Congratulations! You got a chapter one day earlier than planned! Mainly because I forgot how many days are in February (I'm smart... sometimes)
Anyway, thank you to everyone you favourited and are following this story. Also, to everyone that reviewed- all of you give me a MAJOR boost when I read them. So, please review!
Disclaimer: I only own my OCs, the rest is owned by Tolkien
Lessons and grumpy elves
"What are you thinking?!" Boromir shouted at Elrond though backed away slightly when the elven lord glared at him. "How can you let her go on this quest?! She is a girl! A child! I grew up listening to the tales of wise elves but this is perhaps the stupidest thing I've ever heard an elf say!" Suddenly Legolas was up in a flash, his eyes like ice, his hand grasping the handle of some kind of blade. "Say that again mortal and you shall regret it." His voice was just as cold as his eyes. "You know," every head turned to the small mortal sat near the edge of the room, legs crossed under her dress. "Where I come from, I was always told if I couldn't think of something nice to say, don't say anything at all." Rosalie mumbled and looked up calmly at Boromir who gritted his teeth and Gandalf stepped in between them. "I believe Rosalie can help us. Many times have great people trusted my judgement and so I hope you all can as well." Gandalf said.
After the Council, and Pippin had been re-told the details of their trip, all ten of them had been ushered into Lord Elrond's private study. Almost everyone was stood, their arms crossed, sharing glances with each other, glares with the woman sat on the floor. Merry and Pippin were both sat near her, trying to glare back at the men but it was a sorry sight to watch. "Why Gandalf?" Boromir spat, "Why is that... woman so important to you?" Rosalie had a feeling he didn't want to say that particular word and looked down, picking at the ends of her dress. Gandalf stared at the man who boldly met his gaze.
"Rosalie," Gandalf turned to her, kindness in his gaze. "I want you to close your eyes." Rosalie frowned but did so. "Calm your mind, focus yourself." Someone in the background snorted but was quickly and quietly scolded. "I want you to think about someone, someone important to you. Think about their height, are they tall? Small? What about their build or weight? Muscled or slim? Gender- are they a man or a woman, I am guessing they are of the race of Man. What features do they have?" With all these questions, the room grew silent, watching the girl and the wizard. There was a minute of silence and Boromir looked around the room, smirking. Suddenly, Elrond and Legolas both stiffened, turning their heads to a space to the right of Rosalie. The space shimmered and an outline began to appear of a person, like it was being drawn onto a piece of paper. The outline grew taller, standing slightly taller than the blonde elf but it shimmered when the others in the room saw it. The man of Gondor jumped, the dwarf and Aragorn grew pale and the Hobbits took a few steps back but Gandalf kept his focus on Rosalie. "What does the person look like? What are they like? Rosalie, you must focus on this." The outline filled out, showing a young man around the same age as Rosalie, and blonde curly hair that fell to about his ears. The face filled in to show a slight tan, a straight nose with a small bump near the bridge and big brown eyes. His lips were turned into a smirk, a dimple showing and his eyes glinted mischievously.
"Why do you want me to do this Gandalf?" Rosalie turned her head to the wizard, her eyes still closed. Like the rest of the people in the room, he too was staring at the image of the human man who shimmered and flickered like a candle with Rosalie speaking. Elrond circled him, Boromir and Aragorn watching the projection's eyes move with the elf, that rebellious grin still stuck to his face. Gandalf tore his eyes away and looked back at the girl. "Just keep focusing on him," He said and suddenly she stiffened and the image turned to smoke, dissolving into the air. Rosalie opened her eyes. "How did you know I was thinking about a guy?"She asked, frowning at the wizard, who adopted an innocent look.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and it swung open, revealing a very shocked and startled Glamoreth, her eyes bugging out at the sight before examining her shoes carefully. She whispered in Elvish, keeping her eyes trained on the floor, her voice shaking slightly. Elrond frowned but nodded, replying in kind, ignoring the confusion from everyone but Gandalf, Legolas and Aragorn. They looked over at Rosalie and the rest of the company turned to her, who flushed under the scrutiny. "You seem to have made plans and not told us," Gandalf smiled, enjoying the girl's confusion. "Go, I have a feeling you may not enjoy the rest of your day." Rosalie's frown deepened but she got up, self-consciously brushing dust off her dress. She walked over to the door quietly and followed Glamoreth out but turned back to smile at the Hobbits.
"Who was he?" Frodo asked quietly. He was still staring at the space, when Rosalie left. "Probably someone in her past." Gandalf sighed, sitting down. "H-how did she do that?" Boromir's voice shook slightly, pale and panicky and Gandalf shot him a warning look.
"Rosalie has a unique gift," Gandalf started, a glazed look on his face. "Aye, she does," Gimli muttered, watching the door with new, wary eyes. Gandalf sighed and glowered at him. "As I was saying, Rosalie has a unique gift. You have all just seen it-"Gandalf stopped, rubbing his eyes and stroking his beard, sighing. "She has a special power to project her thoughts and dreams into reality. Just now, we saw the image of a man from her past, I'm guessing his name to be Zeke," The foreign syllables rolled off his tongue. "It would also explain the incident at Elrond's banquet a few nights ago." Elrond looked shocked before quickly masking it, glaring suspiciously at the wizard. "What happened at my banquet?" He asked, his voice getting smoother, his anger evident. Gandalf bit back a chuckle. "She managed to create poisonous flowers, though nothing came to pass... it was strange though, it was like seeing something out the corner of your eye but when you turn to look, it's gone..." He paused, frowning slightly. "She has little to no control over it, enough for people to see it but not enough to push it truly into reality..." Legolas shifted uncomfortably, thinking back to the monster in her room.
Gandalf turned back to the group. "That is the reason I want her to come with us," he said, "And I would also like none of you to tell her about it. I feel that she shouldn't know about her gifts." Boromir opened his mouth but Aragorn spoke first. "Why do you want to hide this from her? Surely she already knows?" "I don't believe she does. She thinks that everything is going on in her head- like a daydream. I would like her to continue to do so. Are we all in agreement?" Gandalf looked at every single one of them before nodding.
Ever since Rosalie had left with the elven maid, Glamoreth hadn't said a word, merely taken her back to her room. "Glamoreth, are you alright?" The elf seemed startled at her words, but nodded mutely, handing her clothes, slipping into her natural tongue before realising and changing back. "Thank you for your concern Rosalie, but you must change. A friend of mine is going to begin training you for the quest." Rosalie's head swivelled. "How did you know that I would go?" The women shared a look and at the same time said "Gandalf." While Glamoreth had kept her tone neutral, Rosalie's had been a mutter with a few choice words to accompany it. "Get dressed Rosalie; you have a long day ahead of you." Even behind the thick door, the elf could hear the faint sounds of clothes being slipped on and Rosalie's muttering, "How does everyone know what's happening but me?" There was a sharp rap and Glamoreth turned, already knowing who was there. Rosalie re-emerged and nodded in the direction of the door. "Who's there?" She asked Glamoreth who smiled mysteriously and opened it.
There was another blonde elf at the door, tapping his foot impatiently. He looked her over, raising an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "So you are the mortal I am meant to teach?" He looked over at Glamoreth, talking in their language and the elven woman sighed but responded in English. "Rosalie, this is Annúnor. As you are leaving in a month's time, you will need a way of protecting yourself. So Annúnor will give you fighting lessons." Annúnor's blonde hair was braided neatly down the sides of his head, tucked gently behind his delicate, pointed ears. Under his dark eyebrows were stormy grey eyes, reminding Rosalie of steel. His skin was slightly luminous like the rest of his kind but slightly tanned, against Glamoreth's porcelain skin.
Annúnor sighed and marched away from the door. "You're meant to follow, mortal," His sarcastic voice rang out, echoing and Glamoreth shot her a sympathetic look before Rosalie ran after him. She caught up with the elf, who glanced at her. "Another thing we need to add to that list- Endurance." Rosalie glared at him, trying to control her breathing. "I'm not that out of shape." She huffed and heard the elf snort and she rolled her eyes. Annúnor kept up his brisk pace, leading Rosalie further out of Rivendell than she'd ever been. Its walls glistened like the elves, a monument to their beauty. Around the palace, there were little houses scattered around though most of the elves seemed to work and live with Lord Elrond. Here there were large gardens, wilder than the combed courtyards inside the palace. In the distance, Rosalie could see rolling waterfalls, little streams creating paths through Rivendell, as if to show the elves could not control nature itself. There were big green fields, bigger than football fields with people milling about and Rosalie could make out a few of the other members of the Fellowship. Annúnor followed her gaze and murmured, "We are training in private- I'd prefer not to show how incompetent you are." Rosalie flinched at the sting in his words but kept her head down, following the elf further out. From the corner of her eye, she could see the man, Aragorn and Legolas turned in her direction, arms crossed in front of their chests.
"Alright," Annúnor clapped his hands together, turning to face the girl. They were in a small clearing on the outskirts of Rivendell, away from prying eyes. "This is where we start." There was a small blanket near the fringe of the clearing and he bent down, unwrapping a gleaming sword and two small daggers. Rosalie's eyes widened and Annúnor smiled but held out a stick instead. "What is this?" Rosalie asked, confused. Annúnor let out a groan. "That is a stick. We are going to start learning with it." His words were slow, like he was talking to a child and Rosalie flushed. "Why?" Again Annúnor groaned and turned to the girl. "Swords are sharp and I would prefer not to get skewered by you." Rosalie bit the inside of her cheek, trying to keep her temper in check and mirrored Annúnor's fighting stance. The elf raised his arm and swung the stick at her and Rosalie ducked. He swung again and Rosalie tried to match the swing with her own stick. Suddenly, she felt a sharp rap on her arm and Rosalie gasped, dropping her stick. "You need to defend AND attack at the same time." Annúnor growled and they started all over.
The sun had set before Annúnor had let the girl go. She walked through Rivendell like a zombie, dragging her feet, sweat coating her body. She walked straight past the Hobbits, who all looked up and waved at her and Rosalie grunted as she went by. Glamoreth was in her room, hanging up clothes in the wardrobe and watched the girl flop onto her bed, groaning. "Did you have fun with Annúnor?" Glamoreth teased and Rosalie ignored her, too tired to respond. Glamoreth gently held her, and helped her through to the bath tub, already filled with steaming water and scented oils. "I had a feeling he would push you today, and you need to relax. You're going to need it. By the way, Annúnor is coming early tomorrow morning for your lessons and so I suggest that you go to bed early." Rosalie groaned and Glamoreth smiled but left the room, finishing off her chores, listening to the faint splashes as Rosalie got into the bath, sighing.
Rosalie yawned, her eyes closing, head falling forward before she snapped back when she heard Annúnor cough. The elf glared at her. "You are going on a quest in a month's time and it is my duty that you are somewhat prepared for it and I will do it to the best of my abilities, do you understand? I will not let your stubbornness ruin my reputation here. I am a great sword master and a good teacher. Now, we are going to run all the way to that clearing and back twice. Do you understand?" Rosalie nodded and ran with the elf- for a part of the way. Too soon for Rosalie's liking, she started slowing, panting, keeping her head down but kept an eye on the elf in front of her. Just keep going. You can do it. Just think of proving him wrong, watching that smirk fail. Rosalie smiled at her thoughts and just kept thinking about how Annúnor would lose that arrogant sneer.
When she had finished running, she sat down heavily in the clearing, feeling the sweat drip down her brow and Annúnor's eyes on her. "Shut up, I ran all of it; I'm classing that as a win." Rosalie mumbled but the elf scoffed. "Well at least it's something, now get up." Rosalie sighed and did as she was told, feeling the gentle warmth of the first rays of sunlight on her face. Annúnor picked up the sticks from yesterday and tossed one to her, that she didn't catch. The elf sighed and shook his head as the girl had to pick it up off the ground. Both crouched with sticks in hand and then began their deadly dance with fumbles and falters from the girl. Though, slowly, Annúnor noticed a slight improvement, impressed when she parried his blows several times in a row. However, she still couldn't always defend herself in time, ending with hits that would bloom into bruises later on.
Annúnor and Glamoreth were right; this was harder than Rosalie anticipated. He had gotten her up at the crack of dawn and now it was late into the afternoon when they finally stopped. Even then, she had been given breaks often, though certainly not enough in Rosalie's eyes. All of her muscles screamed at her and her fingers shook, stiff from holding that stick for so long. Her arms, legs and chest were dotted with bruises where Annúnor had managed to get her when Rosalie hadn't been able to hit him once. When she got back to her room, she slid down the side of the wall, more exhausted than she had ever been. Gandalf found her like that, hunched up and covered in sweat. "Rosalie, I know that you are tired but I want you to go get changed and come to a meeting with the rest of the Fellowship and myself." Rosalie chuckled weakly, "The last time I went to a meeting with you, I got roped into saving the world, remember? It was pretty recently." Gandalf chuckled as well but held out a hand for her, a little surprised when she took it. Slowly, she ambled over to the bathroom, grabbing some clothes from the wardrobe as she went and Gandalf shook his head, smiling.