Thanks again to my reviewers and a pearl of my skewed wisdom too which I
quote from the back of my dad's Pogues CD! (Hey! It's a cool quote and it's
about performing!)
"I'm not singing for the future,
I'm not dreaming of the past,
I never talk about the first time,
I never think about the last."
I'm going to try to get these chapters up fast but I need my friend to proof read them and stuff first. So give me time!
Chapter three- The First Test
Eledhel walked swiftly from the great tree to her Archery range in the city. Woodcaptain and their patrols had their own training places, so there were a dozen dotted about the city. While she was walking she tried to avoid as many people as possible. She didn't like to be watched when she was training. Usually during the day she would be followed by children, most of them used to be boys. To her surprise and delight, several girls soon turned out to watch her train. They were taunted by the boys who were watching who yelled at them to 'go back to your sewing'.
As soon as she heard this she had stopped the recruits who she was training. One of the recruits had given her a look, as if almost daring her to go and stop the children's taunts towards the girls who were obviously in some state of shock and anxiety. They were so horrified at the boys behaviour they were on the brink of leaving the clearing to escape them. Eledhel gave the adolescent recruit a stern glare and walked over to the edge of the clearing turning her face into a blank mask.
The boys didn't even hear her coming, they wouldn't have anyway, but they were wrapped up in their silly little lives and the fact that they thought they could annoy these little girls to the brink of tears without anyone stopping them. Well. they weren't expecting Eledhel to be so. . . angry almost. No, not angry, irritated. Eledhel planted herself squarely between the boys and their target, leaning absent-mindedly on her sword.
She fixed each of them with a piercing glare and drawled almost mockingly, "Well gentlemen, what seems to be the problem here?"
The oldest looked up at Eledhel. He was really young because Eledhel was only five-four, which was small for a full grown Elf and this child was either really small for an adolescent or really full of him self and sure he could win a glaring battle with her. Either way, he would loose. No Elf wasn't scared when she had a particular look on her face, all except her parents, whom she wouldn't dare glare at. The child gave an almighty sniff and said, "they're girls! They're not allowed to be here!"
Eledhel brought her head down and looked him straight in the eye. "If they aren't allowed here, neither are you." She pointed out coolly.
The boy stuttered and looked about him for support. The other boys had long left. "Umm. err. I want to be a guard! I was told to come here for training!" he managed to splutter out.
"Children are not accepter as guards. If you wish to stay and watch, I advise you to leave the girls alone as they are doing nothing wrong." She could almost sense the smiles that she knew were on the girls' faces. "You can come back, tomorrow, but bring your manners next time." The boy then frowned at her and turned and ran after his friends.
She turned to the girls and simple smiled at them. She noticed that the youngest, probably only four years old, was crying. Eledhel kneeled down to her level and wiped the tears from her cheeks. The little girl stared at her with wide blue eyes and then hiccupped a small sob. Eledhel smiled at them all and said, "feel free to stay." All the girls grinned at her and the youngest, now sucking her thumb, pulled at her cloak and gestured to her to lean down. Eledhel obliged and the little girl gave her a small flower. Eledhel still had the flower; it was in a box in her room.
She arrived at the clearing unnoticed and suddenly realised that she hadn't brought her sword or any of her other weapons. Oh, well, it didn't matter. She set up the painted boards that were used for practice on the other side of the clearing, set her bow with an arrow and loosed it. She barely moved her feet from their position on the ground as she loosed two more arrows. As usual with most elves trained in the bow, the arrow hit the target dead centre. Well. There was nothing strange there. The bow was strong, sturdy and would stand up to some amount of abuse. She stroked the bow lovingly, tracing the patterned wood. It was perfect to bring with her. A thought occurred to her. What if she didn't come back? Feeling conflicted; she turned and walked towards one of the trees.
She lay down on the grass near a tree and closed her eyes, breathed deeply and tried to find her inner sense of calm. Her mother had taught her this as a child. When she had recently asked her why she only smiled and said that as a child she was always very emotional and it was a bad idea to be like that, because when you were, you could be easily read and exploited by greedy people. Especially as a child as you were learning to grow into an adult, you should always learn to control your emotions and not let yourself be influenced by bad things around you. Eledhel mulled over these words as she calmed herself down, she hadn't understood it at first, but now she knew that her mother was trying to teach her to grow into an independent person. She had always stood on her own two feet, until he came.
His name was Maeglóm, sharp echo. Irony is ever present, no matter how much you want to ignore it. Whenever her thoughts turned to him, they turn cold. When she was reminded of him all she felt for him was hatred. No, she wouldn't make that mistake again. He was the whole reason she wanted to learn to fight, so she could beat him at his own game. A game that she intended to win against Legolas tomorrow.
Legolas. Her inner senses, her instinct, her power, whatever you wanted to call it, were telling her to keep close to him as he was a strong and kind person. She hadn't seen any of that side of him yet, and she didn't intend too either. Her first impression of him was an arrogant and angry Elf, the complete opposite of what her instinct was showing her. Yet . . .
There was one way she could tell if he was what she believed him to be or what her inner senses were telling her. No. She couldn't do that. There was no telling if he was strong enough and if she did, she would be risking all her knowledge and memories in exchange for his entire memory if it went wrong. The other party must also consent to participate in the ritual; the results would attune the two people like they had known each other from birth. She remembered another bit of information; the caster could also be killed if it went wrong. She caught herself with that thought. What was she doing? She didn't even want to know him and she was thinking about sacrificing herself to get to know him! Her magic was trying to bend her to its will. She resisted it once she realised what was happening and it stopped pushing her. Maybe she should suspend her judgement on the Prince for a little while.
Eledhel's ears picked up a small sound, like the wind rustling almost silently through the trees. She had heard that sound before on many hunting trips. An Elf was approaching her. She swiftly stood, loaded her bow and stepped to the other side of the tree where she sensed the person standing, looking into the clearing.
***
Legolas had walked through the city for some time. At first one of his men had accompanied him and had made conversation. They had talked much about the hospitality of the city, how they were warned against coming to find help here and whether the help that was given would assist his father's kingdom or not. The Lord and Lady had been quite welcoming and they were surprised that all the bad things that they had been told about the people of Lórien were untrue and very far-fetched. They had come to the conclusion that women soldiers might be okay here, where there was no real threat from attack, but they had decided that it wouldn't happen in Mirkwood, as there was too much danger.
The Lady Níniel would be judged on her performance tomorrow, if she were a suitable fighter she would be allowed to lead the soldiers. Legolas didn't believe that his father would like a woman as a fighter and a leader. If she was good and was able to pass the tests that all the soldiers had to face when they entered the kingdom his father might withdraw his opinions, but not with good grace.
He continued towards the outskirts of the City, stopping occasionally to check his surroundings to make sure he wasn't too close to the borders. He didn't want to be attacked again. He found a worn path and set down it, trying to see through the thick foliage towards the moon glistening like mithril above. There was a break in the branches and in the moonlight with his tracker eyes he saw very light footfalls, barely making any impression on the soft dusty ground compared to the impressions his feet made. He thought they had been made some time ago, as they looked so corroded. It was probably safe to follow this path if others had used it before him.
He soon found his way to what he realised was a training clearing, very much like the ones in Mirkwood. But this wasn't the first thing he noticed. Lady Níniel was there. She had her bow out and was readying an arrow. Well, he thought, if I watch her from here I won't have to test her on her bow skills tomorrow. She loosed the arrow; with an agility that surprised him less than a second later there was another arrow sailing through the air towards the second target. On the third time he didn't watch the arrow fly toward the target but kept her eyes on her. He concentrated his vision on her hands as she grabbed the third arrow from her quiver, set it on the bowstring and loosed it. Well, he thought, she was almost as fast as him.
He watched her as she examined her bow, the balance of it and the silver patterns engraved on it. She stretched the Elf-hair string of the bow and then let her hands drop, the bow in her right. She turned around and Legolas saw the pained expression on her face, he almost ran when she started walking towards the place he was standing.
He stood behind a tree, where he still had a clear view of the clearing and was completely aware of her standing on the other side of it. He heard her flop carelessly onto the ground and let out an almighty sigh. He listened hard for the next five minutes and only heard her soft breathing, barely audible even with the unnatural silence of the forest. He soon lost himself in his own thoughts, which mostly concerned trying to work out how many elves in the forest would be able to fight against the orcs, including the forces of Lórien and Rivendell who they had requested aid from.
He was so deep in thought he didn't hear her, he wouldn't have been able to anyway as she was making less noise than the wind. He didn't notice her until she stood in front of him, her arrow pointed at his heart and a questioning look in her eyes, which seemed an even deeper green in the dim light of the clearing.
He stood there for a second, just looking at her and her eyes. Her face was expressionless and he felt that her eyes were just drawing him in. He shook off this feeling and said, "stealth, silence and Archery skills. Very good, you've passed the first test. I will see you here tomorrow afternoon then."
Before either of them could say any more Legolas had turned and started walking back up the path. If he had turned he would've seen the arrow drop to the ground and then her falling to her knees, staring at his retreating back.
***
What do you think of this chapter? R+R please and tell me what you think!
"I'm not singing for the future,
I'm not dreaming of the past,
I never talk about the first time,
I never think about the last."
I'm going to try to get these chapters up fast but I need my friend to proof read them and stuff first. So give me time!
Chapter three- The First Test
Eledhel walked swiftly from the great tree to her Archery range in the city. Woodcaptain and their patrols had their own training places, so there were a dozen dotted about the city. While she was walking she tried to avoid as many people as possible. She didn't like to be watched when she was training. Usually during the day she would be followed by children, most of them used to be boys. To her surprise and delight, several girls soon turned out to watch her train. They were taunted by the boys who were watching who yelled at them to 'go back to your sewing'.
As soon as she heard this she had stopped the recruits who she was training. One of the recruits had given her a look, as if almost daring her to go and stop the children's taunts towards the girls who were obviously in some state of shock and anxiety. They were so horrified at the boys behaviour they were on the brink of leaving the clearing to escape them. Eledhel gave the adolescent recruit a stern glare and walked over to the edge of the clearing turning her face into a blank mask.
The boys didn't even hear her coming, they wouldn't have anyway, but they were wrapped up in their silly little lives and the fact that they thought they could annoy these little girls to the brink of tears without anyone stopping them. Well. they weren't expecting Eledhel to be so. . . angry almost. No, not angry, irritated. Eledhel planted herself squarely between the boys and their target, leaning absent-mindedly on her sword.
She fixed each of them with a piercing glare and drawled almost mockingly, "Well gentlemen, what seems to be the problem here?"
The oldest looked up at Eledhel. He was really young because Eledhel was only five-four, which was small for a full grown Elf and this child was either really small for an adolescent or really full of him self and sure he could win a glaring battle with her. Either way, he would loose. No Elf wasn't scared when she had a particular look on her face, all except her parents, whom she wouldn't dare glare at. The child gave an almighty sniff and said, "they're girls! They're not allowed to be here!"
Eledhel brought her head down and looked him straight in the eye. "If they aren't allowed here, neither are you." She pointed out coolly.
The boy stuttered and looked about him for support. The other boys had long left. "Umm. err. I want to be a guard! I was told to come here for training!" he managed to splutter out.
"Children are not accepter as guards. If you wish to stay and watch, I advise you to leave the girls alone as they are doing nothing wrong." She could almost sense the smiles that she knew were on the girls' faces. "You can come back, tomorrow, but bring your manners next time." The boy then frowned at her and turned and ran after his friends.
She turned to the girls and simple smiled at them. She noticed that the youngest, probably only four years old, was crying. Eledhel kneeled down to her level and wiped the tears from her cheeks. The little girl stared at her with wide blue eyes and then hiccupped a small sob. Eledhel smiled at them all and said, "feel free to stay." All the girls grinned at her and the youngest, now sucking her thumb, pulled at her cloak and gestured to her to lean down. Eledhel obliged and the little girl gave her a small flower. Eledhel still had the flower; it was in a box in her room.
She arrived at the clearing unnoticed and suddenly realised that she hadn't brought her sword or any of her other weapons. Oh, well, it didn't matter. She set up the painted boards that were used for practice on the other side of the clearing, set her bow with an arrow and loosed it. She barely moved her feet from their position on the ground as she loosed two more arrows. As usual with most elves trained in the bow, the arrow hit the target dead centre. Well. There was nothing strange there. The bow was strong, sturdy and would stand up to some amount of abuse. She stroked the bow lovingly, tracing the patterned wood. It was perfect to bring with her. A thought occurred to her. What if she didn't come back? Feeling conflicted; she turned and walked towards one of the trees.
She lay down on the grass near a tree and closed her eyes, breathed deeply and tried to find her inner sense of calm. Her mother had taught her this as a child. When she had recently asked her why she only smiled and said that as a child she was always very emotional and it was a bad idea to be like that, because when you were, you could be easily read and exploited by greedy people. Especially as a child as you were learning to grow into an adult, you should always learn to control your emotions and not let yourself be influenced by bad things around you. Eledhel mulled over these words as she calmed herself down, she hadn't understood it at first, but now she knew that her mother was trying to teach her to grow into an independent person. She had always stood on her own two feet, until he came.
His name was Maeglóm, sharp echo. Irony is ever present, no matter how much you want to ignore it. Whenever her thoughts turned to him, they turn cold. When she was reminded of him all she felt for him was hatred. No, she wouldn't make that mistake again. He was the whole reason she wanted to learn to fight, so she could beat him at his own game. A game that she intended to win against Legolas tomorrow.
Legolas. Her inner senses, her instinct, her power, whatever you wanted to call it, were telling her to keep close to him as he was a strong and kind person. She hadn't seen any of that side of him yet, and she didn't intend too either. Her first impression of him was an arrogant and angry Elf, the complete opposite of what her instinct was showing her. Yet . . .
There was one way she could tell if he was what she believed him to be or what her inner senses were telling her. No. She couldn't do that. There was no telling if he was strong enough and if she did, she would be risking all her knowledge and memories in exchange for his entire memory if it went wrong. The other party must also consent to participate in the ritual; the results would attune the two people like they had known each other from birth. She remembered another bit of information; the caster could also be killed if it went wrong. She caught herself with that thought. What was she doing? She didn't even want to know him and she was thinking about sacrificing herself to get to know him! Her magic was trying to bend her to its will. She resisted it once she realised what was happening and it stopped pushing her. Maybe she should suspend her judgement on the Prince for a little while.
Eledhel's ears picked up a small sound, like the wind rustling almost silently through the trees. She had heard that sound before on many hunting trips. An Elf was approaching her. She swiftly stood, loaded her bow and stepped to the other side of the tree where she sensed the person standing, looking into the clearing.
***
Legolas had walked through the city for some time. At first one of his men had accompanied him and had made conversation. They had talked much about the hospitality of the city, how they were warned against coming to find help here and whether the help that was given would assist his father's kingdom or not. The Lord and Lady had been quite welcoming and they were surprised that all the bad things that they had been told about the people of Lórien were untrue and very far-fetched. They had come to the conclusion that women soldiers might be okay here, where there was no real threat from attack, but they had decided that it wouldn't happen in Mirkwood, as there was too much danger.
The Lady Níniel would be judged on her performance tomorrow, if she were a suitable fighter she would be allowed to lead the soldiers. Legolas didn't believe that his father would like a woman as a fighter and a leader. If she was good and was able to pass the tests that all the soldiers had to face when they entered the kingdom his father might withdraw his opinions, but not with good grace.
He continued towards the outskirts of the City, stopping occasionally to check his surroundings to make sure he wasn't too close to the borders. He didn't want to be attacked again. He found a worn path and set down it, trying to see through the thick foliage towards the moon glistening like mithril above. There was a break in the branches and in the moonlight with his tracker eyes he saw very light footfalls, barely making any impression on the soft dusty ground compared to the impressions his feet made. He thought they had been made some time ago, as they looked so corroded. It was probably safe to follow this path if others had used it before him.
He soon found his way to what he realised was a training clearing, very much like the ones in Mirkwood. But this wasn't the first thing he noticed. Lady Níniel was there. She had her bow out and was readying an arrow. Well, he thought, if I watch her from here I won't have to test her on her bow skills tomorrow. She loosed the arrow; with an agility that surprised him less than a second later there was another arrow sailing through the air towards the second target. On the third time he didn't watch the arrow fly toward the target but kept her eyes on her. He concentrated his vision on her hands as she grabbed the third arrow from her quiver, set it on the bowstring and loosed it. Well, he thought, she was almost as fast as him.
He watched her as she examined her bow, the balance of it and the silver patterns engraved on it. She stretched the Elf-hair string of the bow and then let her hands drop, the bow in her right. She turned around and Legolas saw the pained expression on her face, he almost ran when she started walking towards the place he was standing.
He stood behind a tree, where he still had a clear view of the clearing and was completely aware of her standing on the other side of it. He heard her flop carelessly onto the ground and let out an almighty sigh. He listened hard for the next five minutes and only heard her soft breathing, barely audible even with the unnatural silence of the forest. He soon lost himself in his own thoughts, which mostly concerned trying to work out how many elves in the forest would be able to fight against the orcs, including the forces of Lórien and Rivendell who they had requested aid from.
He was so deep in thought he didn't hear her, he wouldn't have been able to anyway as she was making less noise than the wind. He didn't notice her until she stood in front of him, her arrow pointed at his heart and a questioning look in her eyes, which seemed an even deeper green in the dim light of the clearing.
He stood there for a second, just looking at her and her eyes. Her face was expressionless and he felt that her eyes were just drawing him in. He shook off this feeling and said, "stealth, silence and Archery skills. Very good, you've passed the first test. I will see you here tomorrow afternoon then."
Before either of them could say any more Legolas had turned and started walking back up the path. If he had turned he would've seen the arrow drop to the ground and then her falling to her knees, staring at his retreating back.
***
What do you think of this chapter? R+R please and tell me what you think!
