A/N: Yay! Lots of reviews that time! Makes me happy and all of a sudden . .
. Wheeeee! Feel's so good. Hmm, might affect this chappy a bit. Hoom. Well,
time for a bit of a low down. It's been a few days after she's arrived and
the Fellowship has been chosen. If you'll check the copy of Lotr next to
you, you'll find that the Fellowship won't leave for another two months.
What am I going to do in that time? Hoom. Whoa, just had vision of
scrolling down to 65th chapter to where the Fellowship leave *blinks* I'll
have to be careful that doesn't happen, eh? Unless Nat's time in Rivendell
is amazingly eventful. Hoom, well, I'd better let you go read this fic,
huh? I'm feeling very type-ative today.
Following scene is actually kind of true. I get it every Sunday morning . . .
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Title: A Place Of Her Own
Chapter: Awakening
Rating: Pfft. If you don't know it by now . . .
Summary: Hmm, touched on this in my author's note. Can't highlight in these docs, so you'll just have to find it yourself.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Thom woke up under a table.
For a moment he was a bit woozy, trying to work out which way was up until he realised that the heavy pressure on his legs were being caused by his playmates.
He pushed them off and scrambled to his feet as quickly as a five-year-old boy could. Around him there were many sitting in corners still drinking quietly and a couple were laughing gaily as they continued to dance.
He wandered out of the hall to go to his rooms, and then remembered that they had moved him in next to his sister.
He went up to an elf that was staring expectantly towards one of the buildings to ask for directions.
"Excuse me," Thom began.
The elf looked down with surprise.
"Ah, so you must be Nat's younger brother. I have heard about you."
Thom started but stared up at the elf determinedly.
"I need to find my room. It's next to Nat's if that helps, sir."
The elf smiled fondly at the young boy and bent over to pick him up.
"Here, I'll carry you over there. It's in the guest wings."
"Thank you, sir," said Thom shyly.
Elrohir lifted the boy and swung him onto his back, then turned to head for the guestrooms.
"My name is Elrohir, Thom. I'm going to teach your sister archery and she is late."
"My sister's always late," Thom said solemnly.
"Is she? Well, I'll have to cure her of that soon enough," Elrohir said with a chuckle but then stopped suddenly as an idea hit him, "Thom? Would you like to help me?"
Thomas giggled strangely as he thought of waking his sister after what had happened the night before.
Elrohir took that as a hearty "yes, please!" and strode towards Nat's room with more vigour than he had earlier.
At the door, Elrohir found Iluvion leaning against it wearily.
"I'm sorry, my lord," he said as he straightened to salute Elrohir. Elrohir stopped him with a wink and entered Nat's room quietly. The guard followed close behind.
Nat could be found lying spread eagled on the bed with the sheets twisted around her legs, the blankets had been thrown on the floor sometime in the night and the curtains had been drawn tightly over the windows to the balcony.
Elrohir checked to see if Nat really was awake.
Her brown hair was tussled and knotted, spread out against the pillow. Her mouth hung slightly open with a bit of drool in the corner. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her arms encircled the pillow, sheets and part of a remaining blanket.
"Naaaaaaahhhht," whispered Thom, shaking his sister gently.
Elrohir winked at Thom as Nat mumbled something and turned away from them. He pointed to the curtains, which Thomas went to dutifully.
Elrohir looked behind him to see Iluvion holding the full washbasin and smirking.
The elf lord looked around for something else for himself, but had to content him self with grabbing the sheets at the bottom of the bed.
"On the count of three," he said quietly, looking to his fellows who looked to him expectantly.
"One . . . two . . . THREE!"
With an almighty heave, he swept the sheets of the tussled figure that immediately curled up into a tight foetal position. As soon as the sheets were free, Iluvion threw the cold water over Nat who yelled.
"Argh!" she screamed rolling over and nearly falling off the bed.
Thom opened the curtains quickly, letting the noonday sunlight flood into the room.
"Aaarghhh!" Nat squealed as she finally fell of the bed into a heap on the floor. She tried to crawl under the bed to hide from the light.
"No!" she scrambled for a hold on the bed frame but Jluvien held her ankle tight and pulled her from the bedposts.
The girl kicked out, screaming, and twisted away from a surprised Jluvien and scampered under the bed before anyone else could grab hold of her.
Aragorn and Boromir, who were discussing matters of Osgiliath before they were interrupted, heard the ruckus. Looking to each other, they took the steps two at a time and reached Nat's room in a matter of seconds.
"Elrohir!" snapped Aragorn, "What are you doing to her, to make her scream so?"
Elrohir was at that moment under the bed trying to drag the girl out who had curled in the middle and stubbornly returned to sleep. A thud echoed out from under the bed as his brother's voice reached his ears.
He crawled out and looked up to see Aragorn tapping his foot behind an anxious looking Boromir.
"Why did she scream?" he asked.
Thom grinned up, munching some of Nat's untouched breakfast.
"Waking her up," he said with his mouth full.
Elrohir gave him a look and then went back under the bed.
"You poke her and she'll roll over to me, where I'll drag her out this side. You come over and help me, Estel."
Aragorn shook his head forcefully.
"I'm not getting into this," he said and quit the room.
Boromir looked at a loss as Elrohir then called his name.
Thom gave him a little push towards the bed and Boromir reluctantly got down on his knees.
"So you decided to join us?" smirked Elrohir in the darkness as Boromir wriggled forward.
"Why must you wake her? She had a rough night last night."
"She has an archery lesson today, and I've been waiting most of the morning for her."
"But she's tired . . ."
"I can't do it later on this afternoon because I have to go on a patrol with Estel, and if I don't get this archery lesson done today, Father will skin me," explained Elrohir.
"Plus, this is kind of fun," he added as an after thought, "Now, Jluvien!"
Iluvion poked hard at Nat's spine, forcing her to instinctively flinch away. Immediately, Elrohir and Boromir dragged her out from under the bed and into the middle of the room.
Nat moaned and stretched full length on the floor, looking up at the puffing Boromir and Elrohir.
"Whadoyouwan'?" she asked, yawning.
"Archery lesson. Five minutes. Archery Fields," Elrohir told her and left.
Boromir looked helplessly at Nat and then left her with her brother to get dressed.
Iluvion had already left by now and Nat turned to her brother.
"Stop smirking," she told him gruffly before getting to her feet and dragging herself to the wardrobe.
She flung it open. All the robes were gone!
She went through the extra sheets, trying to find some clothes to wear.
Thom wandered over, curious and picked out one of the sheets.
"Wear this," he told her, imperviously.
"What as a toga?"
"It's a dress, Nat."
She looked at the parachute and tried to hold it up to her frame and blinked.
"It's a pretty big dress. Why can't I wear pants?" she turned back to the wardrobe, throwing the dresses out.
"Nat," her brother said patiently.
Nat turned around, her brother was standing on the bed, holding the dress up expectantly.
"Do I have to?" she whined at him, going back to the wardrobe, only to find there was nothing but the dresses inside.
"Yes."
Nat looked back and glared at him. She made her way over to where her brother stood and looked at the dress critically.
Sighing, she put the dress on under the watchful eye of her brother.
"How's this?" she asked him, resigned to her fate.
"I'd run if I were you, Elrohir gets mad when you make him wait."
Nat cringed in reminder to her wake up call and slipped on some red slippers. Running down the stairs, she looked around for the archery fields.
"South!" yelled Boromir from across the yard, pointing.
She nodded gratefully to him, but gave him a glare afterwards for good measure when she remembered that he'd helped Elrohir in getting her up that morning. She left the courtyard with the satisfied image of Boromir's confused face but sped up as she saw Elrohir in the distance.
"I'm . . . here," she said panting, as she got to where Elrohir was standing.
"And you didn't bring your bow?" Elrohir sighed dramatically, "Never mind, I brought an extra one in case you forgot yours. Now, I want you to draw it . . ."
Nat went to pick up an arrow that was sticking up from the ground, but Elrohir slapped her hand away as soon as she touched it.
"That's later, when I know your not going to hurt anyone with it. For now, just draw the bow and hold it there."
Nat took the bow in two hands and attempted to pull back the string.
"Further . . ." said Elrohir, watching her struggle to bend the wood.
"I'm trying!" she complained, "It's too hard."
"Nonsense. You'll get the hang of it soon enough," said Elrohir, thoroughly enjoying himself, "Now, I want you to pretend you can draw the bow while I correct your horrendous posture."
Elrohir went on to talk to her about the etiquette of the archery fields, that she must organize a time for herself to practise everyday, and not get in the way of more experienced archers.
As he did this, he moved her foot to the right, squared her shoulders and moved her neck so as to mould her into the most uncomfortable position she'd ever had to hold.
"There," he said when he had finished.
Nat raised her eyebrow at him as he went around her.
"Don't move! I want you to try and draw the bow now . . . No, don't change anything! Just draw your elbow back with your shoulder . . ."
For the next hour he made her stay in that position and draw her bow, tuttering at her if she let her body slacken or release the string.
Nat grumbled under her breath but did as the elf bid her. She relied on his father for a place to stay, and she still didn't know how she could repay them for their kindness. The least she could do was bear up under a picky instructor.
Elrohir sighed, shook his head and turned away from her to look over the fields.
"You are free to go. I can do no more work with you now."
Nat gratefully stretched out her cramped muscles and put the bow down.
"You'll need that."
Nat looked up.
"I want you do another hour's worth of practice tonight sometime."
Nat groaned and picked up the bow again and trudged off.
Elrohir turned and lifted an eyebrow at the girl's retreating back.
She was terrible with the bow, but hopefully his brother would be able to teach her to defend herself with the dagger she has stolen off Boromir.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Nat let the bow swing idly off one of her fingers as she made her way back to her rooms. All she wanted to do was lie down. A blinding headache had hit her only half an hour before, reminding her that she wasn't going to go without punishment for her carelessness the night before.
She looked up as she felt, rather than saw someone come bounding up to her.
"Ready for your next lesson?"
"Elrohir, we just had . . ." she began.
"Elladan here, his twin brother, obviously. Come on, the yard won't be clear forever, you know." With that he took a hold of her hand and dragged her towards a cleared area.
"Now," said Elladan, picking up two objects and flicking them expertly around his hands, "I am to teach you how to fight with these."
"With what?" asked Nat, trying to get a glimpse at what he was spinning in his hands.
Elladan abruptly offered one of the knives hilt-first to Nat who picked it up awkwardly.
"Now, first you need to know how to hold . . . ah, you're a natural."
Nat looked down at the dagger.
"Just place your thumb so . . .Yes. That's it.
"Now I want you to slash at the air in front of you, like so . . ." Elladan demonstrated.
Nat blinked.
"Could you do that a little, err, slower? I didn't quite catch that," she asked.
Elladan repeated the attack a fair bit more slowly. Nat repeated the action.
The elf slowly shook his head at her.
"No, no," he said and begun to show her, move by move, how to get the motion just right and how to be able to move back quickly in case of a counter attack.
Nat enjoyed this a fair bit more than her archery lessons, but her arms still hurt from having to keep the strain of holding the bow up for an hour.
She was a bit sloppy, but for a beginner, she wasn't bad, Elladan told her later.
"Have you eaten?" he asked suddenly, "I noticed that my brother pulled you straight out of bed and down to the fields very quickly."
"No, I haven't," replied Nat.
Well, then. You keep this up and I'll go fetch us something to eat. Its several hours past noon."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: So, how was that? *Yawns* Gosh, I'm tired. Tis very late. Hoom, was told by a friend that this was as MS that you could get but then she read some REAL Mary Sues and well . . . I'm proud to say she does not consider this as one any longer.
Following scene is actually kind of true. I get it every Sunday morning . . .
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Title: A Place Of Her Own
Chapter: Awakening
Rating: Pfft. If you don't know it by now . . .
Summary: Hmm, touched on this in my author's note. Can't highlight in these docs, so you'll just have to find it yourself.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Thom woke up under a table.
For a moment he was a bit woozy, trying to work out which way was up until he realised that the heavy pressure on his legs were being caused by his playmates.
He pushed them off and scrambled to his feet as quickly as a five-year-old boy could. Around him there were many sitting in corners still drinking quietly and a couple were laughing gaily as they continued to dance.
He wandered out of the hall to go to his rooms, and then remembered that they had moved him in next to his sister.
He went up to an elf that was staring expectantly towards one of the buildings to ask for directions.
"Excuse me," Thom began.
The elf looked down with surprise.
"Ah, so you must be Nat's younger brother. I have heard about you."
Thom started but stared up at the elf determinedly.
"I need to find my room. It's next to Nat's if that helps, sir."
The elf smiled fondly at the young boy and bent over to pick him up.
"Here, I'll carry you over there. It's in the guest wings."
"Thank you, sir," said Thom shyly.
Elrohir lifted the boy and swung him onto his back, then turned to head for the guestrooms.
"My name is Elrohir, Thom. I'm going to teach your sister archery and she is late."
"My sister's always late," Thom said solemnly.
"Is she? Well, I'll have to cure her of that soon enough," Elrohir said with a chuckle but then stopped suddenly as an idea hit him, "Thom? Would you like to help me?"
Thomas giggled strangely as he thought of waking his sister after what had happened the night before.
Elrohir took that as a hearty "yes, please!" and strode towards Nat's room with more vigour than he had earlier.
At the door, Elrohir found Iluvion leaning against it wearily.
"I'm sorry, my lord," he said as he straightened to salute Elrohir. Elrohir stopped him with a wink and entered Nat's room quietly. The guard followed close behind.
Nat could be found lying spread eagled on the bed with the sheets twisted around her legs, the blankets had been thrown on the floor sometime in the night and the curtains had been drawn tightly over the windows to the balcony.
Elrohir checked to see if Nat really was awake.
Her brown hair was tussled and knotted, spread out against the pillow. Her mouth hung slightly open with a bit of drool in the corner. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her arms encircled the pillow, sheets and part of a remaining blanket.
"Naaaaaaahhhht," whispered Thom, shaking his sister gently.
Elrohir winked at Thom as Nat mumbled something and turned away from them. He pointed to the curtains, which Thomas went to dutifully.
Elrohir looked behind him to see Iluvion holding the full washbasin and smirking.
The elf lord looked around for something else for himself, but had to content him self with grabbing the sheets at the bottom of the bed.
"On the count of three," he said quietly, looking to his fellows who looked to him expectantly.
"One . . . two . . . THREE!"
With an almighty heave, he swept the sheets of the tussled figure that immediately curled up into a tight foetal position. As soon as the sheets were free, Iluvion threw the cold water over Nat who yelled.
"Argh!" she screamed rolling over and nearly falling off the bed.
Thom opened the curtains quickly, letting the noonday sunlight flood into the room.
"Aaarghhh!" Nat squealed as she finally fell of the bed into a heap on the floor. She tried to crawl under the bed to hide from the light.
"No!" she scrambled for a hold on the bed frame but Jluvien held her ankle tight and pulled her from the bedposts.
The girl kicked out, screaming, and twisted away from a surprised Jluvien and scampered under the bed before anyone else could grab hold of her.
Aragorn and Boromir, who were discussing matters of Osgiliath before they were interrupted, heard the ruckus. Looking to each other, they took the steps two at a time and reached Nat's room in a matter of seconds.
"Elrohir!" snapped Aragorn, "What are you doing to her, to make her scream so?"
Elrohir was at that moment under the bed trying to drag the girl out who had curled in the middle and stubbornly returned to sleep. A thud echoed out from under the bed as his brother's voice reached his ears.
He crawled out and looked up to see Aragorn tapping his foot behind an anxious looking Boromir.
"Why did she scream?" he asked.
Thom grinned up, munching some of Nat's untouched breakfast.
"Waking her up," he said with his mouth full.
Elrohir gave him a look and then went back under the bed.
"You poke her and she'll roll over to me, where I'll drag her out this side. You come over and help me, Estel."
Aragorn shook his head forcefully.
"I'm not getting into this," he said and quit the room.
Boromir looked at a loss as Elrohir then called his name.
Thom gave him a little push towards the bed and Boromir reluctantly got down on his knees.
"So you decided to join us?" smirked Elrohir in the darkness as Boromir wriggled forward.
"Why must you wake her? She had a rough night last night."
"She has an archery lesson today, and I've been waiting most of the morning for her."
"But she's tired . . ."
"I can't do it later on this afternoon because I have to go on a patrol with Estel, and if I don't get this archery lesson done today, Father will skin me," explained Elrohir.
"Plus, this is kind of fun," he added as an after thought, "Now, Jluvien!"
Iluvion poked hard at Nat's spine, forcing her to instinctively flinch away. Immediately, Elrohir and Boromir dragged her out from under the bed and into the middle of the room.
Nat moaned and stretched full length on the floor, looking up at the puffing Boromir and Elrohir.
"Whadoyouwan'?" she asked, yawning.
"Archery lesson. Five minutes. Archery Fields," Elrohir told her and left.
Boromir looked helplessly at Nat and then left her with her brother to get dressed.
Iluvion had already left by now and Nat turned to her brother.
"Stop smirking," she told him gruffly before getting to her feet and dragging herself to the wardrobe.
She flung it open. All the robes were gone!
She went through the extra sheets, trying to find some clothes to wear.
Thom wandered over, curious and picked out one of the sheets.
"Wear this," he told her, imperviously.
"What as a toga?"
"It's a dress, Nat."
She looked at the parachute and tried to hold it up to her frame and blinked.
"It's a pretty big dress. Why can't I wear pants?" she turned back to the wardrobe, throwing the dresses out.
"Nat," her brother said patiently.
Nat turned around, her brother was standing on the bed, holding the dress up expectantly.
"Do I have to?" she whined at him, going back to the wardrobe, only to find there was nothing but the dresses inside.
"Yes."
Nat looked back and glared at him. She made her way over to where her brother stood and looked at the dress critically.
Sighing, she put the dress on under the watchful eye of her brother.
"How's this?" she asked him, resigned to her fate.
"I'd run if I were you, Elrohir gets mad when you make him wait."
Nat cringed in reminder to her wake up call and slipped on some red slippers. Running down the stairs, she looked around for the archery fields.
"South!" yelled Boromir from across the yard, pointing.
She nodded gratefully to him, but gave him a glare afterwards for good measure when she remembered that he'd helped Elrohir in getting her up that morning. She left the courtyard with the satisfied image of Boromir's confused face but sped up as she saw Elrohir in the distance.
"I'm . . . here," she said panting, as she got to where Elrohir was standing.
"And you didn't bring your bow?" Elrohir sighed dramatically, "Never mind, I brought an extra one in case you forgot yours. Now, I want you to draw it . . ."
Nat went to pick up an arrow that was sticking up from the ground, but Elrohir slapped her hand away as soon as she touched it.
"That's later, when I know your not going to hurt anyone with it. For now, just draw the bow and hold it there."
Nat took the bow in two hands and attempted to pull back the string.
"Further . . ." said Elrohir, watching her struggle to bend the wood.
"I'm trying!" she complained, "It's too hard."
"Nonsense. You'll get the hang of it soon enough," said Elrohir, thoroughly enjoying himself, "Now, I want you to pretend you can draw the bow while I correct your horrendous posture."
Elrohir went on to talk to her about the etiquette of the archery fields, that she must organize a time for herself to practise everyday, and not get in the way of more experienced archers.
As he did this, he moved her foot to the right, squared her shoulders and moved her neck so as to mould her into the most uncomfortable position she'd ever had to hold.
"There," he said when he had finished.
Nat raised her eyebrow at him as he went around her.
"Don't move! I want you to try and draw the bow now . . . No, don't change anything! Just draw your elbow back with your shoulder . . ."
For the next hour he made her stay in that position and draw her bow, tuttering at her if she let her body slacken or release the string.
Nat grumbled under her breath but did as the elf bid her. She relied on his father for a place to stay, and she still didn't know how she could repay them for their kindness. The least she could do was bear up under a picky instructor.
Elrohir sighed, shook his head and turned away from her to look over the fields.
"You are free to go. I can do no more work with you now."
Nat gratefully stretched out her cramped muscles and put the bow down.
"You'll need that."
Nat looked up.
"I want you do another hour's worth of practice tonight sometime."
Nat groaned and picked up the bow again and trudged off.
Elrohir turned and lifted an eyebrow at the girl's retreating back.
She was terrible with the bow, but hopefully his brother would be able to teach her to defend herself with the dagger she has stolen off Boromir.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Nat let the bow swing idly off one of her fingers as she made her way back to her rooms. All she wanted to do was lie down. A blinding headache had hit her only half an hour before, reminding her that she wasn't going to go without punishment for her carelessness the night before.
She looked up as she felt, rather than saw someone come bounding up to her.
"Ready for your next lesson?"
"Elrohir, we just had . . ." she began.
"Elladan here, his twin brother, obviously. Come on, the yard won't be clear forever, you know." With that he took a hold of her hand and dragged her towards a cleared area.
"Now," said Elladan, picking up two objects and flicking them expertly around his hands, "I am to teach you how to fight with these."
"With what?" asked Nat, trying to get a glimpse at what he was spinning in his hands.
Elladan abruptly offered one of the knives hilt-first to Nat who picked it up awkwardly.
"Now, first you need to know how to hold . . . ah, you're a natural."
Nat looked down at the dagger.
"Just place your thumb so . . .Yes. That's it.
"Now I want you to slash at the air in front of you, like so . . ." Elladan demonstrated.
Nat blinked.
"Could you do that a little, err, slower? I didn't quite catch that," she asked.
Elladan repeated the attack a fair bit more slowly. Nat repeated the action.
The elf slowly shook his head at her.
"No, no," he said and begun to show her, move by move, how to get the motion just right and how to be able to move back quickly in case of a counter attack.
Nat enjoyed this a fair bit more than her archery lessons, but her arms still hurt from having to keep the strain of holding the bow up for an hour.
She was a bit sloppy, but for a beginner, she wasn't bad, Elladan told her later.
"Have you eaten?" he asked suddenly, "I noticed that my brother pulled you straight out of bed and down to the fields very quickly."
"No, I haven't," replied Nat.
Well, then. You keep this up and I'll go fetch us something to eat. Its several hours past noon."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: So, how was that? *Yawns* Gosh, I'm tired. Tis very late. Hoom, was told by a friend that this was as MS that you could get but then she read some REAL Mary Sues and well . . . I'm proud to say she does not consider this as one any longer.