The Adventure Begins – Part 2

“The Adventure Begins” is an interlude between Bag End, where Nerissa started her adventure, and the next major scene with the three trolls. It’s a time when Nerissa is adjusting to her new life on the road. Here’s part 2:

“You better get up, young lady,” came the voice above me. I felt a gentle kick. I groaned.

“Go away, Mother. I’m sleeping!”

I heard a deep laugh, “Do I look like your mother?”

I opened my eyes and saw Bofur looking at me.

I closed my eyes again. “Why so early, every morning?” I muttered.

“Well, Thorin himself said to get you up. Actually he said something more like, ‘If that loafer of a girl refuses to rise … ,'” Bofur stopped himself, and then continued cheerily, “But what he said isn’t important. Now, you need to get up. After all, line 238 of the contract says that all signees are to rise at this time every morning for the duration of the adventure.”

I sighed, sat up, and started gathering my gear. I shoved my blanket into my pack, but it wouldn’t fit. Grumpily, I grabbed my pack and shook it as hard as I could. Everything  I had just packed tumbled to the ground along with a folded piece of paper. Kneeling, I picked it up. My name was neatly spelled out on the front of the slightly-peachy colored stationery that Mother always used. I felt a lump in my throat as I slowly unfolded the paper. It didn’t matter that Thorin wanted to get started; I had to read the letter. I began reading my mother’s precise writing.

My dearest daughter,

When we said no to you going on this quest, I knew in my heart you wouldn’t obey. I really hope I’m wrong and that this letter will never be opened, but something tells me you’re going to leave home, and nothing will stop you. I want to say right now that I love you, and I forgive you for leaving. It pains me, but I understand you’re excited to try life on your own and desire to make your own decisions. I was young once, too. In fact, I’m sure you remember the story about how my own parents were furious at my decision to leave home and marry your father, as it was unthinkable that I would marry a Rohirrim! That’s why I’m letting you go – because I do understand. My promise to you is that you’ll always have a home to come back to, and that I’ll always love you. I hope your adventure is everything you dreamed of. Be good and obey Gandalf.

Just remember that the world is bigger than you realize. The world isn’t like our tiny town. I’ll be praying for your safe return.

Mother

I gently folded the letter, and felt the tears well up in my eyes. I suddenly just wanted to run home, back to the safety and care of my family. “I love you too, Mother,” I whispered to the letter, hugging it to me for a moment. The lump in my throat got bigger and bigger, and the tears started to fall.

“Nerissa?”

I turned around, quickly wiping my eyes. “Yes?”

Bilbo Baggins, our Hobbit, stood in front of me, and he looked concerned. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, thank you,” I said briskly, turning around and tucking the pale paper back into my bag.

“You’re homesick,” Bilbo touched my elbow. “I know.”

I turned on him. “How do you know?”

“Because I’m homesick myself,” Bilbo smiled sympathetically.

“I found a letter from my mother. I never knew she wrote it,” I choked up. “I miss her. I miss my family. I miss Rohan. I even miss having to make my bed every morning.” I laughed despite myself, re-rolling the blanket and placing it in my pack.

“You better get moving, both of you, or Thorin will have your heads!” growled Dwalin as he passed us.

Bilbo picked up the pack he’d dropped and glanced over at me.“I miss my arm chair. I miss my books. I miss Bag End.”

“I miss my books, too. And my bath tub!” For a moment I remembered how good it felt to be clean.

“I miss my tea kettle. I miss my slippers. I miss not being sore every morning.”

“I miss my mother’s cooking.” The thought of my mother began my tears afresh.

Bilbo handed me something. It was a handkerchief that one of the dwarves had given him. “Here,” he smiled up at me. I dried my eyes and handed it back to him.

“Hannon le … I mean, thank you,” I smiled. Bilbo nodded, and we walked in silence to our horses. Gildin leaned down and nuzzled my hair. “Hello, boy. How are you?” He nickered back. I rubbed his nose, and swung up on his back.

“Let’s get moving! We’re already behind.” I heard Thorin’s gruff command. I sighed and urged Gildin forward.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be posting part 3 next week.

~ Kayla

Bag End – Part 1

“In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.” I’m sure everyone knows by now how much I love The Hobbit.  I love the book, and I love the movie. So, it wasn’t long after watching the movie before I started writing fanfiction for it. Today I’m going to be posting that fanfic! The main character is my OC, Nerissa of Rohan. Hope you enjoy!

A hole in the ground. That’s where my adventure truly began. I stood outside the round, green door feeling excited and nervous all at the same time. Lifting my hand to knock, I found the door already open. I stepped inside and stood in the hole. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, full of worms and oozy smells; this was a Hobbit-hole. I could smell good food, feel the warmth, and could tell that this hole had all the comforts of home. The low murmur of voices coming from another room caught my attention, though I could not make out what they said. Following the sounds, I crept as softly as I possibly could around the hallway, my heart pounding. This was the moment I’d been waiting for since I’d first heard about “adventures.” That’s what I had always wanted more than anything, my own adventure, like the ones in stories. Now, I had my chance. As I turned the corner, I could see a small dining room, crammed full of chairs and people. All men, or should I say dwarves.

“They say our quest is ours, and ours alone,” a deep voice said at the end of the table closest to me. I could see the back of his figure, tall, (at least by dwarvish standards) stately, and majestic. The other dwarves murmured, seeming disappointed.

I started to take a step forward, and then shrank back, too nervous to take that first step.

Oh, come on, Nerissa! This is an adventure. You’re supposed to be adventurous and take chances. I inwardly scolded myself. I started to press my boot down on the floor and take a step, and recoiled once again, as if that floorboard were made out of hot lava.

“You’re going on a quest?” asked a small (even smaller than the dwarves) man. He had curly hair and shockingly large and hairy feet.

“Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light,” I heard a rough voice that I knew well. It belonged to Gandalf, an old family friend. It was through him I’d first learned of this adventure. I had to act now … or I never would.

I took a step forward, and with as much confidence as a terrified girl can possess, I stepped into the light, in full view of the dwarves. As soon as I did, the dwarves at the other end of the table stood up. I tried to fight the fear welling up inside of me and the common sense side screaming, “this is a HORRIBLE idea!”

The person in front of me slowly turned, and I suddenly found myself facing the dwarf I’d later learn was Thorin Oakenshield. “Who are you?” he ground the words harshly out.

I wrapped my gloved hand around the edge of my cloak’s dark hood and slipped it off my head. My dark, glossy curls tumbled loose, my pale blue eyes meeting Thorin’s glare. “I am Nerissa of Rohan.” I paused to stop the trembling in my voice.

Thorin growled before I could announce my intentions, “What do you want?”

“I want to join your quest.” As I spoke, I felt the trepidation melt away.

“Why? To claim the gold that is rightfully ours?” he accused.

“I do not want your gold; only the adventure in retaking it.”

“Why would a girl come to my aid when dwarves, my own people from the Iron Hills, would not?” he directed the question more to the absent dwarves of the Iron Hills than to me. At least, I hoped so.

“However, I have no need of children on this quest,” he scowled at me. “This is not some game. Come back when you have seen the world.” He turned his back on me and faced his people again. I felt as if my chance had slipped through my fingers.

Tune in next week to see if she’ll be able to join the adventure!

~ Kayla

Grammar Rule – Then vs Than

“You have been found guilty of misusing the words ‘then’ and ‘than.’ You are sentenced to three years of grammatical prison.” *gulps* Uh-oh. I plead guilty to this one. I use “then” when it should have been “than” and vice versa. Hopefully by writing this post, I’ll not only remember, but I’ll be able to help you remember as well! 🙂

Then:

What happened then after the trolls were turned to stone, Mr. Bilbo?

In the Bilbo sentence, the word “then” means “next.” So, if you’re asking what happens next, use “then” with an “e.”

 Then the ruler in Gondor was King Elessar.

“Then” can also mean “at that moment in time.” So, in the above sentence, I’m referring to the time in Middle-Earth history when Elessar was king. (It was a wonderful time in Gondor, too, during Elessar’s reign.) and “then” should be used.

If Thorin doesn’t travel to Rivendell, then he won’t be able to translate the map.

With “ifs” you use “then.”

Than:

Is Kili a better archer than Fili?

In this sentence, I’m comparing Kili and Fili. (Sorry, Fili and Kili. You’re both great. ;)) Since “than” is used to compare two things to each other, I wouldn’t use “then.”

I like Legolas’s new hairstyle better than his old one.

Again, I’m comparing two things, so I’d use a “than” instead of a “then.”

Hopefully this post helped clear up some of your (and my!) confusion with the words “then” and “than.”

Here are two links that really helped me when writing this post:

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/then-versus-than?page=all

http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/difficulties/thanthen.html

~ Kayla