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Here's Chapter 5. This is just a simple chapter. Not a lot going on. It's kind of a filler. The next chapter will get more interesting, enjoy!
Life Unknown
Chapter 5
Ithilwen stood along the table where Lord Elrond sat with the books scattered about. Her life, everything she's known about it has been a lie. She's been living a lie for as long as she can remember. Those innocent people who cared for her, raised her, taught her, who died for her were not even her real parents. Why would they sacrifice so much for her when she wasn't their own? Why wouldn't her real parents be willing to do that? She didn't even know who her real parents were.
The tears finally stopped as she stared out into the wide open of Rivendell through one of the library archways, leading out onto a balcony. She needed to know more. Once she knew more and was content on what she found out, she was leaving. She was getting out of this place and leaving here for good.
Ithilwen turned around and looked at Lord Elrond, "I"m ready to continue," she told him quietly before walking over and joining him at the table once more.
"My apologizes for upsetting you, but I know this is going to be hard on you. You're learning a lot all at once."
She didn't say anything as she just waited for him to continue.
He paused a moment before continuing, "Your parents knew that you were special. They knew that having you was a risk that they were willing to take. Everyone had heard stories and legends about half elven, half human offspring. They risked everything for their love of each other and the love they have for you. Your parents loved each other very much. They both cared for you and wanted nothing more for you to be safe and for nothing bad to come upon you. When your mother found out that she was carrying you, she couldn't be any happier. She told your father and together they prepared for the life that they were going to welcome into this world. Your parents were friends of Gandalfs. He came to bring them warm wishes on their news, but he too knew that you were going to be special. He counseled them on their decisions about your safety and your life. Together they planned for what must be done in order to keep you safe," he told her.
She let everything sink in as she listened to him. More tears fell from her eyes as she listened to the story. Her heart was breaking even more. She didn't know what to say or what to ask. She just let him continue.
"Your mother gave birth to you and they were over the moon with happiness. Their life was perfect and they loved you so much, but the threat of evil grew closer. They knew they must get you to safety as soon as arrangements were made. After just a months time they had to give you up in hopes that you would be safe and that one day they would get to see you again. So, they put you with the family you've always known. They agreed to care for you, watch over you, raise you as their own, for they could have no children of their own. This was a blessing for them and they agreed to it."
She sat there and looked at a book in front of her, just staring at it, "Did you know my parents? Did you ever meet them?"
He looked over at her and a flash of guilt swam over his features, but he hid it almost immediately, "Yes. I did know your parents. I can tell you that they loved you so much. They knew when the time was right that you would be reunited."
"Are they still looking for me? Is there still hope that I can ever meet them or see them?" she asked as the possibility, the hope in her eyes and in her face looked back at him.
"Your mother, I am sorry to say, passed on a couple years after you were born. She missed you terribly and it took its toll on her. I am sorry that you never had the chance to meet her," he told her.
"What?" she asked as she felt more emotions. She would never have the chance to meet her mother, ever. She was gone. The woman who carried her, gave birth to her was gone and she will never get to know her as a person or get to see that love she had for her.
"I do have things of hers. They have been kept here in safe keeping for you. She left them specifically for you to have once you came of age." He got up and went to retrieve a large box. He brought it to her and set it down in front of her. She stood and looked at it. The carvings were beautiful. There was something written on the box in a different language.
"What does this say?" she asked him.
Elrond looked down and smiled, "That is your name, written in elvish," he told her.
Her hand came up slowly and gently. She let her fingertips run over the carving of her name a few times before she opened the box. There was far more inside this box than she ever imagined.
The first thing on top was a blanket. It was lightly worn but it was beautiful none the less. It was white and had several spots of beautiful embroidered work on it. She carefully set it aside. There was a dress in there, a few other trinkets, but mostly what she saw were books. She picked one up and looked. It wasn't just any book, it was a journal. They were all journals. There was eight of them. "My mother wrote in these," she said before turning to Elrond.
"Yes she did. Your father did as well on a few occasions," he told her as well. "You don't have to read them now, but when you have the time take them out and read them. Learn more about your family and your history."
She brushed the cover of one of the journals carefully as she looked over it. She was anxious to read what her parents had written for her, but now wasn't the time. She set the items back in there that she had taken out before closing the trunk. "What do we need to do now?"
"Now we start harnessing that gift you have and teach you to use it without weakening your body or without hindering your safety," he explained to her. "For that I'm going to ask Gandalf to help you. I know some of what to do, but he will know more of what needs to be done."
"Ok," she said as she stood there quietly. She still had questions, but wasn't sure if she should say them out loud. What if they didn't have the answers.
Elrond stopped and looked at her from his place on the other side of the table, "I know you want to know more, but one day when you are able to handle more, once you've been able to harness your gift I will tell you about them as the people I knew them to be."
She was disappointed. She wanted to know names, who they were, what happened to them, what they were like, everything. He wasn't going to tell her anything. She needed to find that closure. She needed to find out more about her past.
"Ok," she said sadly. "When will I need to meet with Gandalf to begin my training?" she asked him.
"Soon. The sooner the better. He will meet with you today to begin."
She simply nodded before she looked down at the trunk. "May I have some time on my own before hand?"
"Yes. I will have someone come get you when everything is ready," he told her as he turned. All he saw was her retreating form. She left as soon as he said the ok.
She quickly hurried out of the library and to her room. She quickly shut and locked the door before falling onto her bed and let the tears rush out. She felt the sobs rack her body as all the pain, suffering, and heartache she felt was let out. How was she supposed to learn how to harness this gift? How was she supposed to move on? What was she to do with her life? She had no direction. She had no where to go, no home, nothing. How long could she stay here? How long would they allow her to stay here before asking her to leave?
The tears slipped down her face and onto her pillow. She needed things to start getting better. She wanted them to start getting better. She laid there for a while before there was a gentle knock on her door. She sat up and dried her eyes the best she could, "Hold on," she called before getting up and unlocking her door. She then opened it up and saw Gandalf standing there.
"Lord Gandalf," she said surprised to see him already. "I apologize for not being ready for our session. Please give me a moment to collect myself and I shall be ready."
"No need to worry my dear. It is alright," he told her softly. "Take your time. Meet me down in the library when you are finished. We will pick up there." He turned and walked off as she stood there in her doorway.
She spent a moment making sure she looked presentable. She put a little water on her face to get rid of the redness. She then left her room and headed for the library again.
When Ithilwen arrived in the library she saw Gandalf sitting at the table and several other people with him. One of them she noticed as the man who caught her in the garden area, the one who was angry with her. The other was the elf who caught her from the tree when she fell. Both of them she had seen into their memories already. The other one was a small being, looked like a child to her. She didn't know him or know what he was.
"My lord Gandalf," she said as she stepped up to the table. Everyone at the table stood immediately taking her back a moment.
"My dear I would like you to meet Aragorn, a ranger from the North, Legolas of Mirkwood, and Pippen of the Shire," she introduced them all.
"It is nice to meet all of you," she said looking at all of them. She looked at Pippen last, "The shire, I have never heard of such a place."
"You've never heard of the shire?" Pippen asked with a shocked expression on his face. "Oh my lady it is quite beautiful. You would love it there. We have lots of food, parties, ale, lots of ale. So much," he beamed.
She couldn't help but smile at the little ones happiness and description of the place. "Maybe one day I will have the pleasure of seeing it for myself."
"Oh I sure hope so," he grinned.
She smiled before turning to the other two, "My apologizes to both of you for ... well...for seeing things I should not have seen without your permission. I apologize for any boundaries that were crossed. I do hope you forgive me."
Aragorn gave her a small smile, "No need to apologize my lady. Gandalf was informing us of why we are here today and I understand completely why what happened the other day happened."
"Thank you," she said before turning to Legolas. His eyes were amazingly beautiful, a blue that she couldn't tear away from. "And you sir? Do you accept my apology?"
"Yes my lady. No harm was done," he said simply with a small bow.
"Thank you," she said before turning to Gandalf. "So, how is this training going to work? What will I need to do to learn?"
"Well, its going to be a little difficult I'm afraid." She quickly looked at him wide eyed. "What do you mean difficult?" she asked.
He sighed, "You'll have to perform the gift in order for us to learn how to harness it. These three have volunteered to be a part of your training. You will look into each of their minds and as you do I will be in yours to help you harness this and control it."
She turned and looked at the three of them sitting there. She felt bad for them. She felt embarrassed. They were willing letting her look into their minds and their memories, losing all control of what she sees.
"You don't have to do this," she told them quietly. "You don't have to subject yourself to this."
It was silent for a moment, "My lady this is for a good cause. You will learn to control it and if we can be any part of your training to help you, we're more than happy to be a part of it," Aragorn spoke up.
She wasn't sure what to say. They were willingly participating to help her. Why? They didn't know her or who she was, but they were willing to help.
"Ok, what do I do?" she asked as she turned to Gandalf. He turned and looked at her, "Well, pick one of them and then do what you need to do to activate your gift."
She nodded a little before she walked over to Aragorn, "May I?" she asked him politely.
"Yes My lady," he said giving her permission to continue. She stepped up to him as Gandalf stepped up to her. She took a deep breath before putting her hand on Aragorn's shoulder.
The memories and images flooded into her mind as quickly as they did before. They weren't stopping just yet. They were going faster and faster. Finally an image stopped. They were in Rivendell, right here in this library. "Concentrate Ithilwen. Focus on the memory, take some deep breaths," Gandalf said into her head. She did what he asked her to do.
It was a beautiful sunny day. It was spring. The flowers and trees were in full bloom. There was Aragorn, by the river. Along with him was a woman. An elvish woman. She'd seen her before, but didn't know her name. She was amazingly beautiful. They were laughing at something as they sat together next to the river. They were in love. You could see it in their faces, their eyes, their smiles. They were madly in love with each other. The two of them sat close together before he leaned in and kissed her softly. He brushed his hand over her cheek gently. To feel that kind of love for someone is something she'd longed for but never experienced before.
"Now focus on pulling out of the memory slowly. Think about stepping out of it and coming back into reality," Gandalf told her softly.
She let her eyes close in the memory and block it out before she adjusted her mind into reality. She felt her hand on Aragorn's shoulder and felt the presence of others in the room. She opened her eyes and saw them all sitting there. She slowly pulled her shaking hand away from Aragorn's shoulder.
"Your love..." she started as she felt herself sway. Aragorn jumped up since he was closer and caught her before she fell. He set her down in the chair carefully so she could rest. "Your love for her is to true and so beautiful," she told him as tears welled in her eyes at the beauty of the love she saw between them.
Aragorn couldn't help but smile, "Arwen. She is everything to me," he told her softly.
"I can tell from the way you look at her," she said smiling at him weakly. Gandalf stepped up, "You must rest now. You're very weak, but I can tell that you are getting stronger the more you do this. Your body is starting to adjust to your new gift. You are no longer passing out or fainting. It is not shutting your body down."
"I feel better as well. I feel like I just need to sit down for a moment instead of lay down and sleep," she told him. "I can feel myself getting stronger now."
"Good. We're making good progress," Gandalf smiled. "As soon as you're ready we'll try again with Legolas."
Ithilwen turned to the elf and saw him looking at her. She couldn't help but look back at him, at those eyes. She was curious to know what memory she would get to see this time around. She hoped it would be a happier one unlike the one before. She felt something when she looked at Legolas. She didn't know what it was, but she was very interested in seeing what it was.