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A/N: This is short, but don't worry; I'll add the next chapter, too! And prepare to be surprised. Read on!
Chapter 26- Oh, the Tangled Webs We Weave...
And it seemed that it was. Forest and the reserve squad were more than happy to assist, and they made plans. Plans! It seemed like their were endless plans: plans for the army, plans for the teens, plans that involved just Rosellyn herself. But they had to be made, and they had to be good. They hadn't approached the actual body of the army, yet; they still weren't sure they would be listened to.
Rose was nearly tearing her hair out in frustration; every day that they put it off, the more danger Ellie and Meira had to go through. The soldiers had a saying: "The hardest part of battle is waiting." And so it was.
Rose, Legolas, and Forest were volunteered to go actually talk to the bulk of the army. The logic was that they were the first and foremost in plotting this; it should be them that talked. Rose was more than happy to, as was Legolas, but Forest took some convincing, as did Tracie when she demanded to go along as well. It took all of Legolas' persuasive powers to keep Tracie out of the delegation. But Tracie was talking to her, now, and had gotten over her awkwardness during the extensive planning sessions. One night, the night that Rose was to address the army, Tracie was there, trying to alleviate her nervousness.
"Rosellyn, we could always talk to each other about anything, right? Anything at all? I mean, you know you can tell me anything, right? You told me about Legolas, and that took spine." Rose laughed. A forced, choked laugh, but it was a laugh.
"I didn't tell you about Legolas, you sort of figured that one out on your own." Tracie smiled, but then quickly sobered her demeanor.
"Well, I kept it a secret, didn't I? And I know I can trust you with anything, which is why I am right now." Tracie took a deep breath. "I can't tell this to Forest, because he's my brother, or Legolas. Rose...I think I'm in love." Rose looked at her, mentally urging her on when she paused. But she didn't look ready to go on.
"Well?" she said, "You can't just leave it at that! Who are you in love with? It's not Legolas, is it?" she asked, with a hint of warning. Tracie smiled and shook her head.
"I think I did love Legolas, once. But not anymore." Rose's jaw dropped.
"You loved Legolas?! After all that you've teased me?!" Tracie smiled.
"You would have suspected something if I hadn't. But it's not Legolas." She leaned in, eyes lit up. "Rose, I think I'm in love with Benvenue." For a few seconds, Rose just blinked stupidly. She couldn't have heard correctly.
"Ben-Benvenue Haltier?" she whispered hoarsely, a sort of croaking sound. Tracie looked desperate, and nodded furiously.
"Yes. The Man. Oh, please say you understand, Rosellyn, you have to! Forest would never let me within eyeshot of him, and Legolas...I'm not sure how he'd take it..."
"I'll tell you how he'd take it: he'd flip his top. But...giving up your immortality, Trace, that's a big step..." Tracie nodded miserably.
"I know, I know. I'd have to wait until I was older, but all the same...I love him, Rose, I know I do. I'd rather die with him than just watch him die while I just kept living. This is the real thing, I know it. Do you think he would ever love me?" Rosellyn found herself with an inner battle. -Della? What do you think I should do?- Della's advice on the subject, however, was lacking. ~Beats me.~ Should she tell Tracie about Benvenue's kiss? Did Benvenue really even love her, or was he just some Man dazzled by Elven immortality? Was Legolas right? No, she knew Legolas was wrong; Benvenue was a Ranger, he had honor. But what should she do about Tracie?
"Tracie, if he didn't love you, he'd be a fool. But still, think about what you're doing..." A knock at the door made her mouth go dry. This was it.
"Rosellyn? It's me, Forest. We need to go now." She rose, and was surprised to find that her legs weren't shaking as much as she thought they would. She was actually ready. If she could accomplish this tonight, she would never be afraid of anything again. Not the Riders, not confessing to Legolas, not even the Warlord. Not even death.
A/N: This is short, but don't worry; I'll add the next chapter, too! And prepare to be surprised. Read on!
Chapter 26- Oh, the Tangled Webs We Weave...
And it seemed that it was. Forest and the reserve squad were more than happy to assist, and they made plans. Plans! It seemed like their were endless plans: plans for the army, plans for the teens, plans that involved just Rosellyn herself. But they had to be made, and they had to be good. They hadn't approached the actual body of the army, yet; they still weren't sure they would be listened to.
Rose was nearly tearing her hair out in frustration; every day that they put it off, the more danger Ellie and Meira had to go through. The soldiers had a saying: "The hardest part of battle is waiting." And so it was.
Rose, Legolas, and Forest were volunteered to go actually talk to the bulk of the army. The logic was that they were the first and foremost in plotting this; it should be them that talked. Rose was more than happy to, as was Legolas, but Forest took some convincing, as did Tracie when she demanded to go along as well. It took all of Legolas' persuasive powers to keep Tracie out of the delegation. But Tracie was talking to her, now, and had gotten over her awkwardness during the extensive planning sessions. One night, the night that Rose was to address the army, Tracie was there, trying to alleviate her nervousness.
"Rosellyn, we could always talk to each other about anything, right? Anything at all? I mean, you know you can tell me anything, right? You told me about Legolas, and that took spine." Rose laughed. A forced, choked laugh, but it was a laugh.
"I didn't tell you about Legolas, you sort of figured that one out on your own." Tracie smiled, but then quickly sobered her demeanor.
"Well, I kept it a secret, didn't I? And I know I can trust you with anything, which is why I am right now." Tracie took a deep breath. "I can't tell this to Forest, because he's my brother, or Legolas. Rose...I think I'm in love." Rose looked at her, mentally urging her on when she paused. But she didn't look ready to go on.
"Well?" she said, "You can't just leave it at that! Who are you in love with? It's not Legolas, is it?" she asked, with a hint of warning. Tracie smiled and shook her head.
"I think I did love Legolas, once. But not anymore." Rose's jaw dropped.
"You loved Legolas?! After all that you've teased me?!" Tracie smiled.
"You would have suspected something if I hadn't. But it's not Legolas." She leaned in, eyes lit up. "Rose, I think I'm in love with Benvenue." For a few seconds, Rose just blinked stupidly. She couldn't have heard correctly.
"Ben-Benvenue Haltier?" she whispered hoarsely, a sort of croaking sound. Tracie looked desperate, and nodded furiously.
"Yes. The Man. Oh, please say you understand, Rosellyn, you have to! Forest would never let me within eyeshot of him, and Legolas...I'm not sure how he'd take it..."
"I'll tell you how he'd take it: he'd flip his top. But...giving up your immortality, Trace, that's a big step..." Tracie nodded miserably.
"I know, I know. I'd have to wait until I was older, but all the same...I love him, Rose, I know I do. I'd rather die with him than just watch him die while I just kept living. This is the real thing, I know it. Do you think he would ever love me?" Rosellyn found herself with an inner battle. -Della? What do you think I should do?- Della's advice on the subject, however, was lacking. ~Beats me.~ Should she tell Tracie about Benvenue's kiss? Did Benvenue really even love her, or was he just some Man dazzled by Elven immortality? Was Legolas right? No, she knew Legolas was wrong; Benvenue was a Ranger, he had honor. But what should she do about Tracie?
"Tracie, if he didn't love you, he'd be a fool. But still, think about what you're doing..." A knock at the door made her mouth go dry. This was it.
"Rosellyn? It's me, Forest. We need to go now." She rose, and was surprised to find that her legs weren't shaking as much as she thought they would. She was actually ready. If she could accomplish this tonight, she would never be afraid of anything again. Not the Riders, not confessing to Legolas, not even the Warlord. Not even death.