Note: We finally meet a character from Middle-earth in this chapter. Sorry it took so long for it to get there.
Teacher
May 25, TA 2919 Somewhere just east of the Blue Mountains
It was the noon and the sun was shining while Gandalf sat leaning against a tree for a good long smoke after his meal. As he sat, he thought of the troubles that Middle-earth faced and what he was to do about the presence of Sauron that he had encountered at Dol Guldur. He needed help and he didn't know if he should meet with the White Council yet. It seemed that some on the White Council needed convincing that it was, in fact, Sauron. He also needed a little convincing. He had sensed his presence, but he didn't have any real proof that it was, indeed, Sauron.
As he was sitting there against a tree, he felt a presence of something very dangerous close by. He stood up, snuffed out his pipe, and moved his staff at ready position. Then the intruder on his lunch seemed to sense him as well and all was silent in the still forest.
"Come out and show yourself. I don't trust beings who hide in bushes." Gandalf said.
Then Gandalf's intruder gave a loud sigh and hopped out into the clearing in the bright sun.
Gandalf and his intruder gasped at the same time.
"You!" They both said together.
"What are you.." "Who are you.." then they stopped so the other could finish.
Then they both started talking at the same time again, "I saw your face in a dream…" "I saw you in a nightmare…" Then they both stopped again.
Then Gandalf stopped all the way and he said, "Please, my dear, you go first."
He looked at the girl that had stepped out of the wood. She was probably 5 foot 4 and she was garbed in what appeared to be dark cloth. It had two pieces to it that he could see. The top piece was a blouse with long sleeves wrapped around her form snuggly and tied off at her waist. The blouse reached down to her calves and from her hips down, it was open on both sides of her legs. The second part of her garb that he could barely see were a comfortable pair of trousers. She had two daggers at her hips and her dark hair was braided in a most amazing fashion.
She is just a wee girl! Why is she carrying those?!
He also noticed that she had a small silver earring in her right earlobe. The thing that made him recognize her from his dream was her eyes. As he looked at them he noticed that her eyes had a certain sparkle and around them he saw traces of laugh lines. It was those very eyes that had haunted his dreams for a month now.
It seems she wasn't the only one being plagued by dreams. According to her, they were nightmares.
She kept staring at his staff with apprehension and she looked as if she was deciding to flee or to trust him. Then Gandalf relaxed his posture, but didn't let go of his staff.
"Please, my dear, don't be afraid."
He removed his hat.
"My name is Gandalf, child. In this world you cannot have too many friends. What is your name?"
She took a step back, surprised at his kindness. Then she laughed and smiled shyly at him.
"Hello Gandalf the Grey."
She bowed her head and shoulders forward with her hands put together in front of her and said, "My name is Mílathiel Swiftwater and I thank you for offering friendship. My mother always said that it is better to have more friends rather than more enemies."
Gandalf noticed she had a strange accent. Every time she said a word with an "r" it would roll on her tongue.
Then she said, "Please excuse what I said earlier about you being in my nightmares. It is just that I have never seen someone that looks like you before."
Then she laughed uncomfortably and gave him a bashful smile.
Then Gandalf thought, I've never seen anyone that looks like you either.
It was no doubt that men would find this girl very beautiful. While she had laughed and smiled at him, even he was caught off guard and had to stutter at the feelings that those simple acts had brought.
Then Gandalf said, "Mílathiel Swiftwater. Now that is a name with a story behind it."
She interrupted him and put up her hand, "Please Gandalf the Grey. My friends and dears ones all call me Míla. It is way too long of a name."
She rolled her eyes and Gandalf noticed the notion did not mar her beauty in any way.
"Well my dear, then just call me Gandalf." Then he said, "Well Míla. Might I ask where you are going?"
She then laughed deeply and for a long time, all the while holding her stomach.
When she settled down she wiped her eyes and said, "Now that is a very good question Gandalf! I honestly have no idea where I am or where I am going. All I know is that I am in Middle-earth."
Gandalf then looked at her curiously and said, "What did you mean that you had not seen someone like me before."
She stopped smiling with her mouth, but continued smiling with her eyes as she said, "Now don't get offended Gandalf. I guessed that you are a Warlock by you staff. Or maybe a mage. I'm sorry if I offended you by not guessing which one. I'm not really acquainted well with the spell-sort. And please don't get offended by the next sentence. I have never seen a person so aged! My people do not go through this process and the first time I saw you in my dream, it had, in all honesty, scared me a little bit. Yet, now that I see you in the flesh, it is not so bad."
Then Gandalf stared confounded at the beautiful friend he had just made. He did not know if he should be insulted or amused.
"Míla," Gandalf paused, "You are not from this Realm then, I gather?"
Then Míla shook her head and stopped smiling all together. "No Gandalf. I am not."
Then she sighed and said, "I am from the Kingdom of Kalderra. It is 2 days west from here, by wings. I have been sent here, by my King to investigate this Realm and learn all I can about its inhabitants and most especially about the dark creatures my people have spotted here."
Gandalf then sat down, "I have never heard of …Kalderra. I see no wings on your back. The dark people? Do you mean the Enemy?"
Then she frowned at him. "My brother has wings. He flew me here and dropped me off about a month ago. If the Enemy are the dark people that enjoy in slaughter, then yes. My people want to take them out of your land and see if they can use them as slaves."
Gandalf then looked appalled. He then asked, "So, in a strange way, it seems that your people want to help us?"
Then her face twisted in a grimace, "That is what the Warlocks say, but I know they just want new slaves to experiment with. I don't agree with this plan, but as a warrior, I must obey my king. He has told me that they will deal with these creatures if I deem them worthy to enter our land as the Warlock's slaves. I will not leave this land until I have done enough research to see what the peoples of Middle-earth think about them and how they live with them. As you can tell, we have very limited information about this land, even though we have known of it for 500 years. "
What she was telling him was very strange. Then he asked, "How long are you to do your research?"
Then she said with a sad face, "100 years."
Then Gandalf and Míla talked for hours of her people and he taught her of the people of Middle-earth. At night they ate dinner and continued to talk together about everything that they would ask each other about. Then they went to sleep.
The next day Gandalf woke up and spotted Míla a little ways away with her cloak and boots piled neatly on the ground next to her. She had folded her body in a position that he thought impossible for any creature that walked on two legs.
She was upside-down with her hands underneath her holding her up, while her legs were crossed in a sit down position above her. Her eyes were closed as she stepped out of the position and put her hands together above her head. As she lowered her arms she slowly let out a deep breathe.
She then opened her violet eyes and said, "Good Morning Gandalf."
She proceeded to put her socks and boots on. He shook his head and remembered her explaining her stretching and training exercises.
"Good Morning my dear." She sat across from him and brought her breakfast out from her pack.
"I was thinking, Gandalf, that since I don't know where to go and you are a wanderer: Is it ok if I follow you around?"
She smiled up at him. When he didn't speak, she pouted just a little and continued, "Well, you see, you told me last night that you travel around a lot and have a lot of friends. I just think that for my research, meeting the people you know would help me get to know the species of Middle-earth better."
When he didn't say anything she still continued, "And I know that you think that I might be a burden to you, but honestly I won't. I will be your bodyguard. I am a great warrior. I have protected and escorted many of my father's subjects through the Black Land unscathed. I have also fought in many battles during the Civil Dispute. I know a few spells as well, so I can be of help in that way. Also because of my Blue Clan ancestry, I have some skills with healing. Oh! I can also…"
Gandalf then interrupted her, "You can also go on blabbing for quite some time! You forgot to mention that!"
He laughed at the scared and hurt look on her face.
"Don't worry Míla. I would love to have you travel with me. You do not need to prove yourself with anymore words. I already deem you a good friend of mine just from our conversations yesterday. I had already thought to bring you along with me."
She then smiled widely at Gandalf with tears of joy brimming her eyes. "Really Gandalf?! Oh THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"
She said something in a strange language, stood up and whooped for joy.
She put her palms together and bowed, "I promise, I won't disappoint you!"
Gandalf then pointed his right index finger at her.
"Now wait just a second, Míla. Don't think that this is going to be some kind of holiday. You will become my student and I will teach you of all that I know."
Then Míla nodded vigorously at him in agreement, the sparkle still in her eyes.
"And there will be tests," her smile dropped, "assignments," her face turned into a worried frown, "and I expect for you to have learned all of the many languages that we have here on Middle-earth by the time your 100 years are up."
At that statement she glared at Gandalf. "Not to mention that you will be put through many dangers and traps. You probably most likely might not survive our first encounter of these dark people you have to study. So, do you still want to follow me around Míla?"
She had started to smirk when he had mentioned the "dangers" of traveling with him.
"For 100 years my knowledge of Middle-earth will be left in your care," then she bowed her head at him and said, "Teacher."
