Replies to reviewers: (kind of long, but all of you may want to glance at my reply to Scatty for some useful info, if you don't already know it)
Sarah – Glad to hear you are enjoying this. I try really hard to make my characters believable, and "true to form".
Lady Luthien – Not sure why you think Eomer is dead. HE ISN'T! Maybe the burial mounds, when he mentions it is the burial place of Rohan's Kings – his ancestors? Eomer has not yet joined them, and Elfwine is not yet king – he is just "looking ahead". I can't kill Eomer off! I'm having way too much fun playing with him!
Scatty – "Not quite how I picture Aragorn and Arwen's daughter but it works." Keep in mind she's only 14, so she still has some growing up and maturing to do.
"None of your more recent stories have shown up on your author page" – I've noticed that ffn is sometimes slow to put my new stories there – don't know why. Sometimes they are just randomly slow about the strangest things. THERE IS a Part 20 of the Elfwine Chronicles called Newness, and it presently is showing on my author page (it currently has all my stories). If it doesn't show up for you, it may be you need to clean up your "cache". In your browser (Internet Explorer), click on Tools, then click on Internet Options. In the middle it says Temporary Internet Files. Click on Delete Files, and then click on OK. Your computer says these things for quick retrieval, but you may not see the most current version of something. If you get too many of these files sitting on your computer, then you get really old information. You should do this "clean up" periodically to get rid of them so your computer will work faster/better. If that doesn't work, and you still can't see all my stories, contact me by e-mail and I'll send you a list.
Second Thoughts
Chapter 4
The next morning, after the children were fed and off playing together, Lothiriel sought out Dariel and invited her to work in the garden with her. Dariel gladly accepted since the awkwardness that had developed with Elfwine left her with nothing to do.
As they worked, trimming dead flowers and fertilizing the various plants, Lothiriel ventured, "I saw you and Elfwine in the garden yesterday afternoon. What were you doing? You seemed very intent on something."
Dariel sighed. "He was showing me how to draw, and some pictures he had drawn already."
"Did you have an argument? The two of you seemed rather distant to each other at supper and during the evening."
Dariel shook her head. "No, not exactly. I think…I think maybe I embarrassed him by being too forward." She hadn't meant to confess it, but the words were out before she could stop them. She winced, wondering what his mother would do when she found out what she had done.
"How were you too forward?" Lothiriel asked gently.
"I, er…I was so intent on watching him draw that I moved closer than I realized. He looked up to find me almost on top of him. He was terribly embarrassed and I was mortified that I had done so. I am sure he will avoid being around me now. That is why he was uncomfortable with me later."
Lothiriel smiled gently at her. "I cannot imagine my son minded sitting close to a pretty young woman. He may have blushed, but I doubt he objected to the situation."
Dariel turned pink at the compliment and ducked her head.
"You like him, do you not?" Lothiriel asked.
The girl's head jerked up. "What?"
"You have feelings for my son. I have seen it in your behavior, and in your eyes," Lothiriel answered quietly.
It was said with such certainty that Dariel realized it was pointless to deny. "Yes. I do. But I have been so horrible to him, I know he will never think of me fondly."
"You might be surprised. He was hurt by your words at Minas Tirith, but not so much as to turn him against you. And your efforts at a sincere apology and better behavior have begun to win full forgiveness from him."
Dariel eyed her with a mixture of hopefulness and skepticism. "How do you know that?"
"I know my son very well." She met Dariel's gaze, asserting, "I know him very well, indeed. All is not lost."
She wasn't entirely sure why, but Dariel found herself believing Lothiriel's words. But if he did forgive her and wanted to know her better, how was he to know she felt the same way? An apology only meant she was sorry for being rude to him, not that she was interested in knowing him better. How could she let him know she would be pleased to share his company?
Lothiriel watched the girl from the corner of her eye, and suspected the thoughts running through her mind. Another nudge seemed in order. "If he was teaching you to draw yesterday, perhaps I have kept you here helping me long enough. Maybe you would like to go find him and resume your instruction. I do not think he will mind continuing your lessons."
Dariel hesitated, torn between wanting to go look for Elfwine and feeling she should stay and help as she had agreed. "Run along. We are almost done here, and I do not mind working alone. With small children in the house, it gives me a modicum of peace on occasion!"
With a grin, Dariel returned the gloves she had been given and started back inside. "Dariel?" She looked back. "I believe you will find him at his sparring lesson. He does that daily around this time."
She nodded and changed her course, exiting the garden down toward the practice field. She reached it just as they were finishing.
"Well, well, little sister. Come to watch again, have you?" Eldarion called to her.
She hastily moved away as he came toward her. "Stay away from me with your sweaty body!" she squealed.
Laughing, he continued to pursue her along the fence line and finally she called, "Elfwine, help me!"
Elfwine was startled by the plea, but instantly moved into action. "Eldarion, I cannot allow you to torment your sister while she is a guest in Rohan. That places her under Rohirrim protection!" he announced sternly to his friend.
Eldarion turned to eye him. "Oh really? You would challenge the Prince of Gondor?" He tossed his sword to the ground with a grin.
"I would," Elfwine declared, following suit and preparing himself.
A moment later, Eldarion launched himself at Elfwine, who dodged to the side. As he went down, however, Eldarion was able to sweep his leg and drop his opponent as well. In short order they were wrestling for domination, which Elfwine laughingly achieved several moments later.
Eldarion lay on his back with Elfwine sitting on his belly and shook his head. "Clearly I need to come to Rohan for training in fighting! A year younger than me, and still you best me both with sword and strength!"
Laughing, Elfwine rose and gave him a hand up. They began dusting themselves off, though most of the dirt was now too ground in to easily be brushed away. "It would appear that neither of us will escape a bath now!" Elfwine observed. Then, remembering Dariel, he added, "My lady, you are safe from molestation by this cretin!"
"Cretin? Keep that up and I will defeat you, with outrage alone!" Eldarion warned.
High spirits and adrenalin combined to push Elfwine suddenly toward Dariel. A moment later he pulled her into a sweaty, dirty hug as she squealed and tried to twist free. At last, he stepped back with a grin. "However, you may still not be safe from the cretins of Rohan!"
Eldarion was now doubled over with laughter at the look on his sister's face, so he missed how her eyes were shining and the slight blush that crept over her cheeks. Elfwine swallowed as his exuberance subsided, watching her carefully for any sign of offense at his behavior, but all he saw was a shy smile and her eyes did not reflect any displeasure with his actions.
Emboldened by this, he called to the other young man, "Eldarion, come; let us wash!" With that he scooped Dariel up in his arms and strode briskly toward the stream. Quickly comprehending his purpose, Eldarion was hot on his heels. Dariel was too startled to realize what they were up to until he reached the bank of the stream, giving no sign of stopping.
With a shriek, she exclaimed, "Elfwine! What are you doing? Put me down!"
He grinned, stepped into the stream and replied, "I intend to, my lady!" With that he dropped her in the water as Eldarion hooted with laughter from the bank. In one quick motion, Elfwine reached over, grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him into the stream as well. Not to be outdone, Eldarion came up quickly and tackled him. They both hit the water with a tremendous splash that resoaked Dariel who had just stood up nearby.
For a moment, she was inclined to be angry with Elfwine for throwing her in the water, but as she watched him wrestling and splashing with her brother, she realized his doing so had been intended to include her in their play. A grin twitched at her mouth, and finally she allowed herself to give way to laughter and join in.
It was a sodden, but somewhat cleaner, trio that made its way back to Meduseld a while later.
Each went their separate way to get cleaned up and changed, and Elfwine couldn't restrain a grin from creasing his face. Dariel hadn't seemed to be upset with him, either for his getting her wet or the way he had behaved the previous day. Maybe she didn't consider him a complete idiot. He washed and quickly donned dry clothing, thinking to go see if she wanted to continue the drawing lesson before the midday meal.
Coming down the hall toward her room, he passed Tamwen and another maid servant talking about a dress Tamwen was holding. "I told her I'd see what I could do with it, but this dress is rather thoroughly ruined. I can't imagine why she would go into the stream wearing it!"
They hurried by him with a polite bob in his direction, but they had already lost his attention. Dariel's dress was ruined – because he had thrown her in the water? He let out a groan. He just couldn't do anything right where she was concerned. If she wasn't angry before, she would be now. He stood there a moment, then changed course and headed for the stable.
He spent the next hour working there, cleaning his saddle and bridle, and grooming his horse. During that time, he considered what he should do. Finally, he decided he needed to apologize and offer to buy her a new dress. With that resolution, he returned to Meduseld, and soon discovered she was with their mothers in his mother's sitting room. At his knock, his mother called for him to enter, and he stepped in, stiffly formal but unable to hold back a blush.
"Lady Dariel, it has come to my attention that my rash actions have ruined your dress. My sincerest apologies. I would be happy to buy you a replacement, either from a shop here in Edoras or after you have returned to Minas Tirith. Please forgive me my carelessness."
She was too taken by surprise to answer, so he bowed and hastily exited. Both of the older women were eyeing her curiously and Arwen voiced their question, "What is Elfwine talking about, Dariel? How did he ruin your dress?"
She flushed pink and slowly explained how they were fooling around and he had thrown her in the stream. "But I do not know how he found out the dress was ruined. I did not tell him that. It was an older dress so I was not terribly concerned about it. I was not going to mention it to him."
"Well, how ever he found out about it, he apparently does know. What will you do now?" Lothiriel asked.
Dariel's eyes were filling with tears. "I do not know," she wailed. "Everything goes wrong with us!" With that, she bolted out of the room and hurried back to her bedchamber.
Lothiriel and Arwen looked at one another and sighed. "I suppose I was like that at her age, but are Elves the same way when they are young?" Lothiriel queried.
Arwen laughed. "Unfortunately, many are. I think I fancied an Elf or two in my youth, and felt the pangs of dealing with that. It is never easy for any girl."
"Do you think we should do anything or just stay out of it?" Lothiriel asked. "I tried helping it along earlier, and it seemed to have worked until now."
"I do not think they would welcome our open involvement, but that is not to say we cannot try to nudge things in the right direction when the opportunity arises," Arwen observed.
Lothiriel nodded. "Agreed!"
