Ah, I do so love those fill-in chapters. They are a great God-send, huh? Anyway, thanks to all for the reviews! On we go with the next chapter! (BTW, I'm watching "ROTK"…again. grins)
"I cannot believe this…"
"Look, I said I was sorry…"
"But this is completely unreasonable, Laura!"
"I didn't mean to!"
"That doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that you did…or didn't, rather."
"But-but..."
Legolas was on my case. Again.
"I cannot believe you didn't continue to practice your archery." I rolled my eyes.
"Well, Legolas, I was sort of busy… you know… GROWING UP."
"You certainly must have had time to do at least a bit of practicing." This elf has obviously never been a high school student in the real world.
"I wanna see you go to lacrosse practice every day, do your homework, go to your job, and still have time to practice something that isn't even relevant in my world. And after graduation, go to classes every day, do mountains of studying, and then try to stay awake in class with a hangover!"
"That is beside the point. You need to brush up on your skills…"
-What skills?-
"…before we travel to Minas Tirith."
"Uh huh. Well, who is going to pack for me if I do that?"
"I will get Luthien to do so." I wrinkled my nose.
"But… she'll pack lots of flowery, puffy dresses!" I complained.
"Yes…"
"How the hell am I supposed to ride a horse all the way to Minas Tirith in a dress?"
"I will have her pack some pants and tunics, too…"
"Damn right you will, Elf-boy. I will not look like a little girly-girl all the way there."
"Of course not," he said absently. "Now, come along, let's go practice."
"Whyyy?"
Legolas' temper seemed to have grown shorter during the past six years. "Fine! Go find Elladan or Elrohir and have them teach you!" Then he stomped off in a very graceful way (well, as graceful as one can be when one is stomping).
Suddenly archery lessons sounded very fun.
"Right. Now you just put your hand right here. Grip it tigh- no, Laura, don't move your hand. Yes, right there- no, Laura. Yes, there."
Elrohir was attempting to reteach me archery. Somehow, I was finding it hard to concentrate. I don't know why…
"Very well. Now, just do as I do." He put the bow out in front of him, put an arrow on the string, then held it upright and pulled back the string.
"Whoa," I said intelligently. His muscles were quite obvious under his thin tunic.
"Yes, I know it looks difficult, but you have done it before. I believe you can do it again." He graced me with one of his gorgeous smiles, and I grinned back. "Now, do as I did."
"Er…right." I put the arrow on the string and put it upright.
"Exactly!" the elf said brightly. "Now, pull it back." I did so. "Perfect, Laura. You have not forgotten completely the rules of archery." I smirked inwardly. Mwahaha. "When I say, let the arrow go. Aim for that sapling over there." I looked at the sapling. It couldn't have been more than three inches wide.
"Ahaha. Good one, Elrohir. There is no way I will hit that."
"It is an easy target," he said nonchalantly.
"Maybe you have forgotten, dear, that I'm not an elf like you." He looked down at me, one perfect eyebrow raised.
"Indeed, I must have," he replied playfully. I narrowed my eyes. "Very well, aim for that large oak over there." I looked down the shaft of the arrow. "Ready… fire!" I let go of it, and watched as it…flopped listlessly in the grass. I looked up as the elf started to laugh.
"Shut up," I growled, picking up the arrow and wishing I could stick it in his butt for revenge. Archery lessons were not fun anymore.
Early the next morning, Luthien woke me up (although this time I didn't hit her with anything). I put on the rather fancy tunic and leggings she had laid out for me. Then I allowed her to braid my hair, which was painful. I did a lot of whining and shrieking, and she did a lot of scolding and mumbling. After having my scalp half pulled out, I had a quick breakfast of some sort of lembas-type thing. Then I was dragged out into the courtyard, where Duke was standing, saddled and everything. He even had a lovely face shield on, which was made of a silver metal, with an elanor flower engraved on it and stars surrounding it. It had matching leg shields as well. I beamed. It was very elfy-looking. Luthien handed me a gorgeous, silvery blue cloak which had flowers and vines embroidered in silver thread on the seams and around the edge of the hood. It came all the way to the ground, and even then trailed a bit behind. It was obviously made for someone taller than me. I grinned and hugged her. She looked shocked, then sort of gently patted my back.
"So, you approve of the things we have gotten for Duke?" I heard a voice say. I turned around and saw Legolas, holding the reins of his own horse, which was white. I smiled and nodded at him.
"It's all very pretty, but is it really necessary?"
"It might," he answered. "As I told you before, there are still stray bands of orcs running throughout Middle Earth. There are at least two that we know of in and around Ithilien."
"Well, that's very comforting," I grumbled. He chuckled.
"Don't worry. There is very little chance that we shall come across any orcs."
"He's lying," someone whispered in my ear. I trembled and saw Elladan smirking at me.
"Oh, stop, Elladan. Don't scare her," Legolas said, glaring at him. Elrohir came up behind his brother and put his arm around him.
"We are not lying," he said, winking at me. I frowned and glanced at Legolas, who was giving them the "Shut up, she can't know that" look. He looked at me and gave me a weak smile.
"Go on, get on Duke," he said. I swung up onto Duke's back. My horse whinnied happily and tossed his mane. I smiled down at the three elves, who were giving me worried looks.
"Come on, guys! You're elves, they're big, smelly orcs. Plus, Sauron is gone. There's nothing that can stop you!" They all smiled and mounted their horses.
There were five other elves going with us; nine all together. Everyone was carrying their own load on their horses. All the other elves that lived in Ithilien came out to the courtyard and stood about solemnly. The male elves bowed to me (which I thoroughly enjoyed ). The women were looking mournfully at the men, particularly Legolas and the twins (who were obviously the hottest). Several of the braver (and tartier) ones handed them small favors, such as handkerchiefs, flowers, or brooches. I rolled my eyes and kicked Duke. He trotted towards one who was batting her lashes flirtatiously at Elrohir, nearly running her over. She squealed and hopped out of the way just in time, glaring at me and muttering something in Elvish. I heard several of the male elves chuckle, and I smirked, tossing my braid proudly.
"Let us be off," Legolas said. He kicked his horse gently and cantered out under the archway of the courtyard; the rest of us followed. The sounds of Elvish farewells slowly faded away in the mist. Ooh, that was poetic. I snorted as Elrohir rolled his eyes and tossed the handkerchiefs he had been given on the ground. "Such a ridiculous tradition," he muttered.
For several hours we cantered through the tall trees of Ithilien. Then we slowed to a trot, and finally to a walk. I turned and made conversation with one of the elves next to me. He was very friendly, though slightly boring. He was quite determined to keep calling me "milady" and all that crap. And all he wanted to talk about was horses, and Elvish songs, old tales. Blah, blah, blah. Eventually I just zoned out, and every time I heard "milady" I said "Uh-huh."
When the sun went down, we stopped and made camp. The elves all made up a fire, and we all sat around it. They told stories of battles, sang (though, fortunately, not the one from "The Hobbit"), and recited poetry. Then we all did the dishes, brushed our teeth, and went to bed, minus the brushing of teeth and doing of dishes. I smiled up at the stars and thought of the last time I had been to Middle-earth. But then I thought of Lauren and Crystyna, and I got all sad. Although Crystyna had believed we had gone there, Lauren was convinced that somehow we had been brainwashed. Her over-protective parents had taken her to therapy, which made her truly brainwashed.
By now I couldn't sleep. I was too upset about losing my friends, family, and boyfriend. I stood up and quietly snuck out of the camp. So I walked through the woods, crying quietly. I came upon a clearing full of beautiful white flowers: elanor. I picked one and fingered it gently. It was so delicate, and pretty. Yeah. It was pretty.
I heard something scuffling around in the brush, and turned around. I peered in, and came face to face with the ugliest pair of eyes I had ever seen. The thing growled. I backed away slowly, then turned and ran, screaming my lungs out. The eyes disappeared, yelling as well.
"ORCS!!!!" I screeched as I stumbled into the camp. "There are orcs out there!" All of the elves jumped up and grabbed their bows, swords, and knives.
"I will scold you later for leaving the camp," Legolas growled. "Get your bow!"
I ran along behind all the elves, panting. I was terrified. You'd think after being in several battles with more than ten thousand orcs, I would be so scared, but I was. Before I could scamper along and dodge past them, since I was so short. But now I was quite noticeable, and I couldn't hide. I gulped as shadowy forms appeared in the darkness.
"Laura, climb that tree!" Elladan yelled, pointing to a tall pine. I sprinted towards it and flung myself into the branches, quickly pulling my body up about fifteen feet. From there I observed the elves and orcs going at it. We were outnumbered about twenty-five to nine. Well, this sucked. I watched as an orc crept up behind an elf, raising its sword.
"LOOK OUT!" I screamed. I quickly put an arrow to the string and let it fly. It sort of missed, and hit the orc in the shin. But it was enough time for the elf to defend himself and stab it in the gut. However, then I was noticed.
"There's one in the tree!" an orc shouted, shooting an arrow at me. I screeched and ducked, falling off the branch and onto the ground.
"Shit!" I gasped, as an orc ran at me with a spear raised. I screamed and kicked it in the leg. It growled and grabbed my neck, actually lifting me off the ground. It made a roaring noise, and everyone stopped and stared. The elves aimed their arrows at the orc, which smirked.
"If you shoot me, they'll kill her," it snarled, nodding towards the other orcs who had their weapons pointed at my chest. I gulped and looked at Legolas with wide eyes. He hesitated, and lowered his bow. Then he shrugged.
"Take her. We care not. She is but a prisoner. She is more of a burden than a prize," he said nonchalantly. My jaw practically hit the ground. The orcs muttered amongst themselves, then they turned around and started to jog into the heart of the woods. The one holding me grabbed my arm and dragged me along with them.
As we started to loose sight of the elves, I screamed.
"I HATE YOU!! BURN IN HELL, LEGOLAS!!!!"
Gasp! Captured by orcs? Well, this is déjà vu! What will happen next? Will Laura get to Minas Tirith safely? Will the elves just forget about her and go back to Ithilien? Find out by reviewing!
Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter!!
Lurve,
!Laura!