Disclaimer: LotR isn't mine, or the characters, or anything. *cries*
A/N: Well, I've been sick, and I looked over this again and realized how helpless I am with dialogue. So I changed it. I hope it's better.
Chapter Five: A Talk In The Rain
The man appeared to be as hardy a traveler as I. We walked swiftly, though an occasional tree would let down a vine to entangle me if it wanted to chat- I had to be quite firm with a particularly stubborn elm that wouldn't let go. The man's reaction was to lift a quizzical eyebrow and open his mouth as though he wished to ask me something, then shut it again.
The day, which had started out mild and pleasant, if a bit humid, quickly changed, becoming cold and gray. The thunderclouds gathered threateningly on the horizon, like the angry brow of some sky-giant. Rain hung in the air, a specter's tapestry. In the distance, a grove of trees offered some shelter from the storm brewing. A light pattering rain began, forewarning the coming torrent. We ran for the cover of the trees, keen to avoid a soaking.
What had appeared to be a small grove of trees from the distance was a forest, wide as the eye could see. By the time we reached the trees, we were soaked to the bone and laughing about it. We tumbled into the grove. The ground was damp and mossy, soft and green. We sat, wiping our streaming eyes and grinning at each other.
Stately ashes surrounded us, slender white towers that rose above our heads, covered with moss. Small raindrops filtered through their leaves, landing softly on a nose, an ear, a leg. I looked at the man.
"Perhaps this is the time to speak of ourselves," he said softly. He had a nice voice, a gentle baritone with a lilt that did not match his wet, rough exterior.
"Perhaps," I told him, "but you first."
It was his turn to grin. "I suppose that, in all fairness, I should offer myself to go first. What do you wish to know?"
"Your name, perhaps."
His expression changed. He looked down at his hands.
"Eldarion, son of Aragorn," he said softly, a tinge of bitterness entering his voice. "Heir of Gondor."
"Heir of Gondor?"
"Yes...I am a prince. I wander far to forget it...It is difficult to be trapped in a palace. I begin to feel as a caged cat, unable to move. Sometimes I only wish for someone I can talk to.someone I can trust. Gondor has risen proud under the reign of my father, and I can only hope that his son will be as noble a man as he."
I knew what it was to wish for someone to talk to. I had grown up alone, in a small cabin, in a rough, rocky land, raised by a kindly neighbor who had taken me in.
"Right strange it was,' my neighbor had said, 'Many a year ago. Ye were naught but a baby. A tall woman came to me in me in me dreams. Right beautiful, she was. Yavanna, she said her name was. Said she had summat for me- 'A burden,' she says, 'that naught but the kindest heart could carry. Treat her well! Her name is Entling," an' 'ands me a baby and a funny green stone. In the morning, there you were!" He always looked at me with a smile when he said this, though I'd asked him to tell it to me countless times. I could remember his grizzled face by heart. He'd died when I was barely able to fend for myself. I'd learned fast, and the plants had helped- there hadn't been enough time to cry.
A solitary tear made its way down my cheek. I brushed it away hastily and forced my voice to be steady.
"Well, I never knew my parents," I said. "I was raised far from here, in a rocky land, by an old farmer. He died when I was but a child. I lived alone, until not long ago; the earth heaved, and I found myself in a forest far from my home. I spoke with the Ents, and then I dreamed of a woman who told me my quest. I set off, and began to walk and found you."
He smiled, and a tremor filled my heart. My pulse began to quicken slightly, and each heartbeat that I stared into his eyes filled my heart with greater nameless longing.
"But what is your name?" He asked, his eyes never leaving mine. I smiled at him, and then I could not bear to meet his gaze for a moment longer. I turned slightly away and opened my mouth to speak. But suddenly, something made me turn back, and as I met his eyes I spoke.
"My name is Entling."
A/N: Well, I've been sick, and I looked over this again and realized how helpless I am with dialogue. So I changed it. I hope it's better.
Chapter Five: A Talk In The Rain
The man appeared to be as hardy a traveler as I. We walked swiftly, though an occasional tree would let down a vine to entangle me if it wanted to chat- I had to be quite firm with a particularly stubborn elm that wouldn't let go. The man's reaction was to lift a quizzical eyebrow and open his mouth as though he wished to ask me something, then shut it again.
The day, which had started out mild and pleasant, if a bit humid, quickly changed, becoming cold and gray. The thunderclouds gathered threateningly on the horizon, like the angry brow of some sky-giant. Rain hung in the air, a specter's tapestry. In the distance, a grove of trees offered some shelter from the storm brewing. A light pattering rain began, forewarning the coming torrent. We ran for the cover of the trees, keen to avoid a soaking.
What had appeared to be a small grove of trees from the distance was a forest, wide as the eye could see. By the time we reached the trees, we were soaked to the bone and laughing about it. We tumbled into the grove. The ground was damp and mossy, soft and green. We sat, wiping our streaming eyes and grinning at each other.
Stately ashes surrounded us, slender white towers that rose above our heads, covered with moss. Small raindrops filtered through their leaves, landing softly on a nose, an ear, a leg. I looked at the man.
"Perhaps this is the time to speak of ourselves," he said softly. He had a nice voice, a gentle baritone with a lilt that did not match his wet, rough exterior.
"Perhaps," I told him, "but you first."
It was his turn to grin. "I suppose that, in all fairness, I should offer myself to go first. What do you wish to know?"
"Your name, perhaps."
His expression changed. He looked down at his hands.
"Eldarion, son of Aragorn," he said softly, a tinge of bitterness entering his voice. "Heir of Gondor."
"Heir of Gondor?"
"Yes...I am a prince. I wander far to forget it...It is difficult to be trapped in a palace. I begin to feel as a caged cat, unable to move. Sometimes I only wish for someone I can talk to.someone I can trust. Gondor has risen proud under the reign of my father, and I can only hope that his son will be as noble a man as he."
I knew what it was to wish for someone to talk to. I had grown up alone, in a small cabin, in a rough, rocky land, raised by a kindly neighbor who had taken me in.
"Right strange it was,' my neighbor had said, 'Many a year ago. Ye were naught but a baby. A tall woman came to me in me in me dreams. Right beautiful, she was. Yavanna, she said her name was. Said she had summat for me- 'A burden,' she says, 'that naught but the kindest heart could carry. Treat her well! Her name is Entling," an' 'ands me a baby and a funny green stone. In the morning, there you were!" He always looked at me with a smile when he said this, though I'd asked him to tell it to me countless times. I could remember his grizzled face by heart. He'd died when I was barely able to fend for myself. I'd learned fast, and the plants had helped- there hadn't been enough time to cry.
A solitary tear made its way down my cheek. I brushed it away hastily and forced my voice to be steady.
"Well, I never knew my parents," I said. "I was raised far from here, in a rocky land, by an old farmer. He died when I was but a child. I lived alone, until not long ago; the earth heaved, and I found myself in a forest far from my home. I spoke with the Ents, and then I dreamed of a woman who told me my quest. I set off, and began to walk and found you."
He smiled, and a tremor filled my heart. My pulse began to quicken slightly, and each heartbeat that I stared into his eyes filled my heart with greater nameless longing.
"But what is your name?" He asked, his eyes never leaving mine. I smiled at him, and then I could not bear to meet his gaze for a moment longer. I turned slightly away and opened my mouth to speak. But suddenly, something made me turn back, and as I met his eyes I spoke.
"My name is Entling."
