Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Lord of the Rings it all belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien and the movie producers. I only own Amaris and any character outside Middle Earth.
Number 8: Thank Yous and Friendships
Amaris smiled to herself as she walked down the path and back through the corridors towards her room. She went to her duffle bag and pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Since she wasn't hungry she wanted to change and go back out into the archery field to practice a little more. She quickly removed her gown and slid on her jeans and t-shirt. She threw her hair up into a pony tail and put on her tennis shoes. She strapped the quiver of arrows to her back and walked over to the vanity table. She took the bind off of the flowers and sorted them out. She took the two bouquets and her new bow and walked out of the corridors. Those that passed her looked at her oddly but she paid no mind. As she walked she spotted Arwen and smiled. She walked over to her and Arwen smiled at her.
"Hello Amaris. I see you changed into your other clothes." She smiled at Amaris as she gestured at her clothes.
"Hello Lady Arwen and yes. Only because I'm going back out to the archery field to practice." Arwen smiles and nods her head. "I wanted to gives these to you. They are not much but I wanted to give you something as a token of appreciation." She held out the bouquet to Arwen and Arwen smiled as she took the flowers from Amaris.
"Thank you Amaris. They are beautiful." Amaris smiled and bowed her head.
"I must be going. I am glad you like them." Amaris left Arwen and went in search of Lord Elrond. She found him where she last saw him in his study. She knocked on the open door and he looked up at her. "Excuse me Lord Elrond." He smiles.
"It's quiet alright Amaris, please come in." She walks in and over to him.
"I just wanted to give these to you as a token of my appreciation. It isn't much but it is all I can do at the moment." She hands him the flowers and he takes them from her with a smile on his face.
"Thank you Amaris." She smiles at him and bows her head.
"The bow is lovely thank you for it."
"You are welcome. I hope it serves you well."
"That it will. I am going to practice some more. I wanted to change out of the gown before I ruined it." Lord Elrond smiles at her and pats her shoulder. She bows her head to him. "I'll take my leave and let you get back to your work." He smiles and watches her as she leaves the room. She is becoming like a daughter to him and he's only known her for four days. He shakes his head and returns to his work.
Amaris walks back down the path and finds the clearing empty. She goes up to the target and removes her arrow from earlier and puts it back in her quiver. She goes back to the mark and positions herself. She finds her mark and fires the arrow hitting the center of the target. She takes two steps back and positions her bow. She finds her mark and fires. It lands in the center of the target next to her first arrow. She smiles feeling proud that her aim is still good. She readies another arrow when she hears noise to her left. She moves her bow to the direction of the sound and sees movement in the bushes.
"Show yourself!" She yells towards the bush. "Show yourself and I will spare you an arrow to the heart!" Suddenly two small forms come running from out of the bushes with their hands in the air.
"Don't shoot milady!" Merry says with his hands high. "Please! We just wanted to watch." Amaris immediately lowers her bow when she sees that is just Merry and Pippin.
"Merry! Pippin! You both scared me. Next time just ask me and I will gladly let you watch." She returns the arrow to the quiver and latches the bow to her back
"Where did you learn to do that? Did the elves teach you?" Pippin asks as they walk over to her. Amaris smiles and sits down on the grass. She motions for them to join her and they do.
"No, the elves didn't teach me. My father taught me when I was a child."
"How old were you when he taught you?" Merry asked.
"I was five when he first instructed me."
"So, how long have you done this?" Pippin asked. Amaris smiled at their attempts to find information about her.
"For 21 years, making me 26 years old if that is what you were trying to find out. If there is anything else you'd like to know just ask." Amaris said as she smiled.
"What's it like where you're from?" Pippin asked.
"Pippin!" Merry said smacking Pippin's arm. Amaris smiled.
"It's alright Merry. I can tell you guys a little bit of what it is like where I'm from." She paused getting ready to speak when she felt someone watching them. She looked around quickly but didn't see anything. She sighed and continued on. "Well, where I'm from is very different from here. Where I'm from there are no such things as elves, dwarfs, wizards, or even hobbits." Their eyes get wide and Amaris laughed slightly. "Where I'm from it's much more fast paced and crazy then it is here. Most people get along but some don't and there are wars and quarrels like there are here but more people die in the wars where I'm from. The weapons we have are terrible and do much more damage than swords or arrows. But, not all of where I'm from is bad. I am a teacher and I teach young children. I see hope for the future in their eyes. I try to guide them and I tell them that one person, no matter how small they are, can make a difference in the world." Merry seems to be listening but Pippin seems focused on Amaris' clothes.
"Do all the people where you're from dress like you?" Pippin asks. Merry looks at him funny and Amaris laughs.
"Most do. This is what I wear when I go into the woods and go camping." She smiled as she patted his knee.
"The ladies don't wear gowns?" Merry asked.
"No. Well, we wear dresses only when we dress up or work in a place that requires them. Most women wear pants and jeans like I have on." They nod their heads. Pippin looks at Merry and pats his arm.
"Merry, I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat." Amaris laughs and they look at her.
"Go on. You know where to find me if you have any more questions my friends." They smile at her and nod their heads. They get up and run down the path and Amaris smiles knowing their heading right towards the kitchens.
Amaris removes her bow and quiver from her back and props them against the stone next to her. She lays back on the grass and lets the sun fall down upon her body. It's mid afternoon and all is quiet. She smiles to herself and closes her eyes breathing in the scent of the grass and trees around her. After a few minutes she opens her eyes and sits up looking around the clearing. She stands and slides on her quiver and picks up her bow. She takes an arrow and finds her mark. She releases the arrow and it hits the ring outside of the center. She sighs and stretches her neck. She readies another arrow and finds her mark. She releases and it hits the center next to the first two arrows she shot and she smiles while lowering her bow.
"Lle ume quell," a voice says behind her causing her to jump. She spins around to see Legolas standing behind her. (You did well)
"Thank you," she said as she bows her head to him. He smiles at her and walks closer. "I don't mean to be rude but were you listening when Merry and Pippin were sitting with me?"
"I hope you do not mind. I was coming to use the targets when I saw them sitting with you. I did not want to intrude."
"It's alright. I'll leave the field to you just let me go get my arrows." Amaris walks to the target and removes her arrows. She slides them back into her quiver and walks back to the waiting elf. "The field is yours." She goes to walk away when he calls to her.
"Lady Amaris!" She turns around and smiles at him.
"Yes, Prince Legolas?" He sighs when she says his title.
"First, please just call me Legolas. There is no need for my title, we are equals." Amaris nods her head.
"Very well. However, I wish for you to call me Amaris. I'm not too keen on the whole 'lady' thing as I have told everyone." He smiles and nods.
"Since that is settled, how about a friendly game?" Amaris raises an eyebrow and smiles.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Just an archery contest, to see who as the best accuracy when speed is necessary." Amaris walks over to the standing prince and smiles. She holds out her hand and he looks at it. She laughs.
"Take my hand." He takes it and she shakes it up and down. "Deal." He laughs at her and they ready themselves in front of their respected targets.
"The one with the best accuracy after firing all arrows shall be the winner," Legolas said as he looks at the woman.
"Get ready to lose Legolas." She smiles at him and takes her stance. "Go!" She shouts and they begin firing their arrows at lightning speed. They are both out of arrows at the same time and they check their targets. As they walk they both have smiles on their faces. They both stand and admire their targets and their opponent's targets. "It appears as though this may be a tie Legolas." She looks at the elf who has his arms across his chest not believing his eyes. Out of ten arrows he got five in the center, two in the ring surrounding the center, two in the next ring and one in the very outer ring. He looked at Amaris' target and it looked exactly like his.
"You are a very skilled archer Amaris. You should be proud. For someone with only 21 years experience with a bow you have the same accuracy as an elf who has over 2,000 years experience." He smiles at the woman who is removing her arrows from the target. She puts her arrows and her quiver and smiles at the elf.
"Lle naa curucuar, mellonamin," she said to the elf and he smiled. (You are a skillful bowman, my friend)
"Mellonea?" he asked with a smile. (Friends?)
Amaris laughed at him. "Of course, unless you'd rather be enemies. I mean, we could be and we will be traveling together and your conflict with Gimli may take up most of your time so your quarrel with me might not take precedent but I'm willing to put aside our differences if you are." He tries to keep his face neutral to her babbling but he can't help but laugh with her. "So, mellonea?" He nods and bows his head to her. (Friends?)
"Mellonea." They walk back to the city together laughing and talking. Legolas escorted her to her room to get ready for dinner. "I will see you at dinner Amaris." She smiles. (Friends)
"Until then," she said as she closed the door to her room. She smiled as she walked to the washroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. Maybe my life won't be so bad here. Sure I'll face death along the way but I would rather die than see anything go differently than it is supposed to. Amaris washed her face and hands and changed into a dress for dinner.
