Hello everyone, I finally posted the second chapter. Yay! I am definitely going to try to update at least one a week or once every two weeks, and if you wouldn't mind leaving a comment (you don't have to of course!) it would make my day and reassure me that people actually like the story. (Or you all hate it and are laughing at me right now) *crys in corner*. But seriously, I hope you all like it and ENJOY!
Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR only Eliora, Brenna, Olivia and Tyden
I am going to die was the girls only though as Eliora desperately clawed at the pitch black wet substance that had engulfed her. Panic started to set in as the brown haired girl's lungs started to ache at the lack of oxygen. The girl didn't know which way she had been oriented in the water and only hoped that if she kept swimming, in what she thought was an upwards direction, she could breach the surface.
Slowly slipping into unconsciousness, Eliora gave one last effort and swam with all her might. She was not let down as her head breached the surface of the water and air rushed into her lungs. All Eliora wanted to do was stay there and wait for her lungs to stop aching, but adrenaline was coursing through her veins and she knew she needed to get out of this water, and fast. Desperately looking at her surroundings, Eliora spotted a stray piece of wood not far away from her, so she swam.
She swam until she was able to rest her body on the large piece of wood and relax just a little. Eliora though, still had no idea of where she was located. How did she get from a forest to the middle of some large body of water?
Looking around her surroundings again for any clues the girl spotted a ship bathed in moonlight, the sight was beautiful but also one full of sorrow. The ship had crashed, its hull broken to smithereens by a rock that violently jutted from the dark depths.
Only a sliver of the wooden surface could be seen, the rest had been swallowed by the water as it cascaded around the structure, slowly but surely decaying it.
This piece of wood must have come from the ship, the girl thought as she wondered how many other pieces were floating over the ocean's surface.
Eliora was freezing, the adrenaline that had been coursing through her veins had died down leaving the girl cold and exhausted. It didn't really help that all she was wearing was some short shorts and a thin tank top. There was nothing else Eliora could do but drift helplessly in the water, so she let her eyelids droop, and fall into the darkness of slumber.
Eliora awoke to the sounds of water crashing violently into something and the unmistakable sound of talking. The girl's eyes shot open and she looked around desperately for any sign of life around her. To her left was a ship no more than ten feet away from her. Squinting, Eliora saw a man pointing in her general direction and yelling to some other person on the ship. Hope fluttered to life in the girl's stomach, and she waved her hand in the air while the other kept her balanced on the wooden plank.
As the boat got closer, the waves became more violent, and Eliora held on as tight as she could to her plank, really not wanting to tip over. She looked up the side of the ship to see a rope being thrown down the side and the girl gratefully took it as was hoisted up the length of the ship, before finally being able to set her feet on solid ground again.
The next thing she knew there was a man by her side handing her a blanket and asking her questions but Eliora was not listening, instead she was trying to stop her teeth from chattering by snuggling up into the warm blanket.
"Go get Brenna!" Someone yelled and then there was a women in front of her looking at her with a concerned expression. Eliora couldn't seem to comprehend what the women was saying, all she wanted to do was rest. A comforting darkness started to settle in the corner of her vision before her knees buckled and darkness surrounded her in its comforting embrace.
The girl woke to the sweet smell of something cooking and her stomach growled shamelessly.
Looking around Eliora spotted the women from earlier, she was working at a metal fire place, a pot of something resting above the blazing fire on some metal bars.
The women was facing parallel to Eliora so she could make out some of her features. The women seemed to have a light brown completion with some red spots scattered around like she had been working out in the sun for too long. She also has long dark strawberry hair that was tied back in a braid.
The women looked over to Eliora, noticing her staring and the girl looked away sheepishly. "Ah, you are awake," the women said grabbing a metal bowl from the wooden counter and pouring some cream colored chunky liquid into it. "You had us all worried there for a while, collapsing like that on deck, and in those clothes!"
Eliora looked down to inspect her clothing, she was still wearing what she had came in. Looking back up she noticed that the women was holding the bowl out to her, with a spoon already in the creamy substance.
"Eat up, we don't want you fainting on us again!" The women said chuckling a little before going back to her pot. Eliora whispered a quite thank you before digging in, it was a little bland but the girl was just happy to get some food into her belly.
"Where am I exactly?" Eliora asked in between bites. "I should be the one asking you that sweetheart." The women said pointing a porridge covered spoon in her direction, "You are the one who popped up in the middle of the ocean!" She swung the spoon to extenuate her words and ended up with porridge splatters on the counter.
"Oh my, I best not be wasting food or the men will have my hide!" "The men?" Eliora asked curious, "Yes, the men who saved you. This is a fishing boat you see, they do the fishing and the women do the cooking and cleaning, pity the men can't just clean up after themselves though, right?" The women shot Eliora a wide smile before realizing something, "What bad manner I have, I have not even introduced myself yet, I am Brenna, wife of the captain on this ship." "My name is Eliora," The girl said introducing herself as well.
Brenna came over and took the empty bowl out of Eliora's hands and placed it back on the counter before facing the girl again, "Would you like anything to drink?" "Um yes water would be nice." Brenna laughed at that which left Eliora confused, what had been wrong with her answer? "There is plenty of water around the ship but none good for drinking, how about some ale instead?"
Ale? Eliora thought, she wasn't even eighteen, yes she may have been seventeen but she was still one whole year away from the legal drinking age, didn't Brenna know that?! "You have never had
Ale before! Oh you poor thing, let me get you a mug and show you what you are missing out on ya?
Before Eliora could even utter a word Brenna was out the door. Eliora's parents would kill her if they ever found out she had drank alcohol, but it wasn't' like she was anywhere near home by the looks of it.
Brenna soon came back with a bronze mug full of liquid that she shoved under Eliora's nose, it smelled horribly bitter, but she was really thirsty.
Sighing, the girl decided to take a swig and regretted it instantly as the liquid burned her throat and caused her to cough violently. "Ah, don't worry about it, ales a little sharp at first but it gets better after the third or fourth mug." Brenna exclaimed winking at Eliora before serving porridge into many wooden bowls.
"Dinner will be soon, sadly I can't cook too much on this ship being wooden and all, but if you would like some more porridge just let me know ya?" Eliora just nodded and took another swig of her ale, shivering at the taste.
The dining room was impressive, being just across from the kitchen that Eliora and Brenna had been residing in. The two had decided to go and set the table for dinner. There was at least thirty wooden seats around the long polished oak table.
The two had just started serving the porridge when a women came speed walking in with a big basket, "Oh good, I thought I was late, don't want to keep the men waiting!" The women said opening the basket to reveal loaves of bread.
Eliora looked over at Brenna confused, but Brenna had a knowing smile on her face as she handed the next bowl to Eliora. Looking back over at the women the girl noticed that she had brought out a few china plates from her basket that she was using as a platform to cut the loaves into small slices.
The women looked over to Eliora and smiled, "You must be the new young lady aboard the ship, it is nice to meet you, I am Olivia," Eliora smiled back, "Eliora," she said before going back for the last bowl.
"Ok, now Eliora we need to go back and get you changed, cannot have you dressed like that for dinner now can we." Eliora looked down at her outfit sheepishly before muttering a quiet sorry to Brenna. "It is not your fault sweat heart, just need to get you changed is all, now come along!" Brenna exclaimed before guiding Eliora to a bedroom not far away.
Eliora looked around the plain room as Brenna rummaged through a closet. Brenna was a slightly plump women so Eliora was not sure if anything in her closet would fit her. When Brenna turned back around with a dress in hand Eliora was slightly shocked. The dress looked much too small for Brenna but just her size.
"Might be a little big on you, being Olivia's clothes and all." "Are you sure she won't mind me wearing it, I mean it is her clothes." Eliora asked not wanting to infringe on Olivia. "Oh, it is fine, the girls on the ship share clothes all the time, this is nothing!" Brenna handed the dress to Eliora but didn't make a move to leave the room,
"Um.. do you mind if I get dressed in private?" The girl asked really feeling uncomfortable. "You should not need to be embarrassed we are both girls, here let me help you." The women explained walking over to the girl as she tried to protest. It didn't work though as she felt her shirt being lifted off her body and her shorts fall to the ground. The girl only had one thought through this embarrassing process, 'what the hell did I get myself into!'
" Much better now, do you not think?" Brenna asked as she patted the girl on the shoulder. Eliora had been clothed into a dress like one she had seen in movies, it was gray with a navy blue apron on the front. The sleeves clung to her like a second skin until half way down her forearm where it flared out. The skirt was a-lined but not too much that it was impractical and the whole dress was finished off with a grey sash to hold it all in place.
"It's beautiful!" Eliora exclaimed beaming. "Oh it is not that much. There are much better ships back home, this is nothing more than a mere peasants dress." Brenna stated, "I still love it thank you!"
"We must get going, dinner should start soon and I want you to meet the crew!" The women explained excitedly as she took hold of Eliora's arm and rushed out to the dinning room.
Opening the doors all the girl could see was a mass of people as all the heads in the room turned to Brenna and Eliora. Brenna did not seem to care as she pulled Eliora toward the end of the table where a gruff man sat talking to some people. "Tyden, this is the girl, you remember right, the one who fainted on the deck?" "Of course I do!" He said in a rough voice as a smile broke out on his face. Tyden was a middle aged man, maybe in his late early thirties, with black curly hair that just brushed his shoulders and a short beard.
The man stood up and put his hand out to Eliora, who shook it while looking slightly sheepish at Brenna's last comment. "Hello, my dear, welcome aboard our ship!" He said sitting back down and gesturing for Eliora to sit beside him. She graciously took the seat, "You scared us for a second there my lady, we thought you were dead! But no reason to bring up the past right? Have some ale, eat some food, but the feast, the real feast, will be enjoyed when we are home!" At his last words the other men in the room made a big cheer, lifting their mugs into the air.
"Would you like some bread?" Brenna asked who was now sitting across from the girl, with a bowl of porridge in her spot, ""No thank you, I think I am fine." Eliora said she just sat there and listened to the conversations between Brenna and her husband for the rest of dinner.
"We should be home tomorrow afternoon!" Brenna exclaimed almost skipping down the hallway in joy. "Oh I cannot wait for you to meet everyone, we do not have visitors to our town very often you know." Dinner was long over and Brenna was now showing the girl to her room. "Are you sure I am welcome there?" She asked not wanting to intrude. "Of course you are sweetheart, we will not bite your head off, you must recover some sense into that head of yours," Brenna explained whacking Eliora playfully on the back of the head. Eliora just smiled before turning into a room.
"This is it, if you have any questions, come right to our door it is just a few doors down on the left," The women said before adding in, "And Olivia left you one of her night gowns on the bed, have a good night sleep!" With that she closed the door leaving Eliora alone.
The girl quickly changed into her night gown and washed her face in a basin by the bed. As she hopped into bed a single tear slipped down her cheek. It was the night that Eliora had dreaded, the time when her mind would wander and think about her family and friends that had seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye. The girl touched the tear track and brought her hand into view, staring at the clear wetness on her fingertips. Sighing Eliora curled up into a ball and cried herself to sleep.