CHAPTER IV – A New Danger

New chapter! I flash forwarded a bit.

Disclaimer: I only own my imagination, not The Lord of the Rings films nor the books.

Enjoy the chapter!

It had been three weeks since the arrival of Emery and Ava when the gates opened again. A lot has changed in this time. What seemed to be only three weeks for the inhabitants of Minas Tirith, seemed to be a lifetime for the girls. They were granted a place to live among the people here, and they worked every day. Emery found herself on the sixth circle, helping in the Houses of Healing. Ava mostly helped the chef: she didn't cook, but washed the dishes the whole day. Besides the work, the girls also spoke more often with the Queen, Arwen, who invited them twice a week for breakfast. They didn't know why they had this privilege, but Emery and Ava enjoyed it.

Still, the girls had a hard time adjusting to this lifestyle. It was like this world didn't know the term leisure. But today, they finally had a day off, and it was just after noon when Emery found Ava outside, her arms resting on the stone fence, looking at the view of the wide fields behind the walls of the city. A few days ago, they overheard a conversation about those fields, which were apparently called the Pelennor Fields. Beyond that, the river Anduin flew, it was the river Emery saw when she had woken up there. It was a view that didn't get old besides the daily life.

Emery stood next to her best friend, the two traded glances. She was glad Ava was here, she couldn't imagine being here in this world all alone. Even though there was no denying they were here, Emery still didn't want to call this word Middle Earth. It just seemed surreal. Emery looked at Ava, who was gazing towards the mountains. Emery's eyes lowered to Ava's hands. She was holding Emery's phone and hers, playing with them between her fingers. She always did that when she was nervous. Whether she had to speak in public or had an exam, she always gave her hair ties to Emery, because otherwise she would be nervously playing with them.

"I found these again," Ava said, but kept looking straight forward. "I almost forgot about their existence." She looked down to the phones and gave one to Emery. She smirked at the sight of her phone case. It was her so called signature quote: Free as the ocean.

"It's useless now", Emery said and automatically clicked on the home button. Of course her phone was dead, it had been three weeks now.

"My last post on Instagram is probably already one month ago."

"Our streaks on Snapchat are long lost by now."

The girls laughed. They could easily say Social Media didn't mean anything for them. Their phones died the day after their arrival and it hurt them that there was no way for communication anymore. Of course, there was no service, but when their phones went black for good, they knew they had been completely cut off from their known world.

"I just wish I could call them", Emery said, meaning her parents and brother. "Do you think they're looking for us?"

Ava placed her hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Yes, I think they are."

Emery took a deep breath, letting a tear roll down her cheek. Their phone was beyond useless, and every time she looked at the damn thing, her mood would sink deeper and deeper, missing everything about her life before. Living here was boring. So boring. Her grip on the phone tightened in her right hand and she looked back up, her eyes meeting Ava's.

"You know what," she said suddenly, "we don't need this thing anymore." She hesitated and debated the words she was going to speak out loud. "There is no way we… I'm afraid we won't see them back. And I think the time's here to- to accept that." Another tear rolled over her cheek as she spoke those words. Ava just nodded. Suddenly she lifted her arm and threw the phone away as hard as she could, with a load groan. This surprised Emery for a moment, but just a few seconds later she did the same. Letting go of the phone and threw it away with all of her power. She was contend to see it fall to the ground just outside the walls meters down some seconds later. The girls looked at each other with mixed feelings, also feeling safe as long as they were together, and laughed.

The gates opened with a painful loud sound. Aragorn closed his eyes for a brief second, and when he opened them he saw a beautiful white horse. He looked up to see who his rider was, but King Aragorn already knew. "Gandalf!", he said with a smile from ear to ear. The white wizard got of his horse. "King Aragorn, Queen Arwen," he greeted and grinned. It had been a while since he had last seen this lovely couple. He grabbed the reins of his horse, Shadowfax, and walked further, the royal couple beside him. Unfortunately, Gandalf the White did not come to Minas Tirith to chit chat with the king and queen. Something was happening, and he desperately needed Aragorn's help.

"Tell me, my friend," Aragorn said as he sat down at the table next to his wife in the main hall, "why have you come? What can I do for you?" He knew the wizard well, Gandalf would not just come for conviviality or fun, he is not like that. Aragorn could easily read people, and Gandalf too, even though it was harder than most people.

"I fear that the danger is not quite over yet," the White Wizard said, and received a questioning look from Arwen. "Most of the Orcs were wiped out after the defeat of Sauron, but not quite all of them are gone."

"Do you mean that there are still Orcs out there?", Arwen said concerned.

The wizard sighed. "Yes," he spoke, "and I am most afraid that they are plotting a plan against us." Aragorn frowned. "But the Orcs have no leader anymore", he said, but was already aware of the fact he might be wrong. Gandalf shook his head firmly. "We do not know," he said, "all I know is that we must avoid this new…" he sought for his words "…tension in Middle Earth."

Aragorn thought. How could they hunt down Orcs when there was so little information about their whereabouts and how many there were? The information was far too vague to come up with a decent plan. "We know nothing so far," Arwen said and stood by her husband. "What would you like us, or him, to do?"

That they didn't know yet, so they decided that Gandalf should stay here a little longer. "Now," Gandalf said while making his way out, but fully turned around, "I wish to speak your new visitors. Emery Liliath and Ava Jones?" Arwen widened her eyes.

"How do you know, Gandalf?"

"Oh," he said with a grin, "I know a lot more than you think, my Queen."

Emery and Ava were called by a servant to go to the courtyard. He had said someone would like to meet them. The last time they had visited to the seventh and highest level, it was because the King and Queen wanted to speak to them. They wanted to know their visitors, and asked all kinds of questions about where they came from and why they were out in the Pelennor Fields.

The questions overwhelmed them, and Emery had said that they didn't remember anything before they had woken up. She also said that she had no idea that she was an Elf, which was an explanation of the fact that she couldn't speak their language, Sindarin. It was quite hard to believe for the royal highnesses, but the girls swore it was true. Eventually, Arwen believed them, and they were told that they had a place here, as a citizen in Minas Tirith.

They approached the courtyard when they saw a man with white hair and a white cloak. It was the face Emery recognized right away. As they got closer to him, Ava's heart pounded faster. "Mr. White?", she asked with wide eyes. She remembered how he stood there, looking at Emery stepping into the bright light, doing nothing. He had done this. It was his fault that they were here, in this ridiculously boring city.

"You may call me Gandalf," he said with a smile on his face, which Ava wanted to punch off his face. "It is a pleasure to see you have adjusted well to this place."

"I don't know what to say, actually", Emery said honestly and calm.

"You do not have to say anything, milady," he answered and gestured them to sit down on a bench. He suddenly looked more strictly to them. "And I do hope you have not already." The girls shook their heads. They knew he meant the reef. Apparently it was a secret, no one could know about it. It was weird to see him in these… disturbing clothes. He did look like a wizard now.

Emery shifted uncomfortably. "So are you," she cleared her throat, "are you a wizard?" He chuckled and spread his arms, as a sign to look at his white cloak. They already knew the answer to that question, though it was a weird thought.

It seems you already know the answer to that," he spoke, "but there is a reason why you are here." He glanced at Emery, meaning her for the most. It was her after all who first went to the reef. "What do you mean?", Ava asked confused. The wizard sighed. It wasn't her fault, but Ava simply should not have been here. It wasn't about her, it was all about Emery.

I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! Please review this story! Thanks :)

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