A/N: Disclaimer, we DO NOT own Lord of the Rings.
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Chapter 15
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"Oh my goddess!" Shenaux gasped once they were back in their talan. "What possessed them to do that?"
Sinn was sitting on the floor of the platform completely shocked out of her wits. For a third time that day, she was speechless. At least Shenaux was able to get over her speechlessness quickly.
"That was the third time today that we were speechless." Sinn muttered.
"Yeah, but it was worth it." Shenaux sighed. "They were like GODS!" she giggled.
"But that wasn't supposed to happen! I didn't need to know what they looked liked naked! Sure, I daydreamed about him naked when we were on Earth, but I don't need to know!" Sinn protested. "The plan backfired on us, and I think that is what Giz and Oxana were planning."
As if just speaking the names of the two familiars was enough to summon them, the racoon and the owl entered the talan.
So, how did the plan go? Giz questioned.
Oxana gave a little sound that was similar to a sigh. Oh, it went of magnificently well. Then they all heard quiet giggles in their minds. When Haldir left the spring… She sighed again. Though, Legolas wasn't too shabby either.
Sinn and Shenaux were blushing again, just at the mere mention of the events had transpired brought to their memory of when the two Elves got out of the spring.
Giz groaned. You are telling me that they didn't beg? That they just got out of the spring and grabbed their clothes from you?
Sinn nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what they did! Why did they do it? Have they no shame?"
Whoa, Sinn, calm down. Giz said backing up slightly. So the plan backfired. But the good part is having Oxana witness it. You could bug them for months on end because of that.
"I don't think I can ever face either of them again!" Shenaux and Sinn exclaimed miserably. "That moment was too embarrassing!" Shenaux added.
Don't you think that it would be a tad more embarrassing to them then to you? Oxana pointed out, putting away her daydreams to help their mistresses.
"Not when they think, and announced loudly to all, that it was a plan of ours just to see them naked." Sinn grumbled. "You assured us that they wouldn't do that and would beg for their clothes, nothing more. All I wanted to do was put a little dent in their pride as payback for the teasing on the mountain and then again when the both of them laughed at our phobia."
Shenaux sniffed. "And I was just getting to be friends with Haldir and we had to go and do this." She sighed. "Oh well. Maybe if we hurry, we can turn back and go back to Rivendell."
"That is not an option ladies." A gentle, familiar voice said from the doorway of the talan.
Gasping in shock and surprise, Sinn and Shenaux quickly looked up and their eyes met those of two blond-haired, blue-eyed Elves. Quickly, the two mortal women averted their eyes, a flush on their cheeks.
"W…what are you doing here?" Shenaux asked, cringing when she heard her voice wavered.
"We wanted to come and talk with you two. And to apologise." Haldir said, trying to get one of the women to look up at him, but was failing miserably.
"We heard your conversation." Legolas announced. He got them to look up at them with that one statement. "I am sorry that we embarrassed you. It wasn't our intention… well not totally anyway. I didn't expect the others to hear us or even be there."
"We shouldn't have done what we did." Sinn said, once again looking at the floor. She couldn't look at either of them now without the memory of them naked popping into her mind.
"How about we all just forget about what happened?" Haldir suggested. "We're all adults here, so we really shouldn't let this little episode bother us."
"Better said then done." Shenaux muttered to herself, unfortunately for her, everyone in the talan heard her. "How can you forget the naked bodies of two gorgeous Elves?"
"Thank you for thinking us gorgeous Shenaux." Legolas grinned when her face went red. "Are we all still friends?" He asked, trying to catch the eyes of the mortals.
Sinn and Shenaux looked at each other and shrugged. Why not? If the earlier event didn't bother the two Elves then it shouldn't bother them. Besides, it went against their grain to let little things like this bother them. If it ever gets to teasing, they will joke about the event.
Finally the two looked up and met the eyes of the Elves. They didn't see any teasing glint in them, only happiness that the two young women still wanted to be friends.
"Great." Haldir said. "Now, I do believe that Lady Galadriel wants to see you two." He grinned sheepishly. "That's another reason why we're here."
"I knew there was an alternate motive." Sinn smiled at the two.
"There always is Sinn." Legolas chuckled. "And before Shenaux asks it, Lady Galadriel wants to speak with you about entertainment for tonight's feast."
"Why us?" Shenaux asked, not too pleased about not being able to ask her earlier question. Shenaux lived to ask questions.
"Well, she has heard of your singing. And it didn't help matters much when rumour of you two singing the song of Nimrodel earlier."
"But, but, but…" Sinn began to protest. "We can't sing in front of other people."
"Whoa, déjà vu." Shenaux said as she looked at Sinn. "Didn't you say that earlier this morning?"
Sinn frowned. "Probably." She shook her head. "But back to us singing in front of many Elves…" she trailed off.
"N.O." Shenaux said. "We can't do it! We're too shy! We're not singing. Uh-uh. No way. Nope. Sorry. Nay. No…" She trailed off when she saw that the Lady of Light entered the talan.
"Would you do us the honour of singing tonight at the feast?" Galadriel asked.
"Uh…" Sinn and Shenaux said as they stared at the Lady of Light unsure of what their answer should be.
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Legolas and Haldir joined the other members of the Fellowship with wide grins on their faces. Both Elves refused to say anything as they waited for their friends' reactions.
"Okay, I'll bite." Pippin said as he put down the apple he was munching on. "Why are you two so happy? Are you back in the ladies' good graces?" He asked the last part with a teasing glint in his eyes.
Haldir looked over at Legolas. "Are we back in their good graces?"
Legolas shrugged. "I believe we were until Lady Galadriel came in and interrupted us."
This caught everybody's attention. Pippin and Merry's especially. Aragorn, whom was talking with Boromir, looked up in surprise at the words coming out of the Elves' mouths. Boromir looked up appalled that they would come out and brag to all about what happened. Gimli looked on with humour in his eyes. He didn't believe that the two young mortal women would actually let anything happen, and this conversation seemed to be heading in a direction that would make his two Elf friends extremely uncomfortable. Frodo and Sam looked on in interest. Not for gossip, but to see if everyone's suspicions were true about the two women and the two Elves. Merry and Pippin looked on with only mischievous intent.
"Lady Galadriel 'interrupted' you four?" Merry asked.
"What were you doing?" Pippin grinned.
It took a moment for the two Elves to think back over the conversation that they had just had, and the words spoken. Then it took another moment for the reactions of their friends to these words to clue in. Immediately, both of the Elves began to blush faintly.
"No! Not that!" Legolas denied. "I believe that you misunderstood. We are friends again. And nothing happened."
"When Legolas said that Lady Galadriel interrupted us, he meant that she interrupted the conversation we were having." Haldir hastily explained. "The Lady wishes for Sinn and Shenaux to sing at dinner tonight."
Everyone's faces went back into their normal passive expressions. All, that is but Merry and Pippin. Their faces fell for their entertainment was over.
"What did Sinn and Shenaux say?" Frodo asked softly.
"Well, when we first brought it up they protested. I believe Shenaux was trying to think of every word you could say for no in the Common tongue." Legolas chuckled.
"But what was their answer?" Sam inquired again.
"They kicked us out before we heard it." Haldir admitted.
"Heard what?" Sinn asked as she and Shenaux came up behind the group of men.
"Your answer to Lady Galadriel's question." Legolas explained.
"Oh, that." Shenaux said in a dismissive tone. "Just forget about that request. We told her we didn't want to do it, so we're not."
Sinn rolled her eyes. "Well, we're off for a walk. We'll see you all at dinner." Linking her arm with Shenaux' the two women walked away.
Once the two women figured they were out of earshot of the two Elves, Shenaux looked to Sinn anxiously.
"What are we going to do now?" She asked as they stopped in front of many of the tall trees that inhabited Lothlórien.
"What are you talking about Shenaux?" Sinn asked confused.
"I'm talking about us just lying to our travel companions! We didn't tell Galadriel no."
"Not directly no. We said we couldn't sing tonight, though I am still wondering why she would want us to sing considering the Elves have much better singing voices than us, but that's besides the point. What I am trying to say is that we didn't exactly lie to them. We aren't singing tonight, but later on in the week once we get our songs figured out. They just don't need to know that we are singing." She frowned. "Did any of that make any sense?"
Shenaux paused and thought over Sinn's lecture and frowned. "I think so."
Sinn sighed and then flopped unladylike onto the ground at the base of the trunk of the tree. "What are we going to do? I have absolutely no idea what song I am going to sing. Do I know any songs that are about confusion?"
"I don't think so." Shenaux said as she joined her friend on the ground. "We're screwed aren't we?"
"Royally."
The two sighed simultaneously and leaned back against the trunk. The two women flew backward not expecting air to meet their backs. Instead of the trunk that was there a moment ago, there was a door with stairs leading down into the ground.
Lying on their backs looking up at the hollowed out trunk the girls blinked in surprise.
"Um…" Sinn said. "What just happened?"
"You're asking me?" Shenaux said as she rolled onto her stomach and then climbed to her feet. "Want to follow the stairs?"
"As long as I don't have to follow the white rabbit, I'm fine." Sinn said as she got to her feet also.
Grinning like fools, the two women descended the steps, not thinking that there might be danger at the bottom. It would be just their luck if there were an enemy at the bottom, for they don't have their weapons with them.
But luckily for the two of them, the only thing they found at the bottom was a very large stash of gold, silver, and little odds and ends of weapons and armour. It seems that the women have found the cache of the fruits of Giz and Oxana's little side adventures.
"Should we grab what we can and bring them to the others?" Sinn asked.
"Or do we just leave it here and bring the others to pick out their things?" Shenaux asked.
"Decisions, decisions." Sinn said.
"We bring the others here." Shenaux said with Sinn, simultaneously.
With their minds made up, the two walked back up the stairs and went in search of the others, once they closed the door again and marking the tree by tying a strip of the dress on one of the branches.
Following the trail they left themselves when they were walking to the tree, they went in search of their Companions. The first place they looked was where they left them the first place.
Nobody was there. And there was no trace of anyone being there. That might have been all right if it was just the Elves that were there, but no. There were four Hobbits, two Men and one Dwarf along with the two Elves. Something was up.
"Are we lost?" Sinn asked her friend.
"It's a possibility." Shenaux told her. "You know us and our sense of direction. Even with a map, we always get lost."
"It would be funny if it wasn't true." Sinn replied, hanging her head in shame. "So, what do we do now? Stay in one spot for someone to find us, or to keep on going and getting more lost?"
"The smart thing to do is to stay here and wait and hope for someone to find us." Shenaux said in a thoughtful tone.
"So, we go on and get more lost then?"
"Right. Let's go."
So, needless to say, Sinn and Shenaux kept on walking and got themselves more than lost. They walked right into danger. Not the brightest thing either of them has ever done.
As they walked, they neared the edge of Lothlórien where the Uruk-hai were noted of passing there as they tried to follow the Fellowship.
Being totally oblivious to the dangers that were surrounding them, the two mortals walked along in their ignorance, trying to find out where they were.
The animals in the woods became quiet and no other sound was made but their breathing and soft steps. Suddenly, both women got the feeling of being watched and they stopped.
"Uh, Sinn, do you feel that?" Shenaux asked her friend.
"You mean the sensation of being watched?" Sinn inquired. "Yeah, I feel it. But, I'm more worried about the no noise factor."
"I'm a little worried about that too. Why does it feel like I'm forgetting something?"
"Because you're most likely are forgetting something."
Before Shenaux could reply, the ugly monsters showed themselves as they surrounded the two helpless women.
"Oh shit!" Sinn hissed.
"And our weapons are in our talan." Shenaux cursed under her breath. "And I very much doubt it that our martial arts training will be much help against these monsters."
"We need help." Sinn agreed with Shenaux' assessment of the situation.
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Lady Galadriel was looking in her mirror as she watched the comings and goings of the creatures in her forest and beyond the borders of Lórien. Her eyes widened in shock and she gasped in horror at one area where she watched the two mortal women readying themselves for a losing battle. She had to prevent their deaths, they have yet to complete their appointed task.
Quickly she sent her thoughts to the guards of Lórien to tell them that they have to save these to mortal women, and to hurry for they are soon to be in great danger.
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"Have you seen Sinn and Shenaux lately?" Boromir questioned his travelling companions.
"Not since they left earlier today, why?" Gimli asked as he looked up from polishing his axes.
"Well, I'm kind of worried. They do have this tendency to get into mischief when they are alone together with no one around to watch them."
"You don't think they could get lost, now do you?" Aragorn asked, chuckling slightly.
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if they had gotten lost." Sam said. "I have seen them walking around Lothlórien. Their sense of direction is really off."
"I am afraid that I agree with Sam." Frodo said softly. "We should begin to check around."
"The guards here in Lórien won't let them leave the borders." Haldir said. "We haven't been getting any reports about intruders lately. The two women are safe."
"You don't know them like we do Haldir." Legolas said, a slight frown marred his features. "They should have been back by now. I am beginning to worry slightly."
Legolas' comment made everyone else begin to worry about the disappearance of their two, naive female companions.
By the time another hour had passed, all nine men were extremely worried. It was nearing nightfall and Shenaux and Sinn should have been back an hour ago. Aragorn and Boromir were pacing back and forth in the clearing while Haldir and Legolas were up in the tree's looking for any sign of the two women. The Hobbits were sitting at the base of a tree with Gimli as they tried to think of what could have happened to the two.
It was another thirty minutes when they finally heard a call from Legolas and Haldir. "They are coming." Legolas' voice called down to them.
The Hobbits scrambled to their feet to wait for their approach. Just as Legolas and Haldir jumped down from the tree they were in, Sinn and Shenaux entered the clearing with five Lórien Elves. All seven of them were covered in a black blood.
"Sinn!" Merry exclaimed in alarm. "Why are you covered in blood? What happened?" the small Hobbit demanded of his friend.
"Shenaux!" Pippin exclaimed with his eyes wide in horror. "You're not hurt are you? What happened to you two?"
Before the two women could open their mouths in reply, Aragorn and Boromir strode up to the two women and Aragorn grabbed Shenaux' arms while Boromir grabbed Sinn's arms.
"Where the hell were you!?" Aragorn demanded as he began to shake Shenaux as he sprouted off more questions, but they were lost in Boromir's shouts at Sinn.
"What the hell happened? You had us worried sick! Where were you? You could have died! What possessed you to wander around the forest alone? You're lucky you weren't killed! Explain yourself!" Boromir yelled at both Sinn and Shenaux, but presently was just shaking Sinn, Shenaux was still being shaken by Aragorn.
The two women looked up at Aragorn and Boromir with wide eyes, then they looked at each other and then their bottom lips began to quiver. Looking back at the two angry men before them, tears gathered in their eyes and they began to sob.
Aragorn and Boromir jumped back from them as if they were burned and they looked at the sobbing women in shock.
"I... I didn't mean to hurt you!" Aragorn said quickly. "You're not hurt are you? I'm sorry!"
Sinn fell to her knees her shoulders shaking with sobs. "We got lost -hic- trying to come -hic- back to tell -hic- you..." Sinn began to sob harder.
"...that we -hic- found the we...-hic- weapons -hic- that..." Shenaux broke off sobbing again.
"... Oxana and -hic- Giz had... had -hic- taken..." Sinn cried even harder.
"... from all of you!" Shenaux cried. "Then...-hic- we rea... rea...realised that... that we were really..." Shenaux said hysterically.
"... really lost!" Sinn finished with a choked sob. "Then there were....-sniff- these big ugly mon..."
"... monsters!" Shenaux threw her arms wide trying to explain with her hands just how large the monsters were. Lucky for the Elf that stood behind her that he was very agile, for he ducked just in time to miss her swinging arm. Legolas and Haldir began laughing at the Elf whose expression was rather bored, as if he had to duck her flailing limbs before. Shenaux and Sinn thought that they were laughing at them.
"It's not -hic- funny!" Shenaux exclaimed stomping her foot in her anger. "The monsters..."
"... tried to kill us!" Sinn finished their diatribe with more sobbing.
Still crying, Shenaux grabbed Sinn's arm, pulled her to her feet and then began marching in the opposite direction from where the group of nine had come from. Merry, Pippin, Sam and Frodo quickly realised that they wanted to go to their talan and that the two were going the wrong way.
Sam and Frodo promptly fixed that by whispering loudly to each other as the crying women passed the tree they were standing near.
"I think they want to go to their talan." Sam whispered hoarsely.
"But they are going the wrong way!" Frodo protested in a whisper just as loud as Sam's.
Stopping dead in their tracks, Shenaux and Sinn looked about them through tear blurred eyes before they turned around and marched in the opposite direction from where they were going, brushing passed a surprised Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas and Haldir as they exited the clearing.
"I think we should go make sure they manage to get back to their talan." Merry suggested.
"Great idea Merry." Pippin replied and Frodo and Sam nodded in agreement.
The four Hobbits quickly left the clearing, following after their friends. Gimli glared at the two dumbfounded Men. "Look what you've down now! You better make things right." He growled out his threat. "If those two aren't feeling better tomorrow morning, we're going to have some words." And with that the Dwarf was gone.
Legolas and Haldir looked at Boromir and Aragorn.
"What just happened?" Aragorn asked in a shaky voice.
"I don't know." Boromir said in a shaky voice as well.
"Well, I think it has something to do with the Uruk-hai attack they were in." the elf that Shenaux had almost hit explained in halting Common.
"What Uruk-hai attack?" Haldir demanded tensely. "They weren't hurt were they?"
Legolas, Aragorn and Boromir looked just as anxious to find out the answer to that one as well. The two men felt awful for what had just happened.
"Not that the two let on." The Elf told them in Elvish, for it was easier for him to explain everything quickly to them. Aragorn translated to Boromir what was being said. "They were fine on the way back here. They were talking and laughing as if almost getting killed didn't bother them at all." He looked over at Aragorn and Boromir. "That is until they decided to shake the mortal women. But as far as I know of, the two women did not receive any injuries in battle. They were very helpful in the battle as well."
"Well, that explains the blood on their dresses." Legolas said to the other three as the five Elves went to get cleaned up and to get more arrows.
"I think we all screwed up tonight." Boromir groaned.
"And to think, Legolas and I just made up with them and they are already mad at us." Haldir sighed.
"That has to be a new record." Aragorn chuckled and Legolas just glared at his old time friend.
"We can go and apologise tonight," Legolas suggested, "or we can wait until tomorrow morning and see if they calmed down any."
"We should do it tonight." Aragorn said forcefully. "I find it better to get things out of the way at once so that it is not bothering you at night."
Nodding all four of them headed towards the talan that the two women were sharing. Once they reached it, they found the four Hobbits standing at the bottom talking with the two now tearless women.
Looking up as soon as they heard the trod of feet, Shenaux and Sinn saw Aragorn, Haldir, Boromir and Legolas making their way towards them. The two women found their eyes welling up with tears once again.
Legolas and Haldir almost groaned when they saw Shenaux and Sinn's eyes tear up again. This was not going to be easy. It seemed that Boromir and Aragorn saw them tear up as well because pretty soon, both Men were on their knees in front of their friends.
"Please don't cry!" Boromir begged. "We came to say we are sorry. Please don't cry!"
"I'm sorry that we hurt you!" Aragorn said. "We didn't mean to! We were just so scared that something bad had happened to you two and when we finally saw you again, you were covered in blood."
Sniffing as the two looked down at the fully-grown warriors on their knees before them, Shenaux and Sinn pouted a little more.
"You really hurt our feelings." Shenaux said softly.
"You didn't need to yell at us." Sinn said just as softly.
"Forgive us?" Boromir asked, giving them a lopsided grin that made him look extremely younger.
The women thought about it for a moment or so before answering.
"Yeah, we forgive you." Shenaux announced.
Legolas chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day when two mortal Men would grovel before two young women."
"Obviously you haven't had much dealings with females Legolas, or you would know that to have a happy home or kingdom is to have happy women." Boromir laughed as he stood up, then helped Aragorn up.
"We've come to apologise as well." Haldir explained when he caught the questioning look Shenaux and Sinn were sending his way. "We were not laughing at you. We laughed at the Elf that you almost hit in the face when you were explaining how big the 'monsters' were."
"Oh dear." Shenaux said.
"You almost hit him again! Shenaux, I'm officially announcing that you are extremely dangerous and that everyone should be on guard around you. First you shoot Orophin in the ass, then you almost stab an Elf, whom may I remind you saved us from those creatures, then you go and almost hit him in the head as we were walking back many times, and then finally you almost hit him again when we were explaining what had happened!" Sinn chuckled. "Not to mention all of those times you almost killed me or yourself or both back on Earth."
"Those were accidents! All of them! Well, maybe not some of the incidents on Earth, but the majority are!" Shenaux protested.
"So, are we forgiven?" Legolas interrupted.
"I suppose." Sinn sighed. "At least until the next time you tick us off."
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A/N: Please leave a review and let us know how you're liking the story? Anything you don't like that you think we can fix?