Chapter Two
When Susan came to, she found herself in a very light-coloured room that was flooded with sunlight. Ivy and climbing roses twined themselves around the columns that formed windows. Susan pushed herself out of bed and went to a window opening to see where she was.
It was breathtaking.
The house - Susan supposed it was a house, anyway - was built into a mountain. Its tiered gardens seemed to flow effortlessly down and around it to a river fed by flowing waterfalls. The forests on the opposite bank glowed with good health. The entire place seemed to be at peace.
"It feels like home," whispered Susan.
"It's called Rivendell," said a female voice from behind her. Susan whirled to see who it was, and clutched the sill as her head spun. The woman smiled serenely at her. "You should not be up yet. You hit your head very hard when you came over our falls."
"I see," said Susan. "My name is Susan Pevensie. Not to be rude, but where on earth am I?"
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Susan Pevensie," said the woman. "I am Arwen Undomiel. This is my father's house. You are in Middle Earth, Susan. Rivendell is a city of the Elves, my people."
"Another world," sighed Susan. "Not this again."
"I am not sure what you mean," said Arwen. "Has something like this happened before?"
"When I was much younger," said Susan, "my younger sister brought our brothers and me through a magic wardrobe into another world. Through a complicated series of events, we wound up batting an evil witch, who wanted to make it winter forever, but never Christmas. We won, and the Great Lion King Aslan appointed us the kings and queens of Narnia."
"I see why you might not want that to happen again," said Arwen. "As far as I am aware, there are no evil witches here. Or at the very least, no one who wants it to always be winter."
"That's a relief," said Susan. "No one's oppressing nature spirits either?"
"Saruman the White was," said Arwen. "But my husband and his friends put a stop to that."
"I'm very glad," said Susan. "My siblings and I had to fight a war over that too. It was horrible. I fell in love with the other side's prince."
"That would put a bit of a strain on things," said Arwen. "Do you feel well enough to eat?"
"I think so," said Susan. Arwen extended a hand and pulled her to her feet.
"There are fresh clothes and wash water through that door," said Arwen, gesturing to a little opening on the far side of the room. "I will wait here for you. Please call if you need my help."
It was a surprise to Susan that the beautiful gown provided for her was so light. It was even more of a surprise when she remembered how to put it on properly. The gown was not a perfect fit, but Susan felt comfortable in it. She felt like herself for the first time in years. Peter had, very obviously, internalized his role as King of Narnia; it had influenced his work ethic, his choice of post-secondary institution and even his career. Susan hadn't realized how much her stint as Queen had become part of her until she stood in that little dressing room preparing herself to meet strangers in a land that was not her own. Yet, effortlessly, the manners and carriage came back to her as though they had never left. Maybe they never had.
"You look as though you might be one of my people," said Arwen when Susan rejoined her in the main room. "In another time, we could be sisters. Come, my escorts are waiting for us at breakfast."
"I'm very hungry," said Susan. "It's been a while since I've eaten."
The two women emerged from the house onto a terrace with a table in the centre of it. On one side three dark haired young men sat glaring disapprovingly at the pair at the other end of the table. One was a fair haired young man, and the other was a very short middle aged man with a wild tangle of hair, beard and moustache. The two of them seemed to be teasing each other good-naturedly. Arwen offered them a small smile.
"Forgive us for our lateness," said Arwen. "Our guest has woken up. Susan Pevensie, may I present my husband Aragorn, King of Gondor and Arnor?" She gestured at the dark haired man seated closest to the laughing pair. "These two are my elder brothers, Elladan and Elrohir. They are twins, so do not worry if you cannot tell them apart at first."
"It is, nonetheless, our pleasure to meet you," said the twin standing next to Aragorn. "Rarely do we find strangers who have come over our falls."
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," said Susan with a small graceful curtsey.
"As for the other two," said Arwen, "the Dwarf is Gimli, son of Gloin, and a dear friend. And the fair Elf is Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood."
"Plait tae meit ye," grumbled Gimli. "Come sit doon."
"Preferably before Gimli eats all of the breakfast," said Legolas. Arwen seated herself next to one of her brothers, gesturing for Susan to take the seat between her and Gimli. The seat directly across from Susan was empty.
"Father will not be joining us," said the twin next to Arwen. "He needed to speak with Grandmother, and he felt that the conversation would be lengthly. We are to eat without him."
"I see," said Arwen. "Do you suppose that Grandmother might have a solution?"
"It's difficult to know with Lady Galadriel," said Aragorn. "I'm sure that if she does know something, she'll share it."
"As I am sure," said Arwen.
"Where are you from, Susan?" asked Legolas. "I have never heard of a name like yours in my entire life."
"An' a ridiculoosly lang life it's bin tay," said Gimli.
"I was born in a place called London," said Susan. "Which is, apparently, in another world. A family friend has a tendency to find, as he put it, the keys to hidden doors. My younger sister is much the same."
"Gandalf will want to hear about this other world," said the twin next to Aragorn.
"He'll be here tomorrow, won't he, Elrohir?" said Aragorn. "You'll have to be patient until then."
"It was not my curiousity that was piqued," said Elrohir, "but my awareness of Gandalf's vast knowledge and experience."
"You have a younger sister?" asked Legolas.
"Yes," said Susan. "Lucy's the youngest. I have an older and a younger brother as well. They're all out in the world - not this one, but the one we were born in. I do miss them sometimes."
"What is having siblings like?" asked Legolas.
"It's odd," said Susan, "because you're always trying to be different from the rest to get some attention from your parents and avoid being compared. And then you fight with them all the time, but you never let anyone else bother them. I'd do anything for my siblings, and I know from experience that they'd do anything for me. Peter used to challenge my boyfriends to some sporting match or other."
"It sounds to me like you and your siblings are quite close," said Aragorn. "That's a special thing, Susan. Don't throw it away."
"I don't plan to," said Susan. "Pardon my asking, but who is Gandalf?"
"He is a Wizard," said Gimli. "Th' kin' 'at comes an' goes as he pleases."
"He is a good man," Arwen assured her. "A bit odd, but good."
"Then I look forward to meeting him," said Susan.
"We will be going back to the archives after breakfast," said Elladan. "Will you be joining us, Master Dwarf? Legolas has already expressed his desire to be as far from them as possible."
"Ah woods raither nae," said Gimli. "Books hae ne'er held onie charm fur me."
"Would you care to join us, Susan?" asked Elrohir politely.
"As much as I'd like to," said Susan, "I'm not sure how useful I'd be. May I explore the grounds?"
"Of course," said Arwen. "The city is a beautiful place. Feel free to explore."
"Since Legolas and Gimli aren't joining us as well," said Aragorn, "perhaps they can keep her company."
"Dae we hae tae?" asked Gimli.
"Yes," said Elladan firmly. "We cannot lose our lovely guest."
"Nor can we risk any more collateral damage," said Elrohir. "The pair of you are menaces. You should know better at your respective ages."
"They are not that bad," defended Arwen. "But I would very much appreciate it if you let Susan accompany you."
"Of course, Lady Arwen," said Legolas. "I would be pleased to have Susan join us."
"Thank you," said Susan. "Please, don't let me be in the way."
"Dornt fash yerse abit it, lassie," said Gimli with a chuckle. "Ah was only messin' wi' th' elves. It's a habit."
"Though not one we appreciate," said Elladan.
"We should head to the archives," said Aragorn. He extended a hand to his wife. "Are you alright, my love?"
"I am fine," said Arwen, gracing her husband with a reassuring smile and squeezing his hand. "But I fear we should expect Gandalf earlier than previously thought. And with a larger party than anticipated."
"This will end up being quite the lively house," said Aragorn. "We'll deal with things while we have time. It will turn out for the best in the end." Hand in hand, they swept off through one of the many openings into the house. After a few moments, Elladan and Elrohir excused themselves to follow their sister and her husband.
"We may not be the best company," said Legolas once they were gone, "and forgive us for that."
"My younger brother Edmund is prone to the sulks," said Susan. "I'm used to unsociable boys."
"Ah wooldnae caa us wee jimmies," said Gimli. "We're far older than we swatch!"
Susan laughed at that and followed the two out of the house. Gimli, like Susan, had to step carefully as he made his way down the hill; Legolas just seemed to float, and was genuinely perplexed by his companions' caution. Susan's attention was split between watching her feet and looking at all of the flora that grew along the path. It seemed like such a shame that Lucy couldn't see them, since she loved plant life as much as she loved animals. At the end of the path was a large clearing with a shed on one side and a line of targets on the other.
"We are going to practice close combat," said Legolas, helping Susan down the last few steps of the path. "You are welcome to watch or to investigate the spare weapons shed. If there is anything you have questions about, feel free to interrupt us."
"Thocht eh'd prefer 'at ye didne," said Gimli. "Especially if aam winnin'!"
"Thank you for the offer," said Susan. "I very likely won't interrupt. Have fun!"
As the Elf and the Dwarf took up their positions for their morning of play, Susan made her way around the edges of the field to the shed and quietly pushed the door open. As Legolas had said, it was a small armoury. Susan looked carefully at each exquisitely carved piece, ranging from knives that would have suited Lucy well as a child to swords that would Peter and Edmund would fight for ages over if they could see them. Susan touched the hilts reverently, thinking of her braver siblings, as she passed them on her way to the bows. After testing a few, she found one that felt just right in her hand. Some further searching revealed waxed strings and several quivers of arrows. She grabbed one of each and headed outside to test her old skills.
Stringing the bow was harder than it had been before, but easier that Susan had feared. Marching herself to the fifty paces mark, Susan knocked an arrow and shot. The arrow fell short of the target. Her next arrow well overshot the target. Susan kept shooting arrow after arrow until the quiver was empty. Some of her arrows had made it to the target, but most had hit the white or missed altogether. Sighing, she collected all of her arrows and tried again. The second round went better, with most of the arrows hitting the target and only a few on the white. Again and again, she shot and recollected her arrows until all of them were clustered around the bullseye. Moving back to a hundred paces, Susan repeated the process. Dimly, she was aware that Legolas and Gimli had stopped their practice, but she was busy focusing on placing the arrows exactly where she wanted them.
At the two hundred pace mark, Susan began to struggle. Her arms were getting tired, as she hadn't worked them in this way for years - not since she was in her late teens. Her last arrow was proving difficult to draw. Suddenly, a pair of hands covered her own and helped her pull the string back to her chin. Wen released, the arrow hit the centre of the bullseye.
"You shoot well," said Legolas, stepping back from Susan.
"Not as well as I used to," admitted Susan. "It's been years since I've practiced at all. I'm afraid I'm rusty."
"Yet your body remembered well," said Legolas. "And you improved with practice. Given time, your skill will return. Why did you stop?"
"There was no need for me to continue," said Susan. "I joined the archery team in high school, but after I graduated, there really wasn't any space where I could practice. In my world, most people don't learn how to use weapons. There's no perceived need."
"That seems silly," said Legolas. "There are many dangers in the dark."
"Ur ye tois dain flirtin' yit?" Gimli wanted to know. "Aam starvin'!"
"I am afraid we have missed lunch," said Legolas apologetically. "I fear we all got a bit carried away."
"One missed meal won't kill us," Susan assured him. "Though I am hungry."
"Then we shall go back," said Legolas.
"Abit time," said Gimli as Legolas and Susan made their way over to where he was waiting halfway up the hill. "Ah was thinkin' 'at yoo'd be it wooin' aw nicht."
"I was not wooing anyone," said Legolas evenly, the tips of his pointed ears pink.
"Och sure ye werenae," teased Gimli. Susan stifled a giggle at the friends' antics. As far as she was concerned, this world wasn't so bad after all.
