Chapter Ten—

Navaerdae would be seeing his home-world again after all. But, he knew with some small relief, not for a long while.

"Yes," he decided, and his children turned to look up at him. "Bring him here."

-switch-

The next—and final—time the gold dust stopped fluttering around him and settled for good, Navaerdae found himself in the white room again, surrounded by the tall, white clothed people.

He took a moment to smile brightly at them, spinning around in his own white clothes with his arms stretched out. This time, they all matched!

The white room had been something of Navaerdae's dreams, especially as of late. It had been setting to a number of small nightmares, but also a place of happy times of the little one's subconscious.

The figures all stood there, looking bemused—not that he could see their faces, but he felt it. He could just tell, somehow. He stopped spinning and brought a hand to his head, feeling a tad dizzy. The tiny elfling wobbled his way over to the nearest tall mysterious person and lifted up his arms, casting them a blinding smile.

The figure tilted his head at him, puzzled, and Navaerdae heard the one next t him and a few other others, laugh slightly. 'Dae frowned, wiggling his fingers in the air. That was mean, they were laughing at the one he was in front of!

"Up?" He asked, pouting slightly. The figure seemed to blink, before hesitantly bowing down and lifting Navaerdae into his arms. 'Dae mmm'ed contently, and snuggled into the hold, resting his head on the figure's shoulder.

The figure next to them, nearly identical to the one holding him(and the one who'd laughed the loudest earlier), crossed his arms and grinned teasingly. "Such a sweet picture you two make, brother dear. I wonder what your servants and subjects would think if they were to see it!"

The one holding him ducked his head ever-so slightly, but 'Dae saw it and the blush that just barely spread over the man's face. The elfling lifted his head and narrowed his eyes at the teasing one, disapproving.

"No be mean. Don't like you." He turned back and buried his face into the neck of the one holding him, throwing his arms around the man's neck. "This one Navaerdae's favorite."

The figure on their left, a woman, quickly placed a hand over her mouth to smother a startled laugh, and the man 'Dae had just scolded blinked. He dropped his arms back to his side loosely, with a soft huff—as if in disbelief.

"This is new." One of the other women giggled gently.

"Someone favoring Namo over you, Lorien?" One of the other figures, a male this time, off tho Navaerdae's left, asked. "That's a first."

The man holding him, Namo, tensed a little and rested his head on Navaerdae's slightly. The elfling knew it wouldn't have been noticed by anyone else, begin a slight movement, but he felt the extra weight. 'Dae hummed happily, then frowned as the rest of the figures continued to joke. Namo got tenser and tenser, until he'd, subtly, almost buried his face against the elfling's hood.

Navaerdae looked over at the others and scowled. They paused in their talking, looking back a him in bemusement. Navaerdae humphed and snuggled closer to Namo, hugging him around the neck again.

"No be mean," he reminded the others.

The brother of Nami, Lorien, raised his arms in surrender.

"Right," he chuckled, looking extremely nonplussed. "No teasing Namo. I understand." And the others nodded.

Navaerdae didn't think they really did, but Namo had slowly begun to relax again. The one in the very back, taller and broader than any other the other figures(most all of the men were slimmer and more slender, save for the one who had animal furs personalizing his white clothes, or the man with a magnificent broadsword at his hip) stood straighted and smiled kindly at him when the elfling met his eyes beneath the hood.

They looked like the night sky, sparkling with stars.

"Ada!" 'Dae exclaimed, wiggling in Namo's hold. The man chuckled slightly and let him down again, and the elfling wasted no time racing over to the tallest figure. The man made a content noise in the back of his throat that made Navaerdae feel safe and protected, as he knelt down and received the elfling in a hug. The other figures were smiling, even the stoic woman and two broad men. Lorien, obviously the most extroverted, laughed loudly. 'Dae tilted his head to look back at him, but relaxed even further when he noticed the grin that nearly split the man's face.

"Hello, little one," Ada cooed, and Navaerdae giggled, holding the man's face with his tiny hands and rubbing their noses together in a butterfly kiss.

He heard a few "aww's sound behind him, and beamed.

"Pulling away from the man, the elfling tilted his head. "Navaerdae is here. Why?" He inquired curiously.

Ada' faltered, gaining a saddened edge to it. Navaerdae's eyes widened and he leaned forward to snuggle into his daddy's chest as the man stood again, the child in his arms.

"The avatar of Arda failed in his quest, child." He finally said after a long pause.

Navaerdae blinked. "Avatar? What that?"

"Hmm," the man that stood to Ada's right hummed thoughtfully. "The avatar is a single person destined to save a civilization—or multiple civilizations. Every world has them, sometimes one and sometimes multiples avatars. Arda, this world, it's avatar failed to save it.

"Save it," the elfling jutting out his bottom lip in contemplation. "... Fro'?"

Iluvatar nodded, adjusting his hold on 'Dae a little. "Yes, the young hobbit. He was tasked with the third climax of Arda, but failed to bring about a happy ending."

The elfling hummed, nodding as he took the words in. A few moments later, when the brunt of the explanation truly hit him, he froze. Ada lifted him a bit higher to look him in the eyes, concerned at how tense the boy was. He frowned and reached forward to wipe at the tears sneaking their way down the elfling's cheeks.

"Navaerdae?"

The child buried his face into the crook of Ada's neck, trembling. "...End, Ada say. They dead?"

The man, and the rest of the figures, stilled. A few seemed as if they wanted to say something, but held their tongues, not able to form the words. Eventually, Ada sighed, running his hands through Navaerdae's hair. The hood slipped off, pooling around the elfling's shoulder's and neck.

"In the slightest sense, I suppose." The father lamented. "But not essentially. You, my child, have the chance to save them."

Navaerdae frowned. "But, 'Dae not avatar. Fro' avatar."

Ada nodded, sweeping the child's bangs from his eyes and wiping away the leftover tears. "'You're actually avatar, too, child. But another world's avatar. Or, you were."

"Was?" 'Dae tilted his head inquiringly, and Ada smiled.

"Indeed. However, I saw your fate. It was not a happy one, no matter what road you'd choose to take. So, my family and I decided to intervene."

"Why?"

The figures began to move from the sunny-lit front room and into a larger white room; the ceiling was higher than the tallest tree the child had ever seen, and the walls glistened like silver ore—but cleaner, perhaps. The floor was an expanse of elaborate murals crafted in silver and gold, and a tall throne sat at the head of the hall. Fifteen smaller(but no less grand) thrones lines the longer walls that lead to either end of the hall. One of them, the four closest to the tallest throne, was dusty, though. Like someone had been missing for far too long, and no one had had the heart to even touch the seat in the person' absence. The ceiling was composed of an almost dome-like shape, lined with skylights. The sun shone through the glass and lit the entire hall with golden rays.

Navaerdae shifted urgently in his daddy's hold, and Ada chuckled and set him down. As the figures each sat in one of the thrones—Ada taking the head seat—Navaerdae ran around the hall, taking turns in staring at the picture stories on the floor and tilting his head back to stare up at the ceiling, arms thrown out. He spun around, watching the light bounce off all the sparkly things.

Then, he remembered his question. He blinked, shaking off the many distracting elements of the new room and ran over to Namo, who sat in the second seat away from Ada's, on the left. All of the figures were watching him in amusement, eyes twinkling and smiles on their lips. Namo reached down and helped him into his lap, holding the elfling close as if he was a comforting teddy bear.

The child turned his head, once he was situated, and stared over at his daddy. "Ada save me. Why?"

The man sat back in his throne, and sighed silently. "You're home-world, what we call the 'Opposite"... It is a complicated topic, my son. Long ago, one of your elder siblings—like the rest of the people here with us now—fled from the light." He paused, tilting his chin downward. "His name is Melkor. He did some very terrible things, no matter how great or awe-inspiring the feats were. They were actions right out of a nightmare of the worst kind."

Navaerdae's slim brows furrowed slightly. "Where Mel' now?"

Ada pursed his lips, staring back at him after he cast a glance at the others, who remained silent. "We sent him to the Opposite, in hopes that time away from the temptation of Arda's power would help him heal." Then, he smiled fondly. "And it did. The darkness in your brother receded, so far away from his heart that he's like the boy, that I remember, so full of love for all living things, with an affection for all the smaller animals of Arda. When Melkor turned from the light, it made my heart ache."

Namo seemed to shrink in on himself slightly, resting his chin on Navaerdae's head, his eyes focused on the murals on the hall's floor. The action wasn't something that most could see; more, it was something the child could only feel, so slight were the movement. Namo, it seemed, feared showing any weakness. But with Navaerdae there, he felt comforted. The elfling leaned back against the man, his brother's, chest and sighed, reaching up to grab a hold on Namo's tunic.

"Why Mel still Opposite?" He asked thoughtfully, wondering.

Ada's habitual smile dulled a little, and it made Navaerdae's chest feel tight for some reason. "He seemed happy there. We do not want to risk him coming here until we are sure he won't fall to the darkness again. However..."

The tiny child tilted his head, eyes imploring. Namo lifted a hand to settle in Dae's inky hair.

Ada sighed. "We cannot reach him, for some reason. He is held back from us, our link partially severed. We can only feel his pain, but do not know what id hurting him."

Navaerdae sat him with a concerned gasp. "Mel' hurt?"

Lorien nodded gravely, finally speaking up from his own seat two places away from Ada's throne on the right. "Yes. But we do not know what is hurting him, or how. Melkor is of a higher power than any mortal."

One of the women, who sat three seats away from Namo, hummed. She had luminous, sparkling green eyes and thick, hazelnut hair that curled around to her collarbones, choppy in the back. Her skin was a rich chocolate color. "The Opposite is full of mortals, and there are hundreds partial immortals that play at being Higher Tiers. Not like us, but similar, if far lesser in power. And not immune to brother Namo's jurisdiction."

"What Yavanna means to say, little brother," said a man sitting two seats away from Lorien, with hair the color of the earth and eyes the color of the sky in the summer seasons, "is that they can die, and we cannot—at least, not in such a sense. Partially immortal is like how the elves of Arda are long-living and immune to disease. If the partial immortals of Opposite were to be fatally wounded, they'd find themselves in Namo's halls—or, their world's equivalent of Namo's sphere of power."

Navaerdae pursed his lips, wondering about all this. If he was any other child, he'd think he would be extremely confused at all the big words. Freak, though, had sat through many documentary channels that the Boy's relatives had pretended to watch. They refused cartoons unless they were for the Cousin, and didn't care for any show that seemed unintelligent. So, Freak had a rather vast knowledge of vocabulary for a child his age.

What his new family was speaking about was rather puzzling, but he thought he got the gist of it well enough. Now, what did this have to do with them saving him from an entire life of being the Freak?

—the very thought made him cringe, and Navaerdae felt Namo's embrace tighten, as if in worry.

"'Dae? What's wrong?"

"But," Navaerdae struggled to understand. "Why—why you save 'Dae? What hurt Mel'?"

Ada's mouth twitched upward in a mockery of his happy smile. It made him want to hug his daddy and never let go again. "Though the partial immortals are not as powerful, Melkor's own power was sealed, by myself, before we sent him to Opposite. It was to keep him from the temptation of using his full skills for the Darkness in him. That said, the partial immortals can harness the power of a Higher Tier if they go about it the right way. It's an extremely cannibalistic theory, and was created from the darkest heart of the Helverse—that's where souls go, when they are judged unworthy of proper existence by Namo."

Namo stilled beneath him, as if he was afraid of something, but Navaerdae only leaned further into his hold, reaching up a hand to pat the man on the cheek. This earned him a smile, and he felt Namo relax again, even if it wasn't completely.

Then, the elfling thought about what his daddy had just explained. "So... little immortals get big immortals' special powers to hurt Mel'?"

Ada seemed to brighten, and he smiled proudly at Navaerdae, who preened at the look. "That's exactly what I mean, o' child of my heart. We have looked into that, as well; however, I have concluded that the partial immortal's are somewhat distant to the mortal plane of the Opposite. There are a race of mortal's there, however, that are able to harness a certain aspect of a Higher Power. They are born with gifts, called Magic. Melkor formed the Gift out of the wild life energy of the Opposite, and bestowed it upon humans he found worthy; those that he believed were destined to do great things."

"Except, there then came a surprise for us all," Lorien added. "It seems the Gift our brother smithed from the soul of the Opposite evolves on it own; it turned out to be hereditary, which means that it went to the children of the people Melkor gifted first."

"Brother Melkor has another name in the Opposite, coined after the Gift he created. They call him Magic," said the woman that sat to the right of the man who war the animal skins. She was of a slight build, with fair skin and piercing hazel eyes surrounded by thick lashed. Her obsidian hair was tied back with a band that looked to be folded from a racoon's tail. "He has earned himself a place as one of the Opposite's Higher Tiers, and is revered by the civilization made of of his Gifted's descendants."

"Some new first generation Gifteds, too." Said the man next to her. "Melkor never giving to those he Saw as worthy, Nessa."

Speaking of the gifted," Namo spoke up, softly. "You're one of them, Navaerdae."

The elfling blinked in surprise. "Mh...F—'Dae is?!"

The man shifted the elfling in his lap, as if he'd heard the word Navaerdae had almost called himself. The corners of Namo's lips turned downward in disquiet unhappiness. "Yes."

"The Gifted call themselves Wizards—Witches, for the women," his twin huffed. "They're far from what our Maia can compare too, however."

"Melkor's Gift is not to be doubted, Lorien," Ada chastised. "However, we cannot quite categorize it's own limitations either." He glanced at Navaerdae. "We do not fully know the capabilities of the Gift, since Melkor used a part of his own power to form it of the raw wild energy of the Opposite's very soul."

"It's a wild card, literally," Yavanna wondered. "And because of that, it is possible for the mortals to come up with a way to obtain the obedience—even if it is unwilling—of one of the impartial immortals that has found out how to harness the power of the Higher Tiers."

"So..." Navaerdae scrunched up his nose cutely. "So, special human using little immortal with special bigger immortal powers to hurt Mel'?"

"Precisely," Ada intoned.

"But... What that has to do with 'Dae?" Navaerdae asked. While it was very interesting to hear about his wayward big brother, the elfling wasn't sure why they were telling him all this.

Ada actually bit his lip, looking rather indecisive. "We saved you, because the Opposite is a hopeless world. It has no happy endings, due to the almost tangible Darkness that perverts its very air. But, there is a way to change that. There's a way to save the Opposite. We need to rescue your brother Melkor from whatever cruel soul that had him in chains. With Melkor's help, the Opposite's avatar can possibly save it and it's people from a fate worse than death itself."

Navaerdae froze, realizing the implications. It was wonderful that the Valar, his family, had found a way to save the Opposite. It really was. Big brother Melkor seemed to really care about that world. However...

"But..." The child felt tears sting his wide violet eyes. "But 'Dae is Opposite avatar..."

Ada pursed his lips, gazing at the mural-clad floor. The others followed suit.

Navaerdae felt a sob threatening to escape his throat, and he turned to bury his face into Namo's shirt. The Higher Tiered immortal tightened his embrace around the tiny child. "D-Don't wanna go back...! N-No!"

"Dae," Namo intoned softly, rubbing a hand along the little elfling's back. "Shh, here. Look at us."

Navaerdae shook his head wildly, clutching at the man's tunic with white-knuckled fists. Hands gently pried them open and lifted him away from Namo's chest. Lorien knelt next to Namo's throne and looked him in the eyes, Nessa standing at his shoulder along with another woman.

"Hush now," said the unnamed woman, clasping his hands in her own. She had kind, brown eyes that reminded him of the tough fur on Sonj's sides. Her skin was a creamy caramel color and her long, soft hair was reminiscent of the thinnest clouds, when the sun was behind them and colored the white with their golden rays. Not quite a color, but not quite snow either.

"When you go, you won't be alone," she said. "One of us will go with you, if you wish. And the rest of us will always be with you, right here." She reached out and laid a hand over his heart.

Navaerdae sniffled, reaching his own hand to touch the op of hers, over his chest. "W-With 'Dae?"

"Of course."

"Listen to Nienna, Navaerdae." Nessa brushed a hand through hi hair. "We'll never leave you. It's our oath, as your siblings."

Large, warm hands picked him out of Namo's lap and held him tight to his daddy's chest. Navaerdae threw his arm's around Ada's neck and buried his face into the white robes.

"Did you think we saved you only to throw you away?" Ada asked gently. He smiled and Navaerdae shook his head slowly. "No, beloved. We would never."

And the other's, his sisters and brothers, agreed.

-switch-

It was a feast, Navaerdae realized, feeling slightly numb. They were in a hall much like the throne room, but with a color scheme far warmer than the increasingly chilly gold and silver. Instead of Ada's throne, there was a roaring fire place that was meters tall and meters wide. It looked like the gaping mouth of a dragon, but the child couldn't find it in himself to be frightened of anything in this place. It was a safe place, full of safe people who would protect him.

He'd panicked, when he had finally realized what was missing. It had been a feeling he'd had, during the discussion with his family, and he hadn't been able to pinpoint what it was. Something had been missing, but he hadn't been sure what, exactly.

It was alright now, however. Loki was lying at the foot of his—their, since the chair was actually Namo's and 'Dae was really just using Namo as his own seat—chair, almost purring like a mountain lion with contentedness, and Neo was very much interested with sister Nienna's earrings. They were a dazzling blue, shaped like raindrops and hug from her earlobes. Neo was quite taken with them, and Nienna didn't seem to mind all that much as he curled up on her shoulder and was hidden underneath her beautiful hair.

Yavanna, who he'd been told was in charge of animals(and the earth and the harvest), had told him that yes, of course he'd see The Fortune and The Court again, very soon. And if not soon, then, well... Navaerdae did have forever.

After all, he wasn't exactly an elfling.

He attempted to raise his glass to his mouth, but found it was far too heavy to lift, and he was far too exhausted to lift it. He felt a thrumming chuckle run through Namo, and his big brother—who was his favorite. The others were all very nice and truly amazing, but 'Dae loved Ada and Namo the most—reached forward and took the goblet form his hands.

After the lengthy conversation in the throne room, the family had converged into the dining hall for a meal. Navaerdae wasn't used to meals this big. And with so many people! The vast platters piled high with all kinds of food had been brought out by what seemed to be servants, only for those servants to, after setting them on the extremely long tables(there were seven of them, the longest being the on perpendicular to the rest at the face of the hall, where 'Dae and his new family now sat), sit down in all the free chairs and begin to eat as well.

Well, he'd been wondering why there's been so many tables and so much food.

Navaerdae blinked wearily up at him, and Namo shook his head. Turning back to the table, he let Namo raise the chalice to his lips, and took a short sip from it. The beverage was interesting, citrus-y and tasting strangely of cinnamon. He wasn't sure how that worked out, but the tiny kind-of-elf-but-not was too tired to think much of it.

With a muted yawn that very much resembled that of a small kitten, Navaerdae snuggled into Namo's hold and closed his eyes. His big brother absently began to stroke his hair with his free hand as he set the chalice down on the table again. Leaning over the child, Navaerdae felt the man press his lips to his forehead, and heard him whisper. "Sleep now, beloved. I—we will allow no harm to come to you while you rest."

Navaerdae knew he was telling the honest truth; he heard the raw, almost painful sincerity in Namo's voice.

So he did.

-switch-

This.. has been a long time in coming. I genuinely apologize for taking so damn long ;_;

I didn't realize high school was a thing until it became a thing for me...

I despise it. I think I failed math this semester. Eh.

Anyway! I tried to write more words than the usual Bae'que chapter in an attempt to possibly make up from my extremely long and very rude absence of updates... I'm gonna try and make the rest of the chapters from here on out longer, too. You guys deserve it.

Now, I have an important question.

Yes or no?

*smirks* I'm not telling what questions these answers correspond with. But, I'm thinking of including a certain thing in this story, and I'll decided whether or not to with you answers.

So choose very wisely ;)

Please review, thank you so much for reading!

~Skye