The Elvenking and The Girl Behind the Scenes

Seal It with A Kiss

The next morning, Tania awakened suddenly, every thought in high definition. Her eyes took in every ray of light streaming from the spaces between her blinds, and the realization that she had not set her alarm clock the night before without a doubt made her know she had slept too long.

The noises of day were in full swing. She shot up from her bed and stumbled a little, drowsiness still dominating her limbs, numbing them. She bolted to the little shower room and washed in the speed of lightning. She then dressed and fixed herself up in a fraction of the time it usually took, but ensured to wipe off any streak of leftover makeup and scented herself with a sweet vanilla aroma to mask the sticky odour of alcohol and foul vomit that water had not washed away. Once she evaluated that her appearance was at least half decently presentable, she stormed out of her trailer.

She hurried towards the main set building and dashed through the doors. She sighed in relief as the crew was still readying the equipment and actors were still getting prepped, the usual morning routine only having begun about an hour prior.

"Ah, Tania, there you are," Richard Taylor called out from behind her with his arms wide open, taking her in for a friendly hug. "Did you have fun last night? I heard you went out with Lee Pace, how was it? Were you able to rest well, though?" He asked, a wide grin tracing on his lips.

She was surprised at how interested he was in knowing about her late-night adventures, as if he was clueless about what had actually happened. "Oh, yeah, it was something," Tania laughed, a hint of nervousness peeping through her voice. "Is there anything I can do to help?" She inquired, looking around the set, hoping she would be sent away so she can clear her own mind.

"Yes, actually. I need you to bring all of the Dwarves' costumes for the 'Barrels Out of Bond' scene. Peter had to move the schedule around for filming in the Pelorus River... Anyway, I'll need those brought on set for blocking and rehearsals later on today," Richard informed.

"No problem, I'll bring them in a bit," Tania vowed and turned around, heading towards the Wardrobe Department.

The clothing vault was like a treasure hoard for costume designers. Racks overflowed with thoroughly stitched tops, grandiosely designed capes and fancily embroided gowns fabricated for each character, each one occupying a designated area of the large room. Shelves and tablets kept any other necessary tools and machines, as well as props and kits needed for sewing or piecing cloth together.

Tania made her way into the Dwarven section and searched through the numerous vestments for the appropriate label. She found the "Barrel Out of Bonds" category a few minutes later and picked an empty gondola and skip leaning against the wall. With precise and quick hands, she gathered the apparels character by character. The clothes were simple and large, consisting of oversized unicolored shirts and pants, looking like a bunch of unfashionable, battered hand-me-downs worn by peasants in the olden days. The garbs were justly styled this way, as the Dwarves were literally stripped off of their original costumes and left with only their underclothes for the scene.

Nori, Dori, Ori, Bifur, Bombur, Bofur, Balin, Dwalin, Gloin, Oin... Their costumes were neatly hung on the metal bar of the rack and their props expertly packed into the wheeled basket. Only three more characters to go. Once Kili, Fili and Thorin's clothes were safely tucked away with the rest, Tania rolled the rail with one hand and dragged the skip with the other, making her way towards the exit doors.

She suddenly thought about bringing extra hair brushes and hair dryers for her fellow hairstylists, knowing full-well that all the work done in the water would require major touch-ups and endless retakes. She marched towards the hair-products shelf and stood on her tiptoes, reaching for the kit. Her forceful stretch was in vain, she was too little to grasp the box.