Chapter Four
"Meeting the Elf"
Chapter Four: Meeting the Elf
Erin swung open the door to the barn, turning on the center aisle lights as she stepped inside. She smiled at the nickering horses that greeted her arrival.
�Good morning, babies,� she returned cheerfully, moving quickly to the tack room to retrieve the feed buckets. She had a lot to do today. Tomorrow was the first official day of principal filming, and as her luck would have it, some of her horses would be needed for the first shot.
Ten of the horses would be needed tomorrow: the nine black Nazg�l horses and then the gorgeous gray Andalusian, appropriately named Prince Charming, that she and John had found by chance. He had been designated Arwen�s horse, and Erin thought if any of their horses deserved to be an Elvish mount, it was the Andalusian.
But they all had to be rechecked before their travel to location. Shoes needed to be inspected, shots had to be administered, tack had to be organized, manes and tails had to be untangled, or tangled, in the Nazg�l horses� case.
Erin shook her head. This would be a very busy day. She grabbed the stack of black rubber buckets and moved back up the center aisle to the feed room. The barn was full today; she had brought up the Nazg�l horses from the back pasture the night before so she would have less to do this morning, and all of them were hungry. The Andalusian pawed at his stall door and Erin shook a finger at him.
�You stop that,� she scolded. �Breakfast is coming soon enough.�
She rolled her eyes as he ignored her and strained his proud neck over the half door to snort at the empty buckets in her hands. She stepped past him quickly and hurried to the feed room, swinging the door open and stepping inside.
�RRAWR!�
Erin screamed, jumping around to face the dark shape that lunged at her. She stumbled backwards into a hay bale and fell on top of it, dropping the buckets which all went rolling across the floor. She stared wide-eyed at the strange, blond-headed, green clad young man before her, adrenaline making her body numb. She blinked.
Her assailant fell onto an opposite hay bale, clutching his sides with laughter, and Erin�s stare turned into a cutting glare as she finally recognized the voice. She grabbed a bucket from the floor, feeling her face flush with embarrassment. �Orlando,� she growled unhappily, and hurled the bucket at him. �You asshole!�
He fended off the bucket with his arms and barely stopped his giggling long enough to grin at her. �You should have seen your face!� he gasped.
Erin stood, still glaring at him, and went to retrieve the rest of the buckets. She faced him again and lifted another bucket in her hand, acting like she was going to throw a second one at him, but he quickly leapt from the bale and scurried out into the barn�s center aisle.
�Jerk,� she mumbled. She resolutely went to the task of scooping out each horse�s grain, trying to ignore the sound of Orlando�s laughter outside. He was lucky she had recognized his voice� otherwise he might have found something worse than a bucket being thrown at his head.
She lifted four grain-filled buckets and stepped out into the aisle again, walking past the now-quiet Orlando to the first four stalls. He watched her, his eyes still shining, and Erin halted abruptly on her way to retrieve the next four buckets. She looked at him again.
His eyes�.
�Well?� he asked playfully, holding out his arms and doing a little turn. �What do you think?�
She squinted at him. He had indeed become someone else. He looked nothing like himself� except for maybe the shape of his jaw and his nose. His dark curls had been replaced by long, blond, fine-looking straight locks; the sides of which had been braided at the temples and pulled back into the larger braid at the back. His chocolate brown eyes were now bright blue, something Erin found unnerving when she looked at him, and he was fully clad in a very Elvish looking Renaissance style tunic and pants, complete with finely decorated boots and a leather belt at the waist.
She lifted one eyebrow. �Well� it certainly is different.�
Orlando�s face twisted into one of disappointment and his arms fell back to his sides. �Different? What�s that supposed to mean?�
Erin shrugged, ducking back into the feed room and emerging with four more buckets. She waited until she had placed those buckets in the next four stalls before answering. �I don�t know� wait a minute.� She looked at him again, squinting in thought. �Where are your ears?�
Orlando shook his head, his shoulder-length blond hair moving with him. �I don�t get to wear them until filming. It�s too much trouble for the costume people since each pair of ears can only be worn once. Why make extra ears, right?�
Erin felt a smile creeping to her lips and turned away from him before he could see it. The costume was beautiful, and he did look good in it, but she didn�t want to tell him that yet. Especially not after his little stunt�
�I suppose so,� she said as she went to get the last four buckets. When she came out she handed two of them to Orlando. �Here, Elf-boy, make yourself useful.�
He shot her a look at the name, then grudgingly moved off toward the last two stalls, which happened to be occupied by Comet and a very impatient Achilles.
Erin looked up from placing her two buckets at Orlando�s cry and saw Achilles with his nose buried in the Elf hair. Orlando was frantically trying to free the blond strands from the horse�s teeth without damaging the wig, and Erin couldn�t help keeling over with laughter at the sight.
�It�s not fucking funny!� Orlando protested, still pulling on his hair. He put one hand against Achilles� nose and tried to push the horse�s head away, but to no avail. �Erin!� he yelled. �The horse is eating my bloody wig!�
At last Erin stifled her chuckles enough to make her way over to him, and she lifted the feed bucket from the ground where Orlando had dropped it. She held it up for Achilles to sniff and the horse promptly released Orli�s wig, his attention at once going to the task of devouring the grain.
Orlando staggered backwards as his hair was let go, and he glared at the horse as Erin lowered the bucket into the stall and turned to face him, hands on her hips.
�Gross,� Orli whined, holding up a long section of the wig that was now covered in slimy horse drool, complete with small bits of hay and old grass. He made a face.
Erin smiled. �You deserved that,� she said.
Orlando looked to her. �Oh yah? What the bloody hell am I supposed to tell the costume people?� he demanded. �Sorry, but a horse ate my hair�?�
Erin shook her head. �You�re so melodramatic, Bloom. He wasn�t eating it, he was nibbling it, and your hair is fine� it�s just got some good quality horse goober on it.�
He regarded her doubtfully, but at the real worry she saw on his face Erin�s heart softened, and she sighed. �Oh come on,� she said finally. �We�ll go wash it off.�
She led him around to the back of the barn to the water spicket and instructed him to lean over so she could douse his nibbled-on lock of hair in water. Erin finger combed the section of hair until she was sure every little piece of hay and grass had been removed, and then she turned off the water and squeezed the hair in her fist until it was no longer dripping wet.
�There,� she said, and Orlando finally straightened. She placed the damp section of hair
in place and finger combed it some more, until it looked almost the same as the rest of his hair, only a little darker. �When it dries no one will know anything ever happened to it.�
Orli lifted a part of it to peer at it, and then, apparently satisfied with its looks, dropped it back to his shoulder. �Thanks,� he said.
Erin let her smile show this time. �You�re welcome.�
Orlando stood awkwardly for a moment. �Erin� do you think� do you think we could not tell anyone this happened?� he asked at last.
Erin laughed. �Oh, Orlando� you�ll tell everyone about your bungee jumping, but no one needs to know about a horse eating your wig!�
To her surprise a smile lifted one corner of his mouth. �Well� you don�t know the costume people.�
Erin snorted. �Don�t I? You forget the horses have costumes too!�
His smile grew to show his teeth. �Oh, right. Then you do know what I�m talking about.�
Erin nodded. �Yes, I�m afraid I do. But I�ve got to get back to getting the horses ready. They have a big day tomorrow, and so do I.�
�Filming?�
Erin nodded again as the two of them entered the barn together. �Yes. We�ve got to have ten horses there and ready by seven in the morning.�
�Bloody hell.�
�It�s going to be challenging, that�s for sure,� Erin commented wryly. �I�ve got to have everything ready by tonight so all I have to do in the morning is load the horses and go.�
�But� you�ll have help, right?�
Erin heard his worried tone and smiled up to him gratefully. �Oh yes. No way I could do all that myself. And they don�t make ten-horse trailers, you know. John will be here, and several of the other horse wranglers as well. Hell, if I�m lucky I won�t even have to drive!�
Orli smiled, and Erin still couldn�t get over how different the blue eyes were. �Well,� she prompted, �what did you come here for, other than to scare the living shit out of me?�
Orlando had to clear his throat to keep from laughing again at the mention of his prank. �Oh� right� they sent me up here to do some riding in costume, but I think I can remember how to saddle up myself if you�re too busy.�
Erin snorted. �I see. Well, you�d better wait until Comet finishes his breakfast, otherwise he�ll be quite cranky.�
�Oh. All right.� Orlando stood outside the feed room as Erin went in to break a hay bale, still trying to hold back his giggles at the memory of the look on her face when he had jumped out at her. She handed him a small square of the dry grass suddenly, gesturing to the first stall.
�Give that to that gray horse there,� she instructed, and Orli did as he was told, coming back only to receive another flake.
Erin emerged with an armful, nodding her head to the second stall. Orli dropped his piece into the second stall and helped Erin distribute the rest of the hay to the other horses. When they had finished Erin went back to the feed room and shut the door, leaning back against it. Orlando stood in front of her, attempting to brush off the clinging strands of hay from his costume.
Erin grinned at him. �Thanks for your help, Legolas.�
He looked up to her, smiling at the use of his character name, and at once adopted the Elven demeanor he had been practicing for weeks now. His face turned serious and he folded one arm across his chest, bowing low and gracefully. �You are most welcome, my Lady.�
Erin giggled at his antics, eyeing him for a moment as he straightened his posture. �I think I could afford to take a little break and go riding with you,� she said. �And I�ll saddle Comet. I don�t want you to get your pretty Elf costume dirty.� She winked, reaching out to pluck a stray piece of hay from his hair.
Orli grunted, absently running his fingers through the rest of his hair to be sure there was no more hay trapped in it. That stuff found its way into the most unusual places� �Thanks,� he grumbled, half sarcastically.
He looked her over, finding it amusing that she also had hay stuck to her tank top and jeans, though she seemed not to notice. She had some in her ponytail too, and he returned her favor by removing the many strands from her hair as well.
�Oh, thanks,� she commented, looking down at herself and seeming to realize for the first time the hay that covered the rest of her. She hurriedly brushed it off, then cleared her throat. �Would you like some coffee or tea or something while we�re waiting for the horses to finish eating?�
The question took him off guard and Orlando blinked at her, then shrugged. �Well� I don�t know� I mean� I�d love to� but if you have things you need to do�� he felt suddenly out of place.
Erin shook her head, her ponytail flinging around her face. �I can�t do much until the horses finish, actually, and I brought some stuff from the house with me today so I wouldn�t have to go back for anything.�
�You mentioned tea?� Orlando hinted, his eyes hopeful.
�Yes,� Erin assured him, �I brought the tea. With all you Brits around here it�d be death to forget the tea.� She eyed him knowingly and he grinned.
�Tea would be fantastic right now,� he told her honestly.
�And coffee sounds good to me,� she agreed. �Come on, it�s in the farmhouse. We�ll have a place to sit then, too.�
�Wonderful.�
The two of them went eagerly toward the rather old and generally uninhabited farmhouse that rested near the stables.
*
Orlando sipped his tea quietly, occasionally stealing glances at Erin over the rim of his cup. Her shining blue eyes looked up at him from over the top of her coffee mug, and he suddenly got the distinct impression she was laughing at him.
He set his cup of tea on the table firmly and tilted his head to one side quizzically. �What are you laughing at?� he demanded.
Erin smiled widely, flashing her teeth, and shook her head. �I�m sorry. You just look so� so� like an Elf! And you�re sitting there across the table sipping your tea� it�s just funny to see�� She cleared her throat. �Sorry. I�ll stop.� She lifted her mug to her lips again, purposefully casting her eyes away from him to look about the antique kitchen they sat in.
�Well,� Orlando huffed, �I�m glad I amuse you.� He took another sip of tea and Erin�s eyes immediately went back to him. He set his cup down again, lifting one eyebrow at her.
�Sorry,� she mumbled.
He shook his head dismissively, then leaned forward on the table. �What do you really think of my costume?� he asked earnestly. �You like it, don�t you?� He wasn�t sure why it felt so necessary to have her true opinion, he only knew that he cared what she thought, and he wanted her to be impressed.
Erin set her mug down carefully, looking Orli up and down appraisingly. �It�s nice,� she said at last, and Orlando felt his face unconsciously twist in aggravation. �Very detailed,� she added approvingly, as if sensing his dissatisfaction with her previous answer. �Very beautiful.�
�Isn�t it?� he asked, looking down fondly to one of his finely embossed leather bracers.
�Yes. Very.�
Orlando caught the overemphasis in Erin�s voice and squinted at her.
�I�m serious!� she protested, leaning back in her chair and holding up her hands innocently. �I mean, look at the embroidery!� She stood from her chair and went to stand beside him, leaning over to run a finger along the designs sewn into his collar. �This must have taken forever to do,� she muttered.
Orlando watched her study the collar of his tunic from the corner of his eye, noticing for the first time that Erin had the barest hint of freckles scattered over her nose. He smiled at the realization and then turned his eyes quickly back to his tea as she stepped away from him at last.
�Do you embroider?� he asked, finally feeling that Erin did indeed endorse his costume.
�No,� she sighed, resuming her seat in the chair across from him. �But my mother does occasionally. Of course, I�m sure the costume people have those fancy machines that practically do it all themselves.�
�Probably,� Orli mused. �You should see the others� costumes too. They�re all excellent.�
Erin smiled. �Well I�ll see some of them tomorrow I suppose.�
�That�s right. I forgot the other fellows actually have something to do this week. I don�t start filming until next week.�
�Lucky you.�
Orli shrugged. �I guess. But it�ll be a bit lonely. Elijah, Dom, Bill, Viggo, Sean Astin� they�ve all got filming this week. I�ll be all alone.�
Erin grunted. �Well, then you can come out here and spend some more time with Comet.� She winked at him.
�What�s that supposed to mean?�
Erin shrugged. �Today will be your first ride in costume, right?�
Orli nodded.
�So you need more than just one ride in that costume. I mean look at your boots! Those are a lot different than those riding boots you�ve been wearing lately.�
Orlando snorted in agreement. �Yah, they�re a lot more comfortable!�
�You know what I mean.�
�Yes, yes. I know. But will you be here to ride with me?�
Erin smiled slowly. �Occasionally.�
�That�s good to know then.� He sipped at his tea for a moment. �But you know I have other stuff to practice besides horseback riding too.�
�Really? Still trying to get that canoeing thing down?�
Orlando sighed. �Ha ha. Very funny. I�ll have you know I�ve gotten quite good at it lately, no thanks to you.�
�Oh yes. I was supposed to teach you how to canoe like you taught me to surf, wasn�t I?�
Orli felt a sudden smile spread across his face at the memory of their surfing weekend. Erin grinned back at him and he shook his head. �That was just the basics of surfing,� he protested. �Next time we�ll get into the more advanced stuff.�
Erin nodded. �Right. Like how to fall off your surfboard gracefully and notget water up your nose every single time.�
�Yes, something like that.� He smiled at her and was greatly pleased to hear her laugh at his subtle confession.
�Okay, Elf-boy, enough talk. If you�re finished with your tea we should start out on our ride.�
�I�m finished. It was excellent tea, by the way.�
�Oh why thank you.�
�But we should go surfing again, really,� he said as he stood from his chair and rinsed out his cup in the sink.
Erin shrugged one shoulder as she led the way back to the front door of the farmhouse. �Maybe. On my next weekend off. I�ll think about it. But only think about it��
Orlando rolled his blue eyes. �Right.�
*
They took an easy ride around the pasture, keeping to a walk and chatting amiably throughout the quickly passing hour. Erin watched Orlando as they rode, silently critiquing him, and she was pleased to see his riding skills had improved immensely since the first day he�d come to her. He was easy enough to look at in his Legolas costume anyway; of course he was easy enough to look at out of the costume too. At last she decided the blue eyes bothered her the most. She had always enjoyed inspecting his deep brown eyes, and to now look at him and find bright blue ones looking back at her seemed unnatural. But she would just have to get used to it. It�s not like it was a permanent change�
�When is your next day off?� Orlando asked suddenly, jolting her from her thoughts.
�Oh� um� this coming Wednesday, actually.�
�Really? Have you any plans?�
Erin raised her eyebrows, looking at him.
He shrugged. �There�s a Maori Festival in town this week and I thought since nearly everyone else was filming you might want to go check it out with me��
Erin couldn�t help but smile at the expression that morphed his innocent features. Even with the blond hair, blue eyes and Elven outfit she could see that look she�d come to know so well. The pleading, puppy dog eyes and furrowed brow Orlando Bloom adopted every time he asked her to do something with him. She found it amazing how manipulative that simple expression could be. Even now she felt the tug of regret on her heart as she answered him.
�Well� actually� Dom and I are going to go shopping in Wellington on Wednesday. Sorry, Orlando.�
Orli�s face went slack abruptly and he stared at her for a second before turning away and clearing his throat. �Oh,� he remarked flatly. �By yourselves?�
�Well� yes. Why? Did you want to come with us?�
Orlando shook his head violently. �Oh no, no no no. That�s all right. I�ve already gotten my souvenirs anyway. You two just go have fun. I�ll stay home. Alone. By myself� lonely��
�Bloom!� Erin scolded. �Stop that. I�ll go to the Festival with you on Friday night. Okay?�
He brightened, straightening up in the saddle. �Really?�
�If you�re going to be such a cry-baby about it��
�Great!�
�Well I can�t stay out too late you know,� Erin reminded him. �I�ve gotta spend most of the weekend getting ready for next week.�
�That�s okay. We�ll have fun.�
�I�m sure we will.� Erin looked to him out of the corner of her eye and he smiled at her. She sighed heavily and turned back to the front. �Come on,� she said, kicking Achilles into a trot. �We�d better get back.�
*
They arrived back at the barn shortly and dismounted, leading the horses into the center aisle and tying them next to their stalls until they were unsaddled. Erin noticed the gray Andalusian had also been tied beside his stall and she left Achilles and Orlando behind to investigate.
Just as she reached the horse a middle-aged woman emerged from the tack room, hauling a saddle on her hip and dressed in a similar manner as Orlando, only in a dress instead of a tunic and pants. She seemed to be having a bit of trouble handling the large saddle in the dress and Erin went to help her.
The woman looked up as Erin approached and smiled. �Oh, hello,� she greeted Erin breathlessly. �You must be Miss Taylor.�
Erin returned the woman�s smile briefly. �That�s me all right� do you need some help with that?�
The woman shook her head, and Erin saw for the first time the very long, dark hair that adorned it. Surely that had to be a wig. No one could have hair that perfect. �No no� I�ve got it,� the woman answered, finally making it to her horse�s side. �I�m not used to riding in a skirt, but I think I can handle it.�
Erin looked over the woman�s costume again. �Are you� Miss Abbott?� she asked hesitantly.
The woman�s pleasant face lit up in a bright smile. �I am.� She set down the saddle and extended a hand. �Jane Abbott, nice to finally meet you.�
�Erin Taylor, nice to finally meet you too!�
�Mr. Scott keeps telling me about you but I�ve never had the chance to meet you. I�m usually here at the barn once or twice a week, but I must�ve kept missing you.�
�John�s told me about you too,� Erin said, �but you�re right, we must have just missed each other. I�m here quite a lot, actually.�
�I think she secretly lives here,� came a voice from behind her, and Erin turned to see Orlando walking toward them. He stopped beside her and held out his hand to Miss Abbott as Erin introduced them.
�Miss Abbott, I�d like you to meet my victim for this project, Orlando Bloom. Orlando, this is Jane Abbott. She�ll be Miss Tyler�s riding double.�
�Ah, Miss Tyler,� Orlando mused. �Liv Tyler?�
Jane Abbott nodded. �Yes, that�s right. She�ll be playing Arwen, but won�t be doing any of her own riding.�
�That�s a shame,� Orlando commented.
Jane shrugged. �It gives me a job.�
Erin smiled again. �Are you taking Prince Charming out for a ride?� she asked, nodding her head toward the Andalusian.
�Yes. I�d like to get a bit more practice in this outfit before tomorrow.�
�I don�t blame you,� Erin replied. �Mr. Bloom and I just finished our ride. I�m going to unsaddle our horses and then I�ve got a lot to get ready for tomorrow. But if you need any help just holler, all right?�
Jane nodded again. �Okay. Thanks.�
�No problem. It was good to meet you!�
�Yes, it was nice to meet you,� Orlando echoed.
�It was good to meet both of you, too,� Jane said. �I�m sure I�ll see you around again sometime.�
With that Erin moved back to Comet and Achilles, Orlando trailing after her. He helped her unsaddle the two horses and put away the equipment, and then Erin let him put Comet back in the stall. When he had finished he turned to face her and Erin looked up at him expectantly, crossing her arms.
�Anything else you need help with?� he asked.
Erin shook her head. �No. Well� nothing you can help me with in that costume of yours, anyway.�
He grunted. �Right. I guess I�d better go then. I�m supposed to go over to archery this afternoon. I should probably start over there��
�You should. It�s a long drive, and you wouldn�t want to be late.�
�Yah, you needn�t remind me about the drive,� Orli muttered. �Well then, I�m off. Thanks for riding with me. Good luck today and tomorrow, and I will see you on Friday. Right?�
�Yes yes yes,� Erin assured him, waving him away as she walked toward the feed room. �I�ll be there. If you want to ride again anytime before that just come by and look for me, okay?�
Orli nodded. �All right. I�ll see you soon then.�
�Okay. See you later, Orlando.�
�Bye, Erin.� He tossed her a salute and made his way to the barn doors, waving goodbye to Jane as he passed her. Erin watched him climb into his rental car and then lifted a hand in farewell as he grinned out the window and waved to her vigorously. She shook her head as he pulled out from the barn�s parking and disappeared down the curve of the road.
�He seems like a nice guy,� Jane said as she led Prince Charming out from the barn.
Erin leaned against the feed room door and sighed heavily, looking past Jane to the blacktop road where Orlando�s car had vanished. �Oh yes,� Erin agreed absently, �he�s a very nice boy.�
***