Hey everybody, I am sooo sorry I didn't update sooner but I had a small
problem of writer's block and I just started Tolkien's 'Unfinished Tales'.
It is sooooooooo good. I'm reading it in English (my friend thinks I'm
crazy) cause I get a better feel for the story like that. It looses
something in the translation you know. I just finished the English version
of Lord of the Rings and I thought it was way better than the Dutch
version, weird I know.
Kayli: Wow that was such a long review I am so happy. Thank you for all the compliments, I know I'm too critical but I can't help it. Thanks for your encouraging words!!! There are really fics where Gimli gets the girl???? EEEEEEW (no offense to Gimli-lovers) Well this is a short note, btw I don't think you're crazy!!! Loved the quote, I might use it! Send me some more if you can think of good ones!
The Lady Sorcha of Sevenwaters: Thanks for you review, I always love it when knew readers (and old ones of course) let me know what they think. Your name is really interesting, what does it stand for???
Arwen-evenstar: You ARE hyper *lol* I love that though ;) Hope you will like this chapter.
LunarEclipse341: I am so happy you decided to read my fic, and that you liked it. I know a lot of girl-falls-in-ME stories get a bit. . . well annoying, and I try my hardest not to turn this into a mary sue. I have apologized before for mistakes, but I am Dutch so English isn't my first language. I thought about a beta-reader (got an offer from Roxanne Harvard) but I decided against it. I have low self-esteem (there I admitted it) and knowing I am doing this by myself and get so many lovely reviews help me. Hope you get what I am hinting at. I'm glad you were suprised by my fic and you continue reading it, even though it will have mistakes (I'm not perfect)
Rangishran: *jaw drops* A shrine??? For me??? I don't have a shrine, never had to have one. Should I set one up ;) Happy you liked Haldir's survival so much, this chapter will have some more Haldir.
Shinigami29: Thanks for reviewing again Audrey, I just sent you a mail so go check it ;)
Kiku: Ok, *hands Aragorn* I didn't need him that much for this chapter so I'll mask his disappearance *grins* I loved you review, it made me feel all happy! Ok specially for you more smoochies ;)
LanierShazar: Not overdone? Thanks I really feared people would hate it!
Aurumlupi: I am so glad you pointed that out! I know Rita hasn't been spending so much time with Elladan but she has more friends and has to split her attention. Besides one thing I really hate is a girl who dumps all her friends only to spend all her time with her boyfriend. (Like my ex- best-friend! Ok I have to admit, still a little hurt about that) So I try to divide her attention as good as I can. Hope you understand now!!! Thanks for reviewing again, you have been doing that for so long now I feel like you should have a say in this ya know?
Blahblah: Congratulations on your test! I am so happy for you, I know the stress *grimaces* I have another midterm coming up in 3 weeks. AAAAAAH (that was me stressing again) Happy you liked the names though, read this chapter!!!!
Sugar-is-sweet: Really, grasshopper is you real nickname? That's just weird. *lol* Don't worry, my fic isn't ending yet, I have plans for some nice little twists and I plan on doing a sequel if people would like me to. So just enjoy ok?
Musicgrl: Oh, so that's Enya. . . thanks for the explanation. Would you believe me I came up of the names while listening to music, I take a singer's name and try to make it more elvish sounding. Anyway, dancingfae sent me the url of this great site so I will have more official elf-names from now on!
Dancingfae: THANK you for the site you wanna know what my name is??? It's Eámanë Oronar, I love it!!! I am gonna keep using this site, so thank you thank you thank you!!!
Elvish princess: Sorry to keep you waiting for awhile, hope you'll like the chapter!
Kate: You have snow??? Please send some I love snow!!
Corinna: I put a smile on your face? That makes me happy! Elrond will come back in the end, so you'll have to wait until then. (hehe I know I'm evil) My fic is more addicting than chocolate?? No way I do not buy that, chocolate is heaven, it's yummy, it's. . . . mmmmm chocolate ;)
Passion Lover: Hope you'll like this chapter, it will have more elves and a bit of drama.
Meggers: Sorry to inform you this will be a sad chapter again here *hands new supply of Kleenex* I bought some specially for you ;) Hope you'll like it though.
Lausi: Thanks!
DISCLAIMER: Hmmm, I have a huge imagination so I wish everything in here was mine, but unfortunately that's not the case.
Rita woke very early, the sun had just started to rise. She sat up and looked around, a bit started at first at the glassy-eyed elves around her.
While stretching she got a brilliant idea, she needed a bath. And she knew just the perfect place to take one.
She got up as quietly as she could and grabbed her bag, which was getting very heavy with all the stuff now packed into it (no armor though, that wouldn't fit). Rita started to walk as silently as she could past all the sleeping elves.
When she passed Haldir his eyes focussed on her immediately, the glassy look leaving his eyes. She started a bit and when she saw he was going to get up she motioned for him to sleep again.
He nodded and got back to sleep again. Rita was amazed at the elvish ability to sleep immediately. *There is no tossing and turning for them, they just lean back and BOOM they're asleep, I want to do that as well!* Finally she was past all the sleeping figures and she could walk normally again.
Her destination was a lake nearby that was being filled with water with a lovely waterfall. Boromir had told her that was the place where he had proposed to his love. He didn't mind telling her about that spot because he knew how much she loved water and waterfalls.
The walk took about 20 minutes until she reached the small piece of heaven. Cause that's what it was to Rita: a piece of heaven.
The waterfall was clattering into the lake and Rita felt herself being drawn to the sound. Beautiful red, blue, yellow and purple flowers, who were spreading a sweet smell, surrounded the small lake. There was a narrow path, which lead to the falling water.
It led her behind the waterfall, so now she was invisible for all. She sat down on a large rock (a dry one) and started to rummage through her pack. She quickly found everything she was looking for and placed it beside her.
Rita didn't know what to do next. Sure she wanted to get a shower but to get naked in here, no way she was doing that! She looked down at herself and made a decision.
She grabbed her dagger and cut the pipes from her pants until she turned them into a pair of shorts. She did the same with her shirt, she cut off the sleeves and put them aside as well. If there was one thing she learned in Middle Earth is to save all stuff because they might come in handy some day.
After finishing she took her boots off and placed them next to her pack. She was all giggly, she had been without a shower for so long. Baths were great but a shower, man did she miss that.
She released her hair from its bounds and let it flow over her back. Yuck, it was all greasy. Without giving herself the time to hesitate she stepped under the water. She wobbled a bit under the force of the water cascading on her body but quickly adjusted to it.
When she was totally drenched she walked back to the rock and grabbed the bar of soap that she had unpacked. She started to rub it on her hair and arms.
The foam made the soap extra slippery and Rita dropped it four times before she was finally clean in her mind. She started to massage the soap even deeper in her hair and hummed while doing this.
She stepped back to wash all the soap away and she had to keep her eyes very tightly closed to prevent the soap to get into her eyes. Rita tilted her head back and let the water stream in her face.
Sure the water was cold but Rita loved it nonetheless, though the cold water brought back some bad memories.
~flashback~
"Now get out of my sight you bitch" her father yelled.
Rita managed to get up and climb the stairs. She stumbled into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. She had a black eye, again, and her jaw was starting to swell up already.
After locking the bathroomdoor she stripped her clothes and turned on the shower. She hissed when she got under the icy-cold water. She found out years ago that cold water helped to stop the swelling from appearing. So every time dear dad hit her too hard she would take a long, cold shower,
She was amazed at the fact that she couldn't cry anymore. She used to cry every time he hit her but she had started to build walls around her emotions. When he couldn't see she was hurting, he wouldn't hit her even more. Besides, you can't get hurt if you won't let it hurt you.
Her eleventh birthday was coming up, not that she expected to get a present or something maybe a new bruise. Carol was out, she was spending a few days with one of her friends. She loved it there, the family was very tight and they treated the children with love.
At the moment Rita felt useless. There was no Carol to protect so she kept out of her dad's way as much as she could. This time she was on the bad side of his temperament. It wasn't her fault his dinner got cold, he was late.
She decided not to dwell on it, she was counting the days until Carol returned. Her little sister meant everything to her.
~end flashback~
Rita forced the memory back to the dark place of her mind. She was in no mood to ponder over her past. Suddenly she noticed the goosebumps on her arms and left the 'shower'. She started to walk to her pack and wanted to get dressed until it hit her: she had no towel.
She groaned for a second until she got a new idea, she would use one of her old shirts to dry off. While going through her pack she found an old shirt, well not that old but just well-worn.
Starting with her legs Rita dried herself off quickly. After that she did her arms and she squeezed as much water as possible from her hair.
Realizing she had to get undressed in order to get completely dry Rita peered through the water. It hid her well and she couldn't see a soul so she took off the remainder of her clothes, placed them on another rock to dry, and dried off even faster than before, she started to shiver from the cold.
When she completed drying she put on a fresh pair of underwear and grabbed one of the new pants. They fit her perfectly, the pants hugged her legs tight, though not uncomfortably tight. The pair of pants was a bluish silvery colour and the material was incredibly soft.
Next she reached for a clean shirt and she chose one that matched her pants. It had long sleeves and was decorated with fine embroidery.
Rita went to sit on the rock again and started to dry her hair even more. When she felt it couldn't get any dryer she stopped and put her socks and boots on again. She looked at her cut off pipes and sleeves and then another idea hit her (yes she's very resourceful this morning)
She grabbed her dagger again and started to divide the material into large stripes. Now the pieces of material resembled bandages. They were long enough to wrap around somebody's ribs and Rita felt better about having some kind of bandage with her. She had enough medicine, which she thankfully didn't have to use yet, and now she had bandages as well.
While packing all the stuff back in her pack Rita was thinking about what to do with her wet shorts and shirt. She wrung the water from them and packed them in the bottom of her pack. She placed her old cloak (the one she got from Arwen) over it and the waterproof cloak turned out to be a good way to divide her wet stuff from her dry.
When she finally finished she walked back down the path. She didn't feel like leaving but knew she had to, she had been gone for hours already. While promising herself she would return to the spot she started to walk back to camp.
She had kept her brush out of the pack and while she was walking she was untangling her hair, her pack was hanging loosely over her left shoulder. She started to hum again and even skipped a few times until she forced herself to stop doing the latter.
Her hair was finally tangle-free when she reached the outer part of the camp again. It was still early and she wasn't really paying attention to what was happening around her. She didn't notice when Legolas sneaked up on her with a mischievous smile on his face.
Rita jumped when someone grabbed her and lifted her off the ground. She froze for a half a second until she snapped out of it and reached for her weapons, but didn't find them. She silently cursed herself for leaving them behind when she left that morning and tried to kick the person who was holding her.
Suddenly she stopped resisting when she heard a familiar chuckle. "Well, well" she recognized Legolas's voice and frowned "What have I caught here?"
"Legolas" she practically growled "If you don't put me down this instant you evil elf I will kick your ass from here till Rivendell. And I won't be gentle about it either, I will make sure I will leave the biggest bruise on both your body as your ego."
She heard him chuckling again and started to get angry at what he said. "How are you going to do that when I am still holding you Rita?"
"I'm warning you Legolas, put. . . me. . . down. . . NOW!" She started to wriggle to release herself from his grasp but he was just too strong.
Legolas was laughing loudly at her attempts to get free but his laughing stopped the moment her knee came into contact with his groin. He dropped her on the ground while he gasped and dropped onto his knees.
"Why did you do that?" he wheezed "It was just a joke."
This time Rita was the one laughing. "I told you to put me down Legolas, all you had to do was listen and. . . " Her eyes widened when he lunged at her and she started to run as fast as she could while giggling madly.
Neither of them saw the amused glances thrown in their direction as Legolas was chasing Rita. The latter jumped over elves and packs in order to stay away from the crazy elf following her. She looked back and stuck out her tongue at him.
"You can't catch me, nahnnah-nana-nah"
This made him run even faster and Rita gulped when he was getting closer and closer. Suddenly she saw Elladan exiting his tent and ran towards him.
When she reached him she hid behind him. "Help I'm being chased by an evil, crazy and idiotic creature." She wasn't out of breath at all and was barely sweating. All the running and battling she did left her with a great stamina.
There was no answer from him as Legolas caught up and tried to grab her with a huge grin on his face. Rita was smart enough to keep Elladan between her and the evil elf as a shield.
They continued this a few times until Elladan exclaimed that he had had enough. "You act like a child Legolas." Elladan said this and walked away, tired of games.
Rita laughed at the disgruntled elf's expression at this and gave Legolas a hug. "Aww, pay no attention to him you evil elf, I like you all childish. Besides, it's a well known fact that all men are like children, no matter how old they get."
This was the last straw for Legolas and he grabbed her again and held her upside down. Rita squealed and tried to break free again.
"Alright, alright I'm sorry. Really I am, now please put me down." She was laughing while she said this. "Please Legolas, I'll never offend you ever again, I promise."
She blinked when her feet touched the ground again but she wasn't complaining. "Aaaah much better. Now what on earth were you thinking, scaring me like that."
"You looked so unaware of you surroundings and I just had to do it, forgive me?" He gave her the puppy-eyes and Rita laughed at this. He offered his arm and the two made their way to where the others were sitting.
They arrived at the place where a few elves were sitting while laughing and joking and Rita let herself drop to the ground after grabbing a piece of lembas Elrohir was about to put into his mouth.
"Mmm, thanks Elrohir I needed that."
The elf just looked from his hand to Rita and then back to his hand again. At last he shook his head at her antics. The others grinned at this as well.
Rita started a bit when she felt a pair of arms around her waist but leaned into the embrace as she recognized Elladan.
"Your hair is wet" he commented.
She nodded her head. "It usually is after you wash it."
Elladan was about to comment again when Rumil joined them. "Rita you look wonderful. Lamiel, Elmère and the other women will be pleased to know the clothes fir you so well."
"Remind me to thank them" Rita said "These clothes are great."
"I knew there was something different about you." said Legolas.
The other elves agreed with Rumil and commented on how nice she was looking. Rita felt a blush creep on her face and buried it into Elladan's chest, too embarrassed to look at them.
He pulled her closer and Rita could feel him shaking slightly as he was laughing. She sat up straight again and forced the urge to blush at the smiles around her.
"Stop it you guys, this is not funny anymore."
She was rescued by the arrival of Haldir. "Lord Elladan, Lord Elrohir, your presence has been requested by Mithandrir and Lord Aragorn."
Elladan sighed and kissed Rita softly on her lips before he stood up to follow the marchwarden and his brother. Rumil and the others disappeared as well, back to their packs leaving only Legolas and Rita.
Rita saw that Glorfindel and one of the elves from Mirkwood followed them as well and she turned to Legolas and opened her mouth to ask him what was going on when he interrupted her.
"They are discussing on what to do next, battleplans and such."
She shook her head. "How did you know that. . . "
"You were going to ask me that?" Legolas finished her sentence. "I have been traveling with you for months Rita, I can recognize a question on your face by now."
Suddenly something hit Rita. "Where's Gimli? Usually you two are inseparable and now you're here on your own."
"He went to the city with Pippin, something about better breakfast."
Rita smiled and fished a hairband out of her bag, she tried to make a large braid but was failing again. Legolas grabbed the band and placed himself behind her.
"Really" he joked "You should learn to do your hair Rita. I can't keep on doing it for you."
She glared at him. "Hey if you don't wan to do it. . . "
He held up his hands and started to comb through her hair with his fingers, dividing it in three portions. He soon had braided her hair into an elegant braid and Rita smiled at him when he had finished.
"Thanks Legolas."
He pulled her hair and avoided her slap. "You're welcome Rita, but do you need to hurt me again. I am still recovering from your blow this morning."
Rita was about to retort when a man approached them. "Lady Rita, your presence has been requested by Lord Faramir."
This froze the smile on her face and she shook her head at the man. "Lead the way." She felt Legolas give her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder and smiled at him as she was escorted to the House of Healing.
When they reached Faramir's chamber Rita knocked on the door after taking a deep breath. She could hear his voice.
"Enter"
A/N: I know, a very evil place to stop but I have to think about how I am going to let the talk go. BTW sorry Kiku, I know it wasn't a real good smoochie but I promise next chapter. Oh I promise to have more Haldir in next one as well.
Kayli: Wow that was such a long review I am so happy. Thank you for all the compliments, I know I'm too critical but I can't help it. Thanks for your encouraging words!!! There are really fics where Gimli gets the girl???? EEEEEEW (no offense to Gimli-lovers) Well this is a short note, btw I don't think you're crazy!!! Loved the quote, I might use it! Send me some more if you can think of good ones!
The Lady Sorcha of Sevenwaters: Thanks for you review, I always love it when knew readers (and old ones of course) let me know what they think. Your name is really interesting, what does it stand for???
Arwen-evenstar: You ARE hyper *lol* I love that though ;) Hope you will like this chapter.
LunarEclipse341: I am so happy you decided to read my fic, and that you liked it. I know a lot of girl-falls-in-ME stories get a bit. . . well annoying, and I try my hardest not to turn this into a mary sue. I have apologized before for mistakes, but I am Dutch so English isn't my first language. I thought about a beta-reader (got an offer from Roxanne Harvard) but I decided against it. I have low self-esteem (there I admitted it) and knowing I am doing this by myself and get so many lovely reviews help me. Hope you get what I am hinting at. I'm glad you were suprised by my fic and you continue reading it, even though it will have mistakes (I'm not perfect)
Rangishran: *jaw drops* A shrine??? For me??? I don't have a shrine, never had to have one. Should I set one up ;) Happy you liked Haldir's survival so much, this chapter will have some more Haldir.
Shinigami29: Thanks for reviewing again Audrey, I just sent you a mail so go check it ;)
Kiku: Ok, *hands Aragorn* I didn't need him that much for this chapter so I'll mask his disappearance *grins* I loved you review, it made me feel all happy! Ok specially for you more smoochies ;)
LanierShazar: Not overdone? Thanks I really feared people would hate it!
Aurumlupi: I am so glad you pointed that out! I know Rita hasn't been spending so much time with Elladan but she has more friends and has to split her attention. Besides one thing I really hate is a girl who dumps all her friends only to spend all her time with her boyfriend. (Like my ex- best-friend! Ok I have to admit, still a little hurt about that) So I try to divide her attention as good as I can. Hope you understand now!!! Thanks for reviewing again, you have been doing that for so long now I feel like you should have a say in this ya know?
Blahblah: Congratulations on your test! I am so happy for you, I know the stress *grimaces* I have another midterm coming up in 3 weeks. AAAAAAH (that was me stressing again) Happy you liked the names though, read this chapter!!!!
Sugar-is-sweet: Really, grasshopper is you real nickname? That's just weird. *lol* Don't worry, my fic isn't ending yet, I have plans for some nice little twists and I plan on doing a sequel if people would like me to. So just enjoy ok?
Musicgrl: Oh, so that's Enya. . . thanks for the explanation. Would you believe me I came up of the names while listening to music, I take a singer's name and try to make it more elvish sounding. Anyway, dancingfae sent me the url of this great site so I will have more official elf-names from now on!
Dancingfae: THANK you for the site you wanna know what my name is??? It's Eámanë Oronar, I love it!!! I am gonna keep using this site, so thank you thank you thank you!!!
Elvish princess: Sorry to keep you waiting for awhile, hope you'll like the chapter!
Kate: You have snow??? Please send some I love snow!!
Corinna: I put a smile on your face? That makes me happy! Elrond will come back in the end, so you'll have to wait until then. (hehe I know I'm evil) My fic is more addicting than chocolate?? No way I do not buy that, chocolate is heaven, it's yummy, it's. . . . mmmmm chocolate ;)
Passion Lover: Hope you'll like this chapter, it will have more elves and a bit of drama.
Meggers: Sorry to inform you this will be a sad chapter again here *hands new supply of Kleenex* I bought some specially for you ;) Hope you'll like it though.
Lausi: Thanks!
DISCLAIMER: Hmmm, I have a huge imagination so I wish everything in here was mine, but unfortunately that's not the case.
Rita woke very early, the sun had just started to rise. She sat up and looked around, a bit started at first at the glassy-eyed elves around her.
While stretching she got a brilliant idea, she needed a bath. And she knew just the perfect place to take one.
She got up as quietly as she could and grabbed her bag, which was getting very heavy with all the stuff now packed into it (no armor though, that wouldn't fit). Rita started to walk as silently as she could past all the sleeping elves.
When she passed Haldir his eyes focussed on her immediately, the glassy look leaving his eyes. She started a bit and when she saw he was going to get up she motioned for him to sleep again.
He nodded and got back to sleep again. Rita was amazed at the elvish ability to sleep immediately. *There is no tossing and turning for them, they just lean back and BOOM they're asleep, I want to do that as well!* Finally she was past all the sleeping figures and she could walk normally again.
Her destination was a lake nearby that was being filled with water with a lovely waterfall. Boromir had told her that was the place where he had proposed to his love. He didn't mind telling her about that spot because he knew how much she loved water and waterfalls.
The walk took about 20 minutes until she reached the small piece of heaven. Cause that's what it was to Rita: a piece of heaven.
The waterfall was clattering into the lake and Rita felt herself being drawn to the sound. Beautiful red, blue, yellow and purple flowers, who were spreading a sweet smell, surrounded the small lake. There was a narrow path, which lead to the falling water.
It led her behind the waterfall, so now she was invisible for all. She sat down on a large rock (a dry one) and started to rummage through her pack. She quickly found everything she was looking for and placed it beside her.
Rita didn't know what to do next. Sure she wanted to get a shower but to get naked in here, no way she was doing that! She looked down at herself and made a decision.
She grabbed her dagger and cut the pipes from her pants until she turned them into a pair of shorts. She did the same with her shirt, she cut off the sleeves and put them aside as well. If there was one thing she learned in Middle Earth is to save all stuff because they might come in handy some day.
After finishing she took her boots off and placed them next to her pack. She was all giggly, she had been without a shower for so long. Baths were great but a shower, man did she miss that.
She released her hair from its bounds and let it flow over her back. Yuck, it was all greasy. Without giving herself the time to hesitate she stepped under the water. She wobbled a bit under the force of the water cascading on her body but quickly adjusted to it.
When she was totally drenched she walked back to the rock and grabbed the bar of soap that she had unpacked. She started to rub it on her hair and arms.
The foam made the soap extra slippery and Rita dropped it four times before she was finally clean in her mind. She started to massage the soap even deeper in her hair and hummed while doing this.
She stepped back to wash all the soap away and she had to keep her eyes very tightly closed to prevent the soap to get into her eyes. Rita tilted her head back and let the water stream in her face.
Sure the water was cold but Rita loved it nonetheless, though the cold water brought back some bad memories.
~flashback~
"Now get out of my sight you bitch" her father yelled.
Rita managed to get up and climb the stairs. She stumbled into the bathroom and looked into the mirror. She had a black eye, again, and her jaw was starting to swell up already.
After locking the bathroomdoor she stripped her clothes and turned on the shower. She hissed when she got under the icy-cold water. She found out years ago that cold water helped to stop the swelling from appearing. So every time dear dad hit her too hard she would take a long, cold shower,
She was amazed at the fact that she couldn't cry anymore. She used to cry every time he hit her but she had started to build walls around her emotions. When he couldn't see she was hurting, he wouldn't hit her even more. Besides, you can't get hurt if you won't let it hurt you.
Her eleventh birthday was coming up, not that she expected to get a present or something maybe a new bruise. Carol was out, she was spending a few days with one of her friends. She loved it there, the family was very tight and they treated the children with love.
At the moment Rita felt useless. There was no Carol to protect so she kept out of her dad's way as much as she could. This time she was on the bad side of his temperament. It wasn't her fault his dinner got cold, he was late.
She decided not to dwell on it, she was counting the days until Carol returned. Her little sister meant everything to her.
~end flashback~
Rita forced the memory back to the dark place of her mind. She was in no mood to ponder over her past. Suddenly she noticed the goosebumps on her arms and left the 'shower'. She started to walk to her pack and wanted to get dressed until it hit her: she had no towel.
She groaned for a second until she got a new idea, she would use one of her old shirts to dry off. While going through her pack she found an old shirt, well not that old but just well-worn.
Starting with her legs Rita dried herself off quickly. After that she did her arms and she squeezed as much water as possible from her hair.
Realizing she had to get undressed in order to get completely dry Rita peered through the water. It hid her well and she couldn't see a soul so she took off the remainder of her clothes, placed them on another rock to dry, and dried off even faster than before, she started to shiver from the cold.
When she completed drying she put on a fresh pair of underwear and grabbed one of the new pants. They fit her perfectly, the pants hugged her legs tight, though not uncomfortably tight. The pair of pants was a bluish silvery colour and the material was incredibly soft.
Next she reached for a clean shirt and she chose one that matched her pants. It had long sleeves and was decorated with fine embroidery.
Rita went to sit on the rock again and started to dry her hair even more. When she felt it couldn't get any dryer she stopped and put her socks and boots on again. She looked at her cut off pipes and sleeves and then another idea hit her (yes she's very resourceful this morning)
She grabbed her dagger again and started to divide the material into large stripes. Now the pieces of material resembled bandages. They were long enough to wrap around somebody's ribs and Rita felt better about having some kind of bandage with her. She had enough medicine, which she thankfully didn't have to use yet, and now she had bandages as well.
While packing all the stuff back in her pack Rita was thinking about what to do with her wet shorts and shirt. She wrung the water from them and packed them in the bottom of her pack. She placed her old cloak (the one she got from Arwen) over it and the waterproof cloak turned out to be a good way to divide her wet stuff from her dry.
When she finally finished she walked back down the path. She didn't feel like leaving but knew she had to, she had been gone for hours already. While promising herself she would return to the spot she started to walk back to camp.
She had kept her brush out of the pack and while she was walking she was untangling her hair, her pack was hanging loosely over her left shoulder. She started to hum again and even skipped a few times until she forced herself to stop doing the latter.
Her hair was finally tangle-free when she reached the outer part of the camp again. It was still early and she wasn't really paying attention to what was happening around her. She didn't notice when Legolas sneaked up on her with a mischievous smile on his face.
Rita jumped when someone grabbed her and lifted her off the ground. She froze for a half a second until she snapped out of it and reached for her weapons, but didn't find them. She silently cursed herself for leaving them behind when she left that morning and tried to kick the person who was holding her.
Suddenly she stopped resisting when she heard a familiar chuckle. "Well, well" she recognized Legolas's voice and frowned "What have I caught here?"
"Legolas" she practically growled "If you don't put me down this instant you evil elf I will kick your ass from here till Rivendell. And I won't be gentle about it either, I will make sure I will leave the biggest bruise on both your body as your ego."
She heard him chuckling again and started to get angry at what he said. "How are you going to do that when I am still holding you Rita?"
"I'm warning you Legolas, put. . . me. . . down. . . NOW!" She started to wriggle to release herself from his grasp but he was just too strong.
Legolas was laughing loudly at her attempts to get free but his laughing stopped the moment her knee came into contact with his groin. He dropped her on the ground while he gasped and dropped onto his knees.
"Why did you do that?" he wheezed "It was just a joke."
This time Rita was the one laughing. "I told you to put me down Legolas, all you had to do was listen and. . . " Her eyes widened when he lunged at her and she started to run as fast as she could while giggling madly.
Neither of them saw the amused glances thrown in their direction as Legolas was chasing Rita. The latter jumped over elves and packs in order to stay away from the crazy elf following her. She looked back and stuck out her tongue at him.
"You can't catch me, nahnnah-nana-nah"
This made him run even faster and Rita gulped when he was getting closer and closer. Suddenly she saw Elladan exiting his tent and ran towards him.
When she reached him she hid behind him. "Help I'm being chased by an evil, crazy and idiotic creature." She wasn't out of breath at all and was barely sweating. All the running and battling she did left her with a great stamina.
There was no answer from him as Legolas caught up and tried to grab her with a huge grin on his face. Rita was smart enough to keep Elladan between her and the evil elf as a shield.
They continued this a few times until Elladan exclaimed that he had had enough. "You act like a child Legolas." Elladan said this and walked away, tired of games.
Rita laughed at the disgruntled elf's expression at this and gave Legolas a hug. "Aww, pay no attention to him you evil elf, I like you all childish. Besides, it's a well known fact that all men are like children, no matter how old they get."
This was the last straw for Legolas and he grabbed her again and held her upside down. Rita squealed and tried to break free again.
"Alright, alright I'm sorry. Really I am, now please put me down." She was laughing while she said this. "Please Legolas, I'll never offend you ever again, I promise."
She blinked when her feet touched the ground again but she wasn't complaining. "Aaaah much better. Now what on earth were you thinking, scaring me like that."
"You looked so unaware of you surroundings and I just had to do it, forgive me?" He gave her the puppy-eyes and Rita laughed at this. He offered his arm and the two made their way to where the others were sitting.
They arrived at the place where a few elves were sitting while laughing and joking and Rita let herself drop to the ground after grabbing a piece of lembas Elrohir was about to put into his mouth.
"Mmm, thanks Elrohir I needed that."
The elf just looked from his hand to Rita and then back to his hand again. At last he shook his head at her antics. The others grinned at this as well.
Rita started a bit when she felt a pair of arms around her waist but leaned into the embrace as she recognized Elladan.
"Your hair is wet" he commented.
She nodded her head. "It usually is after you wash it."
Elladan was about to comment again when Rumil joined them. "Rita you look wonderful. Lamiel, Elmère and the other women will be pleased to know the clothes fir you so well."
"Remind me to thank them" Rita said "These clothes are great."
"I knew there was something different about you." said Legolas.
The other elves agreed with Rumil and commented on how nice she was looking. Rita felt a blush creep on her face and buried it into Elladan's chest, too embarrassed to look at them.
He pulled her closer and Rita could feel him shaking slightly as he was laughing. She sat up straight again and forced the urge to blush at the smiles around her.
"Stop it you guys, this is not funny anymore."
She was rescued by the arrival of Haldir. "Lord Elladan, Lord Elrohir, your presence has been requested by Mithandrir and Lord Aragorn."
Elladan sighed and kissed Rita softly on her lips before he stood up to follow the marchwarden and his brother. Rumil and the others disappeared as well, back to their packs leaving only Legolas and Rita.
Rita saw that Glorfindel and one of the elves from Mirkwood followed them as well and she turned to Legolas and opened her mouth to ask him what was going on when he interrupted her.
"They are discussing on what to do next, battleplans and such."
She shook her head. "How did you know that. . . "
"You were going to ask me that?" Legolas finished her sentence. "I have been traveling with you for months Rita, I can recognize a question on your face by now."
Suddenly something hit Rita. "Where's Gimli? Usually you two are inseparable and now you're here on your own."
"He went to the city with Pippin, something about better breakfast."
Rita smiled and fished a hairband out of her bag, she tried to make a large braid but was failing again. Legolas grabbed the band and placed himself behind her.
"Really" he joked "You should learn to do your hair Rita. I can't keep on doing it for you."
She glared at him. "Hey if you don't wan to do it. . . "
He held up his hands and started to comb through her hair with his fingers, dividing it in three portions. He soon had braided her hair into an elegant braid and Rita smiled at him when he had finished.
"Thanks Legolas."
He pulled her hair and avoided her slap. "You're welcome Rita, but do you need to hurt me again. I am still recovering from your blow this morning."
Rita was about to retort when a man approached them. "Lady Rita, your presence has been requested by Lord Faramir."
This froze the smile on her face and she shook her head at the man. "Lead the way." She felt Legolas give her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder and smiled at him as she was escorted to the House of Healing.
When they reached Faramir's chamber Rita knocked on the door after taking a deep breath. She could hear his voice.
"Enter"
A/N: I know, a very evil place to stop but I have to think about how I am going to let the talk go. BTW sorry Kiku, I know it wasn't a real good smoochie but I promise next chapter. Oh I promise to have more Haldir in next one as well.