The Making of…

Chapter 9

A Development

I watched anxiously as Peter made his way over to his chair and sat down, and then looked up at where Viggo was lying, pretending to be asleep on the couch. There were three cameras scattered around, so we wouldn’t have to pause midway through the scene to change the angles… I supposed that was an advantage.

“Action!” Pete shouted and I forced myself into character as I slowly climbed the steps towards Viggo, feeling the floorboards of the set beneath my bare feet. He blinked awake and turned to look at me, smiling slightly. I smiled in return as I leant against one of the pillars that lined the alcove.

“This is a dream…” Viggo murmured and I smiled a little, walking towards him and kneeling down so my face was level with his.

“You should be resting.” I whispered, delicately brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes as he momentarily closed them, and letting my fingertips gently trace his jaw line. I leant in a little closer as I did so, waiting for his next line.

“I am resting…” He murmured, closing his eyes slowly as his lips curved into a smile.

“Ssh…” I said softly, placing a finger on his lips which I found surprisingly smooth… My finger drifted away from his lips after a moment and caressed his cheek as his eyes flickered open. We stared at each other for a long moment, as I became lost in the stormy abyss of his eyes. “Will you return to me?” I whispered.

“I will always return to you.” He replied, as his hand crept towards mine. His fingers slowly curled around my hand and lifted it down to his chest, covering the pendant that lay there; he then covered my own hand with his own. “I promise.” He murmured. I smiled a little, as my heart thumped erratically in my chest, and then I leant forward, so that my forehead was touching Viggo’s. He closed his eyes as I leant closer, delicately brushing my lips against his as my eyes drifted closed. His lips parted a little and I found myself doing the same as his hand ever-so-slightly tightened its grip on mine. With his free hand he reached up to my face and pulled me closer, his fingers entwining themselves in my hair as he deepened the kiss. He sat up a little, pulling me even closer and taking control of the kiss as I felt his heart race beneath my hand. I sighed softly as his lips moved over mine, almost forgetting that we were in the middle of the scene. Viggo pulled back a little, so that our lips were only slightly touching. My heartbeat fluttered as he breathed his warm breath on my face and the taste of his lips still lingered on mine.

“Le melon…” I whispered breathlessly the line that meant ‘I love you,’ opening my eyes and gazing up at him. He smiled against my lips and rubbed his forehead against mine a little.

“Le melon.” He repeated in a seductive whisper, kissing my lower lip. I moved my free hand up to his shoulder, and gently pushed him down until he was once again lying down. I smiled and stroked his cheek as he closed his eyes and sighed a little.

“Sleep.” I murmured quietly as his breathing regulated. I stood slowly and leant towards him, kissing his lips once more. “Sleep.” I repeated in a low whisper.

I heard behind me, Peter quietly say ‘cut’ and I was pulled back to the real world. Viggo opened his eyes and smiled at me as he sat up. I sat down beside him as I nervously waited for Peter’s evaluation. The short scene had left me breathless and blushing, even though I had only been acting. The kiss meant nothing; it was only another scene… Right?

“Wow guys, that was… Fantastic.” Peter said, staring at us and seeming a little dumbfounded. I smiled with relief and sighed a little, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Viggo smile too. His hand found mine where it rested on the couch and he squeezed it a little, prompting another blush from myself.

“I can’t imagine any other way I’d have you guys act that scene out…” Pete murmured after a moment of thought. Viggo squeezed my hand again and out of the corner of my eye I saw him smile. “Thanks for coming down, you can go get changed now, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Peter grinned, watching the rerun of the scene. I was tempted to go over and watch it myself, but I went and slipped my shoes on and walked back through the forest with Viggo. I didn’t really know what to say to him… I mean, we’d just shared one of the most phenomenal kisses ever! Should I just act like nothing had happened? That would be the professional thing to do, because after all… It was just another scene.

“I think that went really well.” Viggo smiled, and then cast me a mischievous glance, “How was it for you?”

I couldn’t help it; I just cracked up laughing at that. He had an amazing personality, which ensured that nothing between us became awkward.

“It was great!” I giggled, wiping a tear from my eye. “I wasn’t expecting it to go so well!”

“I can’t believe that was the last scene we’d do together on the Rivendell set.” He sighed, “What a great way to end it!”

“Yeah…” I blushed.

“You were fantastic.” He grinned as we approached the trailer.

“Thanks,” I smiled shyly, “I couldn’t have done it without you. You make my job easy!” He laughed a little and pushed open the door to the trailer. It was true though, it wasn’t hard to act like I was close to him, because we already were quite close. It wasn’t even hard to act like I was in love with him… Because, well… Once he was in full costume and everything, he was Aragorn – who had always been my favourite character in the books (apart from Rana of course). It wasn’t that I was in love with his character, but I could still connect with him on a level that I didn’t fully understand. The kissing was just an added bonus!

Viggo had his makeup off before me, so he wandered away to get his costume off. Lou was busy unclipping my extensions when she stopped and looked at me.

“So… How did it go?” She asked, trying to sound casual, but I could tell she was bursting to find out.

“Pretty well I suppose.” I answered with a shrug.

“Oh come on! I want more details than that!” She cried, “What was it like?”

“Like a kiss I guess.” I mumbled, whilst inside my head there was someone shouting ‘Wrong! It was one of the best on-screen kisses ever!’

“Ugh, you’re hopeless!” She groaned, “I mean; what was Viggo like?” I turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

“You weren’t kidding about wanting to know the details…” I muttered.

“Yeah! So, what was he like?”

“Um… Nice?” I said in an unsure tone.

“Ack! Kira! I want to know more than that! Like was he gentle or really passionate-”

“Lou, just stop right there.” I said sternly. “If you want the full details, you’ll just have to wait until the movie comes out!”

“You’re mean…” She grumbled, cleaning away the last of the makeup.

***

The next day, I was back on the Rivendell set, in another long, flowing dress, as we were filming one of Rana’s flashbacks. They were also filming the flashbacks of when Rana and Aragorn were children, so I had met the kids who were supposed to be playing our younger selves. Viggo was away at the Weathertop set at Stone Street Studios, so I hadn’t seen him since our kissing scene the previous night.

We were in the middle of a scene where Rana was in Rivendell and Aragorn had gone off to fight for Rohan. One of the extras had volunteered to play the man from Rohan who was bringing me a message from Aragorn, and we were just getting to the part where Rana assumes that Aragorn is dead. Peter was about to shout ‘action’, so I prepared myself for the part where I cry. I blinked ferociously for a moment, before giving Pete a nod.

“My Lady?” The extra asked as I staggered backwards and collapsed onto a bench as tears tracked down my cheeks. I shook my head a little and whispered the word ‘no’ over and over again. “My Lady, I apologise for upsetting you, but I was instructed to give you this.” The extra said, pressing a piece of tattered parchment to my palm. “He said, ‘do not rest until you see this in her hand.’” He continued as I unfolded the note. I pretended to read for a moment, knowing that there would be a voiceover of Viggo reading the contents of the letter. I then had to start crying tears of relief, so I smiled a little and sighed as the salty droplets fell from my face onto the parchment in my hand. I looked up at the extra, looking as if I had forgotten he was there.

“I am sorry; you must be weary after your journey. Please, come in and you can rest.” I mumbled, standing and drying my eyes on the sleeve of my dress, before ushering him through an archway just as Peter yelled ‘cut’.

“Great work guys!” He grinned, “We just need to film the part where you’re leaving to go to Rohan, and then we can call it a day.”

I smiled and practically jumped up and down with excitement, this meant I got to ride a horse! Yay! I had to go and change into a different costume though. I rushed out of the set and returned quickly in a tunic, breeches and a long, blue velvet cloak. One of the trainers handed me the reins of a beautiful dappled grey mare. I patted her flank and smiled.

“So you know how to ride then?” Peter asked.

“Well I should hope so! I’ve only been doing it since I was nine!” I laughed, practicing swinging myself into the saddle without catching my cloak on anything. This was also the scene where Rana was given her pendant by Elrond, so Hugo was here, looking as if he had just been dragged out of bed.

“Hi!” I smiled as I dismounted from the horse, “Ready to go?”

“Yep…” He muttered, downing his cup off coffee and giving himself a shake.

We managed to get through the scene quickly, and I ended with me galloping out the gate on my horse. We trotted back onto the set after the cameras stopped rolling.

“Nice work Ki,” Peter smiled, “That’s all for today! Actually, it’s the last shot you’ll do on location here!”

“I know! Thanks Pete!” I grinned, “What are we doing tomorrow?”

“Ah, that’s what I was just about to tell you!” He smirked knowingly, “You know how we have a scene after the Fellowship leave Lothlórien in the boats?”

“Yeah, the one where they’re paddling down the Anduin?”

“Exactly, well we’re having a training day down at the docks in Wellington tomorrow, where you get to do a bit of boat handling!” Pete smiled.

“Wow really? That’s awesome!” I cried.

“Yep, so you’re all getting picked up from the hotel tomorrow and get to spend the day down there. So have fun!”

“Yeah I will!” I grinned, giving him a quick hug, as I wouldn’t see him for a few days, “See you later Pete!” I called as I jogged back to the trailer.