My first two chaps were rather short... hope this one is finally long enuff. :-)
Chapter Three: Infatuation
Frodo grimaced as he glanced out the kitchen window. The snowflakes were now nearly the size of teacups, and falling steadily, blown about by the wind. The air was so thick with snow that he could barely see where the snowy ground ended and the evening sky began.
As he took the teakettle from the kitchen hearth and filled it, he realized that he couldn't have found the girl at a better moment. She was human, surely, and most definitely not familiar with any of her surroundings, but he couldn't have left her there to freeze. He would have done the same for anyone. (Well, perhaps not Ted Sandyman).
All the same, Frodo was genuinely concerned about the matter of a human wandering into the woods in what he had discovered to be a (rather large) towel. She must have had clothing of some sort, mustn't she? And then there were the seemingly disembodied footprints, which made little sense to the baffled hobbit. Were they hers? Someone else's? Perhaps she'd been abandoned, or magicked into the tree......?
:: :: :: :: :: :: ::
Emily sat brooding in the tub, waiting for the tingling that always came from being seriously warmed after being cold to go away. Her whole body was numb. How long had she been in the snow?
Sinking more deeply into the almost scalding water (but Oh! it felt wonderful!), she was suddenly filled with a mass of thoughts, none of them very pleasant. She was alone, without any form of communication, and, horrifyingly, she was stark naked in a stranger's house. Of course, he hadn't even come close to seeing her so, yet she was still mortified.
He wasn't a stranger, though, not really. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, who had brought her inside, and that confirmed her whereabouts. So I'm not really lost, then.... Did being in a world that came from the pages of a book count as being "lost"?
And yet...everything around her screamed reality, even the water she was now sitting comfortably in. Her own body was real, unlike in her dreams.
She sat until the water went cold, then stepped shakily out of the tub, a large wooden barrel not unlike the ones she'd bobbed for apples in at Halloween, and picked up her towel in an attempt to dry herself off. To her dismay, it was caked in ice. She looked around the room and saw a little bundle of brown (was it terrycloth?) fabric. She assumed it was a pile of towels; if not, well, it would have to do. She dried herself and stood with it wrapped securely around herself, wondering what in the world she was going to wear.
There was a knock at the door, and Frodo stood politely in the doorway with a brown and white bundle. She blushed, as did he, although he very kindly averted his eyes. I'm wearing a towel!!! Don't look away!! Please don't look away! Emily mentally kicked herself. She could drool over him later.
"I, uh, brought you some clothes. I hope they'll fit?" Frodo said, laying the clothes on a chair.
Emily, staring at him, jumped. "Oh...um...yes, thank you."
Frodo smiled sheepishly and shut the door.
The bundle, to Emily's inexplicable delight, turned out to be an extra shirt and pair of breeches of Frodo's. She felt the fabric, hating herself for the wicked thoughts that spun around her already confused-enough brain.
His voice...she had been right. It had been him who had taken her out of the snow and filled a bath for her....and now she was wearing his clothes. She mentally kicked herself again. How could she even think this way? Her parents...she wanted them to know she was fine....of course, this was impossible. How would she get out? She didn't even know how she'd gotten in. Frodo had taken her in, given her his clothes, saved her life--
Emily's heart was pounding abnormally fast, and she didn't know if it was from nerves.
:: :: :: ::
A/N: I'm back!! hehehe I think all my updates will most likely be on Saturdays now. I spent a LONG time writing this, I hope you all enjoyed it :-) I sincerely hope that by next chapter all Frodo's (and Em's) questions will be answered...Curse these stupid writer's block thingies...stealing my plot ideas...grrr.
Reviews? ::gets down on knees and begs::
Chapter Three: Infatuation
Frodo grimaced as he glanced out the kitchen window. The snowflakes were now nearly the size of teacups, and falling steadily, blown about by the wind. The air was so thick with snow that he could barely see where the snowy ground ended and the evening sky began.
As he took the teakettle from the kitchen hearth and filled it, he realized that he couldn't have found the girl at a better moment. She was human, surely, and most definitely not familiar with any of her surroundings, but he couldn't have left her there to freeze. He would have done the same for anyone. (Well, perhaps not Ted Sandyman).
All the same, Frodo was genuinely concerned about the matter of a human wandering into the woods in what he had discovered to be a (rather large) towel. She must have had clothing of some sort, mustn't she? And then there were the seemingly disembodied footprints, which made little sense to the baffled hobbit. Were they hers? Someone else's? Perhaps she'd been abandoned, or magicked into the tree......?
:: :: :: :: :: :: ::
Emily sat brooding in the tub, waiting for the tingling that always came from being seriously warmed after being cold to go away. Her whole body was numb. How long had she been in the snow?
Sinking more deeply into the almost scalding water (but Oh! it felt wonderful!), she was suddenly filled with a mass of thoughts, none of them very pleasant. She was alone, without any form of communication, and, horrifyingly, she was stark naked in a stranger's house. Of course, he hadn't even come close to seeing her so, yet she was still mortified.
He wasn't a stranger, though, not really. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, who had brought her inside, and that confirmed her whereabouts. So I'm not really lost, then.... Did being in a world that came from the pages of a book count as being "lost"?
And yet...everything around her screamed reality, even the water she was now sitting comfortably in. Her own body was real, unlike in her dreams.
She sat until the water went cold, then stepped shakily out of the tub, a large wooden barrel not unlike the ones she'd bobbed for apples in at Halloween, and picked up her towel in an attempt to dry herself off. To her dismay, it was caked in ice. She looked around the room and saw a little bundle of brown (was it terrycloth?) fabric. She assumed it was a pile of towels; if not, well, it would have to do. She dried herself and stood with it wrapped securely around herself, wondering what in the world she was going to wear.
There was a knock at the door, and Frodo stood politely in the doorway with a brown and white bundle. She blushed, as did he, although he very kindly averted his eyes. I'm wearing a towel!!! Don't look away!! Please don't look away! Emily mentally kicked herself. She could drool over him later.
"I, uh, brought you some clothes. I hope they'll fit?" Frodo said, laying the clothes on a chair.
Emily, staring at him, jumped. "Oh...um...yes, thank you."
Frodo smiled sheepishly and shut the door.
The bundle, to Emily's inexplicable delight, turned out to be an extra shirt and pair of breeches of Frodo's. She felt the fabric, hating herself for the wicked thoughts that spun around her already confused-enough brain.
His voice...she had been right. It had been him who had taken her out of the snow and filled a bath for her....and now she was wearing his clothes. She mentally kicked herself again. How could she even think this way? Her parents...she wanted them to know she was fine....of course, this was impossible. How would she get out? She didn't even know how she'd gotten in. Frodo had taken her in, given her his clothes, saved her life--
Emily's heart was pounding abnormally fast, and she didn't know if it was from nerves.
:: :: :: ::
A/N: I'm back!! hehehe I think all my updates will most likely be on Saturdays now. I spent a LONG time writing this, I hope you all enjoyed it :-) I sincerely hope that by next chapter all Frodo's (and Em's) questions will be answered...Curse these stupid writer's block thingies...stealing my plot ideas...grrr.
Reviews? ::gets down on knees and begs::