Two Bows (A Legolas/OC fanfic)

The Council

I woke up in my room due to a beam of light shining on my face.
It was still pretty early in the morning, but I didn't go back to sleep. I loved getting up before most people, it seemed the world was still asleep. It's always so peaceful.

I drew myself a bath, working quietly to not wake my maids- Tama and Quea- as I did prefer to do most of my chores myself.

I washed my hair and body, before hopping out and draining the bath. I dried myself quickly and slipped on a pair of black, ankle-length pants, and a comfortable-fitting dark blue shirt that had sleeves stopping at my elbows.

Lastly, I tugged on my favorite boots, that were easy to run and move in. Grabbing my bow and quiver, I opened my bedroom door and ran down my steps to the courtyard. My bedroom was on the very edges of Rivendell, so I had to walk for a while before even reaching the courtyard.

I never minded walking or running, but it was a bit chilly this morning, so I hurried as much as possible. When I got in sight of the courtyard, I was surprised to see elves running around doing something. I didn't investigate, but I would ask Lord Elrond later about it. I moved slightly to the right and kept walking, making sure nobody saw me.

It wasn't like I'm not allowed out here this early, I just prefer to keep to myself. At least until later in the day. The morning was my training time. I did target practice and occasionally spared if I had Roanne or Saydra with me. But today, it was target practice. Other elves might think that practicing shooting a bow and arrow, or throwing knives every morning would get boring. But it never did to me. I don't know why, but it was always my goal to improve my aim and my technique. I think it had something to do with knowing my parents had died being defenseless. I tried not to think about their death, but I did almost every day.

I am seventeen years old(A/N: In human years. I'm not an expert at human-elf years translation, so this is human years. back to the story), but it still haunts me, knowing they could have prevented it, if they knew how to fight. So, I intend on knowing just that. I do not want my fate to be the same as my parents.

Reaching my training space, I looked around to see no one. As usual. I reached back and tied my bangs up, to keep them out of my face. If they are not tied up, they tend to flop into my left eye, so I like to keep them out of the way. I moved over to a target that was around 50 meters away. "Just for warm-up, than I will get farther away" I told myself. Drawing one of my 35 tan arrows, I took aim.

I breathed in. Than out. I focused on the target as if it was a Warg. I let my arrow fly, and watched it sail over to the target, hitting the target perfectly in the center. Satisfied, I shot another arrow, than another, than another, all hitting the target in the center. I didn't fire all of my arrows, so after ten, I jogged over to the target to retrieve them. Fitting them into my quiver and making my way back, I decided to practice with my throwing knives.

I was a little out of practice with my knives, as I hadn't practiced with them in over a week. I drew one of them and studied it. The knife was about seven inches long, the blade being three and the handle being four. The handle was black with finger grips I had made myself after using them for so long. The blade was sharp and smooth and, if held in the light, would tint blood red. They were a gift from Lord Elrond, and I don't know what I would do without them. Setting my bow and quiver aside, I turned to a target 20 meters away. I turned my back on the target, as I breathed in and out, calming myself. Than, quick as lightning, I drew one of my knives, swiveled around and threw it. As soon as that knife left my hand, I drew my second one, throwing it in the same path as my first.

I straightened and looked at the target. Both knives were right next to each other. Both were directly on the center of the target.
"You are too good for your own good Ry!" A voice said behind me. I knew instantly who that was. Not many people could come up behind me like that without me knowing. "What is that supposed to mean?" I questioned her, turning around. Saydra smiled. "When are you going to use these skills? We are not in the midst of a war, and if we were, you would not be fighting it." I sighed. She was right. I wouldn't be. "That doesn't mean I still can't be good." She than laughed. "No it doesn't. But you do show up some of our men warriors, who practice just as much as you!" I laughed with her and nodded my head. She was right again. She was always right.