A/N: You will start to see the Mary Sue coming into action during this
chapter a little, but fear not! I Know what I'm doing. Er, maybe. *grins*
Does anyone think I should come up with another story title? I don't particularly like this one much. If anyone has any idea's, please let me know. Thanks!
**
Aurora woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed and relaxed than she had in weeks. She didn't wake up once with a nightmare about Gandalf and she felt fully alive and rested. Stretching, she sat up and turned so that her legs were dangling off the comfortable bed. She pulled back her hair, which had grown rather long, into a loose bun then stood up and began searching for the other's. She didn't have to search long as they were all outside relaxing on a patch of soft green grass.
"Morning everyone!" She cried happily, going to sit next to Frodo. She noticed that Frodo did not seem to have gotten nearly as much sleep and rest as she did. There were bags under his eyes and he looked troubled and somehow, distant, from the rest of them. Sam too looked a little tired and he kept shooting fervent glances at Frodo.
"Well, it's about time you woke up. We thought you'd died in your sleep," Merry said, chewing on a piece of grass.
"Yah, but, we didn't want to get too hopeful." Pippin finished, grinning.
"Haha," Aurora replied, her voice full of sarcasm. She turned to Legolas who had been watching her quietly, not saying a word. Aurora felt her heart skip a beat; he had been watching her!
"So, Legolas. You haven't forgotten your promise, have you?" Aurora asked. Scott looked up in shock when Aurora spoke to Legolas. He didn't say anything, just stared at her with a troubled look on his face, waiting to hear what this 'promise' was.
"Certainly I have not." Legolas replied grinning. He pushed himself off the tree he had been leaning on and walked over to her. "We'll practice your archery over there-" he indicated to a small clearing to the left of them- "Are you ready?"
Aurora smiled and stood up, "Ready as I'll ever be."
Together they walked over, Aurora glancing at Scott and receiving a small shock in doing so. He was glaring at them from where he sat, with a look so venomous it scared Aurora a little. When he noticed her looking at him he immediately turned the look to a forced smile and put two thumbs up for good luck. She beamed back at him, but then quickly turned away. What was that all about? Shrugging it off she jogged to catch up with Legolas who was pulling out his bow and arrow.
"You can use mine while we practice," Legolas said to her, handing her the bow. She grabbed it a little too eagerly and felt his hand brush on hers. 'Wow,' she thought, 'That was gr-wait! What am I saying? God help me, I am becoming a Mary-Sue!' She stopped smiling and scowled down at the floor.
"Er-right." Said Legolas, uncertainly, unsure of why she was suddenly so sullen. "Well, when you hold a bow make sure you hold it tight. You can't let it be loose or it won't do any good. Grip it in the middle with both hands, see, right here where there is a slight indention," he said, showing her the middle of the bow where there was indeed a slight depression. She put both of her hands firmly on it, feeling a bit stupid because she knew she was going to make an idiot of herself any second now.
"Good," Legolas continued. "But move your hands so they are a little more apart, that way the bow is not flimsy on either side."
When she had done this, Legolas stood back to make sure it looked right. "Okay, that looks good. Can you remember that?"
Aurora nodded in reply, making a careful note of where her hands were placed on the bow.
"Before you notch the arrow, make sure it is perfectly straight. I always do this before hand so that I will be prepared. The shaft-" Aurora blushed deeply, not looking at him, "needs to be in a perfect line or the arrow will not go where it is you desire."
Aurora nodded again to show her understanding.
"Now, place the arrow directly opposite your fingertips and pull back as far as you can." Legolas got behind her, much to Aurora's delight, and wrapped his arms around to reach the arrow, which he helped pull back. He stepped away again and continued talking. "See that tree over there?" He indicated to a tree off in the distance a little. "Point the tip of the arrow directly at it. It helps to close one eye to get a better view. When you feel confident that you are aimed toward your target, release the arrow."
Aurora tried to aim at the target but failed miserably. The arrow soared feebly to the left, rather then straight on and flew to the ground after going several feet.
"Well, that wasn't too bad for a start." Legolas said, turning to Aurora. "It does take a bit of practice."
And practice they did. The entire day Aurora worked tirelessly to hit different targets as Legolas shouted them out, seconds before she was to release them. Legolas helped her often, owing to Aurora's pleas, and slowly she became steadily better until she was hitting targets left and right with great agility and speed. Legolas was very proud indeed at the end of their day long session.
"You are not bad for a mortal. You learn fast."
Aurora beamed at his words and replied, "Well, I had a great teacher. . ."
She was interrupted however by Scott who snorted from behind a tree. Apparently he had been watching her last round of arrow's shooting off like rockets.
"What's your problem?" She asked scathingly.
"Nothing Sue." He said, throwing an apple core to the ground.
"Whatever," Aurora rolled her eyes and turned to look at both Legolas and Scott who were now standing side by side. "Look, I'm all sweaty and dirty. I am going to run down to the river and clean up. I'll see you guys a little later." And with that she turned around and walked through the trees, humming to herself.
Scott kicked the ground angrily with his toe and turned to walk away. He was stopped, however, by Legolas.
"She isn't all that bad." Legolas said, his eyes following after her.
"What?" Scott asked, turning around.
"Well, you said she had a horrible attitude and that I should stay away if I wanted to-what was it?-oh, keep my virginity. She doesn't seem all that rude to me." Legolas replied, turning to face Scott now.
"That? Oh, I was just kidding about the virginity thing. I meant, she really, er. . ." he stopped as though the words were causing him great pain. "She really. . .likes you. And, she, isn't the best person to get involved with." He finished quickly, looking at the ground again.
"I think she is very nice. Her behavior has changed greatly since we first began our journey. She was ill-mannered then, always complaining and saying things. But, I have noticed a great change in her, surely you have too?"
Scott shrugged. "Yah, I guess so." The truth was, he too had noticed a great change in Aurora. She wasn't an annoyance anymore. She was much nicer and somehow more adult-like then he had ever seen her. It was as if she had become a different person. She wasn't a child anymore and she no longer resulted to the name-calling that had once been so common between the two of them since they were children. She had grown up on this adventure, become more mature somehow. Scott knew he had changed too and he was surprised how well they seemed to fit together now. He shrugged that last comment off. What was he saying? She was just Dan's little sister, the overweight loner with no friends. Ah, said a voice in his head, but she isn't overweight now and she most certainly is not a loner. Aurora had changed both mentally and physically. Scott had always thought that she was pretty, but it had been hidden by her body in a way. Now that she was no longer the chubby girl he had grown to know and even to love as a sister, her beauty was more pronounced now then ever. She still wasn't anywhere near as beautiful as the Elves though. Angry with himself, Scott kicked a rock again. What was he thinking? These thoughts, these feelings, could not belong to him. Before he could sort them out some more, Legolas interrupted his contemplations again.
"She is very good at archery." Legolas said quietly, trying to get Scott to look at him.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess she is. She learns fast. She was always the top in her class back home." Scott said. "Listen I'm hungry. I think I will go get some food, okay?" He turned, without waiting for a reply, and stalked off back to the pavilion they were staying in.
---
The next morning dawned bright and sunny. The fellowship woke up at around the same time, but that could have been due to Aragorn who shouted "Up! Everyone up! We're leaving today!"
Groaning they all packed their bags, took baths, and walked down to the river where they would board three separate boats. These boats would take them down the river, where they would prepare for the long, hard journey into Mordor.
When they reached the dock, Lady Galadriel and her husband, Celeborn were awaiting them. This time Aurora did not fear the lady as she had only a few nights ago. She felt great respect towards her and a sadness that she was to leave Lothlorien, which was among one of the few places in Middle Earth she had felt safe. They all got into a gleaming white boat that was shaped in the likeness of a swan. It carried them to a hill where the grass grew green and flowers bloomed before their eyes. They ate there and took a final drink before Galadriel stood up.
"The Lord and Lady of the Galadhrim now offer you gifts in memory of our home, Lothlorien." Galadriel then picked up something and beckoned Aragorn forth.
"For the leader of your company, we give a sheath that has been made to fit his sword. The blade that comes from this sheath shall never be broken or stained in war, even if you are defeated." Aurora gazed at the sheath in amazement. Aside from it's amazing magical properties Galadriel had just named, it was beautiful. It was covered in silver and gold traceries of flowers and leaves and Elven runes ran down the length of it. Aragorn's eyes lit up and he took it carefully from her grasp. "Is there anything else you would wish of us?" Galadriel asked.
Aragorn was silent for a moment before lifting his head and gazing into her eyes. "You know what my heart has wanted, Lady. The only treasure I seek is one that you can not give me. I shall only get that in darkness." Aurora stared at him in surprise, it sounded as though he seeked a woman.
Galadriel sighed at these words. "She passed through here," she whispered quietly. Aurora gave a triumphant smile, she had been right. "And she left this in my possession." She withdrew a silver brooch that was shaped like an eagle with his wings spread wide. A clear green jewel gleamed from the middle of it. "It once belonged to me. I then passed it down to Celebrian, my daughter. She passed it to her own daughter, Arwen. Arwen wished you to take this Elessar, Elfstone of the house of Elendil."
Aragorn took this gem and pinned it upon his chest. It struck Aurora how - there was no other word for it - kingly he looked. She made a note to ask him about this Arwen and whatever the hell Elessar house of something meant. She turned her focus back upon Galadriel. She handed Boromir a belt wrought entirely of gold; to Merry and Pippin she gave silver belts with a clasp that appeared to be a golden flower; Legolas received a wonderful bow that was from the kind of Elves Galadriel was (Aurora got all mixed up with the divisions of Elves) it had a string of Elf hair and came complete with a quiver full of arrows; Aurora and Scott also got bow's and arrow's though slightly smaller then Legolas'. They also received silver swords with more Elven writing on them and plain black sheaths to put them in. Aurora was incredibly happy with her gifts and she felt a great rush of gratitude and love toward the beautiful Galadriel and Celeborn. To Sam she gave a small box with soil in it to sprinkle upon his land when he returned home which would supposedly make a beautiful garden. Gimli was asked what gift he wanted and, to everyone's surprise, he asked for a hair upon Galadriel's head. She gave it to him and then turned to Frodo. To him she gave a crystal phial. "This contains the light of a star and it will shine while everything around you is dark."
To all of the fellowship she gave cloaks that were fastened at the neck with a green brooch inlaid with silver. The cloaks changed colors to blend with the surroundings and Aurora felt more safe when she put it on.
With a final farewell, the fellowship got into their small boats. Scott, Aurora, Gimli, and Legolas in one; Aragorn, Frodo, and Sam in another; and Boromir, Merry, and Pippin in the last. Waving to the Lady and Lord of the forest, they continued their path to Mordor.
A/N: So how was it?? Please let me know by reviewing! Thanks!
Does anyone think I should come up with another story title? I don't particularly like this one much. If anyone has any idea's, please let me know. Thanks!
**
Aurora woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed and relaxed than she had in weeks. She didn't wake up once with a nightmare about Gandalf and she felt fully alive and rested. Stretching, she sat up and turned so that her legs were dangling off the comfortable bed. She pulled back her hair, which had grown rather long, into a loose bun then stood up and began searching for the other's. She didn't have to search long as they were all outside relaxing on a patch of soft green grass.
"Morning everyone!" She cried happily, going to sit next to Frodo. She noticed that Frodo did not seem to have gotten nearly as much sleep and rest as she did. There were bags under his eyes and he looked troubled and somehow, distant, from the rest of them. Sam too looked a little tired and he kept shooting fervent glances at Frodo.
"Well, it's about time you woke up. We thought you'd died in your sleep," Merry said, chewing on a piece of grass.
"Yah, but, we didn't want to get too hopeful." Pippin finished, grinning.
"Haha," Aurora replied, her voice full of sarcasm. She turned to Legolas who had been watching her quietly, not saying a word. Aurora felt her heart skip a beat; he had been watching her!
"So, Legolas. You haven't forgotten your promise, have you?" Aurora asked. Scott looked up in shock when Aurora spoke to Legolas. He didn't say anything, just stared at her with a troubled look on his face, waiting to hear what this 'promise' was.
"Certainly I have not." Legolas replied grinning. He pushed himself off the tree he had been leaning on and walked over to her. "We'll practice your archery over there-" he indicated to a small clearing to the left of them- "Are you ready?"
Aurora smiled and stood up, "Ready as I'll ever be."
Together they walked over, Aurora glancing at Scott and receiving a small shock in doing so. He was glaring at them from where he sat, with a look so venomous it scared Aurora a little. When he noticed her looking at him he immediately turned the look to a forced smile and put two thumbs up for good luck. She beamed back at him, but then quickly turned away. What was that all about? Shrugging it off she jogged to catch up with Legolas who was pulling out his bow and arrow.
"You can use mine while we practice," Legolas said to her, handing her the bow. She grabbed it a little too eagerly and felt his hand brush on hers. 'Wow,' she thought, 'That was gr-wait! What am I saying? God help me, I am becoming a Mary-Sue!' She stopped smiling and scowled down at the floor.
"Er-right." Said Legolas, uncertainly, unsure of why she was suddenly so sullen. "Well, when you hold a bow make sure you hold it tight. You can't let it be loose or it won't do any good. Grip it in the middle with both hands, see, right here where there is a slight indention," he said, showing her the middle of the bow where there was indeed a slight depression. She put both of her hands firmly on it, feeling a bit stupid because she knew she was going to make an idiot of herself any second now.
"Good," Legolas continued. "But move your hands so they are a little more apart, that way the bow is not flimsy on either side."
When she had done this, Legolas stood back to make sure it looked right. "Okay, that looks good. Can you remember that?"
Aurora nodded in reply, making a careful note of where her hands were placed on the bow.
"Before you notch the arrow, make sure it is perfectly straight. I always do this before hand so that I will be prepared. The shaft-" Aurora blushed deeply, not looking at him, "needs to be in a perfect line or the arrow will not go where it is you desire."
Aurora nodded again to show her understanding.
"Now, place the arrow directly opposite your fingertips and pull back as far as you can." Legolas got behind her, much to Aurora's delight, and wrapped his arms around to reach the arrow, which he helped pull back. He stepped away again and continued talking. "See that tree over there?" He indicated to a tree off in the distance a little. "Point the tip of the arrow directly at it. It helps to close one eye to get a better view. When you feel confident that you are aimed toward your target, release the arrow."
Aurora tried to aim at the target but failed miserably. The arrow soared feebly to the left, rather then straight on and flew to the ground after going several feet.
"Well, that wasn't too bad for a start." Legolas said, turning to Aurora. "It does take a bit of practice."
And practice they did. The entire day Aurora worked tirelessly to hit different targets as Legolas shouted them out, seconds before she was to release them. Legolas helped her often, owing to Aurora's pleas, and slowly she became steadily better until she was hitting targets left and right with great agility and speed. Legolas was very proud indeed at the end of their day long session.
"You are not bad for a mortal. You learn fast."
Aurora beamed at his words and replied, "Well, I had a great teacher. . ."
She was interrupted however by Scott who snorted from behind a tree. Apparently he had been watching her last round of arrow's shooting off like rockets.
"What's your problem?" She asked scathingly.
"Nothing Sue." He said, throwing an apple core to the ground.
"Whatever," Aurora rolled her eyes and turned to look at both Legolas and Scott who were now standing side by side. "Look, I'm all sweaty and dirty. I am going to run down to the river and clean up. I'll see you guys a little later." And with that she turned around and walked through the trees, humming to herself.
Scott kicked the ground angrily with his toe and turned to walk away. He was stopped, however, by Legolas.
"She isn't all that bad." Legolas said, his eyes following after her.
"What?" Scott asked, turning around.
"Well, you said she had a horrible attitude and that I should stay away if I wanted to-what was it?-oh, keep my virginity. She doesn't seem all that rude to me." Legolas replied, turning to face Scott now.
"That? Oh, I was just kidding about the virginity thing. I meant, she really, er. . ." he stopped as though the words were causing him great pain. "She really. . .likes you. And, she, isn't the best person to get involved with." He finished quickly, looking at the ground again.
"I think she is very nice. Her behavior has changed greatly since we first began our journey. She was ill-mannered then, always complaining and saying things. But, I have noticed a great change in her, surely you have too?"
Scott shrugged. "Yah, I guess so." The truth was, he too had noticed a great change in Aurora. She wasn't an annoyance anymore. She was much nicer and somehow more adult-like then he had ever seen her. It was as if she had become a different person. She wasn't a child anymore and she no longer resulted to the name-calling that had once been so common between the two of them since they were children. She had grown up on this adventure, become more mature somehow. Scott knew he had changed too and he was surprised how well they seemed to fit together now. He shrugged that last comment off. What was he saying? She was just Dan's little sister, the overweight loner with no friends. Ah, said a voice in his head, but she isn't overweight now and she most certainly is not a loner. Aurora had changed both mentally and physically. Scott had always thought that she was pretty, but it had been hidden by her body in a way. Now that she was no longer the chubby girl he had grown to know and even to love as a sister, her beauty was more pronounced now then ever. She still wasn't anywhere near as beautiful as the Elves though. Angry with himself, Scott kicked a rock again. What was he thinking? These thoughts, these feelings, could not belong to him. Before he could sort them out some more, Legolas interrupted his contemplations again.
"She is very good at archery." Legolas said quietly, trying to get Scott to look at him.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess she is. She learns fast. She was always the top in her class back home." Scott said. "Listen I'm hungry. I think I will go get some food, okay?" He turned, without waiting for a reply, and stalked off back to the pavilion they were staying in.
---
The next morning dawned bright and sunny. The fellowship woke up at around the same time, but that could have been due to Aragorn who shouted "Up! Everyone up! We're leaving today!"
Groaning they all packed their bags, took baths, and walked down to the river where they would board three separate boats. These boats would take them down the river, where they would prepare for the long, hard journey into Mordor.
When they reached the dock, Lady Galadriel and her husband, Celeborn were awaiting them. This time Aurora did not fear the lady as she had only a few nights ago. She felt great respect towards her and a sadness that she was to leave Lothlorien, which was among one of the few places in Middle Earth she had felt safe. They all got into a gleaming white boat that was shaped in the likeness of a swan. It carried them to a hill where the grass grew green and flowers bloomed before their eyes. They ate there and took a final drink before Galadriel stood up.
"The Lord and Lady of the Galadhrim now offer you gifts in memory of our home, Lothlorien." Galadriel then picked up something and beckoned Aragorn forth.
"For the leader of your company, we give a sheath that has been made to fit his sword. The blade that comes from this sheath shall never be broken or stained in war, even if you are defeated." Aurora gazed at the sheath in amazement. Aside from it's amazing magical properties Galadriel had just named, it was beautiful. It was covered in silver and gold traceries of flowers and leaves and Elven runes ran down the length of it. Aragorn's eyes lit up and he took it carefully from her grasp. "Is there anything else you would wish of us?" Galadriel asked.
Aragorn was silent for a moment before lifting his head and gazing into her eyes. "You know what my heart has wanted, Lady. The only treasure I seek is one that you can not give me. I shall only get that in darkness." Aurora stared at him in surprise, it sounded as though he seeked a woman.
Galadriel sighed at these words. "She passed through here," she whispered quietly. Aurora gave a triumphant smile, she had been right. "And she left this in my possession." She withdrew a silver brooch that was shaped like an eagle with his wings spread wide. A clear green jewel gleamed from the middle of it. "It once belonged to me. I then passed it down to Celebrian, my daughter. She passed it to her own daughter, Arwen. Arwen wished you to take this Elessar, Elfstone of the house of Elendil."
Aragorn took this gem and pinned it upon his chest. It struck Aurora how - there was no other word for it - kingly he looked. She made a note to ask him about this Arwen and whatever the hell Elessar house of something meant. She turned her focus back upon Galadriel. She handed Boromir a belt wrought entirely of gold; to Merry and Pippin she gave silver belts with a clasp that appeared to be a golden flower; Legolas received a wonderful bow that was from the kind of Elves Galadriel was (Aurora got all mixed up with the divisions of Elves) it had a string of Elf hair and came complete with a quiver full of arrows; Aurora and Scott also got bow's and arrow's though slightly smaller then Legolas'. They also received silver swords with more Elven writing on them and plain black sheaths to put them in. Aurora was incredibly happy with her gifts and she felt a great rush of gratitude and love toward the beautiful Galadriel and Celeborn. To Sam she gave a small box with soil in it to sprinkle upon his land when he returned home which would supposedly make a beautiful garden. Gimli was asked what gift he wanted and, to everyone's surprise, he asked for a hair upon Galadriel's head. She gave it to him and then turned to Frodo. To him she gave a crystal phial. "This contains the light of a star and it will shine while everything around you is dark."
To all of the fellowship she gave cloaks that were fastened at the neck with a green brooch inlaid with silver. The cloaks changed colors to blend with the surroundings and Aurora felt more safe when she put it on.
With a final farewell, the fellowship got into their small boats. Scott, Aurora, Gimli, and Legolas in one; Aragorn, Frodo, and Sam in another; and Boromir, Merry, and Pippin in the last. Waving to the Lady and Lord of the forest, they continued their path to Mordor.
A/N: So how was it?? Please let me know by reviewing! Thanks!