dis·claim·er
Pronunciation: -'klA-m&r
Function: noun
1 a : a denial or disavowal of legal claim : relinquishment of or formal refusal to accept an interest or estate b : a writing that embodies a legal disclaimer
2 a : DENIAL, DISAVOWAL b : REPUDIATION
I hereby deny and disavow legal claim to and relinquish and formally refuse to accept an interest or estate in … um … yeah; I'm not a lawyer. I'll just say I don't own Lord of the Rings. We'll just leave it at that.
Read. Enjoy. Review.
After Legolas had left her, Carrie lay down on the bed immersed in her own thoughts. She could not understand why it was she was crying, save, maybe, for the fact that she was completely overwhelmed with both her emotions and coming to terms with everything that was going on around her. A slight weight had been lifted, after hearing Legolas' words to her. But there was still an uneasy feeling. He was so completely different from anybody else she had ever met. Her tears stopped and she smiled, realizing that that was one of the things she liked so much about him. Most, no all, of the guys she knew would have been insanely jealous of another man paying attention to her as Eomer had. But Legolas was so calm and reasonable. He truly was amazing. It was wonderful to know that there would be no games, no lies, and she would not have to worry about talking to another man, lest she incite a jealous rage. No, not with Legolas.
She thought back to how volatile they had been around each other and realized it was due mostly to her own actions and feelings. Well, she knew she couldn't entirely blame herself, but since she had stopped being so antagonistic towards him, they got along just fine. In fact, they actually had two whole conversations in a row without anybody getting irritated or angry. She snickered to herself. That had to be a record for them. She slowly drifted into sleep, content for the first time in quite a while.
She woke up to a knock at her door. She had half a mind to ignore the knock and hope they went away, enjoying her current state of happiness, but thought better of it. She got up and walked across the room to the door, wiping the sleep out of her eyes as she went. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for whoever was to greet her once she opened the door. Before she could reach the handle, they knocked again.
"My lady Carrie, are you alright?" came the voice of ... Eomer?
Carrie swung the door open and came face to face with the horseman. She stood looking at him for quite a few moments, stunned into silence. She hadn't expected to see him on the other side of the door.
"My lady," Eomer's voice caused her to focus on him. "We missed you at dinner. Are you not feeling well?"
"No, I'm ok, thanks." She smiled up at him. "I guess I must have fallen asleep and lost track of time."
He smiled a rather attractive smile at her. "I'm glad to hear that you are alright. We were concerned. If you are hungry later, you can seek out my sister and she will be able to show you where you can get some food."
"Thank you." He was really a nice guy, Carrie thought. You just didn't get that from the books or the movies. She smiled at him. "I appreciate it."
Eomer smiled for a moment more and then looked nervously at her. "That's not the only reason I came down here."
Carrie's face dropped. "It's not?" She began to get worried. What other reason would bring him to her room.
Eomer dropped his eyes. "I'm sorry, milady, but I will not be able to make good on my offer to ride with you to Edoras." He looked up to see her reaction. Carrie, relieved that that is all it was, smiled at him.
"That's ok. I understand if you have someone else you have to ride with."
"That's not it," he said quickly. "I ride to Isengard with my uncle and your companions."
Carrie looked at him suspiciously. "Why the change in plans?" Even after all she had come to realize about elves, old habits and feelings die hard. Her first instinct was still to question his motives.
If Eomer noticed the slight edge to her voice he made no indication. "They felt that since it was uncertain what they would find there, I may be needed."
Carrie frowned at him. Dared she ask? No – no, she was just being overly paranoid and human. Elves did not get jealous, she reminded herself. He wouldn't have....
"Whose idea was it for you to go to Isengard?" She couldn't help it. It was 26 years of life experience going up against a moment of brief clarity.
Eomer looked at her puzzled. "What does it matter..."
"It matters to me." Carrie interrupted before she caught herself. Ok, if she hadn't been acting suspiciously before, she definitely was now. "I mean..." 'Oh shit', she thought, 'how am I going to talk myself out of this?'
Eomer smiled at her, still the perfect gentleman. He bowed his head slightly at her. "Well, milady, if it matters to you, it was the elf who suggested it, but the dwarf and Lord Aragorn agreed with him, as did my uncle."
And at that, Carrie's insecurity swelled and her temper flared. All logic and reason flew out of her mind. 'Not in my nature, my ass!' she thought. Eomer must have caught the expression that passed across her face.
"Do not worry, milady. I will find a rider to take you to Edoras. And if you are not comfortable with that, I am sure my sister would bear you."
Carrie composed herself and smiled at him. "Thank you. That is very kind of you."
He smiled back at her. "My pleasure, milady." He gave her another slight bow and turned and left, leaving Carrie standing there, fuming.
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Carrie stood for several minutes where Eomer left her, her internal struggle raging away.
"I am sure he said for Eomer to go to Isengard for the reason Eomer said – to help with whatever they find there." ReasonableCarrie said.
"Yeah right. Obviously, elf or not, he was jealous." AngryCarrie snapped back."... and he lied to us about not being jealous. Ha! I would love to give him a piece of my mind." Once she got going it was hard to stop her. "And not just about that – about everything. He's got it coming for everything he's put us through since we met him. We are all miserable because he is insecure, and jealous, and unsure of himself..."
ReasonableCarrie shook her head and interrupted. "No, he is an elf. They are above all that. It probably has nothing to do with us at all."
AngryCarrie snorted. "He has been nothing but a pain in our ass since we met him." Her voice turned mocking. "And you were all 'oh...there won't be any games with him. There won't be any lies. He's not jealous. He's so wonderful...' "
ReasonableCarrie frowned at her scornfully. "We still don't know the reason. We don't know if he was jealous."
"Oh come on." AngryCarrie yelled. "He was jealous. Just admit it. And look at what it has done to us. We were happy before we met him. And now look at us – crying all the time, not feeling worthy. That is all his fault!"
ReasonableCarrie sighed. "How can you say that? And besides, we were happy when we were talking to him the afternoon. We were happy when he was saying all those nice things about us." She raised her eyebrows at AngryCarrie, feeling that her point was made.
AngryCarrie stamped her foot. "Well, we're certainly not happy now," she snapped. "He blows hot and cold and I for one am sick of it."
ReasonableCarrie tried to soothe her. "You have to understand. He must be going through a lot."
"Oh and we're not?" demanded AngryCarrie, unyielding. "We're not going through anything right now," she said sarcastically and put her hands on her hips. "At least he's still on his home planet!"
ReasonableCarrie took a deep breath. "He is also away from his home. Plus, any feelings he has for us are surely complicated. He must be aware of the implications of falling in love with a human.
"Love! Ha!" AngryCarrie and ReasonableCarrie both turned and looked at the woman who had just sauntered her way into the conversation.
ReasonableCarrie pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's hopeless trying to convince you now that she's here." she said under her breath to AngryCarrie.
"Falling in love?" sneered CynicalCarrie. "He's not in love. What do men know of love?"
"Um...actually, he's an elf, not a man," corrected ReasonableCarrie.
"Elf, man – same thing. They all suck." AngryCarrie glared at the other two.
"Oh, that's right," CynicalCarrie ignored AngryCarrie, "you were ready to bow down and worship him for being an elf not a few hours ago."
"Now wait just a minute," AngryCarrie bristled, "that was all her." She pointed to ReasonableCarrie.
ReasonableCarrie stood there at a loss for words. "I...I... that wasn't me!"
CynicalCarrie looked at her and rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. If not you, than who was it?"
"It was me." The three girls turned to look at who spoke.
"Oh great," said CynicalCarrie. "When did you get here?"
InsecureCarrie wrung her hands nervously. "You're not mad at me, are you?"
CynicalCarrie laughed scornfully. "Why would we be mad at you? You've only made our bad situation worse!"
"She didn't make it worse," soothed ReasonableCarrie. She looked over at InsecureCarrie who was biting her nails nervously in the corner. "Ok, maybe a little. That whole 'unworthy' thing was a bit over the top. But think of what he said to us. This could be a great thing. It could really, truly be wonderful."
"Oh yeah?" asked CynicalCarrie. "How?"
"Let me talk to him." A fifth voice entered the conversation.
"Oh no, not her," said CynicalCarrie.
"You are the source of all of our problems!" shouted AngryCarrie at the newcomer.
ReasonableCarrie crossed to the new girl. "Don't pay any attention to them, EmotionalCarrie. They are just as much to blame as you are." She glanced from InsecureCarrie, who would not meet anybody's gaze, to AngryCarrie, who was glaring back at her with her arms folded across her chest, and finished on CynicalCarrie, who just rolled her eyes. "You would be just fine if you listened to me once in a while."
EmotionalCarrie smiled at ReasonableCarrie. "Thank you, I think." She looked at the other three. "If it weren't for you girls, we wouldn't have any problems. We would be free to feel the way we do about him without all this other interference and insecurity."
"Don't even say that we love him," said CynicalCarrie with a snort. "Love. Ha! He's got a pretty face which causes you to get all weak-kneed and causes the rest of us to go through hell."
"I hate love," growled AngryCarrie.
"Well, I'm sorry girls," said EmotionalCarrie, "but you're going to have to admit it. We're falling in love with him."
"NO!" shouted AngryCarrie.
CynicalCarrie rolled her eyes. "Here we go again."
ReasonableCarrie put her hands on AngryCarrie and CynicalCarrie's shoulders. "Maybe we should go and be honest about our feelings. It would be better in the long run."
AngryCarrie and CynicalCarrie exchanged a glance. "You know what this means," said AngryCarrie.
"Oh yeah." CynicalCarrie replied.
"I don't know if it's a good idea for you to...OOF!" InsecureCarrie was knocked to the floor, silenced for the time being.
CynicalCarrie and AngryCarrie turned to the remaining two. "Sorry ladies, this is for all of our own good."
So as EmotionalCarrie and ReasonableCarrie sat bound and gagged, Carrie stormed angrily through Helms Deep looking for Legolas.
XxgemxX: Aww, thank you. Here's your update.
Jack-Sparrow-Lover: Well, I guess the telephone is better than the computer? At least now it won't interfere with you reading fics.
nap-003: I'm so happy that you're happy that I updated. I guess I made you happy again today? I wouldn't say that Legolas and Carrie were ever "together" so to speak. It all depends on what you view as "together". Ok, I think I may have been hanging out with Gandalf a little too much.
NimrodelPR: Hello! I'm glad you love my story. By the way, awesome name. Is it after the Elf-maid or the river?
Cindy: Wow! What to say to such a glowing review. Thank you so much. I am honestly speechless, although it may be from picturing the hot monkey … NO! Must not go there! At work! Drool in keyboard bad! But seriously, thank you, I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far, and I hope I continue to entertain you.