A/N: Two in one day. Man, aren't you guys special? Enjoy!
Chapter 4: A Trade of RingsOriana squirmed her way through the crowds, trying not to bump people as she made her way to the cash register where her mother and brother were standing. Her petite form wove in and around the many people, who looked at her in disapproval when she bumped them. After what seemed like hours, but was only minutes, Oriana made it to where her family was waiting.
"Got it!" She exclaimed proudly, holding up the bookmarker. On it was a picture of Frodo, her favorite Lord of the Rings character. Securely attached to the end of the bookmarker, by a piece of string, was a replica of the One Ring.
"Good job." Her brother, Kyle, said sarcastically. "Now we can finally check out and get out of here." Oriana stuck her tongue out at him. Kyle quickly followed suite.
"Stop it you two." Their mother, J' Nenel Whitely, said sharply to her two children. "This is no place for this sort of behavior. I expect better from you two." Oriana promptly placed her tongue back in her mouth and smiled sweetly. Her brother took a second longer and only replaced his tongue when his mother gave him a stern glare that left no room for arguing.
"Sorry." Oriana apologized, tucking a loose strand of raven black hair behind her ear. At five feet one inch, she was considered short for a seventeen-year-old. Her emerald green eyes contrasted sharply with her black hair and tanned skin. There were some that might have considered her pretty, even beautiful. Oriana thought of herself as an ugly duckling, though. A really ugly duckling. And her name never helped. Her parents were both astronomers, so they had decided to name their only daughter after the constellation Orion. Oriana wished she could just have a normal name like all the other teenagers she knew. Heck, even her brother had a normal name. She sighed.
"What took you so long?" Her brother asked, fingering the string on his Ringwraith bookmarker. Before she could answer, the lined moved forward. They all took half a step to stay in line. Mrs. Whitely tapped her foot, glancing around impatiently.
"All the other bookmarkers didn't have rings. People are so inconsiderate nowadays that they take the rings but leave the bookmarkers behind. But, I finally found one that has a ring." She smiled. Ever since reading the "Lord of the Rings" as a child, she had been hooked. Now, with the "Fellowship of the Ring" out in theaters, she wanted as much of the movie stuff as she could find and buy.
Another five minutes passed before they reached the cash register. Paying for the two bookmarkers, Oriana and her family made their way out of the mall. Being a Saturday, the mall was pretty crowded. Swarms of people rushed in and out of stores, hoping for good deals.
They made it through the mad rush of people and got into the car. Oriana, after buckling, took the bookmarker out of the bag and looked at it. Frodo had always been her favorite character. She admired his bravery and his persistence even in the worst of times. She thought they had done a great job casting Elijah Woods as Frodo. Smiling, she took the ring off the string and put it on her finger.
The ride home was uneventful, but as soon as they pulled into the driveway, Oriana's brother gave a cry of disappointment. Holding up his bookmarker, he cried out.
"Look!" He pointed to the ring on bookmarker. "This ring doesn't have any of the markings. How can it be the One Ring without any markings? They really messed up on it." Pouting, he threw the bookmarker onto the seat next to him.
"Kyle!" Mrs. Whitely reprimanded. "Don't throw your belongings like they are pieces of trash. Do you want to break them?" Her question went on unanswered.
"But, Mom." He complained. "I wanted a ring with the elvish markings on it. Not some messed up ring."
"May I see it?" Oriana asked. Kyle nodded. Picking up the discarded bookmarker, he handed it to his sister. Oriana studied the ring attached to the bookmarker. Her brother was right. It didn't have any markings on it at all. Not even a dent. Looking at it, she found that it was slightly heavier than the ring she was wearing on her finger. And it was smoother. She felt troubled by this. Why, she didn't know. She figured it was her over active imagination at work again.
"I propose a trade." She said, smiling back at her brother. "You can have my ring if I can have yours. Deal?"
"Deal!" Kyle said quickly. The idea of getting a "real" ring was too tempting not to accept. Oriana took her ring of her finger and handed it to Kyle. After removing the other ring from the bookmarker, she handed the Ringwraith bookmarker back to her brother, who was grinning like a mad man.
"Thanks, Sis. You're the greatest." Kyle said as he got out of the car. Her mom smiled, as if to say Oriana had done the right and unselfish thing. Soon, Oriana was the only one left in the car.
Fingering the ring, she studied it. It was so much heavier than the other ring. But this was an observation she had already made. She sighed. Putting the ring on, she got out of the car. Something about this ring was just not right. That much she knew.