The Making of…

Chapter 51

Greenstone

“Rise and shine beautiful!” Viggo sang cheerfully in my ear as I rolled over and buried myself in the duvet of his bed.

“Five more minutes…” I sighed sleepily, rubbing my tired eyes with the heel of my hand. I heard him set something down on the bedside table, and a second later the aroma of fresh coffee hit my nose – coaxing me out of my duvet-cave. I sat up and kicked the covers off as I reached for my coffee mug. “You’re awfully chipper this morning.” I commented as he smiled at me from where he was leaning against the kitchen sink, sipping his own coffee.

“Have you forgotten what day it is?”

“Uh… Tuesday?” I questioned, tousling my bed head as he laughed.

“Guess again.” He smirked as I sipped the hot coffee. I already knew why he was excited, today he was going to film a scene involving Aragorn floating down a river – and that scene would be joined to the scene we did all those months ago back on the Rivendell set, our first kissing scene. Our first kiss. Why he was so hyper about it was beyond me.

“Honestly, you have the mental age of a five year old.” I sighed, swinging my legs out of bed and standing. “I’d have thrown you in a river long ago if I knew it would make you this cheerful.” I set down my mug and stretched my arms above my head, my vest top rising up over my stomach as I did so. I didn’t even realise that Viggo had approached me until he had wrapped his arms around my waist. As I brought my arms down I draped them around his neck and smiled at him.

“You’re so cute.” He grinned as I blushed and ducked my head in embarrassment.

“Shut up…” I mumbled half-heartedly, playfully shoving his shoulder.

“So are you coming today or what?” He asked, diverting the subject back to his scene.

“I suppose…” I shrugged. He’d been begging me to come along all week, and I’d always intended to go, but it was rather fun making him wait.

“Awesome.” He beamed adorably, leaning forwards to kiss the tip of my nose. “Shall we then?”

“Yeah ok.” I smiled, untangling myself from his arms and disappearing into the bathroom. I turned on the shower and stepped in as Viggo knocked on the door.

“Don’t use up all the hot water!” He reminded me as I laughed and bit my lip. “And don’t use all my shampoo!”

“Alright, don’t get your panties in a twist…” I called back as I scrubbed my hair and rinsed out the suds before shutting off the water. I grabbed a clean towel and wrapped it around myself as I opened the door. “I take less time than you do…” I muttered as he grinned and slipped past me. I walked over to the corner where I kept my pile of clothes - I was slowly moving into his trailer, and at the same time Viggo was slowly moving into mine. I picked out my dark blue skinny jeans and a fitted olive green shirt and quickly dried myself off as I heard him turn on the shower. I changed into my fresh clothes and buttoned up my shirt, leaving the top two undone as Viggo walked back in with a towel wrapped around his waist, another one draped over his head and a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. “You’re such a girl.” I teased as I towelled my hair and he grabbed his clothes. He removed his toothbrush and stuck his tongue out at me before retreating back to the bathroom. I checked my appearance in the mirror before wandering over to his kitchen cupboards and locating a loaf of bread. I jammed two slices into the toaster and sat on the vinyl countertop as I waited. Before long the toast popped up and I buttered a slice. I held it in my teeth as I searched the fridge for jam. “You don’t have any jam.” I announced as Viggo re-entered the room.

“I don’t like jam.” He retorted.

“You’re such a man sometimes.”

“Really? Because a minute ago I was ‘such a girl’.” He grinned as I shut the fridge and leant against the closed door. I watched as he stole my other piece of toast and began sorting out what he needed to bring to the location. “Have you seen my shoes?” He asked.

“Under the bed.” I smiled as he went to find them, “Where they always are.” He rolled his eyes at me as he pulled them on.

“Ready to go?” He said as he made for the door, I nodded and followed him. It was already pretty bright outside the trailer, and around us people were getting ready for the day’s filming at the studio as Viggo and I climbed into his Jeep. I pulled out the map and spread it across my lap.

“Where was it that we’re going again?” I asked.

“The Greenstone River I think.” Vig replied as he started the engine and drove out of the car park. “Is it far away?”

“Uh…” I mumbled as I searched for the river on the map, I stabbed my finger down on top of it as I located it. “Not two far – take the next left.” I instructed him as I worked out our route and directed him along the roads. It wasn’t long before we pulled up in the car park of Greenstone Forest Park. There were already a few cars and the makeup bus parked there. I climbed out of the car and leant on the bonnet as Peter spotted us and waved – I waved back as he walked over.

“Hey guys.” He smiled, “You still getting dragged around sets on your days off Ki?” He joked as I laughed.

“I don’t mind, I love every minute of it!” I assured him before he turned to Viggo and they started discussing the scene. “Are you sure you don’t want your stunt double to do it Vig?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been looking forward to this all week!” Viggo laughed.

“Alright, go get ready and I’ll meet you by the river – just follow the path.” Peter pointed towards a small gravel path that led through the trees. We nodded and waved as he turned and walked down the path. I looked up at Viggo and he smiled down at me.

“Right, I’ll go get ready, do you want to come?”

“Nah, I think I’ll stay here and sun myself.” I winked playfully as I hopped up onto the bonnet of the car and lay back, “Maybe I’ll get a tan if I’m lucky.”

“Alright,” He laughed, “See you in a bit.” He leant over me and planted a kiss on my lips before walking away. I smiled and closed my eyes as I enjoyed the feeling of the sun on my face. Inside the car the radio was still going, and I managed to pick out the song that was playing. I Want to Hold Your Hand by the Beatles. Classic. I sighed and mouthed along to the words as the minutes ticked by, and song after song got choked out of the dying radio – I’d have to buy Viggo a new one sometime. I recognised another song, Wonderwall by Oasis. It was one of my Dad’s favourite songs… It reminded me of home. I hadn’t been homesick since I first arrived in New Zealand, probably because filming kept me so busy, and I still kept in close contact with my family. My Mum had been thrilled to find out that Viggo and I were a couple – she’d only spoken to him on the phone once or twice and she was already mothering him. It had been embarrassing at first, but it was hilarious to hear her talk about him as if they were best friends. My two younger brothers, Richard and Thomas (they were twins), had already gone all ‘big brother’ on me, giving me the whole speech about how if Viggo ever upset me, they’d fly out here and kick his ass. I’d told them that they didn’t stand a chance against Vig. My Dad had given me a similar speech. Honestly, my family were an embarrassment, but I wouldn’t love them if they were anything else.

I heard the crunch of boots on gravel and sat up, shielding my eyes from the sun. “Hey,” I smiled as Viggo decked out in full costume approached me, “All ready to get soaked?”

“You bet.” He grinned, leaning through the open car window to turn off the radio. “Shall we go find the others then?”

“Yeah.” I yawned; sitting up as he suddenly scooped me into his arms and lifted me off the car. “Seriously Vig, did someone slip something into your coffee this morning?” I joked as he set me down on my feet.

“Not to my knowledge.” He said, firing me a knee-melting smile. I made a mental note to make sure that I had something to lean against when he did that.

“Uh… Ok.” I stammered, “Let’s get going.” I held out my hand for him and he laced his fingers through mine.

We walked hand in hand to the part of the river Peter wanted to film at. I bit my lip nervously as I saw the fast flowing stretch of water, dotted with rapids and currents. My confidence was renewed however as I saw one of the stunt men in a wetsuit get dropped out of a boat upstream. He floated easily with the current, and safely ended up at another boat that floated a few meters downstream.

“Hey Vig, ready to get started?” Peter asked as Vig nodded and let his hand slip out of mine as the two went to discuss how the scene would work. I located a chair and positioned it just behind the camera so I would get a good view of what was going on. After a few minutes of talking with Pete, Viggo appeared at my side.

“I have to go get into the boat now.” He murmured softly as I looked up at him.

“Ok… Be careful, y’hear?” I smiled, holding out my arms for a hug. He quickly wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek.

“I’m always careful.” He retorted, pulling back slightly. I looked at him for a brief moment before leaning closer to him and closing the small gap between our lips. It didn’t take him long to start kissing me back, his hands tangling in my hair as I held him close – until I heard Peter clear his throat loudly behind us.

“Any time today would be great Vig.” He joked as I broke away from Viggo’s lips.

“Just a moment.” He murmured, although I couldn’t tell whether it was for my benefit or Pete’s. He lightly kissed me again as I smiled sheepishly. “Love you.” He whispered.

“Love you too.” I sighed as he let his fingers slide away from my hair. He smiled before turning and walking to the boat that was waiting by the shore. I watched as he climbed in and it sped off into the middle of the river. My gaze was fixed on Viggo as he was lowered into the river; he shivered as he entered the cold water and then ducked his head under to get his hair wet. I curled into a ball on my chair as he practiced floating on his back, and then waved to Peter – signalling that he was ready for the cameras to start rolling. He winked at me and I laughed as I waved back in an overly-flirtatious manner, before Peter shouted ‘Action’.

Viggo lay on his back and kicked off from the boat so he could start floating. I watched anxiously as he was carried quickly down the river. Sometimes a wave would wash over his head and he would disappear from view for a second, but he would quickly pop up again. I began to relax as he neared the second boat, but suddenly, he veered off course towards a rocky outcrop and his head disappeared under the water. My heart leapt into my throat as my eyes locked on the spot where he had disappeared… But he didn’t resurface.