A/N: hello! i have 2 say i luv u guys---- u have the nicest reviews!!!!
couple things---
cathleen- Galen totally inherited his father's looks. if at all possible, hes even cuter! (but im not totally sure that its possible to b cuter than legolas--- it just doesnt seem rite)
and as 4 the wedding...... :)
shy- im so happy that u look 4ward to my story!!! *does a dance with ya!* as 4 Lian's problem, well... i can only say that ull have to wait and find out... theres a reason though! i promise!! (and her mom's and elf, and so r some of her grandparents and stuff--- i promise shes got nothin against elves!!! (after all, she is half elf!) )
Jody S.- here u go, and thanks for wanting me to continue, it means a lot!
moo_snort- im sorry that u did not enjoy my writing. Luckily, there are hundreds and hundreds of wonderful authors at ff.n, I hope that u find someone more to your taste. Good luck!
ps. more teensy spoilers here, and there will probably be even more to come, but hey, I did say that this was the reunion of the Fellowship, so naturally they're gonna talk bout what happened.
disclaimer- they own me, sadly. i just type what they want. (and all of the fabulous work of J.R.R. Tolkien belongs to him and his genius mind.)
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The weeks that followed Lian's announcement swept by in a blur. There were dresses to sew, guest lists to be made, food to be prepared and a million other things besides. Lian's head swam as she answered question after question about what she wanted, and where, and who should do this and that. The entire process was exhausting and Lian quickly realized that she needed a break.
She called for Galen, and quickly explained that she had to get out and wished to take him up on his offer to teach her archery. He looked at her suspiciously for a moment, "You're not going to run off halfway through, are you my lady?" Lian looked down abashed.
"Yes, well about that..." she trailed off not knowing what to say, "I, um, well I haven't been feeling very well lately, stomach pains. The, um, the doctors say it's nothing, I should be fine now. Just a cold I had they think, but I'm better now," she smiled reassuringly at her friend, "Don't worry about me." Galen sensed that this was not the truth, but he also knew that this was not the time to press her. Instead he shrugged it off and proceeded to teach her the correct way to hold her bow. Then he added in an arrow, and helped her draw back, aim and then release. (A/N: I know absolutely nothing about archery, please bear with me if I am making some mistakes or whatev :) She hit a spot about one inch higher than her mark, but it was closer than she had ever gotten before! Thrilled, Lian tried the next one by herself. Two inches to the left. The next was only and inch and a half to the right. Her shots began to get closer and closer to the mark, when suddenly, on the 13th arrow, it pierced right through her notched mark in dead center. Throwing her arms around Galen she danced up and down, so full of joy and pride was she.
Then suddenly, Galen's neck arched down and his lips met hers. For a moment, a thrill rushed down her body that was unlike any she had ever had before. Then her mind kicked in and she drew away from him, her arms dropped and she busied herself with retrieving her arrows from the tree.
"Lian," he called, barely above a whisper, "why do you leave? I can tell that you don't truly want to marry the prince, so why do you? There would be nothing between us if you broke the engagement." Fire was in her eyes as she turned to face him.
"How do you think you know what goes on in my head? For all you know, I am madly in love with prince... with my betrothed," she cringed inwardly, furious that she had forgotten his name once again.
"No you're not. I can see it in you eyes," he decided to skip mentioning the fact that she could not even remember his name. "If you love him so, then why did you kiss me?"
"If your memory is truly that short, then let me refresh it; you kissed me, not the other way around. And furthermore, I withdrew, did I not?"
"Well that you did my lady, but after several moments had passed."
"You took me by surprise, that's all," she drew in a deep breath, "Now if you will excuse me your highness, I have a wedding to plan." With that she took her leave and practically stormed out of the forest, with Galen standing confused and distraught behind her.
When she reached the castle, she was in such a frenzy that she almost sent her poor brother Eldarion crashing to the floor as she bumped into him.
"Sister," he called as she stormed by, "what troubles you?"
"It's nothing Eldarion," she answered as she helped him to his feet. "Nothing at all, at least, not any more."
"Heartache is what it appears to be," he smiled knowingly, "You do not wish to be married to Prince Eower, but perhaps to... another prince?"
"What is it with these people?" Lian though furiously, "why can't they understand that I am marrying Prince Eower, not Ga.... anyone else." "No Eldarion, there is nothing wrong and I can think of no other prince that is suitable for me to marry." Then she turned and stomped off to her room to think. She was just insight of her chamber door, when she crashed into another, but this time it was a face she was glad to bump into.
"Rosie!" she cried, "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you."
"That's quite alright dear, it happens a lot to us hobbits when we're around big folk."
Lian laughed, "I've never been called "big" before! It's quite funny to hear!" Rosie laughed with her and for a moment, all troubles were forgotten. Then Lian got an idea.
"Rosie, how do you like picnics?"
"Picnics? Oh I love them, all hobbits do. Why dear?"
"I was just thinking, it's such a beautiful day, it might be nice to go out for a picnic."
"That's a splendid idea, today is the perfect day."
"Do you think that the other hobbits might like to come as well? I've only met Samwise, Frodo and yourself, but so far you hobbits have been nothing short of wonderful, and I should greatly like to meet more of your kind."
"I will go ask the others, I'm sure that they would be thrilled. There's nothing like a picnic with friends on a beautiful summer's day. Will you be alright to get the food?"
"Oh yes. I'll go down to the kitchens and see what I can collect. How many are there altogether of you?"
Hmm... There's Sam, Frodo, Elanor my daughter, Merry, Pippin, Bilbo... hmm, that's it. The rest of the families stayed home I believe. But I warn you, hobbits have giant appetites, especially hobbit men." Lian smiled and asked if there were any particular food that hobbits usually took on picnics.
"Well, hobbits love mushrooms. It's the one food that we could eat and eat and eat all day and never get tired of."
"Alright, I will do my best to collect some mushrooms then," and with that they took leave of one another, promising to meet at the front stairs in one half an hour.
Lian went to the kitchens and came back laden with allsorts of delicious morsels. The cooks had given her an entire basket full of mushrooms, and another with sandwiches, glasses, a pitcher full of a delightful smelling liquid, cakes cookies, crackers and other things besides. Lian lugged up the heavy baskets up the staircase that led to the main hall.
There she was met by Rosie and six other hobbits. Merry and Pippin introduced themselves to Lian at once and offered to help carry the baskets, eyeing the one that contained the mushrooms. She instead handed them the one with the sandwiches, saying that she could carry the other basket easily enough. Their shoulder sagged for a moment, then they noticed the delectable aroma coming from their basket, and soon they were happy again.
The group, led by Lian, made their way out to a low hill, far from the buildings and roads. There they spread out a huge blanket and prepared their meals. With in 12 minutes of opening the second basket, the mushrooms had all been eaten. Merry and Pippin were mostly responsible for this, but Sam played a large part as well.
After about an hour, they all laid themselves down on the green grass to rest their weary stomachs. Even hobbits cannot eat forever, and the food of Gondor was rich and filling. They talked and laughed and soon Lian was good friends with them all. She discovered that hobbits were truly amazing creatures. They spent their lives in peace and happiness in a beautiful land called the Shire, they told her. They talked of the rebuilding of the Shire, for Saruman had done much evil there in the absence of Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin. It seemed to Lian from the way they talked, that they loved their home dearly, and that it was most important to them.
For a long time they all sat happily talking and lying in the grass. Then dusk began to set in and they packed up the baskets (which were considerably lighter) and headed back to the city. Lian promised to see the hobbits at dinner, then she went finally to her room to wash and change.
"Nothing fancy tonight," she decided. And so she pulled out a long gray dress that matched her eye colour and pulled her hair back in a simple braid. She was about to leave when she noticed a piece of parchment on her bed. She picked it up and read the graceful script.
"Dear Lian.
I regret to inform you that I have left Gondor. I received an urgent summons from Mirkwood, apparently I am needed there. I should only be gone a few days, and I promise to be back in time for the... the wedding. I apologize for my behaviour today, and I pray all is forgiven. To make amends, I have left you a small token, a necklace of my grandmother's. I have left it in your jewelry box on your dresser, I hope you like it.
Yours,
Galen"
"So he's gone then," Lian sighed, "I suppose that's no real surprise. After I practically told him to go... If only things could be different." She sighed again, "But I cannot change things, and I will not make the same mistake they did." Lian reassured herself that by marrying Prince Eower, she was most definitely doing the right thing, even if it was unfair.
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Well....... what do ya think? Any good? Not worth finishing? I gotta know!!!!!!
Once again I would like to thank the wonderful people who took the time to review my lousy little story, thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so, please tell me if this is crap or not, (but as always, i beg u to not flame!!!) cause i am curious.
i have no idea when i will be able to post the next chapter (i havent even written it yet!) but hopefully, it wont take too long.
I have some ideas for where this is going, but if any of u have any thoughts on things i should add or whatev, dont hesitate to let me know!!!
-hollie-
