The Shadow Walker

16. Bored Equals Dangerous

I'd officially had enough of dresses.

And elleths and gossip and tea parties and delicate little crochet hooks...even chitchat of the most elligible bachelor ellons grew very old, very quickly.

It had been three days since Elladan's surprise visit to my bedchamber, and I hadn't seen him since. Not once.

I. Was. Bored.

I'm sure Elrond got quite a chuckle out of throwing away my old clothes and leaving me with nothing but the dresses provided by the seamstresses.

At least I still had my weapons. In my moments of greatest boredom, I comforted myself by practicing my form and swings on the bedpost. Then I spent hours sharpening my blunted blades.

Let it never be said that I didn't try to be productive.

But finally, that afternoon, I was going to do something. And if I ruined my dress...well, it was Elrond's fault for not getting me a proper pair of trousers. So I grabbed my weapons and went down to the training arena.

The repeated clash of blades was like a cool drink of water in the bowels of Mordor, or a deep breath of air to a drowning man. I went into the arena and basked in its aura of used weaponry. On one end, pairs of elves sparred with swords, while on the other end, individuals held longbows up, quietly taking aim at faraway targets.

There, I spotted a lone ellon. Tall, broad shoulders, and dark hair hanging down a few inches below his shoulders. His back was to me, but I had no doubt of his identity. He silently released an arrow, and it sank into a target at least a hundred yards away, splitting another arrow in half.

So concentrated...I smirked. I could fix that.

I walked across the arena, past Elladan, and toward the swordfighters. There weren't any elleths practicing-I was the only female in the arena. Not that this bothered me; if the elleths of Rivendell were content to sit on their behinds and crochet doilies, well, it was their loss.

I, on the other hand, needed some action.

As I approached, the ellons sparring together paused to look at me. I flashed them a smile and pulled my swords from their sheaths, dropping the leather on the floor to the side. Then I kicked off my worthless shoes.

I glanced between two ellons that had been practicing a moment ago, then lifted my swords. "On guard." I waited for them to raise their swords in response, then attacked them both.

Ah, it felt so good to swing at someone. And to have them swing back. I whirled, blocking one ellon's attack while thrusting at the other. They were good, and I was forced to move my feet a lot. But, they hardly compared with Elladan, and I managed to keep them at bay. Swing, block, thrust, repeat. Make no mistake, I despised the dress I wore, but there was a flare for the dramatic in the way the skirts billowed around my legs with every turn. Filled with the sheer joy of a good spar, I swung at a third ellon standing to the side.

While I was busy blocking the swings from two of the ellons, the other kicked my feet out from beneath me. I fell backward, landing hard on my backside. The tip of a blade touched my throat. "Yield," the third ellon said.

I searched for a way, any way to keep fighting, but my swords had come out of my hands and were just out of reach. The other two ellons stood over me as well, ready to keep me from coming back up. So I reluctantly nodded. "I yield."

The ellon moved his sword away from my throat, then offered a hand to help me up. I accepted his assistance, and he pulled me to my feet. "Well fought, my lady," he said, bowing slightly.

"Thank you, my lord," I replied, nodding in return. "You, as well." I acknowledged the other two ellons, and they returned the gesture and stepped away.

A crowd had gathered around and apparently seen my graceful beached-whale fall. Close to the back stood Elladan, still holding his longbow, his dark eyes both curious and cautious. As the crowd dispersed, he stood still, and soon, he and I were the only ones in the arena not doing anything.

I looked up at him through my eyelashes-he was nearly as tall as his father-then I averted my gaze and bent to pick up my swords. When I straightened, Elladan was still standing there, watching me.

"You fight well," he said finally, his voice a rich baritone.

"Thank you," I answered, picking up my belt. I strapped it around my waist, but left the leg straps dangling, cuz, you know, the dress. I sheathed each of my swords, then pulled my shoes on.

"What are your skills in archery?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly.

I barked a short laugh. "Horrible."

His mouth quirked up on one side. "Have you ever tried to learn?"

"On several occasions," I replied miserably. "I'm no good at it."

One dark eyebrow lifted, and he said, "Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"

My heart thumped a little harder, and I grinned. "As you wish, Elladan Elrondion."