Faulkner: Summer.... No homework, no school, no dickheads, no WORRIES!!
::sigh:: Bliss!
Disclaimer: Only thing that is mine is Arlindur, Telepcoire, Miriel, Narya, some other people, Herumor, and the plotline in this story. Anything else is Tolkien's, I swear it!
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Morning.
Too early.
Sleeeeeep........
I suddenly found myself on the hard (and very cold!) wooden floor.
"Whassamatter?" I grumbled. I lifted up my head and looked at Miriel sleepily. "Bugger off. Need sleep."
I pulled the sheets that had fallen with me around my cold body and tried to go back to sleep on the floor. But Miriel just yanked the sheets off of me and put them out of my reach.
"I'm sorry milady, but you need to get ready. Today your lessons start, and I have strict orders from the Marchwarden to make sure you are ready in time." Miriel explained.
Marchwarden? I scratched my head in confusion bred from a sleep fogged brain.
"Who?" I asked as I slowly stood.
"Haldir." Miriel started to make my bed. "You better hurry and take your bath before the water gets cold." she warned.
I nodded and searched for some clean clothes in the dresser drawers. I found a pair of black pants and a tan tunic to change into after my bath. I closed the bath door behind me and got myself all nice an squeeky clean.
Note the heavy sarcasm in that sentence.
After I was changed I tried to brush my pain-in-the-ass hair. I swear, it was as stubborn as Haldir!
I soon gave up and contented myself with making sure it wasn't sticking out at any odd angles. As long as it was reasonably straight, I would be fine. Miriel had finished tidying up, and had a light breakfast set out for me on the small table.
I ate it and started to fall asleep right there at the table.
Thankfully, Miriel accidentally bumped into me, and woke me right up.
"Follow me." Miriel said and briskly led me out the door of the talan and to the forest floor. I followed her all through the city, barely noting my surroundings. She led me to a clearing (I was pretty sure it was the one I met Celeborn in) and told me that my teacher would arrive shortly. Then she left to do who knows what.
I looked around a little and sat down in the middle of the clearing.
I was just drifting off again when .......
"BOO!!"
"AI!!" I screeched and jumped probably ten feet into the air. I whirled around, ready to flame some ass, and saw Orophin rolling around on the grass, laughing. "Not freakin' funny Orophin!" I yelled at him. "You damn Elves are gonna give me a heart attack one of these days!"
"That..." he gasped for breath and tried to compose himself. "Is the first lesson... for today!"
"And what is that lesson? How to scare people out of their wits?"
"To always be alert and ready." he said, standing up. He wiped a couple of laugh tears from his eyes and grinned at me.
And that was my first lesson for Track And Stealth 101. Not very fun, if you ask me. But after that initial scare, everything went fairly smoothly from there.
Orophin continued to teach me the fine art of being sneaky and how to be, AHEM, 'alert'. It was actually kinda fun, learning how to be all 007 and spy like. Orophin was a sorta stuffy Elf, but a great teacher. Before I knew it, that lesson was over, and he led me where my next teacher would await me.
Shit. These Elves are already rubbing off on me. Where the hell did that await come from?
Anywho, Orophin left me at the stables to wait for my next teacher. I didn't have to wait long though, since he had been there before me!
He strode up to me and bowed. "Quel re Lady Narya." (Good day Lady Narya)
"Uh, hi." Intelligent, real intelligent. I mentally slapped myself on the forehead.
"I am to be your riding teacher. My name is Telepcoire." Telepcoire started walking down the stalls as he talked. "As far as the Lord Celeborn told me, you haven't had any experience in riding, have you?" I shook my head. "Then we will start with the basics today. Whether we will ride today or not depends on your progress."
Geez. This guy sure does like to get to the point.
Telepcoire stopped at a rack full of different bridles, bits, saddles, the usual horse junk. He looked me up and down before starting to hand me a saddle, saddle blanket, and bridle. The saddle was kind of heavy, but I managed pretty well.
The Elf took of down towards a specific stall and led out a -
Damn.
"This is Herumor. Though he is a bit tall for you, I think you'll manage. He is short for an Elvish horse though, only fourteen and a half hands high. But he is a fairly gentle stallion, though not without his own sense of humor. Come." and he led the horse outside to a fenced in area with only a softly spoken word in Elvish.
I gotta learn that stupid language, even if it was the last thing I did.
Herumor WAS pretty tall, his head going over mine easily. His coat was a gleaming black with one white sock on his front right hoof. I thought maybe it was just me being paranoid, but it seemed that one of his eyes was always watching me.
Telepcoire told me to sling the stuff on the fence, and I did so. That crap was starting to get kinda heavy.
"The first thing you will learn is how to properly saddle a horse." Telepcoire started.
As he demonstrated how to do this, he explained it at the same time. First the saddle blanket went on, then the saddle itself. He did up the buckles and gave me a few tips. Then he undid everything and made me do it. If you ask me, I think the saddling was probably the easiest part of riding a horse.
And I hadn't even ridden yet.
We did this for a while until I could probably saddle any horse in my sleep with a hand tied behind my back. Then we practiced putting the bridle on. It was pretty simple too, and I only practiced a couple of times with that.
One, I didn't want my hand bitten off because the horse was tired of my practicing. Two, because Telepcoire thought I got the hang of all this.
"Good, good. You're a fast learner. We might actuallly get to some riding tomorrow. Our time is up today."
"Wha? we haven't been out here that long!" I said.
"But I still need to teach you how to properly return a horse to it's respective stall. Though it is probably useless for me to teach you this, since you are no groom." and he chuckled to himself. Weird.
I gathered up the tack and stuff and walked back to the.... uh .... I wouldn't exactly call it a barn, but that seemed to be the only word that fit it well enough. I put all the stuff back on it's respective rack and listened as Telepcoire told me about what one would generally do to a horse after it was ridden. But since we hadn't done any actual riding, he just explained it to me.
Though I would probably forget half of it the next day.
After Herumor was back in his stall, I breathed a sigh of relief. He a VERY big animal and could squash me to death easily. He could probably bite my head off if he wanted to.
Well.... Maybe i'm exaggerating a wee bit, but that was the way the horse made me feel. I was always nervous around horses, even though i'd only ever been near them a couple of other times before today. But that had been when I was still with my parents....
It had been a warm spring day. The perfect day to visit the local fair. There had been horse rides there and my father had urged me to go on a little ride around the corral on one.
As I had stood in line, I had nervously watched the horse. Watched as he occaisonally chewed on the bit and every so often snorted and stamped a foot. The tack had seemed to jangle almost ominously to me.
But when it had been my turn, I had taken my courage in hand and gave the horse a gentle pat on his leg. That was about as far up as I could've reached on him at the time. The man in charge of the ride had lifted me into the saddle and got in behind me for safety purposes.
He had clicked his tongue and given the horse a nudge with his heels and it had started off at a brisk walk. Though the horse had scared me slightly, it had been so much fun riding on it's back. The man had even indulged me a little bit by putting the horse into a fast trot.
But my time was all too soon up and I was set back down on the ground. I had giggled and the horse had wickered at me. He had nudged my hand with his velvety nose and I had given it an affectionate pat. The man gave me a sugar lump and I fed it to the horse.
I could still just vaguely remember the rough tongue as it took the offering and whickered again at me as I was led away to other rides.
The next morning I had overheard my parents talking about how that very same horse had put a man in the hospital. It had been a very real reminder of how deadly it was. I had shivered to think that the horse could have done the very same thing to me.
"Narya?"
"Eh what?" I said. I blinked and saw Telepcoire and Haldir staring at me. "What did I miss?"
"I have been calling your name for the past couple of minutes. Take your head out of the clouds and follow me." Haldir turned and stalked off.
"Well good afternoon to you too." I mumbled. Telepcoire heard me and winked at me. I grinned back at him and trotted to catch up to the most arrogant Elf that had ever lived.
"I will be working with you on your weapons skills." I seriously needed to hit a growth spurt so I could get some longer legs and have a chance with keeping up with Haldir. "I will have to figure out what weapon suits you so I can teach it to you." He sighed, and I thought that this would probably be the hardest class.
Next to riding of course.
We entered a clearing that was obviously meant for weapons training. Off to the side of it was a hut that Haldir immediately made a beeline for. I saw few Elf kids with an adult learning about swordfighting. They seemed eager to learn about it and listened intently.
Haldir went inside and motioned for me to follow. As soon as I got a glimpse of the weapons hanging on racks all 'round me, I immediately started to study them. Most of them were wooden so as only to bruise the opponent, but still beautiful. Everything the Elves made seemed to be beautiful! Lucky ducks.
"Ah, welcome Marchwarden! I see you have a new pupil! What be your need?" a deep and rich voice said happily. I turned and saw an Elf that was broader even than Haldir. Considering that most Elves were slim, it was an amazing sight.
"Yes. Narya is just starting today and has to my knowledge no understanding of the art of fighting. I was wondering if you might have an idea of her preference, since you seem so good at it." Haldir answered. As he said this, the two shook hands heartily and the much broader Elf beamed at him.
"Well, let's get a good look at you lass! Come on over here, don't be shy. I promise I don't bite!" I stepped slowly closer to the two Elves. "My name is Arlindur, Weapons Master!" and he gave me a shallow bow.
I couldn't help but grin at his infectious happiness. He seemed like a nice ol' Elf.
"Hmmm.... Lemme see..." Arlindur murmured to himself as he circled me slowly. His eyes studied me up and down, then back up and down again. But it wasn't the kind of look you got when some creepy guy was undressing you with his eyes and got a wicked sneer. It was just a critical look that studied my frame and build.
Suddenly he grabbed my hand and turned it over in his larger ones. His calloused finger-tips ran over my palm and briefly ran over the scars over each knuckle. My hands were soft since they had been in those stupid fire- proof gloves for such a long time. I hoped that would change soon.
"Hmm... Interesting..." he mumbled to himself.
"What's interesting?" I asked. Was there something wrong with my hand?
"Oh nothing." He took my other hand and studied it with equal curiosity. "Then again...." He ran his fingers over the scars that covered all of the knuckles on this hand as well. "Where did you get such curious scars, hmmm? I don't believe I have seen the like before."
"Oh." Memories started flooding in, but I refused to let them take over. "Just accidents. I always seem to be bumping my knuckles into something. Tables, corners, sharp objects, all sorts of things." There. Not a complete lie, but not the complete truth either.
"Humph." he grunted and dropped my other hand. He strolled over to the racks and grabbed a wooden knife. "I think you might take a liking to the knives. You seem to have the correct mind for it."
He put the knife in my hand and I held it for a minute.
I did sort of have an obsession with knives. We were given plastic knives at the Institution, the orderlies afraid we would harm ourselves or each other. I constantly entertained myself with them, since their was nothing better to do.
I would toss them up and catch them as best I could with the bulky gloves. The damn things had always made life harder for me.
I hefted it in my hands and adjusted my grip slightly.
"Ah! She's a natural!" Arlindur cried happily. He patted....well, thumped more like, me on the back heartily and Haldir had to steady me before I fell to the ground. "I'll get you two set up quick as a flash!"
He went over to the racks and grabbed the mate of the knife that I held and two sheaths. He expertly buckled them to my belt and set the pair into their respective places.
"I'll look forward to seeing you fight with a real pair one day. Mark my words lassie, you'll be a real blade-master one day. Don't you think so Master Haldir?" Arlindur turned to Haldir and grinned at him.
Pain-in-the-ass looked at me down his nose and sniffed slightly.
"She might one day. IF she pays attention in her lessons and does well." I swear, I wanted to knock his teeth out sometimes, now being one of them.
The Weapons Master laughed and shook his head at Haldir. "Careful there Marchwarden. You might find yourself on the wrong end of her blade and on your back!"
"I doubt it." and he strode out of the hut.
Just before I went to follow him I muttered conspiratorily to Arlindur, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." I grinned and heard his laughter even when I was in the middle of the clearing with Haldir.
"First, the basics." And without any further ado, he started drilling me on the basic defensive and offensive postitions.
That damn Elf was working the danged life out of me. The time passed slowly and quickly at the same time. By the time it was over, I was sweating and worn out. I wanted to throw myself on the grass and just nap until supper time.
But, as usual, he had other plans.
"Once you return your practice weapons to Arlindur you can return to your talan and freshen up. Your lunch will be served to you there." Haldir nodded to me and took off.
I grimaced and stuck my tongue out at his retreating back. One of these days, I was gonna teach that stupid Elf a lesson. What lesson, I wasn't sure. But it was gonna be a damn good one.
I walked as carefully as I could back to the hut and returned the knives to Arlindur with a small and started back to my talan. Oi, my upper arms hurt.
"Ohhh, sweet sugar. I'm so gonna be sore in the morning." I muttered to myself. "As soon as I get good at this knife junk i'm gonna knock him on his ass and sit on him. Then i'm gonna laugh." I grinned to myself as I imagined sitting on Haldir.
I made it back without getting into any trouble or getting lost. I seemed to have this little mechanism in my head that kept me from getting lost. I sure as hell didn't really remember the way. Weird.
Miriel was there and had prepared a bath for me, anticipating my dirtyness and need for one. I never thought hot water could be such a blessing. When I was done and changed there was a lunch set out on the small table for me and Miriel was nowhere to be found.
I wolfed everything down as usual and leaned my chair back on its two back legs. I was pooped and only halfway through the day. Good grief. If this was the way I felt after only half a day I shudder to think what i'll be like at the end of the week.
Wait a sec....
Do Elves even HAVE weekends? Oh dear Lord....
At that moment Miriel entered hustled me along. When I asked her where we were going she said the library. Maybe they had some books I could read there....
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Faulkner: Sorry I had to stop here! But I wanted to get this chapter out so you peeps wouldn't try to kill me or nuttin' like that. Anyone else out there see the Matrix Reloaded? KICK ASS MOVIE!!! If you haven't then go see it now! After you review, of course!
P.S. Is it just me, or is Agent Smith really cool and the Twins are really freaky?
Disclaimer: Only thing that is mine is Arlindur, Telepcoire, Miriel, Narya, some other people, Herumor, and the plotline in this story. Anything else is Tolkien's, I swear it!
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Morning.
Too early.
Sleeeeeep........
I suddenly found myself on the hard (and very cold!) wooden floor.
"Whassamatter?" I grumbled. I lifted up my head and looked at Miriel sleepily. "Bugger off. Need sleep."
I pulled the sheets that had fallen with me around my cold body and tried to go back to sleep on the floor. But Miriel just yanked the sheets off of me and put them out of my reach.
"I'm sorry milady, but you need to get ready. Today your lessons start, and I have strict orders from the Marchwarden to make sure you are ready in time." Miriel explained.
Marchwarden? I scratched my head in confusion bred from a sleep fogged brain.
"Who?" I asked as I slowly stood.
"Haldir." Miriel started to make my bed. "You better hurry and take your bath before the water gets cold." she warned.
I nodded and searched for some clean clothes in the dresser drawers. I found a pair of black pants and a tan tunic to change into after my bath. I closed the bath door behind me and got myself all nice an squeeky clean.
Note the heavy sarcasm in that sentence.
After I was changed I tried to brush my pain-in-the-ass hair. I swear, it was as stubborn as Haldir!
I soon gave up and contented myself with making sure it wasn't sticking out at any odd angles. As long as it was reasonably straight, I would be fine. Miriel had finished tidying up, and had a light breakfast set out for me on the small table.
I ate it and started to fall asleep right there at the table.
Thankfully, Miriel accidentally bumped into me, and woke me right up.
"Follow me." Miriel said and briskly led me out the door of the talan and to the forest floor. I followed her all through the city, barely noting my surroundings. She led me to a clearing (I was pretty sure it was the one I met Celeborn in) and told me that my teacher would arrive shortly. Then she left to do who knows what.
I looked around a little and sat down in the middle of the clearing.
I was just drifting off again when .......
"BOO!!"
"AI!!" I screeched and jumped probably ten feet into the air. I whirled around, ready to flame some ass, and saw Orophin rolling around on the grass, laughing. "Not freakin' funny Orophin!" I yelled at him. "You damn Elves are gonna give me a heart attack one of these days!"
"That..." he gasped for breath and tried to compose himself. "Is the first lesson... for today!"
"And what is that lesson? How to scare people out of their wits?"
"To always be alert and ready." he said, standing up. He wiped a couple of laugh tears from his eyes and grinned at me.
And that was my first lesson for Track And Stealth 101. Not very fun, if you ask me. But after that initial scare, everything went fairly smoothly from there.
Orophin continued to teach me the fine art of being sneaky and how to be, AHEM, 'alert'. It was actually kinda fun, learning how to be all 007 and spy like. Orophin was a sorta stuffy Elf, but a great teacher. Before I knew it, that lesson was over, and he led me where my next teacher would await me.
Shit. These Elves are already rubbing off on me. Where the hell did that await come from?
Anywho, Orophin left me at the stables to wait for my next teacher. I didn't have to wait long though, since he had been there before me!
He strode up to me and bowed. "Quel re Lady Narya." (Good day Lady Narya)
"Uh, hi." Intelligent, real intelligent. I mentally slapped myself on the forehead.
"I am to be your riding teacher. My name is Telepcoire." Telepcoire started walking down the stalls as he talked. "As far as the Lord Celeborn told me, you haven't had any experience in riding, have you?" I shook my head. "Then we will start with the basics today. Whether we will ride today or not depends on your progress."
Geez. This guy sure does like to get to the point.
Telepcoire stopped at a rack full of different bridles, bits, saddles, the usual horse junk. He looked me up and down before starting to hand me a saddle, saddle blanket, and bridle. The saddle was kind of heavy, but I managed pretty well.
The Elf took of down towards a specific stall and led out a -
Damn.
"This is Herumor. Though he is a bit tall for you, I think you'll manage. He is short for an Elvish horse though, only fourteen and a half hands high. But he is a fairly gentle stallion, though not without his own sense of humor. Come." and he led the horse outside to a fenced in area with only a softly spoken word in Elvish.
I gotta learn that stupid language, even if it was the last thing I did.
Herumor WAS pretty tall, his head going over mine easily. His coat was a gleaming black with one white sock on his front right hoof. I thought maybe it was just me being paranoid, but it seemed that one of his eyes was always watching me.
Telepcoire told me to sling the stuff on the fence, and I did so. That crap was starting to get kinda heavy.
"The first thing you will learn is how to properly saddle a horse." Telepcoire started.
As he demonstrated how to do this, he explained it at the same time. First the saddle blanket went on, then the saddle itself. He did up the buckles and gave me a few tips. Then he undid everything and made me do it. If you ask me, I think the saddling was probably the easiest part of riding a horse.
And I hadn't even ridden yet.
We did this for a while until I could probably saddle any horse in my sleep with a hand tied behind my back. Then we practiced putting the bridle on. It was pretty simple too, and I only practiced a couple of times with that.
One, I didn't want my hand bitten off because the horse was tired of my practicing. Two, because Telepcoire thought I got the hang of all this.
"Good, good. You're a fast learner. We might actuallly get to some riding tomorrow. Our time is up today."
"Wha? we haven't been out here that long!" I said.
"But I still need to teach you how to properly return a horse to it's respective stall. Though it is probably useless for me to teach you this, since you are no groom." and he chuckled to himself. Weird.
I gathered up the tack and stuff and walked back to the.... uh .... I wouldn't exactly call it a barn, but that seemed to be the only word that fit it well enough. I put all the stuff back on it's respective rack and listened as Telepcoire told me about what one would generally do to a horse after it was ridden. But since we hadn't done any actual riding, he just explained it to me.
Though I would probably forget half of it the next day.
After Herumor was back in his stall, I breathed a sigh of relief. He a VERY big animal and could squash me to death easily. He could probably bite my head off if he wanted to.
Well.... Maybe i'm exaggerating a wee bit, but that was the way the horse made me feel. I was always nervous around horses, even though i'd only ever been near them a couple of other times before today. But that had been when I was still with my parents....
It had been a warm spring day. The perfect day to visit the local fair. There had been horse rides there and my father had urged me to go on a little ride around the corral on one.
As I had stood in line, I had nervously watched the horse. Watched as he occaisonally chewed on the bit and every so often snorted and stamped a foot. The tack had seemed to jangle almost ominously to me.
But when it had been my turn, I had taken my courage in hand and gave the horse a gentle pat on his leg. That was about as far up as I could've reached on him at the time. The man in charge of the ride had lifted me into the saddle and got in behind me for safety purposes.
He had clicked his tongue and given the horse a nudge with his heels and it had started off at a brisk walk. Though the horse had scared me slightly, it had been so much fun riding on it's back. The man had even indulged me a little bit by putting the horse into a fast trot.
But my time was all too soon up and I was set back down on the ground. I had giggled and the horse had wickered at me. He had nudged my hand with his velvety nose and I had given it an affectionate pat. The man gave me a sugar lump and I fed it to the horse.
I could still just vaguely remember the rough tongue as it took the offering and whickered again at me as I was led away to other rides.
The next morning I had overheard my parents talking about how that very same horse had put a man in the hospital. It had been a very real reminder of how deadly it was. I had shivered to think that the horse could have done the very same thing to me.
"Narya?"
"Eh what?" I said. I blinked and saw Telepcoire and Haldir staring at me. "What did I miss?"
"I have been calling your name for the past couple of minutes. Take your head out of the clouds and follow me." Haldir turned and stalked off.
"Well good afternoon to you too." I mumbled. Telepcoire heard me and winked at me. I grinned back at him and trotted to catch up to the most arrogant Elf that had ever lived.
"I will be working with you on your weapons skills." I seriously needed to hit a growth spurt so I could get some longer legs and have a chance with keeping up with Haldir. "I will have to figure out what weapon suits you so I can teach it to you." He sighed, and I thought that this would probably be the hardest class.
Next to riding of course.
We entered a clearing that was obviously meant for weapons training. Off to the side of it was a hut that Haldir immediately made a beeline for. I saw few Elf kids with an adult learning about swordfighting. They seemed eager to learn about it and listened intently.
Haldir went inside and motioned for me to follow. As soon as I got a glimpse of the weapons hanging on racks all 'round me, I immediately started to study them. Most of them were wooden so as only to bruise the opponent, but still beautiful. Everything the Elves made seemed to be beautiful! Lucky ducks.
"Ah, welcome Marchwarden! I see you have a new pupil! What be your need?" a deep and rich voice said happily. I turned and saw an Elf that was broader even than Haldir. Considering that most Elves were slim, it was an amazing sight.
"Yes. Narya is just starting today and has to my knowledge no understanding of the art of fighting. I was wondering if you might have an idea of her preference, since you seem so good at it." Haldir answered. As he said this, the two shook hands heartily and the much broader Elf beamed at him.
"Well, let's get a good look at you lass! Come on over here, don't be shy. I promise I don't bite!" I stepped slowly closer to the two Elves. "My name is Arlindur, Weapons Master!" and he gave me a shallow bow.
I couldn't help but grin at his infectious happiness. He seemed like a nice ol' Elf.
"Hmmm.... Lemme see..." Arlindur murmured to himself as he circled me slowly. His eyes studied me up and down, then back up and down again. But it wasn't the kind of look you got when some creepy guy was undressing you with his eyes and got a wicked sneer. It was just a critical look that studied my frame and build.
Suddenly he grabbed my hand and turned it over in his larger ones. His calloused finger-tips ran over my palm and briefly ran over the scars over each knuckle. My hands were soft since they had been in those stupid fire- proof gloves for such a long time. I hoped that would change soon.
"Hmm... Interesting..." he mumbled to himself.
"What's interesting?" I asked. Was there something wrong with my hand?
"Oh nothing." He took my other hand and studied it with equal curiosity. "Then again...." He ran his fingers over the scars that covered all of the knuckles on this hand as well. "Where did you get such curious scars, hmmm? I don't believe I have seen the like before."
"Oh." Memories started flooding in, but I refused to let them take over. "Just accidents. I always seem to be bumping my knuckles into something. Tables, corners, sharp objects, all sorts of things." There. Not a complete lie, but not the complete truth either.
"Humph." he grunted and dropped my other hand. He strolled over to the racks and grabbed a wooden knife. "I think you might take a liking to the knives. You seem to have the correct mind for it."
He put the knife in my hand and I held it for a minute.
I did sort of have an obsession with knives. We were given plastic knives at the Institution, the orderlies afraid we would harm ourselves or each other. I constantly entertained myself with them, since their was nothing better to do.
I would toss them up and catch them as best I could with the bulky gloves. The damn things had always made life harder for me.
I hefted it in my hands and adjusted my grip slightly.
"Ah! She's a natural!" Arlindur cried happily. He patted....well, thumped more like, me on the back heartily and Haldir had to steady me before I fell to the ground. "I'll get you two set up quick as a flash!"
He went over to the racks and grabbed the mate of the knife that I held and two sheaths. He expertly buckled them to my belt and set the pair into their respective places.
"I'll look forward to seeing you fight with a real pair one day. Mark my words lassie, you'll be a real blade-master one day. Don't you think so Master Haldir?" Arlindur turned to Haldir and grinned at him.
Pain-in-the-ass looked at me down his nose and sniffed slightly.
"She might one day. IF she pays attention in her lessons and does well." I swear, I wanted to knock his teeth out sometimes, now being one of them.
The Weapons Master laughed and shook his head at Haldir. "Careful there Marchwarden. You might find yourself on the wrong end of her blade and on your back!"
"I doubt it." and he strode out of the hut.
Just before I went to follow him I muttered conspiratorily to Arlindur, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." I grinned and heard his laughter even when I was in the middle of the clearing with Haldir.
"First, the basics." And without any further ado, he started drilling me on the basic defensive and offensive postitions.
That damn Elf was working the danged life out of me. The time passed slowly and quickly at the same time. By the time it was over, I was sweating and worn out. I wanted to throw myself on the grass and just nap until supper time.
But, as usual, he had other plans.
"Once you return your practice weapons to Arlindur you can return to your talan and freshen up. Your lunch will be served to you there." Haldir nodded to me and took off.
I grimaced and stuck my tongue out at his retreating back. One of these days, I was gonna teach that stupid Elf a lesson. What lesson, I wasn't sure. But it was gonna be a damn good one.
I walked as carefully as I could back to the hut and returned the knives to Arlindur with a small and started back to my talan. Oi, my upper arms hurt.
"Ohhh, sweet sugar. I'm so gonna be sore in the morning." I muttered to myself. "As soon as I get good at this knife junk i'm gonna knock him on his ass and sit on him. Then i'm gonna laugh." I grinned to myself as I imagined sitting on Haldir.
I made it back without getting into any trouble or getting lost. I seemed to have this little mechanism in my head that kept me from getting lost. I sure as hell didn't really remember the way. Weird.
Miriel was there and had prepared a bath for me, anticipating my dirtyness and need for one. I never thought hot water could be such a blessing. When I was done and changed there was a lunch set out on the small table for me and Miriel was nowhere to be found.
I wolfed everything down as usual and leaned my chair back on its two back legs. I was pooped and only halfway through the day. Good grief. If this was the way I felt after only half a day I shudder to think what i'll be like at the end of the week.
Wait a sec....
Do Elves even HAVE weekends? Oh dear Lord....
At that moment Miriel entered hustled me along. When I asked her where we were going she said the library. Maybe they had some books I could read there....
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Faulkner: Sorry I had to stop here! But I wanted to get this chapter out so you peeps wouldn't try to kill me or nuttin' like that. Anyone else out there see the Matrix Reloaded? KICK ASS MOVIE!!! If you haven't then go see it now! After you review, of course!
P.S. Is it just me, or is Agent Smith really cool and the Twins are really freaky?