*Disclaimer* ::looks at things I own:: Wouldn't you know it, no LotR...
A/N: Wow, I keep wanting to just keep adding; that would make ya'll happy, but I have to pace myself. So this is all you get today. Sorry! Read on!
Chapter 27- Confrontation
"Rosellyn, go first. This was your idea, so go on. We'll back you up." Delaney nodded silently, watching the Elves of the army eye her appraisingly. She stepped up in front of them, willing herself to breathe normally.
"Hello," she started feebly, "my name is Rosellyn Stillwater." They knew who she was; it was just a useless formality. "I know that some of you aren't happy about the way Awaren handled this entire war." Some nodded, some whispered to their neighbor, some remained stoically silent. "Well...we don't like it, either. We, as in the younger element. And for me, the kidnapping of my sisters clinched it. They might have been doing something they weren't supposed to be doing, but the lack of security was appalling. Not only were two young ones taken right from under our noses, but no one knew until the morning after, when they were paraded around like prizes!
"This does nothing to boost my confidence in our leaders. Myself and the others of the younger generation have been planning for quite awhile, now, plans we need your help to implement. With the help of my friends, Tracehelm Forestwood and Legolas Greenleaf, we'll outline these plans to you tonight, for your approval. Please, decide to help us, or my sisters' days may be numbered, as may those of Mirkwood."
There wasn't any applause, or anything, not that she was expecting it. She was asking them to as good as rebel against their leader; not something to be taken lightly. Forest stepped up and shuffled around some sheets of parchment and began to talk, outlining what they knew of the Rider's strength, and what this could mean for various attack schemes; close combat, pincer movements and so on...
Then Legolas came, with what they had planned; the plans for the main force, for the teens, for small groups. Sorties. That was the weird military name for them. Finally, Legolas finished and stepped down.
"We'd like your answer by tomorrow, at sunset." The Elves stood and slowly filed out the door without saying a word. Forest watched them go, then turned to Delaney once the room was empty.
"Wow. Catch me." Then he actually did fall, forcing Delaney to catch him. She laughed, but got knocked off balance.
"Whoa, whoa, help..." Legolas caught both of them and steadied her enough to let Forest go without hurting anyone. She was about to stand up (even though it was nice having Legolas hold her) when Forest kicked at her ankles, causing her to trip. Which, given her proximity to Legolas, caused him to trip as a consequence. Forest laughed himself sick at the sight of them, until Legolas shot out his arm and yanked on Forest's leg, pulling him down. Delaney, who had the bad fortune to be on the bottom of all this, pleaded for mercy.
"You two, could you please let me breathe?" Legolas laughed.
"Forest, we're suffocating the heroine of the hour!" Forest shrugged and did an elaborately exaggerated stretch.
"Well, I don't know, I'm just so comfortable right now--ow!" Delaney kicked him with all of her force--no mean feat with two boys on top of her.
"You're going to be a lot less comfortable in two seconds if you don't get off!" she grunted. Forest grinned and got up, dusting himself off. Legolas followed, helping her up. Forest stretched, for real this time.
"Well, that was fun. I have to go back, or Tracie is like to explode. Goodnight, you two." He walked out, and Delaney followed. Lately, it was getting harder for her to stay alone with Legolas. She caught up with Forest, and Legolas caught up with both of them, walking in the silent halls.
"Tell Tracie I said goodnight, too, okay? I'm going to--" she never said 'bed.' Benvenue stepped out and joined them. Legolas and Delaney both narrowed their eyes at him at the same time. This was the first time he had attempted to talk to her since the whole stupid scenario.
"Your speech was touching, miss Rosellyn. I myself shall rally your cause." She eyed him coldly. She didn't need his support.
"I'm afraid your support won't mean much, sir. But your concern was touching," said Legolas mockingly. Benvenue gave a cocky smile, but it slid when Legolas just gave him a cold look. Benvenue gave him back an equally cold one and walked off. Delaney signed. Males. Who knew why they did anything?
The next day, Rosellyn had woken up with a feeling of heaviness in her chest. By tonight, she would know if her sisters and Mirkwood would be saved, and the Riders sent soundly on their way, or if all would fall to ruin. The adults could see that, couldn't they? They just had to, they had to!
She had spent most of the morning by herself, and intended to remain that way until sunset, but Tracie had disturbed those plans by seeking her out on her favorite platform after the lunch Rosellyn had skipped, and Fia destroyed them completely by following. Hairbrush in hand.
"Rosellyn, whyever weren't you at lunch today?" she said, with poisoned sweetness, "Pellameliel and I sincerely missed your company," she smirked, taking a few swipes at her perfect hair with the brush. Rose scowled; Fia knew full well that Rose had stopped eating with the rest since Ellie and Meira had been taken. Just what she needed to make this day even more perfect.
"Fia, don't make me yank that hairbrush away and toss it in the water." Fia gave her a horrified look and clutched the item protectively to her chest. Apparently, this threat was a thrust way below the belt.
"Now really, that wasn't at all called for! Here I am, trying to send on my deepest sympathies, and all I--"
"Tell someone who cares," said Rose, cutting her off. Fia put her nose up even higher, if that was possible. Tracie, who had up until now stayed silent with her mouth hanging slightly open (Rose had forgotten that Tracie hadn't had much exposure to Fia), perked up right here.
"Hey, put your nose up any more and you better hope it doesn't rain; you might drown." Fia's eyes narrowed, and she examined this new threat, then tossed her head dismissively and turned back to Rose.
"Rosellyn, I must warn you about consorting with the wrong sort of Elf. Or maybe I should warn master Haltier?" she said, her eyes widening innocently. Rose's eyes widened as well, with shock.
How dare Fia bring that up in front of Tracie? Before she knew what she was doing, she jumped toward the snotty, stuck-up, no-decency girl and decked her a good one right on the eye. Fia shrieked and toppled over into the water. The girl knew how to swim; all the Elves here did.
"YOU!" yelled Rose, at the top of her voice, "Don't you ever talk about anything you don't understand, ever! If you ever mention Benvenue again, I'll kill you!" Tracie was looking slightly shell-shocked; of course, she had no idea what Fia was talking about. But Tracie's surprise was nothing compared to Fia; her perfect hair was sopping wet, a bruise rapidly swelling her left eye shut. The hairbrush had been lost in the fall.
"Ohhh," she wailed, "Ohhh, just look what you did, just look! My--my hair, and my eye, oh there's going to be a hideous bruise, isn't there...?" she continued to moan and cry. Rosellyn looked on coldly.
"Tracie, you can help her up if you want. But I never want to touch her again." It occured to her that she was being very cruel and callous, but she didn't care. She didn't care about anything that had to do with Fia. Knowing full well she would catch it later from Awaren, she ran inside and up to the room she shared, locking the door and the window, so no one could ever speak to her or hurt her, ever again.
A/N: Trust me; she's not kidding when she says she's going to catch it from Awaren. But you have to wait and find out!
A/N: Wow, I keep wanting to just keep adding; that would make ya'll happy, but I have to pace myself. So this is all you get today. Sorry! Read on!
Chapter 27- Confrontation
"Rosellyn, go first. This was your idea, so go on. We'll back you up." Delaney nodded silently, watching the Elves of the army eye her appraisingly. She stepped up in front of them, willing herself to breathe normally.
"Hello," she started feebly, "my name is Rosellyn Stillwater." They knew who she was; it was just a useless formality. "I know that some of you aren't happy about the way Awaren handled this entire war." Some nodded, some whispered to their neighbor, some remained stoically silent. "Well...we don't like it, either. We, as in the younger element. And for me, the kidnapping of my sisters clinched it. They might have been doing something they weren't supposed to be doing, but the lack of security was appalling. Not only were two young ones taken right from under our noses, but no one knew until the morning after, when they were paraded around like prizes!
"This does nothing to boost my confidence in our leaders. Myself and the others of the younger generation have been planning for quite awhile, now, plans we need your help to implement. With the help of my friends, Tracehelm Forestwood and Legolas Greenleaf, we'll outline these plans to you tonight, for your approval. Please, decide to help us, or my sisters' days may be numbered, as may those of Mirkwood."
There wasn't any applause, or anything, not that she was expecting it. She was asking them to as good as rebel against their leader; not something to be taken lightly. Forest stepped up and shuffled around some sheets of parchment and began to talk, outlining what they knew of the Rider's strength, and what this could mean for various attack schemes; close combat, pincer movements and so on...
Then Legolas came, with what they had planned; the plans for the main force, for the teens, for small groups. Sorties. That was the weird military name for them. Finally, Legolas finished and stepped down.
"We'd like your answer by tomorrow, at sunset." The Elves stood and slowly filed out the door without saying a word. Forest watched them go, then turned to Delaney once the room was empty.
"Wow. Catch me." Then he actually did fall, forcing Delaney to catch him. She laughed, but got knocked off balance.
"Whoa, whoa, help..." Legolas caught both of them and steadied her enough to let Forest go without hurting anyone. She was about to stand up (even though it was nice having Legolas hold her) when Forest kicked at her ankles, causing her to trip. Which, given her proximity to Legolas, caused him to trip as a consequence. Forest laughed himself sick at the sight of them, until Legolas shot out his arm and yanked on Forest's leg, pulling him down. Delaney, who had the bad fortune to be on the bottom of all this, pleaded for mercy.
"You two, could you please let me breathe?" Legolas laughed.
"Forest, we're suffocating the heroine of the hour!" Forest shrugged and did an elaborately exaggerated stretch.
"Well, I don't know, I'm just so comfortable right now--ow!" Delaney kicked him with all of her force--no mean feat with two boys on top of her.
"You're going to be a lot less comfortable in two seconds if you don't get off!" she grunted. Forest grinned and got up, dusting himself off. Legolas followed, helping her up. Forest stretched, for real this time.
"Well, that was fun. I have to go back, or Tracie is like to explode. Goodnight, you two." He walked out, and Delaney followed. Lately, it was getting harder for her to stay alone with Legolas. She caught up with Forest, and Legolas caught up with both of them, walking in the silent halls.
"Tell Tracie I said goodnight, too, okay? I'm going to--" she never said 'bed.' Benvenue stepped out and joined them. Legolas and Delaney both narrowed their eyes at him at the same time. This was the first time he had attempted to talk to her since the whole stupid scenario.
"Your speech was touching, miss Rosellyn. I myself shall rally your cause." She eyed him coldly. She didn't need his support.
"I'm afraid your support won't mean much, sir. But your concern was touching," said Legolas mockingly. Benvenue gave a cocky smile, but it slid when Legolas just gave him a cold look. Benvenue gave him back an equally cold one and walked off. Delaney signed. Males. Who knew why they did anything?
The next day, Rosellyn had woken up with a feeling of heaviness in her chest. By tonight, she would know if her sisters and Mirkwood would be saved, and the Riders sent soundly on their way, or if all would fall to ruin. The adults could see that, couldn't they? They just had to, they had to!
She had spent most of the morning by herself, and intended to remain that way until sunset, but Tracie had disturbed those plans by seeking her out on her favorite platform after the lunch Rosellyn had skipped, and Fia destroyed them completely by following. Hairbrush in hand.
"Rosellyn, whyever weren't you at lunch today?" she said, with poisoned sweetness, "Pellameliel and I sincerely missed your company," she smirked, taking a few swipes at her perfect hair with the brush. Rose scowled; Fia knew full well that Rose had stopped eating with the rest since Ellie and Meira had been taken. Just what she needed to make this day even more perfect.
"Fia, don't make me yank that hairbrush away and toss it in the water." Fia gave her a horrified look and clutched the item protectively to her chest. Apparently, this threat was a thrust way below the belt.
"Now really, that wasn't at all called for! Here I am, trying to send on my deepest sympathies, and all I--"
"Tell someone who cares," said Rose, cutting her off. Fia put her nose up even higher, if that was possible. Tracie, who had up until now stayed silent with her mouth hanging slightly open (Rose had forgotten that Tracie hadn't had much exposure to Fia), perked up right here.
"Hey, put your nose up any more and you better hope it doesn't rain; you might drown." Fia's eyes narrowed, and she examined this new threat, then tossed her head dismissively and turned back to Rose.
"Rosellyn, I must warn you about consorting with the wrong sort of Elf. Or maybe I should warn master Haltier?" she said, her eyes widening innocently. Rose's eyes widened as well, with shock.
How dare Fia bring that up in front of Tracie? Before she knew what she was doing, she jumped toward the snotty, stuck-up, no-decency girl and decked her a good one right on the eye. Fia shrieked and toppled over into the water. The girl knew how to swim; all the Elves here did.
"YOU!" yelled Rose, at the top of her voice, "Don't you ever talk about anything you don't understand, ever! If you ever mention Benvenue again, I'll kill you!" Tracie was looking slightly shell-shocked; of course, she had no idea what Fia was talking about. But Tracie's surprise was nothing compared to Fia; her perfect hair was sopping wet, a bruise rapidly swelling her left eye shut. The hairbrush had been lost in the fall.
"Ohhh," she wailed, "Ohhh, just look what you did, just look! My--my hair, and my eye, oh there's going to be a hideous bruise, isn't there...?" she continued to moan and cry. Rosellyn looked on coldly.
"Tracie, you can help her up if you want. But I never want to touch her again." It occured to her that she was being very cruel and callous, but she didn't care. She didn't care about anything that had to do with Fia. Knowing full well she would catch it later from Awaren, she ran inside and up to the room she shared, locking the door and the window, so no one could ever speak to her or hurt her, ever again.
A/N: Trust me; she's not kidding when she says she's going to catch it from Awaren. But you have to wait and find out!