If I owned Lord of the Rings I assure you, this would be published and on
every single bestsellers shelf. As you can see, it is not, and is posted
on fanfiction for no cost whatsoever. Therefore, one can conclude that I
do not own Lord of the Rings, no matter how many of my fantasies say I do.
To my reviewer(s):
Legolaslover2003: That's cool. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I'm really working hard on it, and I think I'm getting results. Keep reviewing!
By the way, I need more reviewers!!!!!!! Thanks to those who did review!!! =D
That's the Way Life Goes
Chapter 3: Still then.
As soon as she walked into the library, she stumbled. Confused, she turned to look at what it was, only to find nothing. With a frown, she turned back and immediately banged her shoulders into something hard.
Looking up, she saw an arm in her path. It was positioned just so that she would hit it and fall back. Her eyes followed the arm all the way up to the body, then up to the face. And guess whom the arm belonged to. Prince Eldarion.
She knew it was too good to be true. She sighed and turned around quickly to run, but was yet again hindered by an arm blocking her path. This one belonged to one of his tittering pigeons, Saranine.
Saranine was one of the few females in the prince's group. She was a young girl, younger even than Arianna, but she held much more strength in her claw-like nails than her mind. As much as Arianna was book smart and kind, Saranine was beautiful and evil. In fact, it was no great secret that Arianna supposed Saranine to be some kind of witch that had cast a spell over the castle and it's inhabitants, and might have been in league with Sauron himself.
Arianna glared at Saranine and turned to her right to make an exit. As was expected, another arm blocked her path. This time it was Sarondan, Saranine's brother. She rolled her eyes at his particularly menacing smile and turned 180(, all the way to the prince's left side where there was no one standing to block her.
She looked at the prince briefly before bolting to the open space. She made it past them, but turned in time to see prince Eldarion's angry glare. He stared at her in unwavering anger. But just milliseconds before she ran away, she thought she saw him smile.
That sight made her stumble once more, but then she picked her pace back up and ran like a scared puppy. Running, she went through the courtyard, past the stairways leading to the second floor in the front hall, through the dining hall, and past the kitchen doors. On a second thought, she doubled back and went into the kitchen where she could find many places to hide until her party.
The busy cooks and servants all rushed around her, busily. She knew that they were preparing for her birthday. Curious, she snuck a peek at the counter top. She looked at it, startled, for there was nothing on it. There was supposed to be a cake, some desserts, something. But there was nothing.
On to her left, she spotted some filled trays. She walked closer to discover only the lunch that was to be served later on that day. Holding back tears, she walked away from all the tables.
In a daze, she strode past all the cooks, the servants, and others who were in for a bite to eat. She even walked all the way back to the library. Finding it empty, she sat in a corner and thought.
It had not occurred to her at the time, but her father had not said anything about her birthday. Her thoughts went back to earlier that morning. When she was talking with her mother, she had not said anything either.
Then, when she had taken a stroll to the library, the professor had not said anything either, and he was so old that he knew every one's birthday, even the most distant relative of the family.
Her expression became more and more morose as she recounted all of her rendezvous' on that day. No one had wished her happy birthday.
Sitting on the floor, she sobbed pathetically, wishing that someone would care. She thought that no one did. She thought she would die a lonely little girl. But then! Then it occurred to her that she would not have to die as a lonely little girl. She could be better, better than all of them.
Maybe, if she tried harder to be brave, and popular, and pretty, they would not ignore her. Maybe, if she spent more time primping and pruning herself, people would notice her and think, 'that is the beautiful daughter of the lady and steward of Gondor. Maybe. It was worth a shot.
So she tried it. She wore the nicest dresses, and took the utmost care to not get them dirty. Still no one noticed.
Then, nearly a week later, in the middle of a meal with the entire royal family, her mother exclaimed, "oh, my darling, your birthday! Happy birthday! I had nearly forgotten, I'm so sorry. So, are you ready for your tenth birthday on Wednesday of this week?"
Arianna, who had been taking a bite of her roast ham [a/n: imagine another type of food if eating ham disgusts you], looked up in the middle of her bite. Her mouth was paused in the middle of a chewing motion. She blinked up at her mother.
The prince who was sitting next to his mother, on the other side of his father (Boromir and his family opposite from them) smirked silently. But as silent as he tried to be, his mother heard him and gave him a reprimanding look. The prince immediately sobered up.
You see the prince, while being a complete ass towards others, was the perfect child around his parents. And they did know about his less angelic tendencies, towards Arianna especially, so they tried to explain to him the proper behavior. Unfortunately, what a child is told is not necessarily what a child does and so Arianna continued to be tormented.
But this torment was worst of all. Never in the history of the kingdom had anyone forgotten his or her child's birthday. Arianna sat in silence as all around her, voices of joy made a commotion.
Her father frowned in confusion for a moment, but then grinned and said in excitement, "then we shall have a party in honor of my darling, precious daughter's growing up!" Everyone started talking at once, and amidst the confusion and activity one sad little girl stared at her plate in sadness.
Suddenly, a small voice started laughing. It was not louder than the noise created by the people of the hall, but it certainly caught Arianna's attention. She stared at the owner of the voice. The prince continued laughing at the expression of her face.
"u look like you were run over by a horse. Just look at your face," he gasped between laughs.
Arianna stood up suddenly and her chair flung itself backwards as though shoved by some invisible force. The noise of the chair clattering against the cold stone floor gained everyone's attention.
They all stared at her, perplexed. Lady Monien stared at her child incredulously. She rose from her seat, ending her discussion with another lady of the court. "Arianna, what has gotten into you?"
Arianna stared up at her mother with unshed tears in her eyes. The look in her mother's eyes made her feel shameful, and she looked away. But then, she felt angry because it wasn't her who should have been shameful. It wasn't her who forgot her birthday. Her mother should have felt the misery that she was feeling. Not her. She never deserved it.
Her thoughts fueled her anger. Memories of continuous letdowns, uncertainties, and disappointments ran through her mind. She pictured herself storming away from her mother, but fear of her reaction stopped her from really doing it.
She took a deep breath to calm her anger. Getting angry would only get her mother angrier. It would only cause her to drop further in others' views, and that was something her mother would be furious about.
Tears threatened to leak from her eyes as everyone stared down at her. The silence in the room was impenetrable. It was thick, and hung heavily in the air. She could feel everyone's eyes on her as she stared at her feet. She was unable to meet her mother's eyes as she hurriedly mumbled an apology and ran from the room.
"I hate him. I hate him not. I hate him. I hate him not. I hate - what do you want?" Arianna said roughly to a carefully approaching prince.
Arianna had been seated in her favorite tree in a special part of the forest near the castle that she had proclaimed her own. She had never actually told anyone about it, but if anyone wanted to find her, they could be sure to find her there.
As a matter of fact, the person who went there the most was standing right at the foot of the tree. Prince Eldarion looked up at her with a pitiful expression on his face. "Aw, poor old Arianna. No body cares at all. No body," he said with fake sympathy. "Maybe I can help."
Arianna eyed him warily as he began climbing up the tree. There was no room for him to get up onto the branch she was on because she was sitting right next to the trunk. When he reached the branch she was on, he clung to the tree with one hand and his legs and stared Arianna in the eyes.
"Move over," he said unemotionally. Still watching him with careful eyes, she slid over on the tree. He clambered up onto the bough and sat down. He heaved a sigh as though all the troubles in the world were upon his shoulders.
Rolling her eyes, Arianna raised an eyebrow as she asked sardonically, "you came on your own accord, did you?"
Prince Eldarion smirked, "do you really think I would be here if someone didn't ask or tell me too?" Arianna did not answer, but instead stared at him coolly.
"So why are you here?" she asked icily. "To rejoice in my sorrow, or to rub it in?"
Smiling malevolently he said, "take your pick." When he saw Arianna's face darken, he chuckled. Arianna frowned and looked up at his face.
"What?" she asked none too kindly. He smiled impassively and turned to look at the scenery.
It was slightly windy outside. At nearly nine o'clock at night, the sun had long since set, and the moon was still in the sky. Looking down, Prince Eldarion saw the shimmering reflection of the night's stars in the fountain at the center of the clearing.
Then, the wind was silent. The rustling leaves stopped moving and everything was silent. No sound could be heard from within the castle, and the forest was quiet as well. The only sound prince Eldarion heard with his half elven ears was that of his and his companion's breaths.
His companion inhaled softly as he studied her discreetly. Her green eyes, the color of evergreen trees, were oval shaped and large, contrasting amazingly to her black hair. Her straight nose and full lips proved her to be a very beautiful girl, but as she cared little for her looks and did nothing to enhance them.
He continued to watch her, but she did not notice. His eyes remained on her for more then several moments as though her were in a trance. Snapping out of his daze he stared at her, shocked, as he saw her shoulders shake and heard her sniffle.
He didn't know what to do. He had never seen her cry before - he always assumed she cried, because of the way she ran away from him - but he never actually saw her cry. And so he stared, in complete confusion. What he did know was that she was trying to hide her tears. She did not look at him, but occasionally wiped a tear.
"What's wrong," he asked gently. He had meant to be kind, for the first time ever, but his attempts were not rewarded when she looked at him as though he were insane.
"What is wrong?" she asked incredulously. "What is that supposed to mean: what is wrong?" When he did not answer, and looked away her accusing stare. "What isn't wrong?"
The prince looked back at her and started to say something, but was interrupted by Arianna. "I have learned the truth," she said with finality in her voice. "I now know that my mother and father do not care for me whatsoever."
Prince Eldarion shook his head vigorously. "That's not true, Arianna."
Arianna rolled her eyes in anger. "Do you even realize what you're saying? Do you realize that my mother and father, and everyone I know has forgotten - no, not forgotten, because they did remember, didn't they - when my birthday was. My birthday was on Thursday last. "I have spent a week wondering when someone would realize their mistake and wish me a happy birthday. Then, I last nearly a week before finding out that no one even knew when my birthday was.
"I was better off thinking that they forgot than that they didn't even know at all."
Prince Eldarion was silent. They said nothing for nearly ten minutes. They looked at the tree, the fountain, and the sky, anything but each other. The silence remained unbroken until the prince spoke. "Happy birthday, Arianna," he whispered before laying something on the branch and sliding off. He landed on the ground, and ran away.
Arianna stared after him as he sped off. Then, looking down at the branch, she frowned in curiosity. "Hmm." she hummed.
Picking it up, she turned it over. It appeared to be a small box. It was unmarked, but wrapped with a golden colored paper with silver trim - the paper used by the royals. The wrapping was carefully done, and the glue used to hold it all together was expertly placed so to not hinder a person from unwrapping, but enough so that it would stay together. This meant only one thing: either the prince thought this very important, and worked hard to make it perfect, or, he got someone else to do it. For the prince's sake, Arianna hoped it was the former.
She smiled softly as she held it up to her ear and shook it. It did not rattle, but make a soft ticking sound as it hit the sides of the box. She held it in front of her to try and guess what it might possibly be, but to no avail. She could not guess. And so she opened it.
Carefully, so to not damage the paper, she peeled off the wrappings. There was a single sheet of paper that went around the box. Looking carefully, she noted the writing on the underside of the paper. It said:
"Dear Arianna,
I wanted to give you this gift on your birthday, but was not sure how.
My friends and I had tried to catch you in your room, and in the
library, but you escaped us. I am not surprised that you ran, but am
somewhat saddened by your actions.
I would hope that you forgive any former actions that would cause you
to believe that I would have anything against you. Please forgive me
So here, I give you this gift. I hope you can forgive me.
Prince Eldarion
Ps. I would that you call me a friend, and as a friend only call me Eldarion.
PPs. I hope that this is the right gift, and I did not give you the
gift I was going to give to you with my friends (there were two
different gifts - one that my friends and I were to give you, and one
that I was to give you later one. I hope and pray that you got the
one I was to give you for my sake as well as yours.)
PPPs. I never forgot your birthday.
PPPPs. If you ever tell anyone about this, I will make your life a
living hell. If you think you have it bad right now, you are gravely
mistaken.
PPPPPs. I should probably stop writing Ps.'s, but I have something
else to say and have forgotten it. In the next Ps., maybe I will
remember it.
PPPPPPs. I remembered! I wont tell your parents if you don't want me
to. I have told them that you have been sick since morning, and
didn't come to luncheon for that reason. Do you mind?
PPPPPPPs. Happy Birthday!
PPPPPPPPs. I really hope I gave you the right gift. Wait a moment!
Why don't I check? One moment.
Okay, it's the right gift. I was worried for a moment.
PPPPPPPPPs. Happy birthday. Enjoy your gift.
PPPPPPPPPPs. I want to see you wear it tomorrow at the annual ball. I
promise not to throw you in a river if you ask me to go with you and
attack my friends if I say no. (I'm just jesting.) (Sorry about the
last time. I know I made that up and got you into trouble.)
PPPPPPPPPPPs. I think that was a letter on it's own, so I will resign
my name.
Prince Eldarion. Ps.Ps. If you show this letter to anyone else, I will have to kill you.
Arianna smiled and shook her head. "Silly prince," she thought. "But what did he give me?" She looked, and found the answer. Within the confines of a box lay the most beautiful necklace that could be found in Gondor. It was made of mithril, one of Middle Earth's most precious metals. "This must have cost a fortune," Arianna thought to herself. The pendant of the necklace was oval, and a frosty violet color - her favorite color - and it was a small locket as well. The pendant was encased in a locket of polished mithril and it hung on a fine mithril chain.
"Thank you," she whispered to the wind. "I will wear it tomorrow."
Cut!!!!! And that's a wrap. Well, my fellow fanficers, I hope that this story fulfills your story reading needs. But, just to warn you, a slight amount of romance is coming in the next chapter. Notice the emphasis on slight. I know it might make you wonder what a romance is doing between two children, considering their ages, but if you notice the chapter names, they say, "that was then" and "still then," and the next one is going to be, "This is now." In the next chapter, my characters are going to be much older (about seventeen and eighteen) and they will have learned a lot more about life. Or so they think. Keep reading Please Review!!!! If I don't get reviews, I think that you don't like my story, and if I think you don't like my story, I stop getting the inspiration to write, and if I stop getting the inspiration to write, then I stop writing, and if I stop writing you will have nothing to read. It is a vicious cycle. Only you can end it. Please Review!
Wannabe.
To my reviewer(s):
Legolaslover2003: That's cool. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I'm really working hard on it, and I think I'm getting results. Keep reviewing!
By the way, I need more reviewers!!!!!!! Thanks to those who did review!!! =D
That's the Way Life Goes
Chapter 3: Still then.
As soon as she walked into the library, she stumbled. Confused, she turned to look at what it was, only to find nothing. With a frown, she turned back and immediately banged her shoulders into something hard.
Looking up, she saw an arm in her path. It was positioned just so that she would hit it and fall back. Her eyes followed the arm all the way up to the body, then up to the face. And guess whom the arm belonged to. Prince Eldarion.
She knew it was too good to be true. She sighed and turned around quickly to run, but was yet again hindered by an arm blocking her path. This one belonged to one of his tittering pigeons, Saranine.
Saranine was one of the few females in the prince's group. She was a young girl, younger even than Arianna, but she held much more strength in her claw-like nails than her mind. As much as Arianna was book smart and kind, Saranine was beautiful and evil. In fact, it was no great secret that Arianna supposed Saranine to be some kind of witch that had cast a spell over the castle and it's inhabitants, and might have been in league with Sauron himself.
Arianna glared at Saranine and turned to her right to make an exit. As was expected, another arm blocked her path. This time it was Sarondan, Saranine's brother. She rolled her eyes at his particularly menacing smile and turned 180(, all the way to the prince's left side where there was no one standing to block her.
She looked at the prince briefly before bolting to the open space. She made it past them, but turned in time to see prince Eldarion's angry glare. He stared at her in unwavering anger. But just milliseconds before she ran away, she thought she saw him smile.
That sight made her stumble once more, but then she picked her pace back up and ran like a scared puppy. Running, she went through the courtyard, past the stairways leading to the second floor in the front hall, through the dining hall, and past the kitchen doors. On a second thought, she doubled back and went into the kitchen where she could find many places to hide until her party.
The busy cooks and servants all rushed around her, busily. She knew that they were preparing for her birthday. Curious, she snuck a peek at the counter top. She looked at it, startled, for there was nothing on it. There was supposed to be a cake, some desserts, something. But there was nothing.
On to her left, she spotted some filled trays. She walked closer to discover only the lunch that was to be served later on that day. Holding back tears, she walked away from all the tables.
In a daze, she strode past all the cooks, the servants, and others who were in for a bite to eat. She even walked all the way back to the library. Finding it empty, she sat in a corner and thought.
It had not occurred to her at the time, but her father had not said anything about her birthday. Her thoughts went back to earlier that morning. When she was talking with her mother, she had not said anything either.
Then, when she had taken a stroll to the library, the professor had not said anything either, and he was so old that he knew every one's birthday, even the most distant relative of the family.
Her expression became more and more morose as she recounted all of her rendezvous' on that day. No one had wished her happy birthday.
Sitting on the floor, she sobbed pathetically, wishing that someone would care. She thought that no one did. She thought she would die a lonely little girl. But then! Then it occurred to her that she would not have to die as a lonely little girl. She could be better, better than all of them.
Maybe, if she tried harder to be brave, and popular, and pretty, they would not ignore her. Maybe, if she spent more time primping and pruning herself, people would notice her and think, 'that is the beautiful daughter of the lady and steward of Gondor. Maybe. It was worth a shot.
So she tried it. She wore the nicest dresses, and took the utmost care to not get them dirty. Still no one noticed.
Then, nearly a week later, in the middle of a meal with the entire royal family, her mother exclaimed, "oh, my darling, your birthday! Happy birthday! I had nearly forgotten, I'm so sorry. So, are you ready for your tenth birthday on Wednesday of this week?"
Arianna, who had been taking a bite of her roast ham [a/n: imagine another type of food if eating ham disgusts you], looked up in the middle of her bite. Her mouth was paused in the middle of a chewing motion. She blinked up at her mother.
The prince who was sitting next to his mother, on the other side of his father (Boromir and his family opposite from them) smirked silently. But as silent as he tried to be, his mother heard him and gave him a reprimanding look. The prince immediately sobered up.
You see the prince, while being a complete ass towards others, was the perfect child around his parents. And they did know about his less angelic tendencies, towards Arianna especially, so they tried to explain to him the proper behavior. Unfortunately, what a child is told is not necessarily what a child does and so Arianna continued to be tormented.
But this torment was worst of all. Never in the history of the kingdom had anyone forgotten his or her child's birthday. Arianna sat in silence as all around her, voices of joy made a commotion.
Her father frowned in confusion for a moment, but then grinned and said in excitement, "then we shall have a party in honor of my darling, precious daughter's growing up!" Everyone started talking at once, and amidst the confusion and activity one sad little girl stared at her plate in sadness.
Suddenly, a small voice started laughing. It was not louder than the noise created by the people of the hall, but it certainly caught Arianna's attention. She stared at the owner of the voice. The prince continued laughing at the expression of her face.
"u look like you were run over by a horse. Just look at your face," he gasped between laughs.
Arianna stood up suddenly and her chair flung itself backwards as though shoved by some invisible force. The noise of the chair clattering against the cold stone floor gained everyone's attention.
They all stared at her, perplexed. Lady Monien stared at her child incredulously. She rose from her seat, ending her discussion with another lady of the court. "Arianna, what has gotten into you?"
Arianna stared up at her mother with unshed tears in her eyes. The look in her mother's eyes made her feel shameful, and she looked away. But then, she felt angry because it wasn't her who should have been shameful. It wasn't her who forgot her birthday. Her mother should have felt the misery that she was feeling. Not her. She never deserved it.
Her thoughts fueled her anger. Memories of continuous letdowns, uncertainties, and disappointments ran through her mind. She pictured herself storming away from her mother, but fear of her reaction stopped her from really doing it.
She took a deep breath to calm her anger. Getting angry would only get her mother angrier. It would only cause her to drop further in others' views, and that was something her mother would be furious about.
Tears threatened to leak from her eyes as everyone stared down at her. The silence in the room was impenetrable. It was thick, and hung heavily in the air. She could feel everyone's eyes on her as she stared at her feet. She was unable to meet her mother's eyes as she hurriedly mumbled an apology and ran from the room.
"I hate him. I hate him not. I hate him. I hate him not. I hate - what do you want?" Arianna said roughly to a carefully approaching prince.
Arianna had been seated in her favorite tree in a special part of the forest near the castle that she had proclaimed her own. She had never actually told anyone about it, but if anyone wanted to find her, they could be sure to find her there.
As a matter of fact, the person who went there the most was standing right at the foot of the tree. Prince Eldarion looked up at her with a pitiful expression on his face. "Aw, poor old Arianna. No body cares at all. No body," he said with fake sympathy. "Maybe I can help."
Arianna eyed him warily as he began climbing up the tree. There was no room for him to get up onto the branch she was on because she was sitting right next to the trunk. When he reached the branch she was on, he clung to the tree with one hand and his legs and stared Arianna in the eyes.
"Move over," he said unemotionally. Still watching him with careful eyes, she slid over on the tree. He clambered up onto the bough and sat down. He heaved a sigh as though all the troubles in the world were upon his shoulders.
Rolling her eyes, Arianna raised an eyebrow as she asked sardonically, "you came on your own accord, did you?"
Prince Eldarion smirked, "do you really think I would be here if someone didn't ask or tell me too?" Arianna did not answer, but instead stared at him coolly.
"So why are you here?" she asked icily. "To rejoice in my sorrow, or to rub it in?"
Smiling malevolently he said, "take your pick." When he saw Arianna's face darken, he chuckled. Arianna frowned and looked up at his face.
"What?" she asked none too kindly. He smiled impassively and turned to look at the scenery.
It was slightly windy outside. At nearly nine o'clock at night, the sun had long since set, and the moon was still in the sky. Looking down, Prince Eldarion saw the shimmering reflection of the night's stars in the fountain at the center of the clearing.
Then, the wind was silent. The rustling leaves stopped moving and everything was silent. No sound could be heard from within the castle, and the forest was quiet as well. The only sound prince Eldarion heard with his half elven ears was that of his and his companion's breaths.
His companion inhaled softly as he studied her discreetly. Her green eyes, the color of evergreen trees, were oval shaped and large, contrasting amazingly to her black hair. Her straight nose and full lips proved her to be a very beautiful girl, but as she cared little for her looks and did nothing to enhance them.
He continued to watch her, but she did not notice. His eyes remained on her for more then several moments as though her were in a trance. Snapping out of his daze he stared at her, shocked, as he saw her shoulders shake and heard her sniffle.
He didn't know what to do. He had never seen her cry before - he always assumed she cried, because of the way she ran away from him - but he never actually saw her cry. And so he stared, in complete confusion. What he did know was that she was trying to hide her tears. She did not look at him, but occasionally wiped a tear.
"What's wrong," he asked gently. He had meant to be kind, for the first time ever, but his attempts were not rewarded when she looked at him as though he were insane.
"What is wrong?" she asked incredulously. "What is that supposed to mean: what is wrong?" When he did not answer, and looked away her accusing stare. "What isn't wrong?"
The prince looked back at her and started to say something, but was interrupted by Arianna. "I have learned the truth," she said with finality in her voice. "I now know that my mother and father do not care for me whatsoever."
Prince Eldarion shook his head vigorously. "That's not true, Arianna."
Arianna rolled her eyes in anger. "Do you even realize what you're saying? Do you realize that my mother and father, and everyone I know has forgotten - no, not forgotten, because they did remember, didn't they - when my birthday was. My birthday was on Thursday last. "I have spent a week wondering when someone would realize their mistake and wish me a happy birthday. Then, I last nearly a week before finding out that no one even knew when my birthday was.
"I was better off thinking that they forgot than that they didn't even know at all."
Prince Eldarion was silent. They said nothing for nearly ten minutes. They looked at the tree, the fountain, and the sky, anything but each other. The silence remained unbroken until the prince spoke. "Happy birthday, Arianna," he whispered before laying something on the branch and sliding off. He landed on the ground, and ran away.
Arianna stared after him as he sped off. Then, looking down at the branch, she frowned in curiosity. "Hmm." she hummed.
Picking it up, she turned it over. It appeared to be a small box. It was unmarked, but wrapped with a golden colored paper with silver trim - the paper used by the royals. The wrapping was carefully done, and the glue used to hold it all together was expertly placed so to not hinder a person from unwrapping, but enough so that it would stay together. This meant only one thing: either the prince thought this very important, and worked hard to make it perfect, or, he got someone else to do it. For the prince's sake, Arianna hoped it was the former.
She smiled softly as she held it up to her ear and shook it. It did not rattle, but make a soft ticking sound as it hit the sides of the box. She held it in front of her to try and guess what it might possibly be, but to no avail. She could not guess. And so she opened it.
Carefully, so to not damage the paper, she peeled off the wrappings. There was a single sheet of paper that went around the box. Looking carefully, she noted the writing on the underside of the paper. It said:
"Dear Arianna,
I wanted to give you this gift on your birthday, but was not sure how.
My friends and I had tried to catch you in your room, and in the
library, but you escaped us. I am not surprised that you ran, but am
somewhat saddened by your actions.
I would hope that you forgive any former actions that would cause you
to believe that I would have anything against you. Please forgive me
So here, I give you this gift. I hope you can forgive me.
Prince Eldarion
Ps. I would that you call me a friend, and as a friend only call me Eldarion.
PPs. I hope that this is the right gift, and I did not give you the
gift I was going to give to you with my friends (there were two
different gifts - one that my friends and I were to give you, and one
that I was to give you later one. I hope and pray that you got the
one I was to give you for my sake as well as yours.)
PPPs. I never forgot your birthday.
PPPPs. If you ever tell anyone about this, I will make your life a
living hell. If you think you have it bad right now, you are gravely
mistaken.
PPPPPs. I should probably stop writing Ps.'s, but I have something
else to say and have forgotten it. In the next Ps., maybe I will
remember it.
PPPPPPs. I remembered! I wont tell your parents if you don't want me
to. I have told them that you have been sick since morning, and
didn't come to luncheon for that reason. Do you mind?
PPPPPPPs. Happy Birthday!
PPPPPPPPs. I really hope I gave you the right gift. Wait a moment!
Why don't I check? One moment.
Okay, it's the right gift. I was worried for a moment.
PPPPPPPPPs. Happy birthday. Enjoy your gift.
PPPPPPPPPPs. I want to see you wear it tomorrow at the annual ball. I
promise not to throw you in a river if you ask me to go with you and
attack my friends if I say no. (I'm just jesting.) (Sorry about the
last time. I know I made that up and got you into trouble.)
PPPPPPPPPPPs. I think that was a letter on it's own, so I will resign
my name.
Prince Eldarion. Ps.Ps. If you show this letter to anyone else, I will have to kill you.
Arianna smiled and shook her head. "Silly prince," she thought. "But what did he give me?" She looked, and found the answer. Within the confines of a box lay the most beautiful necklace that could be found in Gondor. It was made of mithril, one of Middle Earth's most precious metals. "This must have cost a fortune," Arianna thought to herself. The pendant of the necklace was oval, and a frosty violet color - her favorite color - and it was a small locket as well. The pendant was encased in a locket of polished mithril and it hung on a fine mithril chain.
"Thank you," she whispered to the wind. "I will wear it tomorrow."
Cut!!!!! And that's a wrap. Well, my fellow fanficers, I hope that this story fulfills your story reading needs. But, just to warn you, a slight amount of romance is coming in the next chapter. Notice the emphasis on slight. I know it might make you wonder what a romance is doing between two children, considering their ages, but if you notice the chapter names, they say, "that was then" and "still then," and the next one is going to be, "This is now." In the next chapter, my characters are going to be much older (about seventeen and eighteen) and they will have learned a lot more about life. Or so they think. Keep reading Please Review!!!! If I don't get reviews, I think that you don't like my story, and if I think you don't like my story, I stop getting the inspiration to write, and if I stop getting the inspiration to write, then I stop writing, and if I stop writing you will have nothing to read. It is a vicious cycle. Only you can end it. Please Review!
Wannabe.