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Chapter 3
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"Should we trust her? We barely know this girl." I asked to Rannyn.
"I don't think we have a choice, but we will be careful." He answered back.
Eleveth was new to Minas Tirith. Her parents moved from the rural country of Rohan to the city, hoping life will become better for them.
She ran, leading us from the wall to deep inside the city. Buildings became more cramped and shadows began to close in. Being the youngest, I fell a few feet behind, running as fast as my legs could take. "Come on, Eldarion. It's not far." Eleveth urged.
We all took a right turn to an abandoned alley away from the busy crowd. Trash was littered all over the ground until we met a dead end. "Here it is."
Rannyn and my eyes scanned the area. There were no doors, just three surrounding walls that bared no windows or a hint of stairs to climb over. Eleveth stood proudly before our confused faces.
"I don't see anything." Rannyn explained to her.
"Of course you don't...that's what makes it great!"
"Makes what great?" I asked, getting impatient.
She noticed the sound of my angered voice and giggled. Her laughter was so soft to my ears. "Watch this."
She ran her dirty fingers on the wall in front of us as if she was looking for something. Being satisfied, she dug her nails in the cracks of a grey block and pulled forcefully. Suddenly, it popped out and fell on the ground with a low thud.
My mouth dropped, astonished of her strength. Those blocks were at least as tall as me, if it stood vertically, and took three strong men to lift just one up with difficultly.
"Well would you look at that! It's a brick made from a brick!" Rannyn laughed, picking the fallen piece from the ground. Apparently, it took a sharp eye to discover that more than half the blocks, from the floor to the middle of the wall had cracks in them, all forming small bricks. The exact same size used to build a house.
I walked closer to the wall and peeked inside the small rectangular hole. Hundreds of acres rolled before my eyes as I saw shades of tan and green colors of the grass below the late afternoon sun. Wildlife flustered out there and I was anxious to explore.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I asked, getting excited. I reached for a brick to make the hole bigger when Eleveth slapped my hand. It tingled and I wanted to push her down for the pain. "Why did you do that?!"
"I think we should wait until the morning comes." She replied.
Rannyn shook his head in agreement. "Yes, it's getting late...tomorrow morning, here."
We all promised to return and started to head home. Half way to the garden, Eleveth waved goodbye and promised to tell us later how she found the secret wall.
The sun settled quietly behind the depths of Mordor when Rannyn and I reached inside the palace. It was dark and we had to be careful not to allow someone discover us. A tree hugged itself to the outside part of the garden's wall. A perfect way of entering inside. Rannyn climbed quietly as a cat up the roots. Then finally he reached the top of the wall and a hand dangled for mine.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me up with him. Then he jumped over the side, missing a garden bush by mere inches. Since light was scarce at this time of night, I didn't notice the green nuisance and eventually jumped on top of it, thorns piercing my bare skin. Rannyn uncontrollably laughed silently as he carefully pulled me out, twigs and bits of leaves clinging to wavy hair.
Not knowing someone was nearby; we made an attempt to run into the palace quietly to our bedrooms. When Rannyn and I got ready to jolt at top speed, we felt two strong, callused hands grabbed our shirts, pulling us back with a sudden jerk.
We managed to pull away from the grasp, and I looked up to find out it was my father, Aragorn. His face showed of age, and more grey hair appeared than I remembered. His scared hands were on his hips, looking a bit angry and disappointed. "Eldarion, what are you doing?"
I stared at the ground not daring to look in his eyes. My left foot made a circular motion, stirring up the dirt around me. Nervousness erupted inside my stomach, scared to talk.
"We were simply playing in the garden." Rannyn explained. "We didn't see you."
Aragorn was quiet, his eyes glaringly down. He didn't believe us. "And what were you two doing on top of the wall?"
Rannyn smiled and replied "Just playing on it."
I tilted my head and watched him look at me. "Did you go over it, Eldarion?"
I swallowed hard, a lump forming in my throat and my tongue dry as ever. I didn't want to lie but then I didn't want to get into trouble. Finally, I sighed and mumbled "Yes, sir."
He exhaled slowly, glad that I confessed. "I don't want you here by yourselves after daylight, do you understand?"
We both agreed and were sent to our rooms. I was crushed and worried that I would never get to see the woods and also, I was hungry. Somehow I had to get to the trees. Slowly my eyes closed thinking of Eleveth as I fell into a deep sleep and dreamed of a plan.
Chapter 3
-=-=-=-=-=-
"Should we trust her? We barely know this girl." I asked to Rannyn.
"I don't think we have a choice, but we will be careful." He answered back.
Eleveth was new to Minas Tirith. Her parents moved from the rural country of Rohan to the city, hoping life will become better for them.
She ran, leading us from the wall to deep inside the city. Buildings became more cramped and shadows began to close in. Being the youngest, I fell a few feet behind, running as fast as my legs could take. "Come on, Eldarion. It's not far." Eleveth urged.
We all took a right turn to an abandoned alley away from the busy crowd. Trash was littered all over the ground until we met a dead end. "Here it is."
Rannyn and my eyes scanned the area. There were no doors, just three surrounding walls that bared no windows or a hint of stairs to climb over. Eleveth stood proudly before our confused faces.
"I don't see anything." Rannyn explained to her.
"Of course you don't...that's what makes it great!"
"Makes what great?" I asked, getting impatient.
She noticed the sound of my angered voice and giggled. Her laughter was so soft to my ears. "Watch this."
She ran her dirty fingers on the wall in front of us as if she was looking for something. Being satisfied, she dug her nails in the cracks of a grey block and pulled forcefully. Suddenly, it popped out and fell on the ground with a low thud.
My mouth dropped, astonished of her strength. Those blocks were at least as tall as me, if it stood vertically, and took three strong men to lift just one up with difficultly.
"Well would you look at that! It's a brick made from a brick!" Rannyn laughed, picking the fallen piece from the ground. Apparently, it took a sharp eye to discover that more than half the blocks, from the floor to the middle of the wall had cracks in them, all forming small bricks. The exact same size used to build a house.
I walked closer to the wall and peeked inside the small rectangular hole. Hundreds of acres rolled before my eyes as I saw shades of tan and green colors of the grass below the late afternoon sun. Wildlife flustered out there and I was anxious to explore.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I asked, getting excited. I reached for a brick to make the hole bigger when Eleveth slapped my hand. It tingled and I wanted to push her down for the pain. "Why did you do that?!"
"I think we should wait until the morning comes." She replied.
Rannyn shook his head in agreement. "Yes, it's getting late...tomorrow morning, here."
We all promised to return and started to head home. Half way to the garden, Eleveth waved goodbye and promised to tell us later how she found the secret wall.
The sun settled quietly behind the depths of Mordor when Rannyn and I reached inside the palace. It was dark and we had to be careful not to allow someone discover us. A tree hugged itself to the outside part of the garden's wall. A perfect way of entering inside. Rannyn climbed quietly as a cat up the roots. Then finally he reached the top of the wall and a hand dangled for mine.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me up with him. Then he jumped over the side, missing a garden bush by mere inches. Since light was scarce at this time of night, I didn't notice the green nuisance and eventually jumped on top of it, thorns piercing my bare skin. Rannyn uncontrollably laughed silently as he carefully pulled me out, twigs and bits of leaves clinging to wavy hair.
Not knowing someone was nearby; we made an attempt to run into the palace quietly to our bedrooms. When Rannyn and I got ready to jolt at top speed, we felt two strong, callused hands grabbed our shirts, pulling us back with a sudden jerk.
We managed to pull away from the grasp, and I looked up to find out it was my father, Aragorn. His face showed of age, and more grey hair appeared than I remembered. His scared hands were on his hips, looking a bit angry and disappointed. "Eldarion, what are you doing?"
I stared at the ground not daring to look in his eyes. My left foot made a circular motion, stirring up the dirt around me. Nervousness erupted inside my stomach, scared to talk.
"We were simply playing in the garden." Rannyn explained. "We didn't see you."
Aragorn was quiet, his eyes glaringly down. He didn't believe us. "And what were you two doing on top of the wall?"
Rannyn smiled and replied "Just playing on it."
I tilted my head and watched him look at me. "Did you go over it, Eldarion?"
I swallowed hard, a lump forming in my throat and my tongue dry as ever. I didn't want to lie but then I didn't want to get into trouble. Finally, I sighed and mumbled "Yes, sir."
He exhaled slowly, glad that I confessed. "I don't want you here by yourselves after daylight, do you understand?"
We both agreed and were sent to our rooms. I was crushed and worried that I would never get to see the woods and also, I was hungry. Somehow I had to get to the trees. Slowly my eyes closed thinking of Eleveth as I fell into a deep sleep and dreamed of a plan.