Faulkner: Okey dokey pokey's. I've had a couple of good questions that I
feel I should answer, though I can't remember who asked them. So sorry
about that, but i'm feeling particularly lazy at the moment.
There was one about her healing abilities. While yes, her abilities are like the Elves, but kick in much faster, she is still susceptible to illness and scars. And while I do know that a few Elves have the power to heal others (Elrond and Galadriel to my knowledge, and probably some others that i'm forgetting) i'm not sure if ALL Elves can heal minor injuries such as scrapes and bruises. Tolkien wasn't to specific on this, and if he was, where the hell was I?
As to the particular time that this is taking place in relation to the LOTR trilogy and War of the Ring, this is roughly, ROUGHLY mind you, ten years before the Hobbits meet Strider in Bree. So Bilbo still has the Ring. Aragorn's mother has recently died, and Gandalf visits Frodo for the last time.
Oh, and Hanya, dun worry girl. We haven't seen the last of Cai! He'll be back later. And that reminds me of the California mayor thingy with Arnold S. What the HELL WERE THEY THINKING?!?!?!? You know the world has flipped it's lid when actors are taking over the government.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was past lunch-time. A couple of hours to be precise. But who's being precise? Preciseness is for the preps. Hey, that kinda rhymes! Never was too good at poetry, never could rhyme that well. But when i'm not trying to rhyme, I do! How twisted is that? Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Literally.
I was baking. Seriously, no lie. I was mixing dough. They didn't trust me enough to knead and shape it, so I was placed the task of stirring the stuff. It was not exactly the best job in the world. I would honestly rather be cutting vegetables than stirring bread. Beggars can't be choosers though, to quote somebody that I don't even know the name of.
Stirring. Like I said, not exactly the best job. My arms were tired. At this rate, I would have muscles the size of Shwarzeneggers by next week. Ain't that a thought. I would probably look like a girl version of Popeye, which isn't a very nice mental picture. I was funky enough looking already, didn't need meself to look any weirder.
One of the kitchen maids walked over to me and gestured towards the bowl I was stirring the dough up in. I took my big wooden spoon out (it seriously was big, big enough to hold at least a cup and a half of water) and gave her the bowl. She walked off to go knead the stuff that would soon be part of our supper. Cooking was sort of satisfying, but man, I wasn't cut out for it.
"Catch me as I fall
Say you're here and it's all over now
Speaking to the atmosphere
No one's here and I fall into myself
This truth drives me
Into madness
I know I can stop the pain
If I will it all away."
I was barely even singing. It was more like muttering to myself to a tune. Nevertheless, I was actually singing around a kitchenful of Elves. I truly had gone mad. I was singing to myself while working in a kitchen because I got in a fight in a wood in a world that wasn't even supposed to exist. Oh yeah, I was just lovin' this.
"Don't turn away
(Don't give in to the pain)
Don't try to hide
(Though they're screaming your name)
Don't close your eyes
(God knows what lies behind them)
Don't turn out the light
(Never sleep, never die)"
In the morning all this madness would be over and I would wakeup in the room I shared with Nattie and hear her whining about the crappy food at the Institute and how she wanted her Bubby and blah blah blah. But it would be disappointing if I did wakeup tomorrow and find out that this had all been a dream. Life threw me the screwiest curve balls that not even Gonzalez could hit. And he was a pretty damn good baseball player.
"I'm frightened by what I see
But somehow I know
That there's much more to come
Immobilized by my fear
And soon to be
Blinded by tears
I can stop the pain
If I will it all away"
I wonder how the Elves would react if they found themselves one day in the Institute. I would love to see their faces if that happened. They really would be thought crazy if they told the orderlies that they were immortal Elves. 'And i'm Tinkerbell' one of the orderlies would say back, or something to that affect. It would really crack me up. But I wouldn't wish them to reaally be stuck there.
"Don't turn away
(Don't give in to the pain)
Don't try to hide
(Though they're screaming your name)
Don't close your eyes
(God knows what lies behind them)
Don't turn out the light
(Never sleep, never die)"
I redoubled my efforts and stirred harder. My arms were turning into grape jelly. I had a feeling that they would be practically useless tomorrow, which wouldn't be a good thing under any circumstances. For one, Haldir would be pissed at my lack of strength and that would just prove to him that I was a weakling. There would go all my hard work, kaput! Right out the blasted window. Metaphorically speaking of course, since the only windows around here were in the flets in the trees.
"Fallen angels at my feet
Whispered voices at my ear
Death before my eyes
Lying next to me I fear
She beckons me
Shall I give in
Upon my end shall I begin
Forsaking all I've fallen for
I rise to meet my end."
I wonder what Taylin would think of my position. He'd probably laugh himself to tears until the orderlies came along and strapped him to the bed and left him there for awhile. That kinda irked me, knowing that he would just laugh and not really give any serious thought to it. But that was how he operated, so to speak. Taylin Dean couldn't be serious until it stared him dead in the face.
"Don't turn away
(Don't give in to the pain)
Don't try to hide
(Though they're screaming your name)
Don't close your eyes
(God knows what lies behind them)
Don't turn out the light
(Never sleep, never die)"
One of the workers came and took my bowl and gave me a funny look before returning to where she came from. Another one then stuck another bowl full of ingredients ready to be stirred and also gave me a funny look before leaving me to my work. Ah, the little sneaks must have heard me. Figures. Unfair advantages just aren't fair. Makes almost no sense, huh?
But if things made sense, then life wasn't any interesting. The joy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I was shuffling my deck for the tenth time tonight. I was confined to my room for a whole month as well as part of my punishment. I was only allowed to leave for lessons, supper (I took lunch and breakfast at my flet cause of the whole training gig), and leaving to go to the kitchens.
Problems again, though. I didn't want to fall asleep. The memory of my last dream had come down on me unexpectedly when I had at last returned. I was scared half to death about meeting Him again. It wasn't an ecounter that I particularly relished. He was the only man that I couldn't help but fear. You would too if you met the guy, even in a dream.
"Well fuck it!" I swore softly. "Screw punishments. When have I ever listened to them? I need out!"
I slammed the deck on my table and grabbed my hoodie off its hook next to the door and put it on. I was going out, and it was a little nippy outside. I figured it must be nearing Fall or something. And it was only just turned Summer back at the Institute. Huh, different dimension, different seasons, different everything.
I nearly flew down the steps and jogged towards the clearing that I usually met Orophin at in the mornings. It was a lovely clearing and from what I understood, not visited too often. Also it had a little more holes in the canopy than any other place I had seen. Maybe I would be able to see the stars. I rarely ever got to see the stars, especially when the sky was distorted by pollution.
I looked up and could see some of the stars, barely a dozen. I wanted to see more of them though. I was feeling rather bold tonight I guess, so I started to climb one of the great trees with smooth bark. I had forgotten what they were called.
I scrambled up the tree, getting a couple of scrapes that disappeared in a matter of a minute or so, towards the top. And ever so slowly as I got farther and farther towards the top, the trunk got a little thinner, but the foliage thicker. It felt like forever to me, climbing up it. It might have been for all I cared.
And then suddenly I was at the top. I could tell the one I was in was one of the smaller ones. The air was in my face and bit into my skin with the sharp cold of it all. Lothlorien was spread out before me and I could see the great trees climbing up the little valley the city was held in. To my right was the shadow of a mountain range that looked a little bit threatening, but I paid it no mind.
All Heaven's Field was above me and the stars reminded me of little crystals in the sky. It was gorgeous. I may have been a tough little cookie, but I could still enjoy the finer things in life like star-gazing. After all, everybody needed a little beauty in their life, even in mine.
I cocked my head to the right a little and smiled. I felt peaceful for a change. It felt nice. So I found a comfortable (as comfortable as one could be in a tree without being a monkey) limb and laid down. A few leaves obstructed my vision but overall I could see the sky perfectly.
"Where once was light
Now darkness falls
Where once was love
Love is no more
Don't say - goodbye
Don't say - I didn't try....
These tears we cry
Are falling rain
For all the lies
You told us
The hurt, the blame!"
I subconciously rubbed my knuckles, remembering the craziness that had took me that night and nearly made me maim myself.
"And we will weep
To be so alone
We are lost!
We can never go home
So in the end
I will be - what I will be
No loyal friend
Was ever there for me
Now we say - goodbye
We say - you didn't try
These tears you cry
Have come too late
Take back the lies
The hurt, the blame!
And you will weep
When you face the end alone
You are lost!
You can never go home."
I sighed and half-closed my eyes. I was starting to feel just the tiniest bit drowsy, but I wasn't going to fall into the deceivingly comfortable lull that was sleepiness. No way, not me, not tonight. I would stay up all night if I had to.
"Such melancholy for one so young. Haldir was right, you are a puzzle."
I sat straight up and nearly fell off my branch if I hadn't caught myself in time. I looked around wildly for the sly dog that had snuck up on me and hoped I could get out of possibly more trouble. A shadowy form extracted itself from the leaves and limbs that had so sufficiently hid him.
"Forgive me, milady. I had no intention to startle you so." Well, if it wasn't the love interest. Just wonderful. Here comes the part where he whistles for Haldir and I get a good yelling at and will probably be dragged away to my flet by my ear. I had had that happen once, and let me tell you something. Being pulled by the ear doesn't feel particularly good. In fact, it hurts like a bitch.
"Uh, yeah, it's okay." I said. Bloody meddling Princes. There always there, whether you need them or not.
"May I ask as to why you are out at this time of night? I seem to remember that you were confined to your quarters for a month." he cocked an eyebrow andd looked at me questioningly.
"Yeah, um, well.... I couldn't sleep." I nervously scratched the back of my head and sat up straight on my branch.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah." Why did he make me feel so nervous? Only Haldir could do this to me, and only when he was in a certain mood that I really couldn't put a name to.
We just stared at each other for a bit before I started to climb back down the tree. He wordlessly followed me and seemed a lot more at home in the trees than I did. Damn Elves and their grace. Just ain't fair, I tell ya!
I hopped off the last branch and landed fairly well if I do say so myself. Certainly not with the same grace that Legolas had, but I did do a good job and didn't embarass myself too bad. I started back to my flet, and he was STILL following me. Was he like turning stalker or something? Or did he not trust me to head back to my flet without a chaperone? Figures, don't trust the foreign kid that can barely speak English correctly, let alone Elvish. Why me?!
I started up my ladder when his hand stopped me. I turned around a faced him. Was he going to lecture me now or something? Was now the time to beg for mercy?
"Narya, would you do me a favor?" Well, that was unexpected. I just nodded dumbly. "Could you give this to Haldir?" He pulled a letter, sealed with wax, from some hidden pocket and held it out for me to take.
"Pardon my stupidity, but why can't you give it to him?" I asked, while taking the letter.
"Because my companions and myself are leaving for Mirkwood. We have done our job. Besides, if you do this for me, I shall not tell him or the Lady about your little 'escapade'." And with that, he disappeared among the trees and their little paths. I stared down at the letter and noted that the wax had an imprint of a leaf of some sort. It wasn't the kind of leaves that grew on the trees here, but some other kind.
"Well shiver me timbers." I muttered. "This has got to be one of the weirdest nights of my life." I shook my head and stuck the letter in my hoodie pocket and climbed the ladder. "And confusing."
I changed into my pj's and just lay in bed for a while, thinking over the day which was by no means a regular thing for me. After coming to the conclusion that Elves were a really puzzling race, I decided to at least try to sleep and hope that I wasn't plagued by nightmares.
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, as the saying goes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Faulkner: Songs in order of appearance: "Whisper" by Evanescence (I FINALLY burned the CD from a friend) and "Gollum's Song" from the Two Towers soundtrack. They're both kick ass songs, so I recommend listening to them. NOW! After reviewing though. But Tourniquet, Going Under, and Hello are actually my favorite Evanescence songs. Not necessarily in that order.
Pinky: ::rolls eyes:: Uh-huh.....
Faulkner: Quiet fool!
There was one about her healing abilities. While yes, her abilities are like the Elves, but kick in much faster, she is still susceptible to illness and scars. And while I do know that a few Elves have the power to heal others (Elrond and Galadriel to my knowledge, and probably some others that i'm forgetting) i'm not sure if ALL Elves can heal minor injuries such as scrapes and bruises. Tolkien wasn't to specific on this, and if he was, where the hell was I?
As to the particular time that this is taking place in relation to the LOTR trilogy and War of the Ring, this is roughly, ROUGHLY mind you, ten years before the Hobbits meet Strider in Bree. So Bilbo still has the Ring. Aragorn's mother has recently died, and Gandalf visits Frodo for the last time.
Oh, and Hanya, dun worry girl. We haven't seen the last of Cai! He'll be back later. And that reminds me of the California mayor thingy with Arnold S. What the HELL WERE THEY THINKING?!?!?!? You know the world has flipped it's lid when actors are taking over the government.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was past lunch-time. A couple of hours to be precise. But who's being precise? Preciseness is for the preps. Hey, that kinda rhymes! Never was too good at poetry, never could rhyme that well. But when i'm not trying to rhyme, I do! How twisted is that? Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Literally.
I was baking. Seriously, no lie. I was mixing dough. They didn't trust me enough to knead and shape it, so I was placed the task of stirring the stuff. It was not exactly the best job in the world. I would honestly rather be cutting vegetables than stirring bread. Beggars can't be choosers though, to quote somebody that I don't even know the name of.
Stirring. Like I said, not exactly the best job. My arms were tired. At this rate, I would have muscles the size of Shwarzeneggers by next week. Ain't that a thought. I would probably look like a girl version of Popeye, which isn't a very nice mental picture. I was funky enough looking already, didn't need meself to look any weirder.
One of the kitchen maids walked over to me and gestured towards the bowl I was stirring the dough up in. I took my big wooden spoon out (it seriously was big, big enough to hold at least a cup and a half of water) and gave her the bowl. She walked off to go knead the stuff that would soon be part of our supper. Cooking was sort of satisfying, but man, I wasn't cut out for it.
"Catch me as I fall
Say you're here and it's all over now
Speaking to the atmosphere
No one's here and I fall into myself
This truth drives me
Into madness
I know I can stop the pain
If I will it all away."
I was barely even singing. It was more like muttering to myself to a tune. Nevertheless, I was actually singing around a kitchenful of Elves. I truly had gone mad. I was singing to myself while working in a kitchen because I got in a fight in a wood in a world that wasn't even supposed to exist. Oh yeah, I was just lovin' this.
"Don't turn away
(Don't give in to the pain)
Don't try to hide
(Though they're screaming your name)
Don't close your eyes
(God knows what lies behind them)
Don't turn out the light
(Never sleep, never die)"
In the morning all this madness would be over and I would wakeup in the room I shared with Nattie and hear her whining about the crappy food at the Institute and how she wanted her Bubby and blah blah blah. But it would be disappointing if I did wakeup tomorrow and find out that this had all been a dream. Life threw me the screwiest curve balls that not even Gonzalez could hit. And he was a pretty damn good baseball player.
"I'm frightened by what I see
But somehow I know
That there's much more to come
Immobilized by my fear
And soon to be
Blinded by tears
I can stop the pain
If I will it all away"
I wonder how the Elves would react if they found themselves one day in the Institute. I would love to see their faces if that happened. They really would be thought crazy if they told the orderlies that they were immortal Elves. 'And i'm Tinkerbell' one of the orderlies would say back, or something to that affect. It would really crack me up. But I wouldn't wish them to reaally be stuck there.
"Don't turn away
(Don't give in to the pain)
Don't try to hide
(Though they're screaming your name)
Don't close your eyes
(God knows what lies behind them)
Don't turn out the light
(Never sleep, never die)"
I redoubled my efforts and stirred harder. My arms were turning into grape jelly. I had a feeling that they would be practically useless tomorrow, which wouldn't be a good thing under any circumstances. For one, Haldir would be pissed at my lack of strength and that would just prove to him that I was a weakling. There would go all my hard work, kaput! Right out the blasted window. Metaphorically speaking of course, since the only windows around here were in the flets in the trees.
"Fallen angels at my feet
Whispered voices at my ear
Death before my eyes
Lying next to me I fear
She beckons me
Shall I give in
Upon my end shall I begin
Forsaking all I've fallen for
I rise to meet my end."
I wonder what Taylin would think of my position. He'd probably laugh himself to tears until the orderlies came along and strapped him to the bed and left him there for awhile. That kinda irked me, knowing that he would just laugh and not really give any serious thought to it. But that was how he operated, so to speak. Taylin Dean couldn't be serious until it stared him dead in the face.
"Don't turn away
(Don't give in to the pain)
Don't try to hide
(Though they're screaming your name)
Don't close your eyes
(God knows what lies behind them)
Don't turn out the light
(Never sleep, never die)"
One of the workers came and took my bowl and gave me a funny look before returning to where she came from. Another one then stuck another bowl full of ingredients ready to be stirred and also gave me a funny look before leaving me to my work. Ah, the little sneaks must have heard me. Figures. Unfair advantages just aren't fair. Makes almost no sense, huh?
But if things made sense, then life wasn't any interesting. The joy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I was shuffling my deck for the tenth time tonight. I was confined to my room for a whole month as well as part of my punishment. I was only allowed to leave for lessons, supper (I took lunch and breakfast at my flet cause of the whole training gig), and leaving to go to the kitchens.
Problems again, though. I didn't want to fall asleep. The memory of my last dream had come down on me unexpectedly when I had at last returned. I was scared half to death about meeting Him again. It wasn't an ecounter that I particularly relished. He was the only man that I couldn't help but fear. You would too if you met the guy, even in a dream.
"Well fuck it!" I swore softly. "Screw punishments. When have I ever listened to them? I need out!"
I slammed the deck on my table and grabbed my hoodie off its hook next to the door and put it on. I was going out, and it was a little nippy outside. I figured it must be nearing Fall or something. And it was only just turned Summer back at the Institute. Huh, different dimension, different seasons, different everything.
I nearly flew down the steps and jogged towards the clearing that I usually met Orophin at in the mornings. It was a lovely clearing and from what I understood, not visited too often. Also it had a little more holes in the canopy than any other place I had seen. Maybe I would be able to see the stars. I rarely ever got to see the stars, especially when the sky was distorted by pollution.
I looked up and could see some of the stars, barely a dozen. I wanted to see more of them though. I was feeling rather bold tonight I guess, so I started to climb one of the great trees with smooth bark. I had forgotten what they were called.
I scrambled up the tree, getting a couple of scrapes that disappeared in a matter of a minute or so, towards the top. And ever so slowly as I got farther and farther towards the top, the trunk got a little thinner, but the foliage thicker. It felt like forever to me, climbing up it. It might have been for all I cared.
And then suddenly I was at the top. I could tell the one I was in was one of the smaller ones. The air was in my face and bit into my skin with the sharp cold of it all. Lothlorien was spread out before me and I could see the great trees climbing up the little valley the city was held in. To my right was the shadow of a mountain range that looked a little bit threatening, but I paid it no mind.
All Heaven's Field was above me and the stars reminded me of little crystals in the sky. It was gorgeous. I may have been a tough little cookie, but I could still enjoy the finer things in life like star-gazing. After all, everybody needed a little beauty in their life, even in mine.
I cocked my head to the right a little and smiled. I felt peaceful for a change. It felt nice. So I found a comfortable (as comfortable as one could be in a tree without being a monkey) limb and laid down. A few leaves obstructed my vision but overall I could see the sky perfectly.
"Where once was light
Now darkness falls
Where once was love
Love is no more
Don't say - goodbye
Don't say - I didn't try....
These tears we cry
Are falling rain
For all the lies
You told us
The hurt, the blame!"
I subconciously rubbed my knuckles, remembering the craziness that had took me that night and nearly made me maim myself.
"And we will weep
To be so alone
We are lost!
We can never go home
So in the end
I will be - what I will be
No loyal friend
Was ever there for me
Now we say - goodbye
We say - you didn't try
These tears you cry
Have come too late
Take back the lies
The hurt, the blame!
And you will weep
When you face the end alone
You are lost!
You can never go home."
I sighed and half-closed my eyes. I was starting to feel just the tiniest bit drowsy, but I wasn't going to fall into the deceivingly comfortable lull that was sleepiness. No way, not me, not tonight. I would stay up all night if I had to.
"Such melancholy for one so young. Haldir was right, you are a puzzle."
I sat straight up and nearly fell off my branch if I hadn't caught myself in time. I looked around wildly for the sly dog that had snuck up on me and hoped I could get out of possibly more trouble. A shadowy form extracted itself from the leaves and limbs that had so sufficiently hid him.
"Forgive me, milady. I had no intention to startle you so." Well, if it wasn't the love interest. Just wonderful. Here comes the part where he whistles for Haldir and I get a good yelling at and will probably be dragged away to my flet by my ear. I had had that happen once, and let me tell you something. Being pulled by the ear doesn't feel particularly good. In fact, it hurts like a bitch.
"Uh, yeah, it's okay." I said. Bloody meddling Princes. There always there, whether you need them or not.
"May I ask as to why you are out at this time of night? I seem to remember that you were confined to your quarters for a month." he cocked an eyebrow andd looked at me questioningly.
"Yeah, um, well.... I couldn't sleep." I nervously scratched the back of my head and sat up straight on my branch.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah." Why did he make me feel so nervous? Only Haldir could do this to me, and only when he was in a certain mood that I really couldn't put a name to.
We just stared at each other for a bit before I started to climb back down the tree. He wordlessly followed me and seemed a lot more at home in the trees than I did. Damn Elves and their grace. Just ain't fair, I tell ya!
I hopped off the last branch and landed fairly well if I do say so myself. Certainly not with the same grace that Legolas had, but I did do a good job and didn't embarass myself too bad. I started back to my flet, and he was STILL following me. Was he like turning stalker or something? Or did he not trust me to head back to my flet without a chaperone? Figures, don't trust the foreign kid that can barely speak English correctly, let alone Elvish. Why me?!
I started up my ladder when his hand stopped me. I turned around a faced him. Was he going to lecture me now or something? Was now the time to beg for mercy?
"Narya, would you do me a favor?" Well, that was unexpected. I just nodded dumbly. "Could you give this to Haldir?" He pulled a letter, sealed with wax, from some hidden pocket and held it out for me to take.
"Pardon my stupidity, but why can't you give it to him?" I asked, while taking the letter.
"Because my companions and myself are leaving for Mirkwood. We have done our job. Besides, if you do this for me, I shall not tell him or the Lady about your little 'escapade'." And with that, he disappeared among the trees and their little paths. I stared down at the letter and noted that the wax had an imprint of a leaf of some sort. It wasn't the kind of leaves that grew on the trees here, but some other kind.
"Well shiver me timbers." I muttered. "This has got to be one of the weirdest nights of my life." I shook my head and stuck the letter in my hoodie pocket and climbed the ladder. "And confusing."
I changed into my pj's and just lay in bed for a while, thinking over the day which was by no means a regular thing for me. After coming to the conclusion that Elves were a really puzzling race, I decided to at least try to sleep and hope that I wasn't plagued by nightmares.
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, as the saying goes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Faulkner: Songs in order of appearance: "Whisper" by Evanescence (I FINALLY burned the CD from a friend) and "Gollum's Song" from the Two Towers soundtrack. They're both kick ass songs, so I recommend listening to them. NOW! After reviewing though. But Tourniquet, Going Under, and Hello are actually my favorite Evanescence songs. Not necessarily in that order.
Pinky: ::rolls eyes:: Uh-huh.....
Faulkner: Quiet fool!