The Why and the How

[Snarky]

A thin girl sat on the fountain's edge, silent and breathing in the invisible fumes. It was soothing, and just what she needed. Her homework was to weave an elven healing herb, something she had already done successfully many times at home. It was good to be away from home sometimes, but she already knew all the stuff her teacher was telling her! It was nice to be ahead in something, for once.

Minas Tirith was her one and only home, and she would ride there tonight to sleep before returning in the morning. Her mother was an elf, daughter of Elrond himself, so why was she sent here to learn healing? She knew enough from home, and could perform enough there that it wasn't necessary. Her brother had gone here, but prince duties had called him back a year ago. Why had they suddenly sent her, at the age of nineteen? Was there something to accomplish?

She kept weaving as her mind fretted.

[Mushu]

Adrianna bent down and sat beside the fountain. She began weaving her assignment. It was hard at first but she got the hang of it after a while. Weaving was strangely soothing, it helped her calm her nerves. When she looked up she spotted Arlen, the nineteen year old half-elf in her class. She was really good in their healing class. Adrianna wanted to be as good as her, Arlen seemed to be an expert. Even though she was only a year older then herself. "Hi Arlen, how are you doing on your assignment?" Adrianna asked her. She was sure Arlen was already done while she was barely halfway done.

[Snarky]

Arlen was so concentrated on her work that not even her half-elven ears had heard Adrianna's approach. She refrained from jumping, but her face was startled nonetheless. She pulled the last leaf through and held it up to the light, smiling when no holes were visible. "All done." She waved it in Adrianna's direction so her classmate could see it, and hoped she wasn't bragging. She didn't want too, she was just relieved to have it finished.

Arlen took a deep breath of the fountain's steam, loving the instant relaxation that flowed through her and eased her tense muscles. She opened her eyes, looking over to see that Adrianna had brought some herbs of her own. She seemed to be doing alright, albeit slowly. Arlen winced. "Try not to worry about getting it wrong. If you do, it is easy to fix." She rose, stepping closer. "Let the leaves flow through your fingers. Imagine a tree blowing in the summer breeze, how the leaves just move with the wind. Make the wind your fingers."

Arlen could picture her mother's elven face as she recited the first thing she had learned about medicine weaving. Her grandfather, Elrond, who had once been king of Rivendell, had been so proud to learn that his half-elven grand-daughter would inherit elven talents. Arlen smiled, remembering her last trip to Rivendell, the last time Elrond was in service. He had sailed away from Middle-Earth to find peace in these changing times. He had always been a role-model for her, almost as much as her father. Coming back to the present, Arlen watched Adrianna work.

[Mushu]

Adrianna tried very hard to not try hard. It wasn't working. She tried to do what Arlen had told her. 'Let the wind be your fingers. Let them blow in place.' Well it was harder then Arlen made it. But she tried anyway. She tried to picture the leaves blowing into place with her fingers slightly guiding them into place. Amazingly it worked and she got a lot better. She looked up to Arlen. "Thank you." Then as she was returning to her work she slipped. "Whoops! Arlen? Uh, how exactly do you fix a screw-up?" Adrianna asked before Arlen could leave. She couldn't remembered if their teacher said how to fix it, and if he did she couldn't remember.

[Snarky]

Arlen gave an understanding smile and stepped forward, her dress billowing slightly in the breeze. She leaned forward, her brown locks almost brushing Adrianna's face as she touched the girl's hands, murmuring under her breath a few elven words. The leaf Adrianna had just inserted pulled itself back, and the weaving was fixed. Arlen pulled back with a smile, the buzz of adrenaline that accompanied using her elven heritage rushing through her like tame fire.

[Mushu]

Adrianna was amazed. She couldn't even be sure what Arlen did just then. So she had to ask. "Ar..Ar...Arlen?" She stuttered. "How did you do that?" She hasn't really seen anything like what she thought she saw Arlen do. She was thinking it was the trick of the light or something, but it seemed almost like magic. The leaf just pulled itself back because Arlen said something.

[Snarky]

Arlen watched the girl's astonishment play out over her face in stages. She fretted for a moment over telling about her elven magic, but if most people already knew and she was not ashamed then why should she keep it to herself? They were no longer in the age where men thought elves were bad, or vice versa. Everyone accepted everyone now--or at least to a degree. Arlen smoothed down her dress and nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment before she answered.

"I'm half-elven. It was an elven trick...I learned it when I was younger. My mother is an elf."

She didn't go much further into her heritage. No reason to let Adrianna know that she was a princess of the most prestigious and well known country in Middle-Earth. The thought of home made her stomach hurt in an odd way, but she pushed it away with practice. She had obviously been sent here to learn something, and she highly planned on doing so. It was important to her that she please her parents, and she wouldn't leave the school unless she knew she could handle the throne back home.