Celosia was back. And that could only mean one thing.

"Fly you fools," Samsara screeched. "She's back with that Lord of the Rings crap." Verily, Amazons scattered, running to and fro across the camp and behind the catapults.

"Figures," Celosia said. "Never doubt that Amazons will stand up to Romans, Vikings, or Majie, but try to cast them as characters in a much-beloved and well-intentioned retelling of Lord of the Rings, and they run like little babies."

"Some of us are still smarting from the prosthetic pointy ear you pulled off last year," a voice yelled from the bushes.

Celosia smiled. She now knew exactly where Thalia was hiding. "Come on now, there will be no pulling of prosthetic pointy ears this year, I promise."

Warily Thalia stuck her head up. A stray twig stuck in her hair. "Do I have to wear prosthetic pointy ears this year?"

"What are you thinking? Of course you do. But you're not the prancing Elf this year, if that makes you feel any better," Celosia said.

"I'm not?" Thalia brightened.

"No, you're Pippin this year," Celosia said. Thalia groaned. "The casting this year is as follows: Yakut is Frodo, Thalia will play Pippin, Seriana will play Merry, and Selena is Sam."

At this news, Samsara rejoiced, glad to be rid of the glue and fur that had covered her feet last year.

"Samsara will play Gollum," Celosia continued. Sami attempted to sneak off but was caught by Valkyra.

"If one of us has to do this, we all have to do this," Valkyra said. "And I for one am not about to make Celosia angry if we don't play. She might disappear... no wait, she already did that."

"Valkyra, you will be Aragorn again, and Deoris, you will be reprising your role as Gimli, however your new Legolas will be Ryka."

This being the first time Ryka had ever met Celosia, she wasn't sure whether to be happy about playing an Elf, or whether she should just be confused like the rest.

Celosia continued. "I, of course, will play Gandalf, the wise and often absent wizard, while my dear sister Medea will play Boromir--"

"Hey wait, Boromir died last year," Jadea said.

Celosia nodded. "Yes, and that is why my sister, who is not here, will play him. Venlusia, Zia, and Cassia will play Ringwraiths, and Morigan and Soraya will be our Uruk-Hai representatives." Looking up from her scroll, Celosia asked, "Are there any questions?"

Much like last year, many Amazon hands shot up. "Good, no questions, we'll get right down to the rules."

"Rules?" Samsara asked. Sami was never much one for rules. "Whoever heard of rules in a play?"

"Oh didn't I tell you? You're not doing a play," Celosia said.

Samsara brightened at this. "We're not?"

"No. It's a game. Consider it a training exercise if you will." The older members of the tribe groaned; Celosia was famous for her insane training exercises.

"This is what I like to call 'The Amazons do Lord of the Rings playing Hide and Seek.'"

"We're playing Hide and Seek? That's you're great training exercise?" Thalia asked.

Celosia narrowed her eyes. "Would you like to be fed to a Balrog?"

"Hey wait a second. You forgot about me," Jadea piped in.

"Ah yes, my dear Jadea. You will play Arwen, the Elven Princess, in love and pining for Aragorn's pants-- I mean, Aragorn."

Valkyra raised her hand. "Celosia, I'm not too sure about Jadea fitting in my pants. I mean, I'm a head taller than she is, and she'll trip--"

"Valkyra, it's an expression. It means, she wants Aragorn, and not in the 'let's-go-take-some-prisoners' way-- although you never know." Celosia winked at a blushing Jadea.

"Moving right along, here are your assignments. Frodo and Sam, or Yakut and Selena, whichever you prefer, you will be looking for Mt Doom--"

Samsara snorted. "They're looking for a mountain? Like that would be hard."

Celosia's eyes narrowed. "Would you like to be fed to a Balrog?"

"Depends. What's a Balrog?" Samsara asked. "Is it a god? Does it want my ambrosia? My precious ambrosia? I'll kill it, I will!"

"Samsara, I'm so proud of you, getting into your character already. You, as Gollum, are looking for Frodo and Sam, because they have the One Twisty, and you want it. Arwen, you're looking for Aragorn -- Jadea, put down that silk rope, you'll scare Valkyra -- while Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas are looking for Merry and Pippin. Merry and Pippin, aka Seriana and Thalia, are looking for... anyone, but they can't be found by anyone." Seri and Thal looked at each other, then rolled their eyes. "Ringwraiths, you are looking for Frodo and Sam--"

"Yes?" Samsara asked.

"What?" Celosia asked Sami.

"What?" Samsara asked Celosia.

Celosia stared at Samsara. "The Ringwraiths are looking for Frodo and Sam--"

"What?" Samsara asked.

"Yes?" Celosia asked Samsara.

"Did you say Sam?"

Celosia thought back. "Yes."

"What did you need?" Samsara asked.

Celosia bit her lip. "Nothing. I was talking about Sam, the character. Not Sami, the evil goddess amazon type thing." Samsara glared.

"Ringwraiths, looking for Frodo and Sa--"

"Ye--" Samsara began to interrupt, but was cut off by the apple thrown at her head.

"Celosia," Thalia said. "Can I be excused? I need to use the little Amazon's room."

"Yes, yes, but be quick about it. The Ringwraiths are looking for the other two Hobbits that are not Merry and Pippin--"

Jadea raised her hand. "Who's not marryin' Pippin? Is he cute? He could come live here for a while." The slightly-lonely Amazons of the tribe all perked up at that idea.

Celosia set her jaw and looked at the screen. "Why are you typing this crap?"

The author paused, her fingers mere millimeters away from typing another stupid line. "Uhm. It's Christmas break. What else am I going to do?"

"I don't know, give me actors I can work with?" Celosia's foot began tapping. "Give me talent, give me a good script, give me someone who understands what I'm trying to do!"

The author folded her arms. "Would you like to be fed to a Balrog?"

Samsara raised her hand again. "What's a Balrog?"

"Quiet!" Both Celosia and the author yelled at Samsara. After several seconds of glaring and no typing, Celosia finally caved in. "Fine." She turned to her ex-tribe and explained. "Not marrying Pippin, Merry and Pippin. Two hobbits, one is named Merry, and the other Pippin--"

"OH, I know this joke," Deo said. "Two hobbits walk into a bar--"

Celosia smacked her forehead, then screamed. "Quiet! All of you! Ringwraiths, search for Frodo and Sam, Gollum search for Frodo and Sam. Frodo and Sam, search for Mt. Doom. Arwen, search for Aragorn, putdownthefuzzyhandcuffsJadesohelpmeArtemis, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, search for Merry and Pippin, Merry and Pippin, search for anyone else but don't get found, Uruk-Hai, search for Merry and Pippin but don't find them. Boromir, look for a bucket to empty out your rapidly sinking death boat, and I, Gandalf, will look for an Aspirin."

Selena tentatively raised her hand. "An aspirin is a type of potion one takes when one has a headache," Celosia said. Selena lowered her hand, as Jadea raised hers. "No, Jadea, you will not need your papaya-flavored body lotions today." Jadea sighed, forlorn, and lowered her hand, as Samsara raised hers. "A Balrog is a demon made of shadow and flame, and no you can't kill it." Samsara stomped her foot, as Valkyra raised hers.

Celosia couldn't figure out what Valkyra might be asking. "Yes, Valkyra?"

The Regent looked thoughtful. "Well, I think we're a pretty open-minded tribe here, and if one of the hobbits wants to marry that other hobbit, Pippin, I think we should be supportive." Other amazons nodded their heads, as Celosia buried her face in her hands and wept with frustration.

----

Finally, Celosia had managed to get all the participatory Amazons to settle down and agree to play. She set Yakut, Selena and Samsara off to the east side of a stream -- which, in reality, was merely a rivulet of mulled wine Jadea had knocked over while demonstrating her proficiency with a whip -- while almost all the others were on the west side of the stream. Venlusia, Cassia and Zia were at the bottom of the stream, ready to run and search for Yakut and Selena when Celosia yelled "Start!"

Selena and Yakut were trying to figure out where to put the One Twisty when Samsara jumped on Yakut from behind. "They stole it, and we wants it," she said in a harsh, raspy voice, while Selena stared in shock. Finally, both Selena and Yakut managed to subdue Sami, and they tied a thin piece of Jadea's silk rope around Samsara's neck.

"You know," Sami said, abandoning her Gollum voice for the moment. "This isn't the first time I've been tied up." Yakut and Selena merely rolled their eyes.

"Go, lead us to Mt. Doom," Selena said.

Samsara stared at the two "hobbits." "It's a mountain. You can't find a fricking mountain?"

Yakut shrugged. "I don't know, Celosia just told us to go look for Mt. Doom. If you can find the mountain, where is it?"

"Don't you have a map?" Sami asked.

"If we had a map, would we be looking for the mountain?" Selena asked. She placed her hands on her hips.

"Get down!" Yakut whispered loudly as she pounced on Selena and Samsara at the same time. Venlusia, Cassia and Zia were passing near the bushes they'd crouched behind.

"What's a hobbit?" Venlusia asked.

"Well, a hobbit is this little creature, who gets fur stuck on its feet, and pointy ears. At least, that's all I remember from last year," Cassia said.

"Ah," Venlusia said. "So why are we looking for them?"

Cassia shrugged. "Apparently, we're looking for the One Twisty. It's important or something." The "Ringwraiths" passed right by the shrubbery where the "hobbits" and "Gollum" lay crouched.

"Right, now, off to Mt. Doom. I'll just teleport us all," Samsara said.

Yakut yanked on the rope tied around Samsara. "Now wait just a minute. We don't even know where this mountain is, but you think you can teleport us?"

Samsara stared. "Yeah. You think I can't?"

Selena nodded. "Well as a matter of fact--" Suddenly, Samsara launched herself at Selena, reaching for the other Amazon's throat. Yakut, still holding on to the end of Samsara's rope, fell on top of the three. Soon, after much grappling and rolling around on the dirt, the two Hobbits and Gollum were tied up together.

"Something tells me this is not how Celosia wanted this game of Hide and Seek to end," Sami said. "Ow, Yakut, you're stepping on my foot."

---

Meanwhile, on the west side of the stream...

"Merry, I think we're lost in the forest," Thalia said. Seriana looked at her.

"You really get into your character, don't you?" she asked. Thalia nodded. "Well, what do you want to do now? We've seemingly escaped the Uruk-hai--"

"DUCK!" Thalia grabbed Seri's arm and pulled her down as Morigan and Soraya ran by.

The two Amazons stood up again. "Okay, now we've escaped the Uruk-hai--"

"DUCK!" Again, Thalia threw Seri to the ground as Valkyra, Deoris, and Ryka ran by.

"They were looking for us, Thal," Seriana said.

"Yeah, but Celosia said we weren't to be found, remember?" Thalia pointed out.

Seriana remembered. "Oh yeah. So now-"

"DUCK!" Seriana hit the ground before Thalia could grab her. Thalia grabbed her stomach in laughter. Seriana glowered at Thalia. "What was that all about?" she asked.

"Just wanted to see what you'd do," Thalia managed between bursts of laughter. Seriana wasn't amused. As Thalia wiped the tears from her eyes, she said, "I'm hungry. What are we going to do about breakfast?"

"We already had breakfast." Seri answered.

"We had one, yes, but what about second breakfast?" Thalia asked.

Seriana stopped in thought. "I don't know about that. I do know we're supposed to climb a tree though."

"Well how about this one?" Thalia asked as she begin climbing up what seemed to be a tree. Seri shrugged and followed. They settled into a nice little hollow in the branch of the tree.

"Seri?"

"I'm Pippin."

"Fine. Pippin?"

"Yes?"

"Is the tree supposed to move?" The Amazons noticed that their "tree branch" had been slowly inching downwards.

Seriana bit her lip. "Not to my knowledge," she said. Seri looked closer at the tree they'd decided to climb.

"Oh-" Seri breathed out, barely audible.

"my-" Thalia began to finish the thought.

"Artemis-"

"It's-"

"A-"

"CATAPULT!" They screamed in unison as the lever of the catapult swung down, and the two Hobbits were launched into the air.

From her vantage point, Celosia watched the two arc through the sky and cringed when she heard a dull thud. "Well," she said to herself, as she took her bubble pipe out of her mouth. "We finally found a use for the catapults."

Valkyra, Deoris, and Ryka stopped in mid-stride when they heard the two hobbits scream. "Well, now we know where the Hobbits we're looking for aren't," Deoris said, her words muffled by the big red beard.

"Should we turn around and go find them?" Ryka asked.

Valkyra thought for a minute. "Nah. We're not supposed to find them in the end. Let's just go find someone else to play with."

"What about them?" Deoris asked, pointing towards Morigan and Soraya.

"No, silly," Valkyra said. "Those are Uruk-Hai." At the mention of their group, Morigan and Soraya turned to the three hunters and ran at them, full speed.

The three hunters, not as familiar with the story as Celosia would have liked them to be, turned and ran, screaming. Suddenly, Ryka stopped, and Deoris and Valkyra ran into her back.

"Why are we running?" she asked. "We outnumber them. And we're the heroes, right?" Valkyra and Deoris nodded, then all three turned and ran back towards Morigan and Soraya. The "Uruk-Hai," realizing they were outnumbered, turned and ran away.

Jadea perked up as she saw Valkyra running by with Aragorn's sword. She took off running after the three heroes, but tripped on her long elf dress. "Dammit," she said. "'Gorn! Wait for me! I've got a feather boa-"

A rustle in the bushes made Jadea stop what she was saying and lay low to the ground. Three pairs of mens' boots -- attached to legs, of course -- stepped out into Jadea's line of vision, under the bushes.

One of them spoke. "Hey Orlando, did you see those two girls go flying through the air?"

The one called Orlando spoke back. "Yeah, Dom, I did. I wonder what that's all about. Viggo, you got any ideas?"

Jadea's eyes opened wide at the mention of Viggo. She rolled until she was behind a tree, then stood up carefully. Sure enough, she was spying on Viggo Mortensen, also known as Aragorn. She slowly pulled her knife from its sheath, and cut her long elven dress right above the knees. She replaced the knife, pulled out her fuzzy handcuffs, and then launched herself at the actor.

Celosia had seen the three actors approach. She turned to the Author yet again. "What is this crap you're pulling now?"

"Hey, Jade asked me to write him in-"

"Is Jade in charge of the tribe or am I? Don't answer that." The author rolled her eyes. "Just go on," Celosia ordered.

Later on, when the game had been wrapped up (and Sami, Selena, and Yakut unwrapped) the other Amazons would wonder where Jadea had gotten off to, and why there was a sudden shortage of holiday marshmallows. But for the time being, they were content to play out their parts until Celosia got bored and disappeared again.

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