Authors Note- Hi. The first thing that I am going to point out is that I am
co-writing this with my friend CB. We're only posting it on my profile.
This story is a story that has the classic Legolas/mortal girl ship. Except
ours is no ordinary fic. We really can't tell you why, because that would
give away the plot... If there is a plot... We're not sure. Or are we? ON WITH
THE STORY!
Chapter 1 Different From the Rest
Babies born at least three months early were quite rare in Middle Earth. On the off chance that one was born too soon, it was not common for it to survive. However, one child was not the same. Born with a will to live, the girl Lili changed the thoughts of many and came into the world with a destiny that would be different from all the rest. She seemed the same as the other children, and yet, she was different. For though most of her body was normal, to her, no sound went unheard. The softest noise was as loud as the knocking on a door. Talking was ear-splitting, and screaming was unbearable. For twelve years she lived like this, and then it all ended.
By this time, Gondor was in distress. With no king, Nazgul attacked the capital city openly. During these times, Lili's parents made sure to keep their daughter inside, so as not to damage her hearing further. But then one day, Lili was running an errand for her mother, when she heard such an unnatural sound that to her, it shook the Earth like a terrible force. Screaming, she fell to her knees and covered her ears so to protect her fragile hearing. But nothing could shield her ears from the Nazgul cry. To her horror, the sound came again, and it was so deafening that something inside her, like glass, began to break.
And then it shattered, leaving her mind to forever be silent.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As she did every day, sixteen-year-old Lili walked to get the day's water from a nearby well. As she looked around, she saw the activity of the people of Gondor. It saddened her to think that she could not hear any of it. The only thing she could hear was the echoing of her thoughts, and it was not the same. Arriving at the well, she gazed at her reflection. She studied herself in the water. Staring back at her was a girl with dirty blonde hair, emerald eyes, and a slim figure. She sighed, and began to fill her bucket with water.
When she was little, Lili had always made a wish before leaving the well. They had been small, silly wishes. Once she had wished for a pony every day for a month. When she got older, she determined that wishes were for children and only made one when it was extremely important. And when she lost her hearing, she stopped wishing altogether, because she knew that all the wishes in the world could not return her ears to normal.
Lili finished filling her bucket and turned to leave. But as she did, the bucket was wrenched out of her hands by a boy her age. Grinning evilly, he dumped the water onto her. His group of friends began to pelt her with mud as the leader filled the bucket and again splashed it on her. Lili tried to defend herself, but she was hopelessly outnumbered and had the disadvantage.
This happened all the time. For you see, Lili was shunned by her society. A girl with no ear power did not belong in Minas Trith. The adults ignored her and kept their young children away from her, while the people her age humiliated her in all ways possible. It was cruel, but she didn't have the power to stop it. No one did. No one, that is, but the king.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
King Aragorn rode through the streets of his city, inspecting. He was making sure nothing was going wrong. The city was slowly rebuilding itself and he wanted to be sure that it went well. These were now his people. He looked about him and noticed that the streets barely had any people on them. That was because everyone was watching the fight that was going on with our friend Lili, but of course he didn't know that.
So he went on, noting with satisfaction that much of the city was rebuilt. But he then heard several cries and shouts that were sounding from down an alley. He frowned and rode over to the crowd.
No one saw him at first, so he was given the opportunity to see several boys throw mud and dump water on a girl, who was starting to cry in pain and the mud thrashed her skin and the dirty water ran into her eyes. Aragorn frowned. His eyes followed another girl who ran out of a nearby house and kicked, punched, (and yelled) at the boys who were tormenting the poor girl. She broke them all apart and was rewarded with a bloody nose and lip, not to mention several bruises all over her.
Someone finally noticed that their King was standing among them and bolted from the area. And then another, and another, and another, and another, until the only people left in the alley were the girl who had gotten beaten and the other girl who did some of the beating.
He jumped down from his horse and landed softly on his feet. Aragorn walked over to the girl who was lying on the ground, momentarily ignoring the other girl, and whispered to her, "Are you alright?" he asked. The girl stared up at her King with wide-eyed. Aragorn stared back. "Are you?" he asked again.
The girl looked beyond his face for a moment and then her eyes widened in understanding. She lifted her hands and began to move them, like she was signaling to Aragorn. And then to his utter amazement, a voice came out clear and strong from somewhere behind him.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I am alright now, thanks to my friend." Aragorn stood up and looked around and then stared at the other girl who was, in fact, ignoring the King and staring intently at her friend. (or he assumed was her friend)
She began to move her hands again and Aragorn listened as the same strong voice sounded. "My name is Lili, your highness. And this woman who I own my eternal gratitude to is my friend Aria."
"Why were those boys beating you up?" he asked, feeling quite confused at what was going on. Lili did not raise her hands to move them again, but simply stared at Aria, who had not moved either. Aria simply said,
"Because she can't hear anything you're saying."
"What?" Aragorn's brows furrowed together. "I don't understand."
"When Lili was a kid, she heard a Nazgul cry and it damaged her ears, so now she can't hear anything." Aria explained.
"That's horrible...different."
"And the different is why people torment her, make fun of her, and make her life miserable." Aria walked over to Lili and offered her a hand, which she took. "But thanks for asking." Aragorn decided to ignore that last comment.
"What were you doing earlier...with your hands?"
"It's a language that her parents and I have devised that allows us to communicate with her. For example," she said, all business. "There are different signs for names, but for names or words that have no sign, you can spell them out. Like your name." Aragorn raised his eyebrows.
To demonstrate, Aria lifted her free hand and made gestures, while spelling out, "E-L-E-S-S-A-R".
Aragorn blinked. This was not expected. He forgot at times that he was Elessar now. "But it is not proper to address a king that way."
Aria sighed impatiently. "I wasn't finished." She then pantomimed putting a crown on her head. "That's the sign for 'king'."
"What's 'queen'?" Aragorn asked before he could stop himself. He was interested now.
"There isn't one." Aria said shortly. "Please excuse us, your Majesty, but we need to leave now." And with that, she turned around and marched towards her house, Lili trailing behind her. Before she went inside, Lili turned around and shyly waved at him. Aragorn didn't move until she was gone. Then he got back on his horse and rode back up to his castle, plans of inspecting forgotten.
This was troubling him. He hated to see people hurt, but what could he do about a girl with no hearing? He could decree that no one could harm people like Lili, but he didn't know of any others. He hadn't even known of her. What kind of a king was he, if he didn't take care of his people? But Gondor was so large, it was impossible to know every single citizen, and he was a new king. But what did excuses mean to a teenage girl tormented by her society? For a long time, Aragorn sat on a balcony overlooking the city. And that was where the queen found him.
"What is wrong?" Arwen asked, sitting beside him.
"I went through the city today, and one person had no hearing." Aragorn told her.
"Old men and women lose their hearing as they age. Why does this worry you?" Arwen touched his hand, a look of concern on her face.
He took her hand in his. "This person is a girl only about sixteen. She was being beaten up by a group of boys. They hurt her just because she's different."
Arwen pondered this. "Perhaps," she said slowly, "Not all are meant to live among their kind, like Master Frodo."
Aragorn thought back to the small Hobbit who had left with the Elves. After such a journey, such a struggle, he had not been able to fit back into the simple life he had once led. Maybe Lili was the same. "Yes..."
"Master Greenleaf is coming." Arwen stated.
Aragorn gave her a puzzled look. What did Legolas have to do with this? Then it dawned on him. "You mean, Legolas should take her back to Mirkwood with him?"
Arwen smiled, nodding. "Yes. It will not matter to the Elves if she cannot hear, and they might be able to heal her."
The King stood. "I want her to stay in the castle until Legolas gets here."
"I will retrieve her. Tell me where she lives." Arwen got to her feet.
"By a well, in a square. I should go-"Aragorn was stopped by his queen.
"No. I shall get her." Arwen walked away. Aragorn sat back down. Was this truly a good idea?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that evening, Aria was still seething. How dare they pick on her friend just because she's different? It was inhuman. This was Lili's worst beating yet. She couldn't take much more of this. Aria frowned as she watched her mother and Lili's mother bandage various parts of Lili's beaten and bruised body. 'It was a good thing that King Elessar showed up. Otherwise, I don't know what would have happened.'
"Aria, could you please stir the soup?" her mother asked.
"Yes, Mother." Aria said, walking over to the kettle and stirred the soup with a wooden spoon.
A knock sounded at the front (and only) door.
"Aria..."
"I'll get it." Aria went to the door, carrying the soup so she could continue to stir it. She opened it and said, "Hello, how may I...help...you..."
In front of her was none other than the Queen of Gondor herself. Aria immediately dropped to one knee, letting go of the bowl so it clattered to the floor and spilled everywhere, but mostly on the hem of the Queen's dress.
Aria's mother came into the room. "Darn it, Aria, I thought I told you to be careful! You know we don't have much to spare as it is...Your Majesty." She followed Aria and kneeled on the floor, carefully avoiding the puddles of soup. "To what do we owe this gracious visit?"
Arwen bent down. "I am sorry to have made you spill your soup." She moved to mop up the mess with her cloak.
"No! Please, don't trouble yourself." Aria's mother nudged her child. "Go get a rag." Aria nodded, stood, and left.
Lili worriedly glanced from her friend to the Queen. 'What's going on?' she signed.
'I don't know.' Her mother signed back.
Arwen saw this, and stood up slowly, her gaze fixed on Lili. "Is she the girl with no hearing?"
Lili's mother put a protective arm around her daughter. "Why do you want her?"
"My king wishes for that girl to come live in the castle until his friend, the Elf known as Legolas Greenleaf, arrives." Arwen explained.
"Your Majesty, please come in." Aria's mother hurriedly said, moving to let her in.
A few moments later, the five of them were sitting at the table. Lili and Aria sat side-by-side, so Aria could translate what everyone was saying. The mothers were on the other side, and Arwen sat at the head. They sat in silence for a moments, when Aria suddenly said, "Excuse me for being blunt, but why are you here-"her mother frowned. "-Your Majesty. I mean, we know why, but why do you care so much?"
"You encountered my husband on your way home from the well earlier, did you not?"
'Yes' Lili signed as Aria spoke the word aloud.
"He was quite angry and upset for a long time at what he saw and heard." Arwen told them.
"And...?" Aria asked. Her mother scowled at her.
Arwen smiled faintly. "He wishes for your daughter to get away from her life of cruelty by going with Master Greenleaf to live with the Elves.
Aria signed it to Lili. Her face lit up. She turned to Arwen. Arwen did not need words to know that the girl wished to go. Lili frantically began to sign, which Aria promptly translated.
"Your Majesty, I cannot thank you and the King enough! Elves. Imagine! Elves, Aria!" Aria laughed and signed something back, which made Lili blush and give a silent giggle.
"What did you say?" Arwen wondered.
"I said, 'I can imagine Elves. One is sitting right next to me.'." Aria grinned.
"Wait." Lili's mother had a worried face. "How do we know we can trust this Master Greenleaf?"
"Do you trust your King?" Arwen's voice had become hard.
"Yes, of course, but-"
"And do you trust your Queen?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I do, but-"
"Then you can trust Master Greenleaf." Arwen stood. "I will be taking Lili to the castle now."
Aria signed this, and Lili also stood. She smiled at the Queen, who led her towards the door.
"No!!"
It was not Lili's mother, it was Aria. "Lili's not going anywhere without me! She needs a translator! And going away all by herself..."
Arwen knew who this young Aria reminded her of. Master Samwise Gamgee. She was willing to go with Lili without really knowing anything, just like Sam. It made her smile. Truly, friendship was an amazing thing.
"Alright, Mistress Aria, you may come too." Arwen said with a nod. She waited as the girls said good-bye to their mothers before heading outside to the horses. The horses that would take them to the castle, and their new lives.
Authors Note- Okay, so what did you think? Leave us a review. It's kind of hard to write this, since neither of us are deaf, so any suggestion (constructive critisim please) would be welcome. Oh, and I don't know if you noticed or not, but what people are signing will be in one quote and what people say will be in two. Thoughts I believe are either in italics or in one quote. Thanks!
CB and Private Lizzie
Chapter 1 Different From the Rest
Babies born at least three months early were quite rare in Middle Earth. On the off chance that one was born too soon, it was not common for it to survive. However, one child was not the same. Born with a will to live, the girl Lili changed the thoughts of many and came into the world with a destiny that would be different from all the rest. She seemed the same as the other children, and yet, she was different. For though most of her body was normal, to her, no sound went unheard. The softest noise was as loud as the knocking on a door. Talking was ear-splitting, and screaming was unbearable. For twelve years she lived like this, and then it all ended.
By this time, Gondor was in distress. With no king, Nazgul attacked the capital city openly. During these times, Lili's parents made sure to keep their daughter inside, so as not to damage her hearing further. But then one day, Lili was running an errand for her mother, when she heard such an unnatural sound that to her, it shook the Earth like a terrible force. Screaming, she fell to her knees and covered her ears so to protect her fragile hearing. But nothing could shield her ears from the Nazgul cry. To her horror, the sound came again, and it was so deafening that something inside her, like glass, began to break.
And then it shattered, leaving her mind to forever be silent.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As she did every day, sixteen-year-old Lili walked to get the day's water from a nearby well. As she looked around, she saw the activity of the people of Gondor. It saddened her to think that she could not hear any of it. The only thing she could hear was the echoing of her thoughts, and it was not the same. Arriving at the well, she gazed at her reflection. She studied herself in the water. Staring back at her was a girl with dirty blonde hair, emerald eyes, and a slim figure. She sighed, and began to fill her bucket with water.
When she was little, Lili had always made a wish before leaving the well. They had been small, silly wishes. Once she had wished for a pony every day for a month. When she got older, she determined that wishes were for children and only made one when it was extremely important. And when she lost her hearing, she stopped wishing altogether, because she knew that all the wishes in the world could not return her ears to normal.
Lili finished filling her bucket and turned to leave. But as she did, the bucket was wrenched out of her hands by a boy her age. Grinning evilly, he dumped the water onto her. His group of friends began to pelt her with mud as the leader filled the bucket and again splashed it on her. Lili tried to defend herself, but she was hopelessly outnumbered and had the disadvantage.
This happened all the time. For you see, Lili was shunned by her society. A girl with no ear power did not belong in Minas Trith. The adults ignored her and kept their young children away from her, while the people her age humiliated her in all ways possible. It was cruel, but she didn't have the power to stop it. No one did. No one, that is, but the king.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
King Aragorn rode through the streets of his city, inspecting. He was making sure nothing was going wrong. The city was slowly rebuilding itself and he wanted to be sure that it went well. These were now his people. He looked about him and noticed that the streets barely had any people on them. That was because everyone was watching the fight that was going on with our friend Lili, but of course he didn't know that.
So he went on, noting with satisfaction that much of the city was rebuilt. But he then heard several cries and shouts that were sounding from down an alley. He frowned and rode over to the crowd.
No one saw him at first, so he was given the opportunity to see several boys throw mud and dump water on a girl, who was starting to cry in pain and the mud thrashed her skin and the dirty water ran into her eyes. Aragorn frowned. His eyes followed another girl who ran out of a nearby house and kicked, punched, (and yelled) at the boys who were tormenting the poor girl. She broke them all apart and was rewarded with a bloody nose and lip, not to mention several bruises all over her.
Someone finally noticed that their King was standing among them and bolted from the area. And then another, and another, and another, and another, until the only people left in the alley were the girl who had gotten beaten and the other girl who did some of the beating.
He jumped down from his horse and landed softly on his feet. Aragorn walked over to the girl who was lying on the ground, momentarily ignoring the other girl, and whispered to her, "Are you alright?" he asked. The girl stared up at her King with wide-eyed. Aragorn stared back. "Are you?" he asked again.
The girl looked beyond his face for a moment and then her eyes widened in understanding. She lifted her hands and began to move them, like she was signaling to Aragorn. And then to his utter amazement, a voice came out clear and strong from somewhere behind him.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I am alright now, thanks to my friend." Aragorn stood up and looked around and then stared at the other girl who was, in fact, ignoring the King and staring intently at her friend. (or he assumed was her friend)
She began to move her hands again and Aragorn listened as the same strong voice sounded. "My name is Lili, your highness. And this woman who I own my eternal gratitude to is my friend Aria."
"Why were those boys beating you up?" he asked, feeling quite confused at what was going on. Lili did not raise her hands to move them again, but simply stared at Aria, who had not moved either. Aria simply said,
"Because she can't hear anything you're saying."
"What?" Aragorn's brows furrowed together. "I don't understand."
"When Lili was a kid, she heard a Nazgul cry and it damaged her ears, so now she can't hear anything." Aria explained.
"That's horrible...different."
"And the different is why people torment her, make fun of her, and make her life miserable." Aria walked over to Lili and offered her a hand, which she took. "But thanks for asking." Aragorn decided to ignore that last comment.
"What were you doing earlier...with your hands?"
"It's a language that her parents and I have devised that allows us to communicate with her. For example," she said, all business. "There are different signs for names, but for names or words that have no sign, you can spell them out. Like your name." Aragorn raised his eyebrows.
To demonstrate, Aria lifted her free hand and made gestures, while spelling out, "E-L-E-S-S-A-R".
Aragorn blinked. This was not expected. He forgot at times that he was Elessar now. "But it is not proper to address a king that way."
Aria sighed impatiently. "I wasn't finished." She then pantomimed putting a crown on her head. "That's the sign for 'king'."
"What's 'queen'?" Aragorn asked before he could stop himself. He was interested now.
"There isn't one." Aria said shortly. "Please excuse us, your Majesty, but we need to leave now." And with that, she turned around and marched towards her house, Lili trailing behind her. Before she went inside, Lili turned around and shyly waved at him. Aragorn didn't move until she was gone. Then he got back on his horse and rode back up to his castle, plans of inspecting forgotten.
This was troubling him. He hated to see people hurt, but what could he do about a girl with no hearing? He could decree that no one could harm people like Lili, but he didn't know of any others. He hadn't even known of her. What kind of a king was he, if he didn't take care of his people? But Gondor was so large, it was impossible to know every single citizen, and he was a new king. But what did excuses mean to a teenage girl tormented by her society? For a long time, Aragorn sat on a balcony overlooking the city. And that was where the queen found him.
"What is wrong?" Arwen asked, sitting beside him.
"I went through the city today, and one person had no hearing." Aragorn told her.
"Old men and women lose their hearing as they age. Why does this worry you?" Arwen touched his hand, a look of concern on her face.
He took her hand in his. "This person is a girl only about sixteen. She was being beaten up by a group of boys. They hurt her just because she's different."
Arwen pondered this. "Perhaps," she said slowly, "Not all are meant to live among their kind, like Master Frodo."
Aragorn thought back to the small Hobbit who had left with the Elves. After such a journey, such a struggle, he had not been able to fit back into the simple life he had once led. Maybe Lili was the same. "Yes..."
"Master Greenleaf is coming." Arwen stated.
Aragorn gave her a puzzled look. What did Legolas have to do with this? Then it dawned on him. "You mean, Legolas should take her back to Mirkwood with him?"
Arwen smiled, nodding. "Yes. It will not matter to the Elves if she cannot hear, and they might be able to heal her."
The King stood. "I want her to stay in the castle until Legolas gets here."
"I will retrieve her. Tell me where she lives." Arwen got to her feet.
"By a well, in a square. I should go-"Aragorn was stopped by his queen.
"No. I shall get her." Arwen walked away. Aragorn sat back down. Was this truly a good idea?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that evening, Aria was still seething. How dare they pick on her friend just because she's different? It was inhuman. This was Lili's worst beating yet. She couldn't take much more of this. Aria frowned as she watched her mother and Lili's mother bandage various parts of Lili's beaten and bruised body. 'It was a good thing that King Elessar showed up. Otherwise, I don't know what would have happened.'
"Aria, could you please stir the soup?" her mother asked.
"Yes, Mother." Aria said, walking over to the kettle and stirred the soup with a wooden spoon.
A knock sounded at the front (and only) door.
"Aria..."
"I'll get it." Aria went to the door, carrying the soup so she could continue to stir it. She opened it and said, "Hello, how may I...help...you..."
In front of her was none other than the Queen of Gondor herself. Aria immediately dropped to one knee, letting go of the bowl so it clattered to the floor and spilled everywhere, but mostly on the hem of the Queen's dress.
Aria's mother came into the room. "Darn it, Aria, I thought I told you to be careful! You know we don't have much to spare as it is...Your Majesty." She followed Aria and kneeled on the floor, carefully avoiding the puddles of soup. "To what do we owe this gracious visit?"
Arwen bent down. "I am sorry to have made you spill your soup." She moved to mop up the mess with her cloak.
"No! Please, don't trouble yourself." Aria's mother nudged her child. "Go get a rag." Aria nodded, stood, and left.
Lili worriedly glanced from her friend to the Queen. 'What's going on?' she signed.
'I don't know.' Her mother signed back.
Arwen saw this, and stood up slowly, her gaze fixed on Lili. "Is she the girl with no hearing?"
Lili's mother put a protective arm around her daughter. "Why do you want her?"
"My king wishes for that girl to come live in the castle until his friend, the Elf known as Legolas Greenleaf, arrives." Arwen explained.
"Your Majesty, please come in." Aria's mother hurriedly said, moving to let her in.
A few moments later, the five of them were sitting at the table. Lili and Aria sat side-by-side, so Aria could translate what everyone was saying. The mothers were on the other side, and Arwen sat at the head. They sat in silence for a moments, when Aria suddenly said, "Excuse me for being blunt, but why are you here-"her mother frowned. "-Your Majesty. I mean, we know why, but why do you care so much?"
"You encountered my husband on your way home from the well earlier, did you not?"
'Yes' Lili signed as Aria spoke the word aloud.
"He was quite angry and upset for a long time at what he saw and heard." Arwen told them.
"And...?" Aria asked. Her mother scowled at her.
Arwen smiled faintly. "He wishes for your daughter to get away from her life of cruelty by going with Master Greenleaf to live with the Elves.
Aria signed it to Lili. Her face lit up. She turned to Arwen. Arwen did not need words to know that the girl wished to go. Lili frantically began to sign, which Aria promptly translated.
"Your Majesty, I cannot thank you and the King enough! Elves. Imagine! Elves, Aria!" Aria laughed and signed something back, which made Lili blush and give a silent giggle.
"What did you say?" Arwen wondered.
"I said, 'I can imagine Elves. One is sitting right next to me.'." Aria grinned.
"Wait." Lili's mother had a worried face. "How do we know we can trust this Master Greenleaf?"
"Do you trust your King?" Arwen's voice had become hard.
"Yes, of course, but-"
"And do you trust your Queen?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I do, but-"
"Then you can trust Master Greenleaf." Arwen stood. "I will be taking Lili to the castle now."
Aria signed this, and Lili also stood. She smiled at the Queen, who led her towards the door.
"No!!"
It was not Lili's mother, it was Aria. "Lili's not going anywhere without me! She needs a translator! And going away all by herself..."
Arwen knew who this young Aria reminded her of. Master Samwise Gamgee. She was willing to go with Lili without really knowing anything, just like Sam. It made her smile. Truly, friendship was an amazing thing.
"Alright, Mistress Aria, you may come too." Arwen said with a nod. She waited as the girls said good-bye to their mothers before heading outside to the horses. The horses that would take them to the castle, and their new lives.
Authors Note- Okay, so what did you think? Leave us a review. It's kind of hard to write this, since neither of us are deaf, so any suggestion (constructive critisim please) would be welcome. Oh, and I don't know if you noticed or not, but what people are signing will be in one quote and what people say will be in two. Thoughts I believe are either in italics or in one quote. Thanks!
CB and Private Lizzie