Part Two: The Archery Lesson
"Man you're awful, Ithilin!" Elrohir gasped through his laughter as her arrow went wild an struck a tree a hundred yards from the target. Not only that, the shaft shattered on impact, eliciting more laughter from the twins.
"Then stop laughing and teach me, you nift."
Ithilin shoved Elrohir into his brother, toppling them both to the ground.
"You'd think that after all the time you've been with us you might have been able to pick something up." Elladan choked, pushing his brother off of him.
"Right. Between you two and Aragorn, I definitely ready to do battle with orcs." She hissed sarcastically as she nocked another arrow to the string.
The wood creaked softly as she pulled the string taut. Fffwhpp! The shaft left the bow, again going wild. Unfortunately, It nearly clipped Aragorn's ear as he and the prince entered the practice grounds.
"Hay! Watch it!" the human growled as the arrow whistled past. "I can't believe that after all this time you two are still trying to teach her how to shoot."
"I would help if they didn't laugh at me so much, Estel."
"If you could follow simple instructions, you might actually learn something for a change." Aragorn said heatedly.
"If instructions were given, human, I could follow them." Venom dripped from her every word. "But you three seem intent on giving as little as possible and laugh at me when I can not do as you supposedly instruct."
Aragorn bristled, raising his hand to strike her cheek. Ithilin just glared at him, daring him to strike her.
"Great, here we go again!" Elrohir sighed, rolling his eyes, as archery practice quickly erupted into a fight.
"Go easy on him this time, Ithilin." Elladan called as the she-elf knocked the human to the ground. "Ada won't like it if we have to tell him that Estel was beat up by a girl again."
"You two are next." She growled. "I'm tired of being treated like I'm some sort of dull witted human female that doesn't know the front of her tunic from the back. You don't treat Arwen this way and I am just as capable as she is."
Legolas watched the fiery she-elf with barely concealed mirth as she gave his friend a good pounding.
"Get off of me, rauko," Aragorn said, struggling to get free of her grasp.
The prince quietly and gently laid his hand on the she-elf's shoulder. "Where is your bow, little one?"
Ithilin let go of Aragorn and went to retrieve her bow.
"No wonder you are having trouble, my lady. It's taller than you are!"
"Try telling them that."
"You three have been trying to sabotage her training." It was a statement, not a question. "Don't you realize she could get seriously hurt?"
"So?" Aragorn said angrily as he got to his feet and dusted himself off. "She brought it on herself with the silly notion that she's as good as a man."
Legolas bit his tongue to keep from pointing out that Ithilin had just pinned him to the ground unaided by a man. This fiery she-elf might well be as dangerous as himself, if properly instructed.
"You don't seem to think it's so silly when Arwen can fight just as well as any male." She retorted hotly
"Arwen is an elf." Came the reply. "You, my lady, are not."
"I do not have to stand here and be insulted by a witless idiot who refuses to see what is right before his eyes!" Ithilin turned on her heel and stormed off.
"She's crazy." Elrohir shook his head as he watched the young woman march away.
Estel and the elder twin nodded in agreement.
"She is no different than Arwen." Legolas said quietly. He was angry that they could not see her for what she was and that they treated her so poorly. :Meet me here later, Ithilin.: he sent. :I will teach you.:
:Thank you, mellon-nîn.:
"No, mellon-nîn, she's very different. She doesn't think like elves or men." Elladan said. "She refuses to acknowledge her own limitations."
"How can she know them if she is not given the tools to do such."
"She should already know them." Said the elder twin
"And if she does not? What then?" Legolas demanded softly.
"Then it is her own folly."
* * *
Night had fallen over the practice field. Legolas stood lost in thought as the moon rose casting a silver sheen over the cropped grass. In his hands he held two bows. They were identical except that one was shorter than the other by at least two feet.
"Thank you, mellon-nîn," Ithilin said softly as she stepped up beside him.
"This bow will suit you better, my lady." He whispered, handing her the shorter of the two. "I outgrew it centuries ago. It is yours, if you want it."
Ithilin took it from him and reverently ran her hands along the satiny wood. It felt light in her hands. She knew that it would, considering where it came from. It was well known that Mirkwood bows were much lighter and far deadlier than those of the Noldor.
"I know not what to say, Legolas. It is a beautiful and much appreciated gift." She gazed up into the prince's eyes.
Legolas smiled, handing her a quiver of arrows. "These are unmarked, 'Lin." He said. "Later I will show you how to mark them as your own. For now, you will learn to master the bow."
He drew a shaft from his own quiver and nocked it to the string in the blink of an eye. When he let it fly, it whistled through the still night air and landed dead center on the target.
"Show me!"
"Patience, little one. Put your quiver on, then we will begin."
Ithilin shrugged into the quiver's harness and buckled it in place. Grabbing an arrow, she fitted it to the string and let it fly. It landed with a soft thunk in the ground two yards short of the target.
"Very good. If you had pulled the string a little more, you might have knocked my arrow off the target."
"Let me try again."
This time, Legolas guided her hands with his own. "Do you feel the difference in the bow's tension, 'Lin?'
"Yes."
"Now stand perfectly still and let out your breath, then release it."
She did as he instructed and let the arrow fly. It hit the mark only a few inches shy of Legolas' shaft.
"Better. Now try again."
Her movements blurred and another arrow found the mark. This time the prince's arrow was split neatly in two.
"I see I'm going to loose a lot of shafts to you, mellon-nîn."
"No. You won't." she said looking him in the eye, her slender mouth quirked in a smirk. "But those two Noldor Elves and Estel might."
"Of that, I have no doubt," he chuckled. "Now do it again."
"Man you're awful, Ithilin!" Elrohir gasped through his laughter as her arrow went wild an struck a tree a hundred yards from the target. Not only that, the shaft shattered on impact, eliciting more laughter from the twins.
"Then stop laughing and teach me, you nift."
Ithilin shoved Elrohir into his brother, toppling them both to the ground.
"You'd think that after all the time you've been with us you might have been able to pick something up." Elladan choked, pushing his brother off of him.
"Right. Between you two and Aragorn, I definitely ready to do battle with orcs." She hissed sarcastically as she nocked another arrow to the string.
The wood creaked softly as she pulled the string taut. Fffwhpp! The shaft left the bow, again going wild. Unfortunately, It nearly clipped Aragorn's ear as he and the prince entered the practice grounds.
"Hay! Watch it!" the human growled as the arrow whistled past. "I can't believe that after all this time you two are still trying to teach her how to shoot."
"I would help if they didn't laugh at me so much, Estel."
"If you could follow simple instructions, you might actually learn something for a change." Aragorn said heatedly.
"If instructions were given, human, I could follow them." Venom dripped from her every word. "But you three seem intent on giving as little as possible and laugh at me when I can not do as you supposedly instruct."
Aragorn bristled, raising his hand to strike her cheek. Ithilin just glared at him, daring him to strike her.
"Great, here we go again!" Elrohir sighed, rolling his eyes, as archery practice quickly erupted into a fight.
"Go easy on him this time, Ithilin." Elladan called as the she-elf knocked the human to the ground. "Ada won't like it if we have to tell him that Estel was beat up by a girl again."
"You two are next." She growled. "I'm tired of being treated like I'm some sort of dull witted human female that doesn't know the front of her tunic from the back. You don't treat Arwen this way and I am just as capable as she is."
Legolas watched the fiery she-elf with barely concealed mirth as she gave his friend a good pounding.
"Get off of me, rauko," Aragorn said, struggling to get free of her grasp.
The prince quietly and gently laid his hand on the she-elf's shoulder. "Where is your bow, little one?"
Ithilin let go of Aragorn and went to retrieve her bow.
"No wonder you are having trouble, my lady. It's taller than you are!"
"Try telling them that."
"You three have been trying to sabotage her training." It was a statement, not a question. "Don't you realize she could get seriously hurt?"
"So?" Aragorn said angrily as he got to his feet and dusted himself off. "She brought it on herself with the silly notion that she's as good as a man."
Legolas bit his tongue to keep from pointing out that Ithilin had just pinned him to the ground unaided by a man. This fiery she-elf might well be as dangerous as himself, if properly instructed.
"You don't seem to think it's so silly when Arwen can fight just as well as any male." She retorted hotly
"Arwen is an elf." Came the reply. "You, my lady, are not."
"I do not have to stand here and be insulted by a witless idiot who refuses to see what is right before his eyes!" Ithilin turned on her heel and stormed off.
"She's crazy." Elrohir shook his head as he watched the young woman march away.
Estel and the elder twin nodded in agreement.
"She is no different than Arwen." Legolas said quietly. He was angry that they could not see her for what she was and that they treated her so poorly. :Meet me here later, Ithilin.: he sent. :I will teach you.:
:Thank you, mellon-nîn.:
"No, mellon-nîn, she's very different. She doesn't think like elves or men." Elladan said. "She refuses to acknowledge her own limitations."
"How can she know them if she is not given the tools to do such."
"She should already know them." Said the elder twin
"And if she does not? What then?" Legolas demanded softly.
"Then it is her own folly."
* * *
Night had fallen over the practice field. Legolas stood lost in thought as the moon rose casting a silver sheen over the cropped grass. In his hands he held two bows. They were identical except that one was shorter than the other by at least two feet.
"Thank you, mellon-nîn," Ithilin said softly as she stepped up beside him.
"This bow will suit you better, my lady." He whispered, handing her the shorter of the two. "I outgrew it centuries ago. It is yours, if you want it."
Ithilin took it from him and reverently ran her hands along the satiny wood. It felt light in her hands. She knew that it would, considering where it came from. It was well known that Mirkwood bows were much lighter and far deadlier than those of the Noldor.
"I know not what to say, Legolas. It is a beautiful and much appreciated gift." She gazed up into the prince's eyes.
Legolas smiled, handing her a quiver of arrows. "These are unmarked, 'Lin." He said. "Later I will show you how to mark them as your own. For now, you will learn to master the bow."
He drew a shaft from his own quiver and nocked it to the string in the blink of an eye. When he let it fly, it whistled through the still night air and landed dead center on the target.
"Show me!"
"Patience, little one. Put your quiver on, then we will begin."
Ithilin shrugged into the quiver's harness and buckled it in place. Grabbing an arrow, she fitted it to the string and let it fly. It landed with a soft thunk in the ground two yards short of the target.
"Very good. If you had pulled the string a little more, you might have knocked my arrow off the target."
"Let me try again."
This time, Legolas guided her hands with his own. "Do you feel the difference in the bow's tension, 'Lin?'
"Yes."
"Now stand perfectly still and let out your breath, then release it."
She did as he instructed and let the arrow fly. It hit the mark only a few inches shy of Legolas' shaft.
"Better. Now try again."
Her movements blurred and another arrow found the mark. This time the prince's arrow was split neatly in two.
"I see I'm going to loose a lot of shafts to you, mellon-nîn."
"No. You won't." she said looking him in the eye, her slender mouth quirked in a smirk. "But those two Noldor Elves and Estel might."
"Of that, I have no doubt," he chuckled. "Now do it again."