Title: Aragorn and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Author/Email: MaraJade (LadyJadeSky@aol.com)
Archive: MC, The_Istari, anyone else just ask!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings characters, and I stole the title from Judith Viorst.
Author's Notes: I've always remembered the title to Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day ever since that day in Kindergarten when the librarian (would you believe that her name was actually Ms. Eldar) read it to us. I don't really remember the events from the book (c'mon, I'm three years out of high school!) But the title stuck. I should probably go back and read that. I work in a bookstore, so when I work next I'll read it.
Aragorn was in a bad mood. First, he woke up late for breakfast. His brothers decided to do him the favor of waking him up-with a bucket of cold water. After he'd dried off, dressed, and gone downstairs to eat, his father had chastised him because he'd forgotten to do one of the tasks Elrond had asked him to do the day before. He would have to do it today.
Normally his brothers would help, but they had planned a hunting trip for the day. Instead of cutting the time in half by adding extra hands, the twins had laughed and taken off. After several hours, Estel's task was complete and he volunteered to go into the forest and replenish Elrond's supply of herbs.
He had made his way to the stables, tacked up his gray mare, and led her outside. When he started to mount, his stirrup leather broke and he fell flat on his back. Then his horse decided to trot off without him.
"Celebfaer, get back here!" he shouted after her. She flicked her ears back at the sound of his voice, but was quickly out of sight. Aragorn kicked the stirrup that was laying on the ground and then decided to just walk. Celebfaer would return on her own, eventually.
So he started out. He made good progress, quickly finding most of the herbs he needed. He went to the outskirts of Rivendell and beyond. Three hours from the borders of Imladris, he still hadn't found the last one he needed. But he did run into a band of orcs. Ten of them. He dispatched them fairly easily, suffering no major injuries. He decided to go back home and find the herb tomorrow when it started to rain heavily. Forty-five minutes into his trek he tripped a rabbit snare, which startled him enough that he fell down an embankment. When he landed, his right foot took all his weight and buckled with an audible 'crack'. He assessed his ankle and determined that it was broken.
That had been an hour ago. Now he sat, cold and drenched from the rain, hungry from skipping lunch, tired and hurting. And it was dark. His only consolation was that he had landed near a patch of the plant he had been unable to find earlier. He wondered what his brothers would say when they found him. The howls of a pack of wolves made him revise that statement to 'if' his brothers found him. He was having what was probably the worst day of his life, and it was quickly turning into the longest night.
Hours went by and there was still no sign of the twins. Aragorn had been creating mental games to pass the time, but the night was dragging. If no one found him by morning Aragorn decided he would have to fashion a splint and try to walk back to Rivendell. Life was not fun right then, and even if he did make it home it would not improve overly much because of his father. Elrond would likely be difficult about this. It wasn't like Aragorn had *asked to be attacked by orcs and then break his ankle. Things like that just tended to happen to him. With amazing frequency. Aragorn decided he would be very lucky if his father let him leave Imladris until Elrond was going to sail over the sea. Which he did not intend to do anytime soon. So Estel was going to be stuck in Rivendell for the remainder of his life. Ah well. At least his father cared about him.
The sun was starting to rise though, which meant it was time for Aragorn to think about leaving. He found two sticks within reaching distance that would be suitable for a splint, and another smaller stick to bite down on. It was going to hurt when he set his ankle, and he wasn't sure if there were any enemies around. Making noise would be a bad thing. He drew in a breath, bit hard on his stick, and re-aligned the bones in his ankle.
He sat still for a few minutes, his eyes closed and his breathing hard while he struggled to control of the pain. When he was able to move, he quickly braced his leg, tying off the splint with a length of strong vine. Satisfied with his handiwork, Aragorn slowly gained his feet. The pain was slightly bearable and he was able to walk, albeit at a very slow pace. At this rate, it would be nightfall before he returned home.
Aragorn had been walking for about an hour and a half when the pain in his foot forced him to rest. Sweat was running freely down his face and he was almost out of water. Things were not looking good. In fact, the only thing he could think of that would make the situation worse was if he were to ask, "What else could go wrong?"
Even though he didn't ask, he heard a rustling noise nearby. It sounded like a group of something headed his way. 'Great,' he thought. 'More orcs. Just what I needed.' But as they got even closer, he could hear talking. In Elvish. Unless he was very much mistaken, orcs didn't speak the Elven tongue. His brothers did though.
"Elladan! Elrohir! Over here!" he called. It took another minute for the twins to enter the small clearing, followed by a few warrior elves, and their horses.
"Estel, we've been looking for you all night! What happened? When Celebfaer came home by herself we got worried," Elladan said.
"I never even got to mount her. My stirrup broke and she took off without me. I walked," Aragorn explained.
"Well, we did notice the missing stirrup and replaced it. What happened to your ankle?" Elrohir said.
"I broke it."
"Have you been walking on it?" Elladan asked.
"Yes, I've been waiting all night and feared you may have gotten lost looking for me. Rather than have father searching for all of us, I thought it might be prudent to make my own way home."
"Lost? Us? You should know better than that, Estel!" Elladan said.
"I do know you, Elladan. As I said, I feared you were lost."
Before Elladan could reply with his own retort, Elrohir was calling out, "Celebfaer, tol [come]!" When the mare walked over, Elrohir said, "I'll help you up. You are not to walk on that ankle until Father says it's alright for you to do so." The twins helped Estel into his saddle without stressing his ankle. The elves all mounted their steeds and they started home.
"Did you sleep last night, Brother?" Elladan asked as he saw Aragorn yawn.
"No, there were orcs about. I didn't think it wise to do so."
"Orcs?" Elrohir asked.
"Yes, orcs. You know, ugly, bad breath, very nasty in both looks and demeanor? Orcs."
"I know what an orc is, Estel! How do you know they were around?"
"I fought a few of them farther from the borders of Imladris," Estel responded around another yawn.
"Sleep, Estel. Celebfaer will not let you fall. We can talk about this later." Elrohir said. "It won't take us too long to get home, where Father can treat your injuries, as usual."
Having permission to sleep through the ride home, Aragorn didn't feel the need to reply to his brother's teasing remark. He was fast asleep in moments, after thinking that this day was turning out much better than the last.
End
ThE iNsAnE oNe: I'm sorry you have school. I'm in college, so I know how ya feel. Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad you are enjoying this series.
Author/Email: MaraJade (LadyJadeSky@aol.com)
Archive: MC, The_Istari, anyone else just ask!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings characters, and I stole the title from Judith Viorst.
Author's Notes: I've always remembered the title to Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day ever since that day in Kindergarten when the librarian (would you believe that her name was actually Ms. Eldar) read it to us. I don't really remember the events from the book (c'mon, I'm three years out of high school!) But the title stuck. I should probably go back and read that. I work in a bookstore, so when I work next I'll read it.
Aragorn was in a bad mood. First, he woke up late for breakfast. His brothers decided to do him the favor of waking him up-with a bucket of cold water. After he'd dried off, dressed, and gone downstairs to eat, his father had chastised him because he'd forgotten to do one of the tasks Elrond had asked him to do the day before. He would have to do it today.
Normally his brothers would help, but they had planned a hunting trip for the day. Instead of cutting the time in half by adding extra hands, the twins had laughed and taken off. After several hours, Estel's task was complete and he volunteered to go into the forest and replenish Elrond's supply of herbs.
He had made his way to the stables, tacked up his gray mare, and led her outside. When he started to mount, his stirrup leather broke and he fell flat on his back. Then his horse decided to trot off without him.
"Celebfaer, get back here!" he shouted after her. She flicked her ears back at the sound of his voice, but was quickly out of sight. Aragorn kicked the stirrup that was laying on the ground and then decided to just walk. Celebfaer would return on her own, eventually.
So he started out. He made good progress, quickly finding most of the herbs he needed. He went to the outskirts of Rivendell and beyond. Three hours from the borders of Imladris, he still hadn't found the last one he needed. But he did run into a band of orcs. Ten of them. He dispatched them fairly easily, suffering no major injuries. He decided to go back home and find the herb tomorrow when it started to rain heavily. Forty-five minutes into his trek he tripped a rabbit snare, which startled him enough that he fell down an embankment. When he landed, his right foot took all his weight and buckled with an audible 'crack'. He assessed his ankle and determined that it was broken.
That had been an hour ago. Now he sat, cold and drenched from the rain, hungry from skipping lunch, tired and hurting. And it was dark. His only consolation was that he had landed near a patch of the plant he had been unable to find earlier. He wondered what his brothers would say when they found him. The howls of a pack of wolves made him revise that statement to 'if' his brothers found him. He was having what was probably the worst day of his life, and it was quickly turning into the longest night.
Hours went by and there was still no sign of the twins. Aragorn had been creating mental games to pass the time, but the night was dragging. If no one found him by morning Aragorn decided he would have to fashion a splint and try to walk back to Rivendell. Life was not fun right then, and even if he did make it home it would not improve overly much because of his father. Elrond would likely be difficult about this. It wasn't like Aragorn had *asked to be attacked by orcs and then break his ankle. Things like that just tended to happen to him. With amazing frequency. Aragorn decided he would be very lucky if his father let him leave Imladris until Elrond was going to sail over the sea. Which he did not intend to do anytime soon. So Estel was going to be stuck in Rivendell for the remainder of his life. Ah well. At least his father cared about him.
The sun was starting to rise though, which meant it was time for Aragorn to think about leaving. He found two sticks within reaching distance that would be suitable for a splint, and another smaller stick to bite down on. It was going to hurt when he set his ankle, and he wasn't sure if there were any enemies around. Making noise would be a bad thing. He drew in a breath, bit hard on his stick, and re-aligned the bones in his ankle.
He sat still for a few minutes, his eyes closed and his breathing hard while he struggled to control of the pain. When he was able to move, he quickly braced his leg, tying off the splint with a length of strong vine. Satisfied with his handiwork, Aragorn slowly gained his feet. The pain was slightly bearable and he was able to walk, albeit at a very slow pace. At this rate, it would be nightfall before he returned home.
Aragorn had been walking for about an hour and a half when the pain in his foot forced him to rest. Sweat was running freely down his face and he was almost out of water. Things were not looking good. In fact, the only thing he could think of that would make the situation worse was if he were to ask, "What else could go wrong?"
Even though he didn't ask, he heard a rustling noise nearby. It sounded like a group of something headed his way. 'Great,' he thought. 'More orcs. Just what I needed.' But as they got even closer, he could hear talking. In Elvish. Unless he was very much mistaken, orcs didn't speak the Elven tongue. His brothers did though.
"Elladan! Elrohir! Over here!" he called. It took another minute for the twins to enter the small clearing, followed by a few warrior elves, and their horses.
"Estel, we've been looking for you all night! What happened? When Celebfaer came home by herself we got worried," Elladan said.
"I never even got to mount her. My stirrup broke and she took off without me. I walked," Aragorn explained.
"Well, we did notice the missing stirrup and replaced it. What happened to your ankle?" Elrohir said.
"I broke it."
"Have you been walking on it?" Elladan asked.
"Yes, I've been waiting all night and feared you may have gotten lost looking for me. Rather than have father searching for all of us, I thought it might be prudent to make my own way home."
"Lost? Us? You should know better than that, Estel!" Elladan said.
"I do know you, Elladan. As I said, I feared you were lost."
Before Elladan could reply with his own retort, Elrohir was calling out, "Celebfaer, tol [come]!" When the mare walked over, Elrohir said, "I'll help you up. You are not to walk on that ankle until Father says it's alright for you to do so." The twins helped Estel into his saddle without stressing his ankle. The elves all mounted their steeds and they started home.
"Did you sleep last night, Brother?" Elladan asked as he saw Aragorn yawn.
"No, there were orcs about. I didn't think it wise to do so."
"Orcs?" Elrohir asked.
"Yes, orcs. You know, ugly, bad breath, very nasty in both looks and demeanor? Orcs."
"I know what an orc is, Estel! How do you know they were around?"
"I fought a few of them farther from the borders of Imladris," Estel responded around another yawn.
"Sleep, Estel. Celebfaer will not let you fall. We can talk about this later." Elrohir said. "It won't take us too long to get home, where Father can treat your injuries, as usual."
Having permission to sleep through the ride home, Aragorn didn't feel the need to reply to his brother's teasing remark. He was fast asleep in moments, after thinking that this day was turning out much better than the last.
End
ThE iNsAnE oNe: I'm sorry you have school. I'm in college, so I know how ya feel. Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad you are enjoying this series.