The sun was directly overhead when we returned to the inn. Percival had baked bread in our absence and served it with a very delicious stew.
'Michelin starred,' I announced when I tasted it. They both looked at me blankly. 'It's very good.'
I was surprised they seemed so little interested in my world, although perhaps Gwaine's foray into it had been enough. It was as we were clearing the table after lunch that Gwaine called me over to the map. A route had now appeared on it and my heart bumped uncomfortably in my chest as I tried to work it out.
'Where is this place?' he asked.
'It says . . . it says London.'
'Percival?' Gwaine asked. He shook his head. They both looked at me.
'Well, I think this must mean London in MY world. This must mean I'm going home!'
'We,' Gwaine corrected.
'What?'
'See these footsteps here, they are solid so it's somebody close to the map. These are yours because they're smaller than those ones. That represents your route and this one next to it represents mine.'
'How do you know they're yours and not Percy's?'
'Have you seen the size of his feet? Those aren't his. But there's a third person. Not Percival, I'm afraid as they are not close. At least I'm coming with you.'
'But not yet.' The voice made us all jump, and we turned to find Gandalf standing behind us.
'I do wish you wouldn't DO that,' Percival said.
'Sorry,' Gandalf replied. 'The route is not yet solid like it is over here. You will not be able to leave until it becomes so.'
'But why are we going to London?'
Gandalf shrugged. 'The map will give more detail later. When it's ready.'
'This map can be trusted?'
Gandalf nodded. 'As far as maps ever can.'
'But why Gwaine? I mean, if this is linked to the ring quest, then why not Aragorn or Legolas?' Gwaine bristled slightly at that suggestion. 'No offence, Gwaine, but this is their quest, not yours.'
'We do not know the third person yet,' Gandalf pointed out.
'When will we know?' I asked.
'When that person gets near here, the footprints go solid. Well, I must let you get on, you'll be busy tonight.'
'We will?' Percival asked.
'Oh yes,' Gandalf replied. 'Your new attraction. Miss Groves.'
I saw Gwaine frown. 'It's OK,' I said. 'I'm sure Percy will look after me.'
'I'm perfectly capable of looking after you myself,' he muttered indignantly, but then started smiling when he saw both Percival and I laughing at him. He sighed and shook his head.
'I'll give you a hand behind the bar,' I said. 'You'd better show me where everything is.'
Gandalf was not wrong. Even before Percival opened the door at sundown, there was a large group already forming.
'If any one of them says ONE word out of place, let me know,' Gwaine said.
'I've worked in enough bars to be able to hold my own, but thanks.'
I had more fun that evening than I had for a long time. The bar was packed, some musicians turned up so there was dancing and singing. There were a few other women in the bar, but it was mostly men. Well, males, because there was a mix of elves, dwarves, and a couple of trolls alongside the men. The musicians created a fantastic atmosphere, but it was very apparent that I was causing quite a lot of interest in the bar.
At one point, I was so warm, I had to go and change into a much lighter top, and there was a whisper of comment on it. I was checking the map whenever I could in the hope that the third person would be identified, but there was nothing and even that became impossible with drinks to serve, glasses to collect and washing up to be done as well as being dragged into dancing, something I was not very good at, but it didn't seem to matter.
I waved encouragingly when Frodo and the rest of the quest party arrived. Percival made space for them at a table by the simple measure of just pushing the current occupants down the bench to the next table. No one complained, they appeared used to it. I brought over a tray of beers, smaller flagons for the hobbits, and carefully distributed them.
'I have some news,' I said to Frodo and Aragorn. 'I will tell you later.'
There was only one hint of trouble that evening. As I was serving the table nearest the door, one of the dwarves pulled at my arm, trying to make me sit on his lap. Gwaine arrived at my side and the dwarf very quickly released my arm.
'You need assistance, Beth?' he asked.
'Sir Gwaine, my humble apologies,' the dwarf began.
'Do not apologise to me, Diffon son of Diffor. Apologise to Lady Elizabeth or I will gut you like a fish.'
Diffon bowed his head to me. 'I am sorry, my lady. I am at your service.'
I had no idea what time it was, or rather, would have been as my watch had stopped and my phone still showed last night's time when I had driven off the main road, but eventually Percival stood on duty at the door, collecting money from everyone as they left.
'How do they know how much to pay?' I asked Gwaine.
'They pay how much they think they should,' he replied. 'It's been a good night.'
Only Frodo and the rest of the quest team remained. Gwaine brought beers over for everyone, including me, and Percival bread and cheese, and I sat, exhausted, barely able to speak. It was Gandalf, appearing out of nowhere once again, who brought through the map from the kitchen where the third set of footprints was now solid.
'They're mine,' Aragorn said, looking at the map.
'So you're coming with us to London?' I asked.
'It would appear so,' Gandalf said.
'When do we go?'
'We'll leave at dawn,' Gwaine said.
'Is that a proper dawn or a Camelot dawn?' I asked. Gwaine looked puzzled. 'Well, you always said you'd be riding at dawn, but it looked more like midday when you finally got to go.'
'That was Sir Leon's fault. He always took so long to do his hair.'
'I KNEW it!' I said. 'Anyway, dawn it is then.'
'I'm afraid not,' Gandalf interjected. 'The map will show us when the route is ready and the veil is open. We just have to watch the map. It really is such a useful thing.'
'Where is this place?' Aragorn was studying the map carefully. 'It is nowhere I have been as a ranger.'
'It is in my world,' I said.
Aragorn and Gwaine looked at each other. 'What do we wear?' Aragorn asked.
'No idea,' Gwaine answered.
They both looked towards me. 'Is that the only question you have?' They both paused and then nodded. 'Oh. You'll be fine in anything. But no weapons. Not visible ones, anyway.'
They nodded their reluctant agreement.
Despite the newfound knowledge that I would be going home tomorrow, I could not stop myself from yawning. Everyone was immediately concerned with my welfare, promising they would be there tomorrow to see us off, and Gwaine escorting me upstairs. We stood in the doorway of my room and he spent the next few minutes kissing me so wonderfully that it was all I could do not to drag him across the room and into my bed.
'Tomorrow you'll be home,' he said, his eyes searching mine, but I could see the sadness in them.
'Wake me early in the morning,' I said. 'I don't want to miss a minute of this place while I'm here.'
'Sleep well, sweetheart.'
The knocking at my door woke me. It was still dark outside and I felt I had only been asleep for five minutes. Already regretting my suggestion that I was woken early, I crossed the room and opened the door. Gwaine was standing there. He looked me up and down, taking in my panda pyjamas.
'Oh! You are already dressed,' he said, not looking the least bit surprised at what I was wearing.
'No! The map?'
'Nothing new.'
'Oh. I'll be down in a minute. Even quicker if there's coffee.'
He nodded and left me. It was a while later when I dragged myself downstairs, still yawning. Percival handed me a mug of coffee and I sat at the table, barely registering the door opening and Aragorn and the gang arriving. He was carrying a backpack and had brushed and tied back his hair so that he looked amazingly presentable. Gwaine disappeared and returned equally well groomed. I raised my eyes at Percival and he shook his head slowly, failing to suppress a grin.
Aragorn studied the map again, although it was currently showing no more detail, he assured me it would as we got closer to our destination. I insisted that we walked along the path and although I was fully expecting the car not to be there, I was still disappointed when it wasn't. I should have trusted Gandalf.
We arranged a watch at the site in addition to keeping an eye on the map and I walked forlornly back to the inn. Percival conjured up breakfast seemingly out of nowhere, but I was struggling to eat anything. The day dragged on interminably and I took myself off for a walk in the afternoon, down to where Gimli was on watch.
I was in a forest, in Lord of the Rings country, grateful to a dwarf for watching for a car to materialise. Too weird. And then there was Gwaine. That was one of the reasons I'd had to come for a walk, because every time I looked into those sad but hopeful eyes, it was harder to tear mine away.
'I'm not sure I thanked you properly for finding the ring, my lady,' he said as I sat on the fallen tree next to him. 'You must have a very special kind of magic to be able to cross from your world to this one.'
'Me? I have no magic. I have no idea why I'm here.'
'There are many different types of magic, my lady. Just because you have not identified yours does not mean it does not exist.'
I patted him on the shoulder and wandered back to the inn to find Gwaine and Aragorn arguing, with Percival and Gandalf trying to placate them.
'This is not your quest, Gwaine,' Aragorn was saying as they faced each other across the table. 'There is no need for you to come.'
'That is not your decision to make,' Gwaine replied, fingers clenching into fists. 'The map says-'
'We do not have to be bound by the map.'
'You just don't want me to go so you can claim all the glory when Beth succeeds.'
'You don't know that she will.'
'I have more faith in her than I do in you. You've already lost the ring down the back of a sofa!'
'And you Camelot knights couldn't find a dead pig in an open sty. There were people running in and out of Camelot like it was an open sewer.'
At this point Gwaine had to be restrained by Percival. It wasn't difficult for him, although Gwaine wasn't happy about it, shrugging him off and straightening his tunic. And then he caught sight of me standing on the doorway and had the grace to look guiltily away.
As I turned my back on the inn and walked away, Gwaine caught up with me.
'Sorry,' he muttered.
'It's not me you should be apologising to.'
'I know, I know, we're just both worried about you.'
'Worried about me? Why? If Gandalf is right, then I'll be going home tonight and all this will be over.'
'You really think that?'
'Yes! Why? Why shouldn't I?' I finished slowly.
He took hold of my arms and looked at me directly. 'Because if that was all there was to it, Aragorn and I would not need to come. And because you're not the first to have come from The Great Unknown.'
'Who else has?'
'Guinevere.'
'Guinevere? Arthur's Guinevere?'
He nodded as he released me. 'She fell in love with Arthur and decided to stay.'
I exhaled. 'Now THAT explains a lot! She was way more intelligent than . . . Erm, didn't you have a bit of a thing for her?'
He blushed. 'She only had eyes for Arthur.'
'So she stayed? Interesting.'
'Am I forgiven?'
'Only if Aragorn has forgiven you.'
He had, and the two men shook hands, each realising how ridiculous their argument had been.
As dusk approached, and just after we'd eaten, Percival pointed out the changes on the map. The route was now solid. It was time for the three of us to leave. As we walked down the track, it was to find Boromir heading towards us to tell us the car had reappeared. We loaded the car and then I said my farewells to the others.
I hugged them all, saving Frodo for last. 'Whatever it is, we'll do our best,' I promised him.
We were just getting in the car when Gandalf appeared.
'Are you coming with us?' I asked hopefully.
'No, my dear. But I will be there if you need me.'
Starting the car, and watching the others take a step back, I turned round and headed back to the track, Gwaine sitting in the front seat with Aragorn at the back with the map, although it was saying nothing new.
'We're going back to my flat,' I announced. 'IF the map finally gives us any more clues as to where in London we have to go, then we'll take the train in.' I didn't really care whether they understood this or not, they'd find out sooner or later.
