Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or any recognizable characters
and/or places thereof.
Author's Note: O.k., they probably don't have pantsing in Middle-earth. . .but I just couldn't resist. . .
Arwen Undomiel: Thanks! I'll e-mail you as soon as this chapter is posted.
Hardcorewwnut: Eek! Sorry about the time between updates. Thanks! I did feel that, if I was showing Arwen's feelings, it would only be fair to show Galadriel's. Say, weren't you beta-reading 'Beat of my own Drum'?
*****
Arwen reflected on her situation. Since Galadriel found her with a knife to her breast, there had hardly been a moment when Arwen was not at her grandmother's side. She was thinking very angry thoughts about her family again, but could not bring herself to think such things about her mother. Lothlorien, however, she was cursing profusely. Galadriel's face contorted slightly at one particular bad curse, and Arwen knew she had seen that thought. Well, good! Let her know how much I hate it here!
After five minutes of solid mental curses, Galadriel turned to Arwen and said, "We will discuss your behaviour later." Arwen said nothing, but put aside her hatred momentarily as an Elven boy and girl approached. They were both blonde, and around her age. The boy took note of her, and his eyes widened slightly, but the girl was too wrapped up in her fuming and rage to notice anything else.
"My Lady," said the boy, bowing to Galadriel. "My sister has something to tell you," he said roughly jostling the girl. She shook him off angrily.
"It's Haldir's fault!" the girl announced. "I did nothing."
"She wanted to learn how to use a bow, my Lady, and I was the only one around. . .I refused to teach her, so she took it upon herself to learn. She pierced the ground and nearly your mirror," the boy said. Galadriel opened her mouth to speak, and the girl dashed off. "Carach!" shouted the boy, then he turned to Galadriel and said hurriedly, "My Lady, I apologize, her behaviour is inexcusable, I know." He bowed quickly and chased after the girl.
Arwen decided that the girl might be all right, although a bit young. Haldir was clearly in love with her, or thought he was. Arwen hated being beautiful--she was, and it was not vanity that made her say so. The girl had hardly noticed her, which in Arwen's opinion was a very good thing.
"Arwen," Galadriel commanded, as though Arwen were a dog, "go to your room, and stay there. I will speak with you later, but first I have to sort out this. . .situation."
Arwen curtsied, then turned and walked away. Her room? Her room was back in Rivendell. Had the Lady just given her permission to leave? She laughed at herself, shaking her head. It was tempting to leave the room, saddle her horse, and ride like the wind. Much as she wanted to do this, she could not, for her father would send her back to Lothlorien--with an escort, most likely--and then things would only be worse. Arwen opted, instead, to sit and wait for Galadriel to come and lecture her.
*****
Haldir, meanwhile, was chasing his sister, who was running for all she was worth. "Carach, I swear to you! When I catch you, you are in so much trouble! This is worse than--worse than--" he searched his memories. What as the absolute worst? "--Worse than the time you pantsed me in front of the Lady!"
The sound of laughter stopped Haldir in his tracks. He spun around to see yet another blonde-haired Elf bent double with laughter. At last the Elf straightened, and he said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, "Your little sister did that to you? In front of Galadriel?" He could hardly keep back another giggle.
"Legolas," Haldir said through clenched teeth. "I did not know you were visiting. . ."
*****
". . .completely inappropriate. You must remember, Arwen, that you are a lady, and your actions here reflect on the reputation of your family and of all Rivendell. You may think what you like, but act as a mature, responsible Elf ought to. Is this understood?"
"Yes, Lady," Arwen replied, trying to sound chastised. In truth she had heard what Galadriel said, but not minded or even comprehended a word of it.
"Good. I shall leave you alone for the rest of the evening to think things over," Galadriel said, and with that she left. Arwen waited for only a moment before throwing open her window and climbing out of it. Her fear of heights was intense, but she had asked for this and would face her fear. Progress down the tree was slow, her heart racing, but inch by inch Arwen made her way to the ground.
*****
"I heard rumor that Elladan and Elrohir's young sister is here in Lothlorien," Legolas said, politely changing the topic.
"She must be the Elf I saw early, standing beside the Lady. She was beautiful," Haldir said, not aware that the last part had been said out loud.
"Just a small hint, Haldir, but do not woo her as you did the Lady," Carach said. It took Haldir a moment to realize that his sister was referring to that aforementioned embarrassing episode, and he blushed.
*****
"She was beautiful. . ."
Recognizing the voice as that boy from earlier--what was his name? Haldir?-- Arwen paused. Hopefully he referred not to her! Perhaps his sister would be with him, she thought, and set off in the direction of his voice. Arwen paused when she saw Haldir, Carach, and Legolas, an Elf who visited her brothers often, standing beneath the trees, laughing--though Haldir seemed not amused. Her heart sank in pity.
"Speaking of your lady-love," Legolas said with a wink at Haldir, "here she is now. Hello there! Are you not the sister of Elladan and Elrohir of Imladris? What is your name again? Arun?" this last bit was called to Arwen, who grimaced at such abuse of her proper name.
Arwen stepped closer to the three, and at once disliked them. Haldir stared at her, in an appropriate place but the fact alone that he stared bothered her. Legolas looked on her as "Elladan and Elrohir's little sister" and she knew. Carach, for her part, was not as bad, she was simply there, laughing at everything.
"My name is Arwen, and if you so abuse it again you shall regret it," she stated. The past two days had been just awful for Arwen, and she was frankly in a terrible mood. Physical threats were one thing she had always been quite terrible about, and try as they might (and had), her parents could not keep her from using them. Anyway, most of the Elves around her age knew to take her word for it.
"My Lady," said Haldir with a bow, "please excuse my comrades."
"I shall," said Arwen, "if you refrain from ever looking at me, ever again, in the place you just looked."
"I. . .I am sorry, my lady," Haldir stammered.
Arwen smiled. "Good! I am here against my will, and it would be quite better if we could just be friends. Does anybody protest this?" No one did. Carach, however, was curious.
"You are here against your will?" she asked. Carach had grown up in Lothlorien, and she did not love it, though it was her home.
"Yes," Arwen said sadly, "and without reason!"
"That is terrible! You mean your grandmother made you come, even though you do not want to be here?" Carach asked, to which Arwen nodded. "We should do something. . .we should run away." Carach was a young girl, and taken to childish fantasies as such. This one, however, appealed to the desperate Arwen.
"Yes," said Arwen, "let's." Carach was amazed. She had not truly meant it. . .but now her integrity was being tested, and she could not back down. Arwen spat into her palm and offered it to Carach, who nervously spat into her own and shook.
Author's Note: O.k., they probably don't have pantsing in Middle-earth. . .but I just couldn't resist. . .
Arwen Undomiel: Thanks! I'll e-mail you as soon as this chapter is posted.
Hardcorewwnut: Eek! Sorry about the time between updates. Thanks! I did feel that, if I was showing Arwen's feelings, it would only be fair to show Galadriel's. Say, weren't you beta-reading 'Beat of my own Drum'?
*****
Arwen reflected on her situation. Since Galadriel found her with a knife to her breast, there had hardly been a moment when Arwen was not at her grandmother's side. She was thinking very angry thoughts about her family again, but could not bring herself to think such things about her mother. Lothlorien, however, she was cursing profusely. Galadriel's face contorted slightly at one particular bad curse, and Arwen knew she had seen that thought. Well, good! Let her know how much I hate it here!
After five minutes of solid mental curses, Galadriel turned to Arwen and said, "We will discuss your behaviour later." Arwen said nothing, but put aside her hatred momentarily as an Elven boy and girl approached. They were both blonde, and around her age. The boy took note of her, and his eyes widened slightly, but the girl was too wrapped up in her fuming and rage to notice anything else.
"My Lady," said the boy, bowing to Galadriel. "My sister has something to tell you," he said roughly jostling the girl. She shook him off angrily.
"It's Haldir's fault!" the girl announced. "I did nothing."
"She wanted to learn how to use a bow, my Lady, and I was the only one around. . .I refused to teach her, so she took it upon herself to learn. She pierced the ground and nearly your mirror," the boy said. Galadriel opened her mouth to speak, and the girl dashed off. "Carach!" shouted the boy, then he turned to Galadriel and said hurriedly, "My Lady, I apologize, her behaviour is inexcusable, I know." He bowed quickly and chased after the girl.
Arwen decided that the girl might be all right, although a bit young. Haldir was clearly in love with her, or thought he was. Arwen hated being beautiful--she was, and it was not vanity that made her say so. The girl had hardly noticed her, which in Arwen's opinion was a very good thing.
"Arwen," Galadriel commanded, as though Arwen were a dog, "go to your room, and stay there. I will speak with you later, but first I have to sort out this. . .situation."
Arwen curtsied, then turned and walked away. Her room? Her room was back in Rivendell. Had the Lady just given her permission to leave? She laughed at herself, shaking her head. It was tempting to leave the room, saddle her horse, and ride like the wind. Much as she wanted to do this, she could not, for her father would send her back to Lothlorien--with an escort, most likely--and then things would only be worse. Arwen opted, instead, to sit and wait for Galadriel to come and lecture her.
*****
Haldir, meanwhile, was chasing his sister, who was running for all she was worth. "Carach, I swear to you! When I catch you, you are in so much trouble! This is worse than--worse than--" he searched his memories. What as the absolute worst? "--Worse than the time you pantsed me in front of the Lady!"
The sound of laughter stopped Haldir in his tracks. He spun around to see yet another blonde-haired Elf bent double with laughter. At last the Elf straightened, and he said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, "Your little sister did that to you? In front of Galadriel?" He could hardly keep back another giggle.
"Legolas," Haldir said through clenched teeth. "I did not know you were visiting. . ."
*****
". . .completely inappropriate. You must remember, Arwen, that you are a lady, and your actions here reflect on the reputation of your family and of all Rivendell. You may think what you like, but act as a mature, responsible Elf ought to. Is this understood?"
"Yes, Lady," Arwen replied, trying to sound chastised. In truth she had heard what Galadriel said, but not minded or even comprehended a word of it.
"Good. I shall leave you alone for the rest of the evening to think things over," Galadriel said, and with that she left. Arwen waited for only a moment before throwing open her window and climbing out of it. Her fear of heights was intense, but she had asked for this and would face her fear. Progress down the tree was slow, her heart racing, but inch by inch Arwen made her way to the ground.
*****
"I heard rumor that Elladan and Elrohir's young sister is here in Lothlorien," Legolas said, politely changing the topic.
"She must be the Elf I saw early, standing beside the Lady. She was beautiful," Haldir said, not aware that the last part had been said out loud.
"Just a small hint, Haldir, but do not woo her as you did the Lady," Carach said. It took Haldir a moment to realize that his sister was referring to that aforementioned embarrassing episode, and he blushed.
*****
"She was beautiful. . ."
Recognizing the voice as that boy from earlier--what was his name? Haldir?-- Arwen paused. Hopefully he referred not to her! Perhaps his sister would be with him, she thought, and set off in the direction of his voice. Arwen paused when she saw Haldir, Carach, and Legolas, an Elf who visited her brothers often, standing beneath the trees, laughing--though Haldir seemed not amused. Her heart sank in pity.
"Speaking of your lady-love," Legolas said with a wink at Haldir, "here she is now. Hello there! Are you not the sister of Elladan and Elrohir of Imladris? What is your name again? Arun?" this last bit was called to Arwen, who grimaced at such abuse of her proper name.
Arwen stepped closer to the three, and at once disliked them. Haldir stared at her, in an appropriate place but the fact alone that he stared bothered her. Legolas looked on her as "Elladan and Elrohir's little sister" and she knew. Carach, for her part, was not as bad, she was simply there, laughing at everything.
"My name is Arwen, and if you so abuse it again you shall regret it," she stated. The past two days had been just awful for Arwen, and she was frankly in a terrible mood. Physical threats were one thing she had always been quite terrible about, and try as they might (and had), her parents could not keep her from using them. Anyway, most of the Elves around her age knew to take her word for it.
"My Lady," said Haldir with a bow, "please excuse my comrades."
"I shall," said Arwen, "if you refrain from ever looking at me, ever again, in the place you just looked."
"I. . .I am sorry, my lady," Haldir stammered.
Arwen smiled. "Good! I am here against my will, and it would be quite better if we could just be friends. Does anybody protest this?" No one did. Carach, however, was curious.
"You are here against your will?" she asked. Carach had grown up in Lothlorien, and she did not love it, though it was her home.
"Yes," Arwen said sadly, "and without reason!"
"That is terrible! You mean your grandmother made you come, even though you do not want to be here?" Carach asked, to which Arwen nodded. "We should do something. . .we should run away." Carach was a young girl, and taken to childish fantasies as such. This one, however, appealed to the desperate Arwen.
"Yes," said Arwen, "let's." Carach was amazed. She had not truly meant it. . .but now her integrity was being tested, and she could not back down. Arwen spat into her palm and offered it to Carach, who nervously spat into her own and shook.