Author's Note: Right. This is Chapter Eight. Not all questions will be answered ;). Hopefully, it's something different and fresh, but one can only hope. So Read and Review, I don't bite. Just please, don't be harsh if you don't like it :).
I do not own Lord of the Rings.
Thank you to;
Melty-Chan 93
LittleMissDreamer7
aliben
Randomness
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Eight: Revelations
Haldir had lead the Fellowship to their sleeping area, leaving them to themselves. They'd been taken back to the ground, the lights of Caras Galadhon shining brightly above them. As the hobbits laid down to rest, Amelia took a seat next to Aragorn. He was sharpening his sword, Gimli sleeping - and snoring annoyingly loudly - beside him. Amelia looked up into the trees, hearing a strong, female voice singing out. It was beautiful, that was the only word she could think of.
Legolas stood, gazing up into the trees, a thoughtful look on his face. He seemed to be listening deeply to the words before he spoke, his voice soft.
"It's a lament for Gandalf," he said.
"What do they say about him?" Merry asked, looking up at him. Legolas' face fell and he turned away.
"I have not the heart to tell you," he uttered quietly. "For me, the grief is still too near." He glanced over at Rae as he said this, feeling her eyes on him. However, when he turned to her, she was looking up at the stairs leading up into Caras Galadhon. More specifically, the elf coming down them.
Haldir, the march warden who had lead them into Caras Galadhon, sauntered into their area, making a beeline for Rae. Her reaction was a raised eyebrow, standing to greet him. He nodded to her.
"Khila amin," he said, voice soft. Rae, though slightly confused, did not question him, ignoring the looks the rest of the Fellowship were giving her. Legolas made to go after her, concerned, but Haldir turned to face him, glaring.
"Kela," Haldir said. Legolas, realising that Gimli was growing irritated with all the Elvish, chose to speak in the Common Tongue, so as to allow everyone to understand.
"Where are you taking Rae?" He asked Haldir, his eyes on Rae.
No one missed the way Rae's eyes kept Legolas', silently telling him there was nothing wrong. Haldir glanced at Legolas in annoyance, as if he were a spot of mud on his tunic. Despite this, Legolas did not back down. Rae silently stepped forward, gingerly placing a hand on his arm.
"Uuma dela," she whispered to him before turning and gesturing to the stairs in front of Haldir. She said, "Lle auta yeste'."
Amelia watched their interaction carefully, choosing - wisely - not to get involved. Rae had grown up without Amelia and though the other members of the Fellowship may not have been able to see it, she was strong. So it was with a worried heart, she watched Rae follow Haldir up into Caras Galadhon.
Rae was silent as Haldir led her up into the city. She didn't speak, nor did she look upwards. It seemed as though she did not care at all about where she was going. This did not bother him; he had always preferred silence anyway. However, he did remember the young elleth he had met a year ago. The first time he met her, she was enthusiastic, eager to learn, always asking questions. And she never left Legolas' side. He looked at her now and saw how much she had grown, though he did not understand her sadness.
They travelled in silence, Haldir obeying his orders to tell her nothing. Surprisingly, he did not have any trouble with these as she did not seem to care. This did trouble him. He peered over his shoulder at the curious young elleth, noticing her eyes were on her feet. Again. He sighed, why was he so frustrated with her?
They reached the same archway Haldir had lead the Fellowship to earlier; Lady Galadriel was waiting for them on the stairs. Haldir bowed and the Lady smiled.
"Thank you, Haldir," she said, voice gentle. Haldir nodded and walked away, leaving Rae alone with Lady Galadriel. Rae only looked at her, unblinking. Lady Galadriel smiled.
"Come with me," she told her, her blinding smile still on her face. "There are some who are curious to meet you."
Rae, her curiosity getting the better of her, followed the Lady up the stairs, into a large clear area where, despite it being night, it seemed like the light of day was shining in. A little further up, talking to Lord Celeborn, were three elves; two males and a female. Rae was confused. Why was she brought here?
As they approached, the elves turned to look at them, bowing to Lady Galadriel before straightening, their eyes landing on Rae for the first time. She felt as though she were being scrutinised by them, though she wasn't sure if that was their intention. Lady Galadriel stepped towards Lord Celeborn and the two of them stepped away, watching the four of them.
Rae bit her lip, looking up the elves. The two males were like spitting images of each other, one younger than the other. Both had blond hair running to their shoulders and bright blue eyes. They both had very broad shoulders and looked as though they spent most of their day hunting. They were tall, the younger one only a few inches shorter than the older one. The younger reminded Rae of Legolas; the way he stood, how he looked at her, she couldn't help but feel he was Legolas' long lost brother or something.
The female had light brown hair, a deep, sandy brown colour, running straight down to her hips. It had slight waves through it but it seemed to suit her. She was short, about Rae's height (5'2"), and the two males beside her completely towered over her. What struck Rae the most was her eyes. A gorgeous hazel, much like her own, just lighter and full of more emotion.
Rae did not understand. Who were these people? Why did the Lady call on her to meet them? She gazed at Lady Galadriel, her eyes asking a million questions a minute. The Lady only smiled, watching intently as the female elf stepped forward lightly, almost hesitantly. Rae knew that she was safe in Caras Galadhon but she couldn't help but have to control her urge to grab her bow, even if she didn't have very good aim.
The female reached a hand out tentatively, as if gauging her reaction. Then, slowly and carefully, she placed it on Rae's cheek. It was warm and Rae couldn't help but lean into it. She gazed up at the elf, her brow furrowing in confusion as to her actions but that was nothing compared to what happened next. The elf pulled her into a hug and Rae returned it.
"Amin Órelindë," she whispered, tears threatening to spill from her cheeks. Rae was completely confused as she gazed from the elf in front of her to the elves behind her. What was going on?
"… so basically," Rae told Amelia some time later, "I'm a four hundred year old elf."
"That's so weird," Amelia said, shaking her head. Rae nodded.
"Tell me about it."
"So, your mother," Amelia began, still trying to wrap her head around the whole situation, "was originally from Rivendell, your father from Caras Galadhon?" Rae nodded.
"My mother married my father here and then they had my brother - who I'm seeing later, I can add - before they had me," Rae explained. "But something happened, and I went missing. Lady Galadriel told me that only Gandalf knows what happened."
Amelia's face dropped as Rae told her this. Both of them knew there was no way for Rae to find out what happened to her now that Gandalf was gone.
"But," Amelia continued, voice low. "If you're four hundred years old, that makes you older than me."
Rae laughed, "You'll still be my older sister."
"I don't get it though," Amelia continued, her head in her hands. "How can you be four hundred?"
"Lady Galadriel said it was something to do with the time scale back home."
"But why am I still nineteen then?"
"You're not," Rae said, smiling. "You're, like, six hundred. But there's something weird going on here. Lady Galadriel told me that it was something to do with whatever magic took us away from here," Rae said, rubbing her eyes. "However, because you're human and not elf, despite being six hundred, you're not immortal."
Amelia sighed. That's a relief, she thought to herself. Seeing all her loved ones die before her eyes? Not an option.
"So, I'll still die of old age and stuff?" She asked, double checking.
"As far as I know," Rae said, yawning. "You should really check with Lady Galadriel about all this stuff. You can come with me to meet my family and then I can point you in the right direction."
"Okay," Amelia replied, her head spinning.
A few hours later, after Rae had slept slightly, her head was still buzzing from the news. Finding out she had a family residing in Caras Galadhon was the best news she heard since… well, forever. Finding out she had an older brother who was a blood relative seemed pretty cool and on top of that, she had Amelia. Things were looking up for her.
Rae imagined that Lady Galadriel had given her the news to cheer her up about Gandalf's passing and it seemed to be working, though Rae couldn't ignore the knot in her stomach every time she thought about it. Amelia had agreed to meet her family before she went to meet Lady Galadriel, something Rae was thankful for. In all honesty, she was nervous about being alone with her new family and often found herself running through the possibilities of what might happen in her head.
What if they realised that she wasn't their lost daughter? What if she screwed up and they disowned her? What if her brother hated her? What if her mother and father hated her?
Rae bit her lip and got to her feet. She had yet to tell Legolas - or the rest of the Fellowship for that matter - on the new development, but she decided she'd do it later. Shuffling over to Amelia, she shook her awake.
"Huh?" Amelia grumbled. "Wha-What? Go away."
"Amelia," Rae sighed, patiently. "You're meeting Lady Galadriel?" Amelia shot upwards, bits of her hair sticking up on end. Her eyes were wide open now as she tried to tame her hair and look presentable. She stood, brushed the dirt off her skirt, and gave a small spin for Rae.
"Lovely."
The other members of the Fellowship were sleeping as the two girls tip toed away. Rae took the stairs two at a time, startling Amelia with grace she had no idea Rae even had. Rae got so far up, turned back and grinned, before continuing up the stairs, eventually disappearing out of sight. Amelia smiled to herself, shaking her head, before she followed.
"Where do you think you're going?" A voice grumbled in the silence. Amelia jumped on the stairs, glancing at the bottom.
"Aragorn," Amelia hissed. "Don't scare me like that!" Aragorn only smiled at her.
"Where are you two going?" He repeated.
"How long have you been awake?" Amelia countered, dodging his question.
"Not long," Aragorn answered. Then, he gave her look that said Don't make me repeat my question.
Amelia sighed, slowly going back down the steps. She stopped about three away from him, looking him in the eye.
"I'm going to speak to Lady Galadriel," she said. "I want to see if she can tell me anything about myself."
"What about Rae?" Aragorn questioned. "Has she got another meeting with the Lady?"
"Rae's business is her own," Amelia said. Aragorn put his palms up in a defensive position. He nodded his consent - not that Amelia needed it - before turning back to the camp. Amelia continued up the stairs.
Rae was already at the top, bouncing on her toes, waiting for her. Amelia laughed, taking Rae's arm.
"Are you excited," she said, "or nervous?"
"Both," Rae squealed. Then her face dropped. "Oh, gosh. Amelia, what if they don't like me? Worse; what if they hate me?" Amelia knew a full out panic was coming so she carefully placed both her hands on Rae's arms.
"Rae," she said quietly, "they'll love you. They'd be crazy not to." Rae smiled and nodded, letting out a sigh of relief.
"You're right," she told Amelia. "I'm panicking for nothing."
"I always am," Amelia grinned. "Now, where do I go?"
"Well, she'll probably be at the archway we met her at," Rae said, shrugging. Amelia nodded.
Then, three elves approached the two of them. Rae straightened and nudged Amelia. Amelia put on her best smile for meeting her sisters parents. She mentally laughed - how weird did that sound? As they stopped in front of them, the female hugged Rae, smiling.
"Hello," Rae said, quiet, nervous. Amelia chuckled slightly,
"Hello, I'm Amelia," she introduced. "Rae's, em, 'sister'."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Amelia," a tall, blond elf said. "I am Fëanáro, Órelindë's father." Amelia was slightly confused about what he called Rae but said nothing, smiling all the while. She made a mental note to nag Rae about it later.
"I am Eámanë," the female stated. "And this is Olwë, our son and Órelindë's brother."
Amelia glanced at Rae's family members in turn. It was easy to see where she got her looks from. Amelia nodded to each of them.
"It's a pleasure meeting you all," she said. Then, "but I must go. Lady Galadriel is expecting me." The family nodded their understanding before turning and walking away. Amelia watched them go with a heavy heart. Rae had found her real family, but what about her? Did she had a family in Middle Earth too? Or was she really alone?
Amelia sighed and proceeded up the stairs.
Elvish Translations.
"Khila amin," - Follow Me
"Kela," - Go Away
"Uuma dela," - Don't Worry
"Lle auta yeste'." - You Go First
