Hey everyone! i have another update for you. As I have been on break between school semester's for the last few days, I have been working on getting this next chapter ready for you. As always I appreciate your reviews and always look forward to reading them. If you find any mistakes that i have missed feel free to PM me about them as I have noticed a few after rereading parts of my stories.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters but i sure do love messing with them!

Chapter 8

LPOV

Training. It makes sense but also doesn't. Every day that we stay in Riverdale, Sauron grows stronger. His army grows and his darkness reaches a little bit further. However, how are we to win if we can not fight together, protect each other. It is a paradox that has no right answer but many wrong. No matter what decision we make, we are still left behind Sauron's forces. Although we must try, that is why the Fellowship was created. To do anything we could to protect Frodo from the forces of Sauron, which we need training to do. Alas this leads to the current predicament.

"We need the training, the time, before we can leave the safety of these borders" argued Aragorn.

"But the longer we dally here, the more forces Sauron can gather, the stronger he becomes" Boromir countered.

I sighed deeply as they continued. This had been the argument for the last hour and a half. Aragorn believed we should spend the next 3-5 months here training the hobbits and making sure everyone was capable of protecting themselves to an adequate degree. Boromir believed that we should leave within the week and train everyone on the way, that the hobbits could learn as we go. While I could see the merit of both ideas, I didn't agree with either. I could see as everyone in Elrond's study finally began to tire of the argument. We had only gotten halfway through our planning before the two men began to argue... or maybe fight is a better description. As they started to rehash the same points they had already made again, I stepped in.

"Enough" I stated softly but sharply. Immediately both of the men stopped, one out of the respect and the other out of surprise.

"While both ideas have merit, neither are our best option. I believe we should stay for 1 ½-3 months and assess our skills and the hobbits. This not only gives us time to learn about the people we will have to trust with our lives but also make sure that all supplies can be gathered and prepared without a major rush."

Legolas was the first one to support my suggestion with a quick agreement. Next the Hobbits and Gimli pitched in with their agreement. As Pippin said,

"I would like to be able to do more than duck and run but we do need to start this mission thingy."

Aragorn and Gandalf were also quick in their agreement as my suggestion was designed to make everyone happy. Unfortunately that is a near impossible task in daily life, never mind something as important as this quest.

"Why waste the time?¨ questioned Boromir as he sneered at me. Obviously my previous message had not sunk in as of yet.

"It is a waste of time of make sure we are properly prepared? It is a waste to gather the necessary skills for our survival? Making sure that all members of our Fellowship will survive this enormous task, is a waste of time? If that is what you really believe, then you know where the door is. The gates will open for you to gallop out of on your high horse as you get slaughtered for naming yourself superior to others and all-knowing. And if you survive that I will sit back and let you carry the guilt of all who might perish in this quest because of your ignorance and over confidence."

Silence was all that could be heard from inside the office. Boromir was doing a fish expression as he opened and closed his mouth in shock, struggling to find something to say. Unfortunately for him I wouldn't give him the chance as I stood from my seat and walked toward the door of the room. I glanced over my shoulder and gave a final pitying glance towards Boromir as he seemed to finally be gathering his thoughts. Shaking my head I left the room and walked to the gardens, my royal purple dress sweeping the floor beneath my bare feet as I walked.

Upon reaching the garden I immediately went to the maze and swiftly reached the center, barely pausing to take in the sight of the beautiful lilies that surrounded me with their fragrance. Completely abandoning dignity, I dropped onto the marble bench that was nearly hidden among the flowers. Breathing deeply and slowly I struggled to contain my feelings at Boromir's complete dismissal of anything I said due to my gender, as he as already shown his distaste of women in roles of importance at the meeting it is the only possible answer. Normally the way he was acting wouldn't bother me in the least, but something about Boromir reminded me of my brother. His sense of entitlement and easy dismissal of my ideas greatly reminded me of Edmund when we went to Narnia the first time, before he realized his mistakes and tried to fix them. Hopefully this quest will let Boromir learn and grow the same way our time in Narnia helped Edmund to grow. However before this quest can even start we need to finish the discussion about training.

Sighing, I moved to get up when I realized I had been followed by a blond elf. Legolas was moving into the centre of the maze as his eyes scanned the area for where I was sitting nearly completely hidden by the surrounding flowers.

"My Prince" I called. Legolas quickly turned towards where my voice came from and finally caught sight of me. He quickly strode towards me and bowed slightly.

"Is this seat taken My Queen?" he asked lightly, gesturing at the spot on the bench beside me.

"Of course and please" I responded, "call me Lucy."

"Only if you consent to calling Legolas" he responded in kind.

"Gladly" I agreed. It would be no difficulty to call the handsome prince by his given name. We sat in silence for many minutes before he broke the silence.

"It has been decided" he began slowly, "that we will stay here to assess our skills and improve them where necessary for two months. We will depart at the first light of the new year on our journey, in the hopes that it will bring us the luck and strength of a new beginning."

Humming in agreement I stayed silent as I waited for him to address his reason for following me. It took Legolas several minutes to realize that I was not going to comment more than I already had. Softly he began speaking again.

"I know I may be overstepping my boundaries but I would like to help in any way I can, but to do that I must ask. Why does Boromir's… dislike of you upset you so? I have watched you listen to the whispered disapproval of the other men but you have given them nary a glance. Yet Boromir's words always strike your heart and make you… show more emotions than you have since you have arrived."

Staying quiet I replayed his words over in my mind, silently amazed all that Legolas has been able to learn about me in the short time I have been here. Deciding on how to answer proved difficult, do I lie, stretch or tell the truth. Finally coming to a decision I spoke just as softly as he had.

"Where I come from I have three siblings, all older than me. Peter is my eldest brother and was given the title High King Peter the Magnificent, he never let us forget it either. My sister was the second born and was called Queen Susan the Gentle but don't let that name fool you. She was the best archer in Narnia, she never missed. My last brother was always the one who wanted more than he has. It took him a long time to learn to appreciate what he has and not covet what others have. He was given the title of King Edmund the Just. This is the person Boromir reminds me of. Despite what both have they both want more than they are entitled to. Edmund lusted over Peter's position as High King even though he is a King himself. Boromir, although a Steward's son believes that he is entitled to the throne of Gondor even as he knows it is not rightfully his. Even with the darkness spreading through this land he is bitter and unhappy with the many blessings he has in his life. He has not yet learned to appreciate the things he does have in his life, a lesson I hope this quest will help him learn. Until then he gets on my nerves just as much as my brother Edmund always has."

Looking towards Legolas I saw a stunned expression on his face. Out of everything he had thought might be wrong that had not crossed his mind. Sitting quietly I let him gather his thoughts.

"All I can really say to that is, Boromir will learn many things on this quest. We all will. We will learn about ourselves, we will learn about our companions and we will learn about how we view life now and the difference in how we may view it in the future. The only thing that can help Boromir is time, hard lessons and continuous support from those around him."

In silent mutual agreement we sat in silence as the sun started to go down and we began to become covered in shadows. We sat in the middle of the garden maze watching the sun go down until the dinner bell rang and we left to eat before. If his hand brushed mine as walked toward the eating hall, it wasn't mentioned. If my heart beat a little bit faster as our hands brushed, I didn't pay attention to it. Most of all I didn't acknowledge that little bit of sadness that came to me when we parted ways at the door. No, none of that happened at all.