A Penny for Your Thoughts

Chapter 1 Aria

Aria stared at the strange men sitting across from her at the breakfast table, her face expressionless. They wolfed down the waffles she'd given them, then the oatmeal, then the frosted flakes, and were now working on the eggs, toast, and bacon. The dark-haired one was good looking, but it was the blonde one she couldn't keep her eyes off of. He was like supermodel-angel perfect. Of course he was an elf. She shook her head and looked down at her hot chocolate.

That's right, a voice in her head told her. You see them, his ears are pointed, he is an elf.

Yeah, well after what you've been through, a different voice answered, I wouldn't be surprised if you were seeing things.

We are of the same mind, Genius, the first voice retorted, we went through the same thing.

I'm still the sanity of the outfit.

Well, if you're the sanity, then we're in trouble, because you're talking to yourself.

SHUT UP! Both of you! Aria's command voice commanded. We don't have time for your arguing now. We have to find out what these guys are doing here and what they want.

They look like Aragorn and Legolas. The first voice, Insane Thinking, answered.

Thank you, Captain Obvious! Aria's sanity, or Sane Thinking, answered to that. None of us noticed. The ears weren't obvious at all!

Okay, don't give me any of your crap! I felt like I had to say it since no one else was gonna!

I would have. Answered a new voice, Aria's Enlightening Thinking.

"Thank you." Aria looked up at the sound of the dark-haired man's voice, blocking out the individual thought types as they argued with each other. "You have been most gracious and kind to us."

"Oh," Aria started, surprised, "It was nothing."

Yeah, it was something. Aria's Negative Thinking muttered quietly.

You shut up! I'm in no mood to put up with you today. Aria's command voice snapped.

Aria stood as both the strangers stood. The blonde still hadn't said anything, and Aria couldn't help but wonder if his voice was as intoxicatingly beautiful as everything else about him.

I bet it is. We should try something to get him to talk. Aria's Positive Thinking burst, relishing the fact that the Negative Thinking had to remain silent.

You shut up too! Or I'm put the two of you on Memory Duty together. Aria's command voice snapped, trying to pay attention. As useful as Positive Thinking was, she need practical knowledge right now, and thankfully the split thinking of her mind didn't go that far. It was crowed enough as it was.

What?! But I'm not on Memory Duty, I shut up! Her Negative Thinking cried, indignantly.

"Now, we have a few questions for you, if you do not mind."

Aria shook her head, both to clear her it and show that she didn't mind any questions. "Com'on, we can go into the living room and talk." She led them out of the kitchen and into the living room. She curled up in a lazy-boy recliner and the two strangers sat stiffly on the couch.

"Um…We could start with your names?" Aria offered staring at them.

Duuuuuuuuuuhhhhhh! Sane Thinking said in a stupid, mental voice.

Sane Thinking, Memory Duty, now. Aria's command voice stated, ignoring all arguments. She couldn't shake how much they looked like Legolas and Aragorn from Lord of the Rings, as Insane Thinking had already pointed out.

The dark-haired one spoke. "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, my companion is Legolas of the Woodland Realm." He said gesturing to the beautiful blonde beside him.

Aria, who'd just taken a sip of hot chocolate, suddenly began gagging on it. "What?" she exclaimed. This is f-ing nuts! They can't be Legolas and Aragorn! Aria's Frightening Thinking burst, engulfing the mind in fear. They're fictional characters made up by J.R.R. Tolkien! Aria's mind raced with confusion as the fear ran rampant for a moment.

Then the small voice of Sane Thinking echoed out of her memories, saying to her, well, think about it. They do look like them. They are dressed for Lord of the Rings. And the guy's ears are pointed, like an elf.

All of you shut up! NOW! Aria's command voice demanded sternly. Frightening Thinking if you don't stop, right now, you are going to join Sane Thinking, on Memory Duty. Enlightening Thinking snickered. You too! All of you! Quiet or you'll all be stuck on Duty together.

"Are you alright?" Aragorn asked, concern spreading across his face as she coughed and made a funny face as the voice in command reprimanded her Thoughts.

"Yeah, just went down the wrong pipe." He nodded confused. No way was Aria telling him she was listening to the many voices in her head. "So, Aragorn and Legolas?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, you seem to have heard of us."

"You could say that. What are you doing here?" She studied them both, trying to keep the surprise off her face about the silence of her Thoughts, no one liked Memory Duty. Then, before Aragorn could answer, "And why hasn't he said anything yet?" she burst, referring to Legolas.

Aria's command voice growled mentally. Insane Thinking, Memory Duty! She snapped. And never take command like that, again!

Aria's Command Thoughts turned back to Legolas and Aragorn's answer to her answer. Legolas had been attentive and cold the entire time they'd been eating and now sat at rapt attention, sweeping the room with his gaze every so often and keeping his head cocked, listening for any sound of a threat of any kind.

Aragorn looked at Legolas. "He does not feel comfortable in this world, the dismal amount of magic here is causing him to worry."

Aria nodded. "Yeah, there's a saying, 'The closest thing we have to magic is love, and that's why everyone wants it, but not everyone can get it right the first time.'" She looked down, fingering her mug, thinking of her troubles with love or life in general.

Aria's Command Thoughts growled mentally, again. Insane Thinking, you are on Memory Duty. That means you keep them at bay, not help them come forward! Her voice ended in a mental shout. Now do your job properly or I'll keep you there all night!

I'm sorry, Commander, I couldn't keep hold of Insane and keep the Memories at bay at the same time. Sane Thinking apologized.

It is fine, Sane. Just do your best. You can come off Duty when we go to sleep. Aria's Command Thoughts said softly.

For the first time, Legolas looked at her, actually studied her. "You have had troubles, with the love magic?" he asked.

Aria looked up at the sound of his voice, awe written on her face. It was as beautiful as the rest of him. "W-well…" She looked down, her cheeks flushed. She didn't even know how to answer him. He was so perfect, so heavenly, it didn't seem right for him to be there, sitting in her living room. She didn't deserve this kind of honor. He was too good for her, for her to even be in his presence.

Do you need help? Enlightening Thinking asked softly, the other Thoughts, not on Memory Duty murmured agreements and offers.

Yes. Aria's Command Thought answered, softly. We do this together, at the exact same time. Make it look like it doesn't matter. They all murmured their understanding. Sane and Insane Thinking watched, suddenly attentive and in unison, keeping the Memories at bay together.

"Y-yeah," Aria stumbled. "Um…yeah…my first mom…my birth mom, she didn't want me…" She paused and shifted. "Well…she abandon me…in the winter, alone…um…my first adoptive father…well…he beat me, because…well, I don't know why, but…" As she stumbled, again, the two warriors exchanged surprised glances. "My…um…second adoptive father…well, he was a drunk, he…um…he liked to bring buddies over…they weren't very nice…" Aria paused. "Well…um…I don't like to go into how his buddies were…" They were nearly her worse memories, those none of her Thoughts ever thought about. They had enough trouble with the Nightmare Memories as it was. Aria did think about her second adoptive father though. She didn't like how close this buddies would get to her. She hated the pinches, the touching, the rubbing, just thinking about it made her shutter. "Anyway," she continued, "not going into the rest, this is my eleventh home, and hopefully it stays as nice as it is now.

The companions exchanged looks again. They did not like what this young human was insinuating with her second father's buddies, they had seen the shutter. But they felt even worse that this strange girl was seeing these men touching her in such an offhanded light. What had happened, that this terrible darkness seemed light?

"Well, I kinda wanna know the answer to my first question."

Aragorn smiled a little at the girl's brightness despite the harshness of her words, it was odd and yet relieving.

Well done, guys. Aria's Command Thoughts said gently. Keep it strong. They all murmured their thanks, the heavy weight they now carried in their thoughts was too strong for them to lightly argue amongst themselves now.

"We believe it was the accidental work of our young hobbit friends."

Aria smiled at the thought of Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo.

How are we smiling at the thought of Frodo? Negative Thinking asked.

Cause we're thinking about before Mt. Doom, duh. Positive Thinking answered in a sarcastic tone.

Aria smiled more, inwardly as her Thoughts eased up from the heavy burden of her Memories.

"What happened? How'd they manage to send you here?" She asked.

"They were playing with Gandalf's staff. He was certain nothing would come of it, but here we are, wherever here is." Aragorn sounded exasperated.

Aria was full of curiosity now. "Well, where'd you show up at?" She asked.

Cool, Enlightening Thinking interjected. This is getting interesting.

Hush, Enlightening.

Yes, Commander.

Now a moment's pause to acknowledge the reader, and Aria. You are probably wondering, 'What? Aria's just accepting that Legolas and Aragorn are Legolas and Aragorn, simply because Legolas's ears? There are such things as prosthetics.' Well, let us speak of Aria's character and backstory. Aria was born to a mother of no rich means. She does not remember her name, and was never told later on. All Aria does remember is cold nights in the basement or hungry days without food. She remembers vague yelled insults, including 'useless brat,' 'devil child of Satan,' and 'dirty worthless repulsive excuse of a human.' When Aria was four years old, a very long time of having to put up with these sort of things, she was found left in a ditch full of half frozen water, in the freezing grips of a North Dakota winter. She was taken to the hospital by a kind old lady, and surprised everybody by not having hypothermia or pneumonia or any such disease.

Moving on a pace. She was placed in the foster care system. She was adopted by an elderly man with barely enough money to care for her. She was fine for about the first day. She was immediately beaten upon doing anything wrong. She was repeatedly punished for concepts her young mind of four could not understand. It took three years for the social services to realize that she was so harshly treated, by now this poor young girl is seven.

She was taken back into the foster care system, where she spent four more years going from one home to the next, uncared for and unwanted. By now she is eleven and has gone through seven homes counting that of her biological mother. She does not know how to love or connect. To save herself from the pain of moving from one place to another, Aria now buries herself in books, friends she can take with her wherever she must go. Rapidly growing beyond the level of a seven year old and reaching that of a high school student in the space of that four years.

At eleven, Aria is adopted by another man of no young means. He lives in New York City, New York, a far cry from North Dakota. Still she must go where she is told. She is moved out of her home state and to the large hustle and bustle of New York City. She is taken in and is immediately worried. The place she now lives in is dirty, stinky, and crowded. Her first night is quiet as she tensely tosses and turns. Her first day is spent in her room, however, as her second night falls, all quiet is broken. Her new 'father' arrives with his buddies, drunk. As Aria mentioned to Legolas and Aragorn, her 'father's' buddies weren't nice. They got too close to the poor eleven year old. Now to keep this relatively safe for the young to read, we shall not go into too much.

This goes on for the poor girl for another three years. She is then fourteen and staring on her ninth home as she is automatically adopted by a couple in Sacramento, California. Now, Aria pays much more attention to the world of fantasy than reality, caring not to see the ugliness she must go through, never understanding what was going on and never taught.

The home of the couple was nice. It was clean, big, quiet, and all around well cared for. Aria is happy for six months, well not happy, for she hardly knows what the word means. She is content, keeping to her room, reading, when not in school. When in school, she pays attention, does her work, and never talks. Doing only enough to survive and blend in being invisible. Her new family is kind and try to reach out to her. Slowly, Aria comes out of the shell of emotionless that she has built in the first fourteen years of her life. As she opens her eyes and sees the love that has appeared in her world. She is awed and fearful.

Now, you, Reader, may be asking, 'Okay, what happens next?' I'm sorry to say that something does happen next in a very bad sense. Her new family is brutally murdered shattering the quiet peace that Aria had rapidly grown used to in those six months.

Before moving onto the next horrendous chapter of Aria's life, I feel it necessary to mention something that is of some near-great importance or I wouldn't need to mention it, of course. While in the comfortable home of the couple in California, Aria received a necklace from her new mother. This necklace was gold. Yes, real gold. It had a simple chain. It had a gold circle hanging from it, roughly the size of a nickel. It within this circle of gold was a web of gold that created just that, a web of gold. The design was of next to no importance. This necklace was found in an old antique shop, sold by an old lady, who told Aria she should always keep it on or at least near her, for it was essential to her future. Aria did not regard this advice, but kept is on or near her due to the feeling of tolerance and caring she got from the woman who had given it to her.

Now, continuing on with Aria's dismal and darkly sad, loveless life. At fourteen and a half, Aria is placed back in the foster care system. She is then adopted by an exceedingly wealthy woman that could be acutely described as a real life Cruella de Ville. Aria was given a nice room and nice things. Aria was mildly content, for a single night. Upon her second night, she was awakened very roughly and taken down below the mansion, to its basement. Again for the mental stability and health of the younger readers, it is best not to get into the goings on of what happened beneath the mansion of the 'Cruella de Ville'. However, for the reader to understand it is mandatory to say, this is where she got her worst memories.

When poor Aria was finally saved from this Hell, for that is what it was to her. Aria was as strange and odd and bright as she is when we met her at the very beginning of this story. She saw only a single home for a single month before coming to a rest at the age of seventeen years, four months old, at the home she now occupies, in great comfort, conversing with Aragorn and Legolas.

Aria in her horrors at the 'Cruella de Ville' mansion, formed exactly eight different personalities, which she names six after types of thought and the other two being her Command Thoughts, and her Subconscious Mind, who hardly speaks, thus the name. The other six names being, Enlightening Thinking, Frightening Thinking, Negative Thinking, Positive Thinking, Sane Thinking, and Insane Thinking. Nothing more need be said about them, their personalities will become much more obvious throughout the course of this story.

Now, about her simple acceptance of Legolas's and Aragorn's claim to who they are. I believe I already mentioned her more acute acceptance of the fictional to the nonfictional. She has accepted these two due to the fact that they, A: maybe who they claim to be; or B: a figment of her imagination, something that runs wild throughout her many Thoughts. Either way she is ready and willing to accept one or the other, or both, because the Lord of the Rings was and is her favorite story and she know that in the end they all end up happy, many sailing to the Undying Lands to be free of their pain forever. She has also had many of her favorite characters help her and her Thoughts through their pain and it helped a great deal. Another reason for easygoing and accepting nature.

No more need be said of Aria. What else that needs to be known of her will be revealed through telling of this story. Speaking of which, let's get back to it. I believe Aria's Command Thoughts just told Enlightening Thinking to be quiet about Aragorn's and Legolas's arrival being interesting.