?" He yawned and sat down on his sofa.
Well, I might as well be blunt with it. "I want Sophie to come with the Fellowship."
Gandalf looked at me like I was insane, which is quite possible. "Excuse me?"
Sigh... "Sophie and I would very much appreciate it if you let her come on this journey with us."
Gandalf sighed and shook his head. "Collin, this is not a game..."
"I know it's not a game."
"Then surely you understand that this is going to be quite dangerous, and that it is no place for our dear Sophie..."
Ugh. I knew that this wouldn't be easy. "She and I both know that, and neither of us are worried about it. "
The old wizard rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes. "She would be a distraction."
"She would be an asset." I protested. "Sophie is no fool. She knows the risks, and the importance of this journey. Although she may be hard-headed and nonsensical, she is no worse of than me. If I am qualified to go on this journey, then so is she. This journey is stressful enough, but with a woman's touch, it might be easier to bear."
Gandalf shook his head and laughed. "Collin, this is ridiculous."
"It is not ridiculous!" How can I convince him? "Sophie doesn't even want to go the whole way, she just wants to go to Edoras or Gondor. I know that Boromir intends to set off for Gondor when the time comes, too. She could go with him!" Gandalf sighed, and I continued before he could interrupt. "Gandalf, you're letting Merry and Pippin go because of their strong hearts. Sophie has a fire in her heart, too! She adores Frodo, and it'd be good to have her there, for his sake..."
Gandalf watched me carefully for a moment, before finally speaking. "What is the real reason for you wanting her to join us?"
I froze.
The wizard gave me a small smile, and it was obvious that he knew something...
"Don't make me answer that, Gandalf..." I sighed, and looked down to the ground.
The wizard nodded. "I will speak to Elrond on the matter... No promises."
My heart had a spasm and I had to fight the urge to hug him.
"Thank you, Gandalf..." With a smile, I limped out of the door and made my way towards my room.
Ohh goodness... It's been a long day.
