Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings. This should be blindingly
obvious. I'm not profiting from this, and in fact it began as an attempt to
make a Mary Sue that wasn't, well, hideously unreadable and atrocious.
Constructive criticism is welcome and in fact, requested. In this chapter
Maerwyn Sue suffers a few of the consequences of being a tomboy and a
horrible brat.
"Ow!" gasped Maerwyn, turning an enraged glance at her nurse, who, having long become used to such things, ignored it. "Ouch, do you have to brush so hard?" she added, changing tactics to appeal to the soft-heartedness of her nursemaid. The girl's eyes had begun to water.
The nurse, impervious to sympathy tactics, continued brushing. "The straw has to come out. Let this be a lesson to you, Maerwyn." She tugged at a snarl with a bit of straw embedded deeply in it, and the little girl yelped, watching herself and the nurse in the mirror in front of her.
Her skin was pink and raw, because she'd already been scrubbed with painful thoroughness, as her nurse lectured and lectured her on the follies of gadding about, gadding about with boys, and gadding about in the stables. What gadding about really consisted of Maerwyn had never really managed to find out, and did not want to ask because she had the vague feeling that it was something she already ought to know. She definitely did not "gad about" with boys, but her protests were drowned out by a reminder from the nurse about how awful her darning was, how she could not sew a straight line, and how she did not even know enough heraldry to identify her own banner among a host's.
When the hair had finally been brushed through, so that it hung down her back, the nurse took out the hated rose-colored dress. "Oh noooooooo..." moaned Maerwyn, and the nurse's lips tightened into a thin line.
"Oh, yes," she said, utterly determined to make her young charge presentable for once. She slipped the pink dress over the little girl's head. "You will not humiliate your father's house tonight at the banquet. You will prove a credit to it, and to my tutelage. You will not put a spider on the high table, or a mouse, or a snake. You will not spill wine on anyone, and you will not pretend to be a deaf-mute or a half-wit. You will, for once in your selfish life, behave."
Maerwyn gaped at the mirror, finally realizing that the nurse had as much contempt for her as Maerwyn herself had for the nurse. It came as a shock to her, and she stared at her reflection in the mirror: A plain little girl with a snub nose and mouse-brown hair, with a complexion reddened from scrubbing and two tear streaks down her cheeks from all the hair-tugging. More tears were threatening, and Maerwyn reached up with one of her rose- clad arms to wipe them away. She thought better of it at the last moment, and pulled a handkerchief from the rough-carved wooden dresser before her, wiping her eyes.
"I will," she vowed fiercely, startling her nurse. "I WILL behave."
The nurse paused for a moment, looking into the mirror. One of her favorite subjects for lecturing of late had been Maerwyn's habit of wiping her face on her sleeve. "Well, I hope so." She patted the small girl on the head, and began to braid her hair, taking a little trouble to be more gentle this time.
"Ow!" gasped Maerwyn, turning an enraged glance at her nurse, who, having long become used to such things, ignored it. "Ouch, do you have to brush so hard?" she added, changing tactics to appeal to the soft-heartedness of her nursemaid. The girl's eyes had begun to water.
The nurse, impervious to sympathy tactics, continued brushing. "The straw has to come out. Let this be a lesson to you, Maerwyn." She tugged at a snarl with a bit of straw embedded deeply in it, and the little girl yelped, watching herself and the nurse in the mirror in front of her.
Her skin was pink and raw, because she'd already been scrubbed with painful thoroughness, as her nurse lectured and lectured her on the follies of gadding about, gadding about with boys, and gadding about in the stables. What gadding about really consisted of Maerwyn had never really managed to find out, and did not want to ask because she had the vague feeling that it was something she already ought to know. She definitely did not "gad about" with boys, but her protests were drowned out by a reminder from the nurse about how awful her darning was, how she could not sew a straight line, and how she did not even know enough heraldry to identify her own banner among a host's.
When the hair had finally been brushed through, so that it hung down her back, the nurse took out the hated rose-colored dress. "Oh noooooooo..." moaned Maerwyn, and the nurse's lips tightened into a thin line.
"Oh, yes," she said, utterly determined to make her young charge presentable for once. She slipped the pink dress over the little girl's head. "You will not humiliate your father's house tonight at the banquet. You will prove a credit to it, and to my tutelage. You will not put a spider on the high table, or a mouse, or a snake. You will not spill wine on anyone, and you will not pretend to be a deaf-mute or a half-wit. You will, for once in your selfish life, behave."
Maerwyn gaped at the mirror, finally realizing that the nurse had as much contempt for her as Maerwyn herself had for the nurse. It came as a shock to her, and she stared at her reflection in the mirror: A plain little girl with a snub nose and mouse-brown hair, with a complexion reddened from scrubbing and two tear streaks down her cheeks from all the hair-tugging. More tears were threatening, and Maerwyn reached up with one of her rose- clad arms to wipe them away. She thought better of it at the last moment, and pulled a handkerchief from the rough-carved wooden dresser before her, wiping her eyes.
"I will," she vowed fiercely, startling her nurse. "I WILL behave."
The nurse paused for a moment, looking into the mirror. One of her favorite subjects for lecturing of late had been Maerwyn's habit of wiping her face on her sleeve. "Well, I hope so." She patted the small girl on the head, and began to braid her hair, taking a little trouble to be more gentle this time.