Caranwyn's Tale: In Defence of Middle Earth

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Shield-Brothers

Sunlight was just barely beginning to creep into their room as Caranwyn dressed herself. Russellwen watched her from the bed, rolling over onto her front, chin propped up on her forearms.
“We’ve got that scouting exercise with father and the rest today, haven’t we? I know he’s expecting both of us out and in formation with them, but I was really hoping to join mother today. Think he’ll let me off?” She yawned as Caranwyn pulled a shirt over her head and began to tie the laces.
“Probably. I know mother will certainly accept your help, rather than send you back, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. You just want to stay abed for another half hour, don’t you?” Her sister made an indignant sound.
“Caranwyn, I am shocked and offended that you would make such an accusation!” She was smirking as she dropped back to her pillow and snuggled into the blanket again. The other girl rolled her eyes as she belted her knife to her hip. Their father had already left to prepare for the outing, and would be waiting for her and the other boys near the gates of the City, however their mother was still busy in their home’s central room, preparing the things she’d need before heading to the healing houses, and likely wouldn’t head out for some time.

At fourteen, their parents had been beginning to put pressure on the girls to choose one path or the other, but the final decisions would mean spending almost all of their time apart from one another, and that was worth putting off for as long as they could. Caranwyn scrubbed fingers through her hair briefly. It was a pity that Russellwen wasn’t cut out for fighting like she was; it wasn’t a particular interest in healing that drew her, truthfully, just a disinclination to fight. She belted on her sword on and turned to her sister.
“There, am I forgetting anything?” Russellwen began to shake her head, then stopped, looking at her sister more seriously for a moment.
“Caranwyn…” she sat up, casting the cover off and pulled her shift over her head quickly. Putting hands to her chest, under the beginnings of breasts, small enough that they barely deserved to be called so yet, she jiggled them up and down. Caranwyn almost giggled at the strange gesture, until she realised it was directed at her, and looked down at her own chest. She bounced up and down on her toes and sure enough saw, and felt, the movement, even under her shirt. Wrinkling her nose in annoyance, she poked at herself.

“That could get annoying…” She bit her lip. “Mother!?” Her call quickly brought the older woman into the room.
“What is it girls, I’m busy, and so should you be.” Unsure what to say exactly, Caranwyn bounced on her toes again for her mother. She wiped her hands on her smock, making a small, unsurprised sound as she did. “I expected as much sooner or later. Hold a moment, the pair of you.” She disappeared again, returning a minute later with a few strips of long bandage, then sat on the end of the bed, splitting her attention between them.

“You’re both going to have to start binding your chests all the time soon enough anyway, so you may as well learn what you’re doing now, especially if you’ll be out running all day today with your father. Though you, young lady,” she raised one eyebrow at Russellwen, still sitting up in bed, looking uncertain whether she ought to put her shift back on or not. “don’t look as though you’re intending to go anywhere soon. Anyway.” She shifted around to face Caranwyn directly. “Shirt off, you, and turn around.” As the girl unlaced and pulled off her top, her mother took one of the wide bandages and found its middle. She pressed it with one finger against the girl’s spine.

“Start here, like this, just below your shoulder-blades, in the middle. Arms up, that’s right. First pass around should go just under your breasts, like this. The support may not be too important now, but you’ll both fill out soon enough, and then it’ll matter. Work upwards, keeping the cloth flat as you cross over, back and front. It should be firm, tight enough to stop things from moving about, but not so tight that it gets uncomfortable. Once you’ve gone as high as you’re going to, come back down one or two passes, like this, then tie it in the centre, with a flat tie. You could use any sort of knot, really, but a flat tie like this will be more comfortable. You don’t want to be going about with a lump of knot digging into you all day, after all. There, you’re done, how’s that feel?” She turned Caranwyn around again, and the girl patted at herself experimentally, bouncing on her toes again.
“I don’t feel anything.”
“Good, that’s how it ought to be. Now get yourself dressed again, we’ll talk more later; you’re father will be waiting for you. If he asks, just tell him I delayed you.” As Caranwyn hurriedly redressed, her mother turned to Russellwen. “As for you… I take it you’re aiming to help me out today instead? Good, then you’ve no cause to be abed any longer. Up you get.” She passed the girl a second length of fabric. “Try for yourself, I’ll take a look when you’re done. Pay attention to your father today, Caranwyn, and tell him that I’ll need a word with him when he gets back this evening. And make sure you get yourself something to eat before you head out.” She managed to pull the girl into a brief hug before she made for the door with a wave.

Caranwyn bit into an apple, enjoying the sweet taste in her mouth as she rushed through the city, darting around the adults that seemed so skilled at getting in her way. She had also managed to acquire some cheese and hard biscuits along with the fruit by her brief stop at the stores as she descended through the City, but they had needed to be eaten first and quickly, before she could start running. At last, the gates of the ground level came into sight and she made her way quickly to where the other boys were milling about, talking still. There was no sign of her father yet, and she breathed a relieved sigh as she came to a halt amongst her friends.

“Our captain arrives! We had all begun to fear you’d taken ill, Caranwyn. You were so excited about our outing today; it’s not like you to be tardy.” Celegeth was grinning at her, scruffy brown hair almost obscuring his eyes. Despite being almost a year older than her, he was still the slightest of them, but he made up for it with speed and fast reflexes, and, in her mind, with an eye for mischief and an eager disposition.
“Still, no sign of the boss yet either, so it looks like your safe. I’m surprised he’s not with you.” Allagor, tall as most adults even at fifteen, was standing beside him, making the size difference all the more apparent. Caranwyn shook her head.
“No, father left much earlier, he’s preparing something, I think. We’ll find out soon enough though. Russsellwen stayed behind to help mother today, so it looks like it’s just the six of us.”

“Form up!” The shout from across the courtyard immediately snapped the young teens to alertness. They fell into an orderly formation, three by two, facing their commander as he made his way over to them. Under one arm he was carrying a sheaf of long bows, unstrung, and a pair of full quivers slung over his other shoulder. He glanced at Caranwyn, standing front and centre, as he approached.
“Hmm. Your sister ought to be here today. I’ll have to have a word with your mother this evening.” He stood straight them, addressing the group. “Right. Today we’re heading out to scout some of the surrounding lands. It’s an important duty, and you all need to know what sort of things to keep your eyes open for while you’re out there. That will be part of today’s instruction. We also have another task to see to as well. All soldiers of this City are expected to have, at minimum, a basic knowledge and ability in bowmanship. Some of you may find this to be your true calling, and go on to become fine archers for us, but at the very least, you will all be expected to be able to prepare, shoot and maintain a bow like one of these, and hopefully, to be able to hit what you’re aiming at with at least a small amount of accuracy. There is a proper field you can all learn and practice upon, a short way from the end of the scouting loop we will run today. Let’s get moving.” He turned, striding out of the gate at a swift march, apparently unhampered by his burden, and they moved in formation behind him.

The pace didn’t abate as they crossed the open countryside, chill morning breeze in their faces and the sun only beginning to offer a rising warmth. As they marched, her father began to instruct them both on the paths they were taking through the land, as well as the sort of things that they, as scouts, would need to be aware of. He would shout questions to them about things they had passed ten minutes ago, singling individual children out for each one, in between, and they would call back in as much detail as they could. The continued march began to take its toll as the sun reached its zenith, the cold breeze of morning slackened now to a whisper, while the heat of the day beat down. Caranwyn could feel herself sweating, but it wasn’t too bad. The pace, though swift, was manageable. Behind her, to the left, Denith didn’t seem to be faring quite so well, breathing heavily as he kept pace, sweat running off him. Next to him, Allagor was also sounding winded. They were all strong, healthy youths, but she had to admit, endurance was not either of the pair’s strongest virtue.

“Come on, boys,” she called back. “Tough it out, you’ll be doing this sort of thing in armour one day!”
“Easy for you to say, oh captain. There’s less of you for you to move!” She only laughed at the reply from behind, and kept up the pace.
“Caranwyn! What strategic locations and objects of note could be seen in the surrounding area we passed two miles ago?” Her father’s rough shout broke off their laughter. Caranwyn scanned her mind quickly.
“Sir, I noted in the vicinity of our location two miles back a series of rocky formations that could be used as adequate temporary cover against an enemy moving in from the North-east, however, scouting them would be easy for an alerted foe and they would make poor defence. Also, further south of there, there was a depression in the uneven ground that could possibly be used as an ambush point in a dark night, or low visibility, but would provide no real cover or shelter once detected.” She thought for a moment. “Also, sir, the area to the north of the rocks seemed to be the flattest and most stable of the terrain we were passing, and, in the case of great superiority, would make the most ideal point to attempt to force an imminent conflict, but would be best avoided in the case of unfavourable numbers.”
“Good enough.” His answer was as gruff as the question, but it was the best response any of them could hope for regardless, and they marched on.

By the early afternoon they reached a swift-flower river, crossing their path as it flowed down from the mountains, and out to join up with the Anduin. Her father raised one hand, signalling a halt, and they all stopped relieved.
“As scouts, you would move more slowly, and cautiously than we have today. I have deliberately pushed harder than was necessary, but you have all held up suitably well. Catch your breaths for a moment, we’ll begin your archery lessons shortly.” As she stood and stretched, Caranwyn noticed that, despite his extra burden, her father didn’t even seem to be out of breath, let alone sweating or tired as most of them felt. They rested while she watched him set the sheaf of bows down and unroll it, laying them out a small distance apart from each other, in a line. About twenty metres away, a gnarled old tree bore the tell-tale marks of generations of other learning children’s arrows. It wasn’t long before he called them all to attention again.

They each picked up a bow, and he showed them first how to string it with the bowstrings that had been left looped around one end of the shaft for them. While most of them seemed to manage well enough, Caranwyn found herself wanting to shout at the belligerent thing long before she finally managed to get it bent and strung correctly. She could feel the faint glow in her cheeks, embarrassed, as she joined the line-up last, more than a minute or two after the others were all ready. The shooting didn’t go much better, as she found herself continually slipping back to an instinctive stance, notably contrary to the form they were being instructed in. In itself, she wouldn’t have minded that so much, if only she could actually strike her target with more than one in every five or six shots. Her comrades didn’t fare notably better, admittedly, and their instructor, while firm, assured them that accuracy would come with practice, but she still felt as though she was proving to be the least apt with a bow out of all of them.

It was mid afternoon when her father called them off, and rounded out the lesson with instruction on putting away, and proper care of their bows. He rolled up the bundle again when they were all done.
“Well boys, I have to admit, none of you have what I would call a natural gift for the archer’s art, but you’ll do for now. We will practice more in the days to come, until I judge you each to be suitably proficient, and, unless any of you particularly desire to follow this path, that will be enough. Caranwyn, we will need to work hard on your stance and form. Even if some other position is more comfortable now, poor form in the beginning can lead to worse issues if it becomes habit.” With a nod, he tucked the bundle of unstrung bows back under his arm and placed the two empty quivers in front of him. “Now. As archers, you might often have to contend with the issue of spent arrows. A bowman with nothing to shoot isn’t much of a bowman, after all. I want each of you to go and recover as many arrows as you shot, and return them to these quivers. If any broke or were damaged, lay them beside instead. I know exactly how many there were, so be thorough.” Caranwyn was sure he smiled at their collective groan.

It was six tired, dusty and sweaty teens that eventually lined up before him when every arrow was returned, though Caranwyn, at least, was feeling better now that the archery itself was behind them. Her father finished the count up quickly, and slung the quivers over his shoulder.
“I ought to run you all back to the gates now that we’re done. Running, it would only take us twenty minutes from here.” He waited for a moment, watching their dismay, but Caranwyn knew him better than that. Sure enough, he continued after a moment. “But, you’ve all worked hard today, and put in a good effort all the way through, so, here’s what I’ll do. Each of your parents likely have rules for you about when they expect you home by, or what they expect you to do after your training is finished, and I would advise you most sincerely to stick to those instructions. Beyond that, consider yourselves free for the afternoon as of now, and take your own time and pace getting back, so long as you’re back inside the walls by the time they shut the gates.” He smiled and waited for their small cheer to quiet. “Sadly, it is not so easy for adults like myself, and our working day rarely ends early. So, I shall see you all again tomorrow morning, fresh and early.” He saluted them smartly, free fist over his chest. “Home by last bells, Caranwyn.” With that he nodded to them, then turned back towards the City, setting off at a moderate marching run.

As he disappeared, Belemir stretched, squinting up at the still bright afternoon sun.
“Well, I don’t know about the rest of you, but, since were out by the river here, I could sure use a dip to cool off after all that. What do you say, anyone else up for a swim?” There was barely time for the general chorus of agreement and they made for the water’s edge, and began stripping off their things. Caranwyn had shucked off her boots and top and was undoing the tie on her leggings when a voice pulled her attention.
“Uhh… Caranwyn? What are…” It was Garthstan, at sixteen, two years her senior, and eldest amongst them. He was, unusual for him, failing to meet her eyes properly as he spoke.
“Hmm?” She glanced at him a moment longer, waiting for him to speak, then bent slightly as she pulled off her leggings and underthings, sitting them on her boots.
“Uhh! Em…” There was suddenly a note of panic in his voice, and when she glanced at him again, he was staring as fixedly at her face as he could manage.
“Isn’t that a bit… I mean, you’re a…” Her eyebrows drew down, slightly annoyed at his inarticulate stutterings. He was normally so clear. She began to carefully undo the tie on her chest bindings, studying the flat knot again to make sure she knew how to re-tie it later.
“Spit it out, Garthstan. What’s wrong?” He shut his eyes, seemingly trying to clear his thoughts.
“It’s indecent, isn’t it? You’re a girl, you can’t go swimming bare-skinned like that amongst boys.” She heard splashes as the others began jumping into the water.
“I don’t see the problem, Garthstan.” She finished unwrapping her chest and folded the fabric carefully, placing it on top of her other clothes. “They can all strip off and get themselves cool and refreshed, why can’t I?”

She would ignore him and jump in regardless, but the boy seemed unusually upset, in a way she couldn’t quite explain. He looked about, seemingly for the words his tongue couldn’t find, and his eyes passed over the rest of her body. They immediately snapped back to her face and he blushed brightly.
“You’re a girl, Caranwyn, a growing woman, and we’re all boys, and… and it’s improper, and…” He trailed off, still unable to explain himself further, and Caranwyn found herself getting annoyed. She planted her hands on her hips, squaring her shoulders.
“Oh, so, you’re telling me that you can all cool off, and enjoy yourselves, but for some reason, I can’t, just because I’m a girl, is that what you’re saying?” There was panic in his eyes.
“No, Caranwyn, I mean, no, it’s not that, that’s not what I’m…” He looked about again, desperate for an answer that would save him, found only the sight of her naked form again, and immediately spun about, putting his back to her.
“So somehow you’re so disgusted and revolted by the minor differences in our bodies that you can’t bear to see them? When you don’t mind seeing any of the others like this?”
“N-No, of course not, no, but…”
“If I decided to go for a swim in my clothes, you wouldn’t try to stop me, would you?”
“No, but that’d be… Ughh, you’re not seeing…”
“It doesn’t matter when we’ve all got our clothes on, I can’t see that it should matter when we don’t.” She grabbed him by one shoulder and spun him around, taking his earlobe between her thumb and finger in the same motion so she could pull him down to her eye level.
“Look at me, Garthstan, right now! Who am I? Tell me, right now, who am I?”
“You-you’re Caranwyn, daughter of Thalanen, our instructor and guardsman of the City.”
“I am? Good. For a moment there you sounded like you were saying I suddenly became some other person just because I took my clothes off! Some other person that you haven’t grown up with, and trained with, and know! I haven’t changed suddenly, have I, Garthstan!?”
“N-No, No, Caranwyn, it’s not… You’re still, you, of course, but you’re…”
“It’s never bothered you before, and we’ve all been swimming together plenty of times! Why should it suddenly matter now!?”
“I— I…”
“Ughh!” She made a frustrated sound, aware now that she had been shouting at him for her last few questions, and that the others were now starting at them both, watching her tear into him. She threw her hands up, and then stepped swiftly to the side, and back around him, hooking a leg and thrusting her weight against him, pitching the poor boy into the river clothes and all. The atmosphere dissolved into a chorus of brief laughter as Garthstan spluttered to the surface, cussing. She bent down and picked up a pair of small stones.

“Hey, Garthstan!” She called. He looked to her, then blushed again, and she threw the first rock at him. It clipped him in the forehead before he could respond, making him reel back in the water, mostly in shock. “Let yourself get distracted that easily, and you’ll be dead in no time.” Casually, she flicked the other stone at Celegeth, who batted it out of the air with one hand as he leaned away from it. “See? No-one else here seems perturbed, so pull yourself together, and relax, would you?” With another shake of her head she jumped in, enjoying the cool water that closed over her at last.

She stayed under the water for a moment, running her hands over her body and rinsing off the dust and grime from the day’s activity, as well as pausing to scratch briefly at her groin, where a soft down of hair had been beginning to grow for a while now. As normal as the hair down there was, apparently, it still itched coming through. She broke the surface and stood up, shaking off water and stretching. Nearby, Denith splashed her.
“That was pretty harsh, captain. Something bothering you?” She glanced at Garthstan, who had pulled him self out of the water long enough to strip off his clothes, and lay them in the sun, before jumping back in, then back to Denith.
“I don’t know. How would you like to be told you can’t hang around us any more because you’ve got brown eyes, and none of us have brown eyes? Especially when it’s never made a difference before.” She relaxed back down under the water, until only her eyes were showing, and Denith nodded.
“Hmm, you’ve got a point there. That wouldn’t be very nice.” As he looked at his eyes in the reflection of the water, Caranwyn floated on her back, one foot against a rock to hold her against the current.
“I mean, I’m just one of us, aren’t I? I don’t want to be treated any differently.”

“Hey, Caranwyn!” The call was calm and quiet, just loud enough to reach her from a short way upstream where Garthstan was sitting on a rock, on foot trailing in the water, the other propped up on the stone, spread at right angles for him to lean on with his forearms. When he saw her look, he continued. “Stand up out of the water again for a moment, would you?” She tilted her head, confused by the sudden turn-around, but obliged, standing for him with her hands on her hips. She could see his eyes travel over the rest of her body, and, as she watched, she noticed his penis grow hard and stiff, until it stood out from his body in a most unusual way. A moment later he looked to her eyes again, ensuring that she’d noticed the change. “Does that make you uncomfortable, Caranwyn?” She wanted to go over and poke at it, but resisted.
“No. Should it?” He seemed a little surprised by her simple response, but then smiled and shook his head, sliding back into the water.
“I guess not.” He swam over to her, but stopped a couple of metres away, and bowed his head to her. “I’m sorry, Caranwyn. I shouldn’t have made such a scene. And, so you know, I don’t, uhh…” He glanced down at the water, referencing his now obscured anatomy. “I don’t think of you like that, honestly, I don’t.” He looked up with the grin she knew him best for. “You’re still my captain, and you will be, no matter if it’s fighting at the Black Gates themselves,” He waved his eyebrows at her, recalling a fond memory. “or even stealing muffins.” A moment later he swept his arm fast across the surface of the water, sending up a jet of water that got in her eyes and made her cough and splutter.
“And that’s for pushing me in before I could strip off!” Still coughing and laughing, Caranwyn splashed him back fiercely, and the river degraded swiftly into a pitched battle with no prisoners taken by any side.

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