~Memories~

By Ola

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A/N~ Sorry Gus. Well, okay so there are TWO lord of the rings thinggy's in the story so far, and Sindarin's name is one of them, but it's not fair since I wrote where I got it from. So there's another one out there still. =) Saphie, lots of thanks and hugs! =) although I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm anywhere as good as Misty. I'll let her write the stories, and I'll keep on writing my own silly little fics. Thanks so much for the reviews!

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Part 11~

"Take your positions…pick your target…fire!" Six arrows flew and hit their targets with different amount of accuracy; half an inch to the left and one would have flown right by its target. Lanea was happy that for once, she wasn't the worst. She wasn't even mediocre. Without wanting to brag, she could even say she was one of the best, only rivaled by the captain himself.

She glanced at Sindarin's target, already knowing that it was near the center; but not quite. She also didn't have to look around her to know whose arrow was the farthest form the mark. She could have deducted that from the voice and the swearing if she needed to, but it was always the same person. Matejas. That was rather strange because he was a tall and muscular man and he had good coordination in swordsmanship. Maybe archery was an inborn skill? That would prove why she was so good at it, she, the smallest and weakest of them all. Maybe it was because she really loved archery and wanted to be good at it. But that didn't matter in the end. What did matter was that she had an efficient way of protecting herself in case of need, and that she didn't have to suffer Sindarin's arrogant little smiles anymore, like the ones he used during swords practice. Maybe he didn't realize he was doing it, and maybe, being a girl, Lanea was more prone at picking up facial emotions, interpreting them as something, while it was something else.

"Matejas, would you mind shutting up for once? We all know what you feel about archery by now; you don't have to repeat yourself." The man glanced at the captain and closed his mouth.

They aimed and shot again, and again, and again, then retrieved their arrows and began anew. Ah! The beauty of sunny days. No rain or humidity to do funny things to bow strings. That's what I call life.

A few hours later, they began working with moving targets. That was definitely…entertaining. In groups of two, one person threw a disk into the air, while the second tried to shoot it before it fell back onto the ground.

"Are you blind?! Watch where you're f… aiming! You son of a b…! You almost took my eye out with that thing!" after that, Matejas was put back on stationary targets. The captain didn't want any casualties.

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In the evening, now that they didn't fall on their faces as soon as they hit camp, they sat around the fire and talked or played cards, which Tuck had thought of bringing with him, thank god. When it rained, they sometimes all squeezed under one tarp, or two close to each other, to stay dry. During such nights, they couldn't light a fire and so card play was obviously out, but heated discussions became a permanent nightly action, and everyone threw in his own opinions. Jek didn't actually talk, but he listened and nodded in agreement from time to time. He was a strange kind of guy; calm and reserved. He talked the least possible, and rarely above a whisper. That is, except once.

That time, he had gone off by himself, probably to relieve a full bladder. They could all hear his footsteps. It had gotten silent for a while, then they had heard a scream and had seen him running back as if chased by a bear. Everyone had jumped up and grabbed whatever weapon happen to be close by, aiming at the place Jek had come from. They had waited in tense silence, holding their breath, wondering what the heck was about the lunge at them. Jek had been deathly pale, and the only one weaponless, but by the way his hands had been shaking, they knew he couldn't have been useful in any combat anyway. The silence had prolonged itself; the fire had cracked from time to time, covering the approach of the beast. Suddenly, the bushes had moved, and out had come…a little porcupine. Someone had snorted, someone else had given Jek a look, and pretty soon, everybody had ended up laughing, some with tears in their eyes, others on the floor, holding their sides. All, except poor Jek, still white as snow, eyeing the little beasty as if it was his mother in law. Yep, there he had been loud. But after that, he didn't speak a word for a REALLY  long time…and avoided to go into the woods alone.

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The day was much warmer than they were used to for the end of October. Sure, they were heading south, but it was also nearing winter. They were back onto the trail after a day of rest at the checkpoint, during which they had washed and fixed their clothes and renewed their provisions. They had the opportunity to sleep in between four walls and have a solid roof over their heads, but for once, it hadn't been raining. The small barracks had been musty so they all ended up sleeping outside anyway.

The small vacation was however quickly forgotten in favor of grumblings about the unnatural heat. Cloaks and jackets were cast off, then shirts followed for all the recruits…except Lan that is. She eyed the male members with a jealous eye, feeling one for the first injustice against her sex. Another, even harsher, would soon follow. As the sun sank behind a hill, the ambient temperature did not drop. It actually seemed to increase because of the humidity. After setting up camp they laid down on the cool floor like dead flies. One of the flies came back from a little excursion.

"Captain, I ask for permission to go off camp, to the lake. It's not far." He got a nod. The other flies suddenly resuscitated and flew off; their happy yelling could be heard from quite a distance.

"Hey Lan, did you hear?"

"Mmm"

"You're not coming?"

"No."

"Why?"

"…don't know how to swim."

"I'll teach you." Head shake. "Come on, it's shallow waters, and cool…"

"Nuh unh." A shrug, then he too went off.

Lanea crossed her hands behind her head and laid back down with her eyes closed, daydreaming about the cool liquid water flowing over her body, taking away the heat and the tiredness. Sigh. Life wasn't fair, but she had chosen it, so she couldn't complain. Of course I can complain! If women were allowed to serve in the guard, I wouldn't have to hide who I am. I wouldn't have to lie in this heat instead of taking a plunge. Well, actually, it went quite smoothly up to know. Not too much problems with feminine inconveniences, except two or three scares, quickly taken care of. The guys aren't too inquisitive and I don't think they'll find out unless I make a mistake… her thoughts kept along that track, planning her future, and thinking about the past until the guys came back with smiles on their faces, radiating coolness. Lan's face fell. No, life wasn't fair after all, but that could be taken care of.

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when she thought everyone was asleep, she left quietly, taking an extra shirt and her bow. The lake was small and reflected the starlight; Lanea smiled to herself. She had taken her shoes off when she heard him. And she heard his soft footsteps only because she had been half expecting them.

"Don't come any closer." She pointed her arrow at his chest.

"Lan, it's me."

"I know it's you. Don't come closer."

"Okay I won't, but put that thing down please."

"Don't come closer or…or … you'll loose your manhood."

"I told you I won't." he took a step back, just in case, or to show her he really meant it. "I heard you go away. You said you can't swim."

"Don't worry about me."

"If it's your stupid pride that gets you from accepting help in learning to swim, you…"

"Don't worry about me." A long silence.

"You are a funny little guy, you know?...don't do anything stupid little brother."

He left as silently as he had come. She waited a long while to make sure he wouldn't come back, and she undressed quickly, her back to the forest, just in case. The water was cooler than she had expected, but it felt wonderful. She swam around in circles for a time, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness, then rubbed herself with sand and passed her hands through her hair a few times.

She didn't want to come out.

Not far away, an owl called its mate; it responded from the other side of the lake.

The moon almost hadn't moved. Still in the water, floating on her back while looking at the stars, Lan saw one of them fall. She made a wish, a smile on her face.

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A/N~ Ha! How is that for a lengthy chapter? Blame or thank my neighbor for it. He has friends in his room and they are talking too loud for me to sleep. They don't seem to be moving out any time soon, unfortunately for me. Poor, sleep deprived me =(

~Ola~