Disclaimer: I ripped off the idea of list-making from the Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. Yes, I like those. So sue me.

4. In Which Elwing Attempts To Analyze

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Elenya, Urime, Year 20 of the Fourth Age

Minas Tirith, Gondor

Curses, curses, curses!

Tutor had a case of stomach trouble yesterday so I CONVENIENTLY forgot to write in my journal yesterday and hoped that Tutor would forget about checking to see if I wrote in it.

That didn't happen.

This afternoon, Tutor DID check to see if I wrote in it. He then marched over to where I happened to be having an important, VERY intense match of cards with Eldarion and plopped this wretched book in my lap. That rude interruption completely broke my concentration which contributed to my losing the card game. And worst of all, Eldarion is going to gloat for days because I happen to be THE Champion Card Player of the children of the House of Telcontar and have never been beaten by any of my kin. And it's all Tutor's fault!

REASONS WHY I WANT TUTOR SACKED (I'm never going to write his name in this book. Not ever!)

1. He is always trying to poke his overly long nose into my business.

2. He is too bossy and critical. (I am a princess! He can't boss me around! (Oh dear! I sounded like Anarmiriel! And Anarmiriel is the most spoiled, selfish, self-centered brat-who-calls-herself-a-lady I have ever met.))

3. He gives me too many lays in Sindarin to translate into Westron. (Why do they need to be translated in Westron, anyway? They sound better in the original tongue!)

4. He spend too much of our study time in mathematics. (I'm never going to use many of those formulas in real life. So why do I need to learn them?)

5. He is still making me write in this book and actually believes it will somehow help my penmanship. (I don't need help in penmanship! What did you just snort, Tutor? I know my handwriting looks like chicken scratches, but I can read it and so can Mother. All right, trying to decipher my handwriting frequently gives Mother headaches, but she can still read it!)

So there!

Hmm, list-making is fairly interesting; I'll write another.

WHY ELDARION IS MY BEST FRIEND

1. He's fun to be around.

2. He's the only one allowed in the soldiers' barracks; therefore, he hears new curses and teaches them to me.

3. He thinks of the best pranks. (One of the best pranks he ever thought of was the time we dusted the inside of Celebrian's undergarments with a powder concocted of various plants that makes one itch. Once Celebrian put that on, her skin was red and bumpy from her scratching all throughout yestare. Of course, Mother found out, and the punishment inflicted on us was rather unpleasant, but all of it was worth the show of Celebrian fidgeting and embarassing herself throughout the day, especially in front of Belegorn, Lord Hurin's son, who Celebrian happened to have set her sights on for a potential husband.)

4. He is far better in mathematics and Sindarin than I am so he tutors me in those subjects. (Tutor, Eldarion does not give me the answers all the time! He really doesn't!)

5. He isn't mean to me and Theodwyn like other boys. (Such as Eomund.)

Hmm, who knew list-making could be so helpful in purging oneself of anger? I'll write another.

REASONS WHY NO ONE BELIEVES GILRAEN, CELEBRIAN, AND I ARE SISTERS

1. We do not look the least bit alike. (Gilraen is tall and willowy with pale, pale skin and smooth silvery-gold hair. Celebrian possesses a diminutive height, a rather ample figure, a rosy complexion, and wild black hair. I happen to be somewhere in the middle.)

2. Our behaviors vary. (Gilraen acts properly all the time. Celebrian is considered hopelessly silly and lovesick. Everyone thinks I'm too much of a troublemaker and tomboy.)

3. We do not act like sisters. (At least that what some people say. Mother says that our quarreling all the time is what sisters do.)

4. Few believe that two people can produce three such vastly different daughters.

5. We. . .

I must stop. It's time for my final fitting. The ball is tomorrow evening! I can hardly wait!