A/N: I'm sorry for not updating more quicker. School has been absolutely
CRAZY. Argh. I haven't had any time to write and I just now managed it on
the weekend. I hope this chapter is alright and as always, please read and
review as it is much appreciated! And thanks to those of you who did!
R/N:
Princess Snake: Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you like it. I don't think I have a mailing list, but I'll email ya and let you know when I update. Thanks again!
Morchaint: Thanks for you opinions and thanks for reviewing. I really appreciate it. I'm glad you are liking this story!
Oil Pastel: Lol! Ur so cute! Thanks for all your reviews *grins* I'm not really a good writer, but thanks for saying so anyway. I hope you like this chapter too.
Noa9: Thanks as always for reviewing. OOoOh. Cool, what language do you speak? And I am sure your stories are very good! There is no doubt in my mind. I hope you can get them up! Thanks for reviewing. *hugz*
KnowInSight: Thanks for reviewing! I know, I never really saw it as flirting either, now that I come to think of it. Ah well. LoL! We can pretend Aurora saw it that way *shrug* This chapter has a little more Aurora and Scott *wink-wink* just a little. I promise, there will be more in the upcoming chapters. Thanks again!
Alida Fruit: Thank you for your review! I really appreciate it (of course!). Don't worry about how long it is. Thank you for finding the time to read what you did. *hugz*
Sinnah: Thank you for your review! I hope you and Legolas had fun in the.er.bedroom. Although that doesn't make sense because he was with me that night.*cough* hehe. Well, thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like it.
SueSlasher182: Thanks for reviewing. Nah, I couldn't turn her into a real Mary Sue. Dan and Scott had to come along to stop her. Although I really have no idea how she defeated the temptation. . .*shakes head*
Mojo: Thanks for reviewing hunni *hugz*
--
Dan came bounding into Aurora's room first thing that morning wanting to wake her up before Scott had the chance to.
"Whassit?" she asked groggily, sitting up and shielding her eyes from the sun shining through the small window into her room.
"Come on, we need to get going."
Aurora yawned and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Dan was standing by her, looking confused about something.
"What?' Aurora asked, stretching.
"I-you were talking in your sleep."
"And?"
"And you. . .you kept saying Scott's name. Why?'
Aurora could feel her cheeks burn crimson. She had been dreaming about Scott. She felt very uncomfortable; what exactly had she been saying?
"I- well. I. Hey! Wait a second. Why were you guys arguing yesterday?"
"No reason!" Dan said quickly.
Frowning, Aurora said, "Well then, I guess it doesn't matter what I was dreaming about." She stood up and pushed Dan out of her room, shoving him in the back and ignoring his protests. Turning around, she saw her freshly laundered clothes lying on the edge of her bed and the tub filled with warm water. After bathing, dressing, and strapping on her weapons, she quickly left the room.
The rest of the morning was quite chaotic. It took her a long time to locate any of the other members, and when she did, none of them had much to say to her as they ran around trying to get things sorted. After trying to speak to people, several times, she finally gave up feeling very annoyed, and walked out to the stables. She was told to get a horse and so she picked a beautiful brown one with smooth, sleek fur. She fed him and got him ready for the trip, then leaned back waiting for the others to arrive.
She didn't have to wait long. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Scott, and Dan all came into the stables walking very fast.
"There you are Aurora!" Scott called, exasperatedly. "We've looked everywhere for you."
"I've been in here all morning. No one seemed to have time to tell me what was going on so I figured I would come and get a horse ready."
Aragorn shook his head appearing to be annoyed, but Aurora could have sworn she saw a flicker of a smile cross his lips. He began to saddle up his own horse and the others followed suit. After everyone was ready, which took awhile because Gimli had had trouble, they led their horses out of the stables and over to where Éowyn was leading a horse by the reins. Aurora didn't like this much. Maybe she didn't know Arwen, but she didn't think that Aragorn should be spending so much time with Éowyn who was obviously very smitten with him. She had taken notice that Aragorn had gone straight to her, not to Théoden who waited by the great gates to the city. Calling back, Théoden began leading the way out and soon the line began to move and the people of Edoras began to evacuate their city and their homes.
Aurora took her eyes off of Aragorn and began looking around at the people of Rohan. Most of them looked weary and yet scared and nervous at the same time. They chatted loudly but the conversations sounded strained, as if they were there as a comfort, not because people actually felt like talking. Sometimes Aurora would spot an elderly person who had to be carried or small children whining that their feet hurt. But no one stopped as the procession made its way across the countryside. Scouts could be seen, by straining your eyes, in the far distance on all sides of them. Watching for an attack, Aurora thought grimly.
She rode her horse by the rest of the group and, to her slight foreboding, Éowyn. It wasn't that Aurora had anything against the woman. On the contrary she quite admired her and held a certain respect for her. But she didn't like the glances that she kept throwing at Aragorn or the glances he kept shooting at her. Now, she didn't know Arwen and she obviously knew nothing about their relationship, but she also knew that Aragorn loved her. And judging by the jewel that hung around Aragorn's neck, Arwen was more than fond of him in return. Plus, Arwen was an elf. She had to be gorgeous. Éowyn was too, but no mortal could compare to an elf. Sighing, Aurora turned her gaze elsewhere. Even in other worlds, love lives were like soap operas.
The day dwindled on as the sun beat down upon their backs. They paused every now and again to rest. The people took these breaks as a great relief, though they never voiced it out loud. Aurora was surprised to realize that she didn't need the stops. After running all over the countryside, it seemed as if nothing would ever tire her as much as that had. Éowyn was now leading Gimli's horse by the reigns and they were chatting idly
"It's true you don't see many Dwarf women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, haha, that they're often mistaken for Dwarf men." Gimli was saying, a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face.
Aurora chuckled quietly but stopped when Éowyn turned to smile at Aragorn who rode on the horse behind them. There she goes again, Aurora thought bitterly.
"It's the beards," Aragorn whispered and tugged on an imaginary beard at his chin. Aurora tried not to laugh but she couldn't help it. She giggled along with Éowyn. The woman's eyes seemed happy and her face glowed. Aurora shook her head. Why was she so worried about Aragorn's love life? He knew what he was doing. And if he did end up getting with Éowyn, Aurora suddenly felt that that wouldn't be so bad. Maybe his relationship with Arwen was complicated. Maybe it was for the better that Éowyn liked him so. With this knew revelation, Aurora felt much happier and she smiled as she rode upon her horse.
"And this, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there ARE no Dwarf women. And that dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground!" Gimli was saying incredulously. At these words Éowyn burst out laughing happily. Aurora shook her head. She wondered what a dwarf woman looked like. Not very attractive, at least going by what Gimli was saying anyway.
"Which is of course ridiculous. . .whoa!" Gimli cried. His horse, which had been calm for so long, suddenly reared up and Éowyn lost the reins. The horse galloped a little ways away before finally managing to lose Gimli who fell off and landed with an audible thump that could be heard from where Aurora rode.
"Ooh!" Éowyn cried as she rushed forward to help him up.
"It's alright, it's alright. Nobody panic. That was deliberate. It was deliberate." Gimli said quickly, sitting up.
Aurora, who had been debating whether to laugh or run over to him, gave into the former and chuckled amusedly.
Éowyn was laughing too as she helped dust the dwarf off. She turned around and looked at Aragorn who was now riding next to Aurora. Even Aurora could see how pretty Éowyn looked in this moment. The sun and wind flew through her blonde hair and she looked so happy and at peace, though a troubled look still lay behind her eyes.
Aurora turned to look at Aragorn who looked transfixed. He seemed enchanted by her beauty, by her light-hearted image. But at the same time Aurora couldn't help but notice that Aragorn looked sad. She had never really looked at Aragorn as sad, but now that she thought about it, he had always had a feeling or a look of disconsolation about him. Aurora frowned and turned her gaze back on Éowyn who was hoisting herself onto Gimli's horse which he refused to ride anymore. With a mutter, Gimli strode off, saying something about finding "the elf."
Éowyn returned to Aragorn's side and was silent for a moment, stealing quick glances at him from the corner of her eye. Finally she ventured a question that sounded as if she didn't want to know the answer, but one that she had to know nevertheless. "Where is the woman who gave you that jewel?" She asked, indicating the jewel necklace that hung from Aragorn's neck.
He sat silent for a moment, not answering her, gazing off into nothingness. The sadness that Aurora had noticed earlier in Aragorn seemed to double.
"She is leaving these lands with what is left of her people." He finally answered.
What was that supposed to mean? Aurora thought. Where was she going? Éowyn seemed to understand, however, because she looked relatively shocked and immediately shifted her gaze to the opposite direction.
Aurora felt like she was intruding somehow, so she urged her horse forward and soon caught up with Scott who was riding with Legolas, and, to her amusement, Gimli who sat on a new horse but was staying very near Legolas. Dan was no where to be seen and Aurora had the sneaking suspicion that he didn't want to be near Scott and the same likewise.
Scott turned to her as she rode up and he smiled. Aurora felt her heart pound with a thousand different emotions that all seemed to be jumbled into one small bit of space. Lately, Scott seemed to be affecting her more than usual. She felt odd emotions boil inside of her when he looked her way. She liked him more than a friend. There was no use in trying to deny it anymore.
"Hey," she said.
"Hi Aurora," he replied quietly, almost shyly. That was odd, she thought.
They began light conversation, talking about the weather and the troubles of going to Helm's Deep. After they ran out of things to say, they simply rode side by side, watching as the sun sank lower and lower into the sky and the moon began to glow brighter. Aurora couldn't believe how content and relaxed she felt at his side. Somehow, though she couldn't explain why, she felt like she belonged by his side. Like this was where she was meant to be. It sounded trite but she couldn't shake the feeling off.
After the sun was nearly down, the long procession began to set up a camp. Camp would not really be the word for it. It was mostly hundreds of people finding a comfortable place to sleep and rolling out their blankets in groups. Soon fires started all around and smoke rose into the night sky, blocking the stars from view. The sounds of voices filled Aurora's ears as she, Scott, and Dan (who had returned, looking strangely happy) moved to the edge of the camp and rolled out their blankets. Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn were very close to them, but they laid next to the king's tent, as he had requested.
The three other world companions split to different ways, looking for firewood. Aurora went out as far as she dared and grabbed a few dead branches, twigs, and even a few logs. On her way back, however, she caught sight of Aragorn propped up against the side of the tent, smoking his pipe while staring out into space. She watched him put out his pipe and lie down, shutting his eyes. Just as she was about to leave she heard him mutter, "Arwen."
Sighing sympathetically, Aurora returned to camp where Scott had ignited a small fire. Her stomach twisted when she saw him but she tried to ignore it.
"Where's Dan?" she asked, throwing a couple twigs onto the fire and sitting on her blanket (which was laid next to Scott's) to warm her hands by the glowing flames.
Scott almost grinned, Aurora thought, but instead he shrugged. "To be honest, I saw him talking to a woman all day today. He hardly left her side and she his. I have a feeling he has gone to visit her."
Aurora felt her jaw drop. "Your kidding!"
Scott chuckled at the look on her face. "No, I'm not. I think Dan has inadvertently fallen for a woman of Middle Earth."
Aurora suddenly realized that her jaw was open and she pushed it up with her fingers. "Wow" was all she could manage to say.
"Scott?" she asked when she regained the use of her voice.
"hmm?"
"What were you guys arguing about yesterday?" she inquired a little nervously.
Scott opened his mouth to answer but Aurora interrupted him. "The truth Scott."
He closed his mouth and gazed at her, looking into her eyes. Her stomach and heart lurched again and, was it her, or did she see Scott's eyes soften as looked at her?
"I-we. . ." he tried. Finally, after gathering his thoughts it seemed, he asked. "Are you sure you want to know?"
"Of course I want to know! I have been wondering all day."
"He doesn't like the way that I look at you." He said quickly, turning his gaze to his feet which he suddenly became very interested in.
Aurora was struck dumb for a moment. The way he looked at her? She felt as if her heart would explode into pieces, it was beating so fast. Her breathing even became rapid and she hoped that Scott hadn't noticed. "How- how do you look at me?" she asked, or tried to ask. Her voice trembled and her hands shook. Suddenly she was very nervous. Scott looked at her in a special way?
Slowly he raised his head and looked into her eyes and she felt her soul burn with deep intensity. Surely her heart was burning more warm then the fire that roared in front of her. But before Scott could answer Dan came walking over and threw some branches onto the fire. Startled, both of them glanced up. Dan was looking very angry now and Aurora couldn't blame him. If they had been fighting about the way Scott looked at her, Dan probably could have murdered him right now with the way he had just gazed into her eyes. Both of them looked guilty, as if they had been doing something that they should not have been doing.
"Oh. Am I interrupting something?" Dan spat sarcastically, sitting down onto his blanket and glaring at them through the flames of the fire.
Aurora cleared her throat and tried to calm her emotions. "No, of course not. What took you so long?"
Dan didn't answer for a moment before he said, "Couldn't find any wood."
Aurora knew this was a lie, just from looking at her brother's face. But she didn't feel like arguing the point. She nodded and then lay down on her blanket, carefully avoiding Scott's eye. She liked him so much that it scared her. How had this happened? They had been such enemies growing up, and even here, in Middle Earth, they had not gotten along. How could she feel these things for someone who had tormented her her entire life? Her head tried to tell her to forget it but her heart wouldn't listen.
---
A/N: Well, I hope it wasn't too bad. Please review!
R/N:
Princess Snake: Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you like it. I don't think I have a mailing list, but I'll email ya and let you know when I update. Thanks again!
Morchaint: Thanks for you opinions and thanks for reviewing. I really appreciate it. I'm glad you are liking this story!
Oil Pastel: Lol! Ur so cute! Thanks for all your reviews *grins* I'm not really a good writer, but thanks for saying so anyway. I hope you like this chapter too.
Noa9: Thanks as always for reviewing. OOoOh. Cool, what language do you speak? And I am sure your stories are very good! There is no doubt in my mind. I hope you can get them up! Thanks for reviewing. *hugz*
KnowInSight: Thanks for reviewing! I know, I never really saw it as flirting either, now that I come to think of it. Ah well. LoL! We can pretend Aurora saw it that way *shrug* This chapter has a little more Aurora and Scott *wink-wink* just a little. I promise, there will be more in the upcoming chapters. Thanks again!
Alida Fruit: Thank you for your review! I really appreciate it (of course!). Don't worry about how long it is. Thank you for finding the time to read what you did. *hugz*
Sinnah: Thank you for your review! I hope you and Legolas had fun in the.er.bedroom. Although that doesn't make sense because he was with me that night.*cough* hehe. Well, thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like it.
SueSlasher182: Thanks for reviewing. Nah, I couldn't turn her into a real Mary Sue. Dan and Scott had to come along to stop her. Although I really have no idea how she defeated the temptation. . .*shakes head*
Mojo: Thanks for reviewing hunni *hugz*
--
Dan came bounding into Aurora's room first thing that morning wanting to wake her up before Scott had the chance to.
"Whassit?" she asked groggily, sitting up and shielding her eyes from the sun shining through the small window into her room.
"Come on, we need to get going."
Aurora yawned and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Dan was standing by her, looking confused about something.
"What?' Aurora asked, stretching.
"I-you were talking in your sleep."
"And?"
"And you. . .you kept saying Scott's name. Why?'
Aurora could feel her cheeks burn crimson. She had been dreaming about Scott. She felt very uncomfortable; what exactly had she been saying?
"I- well. I. Hey! Wait a second. Why were you guys arguing yesterday?"
"No reason!" Dan said quickly.
Frowning, Aurora said, "Well then, I guess it doesn't matter what I was dreaming about." She stood up and pushed Dan out of her room, shoving him in the back and ignoring his protests. Turning around, she saw her freshly laundered clothes lying on the edge of her bed and the tub filled with warm water. After bathing, dressing, and strapping on her weapons, she quickly left the room.
The rest of the morning was quite chaotic. It took her a long time to locate any of the other members, and when she did, none of them had much to say to her as they ran around trying to get things sorted. After trying to speak to people, several times, she finally gave up feeling very annoyed, and walked out to the stables. She was told to get a horse and so she picked a beautiful brown one with smooth, sleek fur. She fed him and got him ready for the trip, then leaned back waiting for the others to arrive.
She didn't have to wait long. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Scott, and Dan all came into the stables walking very fast.
"There you are Aurora!" Scott called, exasperatedly. "We've looked everywhere for you."
"I've been in here all morning. No one seemed to have time to tell me what was going on so I figured I would come and get a horse ready."
Aragorn shook his head appearing to be annoyed, but Aurora could have sworn she saw a flicker of a smile cross his lips. He began to saddle up his own horse and the others followed suit. After everyone was ready, which took awhile because Gimli had had trouble, they led their horses out of the stables and over to where Éowyn was leading a horse by the reins. Aurora didn't like this much. Maybe she didn't know Arwen, but she didn't think that Aragorn should be spending so much time with Éowyn who was obviously very smitten with him. She had taken notice that Aragorn had gone straight to her, not to Théoden who waited by the great gates to the city. Calling back, Théoden began leading the way out and soon the line began to move and the people of Edoras began to evacuate their city and their homes.
Aurora took her eyes off of Aragorn and began looking around at the people of Rohan. Most of them looked weary and yet scared and nervous at the same time. They chatted loudly but the conversations sounded strained, as if they were there as a comfort, not because people actually felt like talking. Sometimes Aurora would spot an elderly person who had to be carried or small children whining that their feet hurt. But no one stopped as the procession made its way across the countryside. Scouts could be seen, by straining your eyes, in the far distance on all sides of them. Watching for an attack, Aurora thought grimly.
She rode her horse by the rest of the group and, to her slight foreboding, Éowyn. It wasn't that Aurora had anything against the woman. On the contrary she quite admired her and held a certain respect for her. But she didn't like the glances that she kept throwing at Aragorn or the glances he kept shooting at her. Now, she didn't know Arwen and she obviously knew nothing about their relationship, but she also knew that Aragorn loved her. And judging by the jewel that hung around Aragorn's neck, Arwen was more than fond of him in return. Plus, Arwen was an elf. She had to be gorgeous. Éowyn was too, but no mortal could compare to an elf. Sighing, Aurora turned her gaze elsewhere. Even in other worlds, love lives were like soap operas.
The day dwindled on as the sun beat down upon their backs. They paused every now and again to rest. The people took these breaks as a great relief, though they never voiced it out loud. Aurora was surprised to realize that she didn't need the stops. After running all over the countryside, it seemed as if nothing would ever tire her as much as that had. Éowyn was now leading Gimli's horse by the reigns and they were chatting idly
"It's true you don't see many Dwarf women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, haha, that they're often mistaken for Dwarf men." Gimli was saying, a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face.
Aurora chuckled quietly but stopped when Éowyn turned to smile at Aragorn who rode on the horse behind them. There she goes again, Aurora thought bitterly.
"It's the beards," Aragorn whispered and tugged on an imaginary beard at his chin. Aurora tried not to laugh but she couldn't help it. She giggled along with Éowyn. The woman's eyes seemed happy and her face glowed. Aurora shook her head. Why was she so worried about Aragorn's love life? He knew what he was doing. And if he did end up getting with Éowyn, Aurora suddenly felt that that wouldn't be so bad. Maybe his relationship with Arwen was complicated. Maybe it was for the better that Éowyn liked him so. With this knew revelation, Aurora felt much happier and she smiled as she rode upon her horse.
"And this, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there ARE no Dwarf women. And that dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground!" Gimli was saying incredulously. At these words Éowyn burst out laughing happily. Aurora shook her head. She wondered what a dwarf woman looked like. Not very attractive, at least going by what Gimli was saying anyway.
"Which is of course ridiculous. . .whoa!" Gimli cried. His horse, which had been calm for so long, suddenly reared up and Éowyn lost the reins. The horse galloped a little ways away before finally managing to lose Gimli who fell off and landed with an audible thump that could be heard from where Aurora rode.
"Ooh!" Éowyn cried as she rushed forward to help him up.
"It's alright, it's alright. Nobody panic. That was deliberate. It was deliberate." Gimli said quickly, sitting up.
Aurora, who had been debating whether to laugh or run over to him, gave into the former and chuckled amusedly.
Éowyn was laughing too as she helped dust the dwarf off. She turned around and looked at Aragorn who was now riding next to Aurora. Even Aurora could see how pretty Éowyn looked in this moment. The sun and wind flew through her blonde hair and she looked so happy and at peace, though a troubled look still lay behind her eyes.
Aurora turned to look at Aragorn who looked transfixed. He seemed enchanted by her beauty, by her light-hearted image. But at the same time Aurora couldn't help but notice that Aragorn looked sad. She had never really looked at Aragorn as sad, but now that she thought about it, he had always had a feeling or a look of disconsolation about him. Aurora frowned and turned her gaze back on Éowyn who was hoisting herself onto Gimli's horse which he refused to ride anymore. With a mutter, Gimli strode off, saying something about finding "the elf."
Éowyn returned to Aragorn's side and was silent for a moment, stealing quick glances at him from the corner of her eye. Finally she ventured a question that sounded as if she didn't want to know the answer, but one that she had to know nevertheless. "Where is the woman who gave you that jewel?" She asked, indicating the jewel necklace that hung from Aragorn's neck.
He sat silent for a moment, not answering her, gazing off into nothingness. The sadness that Aurora had noticed earlier in Aragorn seemed to double.
"She is leaving these lands with what is left of her people." He finally answered.
What was that supposed to mean? Aurora thought. Where was she going? Éowyn seemed to understand, however, because she looked relatively shocked and immediately shifted her gaze to the opposite direction.
Aurora felt like she was intruding somehow, so she urged her horse forward and soon caught up with Scott who was riding with Legolas, and, to her amusement, Gimli who sat on a new horse but was staying very near Legolas. Dan was no where to be seen and Aurora had the sneaking suspicion that he didn't want to be near Scott and the same likewise.
Scott turned to her as she rode up and he smiled. Aurora felt her heart pound with a thousand different emotions that all seemed to be jumbled into one small bit of space. Lately, Scott seemed to be affecting her more than usual. She felt odd emotions boil inside of her when he looked her way. She liked him more than a friend. There was no use in trying to deny it anymore.
"Hey," she said.
"Hi Aurora," he replied quietly, almost shyly. That was odd, she thought.
They began light conversation, talking about the weather and the troubles of going to Helm's Deep. After they ran out of things to say, they simply rode side by side, watching as the sun sank lower and lower into the sky and the moon began to glow brighter. Aurora couldn't believe how content and relaxed she felt at his side. Somehow, though she couldn't explain why, she felt like she belonged by his side. Like this was where she was meant to be. It sounded trite but she couldn't shake the feeling off.
After the sun was nearly down, the long procession began to set up a camp. Camp would not really be the word for it. It was mostly hundreds of people finding a comfortable place to sleep and rolling out their blankets in groups. Soon fires started all around and smoke rose into the night sky, blocking the stars from view. The sounds of voices filled Aurora's ears as she, Scott, and Dan (who had returned, looking strangely happy) moved to the edge of the camp and rolled out their blankets. Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn were very close to them, but they laid next to the king's tent, as he had requested.
The three other world companions split to different ways, looking for firewood. Aurora went out as far as she dared and grabbed a few dead branches, twigs, and even a few logs. On her way back, however, she caught sight of Aragorn propped up against the side of the tent, smoking his pipe while staring out into space. She watched him put out his pipe and lie down, shutting his eyes. Just as she was about to leave she heard him mutter, "Arwen."
Sighing sympathetically, Aurora returned to camp where Scott had ignited a small fire. Her stomach twisted when she saw him but she tried to ignore it.
"Where's Dan?" she asked, throwing a couple twigs onto the fire and sitting on her blanket (which was laid next to Scott's) to warm her hands by the glowing flames.
Scott almost grinned, Aurora thought, but instead he shrugged. "To be honest, I saw him talking to a woman all day today. He hardly left her side and she his. I have a feeling he has gone to visit her."
Aurora felt her jaw drop. "Your kidding!"
Scott chuckled at the look on her face. "No, I'm not. I think Dan has inadvertently fallen for a woman of Middle Earth."
Aurora suddenly realized that her jaw was open and she pushed it up with her fingers. "Wow" was all she could manage to say.
"Scott?" she asked when she regained the use of her voice.
"hmm?"
"What were you guys arguing about yesterday?" she inquired a little nervously.
Scott opened his mouth to answer but Aurora interrupted him. "The truth Scott."
He closed his mouth and gazed at her, looking into her eyes. Her stomach and heart lurched again and, was it her, or did she see Scott's eyes soften as looked at her?
"I-we. . ." he tried. Finally, after gathering his thoughts it seemed, he asked. "Are you sure you want to know?"
"Of course I want to know! I have been wondering all day."
"He doesn't like the way that I look at you." He said quickly, turning his gaze to his feet which he suddenly became very interested in.
Aurora was struck dumb for a moment. The way he looked at her? She felt as if her heart would explode into pieces, it was beating so fast. Her breathing even became rapid and she hoped that Scott hadn't noticed. "How- how do you look at me?" she asked, or tried to ask. Her voice trembled and her hands shook. Suddenly she was very nervous. Scott looked at her in a special way?
Slowly he raised his head and looked into her eyes and she felt her soul burn with deep intensity. Surely her heart was burning more warm then the fire that roared in front of her. But before Scott could answer Dan came walking over and threw some branches onto the fire. Startled, both of them glanced up. Dan was looking very angry now and Aurora couldn't blame him. If they had been fighting about the way Scott looked at her, Dan probably could have murdered him right now with the way he had just gazed into her eyes. Both of them looked guilty, as if they had been doing something that they should not have been doing.
"Oh. Am I interrupting something?" Dan spat sarcastically, sitting down onto his blanket and glaring at them through the flames of the fire.
Aurora cleared her throat and tried to calm her emotions. "No, of course not. What took you so long?"
Dan didn't answer for a moment before he said, "Couldn't find any wood."
Aurora knew this was a lie, just from looking at her brother's face. But she didn't feel like arguing the point. She nodded and then lay down on her blanket, carefully avoiding Scott's eye. She liked him so much that it scared her. How had this happened? They had been such enemies growing up, and even here, in Middle Earth, they had not gotten along. How could she feel these things for someone who had tormented her her entire life? Her head tried to tell her to forget it but her heart wouldn't listen.
---
A/N: Well, I hope it wasn't too bad. Please review!