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𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑵
❝ 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉 ❞
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THE FIRST TIME VERA MET A Hobbit, she humiliatingly fainted. Vera, despite her fall in that balcony of Rivendell, could vividly remember the scene, and cringes at the unforgettable memory of her head hitting the table and Arwen's worried eyes peering at her.
The duo were immersed in conversation; Arwen found it quite interesting to know that a mermaid princess was in her home, and the elleth took pride in the fact that she managed to befriend one, too. Arwen, admittedly, never had many friends as an elfling. Arwen admitted this to Vera, who agreed entirely with her. After that, a bond began to form.
Vera, uninformed of Arwen's plan, let her. Once the two made it to the patio, in which a table and a few chairs stood under a tall, olive tree, Vera took a moment to observe her surroundings.
However, her mesmerized moment was cut short once her eyes fell onto the three Hobbits sitting around the table and watching Vera with interest. The princess had smiled, quite wistfully, at the three — presuming them to be children — but let out a long, startled scream once her hazel eyes landed on their appearance. Suddenly, the realization set in.
Surprised by her yelp, the three Hobbits screamed as well, looking at each other in horror and confusion. Why was this random woman screaming?
Because of that catastrophe of this situation, Arwen couldn't help but scream too. Soon, the sight of two women and three Hobbits shouting at each other with no context beheld until Vera collapsed, ending the screaming session immediately. Arwen attempted to catch her but the movement went in vain.
Out of breath, she looked up at the three Hobbits in confusion. However, the three Hobbits seemed unaware of the reason as well, glancing at each other and their surroundings curiously.
When Arwen laid Vera on the table, the four of them gathered around her in an attempt to come up with a reason for the unexpected start of a screaming session.
"Perhaps she is ill?" Sam had suggested, taking a look at the beautiful princess before him.
"Not that I know of," Arwen mumbles in confusion.
"Is she scared of us?!" Pippin had asked, pride in his grin. Merry shared the same excitedment but stopped after seeing Arwen's head of disapproval.
"I don't think so, either."
Later on, once Vera awakened, the group of beings easily became friends, the Hobbits' friendly nature makimg it easier for them to acquaint with one another. A blanket covers her shoulders though they sit around a fire, laughing about the events that occurred previously.
They had tried prying an answer from Vera as to why she had fainted and screamed, but unfortunately, the prideful and humiliated princess zipped her lips. However, they quickly moved on from the topic.
Vera smiles brilliantly at the sight of Merry and Pippin singing together, arms hooking and bouncing on the table merrily, showing the two women the customs of their home, The Shire. Evening is approaching them quite soon, Vera notes, but none of them depart to return to their chambers. They are having too much fun to go, the Hobbits' enjoying the female presence and them enjoying the hobbits. Vera understands why Arwen brought her to them.
Though darkness is reaching every corner of Middle Earth, and soon everyone will be in perish, there are times where one needs to look at the smaller things of life to preserve peace.
Merry and Pippin, after their spectacular performance, sat back in their designated seats to talk to Arwen about Aragorn. The three barely noticed Sam leaving with a sad smile, but Vera isn't so victorious in the department. Mermaids could easily be drunk and she isn't going to take the chance of a brain-splitting headache tomorrow. Besides, mermaids are more prone to doing something they shouldn't do while on alcohol.
Vera certainly isn't going to embarrass herself once again.
Approaching Sam silently, she perches herself next to him and watches the sun go down. Stars start appearing one-by-one as the sun begins to lower slowly. Sam and Vera sit quietly, drinking in the glorious view from Rivendell's homely feeling. Vera waits for the sun to disappear before she directs her attention to Sam. "Why don't you join them?" She questions, nodding her head to the chattering Hobbits telling Arwen a story about a wizard with fireworks, or something.
Sam looks at them before turning his back and gazed at the sky. He shrugs sadly, peering at his hands to avoid her stare. He's trying to ignore the question. "Not really feeling it tonight."
Vera purses her pink lips softly. "Any reason why?"
Sam smiles sadly, his mind lingering back to his dear friend, Mister Frodo. He had been so worried, he still is, at the sight of his best friend on the verge of dying and being reborn to a wraith. He didn't know what he would do if he lost his friend so soon and so early in their journey. He made a promise to Gandalf and he wasn't planning on breaking it any time soon. Vera observes the pained expression on his face that he tries to mask with a smile but to no avail. She's too observant.
"You can tell me, you know," she assures. "You can trust me."
When Sam doesn't answer, she sighs, putting her hands on her dress of black and gold, and shuffling her blanket closer to the sheer cloth of the dress she wears. "How about this?" she proposes, licking her lips quietly. Vera could see the conflict in his eyes; he wanted to tell someone, to release himself of the worry, but he didn't know how. "You tell me what's on your mind, and I tell you why I fainted."
At this, Samwise Gamgee lights up like the sun and smiles joyfully at Vera, earning an amused laugh from the girl. "Alright," he agrees eagerly. "But you go first."
"No," Vera immediately refuses.
"Well, why not?" Sam frowns.
"Because..." she trails off, trying to find a reason under Sam's judging eyes. "Because I asked you first."
"But mine's serious," Sam persists.
"Well," she shrieks. "Mine is too!" Lie.
Sam squints his eyes at her suspiciously but takes the bait, much to her relief. He figures that if it really is serious for Vera, then it is. Maybe something terrible happened which she was reminded of after seeing them; perhaps, the death of a parent. Oh, how wrong he was.
"It's about Mister Frodo," Sam answers.
"Mister Frodo?" Vera asks with a small frown on her face, confused.
Sam nods. "Yeah, he got stabbed by a ring-wraith and he was brought here by Miss Arwen — she's a kind, elf lady, that's for sure. I worry that he won't make it but Arwen tells us that he will survive because of her Adar's medicine, whatever it may be. I just...I don't know what I'd do if he died because we couldn't protect him. I mean, he is carrying the ring and he needs to be protected at all times, and I made a promise to Mister Gandalf."
Vera smiles at Sam, hoping that something as innocent as him wouldn't be corrupted by the darkness of the world. She hides the lingering fear in her stomach as she realizes that Frodo bears the ring of power, the one ring that could potentially kill them all. She wonders if it's wise to keep such a ring with him. Placing a smooth hand on Sam's shoulder, she sends him an assuring smile. "Frodo will be fine, Sam. He's strong and he will get through this, especially with Elrond's medicine. He is a talented healer and he knows what he is doing. Just have trust in his medicine and Frodo's strength, and I'm sure you will be fine, and so will he, and so will you friends. Your promise to Gandalf will not be broken."
Sam gazes at Vera with a smile. "Thanks, Miss Vera."
And with that, the two settle in silence for a few moments as the last of light disappears over the horizon. At a loss of words, Vera takes it upon herself to hold up her end of the bargain, "I fainted because I was frightened...by you."
Aghast and astonished, Sam turns pale at the sentence she uttered. "Scared?! Of us?! You told me it was serious!"
Vera shushes her friend loudly, looking at the passed out figures of Merry and Pippin, and the sleeping form of Arwen.
"I didn't know Hobbits had feet like yours!" she defends quietly. "I didn't know anything about your kind! Only Bilbo Baggins and his stories, but it never mentioned the feet. Though, I guess it makes sense why he was a burglar. And this is serious. It's a serious wound to my pride. You're like children but not...it's quite freaky."
"What's a burger?" Sam frowns.
"Burglar," Vera corrects with a laugh.
"Burger," the Hobbit boy tries again, frowning in frustration when he didn't quite say it right. "Burger!"
"Oh, Sam," the princess smiles.
As the two friends spent the rest of the evening talking about Hobbit life and the Shire, they start to doze off. As Vera is about to close her eyes to sleep against the tree bark, she whispers her last words to Sam before letting the darkness envelop her.
"If you tell anyone about why I fainted, I will cut your hair off in your sleep."
Aragorn steps towards the patio quietly, letting out a silent chuckle at the sight before him. Lord Elrond stands beside him, his hands on his head as he takes the scene in front of him. "This is appalling."
Aragorn agrees, walking over to the table in which his beloved sleeps peacefully, her face contorting to tranquility. Placing her in a more comfortable position, he places a pillow at her back and behind her neck, and sets her to sleep with no disturbances, a blanket soon making its way to cover her form. Elrond takes it upon himself to take care of the other girl, carefully taking her off of the tree bark and placing her on a sofa seat horizontally to let her tall body stretch out. She mumbles in her sleep, laying an arm under her head to position herself comfortably. Elrond ensures that the blanket is around her tightly before moving on to the Hobbit that lay on the floor.
Positioning him to a chair, he lets him fall back against it, sprawling his limbs out and accidentally hitting Elrond in the face. Aragorn laughs, placing a hand on his mouth to keep from waking his Arwen. He had been trying to get Merry to stop snoring in fear that he would inhale the flies around them but was unsuccessful and instead, plopped the hobbit onto Pippin with merciless force, much to his amusement. They didn't wake up. Once the two were done in their endeavors to keep their guests comfortable after drinking their way to passing out, they look out at the moon hovering above them.
"What do you suppose happened?" Aragorn asks.
"I do not know, but whatever it is that brought them to such happiness, I thank the Valar," Elrond mutters quietly, remembering the loud laughter coming from the group.
Aragorn glances at his friend. "They'll need it. Especially with everything coming." Elrond hums in thought, absent-minded to his friend's observing eyes. Aragorn follows his line of sight only to land on Vera's sleeping figure. "She reminds of you someone," Aragorn notes, bringing Elrond from his mind.
The Lord only nods. "She is much like someone I used to know. Strong, passionate, caring. Too stubborn and hard-headed for her own good. It's worrisome."
Aragorn places a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I will take care of her, Elrond. I promise."
"Ollo vae, mellon nîn," is all Elrond says before disappearing into the night, the assurance that his daughters laying together underneath the watchful eyes of the stars.
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Vera isn't entirely a morning person. Over the days of her confinement in Rivendell, she had been forced to wake up earlier than she ever did below the ocean and she wasn't entirely particular about the predicament. Of course, Neptune took full advantage of her misery and used ruthless ways to awaken her from the slumber she loved so much.
It didn't help that the sun Vera loved so dearly was the reason for her interruption.
With the memory of the night before and the peculiar day she had yesterday, Vera awakens to the sun rising up against the clear, blue sky. Blinking tiredly at the sight of something so bright peeking through Imladris, she groans quietly at the flaming ball of fire. Moving around in what she assumed was her bed, she tries reaching for the comfortable blanket Rivendell provided her with but frowns when she feels nothing. Concerned, she rolls her body to the other side of her bed but gasps awake when she is met with the cool, hard, stone ground. Bright awake and suddenly alarm, she raises her body up to eye the sofa bed she was laid on and furrows her brow in confusion.
The dress from the day before still clings to her body but is slightly ruffled. Her body aches at the uncomfortable feel of her dress against her skin. Hearing laughter from behind her, she wheels around in surprise. Arwen stands in front of the balcony outlooking the rising sun at the east, her hair blowing slightly behind her and her fair skin radiating brilliantly with the glow of the sun. Like always, she looks ethereal. Vera blushes in embarrassment once again as the elleth before her smirks in amusement.
"I suppose you saw that," Vera shifts quietly, moving the blanket away from her shoulders and walking over to where her new friend stands on.
"Every moment," Arwen confirms, a smile on her gorgeous face. "It's quite entertaining to see you waking up. I hope to see it again."
"Don't get your hopes up," the girl grumbles in response, not liking the fact that her pride was once again hurt. She lets out a chuckle at the sleeping Hobbits laid on the table rather uncomfortably. While Sam was perched on a chair with his head on the table, his body shifted uneasily against the direction of where his head laid. Vera cringes at the position and wonders how he could sleep like that?
On the other hand, Merry and Pippin are practically cuddling together, their chairs pushed together and their heads on each other's chest. Merry lays his head on Pippin's chest while his cousin puts a hand on Merry's head comfortably. Their legs were spread out atop one another. Vera shakes her head at the Hobbits and turns back to watch the sun ascend with Arwen.
"Did someone help us?" Vera asks, motioning to the seemingly comfortable positions she was left in, a contrast to the form she took when she drifted off. Arwen only nods.
"I suspect that Ada came here to help make sure we're comfortable and safe," Arwen mumbles.
Vera cringes. She still regrets the moment of passion and temper that overtook her the day before and she couldn't help but feel shame for being so rude towards someone who only wanted what's best for her and had only asked a simple question with no signs of accusation or doubt whatsoever. Arwen notices the look on Vera's face and turns to look at the sun.
"You mustn't worry, Vera," she assures. "My Father is forgiving and wise. I'm sure he understands. After all, there are numerous times in which I lose my temper in front of him, as well."
Vera frowns. "But you're his daughter. It's alright for you to do so because he will forgive you in the end. He loves you. I'm just his guest."
This brings Arwen's attention to the girl before her. "My Father cares for you, Vera. You may not notice but anyone with eyes can see how much he's grown to care for you..." she insists. "You remind him of someone."
Vera bites her lip in confusion. "How are you so sure?"
Arwen merely looks away. "My Father speaks highly of you," she repeats her previous sentence from before. Inspecting the girl, Vera realizes that she holds no hard feelings or jealousy towards Vera for sharing her father to someone she only met yesterday. She wonders how someone could be so forgiving and felt a rush of gratitude for the girl.
Arwen Undómiel truly is a blessing.
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author's note;
hahaha would you look at that? she fainted because of the hobbits 💀 that's kinda funny tho. again, i know it may seem eh (ofc that could be my own personal opinion.) but it will get better. please feel free to share some love on the book <3 ily have a good day/night
author's note; translations
ada // adar :: father, dad
ollo vae, mellon nîn :: dream well, my friend ( litera )