Luineraugwen: Hey people I've written another story. Guess what, I've got the ROTK soundtrack. About time. Now I have to get the other two. On with the story.

Disclaimer: This goes for all chapters. I do not own LOTR or any of the characters, they belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. If you recognize anything from other movies, books etc, they belong to their rightful owners.

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Katren castigated herself for opening her mouth and back answering her father. She knew he wasn't a very kind man, drunk or not, and she had learned her lesson many times but for some reason, she had become more defiant towards him since he killed her mother. Once again he had punished her for speaking out of turn and now she had a purple bruise across her cheek, also he had re-broken three ribs that had just healed. Since her mother had died, she had become more of a slave to her father and brother than before. Now she did all the work while they sat around and felt their asses grow.

Katren walked the lush land between her village and the river, stumbling every so often because of her ribs. Her village was located not far from the forest of Lothlorien. The elves never left the comfort of the trees, but sometimes Katren thought she could see a lone sentinel guard dresses in grey just inside the borders of the trees but when she blinked and looked back, he had vanished. Actually come to think of it, the elves recruited both males and females for the call of a sentinel, so she might be calling a she, a he. Then again, from a distance, how could you tell?

"Katren, hurry up with that water!" her brother barked from over the hill. She sighed, picked up the water barrels and began to trudge back to the hut that served as her so called home. Perhaps she could sneak out tonight so she could gaze at Lothlorien or the stars. Once she reached her brother, he cursed her before punching her in one of her broken ribs, causing her to double over in pain. He hastily grabbed the buckets of water she held, kicked her and made his way down the hill, still cursing her as he went. Katren picked herself off the ground, brushing the grass from her hair and dress before following her brother home.

Katren sighed angrily, her brother and father were impossible. She had cleaned and cooked to the best of her ability yet they had managed to find some kind of flaw with her work. For that she was now nursing two new bruises.

She quickly undressed under the starry sky and waded into the cold water of the river. Katren swam around for a while, the clear liquid swirling around her. Her plain brown, high-necked dress was hidden amongst the rocks to the side. Katren preferred to wear clothes that covered her body from the lustful eyes of the men in the village. Not only that, but her body was scarred severely from the punishments she'd received over the years. The water caressed her milky white skin as she bathed. Katren once again felt the feeling of utter disgust form in her stomach. Her skin was almost stretched over her bones because of hr lack of nutrition and her body was covered in scars. What kind of man in his own mind would want such a damaged body?

"Come now little sister, the night air is chilling me to the bone and yet you are bathing in even colder water. Come out of the river and dress or you will surely catch your death" Daeron suggested but Katren sunk deeper into the water, quite aware of his intent. This wasn't the first time her brother had tried to convince her to come out of the water when she was bathing and luckily she had caught onto his idea. Katren didn't say anything and continued treading water, ignoring his suggestion. Daeron laughed at either himself or her, Katren could not tell, and said

"So it seems I am loosing my cunning touch, that or your are well aware of my intent. Although you may not look it, you do have some brains" he turned on his heels ad walked down the hill. After waiting a few minutes, Katren clamberer out of the water and dressed. She wrung the excess water out of her hair and then made her way back to their village.

The village which served as her home was really just a cluster of huts, small farms and sheds. Most of the people who lived in the village were outlaws, outcasts, murders and traitors, the rubbish of the different countries of Men. Katren was of Gondorian descent, along with most of the population here. She hated the fact that such violent and wicked people could live anywhere near Lothlorien. Katren wished she could die and leave this place. Her father was already deciding on who her husband would be. His name was Menol, a bid ugly brute many years older than herself and knew that he would treat her just like, or worse than her father. That was probably the reason why her father choose him. He had always believed that it was a man's job to keep a woman it line, dominate her and make her submit to his will. Unfortunately for Katren and all the other stolen women in the village, most of the men side with her father.

Katren could hear drunken laughter from inside their hut. Judging from the voices it was her father, brother and Menol. She strode into the living area and immediately regretted it. The air was cloaked with pipe smoke and Karen saw the men sitting around the small table in the middle of the room, mugs of beer in their dirty hands. Katren caught a quick glimpse of a piece of parchment on the table with the names 'Menol' and 'Katren' as well as the words 'union' and 'marriage'. She panicked. Her father had agreed to sign the marriage papers. She had to get away. Unfortunately for her they saw her come in and her father immediately gestured for Katren to go to her bedroom, which she did.

Katren sat on her old worn out bedroll, tears running down her cheeks like a marathon. Her father had favored this marriage for a long time and now he had agreed on it. She didn't want to be subjected to a torture worse than her father's so she had on choice; run. Katren had planed on this a long time ago. She had hidden a small pack near the river of things she would need. Although she didn't know where she'd go, Katren just knew she had to get away. Perhaps she would go the closest village of Men and try to ear a living there. Should she run out of food, there were berries and plants she could eat on the way. But there was one thing she had yet to figure out; her escape.

She couldn't go through the doors because they would see her, so her only option would be to climb through the small window to her right. Deciding on the window, she grabbed a knife she'd found not long ago. It was oblivious to her that the blade was Elvish. She'd come back to get her clothes after bathing one night and found it sheathed and sitting neatly on her garments. Katren had looked around to see who had put it there but the only thing she could see was the vast country surrounding her. She had hidden the weapon well away from her brother and father so it was there should she need it. Taking a deep breath, she took one last look at the door, and climbed out though the window, sneaking quietly into the hills.

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Luineraugwen: There chapter done. Sorry it was so short but I decided on putting it in chapters and I couldn't think of a good place to end the first chapter so I put it there. The next chapters will be longer I promise…or hope. Ideas are welcome. If you don't agree with the genre this story is, then email me or leave a note and I'll consider what you think it will be. It will be romance in future chapters.

Seeya