Disclaimer: I don't own, I'm just borrowing.
A/N: The reason I use the expression "gods-knew-what" is because it is said that during the Fourth Age, Sauron became a distant memory and strange cults and societies grew up in Gondor. While Tirion and Tuliel's village is not anywhere near Gondor, I assumed that strange cults must have been growing elsewhere too.
"Tirion?" Her soft voice trembled. "I don't like it here."
He scoffed, a sound of disgust that served to disguise his own fear. He couldn't hide the shaking of his sweaty hands. Swallowing hard, he wiped his palms on his already dirt-streaked pants.
"Don't be thick, Tuli. If you're afraid go back home." His bravado was ruined by the quavering of his voice.
"But, but Tirion! I can't go back through the woods myself! What if-"
"Oh please! Tell me you don't believe those ridiculous ghost stories!"
"I, no, but-"
"But what?" Tirion asked in exasperation.
"What about the wolves?"The little girl shrieked, "And what if I get lost? What if-"
Tirion rolled his eyes. "What if the wolves get me, Tirion! What if I get lost, Tirion! Oh, I'm so scared, Tirion! Stop whining! If you're not going back then you're gonna have to stay with me!"
Tuli opened her mouth to argue but Tirion interrupted her. "AND if you're staying with me, you have to be quiet!"
Tuli looked at her brother miserably, her emerald green eyes swimming with unshed tears. Tirion watched as a few drops fell and rolled down her cheeks. The sight seemed to considerably soften Tirion's resolve, and he heaved a reluctant sigh and reached out to grab his little sister's hand.
He began pulling her along through the shrubs and thick foliage, doing his best to push aside the branches and thorns that were blocking his passage. After hearing the blacksmith's story, Tirion's curiosity had gotten the better of him as usual. While his family was distracted by their chores, he had snuck away.
The story told of an ancient elven city, built by a half-elven lord as a haven for all manner of people. It was said that the city was called Rivendell, Imladris in the elven tongue, and anyone who needed it would be granted aid. According to the blacksmith, the city was located just west of them, beyond the Brunion River and in a hidden valley. No one had seen it for thousands of years. No one even knew if it was still standing. Many people in the village doubted it had even existed.
Very few things tickled the fancy of a young boy like the thought of a lost city. Lost cities meant adventure.
Tirion had been dragging a whiny Tuliel behind him for what felt like hours when he heard a noise. The bushes rustled and a pair of eyes peered up at them.
"G-g-ghost!" Tuli screamed, diving behind the trunk of a pine.
Faking a bravery he didn't feel, Tirion said in his best commanding voice, "You run off, now! You're scaring my sister! Shoo, shoo!" Waving his hands towards the pair of eyes, the boy was gratified when they disappeared and the (admittedly large) squirrel they were attached to scampered up the very pine his sister was hiding behind.
It took a few minutes to coax Tuliel back into the open, but not long after they had continued on their way. Tuliel had stared at her brother the ghost-killer in adoration. Tirion, basking in the attention, decided that the squirrel's appearance was just an unnecessary detail.
Somewhere between the fight with the 'ghost' and the point where Tirion's feet began to blister, he understood the implications of walking through shadowy woods infested with gods-knew-what to find the lost elven city which may or may not have existed. The forest they were traveling through seemed to grow more forbidding with every step they took. It seemed as if the forest was working against them, although Tirion dismissed the thought with a shake of his head. Forests couldn't think. What a ridiculous notion. Upon reflection, Tirion realized that this trip wasn't the smartest idea of his.
After what seemed like an eternity, Tirion heard the faint sound of rushing water.
"Come on, Tuli! We're close!" Tirion whooped and dropped his sister's hand.
Tuli struggled to keep up with her brother's quickening pace. She was so busy looking where she was stepping that she bumped right into her brother's back. Rubbing her nose, Tuliel looked up at her brother crossly. She found herself staring at a granite bridge, and all complaints disappeared from her mind.
Staring beyond it, Tuli's mouth fell open and a small sound of disbelief escaped her.
Marvelously built structures of a combination of light and dark stone towered above them. Spires that seemed to pierce the sky, pathways and open air hallways teeming with overgrown wildlife. The architecture seemed the epitome of strength while still giving the impression of delicacy…as if it could vanish in an instant. The strangest thing was that these structures showed no sign of crumbling, despite their obvious age.
To the children, it seemed as if the houses went on forever. They were impossibly large and daunting, as if giants had built them. This place was another world altogether; the very stuff of dreams and half-uttered thoughts while on the edge of sleep.
Tuli closed her mouth, only to see her brother disappear across the other side of the bridge.
"Tirion! Wait for me!" She called, running across the narrow bridge, blissfully unaware of how close she came to the edge.
She slowed to a stop when she reached the other side, having lost sight of her brother. To her left stood a well, mossy with age. She passed it by, planning on finding Tirion as soon as possible in order to make him feel guilty for leaving her in such a strange place! How dare he!
"Tirion? Where are you?" She cried, wandering down a stone pathway that led to a worn staircase. The stone below her feet was rough with tiny indents. If she looked close enough, Tuli could see intricate carvings of men, beasts, kings, and their queens. Fascinated by the artwork, Tuliel took a moment to admire it before remembering that she was all alone in this strange, otherworldly city.
Climbing the stairs, Tuli found herself inside one of the roofed outdoor hallways. To her right, a lifelike statue of a woman stood. She was holding a flute to her smiling lips, but somehow her sightless eyes seemed less than friendly.
Are you frightened?
Tuli gasped and whirled around. No one was there. Her eyes continued to dart in different directions, looking for the person who had spoken.
We are your past, mortal. Before the dawn we came with the stars. It was we who taught your kind, we who gave you your heritage.
"Who…who are you?" Tuli whispered to the statue, for she was sure now that this women was the one speaking to her.
More importantly, who are you?
"I don't understand…what do you mean? Have you seen my brother?"
We sailed from this marred world because it was our fate. We were called away, back to our origins. We left you mortals behind, for this world was always yours.
The little girl stared up at the statue with solemn eyes.
We are only a distant memory to your kind. Nothing is left of our legacy except for the stories you call fairy tales. Will that be your fate as well? Will you disappear from memory as we did? Or will your kind mend the wounds of this earth?
Tuliel didn't know how to reply. She began to back away.
Perhaps…perhaps there is no evil but the freedom to choose. After all, that was our downfall.
She felt the cold wall press against her back. She couldn't move away any further.
We have paid for our mistakes, though, and they have been mended. Can your kind do the same? Will you be your people's strength, or will you blindly follow, even when it is foolish?
There was nowhere left to run.
Your kind have grown strong without us. You can choose to heal, or you can chose to destroy. But there is only one thing we must know…
How could she run away now?
Were we right to have helped your rise to power? Were we right to have trusted you mortals, with all of your weaknesses?
Tuli heard the challenge in the voice and responded unthinkingly, "Yes!"
Then prove it.
Intimidated by the meaning of those words, Tuli ran down the rest of the hallway, descending down into a garden long overgrown with weeds and vines. She didn't dare go any farther inside the strange house with its strange carvings and nearly-living statues.
Momentarily forgetting the strange experience as children are wont, Tuli pressed onward.
"Tirion this isn't funny!" She shouted. She was beginning to get cross at her brother. Child though she was, the silence of the place unnerved her. It was almost like there was a presence that lingered there; a sad presence. She shivered at the thought.
Indeed, a presence did linger. It was as if the souls of those who used to live there were still wandering its ancient halls. Echoes of a more dangerous time resonated through the air, filling it with memories of shared joys and shared sorrows that had grown stronger with the passing of centuries. The ethereal aura that surrounded the place would have brought a grown man to his knees, so powerful were the emotions it provoked.
Being a child, Tuliel was not overwhelmed with the deep yearning of times long past, for she had never experienced the ache, the longing that accompanied bittersweet recollections. Her childish mind was firmly fixed in the present, and currently it was tinged with both awe and fear.
"Tirion!" Her voice grew shrill with fear. "Tirion!"
The irritable reply: "Oh hush! Honestly, there's no need to shout Tuli."
Tirion stood on a raised dais that overlooked the garden she was standing in. He had his hands firmly planted on his hips, as if he were king of this forgotten place. King of a lost city, an empty city. At that moment, Tuli thought that he did look very noble and strong like a king.
"Well? What do you think? Isn't it amazing?" Tirion asked, obviously thrilled that he had been the one to find this place.
Tuli answered in a small voice, "It's scary."
Tirion snorted.
Ignoring his reaction, Tuli cast a frightened look towards the house. "Can't you feel it Tirion? It reminds me of when mommy was going to have a baby and then god took it back. It feels sad."
The city was mourning. All forgotten cities mourned. They mourned more deeply and more passionately than mortals, though they were made of stone.
The irony of Rivendell's requiem escaped many.
"We shouldn't be here." Tuli finished, stubbornly braving her brother's scorn.
Little did she know that Tirion felt the same exact way, having been affected the same by the force that emanated from the ancient elven city. The same feeling that had compelled him to come here was now making him wish he had never come. While he may not have known exactly what it was, he understood that it was something he would never be able to fathom.
Tirion jumped off the dais and took his sister's hand.
"Let's go home then." He said.
*****
On their way back to the bridge, they passed the well again. Tuliel momentarily let go of her brother's hand to sneak a look into its still waters. For a quick moment she thought she saw a dark haired woman with gentle eyes staring back at her. But when she blinked, the image vanished and all she saw was her own reflection.
As they crossed the bridge, Tuli thought she could hear a voice on the wind.
Prove it. It said to her. Prove it.