(I'm having issues with how to start this. Let's begin with a hello, maybe?)
Hello!
Hope you are well :) Finally updating after what seems like five billion years. This honestly took FOREVER to write. So, if there's any mistakes or cruddy stuff, my bad. But hey, EVERYONE'S ALIVE HERE.
Well, everyone expect for Boromir, but that's kinda obvious. I guess that's what Sean Bean gets for his name not rhyming.
Hehe, enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR, only in my dreams.
Stella couldn't tell if she wanted to strangle the wizard in front of her, or give him a never-ending hug.
He stood tall, peering down at their sprawled figures on the ground below. His face was not as serious as it had once been, but his eyes were still wise with age and experience. The White Wizard gave them a small smile.
"It can't be," Merry breathed in disbelief. He and Pippin glanced at each other before bounding off their bellies and launching themselves at the wizard. Gandalf laughed, taking the two hobbits under each arm in a small embrace. Stella herself even slowly got to her feet, her brow knitted tightly.
After the laughing of the hobbits and the wizard ceased, Gandalf looked at Stella's curious face.
"Estella," he said, grinning. A warm tingle spread it's way from her heart and down to her toes.
"Gandalf," she choked out. The air seemed thin and her need for breathing deeply was great.
"We thought you were dead!" Pippin exclaimed, oblivious to Stella's emotional state. The wizard chuckled and pressed his long, wrinkled finger to the side of his nose secretively.
"I have my ways, Peregrine Took. Do not underestimate a wizard and his abilities," he replied, patting the hobbit's tuft of blonde hair. Then, Gandalf looked up at the Ent and bowed his head in appreciation. "Thank you Treebeard. But I am afraid I have to ask one more favor of you."
"Whatever you need, I may provide," the Ent, Treebeard, responded politely. Gandalf placed his hands on the shoulders of Merry and Pippin.
"It is time for our hobbits to take their leave. I believe they can be of great assistance for you," the wizard said, winking at the halflings knowingly. Pippin's smile vanished as his face contorted into an expression of confusion.
"What about Miss Stella? Shouldn't she come with us as well?" the hobbit questioned, looking up at his elven friend. The White Wizard shook his head.
"No, Estella is needed elsewhere. She has her own battles to fight," Gandalf responded, casting a small smile at the perplexed elleth, before turning back to Pippin and Merry's gaze. "And you two have another adventure ahead of you."
The wizard gestured to Treebeard, who stood there, watching. With one last look at Gandalf, the hobbits made their way to Stella, throwing their arms around her waist.
"Thank you, Miss Stella," Merry whispered, drawing back from his sudden embrace and moving to the patient Treebeard. Pippin, however, didn't want to quite let go just yet.
Stella forced the small hobbit to loosen his arms from around her and she held his face between her palms, smiling. "You'll see me again, Pippin."
"I know, Miss Stella," he nodded, dropping his arms to his sides. With one last smile, he made his way to Treebeard and Merry, the Ent leaning himself down to allow Pippin access to a perch on his shoulder.
The tree stood after Pippin clambered on, nodding one last time at Gandalf and Stella. He turned and continued onward, carrying the hobbits away from the elleth. A frown etched itself onto her face, for her heart felt a tad bit empty now, but she spun to focus on Gandalf's withered face.
"Come. There is much we need to converse about and the rest of the Fellowship is waiting," Gandalf said, beckoning her with his hand. Stella fell into step with the wizard, tilting her head to look up at him.
"I'm sorry," she said after a few beats of silence. His eyes stared unblinkingly at her face. "I'm sorry for yelling at you and calling you a liar. All you were trying to do was protect me, and I see that now."
Gandalf shifted his gaze to the forest in front of them, his hand that did not contain the staff touching the bark on a nearby tree. At first, Stella expected him to get mad at her or, in the very least, be greatly disappointed. But his response was neither of those, something that surprised her immensely.
"I was not being fair," he said, hesitantly. "I should have never kept a secret like that from you. I...I was simply worried that you would withdraw yourself. Lose hope in Middle Earth and in me."
Stella smiled at her old wizard friend. "I couldn't if I tried."
Gandalf chuckled and winked at her in his mysterious way. The elleth laughed and looped her arm through his.
"Tell me about them," she said, looking up at him, her wide eyes giving her an innocence that reminded him of just how much she had grown.
"Well," Gandalf began, clearing his throat. "Your mother, Melui, was an elleth with a peculiar amount of, ah, gumption. You sound very much like her and sometimes, if I am not listening close enough, I would think that she was still here."
His smile lessened, but when he saw the curious look on Stella's face, he continued. "Your father, Alverior, was also quite the elf. He could fight anything in his path, but he also had a strong moral compass. Alverior was Captain of the Guard of Rivendell, which suited him well, for he was extremely graceful and agile. But, when he saw your mother for the first time, he fell flat on his nose! Oh, you could never forget such a sight."
Stella let out an unladylike snort and slapped her hand over her mouth, clearing her throat in embarrassment. "What happened after that?"
"They were married and a few years later, they were gifted with you," Gandalf said, his expression much more serious than it had been before. "Alverior was killed by an orc pack on a trip with Elladan and Elrohir, Lord Elrond's sons. Melui fell sick with grief, but kept herself occupied with you. Her love for you kept away some of the pain, but she grew weaker and weaker, and soon, Lord Elrond gave her the news that she was fading. Melui never wanted to leave you, however, she knew you were needed in Rivendell. So she entrusted me with your care. I found a book containing ancient magic that created a portal to another world and I took you there myself under a protection spell. I couldn't be seen, but I was always there."
Stella pursed her lips, soaking in all the new information she was just dealt. "So that's why none of the other children could see you? You were there, but just not to them?"
"Indeed," the wizard replied. "I planned to return you to your homeland on the eve of your eighteenth birthday, but Middle Earth kept growing darker and I was hesitant. I realize how foolish I was now, but I wanted to keep you safe for as long as possible."
"And I thank you for that," the elleth said. "But I have another question for you...why wasn't I an elf in New York?"
"Ah, I was curious as to when that inquiry would surface," the wizard replied, patting her hand lightly. "It was part of the protection spell I placed on you. When you returned to your homeland, you would take your true form as an elleth. Some of your human side effects remained, however. That is why you are less immune to the cold and you need a slightly more sleep than most elves."
Stella nodded silently, her head buzzing with this newfound information. It was coming at her quickly, like a ton of bricks, yet she didn't mind much at all. In fact, she had even more questions than before. But, before she could open her mouth to speak, Gandalf withdrew his arm from her's and pressed a finger to his lips.
"We are here," he whispered. Stella quirked her ears at the soft sound of voices ahead. The gruff voice of Gimli was the most prominent, for the dwarf hardly could ever keep quiet. A new feeling of excitement bubbled from her toes to her nose at the knowledge that her friends were right in front of her, merely a few feet away.
"You can hear them from a mile away," Stella chuckled, but beside her, Gandalf said nothing. Instead, he shifted in front of her, halting all her movements. Stella knit her brow, perplexed. She opened her mouth to say something, but a hissing whisper from the wizard quieted her.
"Go, up in the trees and shield your eyes. Make sure you are not seen," he said quietly. The elleth so wrinkled her brow, questions tingling on her tongue, but she knew better than to open her mouth when Gandalf got this way. So she sucked in a breath and did as she was told, scampering up a nearby tree and clapping a hand over her eyes.
The voices of men grew louder and louder. She could hear an arrow cutting through the air, along with yelps of distress. Stella wasn't sure what Gandalf was doing, but it seemed to cause the travelers a bit of grief.
"You are tracking the footsteps of the two hobbits and the elleth," Gandalf bellowed, his voice sounding less recognizable with each word. "Are you not?"
"Who are you? Come and show yourself!" the voice of Aragorn replied fiercely. In her mind, the elleth could picture the Ranger's determined eyes and lips pressed into a thin line.
Gandalf gave no reply, but something evidently occurred during his silence to draw a gasp from the travelers. Stella bit the inside of her cheek, her lack of knowledge of the current situation driving her slightly mad. Yet, she kept in one place, hands still clapped over her eyes.
"It cannot be! You're...you're alive," Aragorn breathed after a large pause.
"Indeed," the wizard said, a smile evident in his voice.
"Forgive me, I mistook you for Saruman," another voice, one that Stella immediately recognized as Legolas', uttered. She could picture his apologetic expression and polite incline of his head as he spoke.
"We thought you were dead. You fell off the bridge, you—," Aragorn said, obviously still in a state of disbelief. From up in the branches, the elleth stifled a chuckle at the Ranger's dumbfounded tone. "You fell."
"I did, yes," Gandalf agreed. "Through fire and water, to the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought the Balrog of Morgoth. I defeated my enemy upon the mountainside, but, alas, darkness consumed me. I strayed out of thought and time, the stars wheeling overhead. I thought surely it was the end, however, light returned to me. My work is not finished yet."
"Oh, how nice it is to see you, Gandalf the Grey," said Aragorn, with admiration seeping into his words gently.
"That is what they used to call me, yes, but that is not who I am anymore," the wizard countered. "I am Gandalf the White and I have come back to you now, at the turn of the tide."
"We have all missed you very much, my friend!" Gimli exclaimed merrily. Gandalf chuckled.
"I believe I am not the only one you have missed dearly," he replied. "You may come down now, Stella."
From up on her branch, the elleth peeled her fingers from her eyes and grinned, slipping down the bark. She landed with the tiniest 'thud' on the forest floor, the eyes of travelers fixed solely on her.
"I was wondering when I'd be invited to the party," she said, tossing her hair and wiping her fingers on her trousers. "It was getting quite stuffy up there."
The look of disbelief on both Aragorn and Legolas' faces were laughable. Gimli, however, scoffed and rolled is eyes.
"Women," he muttered. "Can't kill them even with a pack of Uruk-hai."
"Stella," Aragorn uttered, inching forward slightly. "You're alive?"
"In the flesh. And, I don't know about you, but I feel like killing a few more orcs," she said, beaming and feeling quite high and mighty in their gazes of admiration. However, fate would not be kind enough to give her a heroic entrance, so, as if right on cue, her stomach groaned loudly. Stella's ears warmed in slight embarrassment. "But perhaps we can get breakfast first."
Could you tell I was hungry while writing this...?
Anyway, thanks for reading!
I kinda hope my friends don't see these really lame A/Ns, it would be an orcward conversation...
...Yeah, 'kay I'm leaving now. Remember to R&R, please and thank you!
See you soon :)
-Halesie
