AN: First of all, SOOOO sorry for the long delay in updates. You can always check to see what's going on with updates on my profile page, and if you look, you'll see I had a LOT of bad stuff I had to deal with. I am now back to writing, though, and since I'm not working July, I will be writing as much as I possibly can. This is my second update of one of my fics in two days, so that's a great sign! As for this story in particular, I'd really like to have book 2 finished by the end of August, since we still have one more book to go. That's so overwhelming, but also really exciting. It's been a long trek, but I know y'all are looking forward to what's ahead.

That said, this is pretty much the last chapter where a conversation dominates. HURRAY! Not to say there won't still be talking, because there are still plenty of questions, but it's time to get things into gear, don't you think? And we're only a couple chapters away from the return of you-know-who. ;) Now, enough chatter. Enjoy!

WAIT, I almost forgot. We have banners! Chapters won't let me post links, but links to see banners for both Emerald and Ivorwen are posted on my profile page; feel free to take them and use them if you think of anywhere to show support for my story! I'm actually super proud of the one I made for Ivorwen. :)


Chapter Seven

Emerald slept with great difficulty that night, and woke early, just as the sun was warming the sandy grass paths through the village of tents. Unable to fall back asleep and unconcerned for her safety any longer, she rose and tidied her things, then stepped out of the tent. The guards standing at either side of her glanced briefly her way but did not stay her, and so she took to wandering, finding her way to the water's edge. The tiny waves lapping against the sand were warm in her hands as she splashed water against her face and sucked it between her lips. Already the sun was reaching an uncomfortable temperature on the back of her neck, which had turned a painful shade of red during their trip across the desert, but a faint breeze played with her head as she listened to the foreign words drifting through the air around her: children calling to each other, mothers calling after them, men chatting with each other as they strolled. The women's faces were hidden behind light, airy veils, but most of the men were unmasked, curled black bears twisting down their throats.

Then language that Emerald could understand. A hand suddenly reached down and pulled her up by her arm, yanking her several steps back from the water. Surprisingly, it was not one of her own party, but a thick, double-bearded man.

"You had best stay out," he warned, eying her carefully. "If they do not want you, you will not survive."

"Beg pardon?" she pressed. But even as the words left her lips, she heard the shouts of her brothers and Alagedh as they came tripping down the uneven path to her.

"Let her go!" Alagedh insisted, reaching them first. The man swiftly obeyed, but still Alagedh pulled her back and against him, wrapping his arm protectively around her shoulder.

She shook her head and patted his chest comfortingly as she insisted, "No, he speaks our language." To this man, who was soon flanked by the guards that had stood outside – were they meant to follow the men but ignore Emerald? – she explained, "We're in search of Alatar and Pallandro."

"Yes," he nodded. "But you must wait."

"We can't wait," she argued. "We're on a very tight schedule. Sauron's rising, you know." She hadn't meant to mention the dark lord's name, particularly in a land where the peoples were most likely followers of his. Alagedh hissed and pulled her back further, but the man nodded.

"So we are aware. But the Blue Wizards live where we cannot go and so we wait for them to come to us, and they guide us."

"Where are they now? How long do we wait?" Beven pressed.

The man pointed at the water, "They live in there. Blue are their robes, like the water where the light begins to fail."

"They live in the water?" Hergest repeated, his eyes joining the confused gazes of everyone else as they drifted towards the water, as if expecting to see the wizards floating around.

"Is there not a way to call them?" Beven asked of the man.

"No, no," he answered, almost laughing at them, it seemed. "The wizards do not do our bidding; we do theirs." Oh. That explained then why the camp had been expecting them, if the wizards were a sort of ruler of this camp; they had probably given strict orders that the visitors be well looked after. But had they not also said everyone would be meeting today?

"Well we're supposed to see them today. Did they tell you that? We were told we could meet them today," Emerald emphasized. She felt unthreatened in the village, and her curiosity to explore these strange peoples and their way of life was overwhelming. But also she was aware that the world was at war, and she was eager to glean what she could here and return.

The man shrugged, "If they are expecting you, perhaps you can go down there. But if not, it will kill you."

All heads snapped to attention as Hergest pressed, "What will kill us?"

"Their pet," he answered simply. With a broad grin that unsettled them all, he explained, "There is a cave at the bottom where the Wizards dwell, guarded by their ancient pet. You may pay a visit, if you wish." This information shared, he wandered off.

The guards remained, but stared off into the distance seeming bored. For a long stretch of time, the travelers too were silent. The sun crawled higher, the air grew warmer.

Eventually Emerald sighed and shrugged, "Well, there's only one thing to be done, I guess." Squatting, she began to unlace her boot, mentally trying to figure out how much of her clothing she should remove. Her skirts were heavy, but she hated to meet wizards half undressed.

"What are you doing?" Hergest cried, reaching forward to still her hands.

Alagedh nodded, "If they know we're here, maybe they'll come up. Maybe they're waiting until suppertime or something."

"Or something," Beven nodded.

"But what if they aren't? What if they're waiting for us down there so we can talk about secretive things without worrying about people hearing us? At any rate, they're expecting us. We aren't going to get eaten by any lake monster."

Tegryn was frowning too and pressed, "What if they forgot to tell their beast we're coming?" Emerald actually laughed. With all that was going on, getting eaten by some oversized fish was actually the last of her worries. Besides, Maiar didn't forget things.

"You can stay here if you're so worried. In fact, maybe it's better if you—"

Before the suggestion was even finished, Alagedh was unlacing his leather tunic and laying it down beside Emerald's boots.

"I guess we can all get eaten together," Hergest sighed.

Within a few minutes, all were missing pieces of clothing and cumbersome weapons. This was clearly unsettling to the men, to be going into a possibly dangerous situation with nothing more than small daggers, but a bulky sword would be no help against a water monster. Emerald led the way, wading into the water which deepened quickly. Within seconds it was to her shoulders, so she began to swim out to the middle. They would need to go straight down to conserve their breath. And it was probably best to not see the monster until they had to.

"They're all watching us," Tegryn commented once they'd reached the approximate middle of the lake. Sure enough, children stood at the edge of the water gaping while their parents spied a bit more discreetly from behind tents and trees.

"They think we're about to get eaten."

"Well I don't see anything yet," Emerald pointed out optimistically. "Maybe it's just all a big myth to scare people." Without another word she ducked beneath the surface and glanced downwards to see if she could determine how deep it was.

A movement below caught her attention and she watched, curious and concerned as what appeared to be a large boulder began to rise from the depths. Entranced by the slow movements of a bulky creature, she began figuring in her head, trying to decipher a way to sneak past lest Tegryn was right and perhaps the Maiar had forgotten.

Just as Emerald began to think it was possible, water movement against her back made her spin to see who had ducked beneath with her, and what they thought. Instead she was met with a quickly moving face, two bright yellow eyes locked straight onto her as a wide mouth rimmed with long sharp teeth reared open.

The creature's body might be bulky, but it's head, connected by a long, rope-like neck, was not. As she broke the surface, her eyes wide and her chest heaving, the head shot up out of the water behind her and then slammed down straight through the middle of their floating party.

The screams seemed to be coming from everywhere. Emerald, suddenly terrified that she had led them all into a trap, could think of nothing to yell except, "Swim straight down as fast as you can!" There would be no getting to shore in time. Either the creature would eat them or it wouldn't, but there was no use delaying either way.

She watched Alagedh and Beven slide beneath the water before taking a deep breath and diving herself. The creature had begun to swim circles around them, and she tried not to notice how gargantuan it was compared to them. Not quite as large as an oliphaunt, but certainly thicker in its body than all of them put together, its mouth as wide across as Emerald was tall. And those yellow eyes. As Emerald pushed herself deeper and deeper, kicking and pulling as the sunlight faded into shadow and the water turned cold in its absence, she could see the yellow eyes swirling around them, as if looking for the best place to strike.

Then, just as Emerald's lungs were beginning to burn, just as she was realizing she would never be able to find a cave in water too dark to even see her hand in, she found herself falling. Not floating, falling, straight down, as if she had jumped out of a tree. In about the same time that would have taken, she landed on her bare feet on dry, rocky ground, not a drop of water beneath her.

Tegryn and Alagedh were already glancing around in confusion, and within seconds Hergest and Beven had joined them, all eyes surveying the dark, stony cave walls which shimmered with what looked like light reflecting off a pool surface. The water, however, was contained in the opening through which they had fallen, and lapped at the edges of the hole above their head as though that were the ground and they stood on the ceiling.

"Ah, but what else is to be expected in the home of two aged wizards?" a voice asked. Emerald spun and was rewarded with the sight of, only a few yards away, two old men in dark blue robes, both with hair cascading down their backs, though one had locks as dark as the others were light.

With a sigh, Emerald confessed, "I was worried for a minute there that you forgot."

"Oh, that old thing," the blond one laughed, coming closer. "Why, tis nothing. She would not have hurt you?"

"She?" Hergest gulped, looking back up at the hole as though expecting to see the head poking out.

"Yes, she. Harmless as a fruit fly. And you, I take it, are Emerald . . . and company," the dark-haired one added, motioning with his hand to the crowd. "My, you have grown up, haven't you? I believe the last time we checked on you, you were only a small child. Time does pass quickly, doesn't it, my brother?"

"Indeed it does," the blond nodded. "But come. You did not eat first and you must be hungry. Follow us, if you will."

There wasn't exactly any argument to be made, and so they did, scuttling over rocks and through narrow stone passages behind the two missing Maiar who seemed shorter but more polished than Mithrandir or Radaghast, yet more approachable than cold Saruman. They saw only two other people as they walked, both with their backs turned and hidden beneath dark cloaks. For this the blond wizard apologized, explaining that most of their underground residents were out on errand.

"What sort of errands?" Emerald pressed, walking quickly to keep step between the two.

The dark one grinned at her, "Why, there is a war going on, didn't you know?"

"But which side are you—" Tegryn began, but Beven elbowed him and he hushed.

They were left alone to eat in a small, dimly lit room. All the light in the wizard cave was the same reflected blue, and yet no lakes served to actually reflect the nonexistent light sources, and so it could only be magic, Emerald reasoned. The food sat waiting for them on the table, and they ate quickly.

The exact moment they finished, the wizards returned, the blond one suggesting with a sweep of his arm, "Gentlemen, you are free to wander where you will. Worry not, you will not be lost. Princess, perhaps you will join us in our study?"

"Yes, I would like that very much," she nodded. Her brothers were clearly loathe to let her out of their sight, but she shrugged and followed, motioning for them not to worry. Easier said than done! But honestly, she had more reason to worry about them – how could they not get lost in this maze of dark and narrow tunnels?

But she couldn't focus on that now. Instead, she hurried after the two Maiar, tripping occasionally on the uneven path which they seemed to glide so effortlessly over.

The study was situated in a broad cavern which, though cold and empty feeling, was certainly larger than anything Saruman had to work with. A couple blue fires danced in large pits dug into the floor, intermingled with tables piled high with books, manuscripts, and odd instruments Emerald had no knowledge to identify. The walls were lined with bookshelves as expected in a study, filled with books as well as more instruments: small bags, boxes, looking glasses, strange metal devices, carved stones.

"So you have come to ask about prophecy," the blond wizard stated, motioning for Emerald to sit in a large wooden chair near one of the blue fires.

She pulled herself up, amused that her feet didn't quite reach the ground, and nodded, "I suppose so, yes. If you know anything, I mean. But actually I came to ask about Ivorwen, and if she left any unfinished work behind. I take it you already knew I was coming for that. Oh, and if you know anything about the Entwives, that would be useful, too. But first, might I ask which of you is which and why you stayed in the East?"

"Why, that is a lot of answers for one little elfling to seek," the dark-haired Maiar mused. "I suppose the Valar know what they are doing, however, perhaps this once." He laughed, as did the other. "I am Alatar, and this is my dear friend and chosen brother, Pallandro. We will answer what we can. Middle Earth is mostly beyond our care, but our own lands are dear to us, and we have received direct orders to help you as much as we can."

"Direct orders from whom?"

"Ivorwen, of course. Well, perhaps the Valar through Ivorwen, though it is she we do the favor for."

" She knew I was coming?" Emerald asked, sitting up straighter. The possibility that Ivorwen – but then, if Ivorwen had been Svea's daughter, perhaps she had even met her! She hadn't thought to ask Beven if Svea's daughter had ever come to visit. The thought gave her chills.

Pallandro nodded, "Yes. She insisted she had quite a lot of work to do before her death in order to help you as much as she could. That was why she came here."

"To research about the Silmarils," Emerald filled in. "Which is one of my questions."

"Yes. We will give you her journal she kept notes in, though she never succeeded in locating them. The Valar would not tell her, so it is possible even they do not know."

Emerald considered this, then observed, "Mithrandir and Radaghast are still in touch with the Valar, but you had to go through Ivorwen?"

"Ah, clever girl," Alatar laughed. "I am afraid my brother and I decided to abandon the purpose for which we were sent to Middle Earth and remain here in the East. You see, these are our people here. There are enough Maiar in Middle Earth. The Valar were not happy with our decision to branch off, so to speak, and quit communications with us. Ivorwen, however, still received communications through her dreams – that is, her prophecies."

Pallandro interjected, "Though, understand us, we care little what the Valar have to say. We find their intentions . . . lofty and self-righteous. They understand little of what it is like for those of us actually here in Middle Earth and not perched on some distant mountain, watching events unfold like a child's put-on play—"

Alatar interrupted this time, "We have our reasons, you see, though they are no concern of yours, truly. We less asked Ivorwen to come here for her contact with the Valar than we did simply for the sake of her premonitions."

"I'm told you created a secret society of the dark arts," Emerald suggested.

"Ah . . . I suppose you could call it that. It is secret, yes, and we study the dark arts, yes."

"What are the dark arts?"

"Magic that people are politically unhappy with," Alatar snorted, while Pallandro suggested, "Magic that is not currently in favor. Prophecy, for instance. Alchemy. Even healing, at times, is frowned upon."

"We get a bad reputation, you see, because we live in a world that is decidedly unaware of magic. You are –well, were close with Mithrandir, and Saruman, so you are familiar. To you, perhaps dark magic is simply magic used for offensive purposes, and white magic is simply defensive. But to those who have not known Maiar in a positive light, all magic is dark magic, whether you are serving evil purposes or not."

Emerald's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she pressed, "Well what purpose are you serving?"

"Certainly not one we must defend to a little girl!" Alatar insisted, while Pallandro patted his arm and answered, "Knowledge. People die and that is not so much a concern of ours. We wish for the knowledge that the Valar keep absent from the Maiar. We wish to have mastered prophecy, alchemy, elemental control. We wish to create life, to change fate."

"But are you for or against Sauron?"

"Why, neither."

"Well, we are against Sauron," Pallandro corrected, "as we are against the Valar and anyone else who tries to impose rules over us. We are simply independent, you could say, and have a wide following who agree with us. Such as that camp you are a guest in above."

Emerald gave an uncertain smile, "You don't think they follow you just because you have magic and they don't?" The stares she received seemed offended, and she made a mental note to back off and not speak so freely with them as she had with Radaghast. "Sorry," she added. "I'm just trying to understand. Do they worship you?"

"Perhaps," Pallandro answered vaguely.

Alatar gave her a pointed look, "You should not be so quick to condemn, elfling. You are prophetic and not actively involved in the fight against Sauron. You are one of us, looking to turn the tides and achieve a purpose that is not what Iluvator has, are you not? You are trying to save a world fate has condemned."

"I suppose I am," she conceded, not wishing to argue. "But about Ivorwen. You said she did not find the Silmarils. What did she prophecy for you?"

"The war with Sauron. Your coming to us. By the time she reached us, her prophetic vision had narrowed significantly –perhaps as a punishment from the Valar due to her joining us here. Her visions were mostly small and specific. However, she was still able to lend much to our studies. It was a sad day when she passed."

Emerald contained her huff of frustration. Here she had come to the end of her search for Ivorwen, but Alatar and Pallandro were actually little help at all. Ivorwen had not found the Silmarils. They had nothing new to tell her about Ivorwen, and seemed to know even less about prophecy than Emerald did.

"Ivorwen attempted , with our help, to break down what exactly gave one foresight, and recreate that in others. We have not yet succeeded," Pallandro confessed, looking crestfallen. "Though we have made great advances in alchemy, and even some small steps in therianthropy---"

"What's that?"

"Shapeshifting," he explained. "You see, we can find individuals with such capabilities, but our goal is to make it possible for others – well, but that was not your question, and though Ivorwen asked us to treat you hospitably and answer what questions we could, we must also protect ourselves, you understand. Perhaps you will be very powerful someday."

Emerald laughed, "I doubt it. I'm only trying to stay alive."

"Invincibility . . ." Alatar mused, giving his brother-of-sorts a serious look. Pallandro said something back in a language Emerald did not understand, and the subject was dropped.

"Well, I believe you have answered all my questions, then," Emerald sighed, trying not to look disappointed. "Oh, except, do you possibly know where the Entwives are?"

Now Pallandro and Alatar grinned at her, warm and friendly once again, and the former offered, "North, I believe, though we cannot be sure. It is only a voice on the wind that told us so. But perhaps they are there."

"All right. Oh, and before I forget," Emerald added. "You sent me a message last night that we would meet today. How did you do that?" She intentionally did not mention the book.

The answer came solely in her mind, Alatar's voice internally answering, "We have mastered telepathy and sent it to your mind simply by thinking it. It sounded like this, yes?" Emerald lied and nodded. Actually it had appeared in the book . . . but it had been sent to her mind, which was something to take note of.

"Might we, princess, ask you a favor in return?" The question made Emerald's chest freeze up, but she nodded hesitantly. "Might you take an artifact to Saruman? It is in a language that our brother Maiar can translate but that we ourselves are not quite fluent in. It is only a piece of parchment."

"Oh," Emerald nodded, smiling with relief. "Of course I can do that."

Quickly Alatar and Pallandro retrieved this for her, along with the journal Ivorwen had kept concerning her search for the Silmarils. These in hand, Emerald followed the Maiar back to the dining hall, wincing as she occasionally stepped barefoot on small stones.

It was an odd feeling when Emerald first entered the room. The men were all still present, as though they had never left, but their faces bore panicked expressions and they leapt up at her arrival. Instantly the Maiar behind her stood straighter, their faces hardening.

"What's the matter?" she pressed, stepping closer to her brothers and away from the Maiar.

Beven shook his head, "We were just wondering where you'd gone to, is all. It's been hours." Hergest and Tegryn had never been good liars, though, and she could read on their faces that something had indeed happened, something they didn't want the Maiar knowing about.

The wizards suspected something, clearly, but were doing nothing to investigate yet. Emerald didn't wish to test their patience and see how far Ivorwen's request would last them. So instead she turned and thanked them, promising to get the artifact safely into Saruman's hands and wondering how they might return to the surface.

"That staircase there will let you out a short walk to the east of camp. It will disappear as soon as you exit, though, so do not try to regain entrance."

"Right. Thank you again!" Emerald called, shuffling her company to the staircase, the entrance of which closed as soon as they were on the stairwell. Still nothing was said as they climbed and climbed, walking much further than it felt like they had swum. Even once they were back in the open air, under a sun nearing the far horizon – Emerald couldn't help but doubt the passage of time; she and the wizards hadn't talked that long! – they remained mum, trekking silently through the desert on their bare. Somehow the sand remained cool – one last favor from the wizards? If so, Emerald was grateful.

The natives stared but did not speak as they re-entered camp and made straight for their tent. Inside food had once again been set out, as well as a jug of wine that Hergest took a long swig from. Emerald didn't even bother looking at the notes or artifact yet; she tucked them in her bag alongside the book and turned expectantly to the company. All were sunburned and exhausted and clearly distressed.

"Well?" she demanded, hands on her hips. "What happened? You weren't just worried about me!"

"Tegryn broke a vial of something," Hergest quickly tattled, lying back and closing his eyes. "Knocked it off a table!"

"It cut my leg and nearly burned straight through to the bone," Tegryn gulped. Emerald gasped and dove forward as he extended his leg; she hadn't noticed the patch missing from his britches, but now saw the gaping hole. She almost didn't look, terrified to see whatever chemical burn he had endured.

But when she glanced in, there was no wound to be seen. His skin looked perfectly whole, not even the least bit off-color.

Her face screwed up in confusion as she turned to Beven, her voice of reason, and pressed, "But I thought—"

"Hergest was the closest one to him and—"

"I accidentally touched it," Hergest shuddered. "Trying to see if it had hurt him."

"And?"

Alagedh coughed and finally explained simply, "When Hergest touched it, the wound healed."


Final note: For those of you who are super-aware of all the history Tolkien wrote, I know there is debate about whether the Blue Wizards were fighting against or simply unconcerned with Sauron. The way I've written them is what felt right for me in the story, as well as the aspect of them Tolkien wrote that I find the most intriguing. :)