A/N: Don't own LOTR, or any characters from the books/movie.
The next morning Anna was woken by a tapping on her shoulder. Never a morning person she muttered something incomprehensible and rolled away from the nuisance. The tapper, though, was persistent and it turned from a light assault to a more determined one. "My lady." the whisper was soft but Anna heard it none the less.
Wondering briefly who this was she turned and opened one eye to glance at the intruder. The same woman that came and got her clothes the day before greeted her. "My lady, it is time to rise. You shall be leaving with the company soon." her voice was soft but sweet, almost melodic sounding.
Momentarily forgetting what had transpired yesterday, Anna glared up at her, "Who the hell are you?"
"Lilaith, my lady." the young woman responded patiently. She turned and began flitting gracefully around the room.
Wondering what she was doing and too curious now to return to slumber, Anna sat up and watched as the young woman started to put things into what looked like a blanket. Noticing Anna's stare she said, "You shall travel light, it will make the journey move more swiftly."
Anna had never been on a 'journey' in her life. She'd been on various trips and vacations but the closest she had ever come to going on a 'journey' was when she went to the Journey concert. She wondered if the girl would get the reference and then decided against it. Lilaith didn't exactly scream 'rocker chick' to her.
Anna stretched her arms far above her head to remove the kinks from last night's slumber and a rather large yawn escaped her mouth. "What time is it?" she wondered aloud.
"Nearly dawn, my lady." Lilaith replied as she laid out clothing.
Anna's eyes grew large, "Dawn?! Who the hell gets up at dawn?!"
Lilaith allowed a small smile to grace her beautiful face, "You did, my lady."
Anna glared at her and went to the window to see for herself. Sure enough the sky was tinged with the first signs of light. The darkness was beginning to recede as light started to invade the sky.
Anna let out a very unlady-like curse and turned to see that Lilaith had finished whatever she was packing and was tucking the blanket tightly into a roll. It was at that moment the memories from yesterday engulfed Anna's mind. She shook her head and muttered something about how elves should only rise this early to bake cookies as she moved to get dressed.
Anna thought she was fairly quick at getting ready. Of course, that was before she'd had the misfortune of meeting Glorfindel. When she emerged from the halls of the Lord Elrond, donned in a borrowed tunic and leggings because she refused a dress, he and a small company were waiting for her. Glorfindel himself looked somewhat irritated.
Anna stared up thoughtfully at him for a moment, "Are you upset because we had to get up so early, too?" she asked innocently.
His brows drew together with a sign of irritation, "Gain your mount, Lady Anna, we have already lost precious minutes."
Anna rolled her eyes at him when he turned and moved swiftly and gracefully upon a beautiful horse. When the other riders followed suit Anna grew uncomfortable. She was supposed to ride a horse? She only ever ridden a horse one time in all of her life. That was on a field trip in elementary school and it only lasted around two minutes. She didn't have anything against horses, they were very beautiful and majestic but they were so big.
There is no freakin' way. Anna thought to herself.
Glorfindel noticed her hesitation and steered his mount toward her, "Gain your mount." he instructed again.
Anna murmured something so softly none of the elves caught exactly what she'd said. "Pardon?" he leaned toward her to ask.
"I said, I don't know how." Anna said loudly. Exasperated she allowed her hands to drop to her sides somewhat dramatically, "I can't ride a horse, don't you have a car or something?" her tone took on a pleading note.
"Car?" he stared at her with the quizzical look she was beginning to hate.
"Never mind. If you didn't have a phone you wouldn't have a car." she muttered. She looked up at him, "I don't know how to ride one of those." she gestured toward his mount.
He sat dumbfounded for a full moment, he opened his mouth as if to speak and then closed it abruptly. Thinking for a moment he looked at her, "How is it you never learned?" he seemed to be completely confused by the mere thought that she had never ridden.
"Well," Anna began, "I don't own a horse, never have, so that pretty much covers it." she stated with a swift nod.
One of the other elves clearly took pity on her and dismounted. He walked toward her and with a small bow said, "It is not that difficult, my lady, come and I will assist you."
He, like all the other she had run into, was gorgeous. His hand was extended to take hers and she hesitantly accepted it and allowed him to lead her to her mount. The horse was beautiful, like the many other horses. It's golden-brown color was so gorgeous to her, Anna wished that it was her own hair color. It was as she was admiring the coat of the animal that she realized it bore no saddle. She looked around briefly and noticed that the other elves, who were already mounted and watching her intently, had no saddles either.
"Where is the saddle?" she asking the elf assisting her.
"Elves have no need of saddles." Glorfindel answered her.
Anna rolled her eyes at the obvious disdain in his voice at her even mentioning a saddle. She learned very quickly that this 'elf' was proud and he wasn't too fond of elven jokes either. She thought he might have burst a blood vessel in anger when she had innocently suggested the day before that all elves did was bake sweet treats.
The gentleman that had been kind enough to help her stooped to cup his hands to give her a proper boost onto the animal. Anna stared at him and then looked toward the horse. "So I, uh, just... hop on then?" she asked somewhat confused.
"Aye." he gave her a small nod and then allowed his mouth to curve up into a small smile.
"Okay." she nodded but made no move to 'hop up'. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. You can do this. It's just a horse. What's the worst that could happen?
She glanced around at the other elves who were all watching, some curiously, some impassively. Glorfindel, himself, was watching very impatiently, if his eyes were anything to go by.
"Alright." she nodded again and slowly raised her foot into the elf's waiting hands. She swung one leg over as he boosted her other leg up. She made it on to the horse, but the momentum of the movement almost caused her to fall off the other side. Quickly grasping the horse's neck she tried to right herself as best she could.
After she was settled, she heard Glorfindel speak, "To Gondor." was all he said before he nudged his mount into movement. The other elves followed suit and the company was making it's way toward the city gates. All except Anna.
She wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do to get the horse to follow the others. She decided reasoning might be a good ploy. "Hey horsey. Um, could you maybe start with the walking so I don't look bad, cause you see that arrogant elf in the front he kinda already looks at me like I rode the short bus or something."
The horse in question nickered but did not move forward. "Well, crap." Anna sighed, "Looks like I got the one horse that's as lazy as I am."
She was pondering if she should nudge the horse like she'd seen in movies when Glorfindel appeared beside her. He didn't say anything to her but leaned over and whispered something that Anna didn't catch to her horse. Whatever he said must have worked because when he and his mount moved toward the gate again Anna's horse followed.
After gaining her balance and making sure she wasn't going to fall head first to the ground, Anna considered Glorfindel, "Hmm, bakes awesome cookies and is a horse whisperer on the side." she muttered.
Anna always thought she was a good traveler. She only ever stopped when she absolutely had to (i.e. restroom break, gas, etc.) Otherwise she would stick to her course, determined to make it there in her designated time frame. Little did she know compared to these 'elves' she was the worst traveler and complainer in the world.
"Can we stop?" Anna called to Glorfindel who was leading the small party.
He turned toward her and seemed exasperated when he said, "We have already stopped twice."
When he turned forward again, Anna let out an unlady-like snort, "That was two hours ago."
Anna couldn't see Glorfindel's jaw clench at her words. Taking a deep breath he said to her, "You have already had your breakfast, surely you are not hungry again."
"No, I am not hungry again." Anna shivered at the memory before muttering, "Who eats rabbits for breakfast, anyway?"
"Then we proceed." Glorfindel said without turning to look at her and efficiently ignoring her comment.
"No." Anna shook her head at him even though he still wouldn't turn around, "I have to stop."
The other elves in the company that surrounded her had watched their commander and this human bicker all morning. To some it was amusing, to others a nuisance, but all knew that the human woman tread on thin ice with their commander. They were all waiting to see how long he would put up with being disrespected in front of his troop.
It didn't take long.
Glorfindel turned his horse so quickly the sight made Anna jump. The entire company had stopped, as did her own horse. The look on his face was that of anger and as Anna hadn't seen him this angry decided she should try and be nice to this particular 'elf'.
"Lady Anna," Glofindel began through clenched teeth when he had stopped his horse adjacent to hers, "If you have not taken the time to notice, I do not take commands, I give them."
The look in his eyes dared her to argue and though Anna was daring, she wasn't stupid. "Yes sir."
Glorfindel gave her a swift nod and was looking very pleased with himself as he turned his horse to take up the front. Her voice stopped him.
"May we stop, please?" Anna asked in a sticky sweet voice.
Glorfindel looked as if her were praying for patience before he asked, "As I have said before we only travel during the day and we rest at night. We have much ground to cover before we come close to seeing Gondor. So, enlighten me as to why you need to stop every hour!"
Anna was taken aback for his tone had risen during his little speech and he yelled the last words at her. "I have to potty." she said quietly.
Glorfindel blinked at her for a moment, "Repeat." he said still looking dumbfounded.
"I have to potty." Anna said again, "You know use the bathroom." she looked around her, "Well, the bushes, I guess."
She looked back to Glorfindel and found him staring at her intensely, "Hurry." was all he said.
"Thank God." Anna sighed as she quickly slipped from her mount and tried to walk as fast as she could to a more private area. Walking however wasn't as easy as she thought it might be as her inner thighs burned from riding all day. So she limped rather than walked.
Glorfindel tried desperately to hold onto his patience. He thought that the terrible twins were bad enough. Little did he know this young one would be worse. Her constant questions annoyed him, for she still did not truly believe he and his companions were of the elven race. Her constant need to stop irked him as well.
Anna returned a few moments later to find that apparently she was the only one who had to use the facilities, as it were. She went and stood next to her horse and debated on asking for help. Deciding that she hadn't really done anything on her own since meeting these 'elves' she could at least try to 'gain her mount' by herself.
She stepped back from her horse and debated on the best way to climb on top of the animal.
"My lady, do you require assistance?" one of the nicer elves asked her.
"No, thank you, I think I can manage." she politely responded and even added a smile for his efforts.
Glorfindel was not as taken as some of the elves were with his charge. "Manage quickly, we have already-"
"Wasted precious minutes." Anna finished for him in a deeper tone to mimic his voice. Glorfindel again had to try and keep his temper in check.
Anna looked around her and noticed a fallen tree just a few feet away from the road. Gingerly she reached out and stroked the horse and coaxed it to follow her. When the horse finally complied she climbed on top of the tree and vaulted herself on the horse. The horse, thankfully didn't move but the force of her jump cause Anna to topple over the other side. She landed with a thud on her back.
Glorfindel had already dismounted and was walking over to her when she let out a groan from the pain. She winced and peeked up and found him standing over her.
Without a word he reached down and hauled her to her feet. "You would do well to seek assistance, young one." he told her before he picked her up and put her on her mount.
His tone caused Anna to bristle, "I could have done it. It was only my first try and no one counts first tries anyway." she informed him.
He said nothing and gained his own mount.
Much later when the day was nearly over Glorfindel stopped the company with a raised hand. "We make camp here and start for Gondor again come the morn." he said as he dismounted.
Anna looked around. They had stopped near a small creek with just enough grass for the horses to find food in. "This is camp?" she asked.
None of the elves answered her as all had dismounted and were beginning their duties for breaking camp. One elf had began to gather the horses and lead them toward the water. Another had began to strike a fire. Two had disappeared completely.
Glorfindel was taking his pack from his own horse as Anna asked again, "This is camp?"
"What were you expecting?" he countered without looking at her.
Anna was getting tired of him not bothering to glance at her when he spoke. It made her feel as if she were to unimportant to look at. Her temper flared, "Oh, I don't know maybe a bed."
"You shall make your bed." Glorfindel informed her.
"Out of what? Sticks and leaves?" she asked dumbfounded.
"Trust that sticks would make an uncomfortable bed, my lady." Glorfindel said impassively as he walked toward her. He reached his hands up to help her down.
"I can get down by myself, thank you very much." Anna snapped out at him.
"Suit yourself, my lady."
As soon as Glorfindel walked away Anna tried to gracefully slip from her horse. Graceful was something that Anna was not, however. With a curse she landed on her backside on the hard ground. She winced painfully again. "Today is just not my day."
She opened her eyes to find that Glorfindel was standing over her. She felt the need to redeem herself, "I'm usually not this clumsy."
His brow quirked at her statement. "Really." she proceeded, "I usually can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time without even tripping."
He said nothing to her statement. He merely reached down and clasped her wrist, pulling her to her feet.
"Um, Glorfindel." He turned from walking toward the fire. "Do I really have to make my own bed?" she asked somewhat pathetically.
Glorfindel felt no pity however, "You are a fully grown lady, you should learn to do for yourself instead of always relying on others to work for you." he stated.
Anna was taken aback. "I do not always rely on others to work for me. I'll have you know, buddy, that I can do plenty of things all by my onesies." she tipped her nose up to look down at him, but the effect was ruined because he was a good two heads taller than she. "I can and will make my own bed then. I can do it. I'm a woman of the world and I can do anything I put my mind to." she spun away from him and went to her own pack. A thought struck her and she whipped back around to face him, "You are such a hypocrite." she accused.
Her tone cause Glofindel to stop and turn toward her, "Pardon me?"
"Hypocrite. You." she stated. In her anger, her voice had risen, "You said earlier that I should seek assistance, and now you state, very condescendingly, I might add, that I should do for myself. Make up your mind."
Glorfindel took a deep breath so that he might refrain from yelling as she had, "Are you saying that you cannot make your own bed?"
Anna nearly screamed, "You are impossible." She turned on her heel and continued to find something for a bed.
"My lady." another voice. Much softer than what Glorfindel had taken to using around her, interrupted her. She turned to look at the same elf who had helped her on her horse in Rivendell. She learned later that his name was Galrod.
"Hello, Galrod." she smiled up at him. He was the one elf who was nice to her. She decided she liked him better than everyone else in the traveling party.
"Do you require assistance, my lady?" he asked.
"No, thank you, Galrod. I think that I can handle this." she smiled at him again. She decided that soft objects were important to counter act the hardness of the ground. She unrolled her pack and laid her clothing on a low branch of a nearby tree. She folded the large fabric until she made a sleeping bag of sorts and then laid it on the ground to test the softness. Soft, it was not. Deciding that leaves might help she began to gather as many fallen ones as she could find.
While Anna was busy gathering her bed together, the two elves that had previously disappeared came back with a deer in tow. Anna tried not to look at the pitiful thing as they made it ready to cook.
"Cookies would be a welcome sight right now." she mumbled as she fluffed her leaves together. "And milk. God, I love milk." She placed her folded fabric on top of the leaves and tested it again. Better, but not a mattress. It would have to do.
"You know a Motel 6 leaves the light on for you." she muttered again, "But I guess they wouldn't be out in East Buddha." she mused aloud to no one.
The elves were busy cooking the deer when she got up from her make shift mattress. "Is that dinner?" she asked.
"It is." Galrod smiled at her. "Would you like to freshen up at the creek, my lady? I would walk you."
Anna briefly considered this. The last body of water she had gotten close to swallowed her. However, after looking down at her hands and feeling the dirt and dust from travel, she changed her mind. Besides, as long as it wasn't in a cave, she should be alright. "Sure." she finally answered with a grin. The creek was only a few feet away but she hadn't really had much conversation with any of the elves on the journey so she welcomed the company.
Galrod walked with her to the small creek and she washed her face. "So Galrod," she began after she was finished, "do you have a lady elf at home?"
Galrod smiled, "I do in fact."
"Really?" Anna smiled, interested. "Who is she?"
"She works in the House of Elrond, perhaps you have seen her. Her name is Lilaith." when he spoke her name a smile crept onto his face. Anna thought it was the sweetest thing.
"Oh yea, I've met her. She's pretty." Anna smiled, "Are you married?"
Galrod smiled but shook his head, "Not yet." Before Anna could ask, he explained, "She wishes to wed with her parents watching, so we will wait until we reach the Undying Lands to marry."
Anna looked confused for a moment, "Okay. I can kind of follow that." she nodded, "I would want my parents to watch me get married too."
Galrod smiled, "I am sure they will be there for you on that day, my lady."
Anna decided not to comment on that but instead said, "You know you can call me Anna. That is my name."
"But you are a lady." he protested.
"Only on a very good day, I assure you." she smiled at him. "And I would love it if you would call me Anna." she said honestly. She didn't know where they had all gotten this 'Lady' business but she could at least correct them, if only one at a time.
"If it is my lady's wish, then I shall comply." he answered.
"Who's wish?" she tested him.
"Anna." he smiled at her, "Come I think that perhaps some of the meat might be ready." he helped her to her feet.
Anna liked Galrod and perhaps with a few more friendly conversations, he might actually become her friend. It was nice to have somewhat of a confidant when you felt alone.