Well, this took a long time to write! Whoo. Go me!
"OW! Gerroff!
"What? Who?"
"Pippin! Get off me!" Merry's voice came from somewhere under Pippin.
Frodo stood up. "What are you doing here, and what are you doing with those turnips?"
Sam picked himself up, puffing like a wounded dragon as he glared at the miscreants. "You've been into farmer Maggots crop!"
Merry stood up straight, pulling Pippin up with him, then the two blinked. "Who's that?" They asked as one, looking at Niko, who was still sitting on the ground looking unhappy.
"That's Niko," began Frodo, "And she's-" He stopped and looked at the sharp, gleaming sickle that was heading towards them above the rows of golden corn, blinking. A dog could be heard barking in the distance. He opened his mouth to say something, but Pippin grabbed him by the arm while dropping his armload of ill-gotten vegetables, and the five of them half ran, half stumbled through the field.
Niko wasn't really listening to what the hobbits were yelling, as she was concentrating on not getting hit in the face with corn as she ran. From her left, she caught a few words. "My point is, he's clearly over- reacting!" Then everything went blurry as a hobbit slammed into her back and they all went tumbling over the bank at the edge of the field. She wasn't quite sure which way was up, and decided to just cling onto whoever it was falling beside her, and occupied herself by yelling something incomprehensible.
Clunk.
Groans came from the small group of bodies lying in the road, and a few proffered thanks to no one for not getting hurt came from Pippin.
An excited cry of "Mushrooms!" came from over her head somewhere, and Niko realized her eyes were closed. She slowly opened one eye in time to realize that Merry was scrambling over her. "OW." she yelled, then laboriously climbed to her feet, looking around for Frodo.
"Frodo?"
He was standing away from the others, his gaze fixed down the road aways, where a sourceless wind had stirred up the fallen leaves resting there. His face was pale, and his eyes were wide in fear. She watched in fascination as his hand involuntarily moved towards the pocket he kept his ring in, and she felt the first real touch of fear. The danger here was real, and so were these little people standing around here. The realization that they were no longer just characters hit her. She gasped, almost cried out, but the sound was lost in Frodo's frantic cry to "Get off the road!"
She numbly scrambled to the side of the road with the others, and crouched just outside of the overhanging root, hoping her borrowed cloak would hide her. Then with a chill, the hidden group heard the unmistakable sound of a walking horse, and worse, the strange heavy breathing of it's black rider.
Seconds stretched away unbearably slowly, seeming like hours before she dared draw breath again. She could feel a stranger kind of tension in the air, almost like a vacuum. To her left, Frodo was gasping silently, his hand wandering towards the ring. His eyes rolled back and sweat rolled down his face as his hand drew closer and closer still... Then brave Sam reached over and pulled his hand away. Their eyes met, Frodo's filled with uncertainty and fear, Sam's with loving trust and support. Niko felt like she wanted to cry, but was too scared to even breath- the rider was still too near.
In a sudden inspiration, Merry tossedthe satchel of mushrooms he was holding, and in movement so swift that it shocked her, the wraith was gone, screaming an earsplitting shriek.
Niko shot up, pulling on Merry, who was closest to her, who pulled the others up, and the five of them ran desperately away from the terrible evil that was chasing them.
"Figures." Niko muttered bitterly as she ran. She didn't expect this adventure to be so... well... Adventurous. "Just... Figures"
A note to a reviewer: Usually I don't do this (posting notes in stories) but it gives me a chance to explain some things, and I have to say... thanks! It's not often that someone gives really constructive criticism and takes the time to ask well-thought out questions in a coherent and polite way! Yay! Everybody clap for the reviewer! And I love the rest of you too! You make me happy! But to clear up a few of those thought-provoking questions for you, and any other readers who may have the same thoughts, here's some answers!
You and many others referred to the way I spell "cookies." Well, my thought on the subject is that "ies" is plural, so it should be not cookie, but cooky. I spell it "cookys" in the plural mainly to be stubborn, and because it's one of my many quirks. I have lots-trust me! (I'm Tinkerbelle, you can't hug me.)
"After a little consideration i'm surprised that Gandalf so readily agreed to allow Niko to go to Rivendell with Frodo."
Ooh, this is a hard one. Let's just say Gandalf took a liking to the irritable little brat, which is why he let her go along. I agree with the strangers dropping out of the sky being untrustworthy, but Niko is an ordinary, fairly non-dangerous teenager... And unlike the multitude of MarySue characters out there, she does not have the strength of Aragorn, Eomer's swords skills, the archery know-how of all the Mirkwood elves or the powers of Gandalf. I know for a fact that Niko (based on, you guessed it-ME!) has taken fencing lessons and very nearly managed to cut off her own foot trying to pick up the damn epee. (A kind of fencing sword. I'm small, and it works best for me.) Which she wasn't supposed to be near in the first place, but oh well. :P SO she's not all that dangerous. Just annoying.
Niko's going to Rivendell because she knows the details of the quest, and has read MarySues, and for lack of a better idea of how to get home, she'll go along and hope that she somehow gets home. Sadly, few MarySues ever got that far, so she's running on guesses. And the hobbits she abuses (I'm SORRY! I LOVE THEM!) she's blaming them for her being there. Not very fair or nice, but it's part of the story.
Lastly, the last chapter WAS slow, sorry about that. But real-life Niko has mid-terms, is trying out for the school musical, and trying to control the urge to kill her piano teacher for assigning her four pages of theory every week, and is balancing four instruments (dear god the practice time! It doesn't exist! Which is why I'm failing band. I didn't think that was even POSSIBLE.)
I'm done blahing now. Review! Review! *sings* Whee.
"OW! Gerroff!
"What? Who?"
"Pippin! Get off me!" Merry's voice came from somewhere under Pippin.
Frodo stood up. "What are you doing here, and what are you doing with those turnips?"
Sam picked himself up, puffing like a wounded dragon as he glared at the miscreants. "You've been into farmer Maggots crop!"
Merry stood up straight, pulling Pippin up with him, then the two blinked. "Who's that?" They asked as one, looking at Niko, who was still sitting on the ground looking unhappy.
"That's Niko," began Frodo, "And she's-" He stopped and looked at the sharp, gleaming sickle that was heading towards them above the rows of golden corn, blinking. A dog could be heard barking in the distance. He opened his mouth to say something, but Pippin grabbed him by the arm while dropping his armload of ill-gotten vegetables, and the five of them half ran, half stumbled through the field.
Niko wasn't really listening to what the hobbits were yelling, as she was concentrating on not getting hit in the face with corn as she ran. From her left, she caught a few words. "My point is, he's clearly over- reacting!" Then everything went blurry as a hobbit slammed into her back and they all went tumbling over the bank at the edge of the field. She wasn't quite sure which way was up, and decided to just cling onto whoever it was falling beside her, and occupied herself by yelling something incomprehensible.
Clunk.
Groans came from the small group of bodies lying in the road, and a few proffered thanks to no one for not getting hurt came from Pippin.
An excited cry of "Mushrooms!" came from over her head somewhere, and Niko realized her eyes were closed. She slowly opened one eye in time to realize that Merry was scrambling over her. "OW." she yelled, then laboriously climbed to her feet, looking around for Frodo.
"Frodo?"
He was standing away from the others, his gaze fixed down the road aways, where a sourceless wind had stirred up the fallen leaves resting there. His face was pale, and his eyes were wide in fear. She watched in fascination as his hand involuntarily moved towards the pocket he kept his ring in, and she felt the first real touch of fear. The danger here was real, and so were these little people standing around here. The realization that they were no longer just characters hit her. She gasped, almost cried out, but the sound was lost in Frodo's frantic cry to "Get off the road!"
She numbly scrambled to the side of the road with the others, and crouched just outside of the overhanging root, hoping her borrowed cloak would hide her. Then with a chill, the hidden group heard the unmistakable sound of a walking horse, and worse, the strange heavy breathing of it's black rider.
Seconds stretched away unbearably slowly, seeming like hours before she dared draw breath again. She could feel a stranger kind of tension in the air, almost like a vacuum. To her left, Frodo was gasping silently, his hand wandering towards the ring. His eyes rolled back and sweat rolled down his face as his hand drew closer and closer still... Then brave Sam reached over and pulled his hand away. Their eyes met, Frodo's filled with uncertainty and fear, Sam's with loving trust and support. Niko felt like she wanted to cry, but was too scared to even breath- the rider was still too near.
In a sudden inspiration, Merry tossedthe satchel of mushrooms he was holding, and in movement so swift that it shocked her, the wraith was gone, screaming an earsplitting shriek.
Niko shot up, pulling on Merry, who was closest to her, who pulled the others up, and the five of them ran desperately away from the terrible evil that was chasing them.
"Figures." Niko muttered bitterly as she ran. She didn't expect this adventure to be so... well... Adventurous. "Just... Figures"
A note to a reviewer: Usually I don't do this (posting notes in stories) but it gives me a chance to explain some things, and I have to say... thanks! It's not often that someone gives really constructive criticism and takes the time to ask well-thought out questions in a coherent and polite way! Yay! Everybody clap for the reviewer! And I love the rest of you too! You make me happy! But to clear up a few of those thought-provoking questions for you, and any other readers who may have the same thoughts, here's some answers!
You and many others referred to the way I spell "cookies." Well, my thought on the subject is that "ies" is plural, so it should be not cookie, but cooky. I spell it "cookys" in the plural mainly to be stubborn, and because it's one of my many quirks. I have lots-trust me! (I'm Tinkerbelle, you can't hug me.)
"After a little consideration i'm surprised that Gandalf so readily agreed to allow Niko to go to Rivendell with Frodo."
Ooh, this is a hard one. Let's just say Gandalf took a liking to the irritable little brat, which is why he let her go along. I agree with the strangers dropping out of the sky being untrustworthy, but Niko is an ordinary, fairly non-dangerous teenager... And unlike the multitude of MarySue characters out there, she does not have the strength of Aragorn, Eomer's swords skills, the archery know-how of all the Mirkwood elves or the powers of Gandalf. I know for a fact that Niko (based on, you guessed it-ME!) has taken fencing lessons and very nearly managed to cut off her own foot trying to pick up the damn epee. (A kind of fencing sword. I'm small, and it works best for me.) Which she wasn't supposed to be near in the first place, but oh well. :P SO she's not all that dangerous. Just annoying.
Niko's going to Rivendell because she knows the details of the quest, and has read MarySues, and for lack of a better idea of how to get home, she'll go along and hope that she somehow gets home. Sadly, few MarySues ever got that far, so she's running on guesses. And the hobbits she abuses (I'm SORRY! I LOVE THEM!) she's blaming them for her being there. Not very fair or nice, but it's part of the story.
Lastly, the last chapter WAS slow, sorry about that. But real-life Niko has mid-terms, is trying out for the school musical, and trying to control the urge to kill her piano teacher for assigning her four pages of theory every week, and is balancing four instruments (dear god the practice time! It doesn't exist! Which is why I'm failing band. I didn't think that was even POSSIBLE.)
I'm done blahing now. Review! Review! *sings* Whee.