Faulkner: Chapter eleven peoples. I think you might find a good plot twist
in this one. And just so's ya know I had it planned all along!
Short Days, Long Nights or The Young And The Restless
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
You'd think after all that activity i'd be able to sleep peacefully for a change. You'd also think that I would be able to stay still in bed and wait for sleep to come. You also think a lot of other things but what do I look like to you? Sigmond Freud?
As it was, I couldn't even close my eyes for five minutes without getting severely antsy. I would've killed for some sleeping pills right about now. I hated insomnia with a passion, among other things, and tonight wasn't any different.
So, I was currently siting wide-awake on my bed in the clothes that I came here (I now used 'em as pj's. Kinda funny, huh?), staring out my window. I wanted to do something, anything, instead of just sitting. I felt like I could run the marathon in the Olympics. Seriously, I felt that alive and awake.
Problem was, there was nothing for me to do. It's not like I could go outside and take a little stroll around the wood! Who knew how much trouble I would get in, if any at all? Bleh, I hate being bored too. I started to think too much when I was bored. I think the word for it was maudlin.
Eh, I didn't know and didn't care.
The point was, I was bored and had a bad case of insomnia. Those two are never a good thing to mix together. Like vinegar and baking soda. A very real volcano effect would happen later, if not sooner.
I got up and walked over to the window. It was a good sized window. About five feet wide and four feet tall, with a wide window sill. The perfect place to just sit and wait for some kind of sleepiness to hit me. I had a great view!
So I sat, and waited for myself to get tired. Sounds funny huh? Usually on occaisons like this i'd raise hell at the Institute. The orderlies would get to my room, restrain me, and then give me some of stuff that made me sleep. Of course, it was all just a way to get the stuff, so I could sleep. If I asked for it, they would just ignore me. The only way you ever got any kind of attention there was when you were being a 'nuisance'.
But here, all you had to do was just nudge 'em or somehting and they would turn and give you their undivided attention. This place was just so different, so unique, and so totally awesome. I just can't believe my luck.
And then, there's that little nagging voice in my head that keeps saying i'm having an elaborate dream and i'll wake-up back in my small shared room with Nattie. If that was true (I was hoping to God that it wasn't) then I never wanted to wake-up. Just sleep my life away in this cool dreamworld.
Oh, crud. I didn't feel any sleepier than I had five minutes ago. Is sleepier even a word? Where's a damn dictionary when you need one! Did Elves have dictionaries? Curious.....
I started whistling. It was just one of those things I did when I couldn't do anything else. I was a terrible whistler, but at least I could carry a tune, unlike most people I knew. Even if I did only repeat the chorus over and over. I always seemed to forget the rest of the good songs.
I was rambling, I just knew it. But what else was I gonna do? I was bored to tears!
Well.... Maybe not tears. At least not yet. I hope.
I believe I was at the very edge of sanity. It is even possible for a person to go insane from boredom? Ah, one of the many questions of the universe! Just like why the sky and the ocean were blue. I once heard that the ocean was blue because it reflected the sky, but then why was the sky blue? The person said it was because it reflected the ocean. Confusing, eh? I didn't get it at all. They called it by some big word that I didn't quite catch.
I think maybe I would ramble on all night and then probably fall asleep during my lessons. What a wonderful impression that would make! How does one explain insomnia to people who don't quite sleep, but just rest their minds? That would make for an interesting conversation. I bet even if I got Haldir to understand that concept, he would still be an ass and tell give me some crappy lines about....... About something.
Speak of the devil.
Haldir was just takin' a nice little stroll with some other blond Elf. By the looks of him though, he wasn't a Lorien Elf. He wore shades of green and brown, while Lorien's finest wore shades of grey and black.
Oh dear. Curiosity has been piqued and they seemed to be deep in conversation and unaware of anything else. This would be fun.
I grabbed my shoes and hurriedly put them on. After a quick glance out the window to check on where they were I was down the ladder quick as a flash and after them. Hmmm, maybe Orophin's lessons would come in handy.
Okay, I thought they would undoubtably catch me after a minute or so of trailing after them. I knew that Haldir was extremely attentive to his surroundings. He could probably tell when an ant stopped to scratch or when a leaf turned in the direction of the sun. I mean, this guy probably had photographic memory to boot!
I was surprised that neither of them noticed me and yelled their heads off and sent me back. And then I started noticing things. Amazing huh? I actually noticed something! Hold your applause please, as I tell ya what I noticed.
They were walking farther and farther away from the city and only stopped when they reached a rather very private clearing. Another thing was the way they walked so close together and that they held hands. Hands, I tell ya! Something fishy was goin' on around Lothlorien, no doubt about that.
Haldir and the other dude faced each other and whispered stuff in Elvish to each other. I couldn't have told you what they said, even if I knew the language they were being so quiet. Then they went silent for a second and the other Elf touched Haldir's cheek and smiled. Haldir smiled back and sighed a name which I swear sounded a helluva lot like 'Legolas'.
But then, wasn't that the studly Elf in the books and movie? The fanatics back at the Institute had jabbered on and on about him so much I had nightmares about the dude coming after me with his bow and arrow, and he had looked like some sort of evil cartoon character. It had been seriously freaky.
Yet more surprises when Haldir caressed -caressed!- Legolas's cheek and touched foreheads with him. Being the peeping Jane (not Tom, I wasn't a boy people!) that I was I didn't feel any guilt at witnessing this incredibly tender moment between two men.
Elves.
Whatever.
And then just like that they were kissing. May I say that although I didn't exactly like the sight, it wasn't disgusting either. I was neither a voyeur or a homophobic.
Things started to get a little too steamy in the glade so I high-tailed it outta there and back to my little part of the wood. You could say I was in utter shock at what I had just witnessed. I thought Haldir was the epitome of manliness.
Elfiness.
Again, whatever.
Soooooo.
Crickets chirp.
Leaves rustle.
Silence.........
For the second time I broke into hysterical laughter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------
Needless to say, I finally did go to sleep. But I was even grouchier this morning than I was the last morning. Miriel didn't talk to me about it, thank you God, and I trudged to where Orophin said I was to meet him for every lesson unless he said otherwise.
Either I was late or he was early because Orophin was waiting for me when I arrived. We started the lesson right away and I went into spy mode and learned more of the art of sneaking and peaking and being a general nuisance.
As we walked towards the stable and I pulled leaves out of my hair (trust me, you DO NOT want to know) I decided on a little prodding.
"Hey Orophin. Who's Legolas?" I asked trying to untangle a praticulary stuck twig.
He shot me a glance and his steps momentarily faltered. "Why do you ask?"
I shrugged, still concentrating on the twig and getting absolutely nowhere with it. "Curiosity." In all of the Institutes Legolas admirers I never really payed too much attention to them when they started on the Legolas vein of speech. So, I knew absolutely nothing about the dude.
"He's the youngest of Thranduil's ilk." he answered slowly, almost reluctantly I'd guess. "One of the princes of the Greenwood. Or Mirkwood as the Men call it." I think he was watching me, though out the corner of his eye. "What has sparked this curiosity?"
I got the feeling I was on thin ice here. Not a very good feeling, let me tell you. I've had way too much experience in that department.
"I thought I heard Haldir talkin' 'bout him." A truthful enough answer, I think.
"Really?"
"Really."
I wasn't familiar with this tactic of rooting out lies, so I couldn't properly defend against it. To put it frankly, I spilled the beans.
"Okay, so I saw the two walking around last night." One of his eyebrows was now considerably closer to his hairline than the other now.
"And what were you doing up so late?" How did I become the interrogated? I thought I was the one asking the questions here!
"Insomnia." I answered. One trick I learned for not giving people the answers they wanted while answering them was giving them very simple words or sentences. I called it the 'Strong Silent Type Tactic'.
Even though he didn't understand insomnia, he ploughed on ahead in his 20 questions. "You know it is wrong to spy on people, especially when they seek solitude." This from the guy who's teaching me how to spy and sneak? Please! "What did you hear?" His voice was even sterner than Haldir's by now.
"Not much. Couldn't understand a word that was spoken except for their names occaisonally." He stopped and pulled me off the path.
"What did you see?" he whispered urgently.
"Ummmm...." I debated on my choice of words and possibly just running all the way to the stable.
"The truth."
Hell's bells and cockle shells. I wasn't gettin' outta this one. "A couple of touches and some serious making out. Nuttin' else." The images of the two kissing came to the front of my memory and I shivered. I may not have been homophobic, but it was really strange to see two straight guys that were actually gay kiss. I had the weirdest dreams because of it too.
Nothing explicit either folks so get your brains out of the gutters and back to the story!
Orophin looked around and leaned closer to me. "Please, don't mention what you have seen to anyone else." I looked at him curiously. "Some Elves do not agree with the relationship my brother and the prince are in." he elaborated.
"But you support him, don't you?" I asked.
Orophin looked kinda surprised. "Of course I do!" He glanced around again and lowered his voice to a whisper again. "He's my brother, I would support his decision even if it were to marry a bird, Eru forbid! Even if I don't like or agree with it, he's still my brother, and I still love him."
Ah. Relief. Thank you God that blood's thicker than water here.
"That's good to hear. I won't tell a soul. Scouts honor!" I said, part serious and part joking. Maybe I would just make it out of this alive.
"Good." He looked around again (was it just me or was he edgy?) and then went back to the path. I followed him and started on getting that twig out again. "You can make it to the stable by yourself?" he asked.
"I'm no baby, contrary to popular belief." I snorted. I do believe he grinned at that, but he disappeared back into the forest before I could make sure.
So, I was off on my own to the stable which was in sight and not far off, and still the damn twig would not come out! I was starting to think I would have to cut my hair or something to get it out. Which would have been just perfect, not that my hair wasn't ugly and short enough already.
"Rrrrrghhh!" I let out a frustrated growl.
Great. Just great.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Faulkner: So how was that for a surprise, eh? I figured that i'd sneak in a little slashiness in this story. Heh, thanks to all who have reviewed so far! You people know who you are! Thanks y'all!
Short Days, Long Nights or The Young And The Restless
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
You'd think after all that activity i'd be able to sleep peacefully for a change. You'd also think that I would be able to stay still in bed and wait for sleep to come. You also think a lot of other things but what do I look like to you? Sigmond Freud?
As it was, I couldn't even close my eyes for five minutes without getting severely antsy. I would've killed for some sleeping pills right about now. I hated insomnia with a passion, among other things, and tonight wasn't any different.
So, I was currently siting wide-awake on my bed in the clothes that I came here (I now used 'em as pj's. Kinda funny, huh?), staring out my window. I wanted to do something, anything, instead of just sitting. I felt like I could run the marathon in the Olympics. Seriously, I felt that alive and awake.
Problem was, there was nothing for me to do. It's not like I could go outside and take a little stroll around the wood! Who knew how much trouble I would get in, if any at all? Bleh, I hate being bored too. I started to think too much when I was bored. I think the word for it was maudlin.
Eh, I didn't know and didn't care.
The point was, I was bored and had a bad case of insomnia. Those two are never a good thing to mix together. Like vinegar and baking soda. A very real volcano effect would happen later, if not sooner.
I got up and walked over to the window. It was a good sized window. About five feet wide and four feet tall, with a wide window sill. The perfect place to just sit and wait for some kind of sleepiness to hit me. I had a great view!
So I sat, and waited for myself to get tired. Sounds funny huh? Usually on occaisons like this i'd raise hell at the Institute. The orderlies would get to my room, restrain me, and then give me some of stuff that made me sleep. Of course, it was all just a way to get the stuff, so I could sleep. If I asked for it, they would just ignore me. The only way you ever got any kind of attention there was when you were being a 'nuisance'.
But here, all you had to do was just nudge 'em or somehting and they would turn and give you their undivided attention. This place was just so different, so unique, and so totally awesome. I just can't believe my luck.
And then, there's that little nagging voice in my head that keeps saying i'm having an elaborate dream and i'll wake-up back in my small shared room with Nattie. If that was true (I was hoping to God that it wasn't) then I never wanted to wake-up. Just sleep my life away in this cool dreamworld.
Oh, crud. I didn't feel any sleepier than I had five minutes ago. Is sleepier even a word? Where's a damn dictionary when you need one! Did Elves have dictionaries? Curious.....
I started whistling. It was just one of those things I did when I couldn't do anything else. I was a terrible whistler, but at least I could carry a tune, unlike most people I knew. Even if I did only repeat the chorus over and over. I always seemed to forget the rest of the good songs.
I was rambling, I just knew it. But what else was I gonna do? I was bored to tears!
Well.... Maybe not tears. At least not yet. I hope.
I believe I was at the very edge of sanity. It is even possible for a person to go insane from boredom? Ah, one of the many questions of the universe! Just like why the sky and the ocean were blue. I once heard that the ocean was blue because it reflected the sky, but then why was the sky blue? The person said it was because it reflected the ocean. Confusing, eh? I didn't get it at all. They called it by some big word that I didn't quite catch.
I think maybe I would ramble on all night and then probably fall asleep during my lessons. What a wonderful impression that would make! How does one explain insomnia to people who don't quite sleep, but just rest their minds? That would make for an interesting conversation. I bet even if I got Haldir to understand that concept, he would still be an ass and tell give me some crappy lines about....... About something.
Speak of the devil.
Haldir was just takin' a nice little stroll with some other blond Elf. By the looks of him though, he wasn't a Lorien Elf. He wore shades of green and brown, while Lorien's finest wore shades of grey and black.
Oh dear. Curiosity has been piqued and they seemed to be deep in conversation and unaware of anything else. This would be fun.
I grabbed my shoes and hurriedly put them on. After a quick glance out the window to check on where they were I was down the ladder quick as a flash and after them. Hmmm, maybe Orophin's lessons would come in handy.
Okay, I thought they would undoubtably catch me after a minute or so of trailing after them. I knew that Haldir was extremely attentive to his surroundings. He could probably tell when an ant stopped to scratch or when a leaf turned in the direction of the sun. I mean, this guy probably had photographic memory to boot!
I was surprised that neither of them noticed me and yelled their heads off and sent me back. And then I started noticing things. Amazing huh? I actually noticed something! Hold your applause please, as I tell ya what I noticed.
They were walking farther and farther away from the city and only stopped when they reached a rather very private clearing. Another thing was the way they walked so close together and that they held hands. Hands, I tell ya! Something fishy was goin' on around Lothlorien, no doubt about that.
Haldir and the other dude faced each other and whispered stuff in Elvish to each other. I couldn't have told you what they said, even if I knew the language they were being so quiet. Then they went silent for a second and the other Elf touched Haldir's cheek and smiled. Haldir smiled back and sighed a name which I swear sounded a helluva lot like 'Legolas'.
But then, wasn't that the studly Elf in the books and movie? The fanatics back at the Institute had jabbered on and on about him so much I had nightmares about the dude coming after me with his bow and arrow, and he had looked like some sort of evil cartoon character. It had been seriously freaky.
Yet more surprises when Haldir caressed -caressed!- Legolas's cheek and touched foreheads with him. Being the peeping Jane (not Tom, I wasn't a boy people!) that I was I didn't feel any guilt at witnessing this incredibly tender moment between two men.
Elves.
Whatever.
And then just like that they were kissing. May I say that although I didn't exactly like the sight, it wasn't disgusting either. I was neither a voyeur or a homophobic.
Things started to get a little too steamy in the glade so I high-tailed it outta there and back to my little part of the wood. You could say I was in utter shock at what I had just witnessed. I thought Haldir was the epitome of manliness.
Elfiness.
Again, whatever.
Soooooo.
Crickets chirp.
Leaves rustle.
Silence.........
For the second time I broke into hysterical laughter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------
Needless to say, I finally did go to sleep. But I was even grouchier this morning than I was the last morning. Miriel didn't talk to me about it, thank you God, and I trudged to where Orophin said I was to meet him for every lesson unless he said otherwise.
Either I was late or he was early because Orophin was waiting for me when I arrived. We started the lesson right away and I went into spy mode and learned more of the art of sneaking and peaking and being a general nuisance.
As we walked towards the stable and I pulled leaves out of my hair (trust me, you DO NOT want to know) I decided on a little prodding.
"Hey Orophin. Who's Legolas?" I asked trying to untangle a praticulary stuck twig.
He shot me a glance and his steps momentarily faltered. "Why do you ask?"
I shrugged, still concentrating on the twig and getting absolutely nowhere with it. "Curiosity." In all of the Institutes Legolas admirers I never really payed too much attention to them when they started on the Legolas vein of speech. So, I knew absolutely nothing about the dude.
"He's the youngest of Thranduil's ilk." he answered slowly, almost reluctantly I'd guess. "One of the princes of the Greenwood. Or Mirkwood as the Men call it." I think he was watching me, though out the corner of his eye. "What has sparked this curiosity?"
I got the feeling I was on thin ice here. Not a very good feeling, let me tell you. I've had way too much experience in that department.
"I thought I heard Haldir talkin' 'bout him." A truthful enough answer, I think.
"Really?"
"Really."
I wasn't familiar with this tactic of rooting out lies, so I couldn't properly defend against it. To put it frankly, I spilled the beans.
"Okay, so I saw the two walking around last night." One of his eyebrows was now considerably closer to his hairline than the other now.
"And what were you doing up so late?" How did I become the interrogated? I thought I was the one asking the questions here!
"Insomnia." I answered. One trick I learned for not giving people the answers they wanted while answering them was giving them very simple words or sentences. I called it the 'Strong Silent Type Tactic'.
Even though he didn't understand insomnia, he ploughed on ahead in his 20 questions. "You know it is wrong to spy on people, especially when they seek solitude." This from the guy who's teaching me how to spy and sneak? Please! "What did you hear?" His voice was even sterner than Haldir's by now.
"Not much. Couldn't understand a word that was spoken except for their names occaisonally." He stopped and pulled me off the path.
"What did you see?" he whispered urgently.
"Ummmm...." I debated on my choice of words and possibly just running all the way to the stable.
"The truth."
Hell's bells and cockle shells. I wasn't gettin' outta this one. "A couple of touches and some serious making out. Nuttin' else." The images of the two kissing came to the front of my memory and I shivered. I may not have been homophobic, but it was really strange to see two straight guys that were actually gay kiss. I had the weirdest dreams because of it too.
Nothing explicit either folks so get your brains out of the gutters and back to the story!
Orophin looked around and leaned closer to me. "Please, don't mention what you have seen to anyone else." I looked at him curiously. "Some Elves do not agree with the relationship my brother and the prince are in." he elaborated.
"But you support him, don't you?" I asked.
Orophin looked kinda surprised. "Of course I do!" He glanced around again and lowered his voice to a whisper again. "He's my brother, I would support his decision even if it were to marry a bird, Eru forbid! Even if I don't like or agree with it, he's still my brother, and I still love him."
Ah. Relief. Thank you God that blood's thicker than water here.
"That's good to hear. I won't tell a soul. Scouts honor!" I said, part serious and part joking. Maybe I would just make it out of this alive.
"Good." He looked around again (was it just me or was he edgy?) and then went back to the path. I followed him and started on getting that twig out again. "You can make it to the stable by yourself?" he asked.
"I'm no baby, contrary to popular belief." I snorted. I do believe he grinned at that, but he disappeared back into the forest before I could make sure.
So, I was off on my own to the stable which was in sight and not far off, and still the damn twig would not come out! I was starting to think I would have to cut my hair or something to get it out. Which would have been just perfect, not that my hair wasn't ugly and short enough already.
"Rrrrrghhh!" I let out a frustrated growl.
Great. Just great.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Faulkner: So how was that for a surprise, eh? I figured that i'd sneak in a little slashiness in this story. Heh, thanks to all who have reviewed so far! You people know who you are! Thanks y'all!