~Memories~

By Ola

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A/N~ I'm really sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. Blame the exams and my encounter with the ambulance yesterday (nothing serious. Low blood pressure and hyperventilation. Yea, makes me feel like a stupid airhead in a corset =( so I spent half the day at the hospital, staring at the ceiling. Very boring, I can tell you this much.) Also, I TOLD myself never to write and post two fics at the same time! See where this gets me? I am beginning to run out of time. ok, on a brighter note, the other fic is almost ended, so I'll be back on this one with all my attention! =) all right, enough babbling. On with the story!

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Part 25~ Of dancing, beer…and spinning ceilings

The next day, it finally began to dribble, getting heavier as the afternoon dragged on. In the evening, everyone who wanted to go out to find company settled in the only room big enough and accessible to everyone: the inn's common room. That was quite a lot of people. Two companies of guards –one from the town, the other being the trainees– merchants and farmers with spare pence for a drink, and many who didn't, but were there just to talk and have fun. Wine and ale flowed freely; while two or three times, someone bought for the whole house. Raucous laughter erupted from time to time from little groups all over the room. Some shouts rang out for a minstrel, but there wasn't any.

"Any one knows how to sing?" a few noncommittal nods and finger pointing, then someone on the other side of the room began a jaunty song. On the next couplet, more people who knew the words joined in, and in such a way began a night full of songs and beer. Tables were cleared, and some young people began dancing. A pretty girl with dark blond hair tied into a braid took Lan's hand and asked her for a dance.

"Ah, no no no no no… I don't dance" Lan waved her hands in front of her, while backing away on the bench, until she came up against Sindarin who shoved her on the dance floor with a huge grin.

"Now you do!", while thinking it's pay back time! And you had better learn to dance. It's always good to know stuff. She glared back at him until she was lost in the crowd. But then he moved to another place to be able to look at her. A few minutes later, an older woman asked him too, and they danced on next to Lan and the blond, Sindarin giving them the thumb up, and his partner laughing her head of.

Actually, Lan wasn't that bad at all; her body moved with grace and fluidity, it's just that she wasn't used to the role of the guy. I wonder what it feels like dancing with her. I mean real, close dancing. Sigh. Too bad I can't try it right now. But maybe later, when everyone gets too drunk to notice…they stopped, ate, drank ale-quite a lot of that actually- and danced some more.

Weee… the ceiling is spinning! That's because that twerp is spinning you around her! Lan stopped, but the ceiling kept on moving anyway. Oh? mmm… hick! ...'m thirsty…need some more of that drink…err…which table were we on already? That one? Arrg, stop moving! How am I supposed to sit down when the bench won't stop running from me?! With her tongue sticking out, Lan made an attempt at catching the bench with her hands, but she ended up on her knees, a foot away. With a sigh, she shakily got up, and tried to pin the runaway bench by simply sitting on it…It didn't work either. she dropped on the floor quite painfully. Ah, damn…think I had a little bit too much of that wine...but…it was so yummy…would like some more…ah! A mug! Yay! She finally hoisted herself up on the bench…and made a face when not a single drop poured down her throat. Pfua! Empty! She put the mug down. Or tried to. It crashed to the floor. With a little laugh, Lan said:

"Not my fault! 's the table. Keeps moving…" then her head dropped on the table. At least that didn't fall off… insane little laughter.

She felt someone shake her shoulder. "Hey Lan, wake up. Come on buddy."

"Leave me alone. 's nice here. Could I have more wine?"

"Oh no no no no no."

"Why not? I'm thirsty" she whined.

"How much of that wine did you have?"

"What…? Not even one full cup. I swear!" hic "I never saw the bottom of it anyway. That nice lady over there…" people scrambled away to keep from being hit by her wildly sweeping hand "kept on pouring me some."

"Come on." Someone took her under the armpits and tried to raise her up to her feet.

"Leave me alone! Stop annoying me! I don't wanna go yet. Bugger off…bugger." And she collapsed in a pile of laughter. "Bugger?...bug?...got it?" an edge of hysteria entered her laugh, and the person talking to her raised an eyebrow.

Since no one laughed at her joke, Lan opened her bleary, bloodshot eyes, trying to focus them on something. Anything. She could see some vague brown shapes, all blurring into an indistinctive sea of gray-brown, except for one spot of orange. "Sindarin? Eh, orange…like a, like a…a mandarin! Sindarine, mandarin…" her shoulders shook in silent giggles, but this time she let herself be carried away, partly because she was too weak to struggle, and partly because she was too taken up with the new nickname.

She didn't hear when the person carrying her asked the barman if he would mind bringing a bucket of cold water to their room; but she found out soon enough. A muffled scream made its way from somewhere upstairs, to be quickly overpowered by the loud singing and talking downstairs.

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A/N~ sorry for not making this chapter very long, but it was a good place to stop.

-L S Star- you'll see in a few chapters. *grins* it's a surprise, so I can't answer that without giving it away =)

-Falcon-rider- oh! OH! Oops. Nope, that was definitely NOT intended! =) my error. Jack does NOT know Lan is a girl. Will have to go back and change that *sheepish grin*

-magdellin- thanks *grins*

-Eri- yes, that's what I meant. I guess I'll have to change that too, to make it less confusing =). Hysterical roommate eh? Lol.