Disclaimer: *AHEM* Hear ye! Hear ye! WE do not own the Lord of the
Rings! Or The Hobbit, or-
Nerina: Enough! We all get the point!
Tala: *smirk* Right then. On with the story!
**********
The room was dark and silent as the grave. At least that's the way it was until Nerina breezed into the room humming merrily as she threw open the shutters to let in the cool morning breeze and sunshine. Seeing her best friend was still asleep, she grinned mischievously and crawled onto the bed, so she could perch over her.
"Tala," she whispered softly.
The only response was some incoherent mumbling and Tala burrowing deeper into the bed.
Nerina smiled, deliriously happy about what she was going to do next. She sat up, took a deep breath, and let out a terrible, bloodcurdling shriek.
Tala woke up shouting and threw back the covers. Her eyes darted around and when she saw Nerina, she gasped, "Are you okay?!?"
Nerina was shaking terribly, but after a moment Tala realized she was shaking with laughter.
"I'm going to kill you!" she screamed as she leapt up and knocked her to the floor.
This was the sight that greeted Gandalf and Legolas when they opened the door after politely knocking.
"Stop this at once!" shouted Legolas.
The two girls paused. Tala was holding Nerina's hair in her fist and Nerina was gnawing on Tala's arm.
"For such good friends, it seems odd that we always find you attacking each other," he fumed.
Nerina grinned. "Call it a love-hate relationship," she said cheerfully, as she hugged Tala.
"Get off me," Tala grumbled.
"Still, such friends as you should not fight constantly," Gandalf said. He then looked quizzically at their rumpled clothes. "Do you intend to wear that to breakfast?"
The girls looked down, and Tala said, "Well, I suppose we could change our shirts. We each have an extra."
Legolas nodded thoughtfully. "Or I could go and get some dresses that we keep in storage for traveling nobility. I remember seeing several dresses- "
"No!" Tala practically shouted. She then half-blushed under the gaze of the other three. "Hehe . . . . . . umm . . . . . . how about you just bring us a bunch of material and we'll take care of our clothing."
"Yes! That's a great idea," crowed Nerina, clapping her hands together. "Right, now both of you get out so we can change and we'll be right there!"
The men nodded and exited, and Tala groaned, she had almost made it back to her bed.
*********
After this early morning escapade, the elf and wizard managed to escort the two women to the dining hall (now clad in new shirts-Nerina in a soft green and Tala in deep navy from their bags), where they were greeted warmly by King Thranduil.
"Please come sit near me and tell me something of your world."
After they were seated, Nerina looked at Tala to see if she was going to start talking, but Tala appeared to be torn between sleeping at the table, and eating a tasty looking muffin-like confection. Seeing that she wasn't going to get any help from that corner, Nerina sighed and launched into a story.
"And that my friends, is the sad, but true, tale of Phineas Gage," she concluded softly in a respectful tone.
Her audience stared at her in silence and Thranduil cleared his throat, "Well, that certainly was an . . . . . . interesting tale, to say the least."
Tala rolled her eyes at Nerina. "You just had to tell the Phineas Gage story at the breakfast table, didn't you?"
"Well, I couldn't think of anything else to tell and you weren't helping."
"I don't help people whose idea of a wakeup call is screaming like a banshee!"
Things could have gotten ugly, had Thranduil not intervened and suggested that Gandalf and Legolas take the two ladies on a tour of the castle.
"Great idea!" cheered Nerina. "Come on stud-muffin, you can be my escort," she winked at Gandalf as she stood. Tala rolled her eyes.
"Of course, Lady Nerina," Gandalf replied as he gallantly took her by the arm.
"Too early," moaned Tala as Legolas pulled her out of her chair.
"And as you can see, this is yet another garden," Legolas said gesturing to the flowers.
"Lovely," Tala said dryly.
"Oh don't mind her," Nerina giggled, "She's always grumpy in the morning."
"Indeed, I can see this," Gandalf whispered in reply.
"Don't think I can't hear what you're saying," growled Tala.
"For the love of rum Tala, stop being such a..." Nerina paused, staring ahead for a moment before joyfully crying, "Butterfly!" She skipped happily away from the group.
Legolas and Gandalf looked at each other in confusion, each mouthing the word, "Butterfly?"
Tala snorted, "Oh boy, here we go."
"Tala, my splendiferous most wonderful friend of friends, come frolic and help me chase this butterfly!"
Tala rolled her eyes at Legolas, as if to say 'See what I put up with?' before skipping unenthusiastically after her friend.
Gandalf and Legolas watched in amusement as the two chased a blue butterfly around the garden. When they neared the small pond at the center of the garden, the butterfly fluttered off. Laughing cheerfully, Nerina grabbed Tala's hands and both closed their eyes and began to twirl around in circles.
"So, when do we stop twirling?" shouted Tala.
Nerina cackled and shouted, "Never!"
Then something rather strange happened. As the two continued to twirl, unbeknownst to them, their feet left the ground and they slowly floated upwards over the pond.
Gandalf and Legolas stared in open-mouthed amazement before Legolas shouted, "What in the name of Valar are you two doing?"
Tala sneered slightly and opened her eyes, "What does it look like we're..." her voice faltered. "Umm...Rina..."
"Yes?" Nerina asked dreamily.
"Open your eyes!"
Nerina snapped out of her peaceful reverie and opened her eyes. As she stared in front of her, she frowned...'Hadn't that tree been taller a minute ago?' Then, sucking in a deep breath, she looked down.
Gandalf and Legolas both covered their ears as she released a blood- curdling scream.
"Rina, would you please chill!" Tala implored after recovering from the noise.
Nerina sniffed, "I don't like heights."
Tala sighed, "I know you don't. Well then, aren't you two going to help us?"
"Just stay where you are!" called Gandalf.
"Oh, now there's some good advice," grumbled Nerina. "You're a wizard! Shouldn't you be able to clap your hands and say 'Down?'"
Gandalf scowled at her and then in a mimicking fashion, clapped his hands together and shouted "Down!"
Tala and Nerina shrieked as they plummeted downward, landing with a great splash in the pond. Tala came up sputtering and glared evilly at the frog that was currently sitting on her knee. "Look, I dream about meeting my Prince Charming like every normal girl, but I'm definitely not in the mood right now!" The frog stared back at her blankly and croaked.
"Alright, that's it frog, you asked for it....Nerina what are you doing?"
Nerina was lying back in the water with a slightly dazed look on her face as she trailed her fingers through the water. "The flowers are quite beautiful, are they not?"
Tala raised her eyebrow, "Yeah, sure they are."
"I would give you some violets, but they all withered away when my father died."
Tala rolled her eyes, "Okay. Nerina, you can play water nymph or Ophelia or whatever the heck you're doing later. In the mean time, please get up."
Nerina shook herself out of her daze and blushed slightly, "Oops. Silly me."
As they rose from the water, they noticed Gandalf and Legolas trying (and not really succeeding) to avoid looking at them. Tala snorted slightly, "Apparently they've never witnessed a wet T-shirt contest."
They ignored the men as they walked by, suitably miffed at Gandalf's method of removing them from the air.
"Did I mention that I hate wet clothing?" asked Tala.
Nerina nodded, "Yeah, we better get out of these clothes before we catch something," she said in a slightly raised voice.
Tala rolled her eyes, "If you don't watch yourself, 'Rina, you're going to catch a nine month cold."
Nerina stuck out her tongue, "I'll be careful Tala. Just be sure that you practice what you preach."
"What are you talking about?"
Nerina lowered her voice and started speaking in Spanish, "Don't think I don't notice the way you've been looking at Blondie."
Tala sighed, "And how have I been looking at him?"
"It's the same look you get when we were fighting the other day. You love the fight, but it's no good without a worthy adversary, is it?"
Tala laughed, "And Prince Pretty Hair is a worthy adversary? I think that fall may have caused some serious brain damage, 'Rina."
Nerina smiled, "Well, at least I'm not in denial!"
"No, you look a Mr. White like he's a bottle of rum."
Nerina winked, "Nice simile . . . . . . Men and rum . . . . . . they both improve with age."
"You are twisted. And I'm not in denial."
"Whatever you say, Tala dear, whatever you say."
Legolas looked curiously at Gandalf, "Can you understand what they're saying?"
Gandalf shook his head, "No, I've never heard that language before. Perhaps I could persuade Lady Nerina to teach it to me."
"Do you know what caused them to start levitating?"
"I can't be sure yet, but I think there may be more to these women than meets the eye."
"More than two lunatic carousers, you mean?"
Gandalf nodded as he stared thoughtfully at the two women. "Yes, much more."
Nerina and Tala found their rooms again, and headed straight for their respective bathrooms. After luxuriating in the large bath tubs and thoroughly scrubbing off all the pond muck, Tala went and knocked on Nerina's door, wrapped in just her towel.
"Hey, 'Rina, what are we supposed to change into? We used up our emergency party supply already, and my pants won't be able to be worn for a while...if ever," she concluded with a despairing look toward her leather pants...her favorite pair. She growled under her breath at the thought of the men who caused it to happen . . . . . . ooo, were they gonna pay.
She was wrenched from her thoughts of mayhem and vengeance when Nerina opened the door...clad in a robe that was unlike any Tala had seen (and she had seen a few . . . . . . as she was partial to night clothes . . . . . . hehe). Floor length and with a modest neckline, as well as the seemingly ever-present belt, it was a deep red, but the material was finer than any silk that she had ever seen.
Nerina just grinned at the look on Tala's face, and the grin widened when she realized Tala stood in nothing but a towel. For one second, she thought of a few evil plots, but decided to be merciful at this point in time. Instead, she stepped around Tala and headed toward a small drawer in a cabinet on one wall. Tala just watched as she opened the drawer and withdrew a long piece of material.
"My dear friend, this is a robe, elvish style," Nerina said jauntily, holding it between her hands to show her friend.
Tala eyed the emerald material, and with raised brow, inquired innocently, "It is?"
Nerina smirked and nodded. Tala sighed, and then walked over and took it from her friend. Stepping behind a dressing screen decorated with stylized birds, she tossed it on and belted it closed. She stepped back out, but noticed Nerina was no where in sight. Grabbing a glass and filling it with water from the sink and drinking it as she went in search of her friend, she walked through both bathrooms and found Nerina looking out of her balcony. She went over to her, and they both enjoyed the view for a few seconds.
Then a shout drew their attention. Looking straight down, they discovered a busy stable yard, and noticed that several stable hands were looking up at them. Nerina giggled and leaned over, and using a voice that still managed to sound smoky even though she was practically shouting, called, "Hey there, cuties."
Tala cracked up as the men below grinned widely (almost stupidly) and waved back feebly while Nerina giggled again. However, before this fun discourse could go any further, Legolas stepped into the stable yard. After looking at the now seemingly hypnotized hands, he followed their gaze and made out the figures of the two strange creatures in their charge. He stood stunned for a moment, then turned red when he realized what they were wearing. But before he could move, Tala got a very mischievous look on her face, and looking from her friend to the glass in her hand, she upended the glass right over where Legolas was. A few seconds later, they heard an angry and surprised shout, and looking down, saw a wet Legolas glaring up at them. Tala waved as all the men in the yard burst into laughter. Legolas swiped some of the water off and strode from the yard after yelling for the laughing elves to get back to work.
"Uh o...we are in trouble," Tala said, not in the least bit sorry or worried. "Prude boy is going to come and ruin the fun."
Nerina laughed, but they both stepped away from the balcony and took innocent poses on the couch. A few minutes later, they heard a knock at the door, and Nerina called regally, "Come in."
They heard the door attempt to open, and then a muffled voice that sounded very much like a disgruntled Legolas say, "It is locked."
"O my goodness! Is it really? So sorry," Tala called innocently. "I suppose you'll just have to return later," she called as Nerina stifled her laughter with her hands.
However, the laughter died when they heard the lock click and saw not only an ever so slightly angry wet blonde elf step through the doorway, but an ever so slightly mad white wizard.
Nerina pouted, "Now you promised to never open our door again," at the same time she restrained Tala from throwing a very pretty looking book at them.
"We did not," Gandalf said, even as Nerina nodded and Tala then did. He wrinkled his brow, but then said with a wave of his hands, "Well, no matter. Your conduct has nulled the agreement for the moment. And why are you not dressed?"
After Nerina and Tala closed their mouths after their jaws had dropped at his "conduct" implication, Tala said, "We don't have anything but these robes to wear at the moment. Everything else is dirty, mainly through YOUR 'help'." She said the last with a glare.
"Fine, but you should not have been soliciting men from your balcony clad in nothing but robes," Legolas practically shouted.
"SOLICITNG?!?! You JERK!! How could you be so insufferably rude?! We have done nothing wrong! It is not our fault that Gandalf dumped us in a pond and we were left with nothing but robes. And it certainly not our fault that the men . . . . . . or elves . . . . . . or whatever, have never seen women before!" At this point, Tala was shouting, Nerina had her hands over her ears and was glaring at the males, Gandalf had taken a step back, and Legolas had turned red, first with embarrassment and then with anger.
But before he could retort, there was a knock on the door, one that was both loud and hesitant at the same time. Nerina said "Come in" very curtly, and the door opened to reveal a female elf, followed by two others, and each had bundles in their arms.
The first spoke, "May we enter, My Lady?"
Nerina nodded, and the three filed in, eyeing everyone warily, and deposited the bundles in the chairs and couch of the sitting area. The first spoke again, "We have brought yards of fabric and tools for sewing by order of his majesty. Umm . . . . . . we'll go now, call us if we are needed."
"That will be fine, thank you very much," Nerina said with a smile, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the fabric. Even Tala grinned a little at all the choices now placed on the sitting area of Nerina's room.
The ladies left, or more like fled, and Nerina pointed to the door, saying to the two men, "Get out now and if you pull that lock trick again, you will not like the consequences. Do not return unless we ask. Now, you are not welcome."
They were about to protest, but walked out angrily when the women turned their backs on them.
********
Author's Note: In case you all were wondering what in the heck Nerina was talking about with the whole 'Sad but true tale of Phineas Gage,' we decided to post the tale for you to read! :)
Phineas Gage was a young railroad construction supervisor in the Rutland and Burland Railroad site, in Vermont. In September 1848, while preparing a powder charge for blasting a rock, he inadvertently tamped a steel rod into the hole. The ensuing explosion projected the tamping rod, with 2.5 cm of diameter and more than one meter of length against his skull, at a high speed. The rod entered his head through his left cheek, destroyed his eye, traversed the frontal part of the brain, and left the top of the skull at the other side. Gage lost consciousness immediately and started to have convulsions. However, he recovered conscience moments later, and was taken to a local doctor, Jonh Harlow, who took care of him. Amazingly, he was talking and could walk. He lost a lot of blood, but after a bout with infection, he not only survived to the ghastly lesion, but recovered well, too.
Months later, however, Gage began to have startling changes in personality in mood. He became extravagant and anti-social, a full mouth and a liar with bad manners, and could no longer hold a job or plan his future. "Gage was no longer Gage", said his friends of him. He died in 1861, thirteen years after the accident, penniless and epileptic, and no autopsy was performed on his brain.
And that's it! Yay! R/R please and thanx in the form of ice cream to all that did review! With sprinkles! And Choco sauce! And whipped cream! And what ever else u want! :D
Nerina: Enough! We all get the point!
Tala: *smirk* Right then. On with the story!
**********
The room was dark and silent as the grave. At least that's the way it was until Nerina breezed into the room humming merrily as she threw open the shutters to let in the cool morning breeze and sunshine. Seeing her best friend was still asleep, she grinned mischievously and crawled onto the bed, so she could perch over her.
"Tala," she whispered softly.
The only response was some incoherent mumbling and Tala burrowing deeper into the bed.
Nerina smiled, deliriously happy about what she was going to do next. She sat up, took a deep breath, and let out a terrible, bloodcurdling shriek.
Tala woke up shouting and threw back the covers. Her eyes darted around and when she saw Nerina, she gasped, "Are you okay?!?"
Nerina was shaking terribly, but after a moment Tala realized she was shaking with laughter.
"I'm going to kill you!" she screamed as she leapt up and knocked her to the floor.
This was the sight that greeted Gandalf and Legolas when they opened the door after politely knocking.
"Stop this at once!" shouted Legolas.
The two girls paused. Tala was holding Nerina's hair in her fist and Nerina was gnawing on Tala's arm.
"For such good friends, it seems odd that we always find you attacking each other," he fumed.
Nerina grinned. "Call it a love-hate relationship," she said cheerfully, as she hugged Tala.
"Get off me," Tala grumbled.
"Still, such friends as you should not fight constantly," Gandalf said. He then looked quizzically at their rumpled clothes. "Do you intend to wear that to breakfast?"
The girls looked down, and Tala said, "Well, I suppose we could change our shirts. We each have an extra."
Legolas nodded thoughtfully. "Or I could go and get some dresses that we keep in storage for traveling nobility. I remember seeing several dresses- "
"No!" Tala practically shouted. She then half-blushed under the gaze of the other three. "Hehe . . . . . . umm . . . . . . how about you just bring us a bunch of material and we'll take care of our clothing."
"Yes! That's a great idea," crowed Nerina, clapping her hands together. "Right, now both of you get out so we can change and we'll be right there!"
The men nodded and exited, and Tala groaned, she had almost made it back to her bed.
*********
After this early morning escapade, the elf and wizard managed to escort the two women to the dining hall (now clad in new shirts-Nerina in a soft green and Tala in deep navy from their bags), where they were greeted warmly by King Thranduil.
"Please come sit near me and tell me something of your world."
After they were seated, Nerina looked at Tala to see if she was going to start talking, but Tala appeared to be torn between sleeping at the table, and eating a tasty looking muffin-like confection. Seeing that she wasn't going to get any help from that corner, Nerina sighed and launched into a story.
"And that my friends, is the sad, but true, tale of Phineas Gage," she concluded softly in a respectful tone.
Her audience stared at her in silence and Thranduil cleared his throat, "Well, that certainly was an . . . . . . interesting tale, to say the least."
Tala rolled her eyes at Nerina. "You just had to tell the Phineas Gage story at the breakfast table, didn't you?"
"Well, I couldn't think of anything else to tell and you weren't helping."
"I don't help people whose idea of a wakeup call is screaming like a banshee!"
Things could have gotten ugly, had Thranduil not intervened and suggested that Gandalf and Legolas take the two ladies on a tour of the castle.
"Great idea!" cheered Nerina. "Come on stud-muffin, you can be my escort," she winked at Gandalf as she stood. Tala rolled her eyes.
"Of course, Lady Nerina," Gandalf replied as he gallantly took her by the arm.
"Too early," moaned Tala as Legolas pulled her out of her chair.
"And as you can see, this is yet another garden," Legolas said gesturing to the flowers.
"Lovely," Tala said dryly.
"Oh don't mind her," Nerina giggled, "She's always grumpy in the morning."
"Indeed, I can see this," Gandalf whispered in reply.
"Don't think I can't hear what you're saying," growled Tala.
"For the love of rum Tala, stop being such a..." Nerina paused, staring ahead for a moment before joyfully crying, "Butterfly!" She skipped happily away from the group.
Legolas and Gandalf looked at each other in confusion, each mouthing the word, "Butterfly?"
Tala snorted, "Oh boy, here we go."
"Tala, my splendiferous most wonderful friend of friends, come frolic and help me chase this butterfly!"
Tala rolled her eyes at Legolas, as if to say 'See what I put up with?' before skipping unenthusiastically after her friend.
Gandalf and Legolas watched in amusement as the two chased a blue butterfly around the garden. When they neared the small pond at the center of the garden, the butterfly fluttered off. Laughing cheerfully, Nerina grabbed Tala's hands and both closed their eyes and began to twirl around in circles.
"So, when do we stop twirling?" shouted Tala.
Nerina cackled and shouted, "Never!"
Then something rather strange happened. As the two continued to twirl, unbeknownst to them, their feet left the ground and they slowly floated upwards over the pond.
Gandalf and Legolas stared in open-mouthed amazement before Legolas shouted, "What in the name of Valar are you two doing?"
Tala sneered slightly and opened her eyes, "What does it look like we're..." her voice faltered. "Umm...Rina..."
"Yes?" Nerina asked dreamily.
"Open your eyes!"
Nerina snapped out of her peaceful reverie and opened her eyes. As she stared in front of her, she frowned...'Hadn't that tree been taller a minute ago?' Then, sucking in a deep breath, she looked down.
Gandalf and Legolas both covered their ears as she released a blood- curdling scream.
"Rina, would you please chill!" Tala implored after recovering from the noise.
Nerina sniffed, "I don't like heights."
Tala sighed, "I know you don't. Well then, aren't you two going to help us?"
"Just stay where you are!" called Gandalf.
"Oh, now there's some good advice," grumbled Nerina. "You're a wizard! Shouldn't you be able to clap your hands and say 'Down?'"
Gandalf scowled at her and then in a mimicking fashion, clapped his hands together and shouted "Down!"
Tala and Nerina shrieked as they plummeted downward, landing with a great splash in the pond. Tala came up sputtering and glared evilly at the frog that was currently sitting on her knee. "Look, I dream about meeting my Prince Charming like every normal girl, but I'm definitely not in the mood right now!" The frog stared back at her blankly and croaked.
"Alright, that's it frog, you asked for it....Nerina what are you doing?"
Nerina was lying back in the water with a slightly dazed look on her face as she trailed her fingers through the water. "The flowers are quite beautiful, are they not?"
Tala raised her eyebrow, "Yeah, sure they are."
"I would give you some violets, but they all withered away when my father died."
Tala rolled her eyes, "Okay. Nerina, you can play water nymph or Ophelia or whatever the heck you're doing later. In the mean time, please get up."
Nerina shook herself out of her daze and blushed slightly, "Oops. Silly me."
As they rose from the water, they noticed Gandalf and Legolas trying (and not really succeeding) to avoid looking at them. Tala snorted slightly, "Apparently they've never witnessed a wet T-shirt contest."
They ignored the men as they walked by, suitably miffed at Gandalf's method of removing them from the air.
"Did I mention that I hate wet clothing?" asked Tala.
Nerina nodded, "Yeah, we better get out of these clothes before we catch something," she said in a slightly raised voice.
Tala rolled her eyes, "If you don't watch yourself, 'Rina, you're going to catch a nine month cold."
Nerina stuck out her tongue, "I'll be careful Tala. Just be sure that you practice what you preach."
"What are you talking about?"
Nerina lowered her voice and started speaking in Spanish, "Don't think I don't notice the way you've been looking at Blondie."
Tala sighed, "And how have I been looking at him?"
"It's the same look you get when we were fighting the other day. You love the fight, but it's no good without a worthy adversary, is it?"
Tala laughed, "And Prince Pretty Hair is a worthy adversary? I think that fall may have caused some serious brain damage, 'Rina."
Nerina smiled, "Well, at least I'm not in denial!"
"No, you look a Mr. White like he's a bottle of rum."
Nerina winked, "Nice simile . . . . . . Men and rum . . . . . . they both improve with age."
"You are twisted. And I'm not in denial."
"Whatever you say, Tala dear, whatever you say."
Legolas looked curiously at Gandalf, "Can you understand what they're saying?"
Gandalf shook his head, "No, I've never heard that language before. Perhaps I could persuade Lady Nerina to teach it to me."
"Do you know what caused them to start levitating?"
"I can't be sure yet, but I think there may be more to these women than meets the eye."
"More than two lunatic carousers, you mean?"
Gandalf nodded as he stared thoughtfully at the two women. "Yes, much more."
Nerina and Tala found their rooms again, and headed straight for their respective bathrooms. After luxuriating in the large bath tubs and thoroughly scrubbing off all the pond muck, Tala went and knocked on Nerina's door, wrapped in just her towel.
"Hey, 'Rina, what are we supposed to change into? We used up our emergency party supply already, and my pants won't be able to be worn for a while...if ever," she concluded with a despairing look toward her leather pants...her favorite pair. She growled under her breath at the thought of the men who caused it to happen . . . . . . ooo, were they gonna pay.
She was wrenched from her thoughts of mayhem and vengeance when Nerina opened the door...clad in a robe that was unlike any Tala had seen (and she had seen a few . . . . . . as she was partial to night clothes . . . . . . hehe). Floor length and with a modest neckline, as well as the seemingly ever-present belt, it was a deep red, but the material was finer than any silk that she had ever seen.
Nerina just grinned at the look on Tala's face, and the grin widened when she realized Tala stood in nothing but a towel. For one second, she thought of a few evil plots, but decided to be merciful at this point in time. Instead, she stepped around Tala and headed toward a small drawer in a cabinet on one wall. Tala just watched as she opened the drawer and withdrew a long piece of material.
"My dear friend, this is a robe, elvish style," Nerina said jauntily, holding it between her hands to show her friend.
Tala eyed the emerald material, and with raised brow, inquired innocently, "It is?"
Nerina smirked and nodded. Tala sighed, and then walked over and took it from her friend. Stepping behind a dressing screen decorated with stylized birds, she tossed it on and belted it closed. She stepped back out, but noticed Nerina was no where in sight. Grabbing a glass and filling it with water from the sink and drinking it as she went in search of her friend, she walked through both bathrooms and found Nerina looking out of her balcony. She went over to her, and they both enjoyed the view for a few seconds.
Then a shout drew their attention. Looking straight down, they discovered a busy stable yard, and noticed that several stable hands were looking up at them. Nerina giggled and leaned over, and using a voice that still managed to sound smoky even though she was practically shouting, called, "Hey there, cuties."
Tala cracked up as the men below grinned widely (almost stupidly) and waved back feebly while Nerina giggled again. However, before this fun discourse could go any further, Legolas stepped into the stable yard. After looking at the now seemingly hypnotized hands, he followed their gaze and made out the figures of the two strange creatures in their charge. He stood stunned for a moment, then turned red when he realized what they were wearing. But before he could move, Tala got a very mischievous look on her face, and looking from her friend to the glass in her hand, she upended the glass right over where Legolas was. A few seconds later, they heard an angry and surprised shout, and looking down, saw a wet Legolas glaring up at them. Tala waved as all the men in the yard burst into laughter. Legolas swiped some of the water off and strode from the yard after yelling for the laughing elves to get back to work.
"Uh o...we are in trouble," Tala said, not in the least bit sorry or worried. "Prude boy is going to come and ruin the fun."
Nerina laughed, but they both stepped away from the balcony and took innocent poses on the couch. A few minutes later, they heard a knock at the door, and Nerina called regally, "Come in."
They heard the door attempt to open, and then a muffled voice that sounded very much like a disgruntled Legolas say, "It is locked."
"O my goodness! Is it really? So sorry," Tala called innocently. "I suppose you'll just have to return later," she called as Nerina stifled her laughter with her hands.
However, the laughter died when they heard the lock click and saw not only an ever so slightly angry wet blonde elf step through the doorway, but an ever so slightly mad white wizard.
Nerina pouted, "Now you promised to never open our door again," at the same time she restrained Tala from throwing a very pretty looking book at them.
"We did not," Gandalf said, even as Nerina nodded and Tala then did. He wrinkled his brow, but then said with a wave of his hands, "Well, no matter. Your conduct has nulled the agreement for the moment. And why are you not dressed?"
After Nerina and Tala closed their mouths after their jaws had dropped at his "conduct" implication, Tala said, "We don't have anything but these robes to wear at the moment. Everything else is dirty, mainly through YOUR 'help'." She said the last with a glare.
"Fine, but you should not have been soliciting men from your balcony clad in nothing but robes," Legolas practically shouted.
"SOLICITNG?!?! You JERK!! How could you be so insufferably rude?! We have done nothing wrong! It is not our fault that Gandalf dumped us in a pond and we were left with nothing but robes. And it certainly not our fault that the men . . . . . . or elves . . . . . . or whatever, have never seen women before!" At this point, Tala was shouting, Nerina had her hands over her ears and was glaring at the males, Gandalf had taken a step back, and Legolas had turned red, first with embarrassment and then with anger.
But before he could retort, there was a knock on the door, one that was both loud and hesitant at the same time. Nerina said "Come in" very curtly, and the door opened to reveal a female elf, followed by two others, and each had bundles in their arms.
The first spoke, "May we enter, My Lady?"
Nerina nodded, and the three filed in, eyeing everyone warily, and deposited the bundles in the chairs and couch of the sitting area. The first spoke again, "We have brought yards of fabric and tools for sewing by order of his majesty. Umm . . . . . . we'll go now, call us if we are needed."
"That will be fine, thank you very much," Nerina said with a smile, her eyes lighting up at the sight of the fabric. Even Tala grinned a little at all the choices now placed on the sitting area of Nerina's room.
The ladies left, or more like fled, and Nerina pointed to the door, saying to the two men, "Get out now and if you pull that lock trick again, you will not like the consequences. Do not return unless we ask. Now, you are not welcome."
They were about to protest, but walked out angrily when the women turned their backs on them.
********
Author's Note: In case you all were wondering what in the heck Nerina was talking about with the whole 'Sad but true tale of Phineas Gage,' we decided to post the tale for you to read! :)
Phineas Gage was a young railroad construction supervisor in the Rutland and Burland Railroad site, in Vermont. In September 1848, while preparing a powder charge for blasting a rock, he inadvertently tamped a steel rod into the hole. The ensuing explosion projected the tamping rod, with 2.5 cm of diameter and more than one meter of length against his skull, at a high speed. The rod entered his head through his left cheek, destroyed his eye, traversed the frontal part of the brain, and left the top of the skull at the other side. Gage lost consciousness immediately and started to have convulsions. However, he recovered conscience moments later, and was taken to a local doctor, Jonh Harlow, who took care of him. Amazingly, he was talking and could walk. He lost a lot of blood, but after a bout with infection, he not only survived to the ghastly lesion, but recovered well, too.
Months later, however, Gage began to have startling changes in personality in mood. He became extravagant and anti-social, a full mouth and a liar with bad manners, and could no longer hold a job or plan his future. "Gage was no longer Gage", said his friends of him. He died in 1861, thirteen years after the accident, penniless and epileptic, and no autopsy was performed on his brain.
And that's it! Yay! R/R please and thanx in the form of ice cream to all that did review! With sprinkles! And Choco sauce! And whipped cream! And what ever else u want! :D