(Written in 2011 for the LOTR GFIC Community Big Bang Challenge. The art for this story was created by Armariel, and all of it can be found at
add prefix lotrgfic dot com slash viewstory dot php ? sid =1798&chapter=1 )
Foreword:
This crossover needs some explanation. The idea for it first came to me in 2007, but it took me this long, and the impetus of a Big Bang Challenge to actually buckle down and write it.
Strictly speaking, this is not a Lord of the Rings crossover: it is a crossover of a Lord of the Rings fanfic AU/Narnia. And it is not a crossover with the part of the story of Narnia with which most people are familiar. This story takes place long before The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe It is, in fact, a sequel of sorts, to the story which was chronologically first even though it was written and published second to last, The Magician's Nephew.
(Be prepared for spoilers below for The Magician's Nephew.)
So a little background is in order for those who have not read The Magician's Nephew. That story is of the creation of Narnia by Aslan, and tells how Jadis the White Witch, was introduced into that world. The protagonists of the story are Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer. If you read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. then you met Digory, for he grew up to become the Professor Kirke of that story. Digory and Polly were children in the early Edwardian era. Digory happens to be the title character, for he is the nephew of the magician whose interference in things he does not understand results in all sorts of trouble.
Suffice it to say, Aslan gives Digory and Polly the task of planting a very special Tree in the new world, one that will protect and guard Narnia from Jadis for a very long time.
Two other people end up in Narnia as well: a very ordinary London cabbie named Frank and his wife Helen, who end up becoming the very first King and Queen of that land and the ancestors of the Kings and Queens who follow right up until the time of the White Witch.
The most pertinent part of that story to this one however, is the fact that Digory and Polly did not enter Narnia through a wardrobe, but through the Wood Between the Worlds, a place between places, from which it is possible to enter anyother world. It occurred to me that that would include Arda…
The events of this story take place in the Narnian year 302.
The Middle-earth side of the story takes place in my "Eucatastrophe-universe". In that universe, two small but important events alter the results of the War of the Ring. The first thing that happens is that at the storming of Isengard, Quickbeam is just a bit quicker than he was in the books, and manages to catch and kill Saruman before he makes it back into Orthanc. The second event to occur is that before the Battle of the Black Gate, the bearers of the Three realize that the idea that the destruction of the One Ring will cause them to fade could very well be one of Saruman's lies. Saruman, after all, had long been a part of the White Council and had been considered their "expert" on ring-lore. Since they now realize Saruman's treachery, they are no longer certain of his conclusions on the matter.
There are a number of good results from these two events: Saruman never goes to the Shire, so the troubles caused by Lotho and his Ruffians are not as bad, and Frodo never hears Saruman's prediction that he will not have health and long life. Also, the Three Rings, instead of fading, are freed by the destruction of the One to find their full potential. As a sort of reward for this outcome, the Ban on returning from the West is lifted. Those who wish to do so are free to return. (This still, however, remains a very small number; only those who are privileged to go West may do so, and of those already in the West very few have a desire to return to Middle-earth.) Galadriel delays her sailing until Celeborn is ready to go with her; Elrond sails, for he is eager to find Celebrian (they both return a few years later); Bilbo sails, and Frodo and Gandalf accompany him to his new home and then turn around and come back. Frodo has no need to remain in the West, as Elrond and Gandalf are able to complete his healing on the voyage over.
My stories of the "Eucatastrophe-verse" may be found here at this site.
In this particular "Eucatastrophe-verse" story, Frodo, at the age of 83, has retired to Minas Anor, where he hopes to finish his definitive book on the languages of Men and Elves. Merry's son Peridoc, Pippin's son Faramir, and two of Sam's sons-Merry-lad and Pippin-lad-have accompanied him, for they are to spend two years studying at the Court of the High King.]
Frodo lives in the old guesthouse, with Gandalf, who does his own studying, and occasionally advises the King. The four lads are staying there as well, though they spend most of their time at the Citadel, serving as pages, and studying with the children of the King and the Steward.
The children's ages are as follows:
Fam (Faramir) Took: 21 (13 ½ in Man-years)
Perry (Peridoc) Brandybuck: 26 (16 ½ in Man-years)
Merry-lad Gamgee: 23, almost 24 (15 in Man-years)
Pippin-lad Gamgee: 22 (14 in Man-years)
Eldarion: son of Aragorn and Arwen, 18 (28 in Hobbit-years)
Elliniel: daughter of Aragorn and Arwen, 12 (18 in Hobbit-years)
Elboron: oldest son of Faramir and Éowyn, 26(40 in Hobbit-years)
Therry (Théorigithu) 21; older daughter of Faramir and Éowyn (33 in Hobbit-years)
Elemir: Younger son of Faramir and Éowyn, 15 (24 in Hobbit-years)
Morwen: Younger daughter of Faramir and Éowyn, 13 (20 in Hobbit-years)
Digory Kirk: 12 (18 in Hobbit-years)
Polly Plummer: 12 (18 in Hobbit-years)
Author's Note:
I would very much like to thank my wonderful, patient and remarkable beta, Celeritas; and my very talented artist, Armariel!
Thank you so much ladies, for making this possible!
Chapter 1
"Fam! What are you doing? Find the ball, so we can get on with the game!" Peridoc Brandybuck called to his cousin Faramir Took as they and their friends had been playing at ball in a small and sunny garden nestled between two wings of the Citadel. It was not far from the Royal Family's private exit from their quarters.
"I can't find it, Perry." All that could be seen of the young Took was his bottom and the soles of his hairy feet as he was crawling beneath the shrubbery that lined the stone garden wall.
"D'you need us to come and help you look?" called Merry Gamgee, turning a mild glare to his brother Pippin. Pippin looked abashed. It was he who had kicked the ball into the shrubbery in the first place.
"No, I'm sure I'll find-Hoy! What's this?" Fam's voice was sharp with surprise.
"What did you find?" asked Perry, coming up to his cousin.
"Look!" Fam held up a large ring, apparently made of mithril, for it was shiny and unmarred despite having been buried in the dirt. From it hung two large and ornate keys, one yellow, one green. The colours were almost too bright, garish enough to offend the eyes, and it seemed to go all the way through the metal—it was not painted on.
The other children gathered around: Princess Elliniel, daughter of King Elessar and Queen Arwen and Elemir and Morwen, the younger son and daughter of the Steward Lord Faramir and the Lady Eowyn.
The weather was lovely- a blue Southern sky devoid of clouds, enough of a breeze to keep active children from being too hot, and a garden filled with the scents of flowers and herbs. The royal tutor, Master Valacar, had dismissed them for the day when he realised that his pupils had little attention for their lessons while sunshine and fresh air beckoned. With parents and older siblings away for the day at a reception held by the new delegation from Far Harad, the children had been delighted to have the run of the garden for a game of ball, and their teacher was all too glad to treat himself to a few extra hours to go to the Archives. There was a book he had been meaning to look at for quite some time.
The children had been enjoying themselves splendidly until Pippin had kicked the ball into the shrubbery. But now the ball and the game were both forgotten in the excitement of young Faramir's mysterious find.
"What strange looking keys!" exclaimed Elliniel. "I've never seen anything like them."
"I wonder what they open?" asked Morwen.
Elemir began to pull away the ivy which grew thickly against the stone wall. "Look!"
There, set a few feet above the ground was a doorway, or perhaps a gate. It appeared to be very old, and it had been covered over completely by the thick growth of vines and shrubbery. No hinges or handles were visible, but set to the right hand side about halfway up the gate was a keyhole. The key hole was far out of the reach of any of the children.
"How odd that is!" said Perry. "Why would anyone put a gate up there, of all places?" For the wall ran along the very edge of the Seventh Circle, and there was nothing but air and a sheer drop to the sixth level of the City on the other side.
Fam studied the gate and the pair of odd looking keys in his hand. "I wonder?" he asked. "Do you suppose one of these will open it?"
Perry grinned. "Let me see them," he said, and lifted them neatly from Fam's fingers. "Here, Elemir! Give me a hoist up there, please!"
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Merry.
"Perry, be careful!" called Fam, as Elemir was quickly boosting the hobbit onto his sturdy shoulders. Elliniel put a hand out to steady him as he leaned closer to the wall. Fam reached up and put his hands on Perry's feet, as Perry gripped the green key. He maneuvered it carefully into the keyhole.
"It goes in but it won't turn! Let me try the yellow one," he called down. Elemir wobbled slightly, but Fam and Elliniel steadied him, as Morwen and the Gamgee brothers looked on with trepidation. Perry fumbled a little with the key ring, and then finally got a grip on the yellow key and inserted it into the keyhole. With a cry of triumph, Perry turned the key and then the gate swung outwards. Perry stuck his head through and-
Morwen gave a shriek, echoed by Merry and Pippin.
For all four of their friends had vanished.
xxxxx
On a grassy sward that ran down from a magnificent old manor-house, a boy and a girl were taking their ease. It was the August bank-holiday, and the day was warm and drowsy. The boy was sprawled on his back, with one foot crossed over his bent knee and his hands locked together behind his head as he watched the clouds. The girl was seated tailor fashion with her skirts tucked up modestly, and was weaving a daisy chain.
"I say, Polly," said the boy rather abruptly, for they'd not been talking. They were far too good friends to need to chatter at one another endlessly as some folk do. "I say- do you ever wonder whether we shall ever get a chance to go back?"
She turned to him with a wistful smile. "To Narnia? All the time." She blushed. "Once, last winter, I was tempted to go out in the back garden and dig up a couple of the rings. But as you were here and I was there, well, it hardly seemed fair to do it without you. And then, as I thought about it, it didn't seem the kind of thing that Aslan would like. So I didn't."
"You are a brick, Polly," said the boy, whose name was Digory. "Sometimes I can hardly remember it. But then I think about how dreadful things were before, and how splendid they are now, and I know that it was all real. I do wish we could see Aslan again!"
Polly closed her eyes and turned her face up to the sun. Its warmth felt good against her skin and the brightness of it made her see colorful spots on the inside of her eyelids. "Sometimes I think about Him, and I miss Him so much. His deep eyes that are always so kind and wise, His warm breath that smells like every kind of beautiful day I've ever known; sometimes I think that I can actually feel it-" She took a deep breath.
"Son of Adam, Daughter of Eve."
The voice was gentle, yet also deep and rumbling at the same time, and it seemed to come from everywhere at once. Polly's eyes flew open, and Digory sat bolt upright.
"Oh, Aslan!" they both cried, and threw themselves upon Him, burying their faces in the warmth of His mane. "Oh, Aslan!" They were laughing and weeping all at once for the sheer joy of seeing Him once more.
Finally, sniffling and wiping their eyes with the backs of their hands, for they neither of them had so much as a single pocket handkerchief between them, they stood back and looked at Him, wondering why He had come to them. Surely He had a reason. Aslan never did anything without purpose.
"My children," He said, "I have a task for you. A very important task.
"In Narnia?" asked Digory hopefully.
"No, Son of Adam, not yet in Narnia, though your path and your task will lead you there soon. But first you must go somewhere else." He looked at them with a smile in His eyes. "Come; let Me breathe upon you..."
xxxxx
The Gamgee lads and Morwen gaped.
Finally Pippin spoke. "They vanished the way old Bilbo did in the stories. But there was no ring! I've never heard of a key of Power. And allof them disappeared!"
Morwen drew a deep breath. "We've got to tell someone. We need help." Yet she was uncertain. The King was gone for the day, as was the Steward, the Queen, and Lady Eowyn. Who would they tell?
"Gandalf!" said Merry firmly.
Morwen nodded. "Mithrandir will know what to do!"
The three children looked back in dismay at the gate. It was still open slightly, swinging back into the open air behind it, the mysterious keys still hanging from the keyhole.
Who would believe such a thing?
Pippin nodded. "You are right! Gandalf will know what to do! We should go at once!"
But before they could turn, just as suddenly as their friends had vanished, two figures had appeared within the gate.
xxxxx
Polly and Digory had stood before Aslan, and felt his warm breath, and it seemed like a warm wind carrying them away. There was a sensation almost of flying. The wind stopped and they opened their eyes.
And they found themselves peering down out of an opening at three startled upturned faces.
Digory pulled himself up and swung round awkwardly so that he was sitting in the opening, which appeared to be a gate of some sort in spite of being rather high up from the ground. He reached over and gave Polly a hand, so that she too could swing her legs around, and the two of them sat side by side within the opening.
He found he was facing a girl who appeared to be the same age as he and Polly, and two boys whom he at first thought were much younger, until he got a better look at them. Their ears came to points, like the ears of fauns, and peeked out from beneath sandy brown curls. Their feet were covered in thick curls of the same color. Clearly those two were notSons of Adam!
"Hullo!" he said. "My name is Digory Kirke and this is my friend Polly Plummer."
"Hullo!" Polly added. "Can you tell us where we are?"
The girl, whose face had appeared quite startled at first, drew herself up gracefully, and inclined her head politely. "I am Morwen, daughter of Faramir. My father is the Steward of Gondor. You are in the City of Minas Anor, in the garden of the Citadel. These are my friends Merry Gamgee and Pippin Gamgee."
Pippin gave a polite half-bow. "At your service," he said, hobbit manners coming to the fore.
But Merry gave the newcomers a direct and suspicious look. "That's all well and good," he said, "but I don't think we should be putting ourselves at folkses' service until they tell us what they've done with our friends!" He received a poke in the ribs from his younger brother for this, as well as a pinch on his arm from Morwen. He shot his brother a baleful glare.
Digory slid the distance from the gate to the ground. It was a fair drop, but not too bad. He turned to help Polly, but she was already dropping down herself. He put out a hand to steady her when she landed. She shook her head and looked at the others. "We did not do anything with anyone," she said. "What happened to your friends?"
"They disappeared into that same gate that you just came out of, not a minute before!" Merry replied belligerently. "You must've seen them."
"Two lads like us," said Pippin, "and a boy and a girl as well."
"I'm afraid not," said Polly. "We didn't see anyone like that at all."
Morwen looked at her companions. "I really do think we should go and speak to Mithrandir."
"And Uncle Frodo!" added Pippin.
Merry nodded decisively. "They will know what to do."
The girl looked at Digory and Polly. "You will come with us, please?" she asked. Digory and Polly exchanged glances. It really did seem the right thing to do.
They now followed their three new acquaintances. Morwen was saying, "Mithrandir- or Gandalf as the hobbits call him- is the White Wizard, and is very wise and good. And Master Frodo is not a wizard, but he also is very wise and good."
Digory caught Polly's eye and mouthed "A wizard?" Their experience with Digory's Uncle Andrew had not been a good one, though he had only described himself as a magician, and not as a wizard. "I hope," he whispered, "that they are wise and good!"
"We'll soon find out," answered Polly.