'When you tear out a man's tongue you are not proving him a liar, you are only telling the world you fear what he might say.'
George R. R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire
Thorin seemed positively affronted at the Elven lady's approach, partially moving to stand in front of her as if to block her from sight, but Lizzy was awed. Lady Galadriel was simply beautiful: her skin was lily-white and her golden hair hung in soft waves down to her waist, augmented by a circlet of white-gold. The dress she wore was white and silver, extending in a trail behind her. Sunlight seemed to dance around her, weaved like gossamer threads into an ethereal, luminous sheen.
"What business can an Elf possibly have with a member of my company?" Thorin asked in a frankly rude manner, his brow creased in a frown.
"For Gods sake, Thorin," Lizzy hissed in annoyance, resisting the urge to add a shut up with great difficulty as she stepped around him. "Yes, my lady, what can I do for you?"
The lady gestured elegantly with one white hand and they followed her into the trees, approaching a cheerfully bubbling stream. Thorin kept one hand on her arm, half holding her back. "What do you think you're doing?" she whispered as they walked.
"I do not trust her," he replied, making no effort to keep his voice low.
Lizzy rolled her eyes and shook herself free of his hand. Lady Galadriel had led them to a little waterfall that fed the stream. The water fell like silver into a crystal clear pool before spilling over the lower edge to join the stream and run away among the green trees. She stood beside this small, natural basin, watching them silently.
"While I cannot restore you to your world, I can offer you a glimpse through the void, should you wish it," she said to Lizzy eventually, her voice deep and compelling. "I understand you are already acquainted with the nature of my power."
She nodded, wondering what the lady could show her – could she perhaps see her family, her little brother Peter, the one that she had left alone in New Zealand? She had been doing her best not to think of them too much while she had been in Middle Earth, but at the mention of her world memories and a terrible, longing heartache came rushing back.
She stepped forward, but Thorin stopped her once more with a hand on her arm.
"I assure you it is quite safe, Thorin Oakenshield," Lady Galadriel said, unoffended by his manner. "You too are also welcome to look in the mirror."
"And what will we see if we look?" Thorin asked cautiously, still holding her back protectively.
"Things that were, things that are, and some things that have not yet come to pass."
Both Thorin and Lady Galadriel turned to look at her, one surprised and the other hiding a smile that was both amused and knowing. "Sorry, couldn't resist," Lizzy added quietly, feeling a bit foolish after quoting The Lord of the Rings at them.
Lady Galadriel turned her smiling face back to Thorin. "Your companion is right. The mirror shows many things, including the road ahead of you."
"I thought the mirror was in Lothlorien?" Lizzy questioned with a slight frown.
The lady inclined her head, acknowledging her point. "The mirror is but a focusing tool, the power comes from me," she said, one white hand on her chest. Lizzy noticed the beautiful silver and diamond ring on one finger, shining like a single star. "Do you desire to look?"
"Yes," she said, walking forwards – this time Thorin made no attempt to stop her, though she was aware of him lingering a little behind her as she approached the pool. She stepped up to the stream and cautiously looked down into the natural basin of water, seeing only the dappled stones at the bottom and the reflection of leafy trees above her. She glanced up at Lady Galadriel, the Elven-lady's attention was focused on the mirror.
Looking back down she saw the reflection of leaves stirring and dancing as if in a great wind. A breeze rippled over the surface of the water, leaving a new image in its wake. She saw herself as a young child in their back garden at home, holding a stick as a make-shift sword and play-fighting with her brothers, her dress splattered with mud. She saw a sumptuous Christmas dinner from a few years ago, where they'd had her grandparents and cousins around to eat, all of them wearing ridiculous jumpers. She saw herself walking through her university campus on a sunny day, then her going out drinking and dancing with her friends.
Images came even more rapidly – her older brothers wedding, her graduation, the family in hospital the day her little niece was born, her and Peter being waved off at the airport and, finally, her twirling on a ridge in New Zealand, high above a sparkling lake.
The breeze returned, distorting the images and changing them. Now she saw herself laughing with Fili and Kili as they tried to teach her archery, her helping a smiling Bombur cook, her stealing Bofur's hat, her sitting with Ori to look at his journal and sign-language with Bifur, all events from the past few weeks in the wilderness. The final image was one she didn't recognise – she was sleeping in a grassy meadow in bright sunshine and Thorin was sitting beside her, his sword across his lap as if he was keeping watch.
Lizzy looked questioningly up at Lady Galadriel.
Many choices lay before you, Elizabeth Darrow, she heard the lady say in her head. And many hardships.
Returning her gaze to the water, she saw that the tranquil picture had been replaced by what was quite clearly a battlefield. She recognised Fili, practically black with splattered blood, fighting a monstrous orc: he held his own well until another orc came and attacked from behind, stabbing him mercilessly through the back with a vicious looking scimitar.
"No," she whispered in horror as the scene changed to Kili screaming in anguish as he held his brothers body cradled in his arms, looking hopelessly around him with three black feathered arrows protruding from his own battered armour. In his grief he was oblivious to the orc that approached, sword poised for the death-blow.
It is what will come to pass if you should fail, Lady Galadriel said in her mind and the image changed once more to Thorin's body being borne on a pyre at the head of a solemn procession, the Arkenstone clasped between his hands on his chest. He might have been sleeping, were it not for the deathly-white pallor of his skin and lips.
"Alright, alright I get it," Lizzy said, her voice tinged with fright and dismay. With difficulty she broke away from the allure of the water, stumbling backwards a few steps until she was caught and steadied by Thorin. The sight of him – so solid and alive, looking at her in concern – after her vision was simply too much. She brushed off his hands. "I'll see you later," she muttered, already backing away.
"Where are you going?" he demanded.
"I just … I need to be alone for a while," she said, feeling utterly overwhelmed by both fear and the suddenly increased weight of responsibility on her. Without even a second glance at the lady, Lizzy simply turned and fled.
Thorin watched her dash off into the trees in the direction of Rivendell like a startled fawn, vanishing in a flash of blue as the hem of her dress whipped around a tree. He had studied her as she'd looked into the water and whatever visions she was being shown had obviously started off happily: she had watched with a surprised smile on her face which abruptly turned to sorrow and despair before she had stumbled back in fear. She was clearly spooked by what mirror had shown her, barely able to look him in the eyes before fleeing.
"What did you show her?" he snarled at the Elf-witch, his hand unconsciously on his sword hilt.
"It is for her eyes only," the woman said, her voice holding a timbre of sadness. She turned her vivid blue gaze from the trees that Miss Darrow had just vanished into to him, piercing him with their brightness. "Do you also desire to look?"
He opened his mouth, intending a vehement refusal, but then remembered what she had said about the mirror potentially showing him the road ahead. He found himself wondering if he would see a way in which he could save Fili and Kili from whatever fate Miss Darrow's book believed would befall them and realised that he could not afford to pass up the Elf-woman's offer.
He reluctantly stepped forward and looked down into the basin, seeing only stones through the clear water. He was about to move away and dismiss this Elf-magic as hokum when the dark grey of the stones seemed to seep into the water until the entire pool was swirling inky black. A single radiant star burned in the centre of the darkness and the image slowly coalesced into the throne-room of Erebor, the star being the Arkenstone sparkling brightly in its pride of place above the throne.
He saw himself standing before the throne talking to Fili and Kili with a young, dark haired boy that he didn't recognise by his side. The lad was holding his hand, looking up at him with silvery eyes as he spoke to his nephews. All were richly dressed and he was wearing the crown of Thror, clearly King Under the Mountain.
"Adad!" he heard as if from far away, the voice distorted by water. A tiny little girl ran into the throne-room and his vision-self laughingly swept her up into his arms.
"Is this the future?" he asked the lady in surprise, recognising himself as both a king and father to these two children.
"It is a possible future," she told him, her voice musical but still deeper than most women's. "You are one of the few in this world who is truly free to decide their own destiny."
As he puzzled over the lady's words the image of family in the water was consumed by fire – he recognised Lake Town being attacked by Smaug and saw people screaming, running for their lives as homes and buildings were razed to the ground in seconds.
All of a sudden he heard the lady's voice clear and loud in his head. You would be wise to heed the advice of your companion throughout this venture. She knows much and is stronger than you give her credit for.
Once she stopped running Lizzy wandered aimlessly through the trees, the bright sunlight and soft scent of crushed pine needles soothing to her frazzled nerves. She was undeniably traumatised by what she had seen in the mirror and kept playing the images of Fili and Kili's deaths over and over as she walked. She had known from the start that Gandalf wanted her to save them – or at least one of them, so that the line of Durin would continue, or some such nonsense – but seeing their deaths played out before her in vivid, graphic detail had only emphasised the responsibility that the Wizard had placed on her shoulders.
Thorin has asked her only that morning what would happen if she failed and she hadn't answered him – the answer she now gave herself was that if she somehow couldn't save them then she would never forgive herself.
She saw Bilbo walking slowly along one of the balconies as she approached the house and instantly called out to him to get his attention. Once he had stopped to wait for her, she hurried up the small set of stairs to meet him, still awkwardly holding her new sword in one hand.
He immediately frowned at her, his face crumpling in concern. "What's wrong, why are you crying?"
Lizzy touched her face, feeling the wet streaks on her cheeks, and realised that tears must have been falling silently as she walked without her noticing. "Allergies," she answered as casually as she could, hurriedly wiping them away with the backs of her hands. "All that pollen, you know?"
Bilbo offered her the neatly folded handkerchief he had bought in Bree, "Freshly laundered, by the Elves," he assured her with a friendly smile.
"Thanks," she said as she took it gratefully and removed all evidence of her tears. "What were you doing?" she asked the Hobbit.
"Just exploring really," he replied, looking about them dreamily.
"Me too, mind if I join you?" she asked quickly, wanting a distraction after what the mirror had shown her.
"Of course not," Bilbo replied, politely offering her his arm as they walked. She had to stoop a little, but took it nevertheless. They slowly made their way around the side of the building, utilising various balconies, walkways and gazebo type structures, gazing at the amazing architecture and the beautiful scenery of the valley. There was little need for conversation, both of them wrapped up in the tranquillity of their surroundings. They passed several Elves, who nodded graciously at them and smiled softly once they had passed, amused at the unlikely duo of Hobbit and woman both walking with bare feet.
"So what do you think?" Lizzy put to him as they headed inside.
"I think it's wonderful," Bilbo said, his expression beatific. "I found a large hall earlier called the Hall of Fire, where a fire is always lit. People can just go there to sit quietly and think or write, but it is used as a gathering place in times of celebration."
Bilbo started talking happily about the Elves as they explored, telling her all about the Elves he had met in the Shire and the kinds of stories they had told him. She was happy to let him talk, finding his cheerful and carefree voice soothing. They walked passed various halls and rooms, accidentally disturbing Gandalf and Elrond in his study, before they came to a large room with a collection of paintings, statues and relics.
She examined a remarkable helm with the likeness of a dragon before moving on to look at the pictures. There were many of them spanning the walls and as she walked along she realised that it was a visual history of Middle Earth.
She spent some time in front of a collection of paintings detailing the events of the story she knew as the Silmarillion. She trailed her hand over a painting of Melkor with his crown containing the three Silmarils, moving on to one showing how they were eventually won from him. The three paintings that interested her most portrayed the fate of each of the the jewels: one on the breast of a great white bird, carried over the sea to a ship which undertook a voyage into the dark abyss with the Silmaril becoming the Morning Star; one cast into the sea with a sorrowful Elf walking the shores mourning its loss; and one cast into the fiery abyss of the earth.
Lizzy was amazed at the sheer amount of history there was within Middle Earth. She found herself wondering how all of this was possible – did Tolkien somehow create this world, or did it exist prior to the books? Perhaps, somehow, he too had visited this place.
Crossing the room to more recent pictures, she found one that she recognised as Sauron's downfall, Isildur holding his fathers shining, broken sword up defensively. Turning, she saw a statue of a woman with her arms outstretched, the broken sword resting on a plinth between them.
Suppressing a gasp, she ascended the few steps to look at the sword properly, amazed by this piece of history in front of her and awed that she knew what would become of it.
"It must be Elendil's sword," Bilbo said, coming up behind her and glancing between the broken sword and the painting.
"It is," she said quietly, tentatively touching the hilt.
Suddenly getting the impression that they were being watched, Lizzy turned quickly to see a small, dark haired child, little over the age of ten, gazing at them curiously with light eyes and holding a slim book in one hand.
"Estel?" she heard someone call from another room and the boy looked over his shoulder, grinned at them once more and ran away. Lizzy smiled at his back, recognising the name as the one Aragorn used in his youth. It was one thing to be essentially living The Hobbit, but seeing young characters from The Lord of the Rings was a whole new level of strange and exciting.
"What's the matter?" Bilbo asked, looking from the boy that had just ran away to her silly smile.
"Nothing, just having a bit of a meta-moment," she said and took Bilbo's arm again. "Come on, let's go find the library."
After leaving the Elf-witch in the grove of trees Thorin spent some time wandering the vast gardens of Rivendell, reluctantly appreciating their beauty and tranquillity. Several times he heard the merry singing of Elves ahead of him, and so turned in another direction to continue walking. As such, he had soon wandered so far and been turned around so many times that he had completely lost all sense of direction regarding the location of the house.
He found himself beside the rock wall of the valley and followed it in the direction he believed the house to be in until he found a large waterfall that spilt down into one of the many rivers. Discovering a small, natural cave behind the flowing water, he slowly edged his way inside while managing not to get too wet. The result was cocoon of stone, blocked off from the rest of the world by the flowing water, the sunlight distorted by the waterfall and filtering in to dance on the walls of the cave.
He sat down against the cave wall to think. The entire day had been far too eventful for his liking, their incident with the trolls that morning seeming an entire lifetime ago. He felt exhausted after the vast spectrum of emotions and revelations that he had undergone that day, almost all of them centring around their mysterious advisor.
Only now she was not so mysterious, he knew her secret. As strange and fantastical as it sounded, she did indeed have foreknowledge of their quest because it was detailed in a book in her world.
The Elf-woman's visions had simply left him with more questions, the most intriguing of which were the two children that were in the possible future she had shown him. He had never thought to have a wife, too busy running his halls in Ered Luin. He had always assumed that Fili would succeed him, having no children of his own, but now it was apparently a possibility to be considered.
He spent several hours quietly sitting and listening to the flowing water, dwelling on what Miss Darrow had said about both his nephews and the fact that he did indeed become King Under the Mountain. When he opened his eyes again he noticed that the quality of the light had faded slightly, and so decided to start making his way back to the main house, remembering what Miss Darrow had said regarding the necessity to ask about the map.
With the setting sun to guide him he easily made his way to the western side of the valley, finding the house with more ease than he had expected though it was dark by the time he returned. Walking around the balconies and staircases, he found the courtyard where the company was assembled, with Bofur and Bifur cooking meat for them all after their less than satisfactory fare at lunch.
He noticed Miss Darrow curled up into a ball beside his nephews, her arms tight around her knees and her sword sitting next to her. She still looked troubled, haunted even, her grey eyes very wide as they starred out into the gathering darkness.
"Balin," he said quietly to get his friends attention, not wanting to engage the entire company. "Come."
"Where are we going?" the older Dwarf asked as he clambered to his feet.
"To find Gandalf and our host," he replied.
"They were in the study earlier," Bilbo chimed in from where he had been sitting next to Balin.
"In that case, lead the way Master Baggins," Thorin ordered, neither knowing where the study was nor wanting to ask any Elves for directions for the third time that day. Mr Baggins got to his feet as well and the three of them slipped quietly away into the house.
"What do we need the Elf for?" Balin asked as they walked.
"To read the map," Thorin said brusquely.
"Thorin, no," his old friend said in alarm. "It is the legacy of our people, its secrets are not the business of Elves."
There was a time when he might have agreed with his friend, even stubbornly refused to show the Elf the map, but after talking to Miss Darrow he was willing to accept the blow to his pride in asking the Elves for aid. "It is the only way," he replied, and rapped his knuckles sharply on the door that the Hobbit identified as the study.
Darkness was falling and Bilbo had started talking about dinner, so he had led the way to a small courtyard that the Dwarves had commandeered for the evening, apparently not wanting to take guest-rooms. Sure enough, they found the Dwarves around a little fire, roasting meat to complement the vegetarian fare they'd had at lunch, though Thorin was still absent.
Lizzy wordlessly made her way over to a small divan, where Fili and Kili were sitting smoking. The sight of them alive and carefree after her vision that afternoon did strange things to her heart, with it at once lifting and sinking in despair. Wordlessly, she sat down next to them with her legs up, resting her chin on her knees.
"You and Thorin seemed to be getting along better at lunch," Fili observed after a few minutes comfortable silence, not even looking up from where he was fiddling with his pipe.
"We cleared a few things up," she replied with deliberate vagueness.
"How'd that go?" Kili asked curiously.
"I'm still alive, aren't I?" Lizzy said with a small, sideways smile, and then dropped her voice to a whisper. "I told him about the story in my world and he actually seemed to believe me."
"Good," Fili said, still tamping tobacco down into his pipe. He suddenly looked up at her, his eyes keen. "Lizzy, I hope you know that he wouldn't have treated you like that unless he thought …" he trailed off awkwardly.
"I know," she said, remembering what they had told her about Dwarven women being protected and respected in their culture.
Silence descended between the three of them again, during which time Thorin arrived at the courtyard and spoke softly to Balin before they slipped quietly away into the main house with Bilbo. She assumed they were going to ask about the map, but felt no desire to join them. Lizzy lost herself staring vacantly into the darkness outside of the light of the fire. Many of the Dwarves were starting to get ready for bed, stripping out of jackets and setting up their bedrolls.
"Are you alright?" Fili asked softly when he finally put his pipe away. "You look … sad."
"I'm fine," she replied automatically, then she sighed and shook her head. "Actually no. I guess I'm just … feeling a little homesick. I miss my family," she said honestly, tucking her chin tighter into her knees so that her body was curled up into a small ball. The sight of her memories displayed out before her in vivid colour earlier had awoken her longing for them.
"I'm sure they miss you too," he said consolingly, but Lizzy shook her head once more.
"No, Gandalf said he would return me to the exact time and spot that I left," she explained sadly. "They will never even have known I was gone."
The thought that she would return to her family a completely different person, one with all of these new stories and experiences that she would never be able to share with them, rather upset her, though she supposed that it was a better alternative to her family thinking she was missing and worrying about her. Suddenly wanting to be alone once more, she climbed to her feet. "You know what? I think I'm just going to go to bed, I'm kind of tired."
"You're not staying here with us?" Kili asked in surprise as she made her way across the courtyard.
"Are you kidding? The Elves have given me a mattress and real feather pillows, you couldn't pay me to stay and listen to your snoring," she said incredulously, hiding her disquiet with sarcasm. She blew a kiss at the company in general as she left. "G'night guys."
Thorin returned to the courtyard after his discussion with Lord Elrond, his mind whirring after everything he had learned. The door into the mountain did indeed exist and could only be opened on a certain day, meaning they now had a strict schedule to stick to on their journey if they were to make it in time. Durin's Day was still several months away, but he wanted to be on the road again as soon as possible, especially after the Elf had deemed their quest 'unwise': he feared that they would try to hinder them somehow.
Reaching the courtyard, he saw most of the company still awake. He filled them in about the map in a quiet whisper, explaining the moon-runes and the importance of Durin's Day. They all agreed that they should leave as soon as they could, eager to be away from this strange and foreign Elvish place. Bilbo's face fell at this news of them moving on so soon, though he wisely kept his protests silent.
Realising who was missing, Thorin glanced around the courtyard. "Where is Miss Darrow?" he asked, since she was no longer curled up on the divan with his nephews. He felt a small stab of worry, remembering how pale and haunted she had appeared earlier.
"She went back to her room, said something about sleeping without the sound of our snoring," Bombur explained from his bedroll.
"Isn't she aware that she snores herself?" Bofur asked with a grin.
"Aye, but not as loudly as we do," his large brother said. "Best not tell the lass, it will probably upset her."
Leaving them to their talking, Thorin slipped quietly away once more and left the courtyard. He sternly told himself that it was to inform Miss Darrow that they were leaving come dawn, but in reality he was concerned about her. When she had fled the grove of trees earlier he had been worried that she might do some mischief to herself in that state and when he had seen her with Fili and Kili earlier it was apparent that the afternoon had not improved her spirits much.
Moreover, after his conversation with Elrond he wished to see if what she knew of the map corresponded with what he had just discovered – a final test to confirm her outlandish story.
Rivendell was largely deserted at this time of night and he only saw a few Elves gliding along in the darkness on silent feet. He was lucky enough to remember the way to the guest wing and not have to ask for directions once more.
He knocked quietly, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. There was no immediate response, so he knocked again, louder this time.
She yawningly opened the door and he immediately averted his eyes.
"Could you not at least make yourself decent, Miss Darrow?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the intricately carved wooden frame above her door. She had answered his knock with her hair down and messy, wearing only one of her strange shirts as a nightdress that didn't even cover her bare thighs.
"I was asleep and not exactly expecting company," she said reproachfully, but nevertheless moved aside to let him in.
Spying a robe on a hook by the door, he took it and held it pointedly in her direction, still not looking at her. He felt her take it from him with a faint sigh.
"Any particular reason for this late night visit?" she asked once she was more decently covered in the robe, her arms wrapped around her torso as if she was holding herself together. Now that he allowed himself to look at her, he saw that she looked paler than usual and that her eyes held a slight tinge of red. Her bed was also in disarray, making him wonder if her sleep had been plagued by nightmares.
"I am curious to see if your information matches that which I have just received from Lord Elrond," he told her, handing her the map.
She took it from him and walked over to the balcony of her room, clearly knowing how to read it since she held it straight up to the moonlight. The moon-runes gleamed faint but clear with the light shining behind them. "I don't read Ancient Dwarvish, you know, and like I said earlier I can't remember the exact wording, but it's something about a thrush knocking and the last light of Durin's Day."
"Indeed," Thorin said, inclining his head. Her knowledge of how to read the runes and summary of what they had said was enough to dispel the few lingering doubts he had about her fantastical story of his quest being legendary in her world.
"Does this mean you believe me?" she asked, seemingly reading his thoughts as she stepped forward to hand him back the map.
"You have given me no reason to doubt your story and it seems that trusting you could potentially be the only way to save my nephews," he said gruffly, and then allowed his voice to become stern. "However, it would be wise to keep this knowledge of yours to yourself, it is not something the rest of the company needs to know."
She rolled her eyes at that. "I know, that's why I kept it from you."
Thorin looked at her briefly – this strange and seemingly delicate woman that held so many secrets and was apparently the key to their success. "I hope you know that I did not want to believe you a traitor," he said honestly: not only would the news have devastated his nephews, who had formed quite the friendship with the girl, but she had created a place for herself among the company. "I spoke to you this morning in a way that I had no business too, and for that I apologise."
She smiled at him, accepting his apology. "Are we to be friends then?"
"We are allies, Miss Darrow, which I think you will find a good deal more effective," he corrected her. There was a brief silence as the two of them gazed at each other, her arms wrapped protectively around her torso once more. Thorin shook himself and made to leave the room. "We depart at first light, be sure that you are ready."
Can you believe that the space between now and the trolls is only ONE DAY?
I do normally reply to all reviewers, but to those who reviewed without being signed in / PM not enabled, just wanted to say a big thank you for your support of this story :)
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