Things to know beforehand:
A) I do not own LOTR's. I have no intention of typing that at the top of every chapter. Don't sue. I will win.
B) For this you need to know (please don't say this is insulting your intelligence or anything if you already do, if it does I am sorry in advance) that Naneth means "Mother" and Atar means "Father"
C) Flame me, I flame you. Got it?
D) For any review, I always try and review one of your fics a soon as possible, please don't be insulted if it takes me awhile. Believe it or not, I do have a life.
E) I am a horrible speller. Even with spell check I fail. Do not be afraid to send me corrections on my spelling, that would not be a "flame" in my mind
Good now that I'm finished being a bitch, we can go on with a story!
Time Period: Just before the first (The Fellowship, yes I am aware of the Hobbit, but I call that a prelude, not the first. If you choose to yell at me at this, please see letter C above) book/movie occurs. I tend to follow more of the movie line, just because it's easier on me to remember all of that stuff because we own the movies not the books. I was forced to borrow each one as I read them. Okay, I'm done ranting.
Please enjoy and send me your comments and criticism (no I am not giving you permission to flame me)
With Love (yes, believe it or not!),
Arwen
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"Our greatest glory is not never falling, but in rising every time we fall"
-Confucius
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She wasn't the most beautiful of elven maidens, nor the most graceful. She wasn't the best cook, the best weaver, nor the best archer. She didn't have elves pinning after her, like some of the other she-elves in the village. To but it simply, she was just plain. But she didn't mind. Nessa had always hated being the elf whom everyone's attention is focused on, it fact she enjoyed her privacy. She enjoyed taking long walks through the woods alone, not that her parents found this acceptable and always punished her for doing so, but she still managed to walk through the woods every now and again. Not that she was a horrible child, in fact she loved her family, it was just that she wasn't like everyone else. She needed her space.
Nessa had grown up in a small village on the outskirts of Rivendell, it wasn't a well known village, but it was home. Its traditional elven beauty surpassed that of any village Nessa had seen in her one thousand, two hundred, and twenty-seven years of being, not that she had been out of the village much. Her and her family lived in a small home, her mother maintained a large and lush garden around it, she had three younger sisters, and three brothers. One of her brothers was older then her, married, and had three little elflings of his own to deal with. The other two were younger then her, still elflings in their own right, her younger sisters as well. There was a large age gap in their family between her and her younger siblings, but she didn't mind. In fact she loved them dearly, but then again she loved children especially at the age they were at. They hadn't lost their innocence (A/N: NOT THAT! GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF THE GUTTERS!). They did not understand the things that plagued this god- forsaken place called Middle Earth.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Nessa!" Her older brother, Aerandir, called to her. She lay on the soft grass on the hillside just a few yards from their home, it was her place of solitude.
"Aerandir! It's good to see you! How was the hunt?"
"There have been better, but it was worth it." He smiled at the memories of his younger brothers attempting to hunt properly. He wished Nessa could be there to see it, but he knew just as well as she did that their Atar would never allow her to do such a thing.
"I'm sure Narie, will be glad to see you home in good health, your offspring have brought a plague to this household!" Nessa laughed, "they are like monsters! They must take after you!" Aerandir laughed,
"Me! What about you! I seem to remember you being the little terrorist!"
"I learned from you," Nessa smiled, "I have heard many stories from Naneth."
"And what exactly did she tell you?" Aerandir laughed, taking a seat next to his sister. Nessa smoothed out her worn brown dress and turned to him,
"Lets just say I know enough to sufficiently provide blackmail if I'm ever in need."
"Atar would be so proud," Aerandir laughed, "and speaking of the little terrors, where are they?"
"Narie is sleeping, I think this week has really worn her out, so Naneth and Altar took all of the remaining elflings to the city for the day so that Narie could rest a little."
"Why didn't you go with them?"
"I am, we were waiting for you to get back so that I could bring you, your wife, Enyd, Adan, and find them."
"Alright, I go and wake Narie, no doubt she'll be in a foul mood, and we'll head out, I know how much you love Rivendell."
"Thank-you," Nessa smiled, brightly, it seemed that her brother could eventually learn something, "I'll go and fetch Enyd and Adan, no doubt they're running around the house like wild beasts by now."
"Actually last time I checked they were sleeping, I think it was too soon for us to bring them out hunting with me."
"Hey, at least they can go out and not get into trouble." Nessa snapped at her brother.
"Sorry, Ness, I forgot. I haven't lived here for awhile now, remember?"
"Yes, yes, I know, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." Aerandir smiled, and patted his baby sister on the back,
"There's the Nessa I know!" Nessa smiled,
"We better get moving, I want to be able to leave Rivendell this evening before nightfall, I hate being on the roads at night." Aerandir smiled and stood up, Nessa followed suit, and they walked into their somewhat small home.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Within the hour the group of elves had left their home, and headed towards the city of Rivendell. Nessa had placed her younger brothers, Enyd and Adan, on her horse, Anwa, and walked besides it slowly. Aerandir sat atop his horse, Ronyo, as his beloved wife, Narie, rested peacefully between his arms.
"Nessa, are you sure you that you want to walk the distance to Rivendell? I mean, it may not be incredibly far or anything, but still it will take us a little over an hour to get there."
"I'm fine, Aerandir, I like walking." Nessa frowned at her brother's question, she knew he meant no harm by it, it just sounded so much like what their Atar would say. Nessa was a she-elf therefore, she must be to weak to do anything on her own, besides that things that she-elves were supposed to do. Clean, take care of the elflings, cook, take care of the elflings, weave, take care of the elflings, and lets not forget, take care of the elflings. That was all she was expected to do in her life, produce and take care of elflings.
She wasn't expected to do anything great, unlike the characters in stories. That is why she liked going to Rivendell so much, Lady Arwen would always read her a new story, no matter what troubles were about. She always took the time. It seemed that over time, her and Lady Arwen had formed a sort of bond, a respect for one another. Lady Arwen, when she could find the time, would read her stories and teach her to read, and in turn Nessa taught Lady Arwen archery. The best part about their friendship, was that only Lord Elrond knew of it, for her Altar would never approve of her doing such things. She-elves did not need to know how to read in his mind, all they were there for was to produce elflings and raise them.
What fun.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Within an hour, the group had reached the city of Rivendell. Aerandir, Narie, Adan, and Enyd had gone in search of the rest of their family, while Nessa had volunteered to take the horses to the stables. After she was done with that, she would go in search of Lady Arwen.
The city of Rivendell seemed different now then all of the other times Nessa had been within its limits. It seemed more on edge. Then again, so did a lot of things these days. Nessa swiftly lead her horses to the stable, humming an old song as she went. She couldn't wait to find Lady Arwen, she couldn't wait for another adventure found within the pages of a book.
"Hello, I am here to drop off these horses, we shall be picking one of them up again tonight, the other one will stay here." Nessa smiled and greeted a small stable boy waiting outside of the door. He took the reins of the horses, but he did not move, he just stared at her.
"Before I can allow you to stay within the city, I must ask you a few questions first." The boy said sternly, holding the reins tightly in his hands, "do not take it personally, we must ask all of the visitors the same questions."
Nessa nodded, "alright, if I must."
"Where are you from?" The question was simple enough, Nessa just nodded and answered,
"The villages outside of Rivendell."
"What is your business here in Rivendell?" She could tell the questions were well rehearsed, as the boy said them without thinking for a moment and without emotion.
"I am here with my family."
"What is your business?" The boy repeated, Nessa raised her eyebrow,
"To have fun," she said slowly trying to think of a way to phrase it better. The boy nodded,
"What is your name?" Nessa frowned,
"I personally do not enjoy giving out my name to strangers! I've already told you where I live, why I am here! Why do I need to tell you my name!"
"I don't make the questions, I just ask them."
"Well then, I refuse to answer."
"Enjoy your trip home, and I hope you had an enjoyable experience in Rivendell, please due never come back." The boy smiled, handing the reins back to Nessa. She glared at the boy,
"ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT BECAUSE I WILL NOT GIVE MY NAME, YOU'RE KICKING ME OUT OF RIVENDELL!" She shouted at the boy, her hands fly up in the air.
The boy nodded, "have a nice day!"
"OVER A STUPID NAME!" This was definitely not one of Nessa's better days.
"Give me your name or leave."
She could feel herself shaking with anger at the stable boy. She really couldn't be mad at him, he was just doing his job, but still. Being kicked out of Rivendell because she would not give the stable boy her name.
"IF YOU THINK FOR ONE SECOND" Unfortunately she was cut off from yelling at the boy, by none other then Lady Arwen herself.
"She does not need to give her name, she is my guest." The Evenstar smiled sweetly, the boy sat at attention.
"Yes, yes, Milady! My mistake!" He apologized, "it will never happen again."
"I will be picking up the grayish one this evening, the brownish one belongs to my brother who has now taken up residence here." Nessa instructed the boy, he nodded in understanding.
"What is your horse's name that you will be picking up?"
"Anwa"
"I'm sorry for your troubles milady," the boy apologized. Nessa could have sworn it was more of an apology to Lady Arwen, noting the glare in his eyes as he looked at her. What she wouldn't give to strange that boy.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Within the hour, Nessa and Lady Arwen began their ritual. Lady Arwen had already chosen a book she knew Nessa would enjoy, and even had Nessa read a few passages. All in all, this hadn't turned out to be a bad day after all.
Around dinnertime, Nessa headed to find her family again. No doubt they were starting to get worried by now. She hadn't seen them in over five hours. She found them waiting for her in the center of the city,
"Nessa! Where were you!" Her Naneth scolded her, "we have been waiting for you for over twenty minutes!"
"I am sorry, Naneth, lost track of time I suppose." She hung her head as if to say she was sorry, not that she was. She knew she was going to be late, but she had to find out what happened to the main character. This wasn't the first time she had been late meeting her family while in Rivendell.
"Where do you always run off to when we are here anyways? You're always late getting back, and you never say anything of your day. Where do you go, Nessa?" Her Altar narrowed his eyes at her, Nessa smiled,
"I walk through the gardens, Altar, you know how much I love nature." She smiled, it seemed that these days lying was becoming the only way of communication between her and her parents.
He smiled, "I should have known, Nessa."
She nodded and kept smiling, how she wished she could tell him the truth, but he would never understand why such things mattered. He himself had never learned to read.
"Well, now that Nessa is finally here, I think its best we'd be going. It was nice seeing you again, Narie, Aerandir, Alassea, Vanya, and Cermie!" Her Altar smiled and waved goodbye to his eldest son and family. Everyone else soon followed suit, as they walked away from that family to the stables.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The ride home was slow. Night was starting to fall, she hated traveling at night. Her younger sister, Anca, slept silently in her arms as her horse trotted on. Behind her, her Naneth rode on their family's old horse, her other younger sister, Malwa, cradled carefully in her arms. Besides that horse, her Atar walked quietly, guiding the horse through the woods. Besides her father, her two younger brothers walked, eyes drooping, trying hard to stay open. She would have taken them up in her arms in a second, seeing as that they had been hunting the past few days, but her Atar would never allow that. Nor would he allow her to take their place. Walking besides the horse was a job for a male, so that they could protect the she-elves.
Protect. Such a funny word.
"Nessa, I will need to talk with you once we reach home, your Naneth and I have some important matters to discuss with you." Her Altar said to her, Nessa cringed. It was going to be a long night.
"What is it about, Altar?"
"Do not worry, my little Nessa, you shall see." Her Naneth tired to reassure her, but something told her this wasn't right. That this would not end well.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As usual, they reached their small home on top a hill within an hour. Nessa carried Anca upstairs, followed by her mother carrying Malwa. Soon afterwards, Enyd and Adan climbed up the ladder to the loft where they slept.
Nessa's Naneth and Altar turned to her, and motioned her to have a seat at the large wooden table. She obeyed without question, her heart racing with the fear of what they wanted to discuss.
"Nessa, you, like your brother before you, have grown up splendidly, I couldn't be prouder," her Altar smiled at her, as her Naneth just kept smiling and nodding her head at her.
"Thank-you, Altar, but what is that important matter you wanted to discuss with me?"
"I'm getting to it, little Nessa, you must learn to have patience one of these days," he smiled and continued, "you are one thousand, two hundred, and twenty-seven, well over the proper age."
"Proper age for what?"
"Marriage Nessa!" Her Naneth practically yelled at her daughter.
Nessa's eyes bulged, "YOU WANT ME TO GET MARRIED!"
Her Altar sighed, "yes, yes, that was the point I was getting too. It has all been arranged, you are to marry Oropher, you remember him, right?"
Nessa could feel her blood boiling. She wasn't even keen on the idea of marrying someone she loved at the moment, but a loveless marriage! To Oropher none the less! She wanted to travel, more then just to Rivendell with her family. The furthest she had ever been from home alone was an old stump twenty minutes away from her house. She wanted to see the realms of men, she wanted to see other elven cities, to have her own adventure. She had always intended on finding someone that she truly loved someday, but not now. She only wanted to live life right now.
"Nessa, are you feeling alright? I thought you would be excited!" Her Naneth smiled and clapped her hands together.
"I will not marry." She said slowly and defiantly. Her Altar glared at her,
"You will not disobey me. You will marry." He said just as defiantly as his daughter, "and you shall marry whomever I choose. It is my right as a father, we have already made arrangements with Oropher's parents. You shall marry two weeks from Thursday."
Nessa did something she never thought she would ever do. Then again, she had never been so angry in all of her life. She stood up rapidly from her chair, and placed her face right next to her Altar's, glaring.
"I will not marry." She repeated herself, with even more defiance.
"Then you disgrace this family."
She didn't back down, she wasn't about to give up her life, "I mean not to disgrace, Altar, I mean to stand up against something I believe is unjust. Just as you taught us."
"Yes, I did teach you that, but this is not unjust. It is perfectly fair, we had decided, along with Oropher's parents, a long time ago that you were to marry him. And I stand by that decision."
"As I stand by my decision."
"NESSA!" Her Naneth scolded her, "you will not disobey us like this!"
For the first time in her life, she hated her parents. Not the childish hate that will disappear in a few minutes, but such a strong, barbaric even, hate that she had ever experienced. And to her parents of all people.
"You will not live under this roof, unless you follow my rules." Her Altar said his finial peace, "now go to bed, we shall finish this in the morning." And with that he took his wife's hand, and they left the small eating area. Nessa still stood, unable to calm herself.
"No. We will finish this now."
"What did you just say!" Nessa cringed at her father's words. This wasn't the first time he had ever raised her voice to her, but this time it sounded different. More violent. He let go of his wife's hand, and walked over to his daughter.
"I said, we will finish this now."
Her Altar raised his hand up and struck her hard on her cheek, hard. He drew blood. But she stood her ground. She wasn't going to let anyone tell her what to do. Not now. Not ever.
"Why do you still stand there!" Her Altar raised his hand again, preparing to strike. Nessa stood as still as a statue. "Answer me child!" He slapped her hard again. More blood came, she could see it on his hand.
"Mantan, I think it is best we finish this in the morning." Her Naneth inched slowly to her, but Nessa did not move.
"No, our daughter wants to finish this now, so we will finish this now." He said in an almost mocking tone. "Now, Nessa, be a sensible young she-elf, and marry Oropher."
"I'd die first." Her Altar raised his hand again, slapping her hard. Even more blood. Her mother flinched, but Nessa still stood there.
"Come to your senses child!"
"I am already there!"
Slap.
More blood.
It was getting harder and harder for Nessa not to burst out in tears. She wanted too, oh how she wanted to. But that would show her Altar that she was weak, right now she needed to show him her strength.
"You shall obey my rules when you live under my roof!"
"THEN I SHALL LEAVE!"
"OH NO YOU WILL NOT! YOU'RE STILL A CHILD NESSA!"
"I WILL NOT LIVE BY YOUR RULES, ALTAR!"
He slapped her the hardest for that. His hand was beginning to become more and more red with her blood. "Then you are hereby banished from my household."
Nessa gasped. She loved this house, the loved the people within it. She loved this village. She grew up here; she never had any intention of leaving it forever.
"YOU HEARD ME! GET!" He yelled at her like some scared dog. But then again, she felt like one. With tears ripping down her cheeks, and the stinging pain of an open wound on her cheek, she ran. She just grabbed her horse, and ran.
She never looked back.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A) I do not own LOTR's. I have no intention of typing that at the top of every chapter. Don't sue. I will win.
B) For this you need to know (please don't say this is insulting your intelligence or anything if you already do, if it does I am sorry in advance) that Naneth means "Mother" and Atar means "Father"
C) Flame me, I flame you. Got it?
D) For any review, I always try and review one of your fics a soon as possible, please don't be insulted if it takes me awhile. Believe it or not, I do have a life.
E) I am a horrible speller. Even with spell check I fail. Do not be afraid to send me corrections on my spelling, that would not be a "flame" in my mind
Good now that I'm finished being a bitch, we can go on with a story!
Time Period: Just before the first (The Fellowship, yes I am aware of the Hobbit, but I call that a prelude, not the first. If you choose to yell at me at this, please see letter C above) book/movie occurs. I tend to follow more of the movie line, just because it's easier on me to remember all of that stuff because we own the movies not the books. I was forced to borrow each one as I read them. Okay, I'm done ranting.
Please enjoy and send me your comments and criticism (no I am not giving you permission to flame me)
With Love (yes, believe it or not!),
Arwen
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"Our greatest glory is not never falling, but in rising every time we fall"
-Confucius
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She wasn't the most beautiful of elven maidens, nor the most graceful. She wasn't the best cook, the best weaver, nor the best archer. She didn't have elves pinning after her, like some of the other she-elves in the village. To but it simply, she was just plain. But she didn't mind. Nessa had always hated being the elf whom everyone's attention is focused on, it fact she enjoyed her privacy. She enjoyed taking long walks through the woods alone, not that her parents found this acceptable and always punished her for doing so, but she still managed to walk through the woods every now and again. Not that she was a horrible child, in fact she loved her family, it was just that she wasn't like everyone else. She needed her space.
Nessa had grown up in a small village on the outskirts of Rivendell, it wasn't a well known village, but it was home. Its traditional elven beauty surpassed that of any village Nessa had seen in her one thousand, two hundred, and twenty-seven years of being, not that she had been out of the village much. Her and her family lived in a small home, her mother maintained a large and lush garden around it, she had three younger sisters, and three brothers. One of her brothers was older then her, married, and had three little elflings of his own to deal with. The other two were younger then her, still elflings in their own right, her younger sisters as well. There was a large age gap in their family between her and her younger siblings, but she didn't mind. In fact she loved them dearly, but then again she loved children especially at the age they were at. They hadn't lost their innocence (A/N: NOT THAT! GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF THE GUTTERS!). They did not understand the things that plagued this god- forsaken place called Middle Earth.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Nessa!" Her older brother, Aerandir, called to her. She lay on the soft grass on the hillside just a few yards from their home, it was her place of solitude.
"Aerandir! It's good to see you! How was the hunt?"
"There have been better, but it was worth it." He smiled at the memories of his younger brothers attempting to hunt properly. He wished Nessa could be there to see it, but he knew just as well as she did that their Atar would never allow her to do such a thing.
"I'm sure Narie, will be glad to see you home in good health, your offspring have brought a plague to this household!" Nessa laughed, "they are like monsters! They must take after you!" Aerandir laughed,
"Me! What about you! I seem to remember you being the little terrorist!"
"I learned from you," Nessa smiled, "I have heard many stories from Naneth."
"And what exactly did she tell you?" Aerandir laughed, taking a seat next to his sister. Nessa smoothed out her worn brown dress and turned to him,
"Lets just say I know enough to sufficiently provide blackmail if I'm ever in need."
"Atar would be so proud," Aerandir laughed, "and speaking of the little terrors, where are they?"
"Narie is sleeping, I think this week has really worn her out, so Naneth and Altar took all of the remaining elflings to the city for the day so that Narie could rest a little."
"Why didn't you go with them?"
"I am, we were waiting for you to get back so that I could bring you, your wife, Enyd, Adan, and find them."
"Alright, I go and wake Narie, no doubt she'll be in a foul mood, and we'll head out, I know how much you love Rivendell."
"Thank-you," Nessa smiled, brightly, it seemed that her brother could eventually learn something, "I'll go and fetch Enyd and Adan, no doubt they're running around the house like wild beasts by now."
"Actually last time I checked they were sleeping, I think it was too soon for us to bring them out hunting with me."
"Hey, at least they can go out and not get into trouble." Nessa snapped at her brother.
"Sorry, Ness, I forgot. I haven't lived here for awhile now, remember?"
"Yes, yes, I know, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." Aerandir smiled, and patted his baby sister on the back,
"There's the Nessa I know!" Nessa smiled,
"We better get moving, I want to be able to leave Rivendell this evening before nightfall, I hate being on the roads at night." Aerandir smiled and stood up, Nessa followed suit, and they walked into their somewhat small home.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Within the hour the group of elves had left their home, and headed towards the city of Rivendell. Nessa had placed her younger brothers, Enyd and Adan, on her horse, Anwa, and walked besides it slowly. Aerandir sat atop his horse, Ronyo, as his beloved wife, Narie, rested peacefully between his arms.
"Nessa, are you sure you that you want to walk the distance to Rivendell? I mean, it may not be incredibly far or anything, but still it will take us a little over an hour to get there."
"I'm fine, Aerandir, I like walking." Nessa frowned at her brother's question, she knew he meant no harm by it, it just sounded so much like what their Atar would say. Nessa was a she-elf therefore, she must be to weak to do anything on her own, besides that things that she-elves were supposed to do. Clean, take care of the elflings, cook, take care of the elflings, weave, take care of the elflings, and lets not forget, take care of the elflings. That was all she was expected to do in her life, produce and take care of elflings.
She wasn't expected to do anything great, unlike the characters in stories. That is why she liked going to Rivendell so much, Lady Arwen would always read her a new story, no matter what troubles were about. She always took the time. It seemed that over time, her and Lady Arwen had formed a sort of bond, a respect for one another. Lady Arwen, when she could find the time, would read her stories and teach her to read, and in turn Nessa taught Lady Arwen archery. The best part about their friendship, was that only Lord Elrond knew of it, for her Altar would never approve of her doing such things. She-elves did not need to know how to read in his mind, all they were there for was to produce elflings and raise them.
What fun.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Within an hour, the group had reached the city of Rivendell. Aerandir, Narie, Adan, and Enyd had gone in search of the rest of their family, while Nessa had volunteered to take the horses to the stables. After she was done with that, she would go in search of Lady Arwen.
The city of Rivendell seemed different now then all of the other times Nessa had been within its limits. It seemed more on edge. Then again, so did a lot of things these days. Nessa swiftly lead her horses to the stable, humming an old song as she went. She couldn't wait to find Lady Arwen, she couldn't wait for another adventure found within the pages of a book.
"Hello, I am here to drop off these horses, we shall be picking one of them up again tonight, the other one will stay here." Nessa smiled and greeted a small stable boy waiting outside of the door. He took the reins of the horses, but he did not move, he just stared at her.
"Before I can allow you to stay within the city, I must ask you a few questions first." The boy said sternly, holding the reins tightly in his hands, "do not take it personally, we must ask all of the visitors the same questions."
Nessa nodded, "alright, if I must."
"Where are you from?" The question was simple enough, Nessa just nodded and answered,
"The villages outside of Rivendell."
"What is your business here in Rivendell?" She could tell the questions were well rehearsed, as the boy said them without thinking for a moment and without emotion.
"I am here with my family."
"What is your business?" The boy repeated, Nessa raised her eyebrow,
"To have fun," she said slowly trying to think of a way to phrase it better. The boy nodded,
"What is your name?" Nessa frowned,
"I personally do not enjoy giving out my name to strangers! I've already told you where I live, why I am here! Why do I need to tell you my name!"
"I don't make the questions, I just ask them."
"Well then, I refuse to answer."
"Enjoy your trip home, and I hope you had an enjoyable experience in Rivendell, please due never come back." The boy smiled, handing the reins back to Nessa. She glared at the boy,
"ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT BECAUSE I WILL NOT GIVE MY NAME, YOU'RE KICKING ME OUT OF RIVENDELL!" She shouted at the boy, her hands fly up in the air.
The boy nodded, "have a nice day!"
"OVER A STUPID NAME!" This was definitely not one of Nessa's better days.
"Give me your name or leave."
She could feel herself shaking with anger at the stable boy. She really couldn't be mad at him, he was just doing his job, but still. Being kicked out of Rivendell because she would not give the stable boy her name.
"IF YOU THINK FOR ONE SECOND" Unfortunately she was cut off from yelling at the boy, by none other then Lady Arwen herself.
"She does not need to give her name, she is my guest." The Evenstar smiled sweetly, the boy sat at attention.
"Yes, yes, Milady! My mistake!" He apologized, "it will never happen again."
"I will be picking up the grayish one this evening, the brownish one belongs to my brother who has now taken up residence here." Nessa instructed the boy, he nodded in understanding.
"What is your horse's name that you will be picking up?"
"Anwa"
"I'm sorry for your troubles milady," the boy apologized. Nessa could have sworn it was more of an apology to Lady Arwen, noting the glare in his eyes as he looked at her. What she wouldn't give to strange that boy.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Within the hour, Nessa and Lady Arwen began their ritual. Lady Arwen had already chosen a book she knew Nessa would enjoy, and even had Nessa read a few passages. All in all, this hadn't turned out to be a bad day after all.
Around dinnertime, Nessa headed to find her family again. No doubt they were starting to get worried by now. She hadn't seen them in over five hours. She found them waiting for her in the center of the city,
"Nessa! Where were you!" Her Naneth scolded her, "we have been waiting for you for over twenty minutes!"
"I am sorry, Naneth, lost track of time I suppose." She hung her head as if to say she was sorry, not that she was. She knew she was going to be late, but she had to find out what happened to the main character. This wasn't the first time she had been late meeting her family while in Rivendell.
"Where do you always run off to when we are here anyways? You're always late getting back, and you never say anything of your day. Where do you go, Nessa?" Her Altar narrowed his eyes at her, Nessa smiled,
"I walk through the gardens, Altar, you know how much I love nature." She smiled, it seemed that these days lying was becoming the only way of communication between her and her parents.
He smiled, "I should have known, Nessa."
She nodded and kept smiling, how she wished she could tell him the truth, but he would never understand why such things mattered. He himself had never learned to read.
"Well, now that Nessa is finally here, I think its best we'd be going. It was nice seeing you again, Narie, Aerandir, Alassea, Vanya, and Cermie!" Her Altar smiled and waved goodbye to his eldest son and family. Everyone else soon followed suit, as they walked away from that family to the stables.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The ride home was slow. Night was starting to fall, she hated traveling at night. Her younger sister, Anca, slept silently in her arms as her horse trotted on. Behind her, her Naneth rode on their family's old horse, her other younger sister, Malwa, cradled carefully in her arms. Besides that horse, her Atar walked quietly, guiding the horse through the woods. Besides her father, her two younger brothers walked, eyes drooping, trying hard to stay open. She would have taken them up in her arms in a second, seeing as that they had been hunting the past few days, but her Atar would never allow that. Nor would he allow her to take their place. Walking besides the horse was a job for a male, so that they could protect the she-elves.
Protect. Such a funny word.
"Nessa, I will need to talk with you once we reach home, your Naneth and I have some important matters to discuss with you." Her Altar said to her, Nessa cringed. It was going to be a long night.
"What is it about, Altar?"
"Do not worry, my little Nessa, you shall see." Her Naneth tired to reassure her, but something told her this wasn't right. That this would not end well.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As usual, they reached their small home on top a hill within an hour. Nessa carried Anca upstairs, followed by her mother carrying Malwa. Soon afterwards, Enyd and Adan climbed up the ladder to the loft where they slept.
Nessa's Naneth and Altar turned to her, and motioned her to have a seat at the large wooden table. She obeyed without question, her heart racing with the fear of what they wanted to discuss.
"Nessa, you, like your brother before you, have grown up splendidly, I couldn't be prouder," her Altar smiled at her, as her Naneth just kept smiling and nodding her head at her.
"Thank-you, Altar, but what is that important matter you wanted to discuss with me?"
"I'm getting to it, little Nessa, you must learn to have patience one of these days," he smiled and continued, "you are one thousand, two hundred, and twenty-seven, well over the proper age."
"Proper age for what?"
"Marriage Nessa!" Her Naneth practically yelled at her daughter.
Nessa's eyes bulged, "YOU WANT ME TO GET MARRIED!"
Her Altar sighed, "yes, yes, that was the point I was getting too. It has all been arranged, you are to marry Oropher, you remember him, right?"
Nessa could feel her blood boiling. She wasn't even keen on the idea of marrying someone she loved at the moment, but a loveless marriage! To Oropher none the less! She wanted to travel, more then just to Rivendell with her family. The furthest she had ever been from home alone was an old stump twenty minutes away from her house. She wanted to see the realms of men, she wanted to see other elven cities, to have her own adventure. She had always intended on finding someone that she truly loved someday, but not now. She only wanted to live life right now.
"Nessa, are you feeling alright? I thought you would be excited!" Her Naneth smiled and clapped her hands together.
"I will not marry." She said slowly and defiantly. Her Altar glared at her,
"You will not disobey me. You will marry." He said just as defiantly as his daughter, "and you shall marry whomever I choose. It is my right as a father, we have already made arrangements with Oropher's parents. You shall marry two weeks from Thursday."
Nessa did something she never thought she would ever do. Then again, she had never been so angry in all of her life. She stood up rapidly from her chair, and placed her face right next to her Altar's, glaring.
"I will not marry." She repeated herself, with even more defiance.
"Then you disgrace this family."
She didn't back down, she wasn't about to give up her life, "I mean not to disgrace, Altar, I mean to stand up against something I believe is unjust. Just as you taught us."
"Yes, I did teach you that, but this is not unjust. It is perfectly fair, we had decided, along with Oropher's parents, a long time ago that you were to marry him. And I stand by that decision."
"As I stand by my decision."
"NESSA!" Her Naneth scolded her, "you will not disobey us like this!"
For the first time in her life, she hated her parents. Not the childish hate that will disappear in a few minutes, but such a strong, barbaric even, hate that she had ever experienced. And to her parents of all people.
"You will not live under this roof, unless you follow my rules." Her Altar said his finial peace, "now go to bed, we shall finish this in the morning." And with that he took his wife's hand, and they left the small eating area. Nessa still stood, unable to calm herself.
"No. We will finish this now."
"What did you just say!" Nessa cringed at her father's words. This wasn't the first time he had ever raised her voice to her, but this time it sounded different. More violent. He let go of his wife's hand, and walked over to his daughter.
"I said, we will finish this now."
Her Altar raised his hand up and struck her hard on her cheek, hard. He drew blood. But she stood her ground. She wasn't going to let anyone tell her what to do. Not now. Not ever.
"Why do you still stand there!" Her Altar raised his hand again, preparing to strike. Nessa stood as still as a statue. "Answer me child!" He slapped her hard again. More blood came, she could see it on his hand.
"Mantan, I think it is best we finish this in the morning." Her Naneth inched slowly to her, but Nessa did not move.
"No, our daughter wants to finish this now, so we will finish this now." He said in an almost mocking tone. "Now, Nessa, be a sensible young she-elf, and marry Oropher."
"I'd die first." Her Altar raised his hand again, slapping her hard. Even more blood. Her mother flinched, but Nessa still stood there.
"Come to your senses child!"
"I am already there!"
Slap.
More blood.
It was getting harder and harder for Nessa not to burst out in tears. She wanted too, oh how she wanted to. But that would show her Altar that she was weak, right now she needed to show him her strength.
"You shall obey my rules when you live under my roof!"
"THEN I SHALL LEAVE!"
"OH NO YOU WILL NOT! YOU'RE STILL A CHILD NESSA!"
"I WILL NOT LIVE BY YOUR RULES, ALTAR!"
He slapped her the hardest for that. His hand was beginning to become more and more red with her blood. "Then you are hereby banished from my household."
Nessa gasped. She loved this house, the loved the people within it. She loved this village. She grew up here; she never had any intention of leaving it forever.
"YOU HEARD ME! GET!" He yelled at her like some scared dog. But then again, she felt like one. With tears ripping down her cheeks, and the stinging pain of an open wound on her cheek, she ran. She just grabbed her horse, and ran.
She never looked back.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*