Chapter 2
Definitely Defiant
Elrohir and Elladan sighed in tandem as they waited for their tutor Erestor. Why, oh, why, did they have to be stuck inside the library at Rivendell on such a lovely day? Not only was the weather fine, but a group of Dwarves had arrived just the night before, and the twins knew that a priceless opportunity to skulk and plot was slipping by. Dwarves didn't happen into Imladris on a daily basis; it might be months before the twins had another chance at Dwarf-baiting. Moreover, the Dwarves were accompanied by a Periannath, a short, tubby little being who dwelled in a land to the north, near the Gray Havens. Elrohir and Elladan had never seen a Periannath and were chafing at the thought that a language lesson stood between them and the fulfillment of their curiosity.
"Ah, I see that you have arrived early," exclaimed Erestor in surprise as he entered the room.
"We are anxious to get started so that we can get finished!" the twins declared in unison.
"Well, elflings, if you truly want to get through your language lessons quickly, then don't make so many errors in your essays. I have just finished reading your stories about your trip to Mirkwood, and I must say that I am disappointed."
"But, Erestor, we worked reeeally hard on our essays, honestly."
"Reeeally hard?"
"Yes," insisted Elrohir, "we defiantly worked reeeally, reeeeally hard!"
Erestor smirked. "Oh, you defiantly worked reeeally, reeeeally hard?"
"Erestor," Elladan complained, "stop repeating whatever we say. It's defiantly irritating."
"Defiantly? Are you sure?"
"Yes," shouted Elrohir, "defiantly!"
"That puts me in mind of one of your sentences, Elrohir," said Erestor. "Look here, where you are describing your encounters with Mirkwood spiders. You state that Legolas is afraid of the spiders, a fact, I might add, that you seem to find excessively amusing. You write, "Legolas was defiantly terrified at the sight of the enormous arachnids."
"Well, he was," replied Elrohir stubbornly. "You could defiantly tell he was scared because he always said it was time for his archery lesson whenever we saw one. Then he would run away. I think that's why Legolas is such a good shot; he gets a lot of practice because he is always running away from spiders!"
"Be that as it may, Elrohir, Legolas is definitely not defiantly terrified of spiders."
Elrohir gaped at Erestor and blushed. "Oh, um, is that because Legolas is definitely terrified of spiders?"
"Assuming that Legolas is indeed afraid of spiders, yes, he would be definitely terrified of spiders. You see, Elrohir—and you listen up, too, Elladan—defiantly refers to the behavior of someone who bravely opposes something without wavering. Let's say that you were surrounded by Orcs. The situation seems hopeless, but you are determined to resist to the end. You are defiantly facing your foes. Would you say that Legolas demonstrated such a bold spirit when he ran from the spiders?"
"No," smirked Elrohir.
"So he was not defiant; that is, he was not acting defiantly?"
The twins giggled. "No!"
"So you believe that he was certainly afraid?"
"Yes!" shouted the gleeful twins.
"Well, definitely has a meaning along the lines of 'certainly'. Another way to say that Legolas is certainly afraid of spiders is to state that he is definitely afraid of spiders."
"But, Elrohir," Elladan smirked, "in the example of the Orcs, you could say that the person was definitely defiantly facing the Orcs!"
Elrohir had to smile, "Yes, in that case you could say that someone who boldly confronts Orcs is certainly bold and headstrong—definitely defiant, that is. But be serious and master this lesson—after all, you do want to finish this lesson so that you can run off in search of those Dwarves, don't you?"
"Oh, we definitely do," grinned Elrohir. "But, Elrohir, I, um, definitely have a question. I wrote my story while we were still in Mirkwood, and on the way back we stopped in Lothlórien. One day I held my story up to Galadriel's mirror. Why didn't the mirror notice that I was confusing definitely and defiantly?"
"Excellent question, Elrohir. You must not put too much trust in devices like magic mirrors. Such mirrors have their limitations. Both definitely and defiantly are spelled correctly in and of themselves, and the mirror will not probe beneath appearances. You two must understand the circumstances yourselves and exercise your own judgment when you are choosing your words. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Erestor," we certainly understand," said Elrohir.
"Oh, positively," added Elladan.
In that case, I want each of you to compose two sentences. In one, you must definitely illustrate the correct use of definitely; in the other, you must definitely illustrate the correct use of defiantly. Do you understand?
"Oh, yes," the twins assured him.
"Do you definitely understand?" Erestor was having more fun with this lesson than he had expected.
Elrohir and Elladan rolled their eyes. "Yes, we certainly, positively, and assuredly understand!"
The two elflings bent over their parchment for several minutes.
"I'm ready," announced Elladan, straightening his shoulders.
"Very well. Your example of definitely?"
"I definitely wish that we did not have to study the difference between definitely and defiantly."
Bemused, Erestor nevertheless nodded. "That is definitely a valid example. Now your example of defiantly?"
"The elfling defiantly refused to let his brother steal his new bow, even though his brother pushed him and threatened to throw him to the wargs."
"That is definitely a lie," shouted Elladan.
"Oh, yeah?" Elrohir shot back, "I bet you won't talk so defiantly when Ada gets ahold of you!"
"I think," said Erestor, "that this exchange demonstrates that the two of you certainly, positively, assuredly—not to mention definitely—understand the difference between definitely and defiantly. You may be excused."
The twins disappeared virtually instantaneously. Within an hour, mused Erestor, they would be up to mischief—definitely, of course.