Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings. I do not claim to own Lord of the Rings. I would never even dream of owning Lord of the Rings. That honor shall forever and always belong to the late and much beloved J.R.R. Tolkien, God rest his soul. I do, however, own little Jamie, lovely Thea, and stubborn Annie. Touch them and I will be on you like white on rice and my ninja penguins will hunt you down to Oblivion and back.
Author's Note: Ten points to everyone who actually gets that.
Chapter 17
Annie
I hated elves.
Attacking a skilled warrior in anger probably wasn't the best idea that I had ever had. Ending up on my back again with a knife resting just over my throat was clear proof of that. "You may mean well, but you do your sister a disservice," Haldir whispered, his voice so low that only I could hear him.
"And look at her," I hissed back at him. "You don't know me and you sure as hell don't know my sister." My eyes bored into his own before he finally yielded and looked up at my sister, shock actually showing up on his face. I took the chance and shoved him away, scrambling up to my feet. "Who's the fool now Haldir?"
Straightening, Haldir crossed his arms over his chest and started to say something before pretty boy cut in. "Haldir meant not disrespect to you Lady Anne," he interjected stepping between me and the other elf. He turned to Haldir for a moment, speaking in their, I would never admit that it was actually beautiful, strange Elven language. The two elves surveyed each other for a moment before Haldir nodded and moved away.
Before I could put him in his place, pretty boy had grabbed my arm and started pulling me from everyone else. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I demanded shocked.
"Must you be so crass?" he demanded with a wince.
I sneered at him. "Must you be such a pretty prude?" I demanded in reply.
He stopped and turned to face me looking down at me. "Why do you hate me?" he asked tilting his head to the side. I watched feeling a touch of envy as his long blonde hair slid over his shoulder. I had never been able to grow hair like that and so I always ended up chopping it off before it could even consider getting that long. At the moment, it was easy to understand why people would mistake me for a man at first. Aragorn had longer hair than I did!
I snorted and shook my head. "Trust me when I say Pretty Boy, that if I hated you, you would already be dead. You just happen to seriously piss me off."
Legolas shook his head and I was happy to see that he didn't get it at all. That was probably cruel, but I didn't care, I found it highly amusing. I started to move away only to feel his fingers curl around my arm once more and stop me. I turned on him, with fury lighting my features. "What is your problem?" I demanded. "Seriously? Can't you get that I don't like you and leave me alone?"
"Than should I take it that you only like your sister?" he asked arching an eyebrow.
I started to protest and then stopped as my stomach sank. He was right. I hated even admitting it in my head, but he was right. I didn't like people. I had worked so hard to make people think that I hated them that I almost did. After all, it was so much easier to hate people than to let them get close to you and find that they betrayed you instead. "How I feel, is none of your business."
"It is my business when it might endanger my companions and our mission," he snapped back at me.
I wasn't sure if it made me happy to see that pretty boy had grown a spine or if that was just my sick and twisted emotional spectrum. "Oh yes," I said instead. "The infamous ring that has to be destroyed. I'm not going to screw with your mission if that's what you think. As far as I'm concerned, you all can go on your merry little way while Jamie and I go and hunt down our sister."
"But will you?" he pressed.
I gritted my teeth and looked away. So he had noticed the growing time that Jamie was spending with Boromir. While I might want to look for a way out of this place or Thea, Jamie was determined to stay with Boromir and I had vowed to protect her with everything that I had. I couldn't just leave her on her own with the Nutty Crusade.
We both stood silent staring at each other in some kind of contest that I might have lost. "Look, I'm not going to lie to you and say that we're going to be all buddy buddy while we travel with, around, or after you guys. I don't know you people. I don't trust you either. The only reason we'll be going is because Jamie thinks she needs to and as long as she goes, I go. I would and will do anything for my sister. That means if anything out there or if any of you even look at her wrong, I'll have your hides. Don't forget that or take it lightly."
Legolas nodded. "I think we finally have a true understanding of each other than Lady Anne for I would do the same for my companions against you," he vowed.
I snorted and shook my head. "We have not even begun to understand each other pretty boy and I want to keep it that way." This time he let me walk away and I wasn't sure if the feeling in my stomach was relief or disappointment. It was kind of aching though which I wasn't used to. I was always in control and these people were taking that from me. The sooner I left it all behind, the better.