The Girl and the Orc - (A Middle Earth Story)

Out to Sea

Rain, Havish, and Bogwater stood looking out at the clear blue ocean. They would be leaving soon. Elrond formed up a small crew and provided them with a large boat, as promised. They had enough gathered supplies and food in just a few short days. Rain and Bogwater soon learned that the old man with the hat was called Gandalf, and that the Lady Elf was called Galadriel. Rain also learned the the guard Elf she had met was named Lorsan. He had volunteered to come with them as well. As captain, Rain had tried to learn all of the names of the elven crew that were coming with them, but most of their names were hard for her to remember. Only a few elven ladies were going to be a part of the crew, the rest would be men. Rain was glad, however, that she would have some female companionship. Being surrounded by men all of the time sure tires a girl.
Rain had also begun to try to learn their Elvish language. It was difficult for her though, as many of the words were hard for her to pronounce. Galadriel had offered her some books and scrolls to take with her as learning tools. Rain also hoped that the other Elves would be as patient with her. Elves aren't used to taking orders from humans, much less human girls. Lorsan was much help to the girl, he was able to translate from the human language to the Elf language and back. Most of the Elves knew the human language at least a little bit, but some were stuck in their ways and only spoke in Sindarin or the other minor Elvish languages.
Bogwater put a hand on the girl's shoulder, shaking her out of her thoughts, "You alright?"
Rain nodded, "A bit nervous, but I'm fine."
"You can do it," Bogwater smiled down at her, "You'll be a great captain."
Rain blushed slightly. Ever since the incident with Bogwater saying he loved her, she had become shy around him. Rain knew that Bogwater had noticed this, but she couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. She had never thought of him as more than a friend. Now she felt confused every time she was around him. Could she have feelings for him too?
Elrond approached the trio, a group of elves followed behind, this would be there crew, "Are you ready?"
     Rain nodded, "Ready as I'll ever be."
     Lorsan came to stand next to Rain, giving her a small smile. Rain smiled back. Bogwater fumed.
      Elrond helped them get all of the supplies and crew members onto the boat. It was a beautiful brand new boat. She had never seen the ocean before, she didn't even have a name. It was the biggest boat Rain had ever seen before.  The sails and masks were huge and the boat was covered in elvish engravings within the wood. It gave Rain a feeling of new hope.
    "I must see you off now," Elrond said, "I must return to Rivendell."
    Havish gave his old friend a loving pat on the back, "Goodbye old man. We'll be back with some of the reports within a month."
     "Thank you for doing this, Havish. You've always been such a help to me," Elrond returned.
   Elrond walked back to the port with graceful strides. Lorsan and the other elves began setting the sails ready to catch the wind. Soon they were off, Rain, Havish, and Bogwater waved goodbye to the elven lord as they floated off into the distance.
Havish was the first to say something, he turned to Rain, "Well, what should we name the ship?"
Rain furrowed her brows, trying to think of a good name. "What about The Bogish?"
"Bogish?" Bogwater looked at her, "That's what we're naming our ship?"
"Yeah! A mixture of Havish and Bogwater!" Rain clapped her hands together.
"Hell nah, we ain't naming the ship that," Havish argued. He thought it sounded ridiculous.
"Then what do you suggest?" Rain crossed her arms over her chest.
"The Brain!"
Rain laughed, "What, is that a mixture of Bogwater and Rain?"
"Why would we name a ship after ourselves anyway?" questioned the Uruk.
A light bulb went off in Rain's head. "I have an idea!"
"What?" Havish raised an eyebrow.
"The Wandering Trio!"
Havish furrowed his brows, "What made you come up with that?"
"Well, the three of us are the bosses, and we are wandering around the world," Rain explained with a satisfied nod.
"Makes sense," Bogwater shrugged.
"It still sucks though."
Rain narrowed her eyes at the old man, "It does not."
The old man laughed. "Whatever."
Lorsan then came up to the trio, bowing slightly to Rain, "Mrs. Captain Rain, may I ask a question?"
"Sure," Rain nodded, "Also you can just call me Rain. Also stop bowing, it makes me feel awkward."
Larson stood up straight with a laugh, "Alright. Well, I was just wondering what you plan on doing once we reach land."
Rain scrunched up her nose in thought, "I think it's best if we just concentrate on actually getting to land first, you know, like baby steps."
"That's actually very wise," Havish noted with surprise.
"Hey!" Rain laughed, "I can be smart!"
Bogwater smiled down at his friend, "You've always been smart, Rain."
Rain blushed and looked at the floorboards of the ship's deck. She had to stop getting so flustered around him.
Lorsan raised an eyebrow at Rain. Could she have feelings for the Orc? It seemed wrong to him. After all, Orcs were the reason why they were going on this journey. He had become attached to Rain and her strong-willed nature and witty remarks. It looked like he would have some competition.
Bogwater had picked up on Lorsan's obvious attraction to Rain. It infuriated the Orc. He had known Rain the longest. He had saved her and she had saved him. He was the one who promised to help her find her parents, he was the one who had been there for her when she was hurt or sad. Who did this Elf think he was? Larson couldn't just walk up and act as if Rain and Bogwater didn't have a history. Bogwater loved Rain with all of his being, and this joker decides he can just flirt around with her? It made him mad. What if Rain actually fell for the Elf? What then?
Rain had scurried away while Lorsan and Bogwater stared each other down. She wondered what was going on between them. Were they fighting? Rain didn't want her friends to fight. It made her feel like she had to choose sides. Rain wandered around the deck of the ship. She had to push through the busy working Elves. The girl ended up coming across a door at the far end of the ship. She opened it and walked inside. Rain was faced with a large open room, with a bunk bed at one end and in the middle a large writing desk. The desk was scattered with maps and papers. Along the sides of the room were large bookcases, full of old books.
"This is your's, Rain."
Rain looked over her shoulder to see Havish standing beside her. "Mine?"
"This is the Captain's room. To be exact, this is your room."
A wide grin spread on Rain's face, "Really?"
The old man nodded. Rain laughed with nervous excitement. She couldn't believe this was really hers. It was amazing. She felt as if she had died and gone to heaven.
Rain looked back at Havish, "Wait, where will you and Bogwater stay?"
"We will sleep in the hull with the other crew members. We wi-"
Rain shook her head, cutting her friend off, "No way. You two are sleeping here. You are my friends, you deserve a comfortable bed."
Havish's eyes grew wide, "You're willing to sleep in the same room as a grumpy old man and a ticked off and depressed Orc?"
"Of course," Rain laughed, "I can't have you guys sleeping with the rats."
Havish grinned at the girl, she was so considerate. "Thank you, Rain."
"No problem," Rain returned the old man's smile.
Bogwater's figure stood in the door way. He had stormed off when Lorsan stuck his nose in the air and turned his back to the Orc. Bogwater was furious. The pompous jerk! The Uruk went off to look for Rain. There was no way Bogwater was letting that punk to take Rain from him!
Rain gave her friend a smile as he walked in. "Bogwater, you and Havish are going to share this room with me!"
Bogwater raised an eyebrow at the bunk bed in the corner, "There is only two beds."
Rain rolled her eyes, "I know that. That's why we're sharing a bed and Havish gets his own."
The Orc's red-colored eyes grew wide at this. He knew she meant it in a friendly way, but her comment still made him blush a deep red. "Okay."
Rain smiled at her success, "Good!"
Havish was about to ask Rain a question about their plan. He wanted to ask if they reached land how would they go about recording enough information efficiently while they explored. However, Lorsan suddey threw open the door to the Captian's Room. A frantic look paled the Elf's face, as if he had seen a ghost.
"What's wrong?" Rain asked.
"We're headed straight into a hurricane."