o.O I DO NOT LIKE CYCLONES! THEY ARE REALLY, REALLY SCARY! 'Specially since Innisfail is now completely wrecked and there are kazillions of people without anything…-sob-
Lots of hugs for: erowyne (thanks for the hug!), shadow929, got-lotr, Socks Are Yummy, R.K. Binx, CelticRoseOfTheLake, DAG (lol. Whoever you are, THANKS FOR THE REVIEW:) ), ArwenEvenstar83, Lintered, Amareth's Shadow, Da Evil BEAN, Elo, Laer4572, -incessant embers-, Sorceress of the Cat, Fire wolfess, Jedi X-man Serena Kenobi, b2 (no, you can't have Víra's eyes, then she wouldn't be able to see! lol) & sugar-high pixie. I LOVE YOU GUYS! You all getmany thank yous and a surprise-in-a-box each:)
OK people, here's your chapter!
Disclaimer: -sigh- As much as I would love to have had a part in the creation of Tolkien's work, I don't. And so I'm not taking credit from anything that isn't mine. The things I do take credit for are Víra, and other stuff that I created with my brilliant (and I must admit, crazy) mind.
To Be A Girl In Middle-Earth
Chapter 21: YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!
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Still smiling after Celeborn's comment, I followed Galadriel down a stairway until we reached the base of the tree. I blinked a few times to let my eyes adjust then walked after the she-Elf who was threatening to disappear into the deepening shadows. Quite a way off to my right I saw my companions being shown their sleeping place at the foundation of another giant tree and waved. They all waved back at me and I smiled before turning after Galadriel and disappearing myself into the shadows.
The Lady of Light led me to a large garden which held in its centre a dome with seats beneath it. I walked up to it and took my seat when she gestured towards one.
"Um, you're not mad at me, are you?" I asked before she could say anything.
"Why would I have cause to be?" Galadriel asked.
"Because of what I did before," I told her. "You know, when you were trying to see into my heart and stuff."
Galadriel laughed. "Child, I was merely surprised at your reaction to my 'intrusion', that is all."
"Oh, okay."
I fidgeted for a moment and listened to the silence around us – which let me tell you, was hard, because you can't listen to an absence of sound.
"Late is the hour, so I will not be too deep with my answers," the she-Elf said, more to herself than me. "What do you wish to know?"
"Everything! Anything…all of it!" I blurted, which just caused her to laugh again.
"Ask me a question and I will answer," she said. Basing my judgment on what I'd heard her say before and deciding to be quick I asked the first thing that came to mind.
"What's wrong with my eyes?"
"Nothing," the Lady of Light said simply.
"Then why do they change colour all the time?" I wanted to know.
"As your abilities increase and strengthen the shade of your eyes will change," she explained. "They have become golden tonight, perhaps from your struggle with myself. The stronger you become, the more effect your words will have."
Wow. I have cool eyes if they could do all that.
"I could get that powerful?" I asked. She nodded. "What a fantastic beacon for the evil guys."
"The Dark Lord Sauron and the Wizard Saruman will long for your power, child, but that does not mean they will get it," Galadriel reassured me.
I've really got to stop thinking out loud.
"Okay, I get that bit, but how come there's that…thing around the One Ring that changes to suit my eyes?" I asked.
Galadriel looked at me in confusion and I realized she had no idea what I was talking about.
Well, that was helpful. Not.
"Never mind," I said quickly. "What about my – ?"
"Lady Galadriel?" a voice interrupted us. I shut my mouth with a snap and turned to face Haldir with a scowl. The Elf looked a little taken aback at my expression, but bowed to us both before turning to Galadriel.
"Lord Celeborn wishes to see you, my Lady," he told her. I expected her to tell him to come back later but she didn't. Instead, she stood and began walking away.
We will talk at a later time, Víralairë, she told me. I glared at her angrily for a moment before blinking in surprise.
Where had that feeling of hate come from? It wasn't as if I was anyone special that should have the privilege of constant attention from the Lady of Light.
Strange.
I was thinking on that point when I realized Haldir was still standing there, looking at me expectantly.
"Do you wish to be shown your rooms, Elda-hína?" he asked.
"Oh! You're finally talking to me!" I said. "Sure, whatever."
I walked over to him and he offered me his arm. I raised my eyebrows at him before resting my hand on his arm and beginning to walk away from the dome.
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"Hey you guys!" I said brightly after the Elf led me back to my companions at the base of their tree. They all just looked at me sadly. I stopped in my tracks.
That's right, I thought. They're all going to be mourning Gandalf for ages until he shows up again.
I quickly thanked Haldir, who vanished into the trees as I sat down beside my pack. In the time it had taken Galadriel to talk to me, everyone had set up their bedrolls and Legolas had even managed to get changed. I unrolled my own bedding, and then asked them if there was a place I could change. Aragorn pointed to another room beneath the roots of the tree and I thanked him before grabbing my spare set of clothes and going inside.
The room turned out to be a shared bathroom with lots of cupboards and a washing tub, so I was able to make myself clean before changing into fresh clothes. Curious as to what was in the cupboards I opened one of them and peered inside. Within was a set of small clothes that looked like they'd fit a Hobbit. In the next one there was a man's casual attire.
"I wonder…" I murmured softly, and pulled open the end cabinet. Inside were tons of dresses and shirts and pantsthat looked like they would fit me perfectly. I smiled, shaking my head in amazement.
Jeez, these Elves were an organized race of people.
Choosing one of the nightdresses I got dressed again and walked out. The cool air made my skin prickle as I stuffed my clothes back into my pack and shoved it at the bottom of my bedroll.
Gimli had fallen asleep and was snoring every now and then.
"I have not seen you wear such things since the Council," Legolas noted, looking at my dress.
"Congratulations for your observation, Elfy. Do you know how hard it would be to travel in a dress?" I looked at him. "No, I suppose not. You are male after all – seeing you in a dress would be funny, though."
Aragorn shook his head. "You change your subject too swiftly for others to understand, Víra."
"Of course I do," I grinned. "It's fun to make you all confused."
Then the Elves started to sing for Gandalf. And like at Rivendell, the Elves' singing made me sleepy. I lay down on my bed.
"A lament for Gandalf," Legolas spoke softly. The mood of the Fellowship had changed in an instant, but I was too tired to care.
"What do they say about him?" Merry asked.
I didn't hear Legolas's answer. I was already asleep.
-----
In the morning I woke to find the others' beds empty and the sun shining through the canopy and into my face. Dressing in a shift and loose pants I decided to quickly eat, and then find Galadriel for some intense questioning.
I wandered back towards the dome-thing in the garden from yesterday and found to my surprise that the Lady of Light herself was waiting for me there.
"Morning!" I said to her. She looked up and smiled at my approach.
"I have been thinking over what happened the evening you arrived and I have decided to test you once more," she told me.
I stepped back, wrapping my arms around my body protectively.
"No," I said firmly. "Not if it's going to hurt again."
"Do not fear, child – I have thought of another way. Hold out your hand," she ordered. I did so. "Do you remember how to make your light?"
"Of course," I snorted. My orb appeared in my hand. Galadriel glanced at it with a frown before reaching out to let her hand hover above it. I saw the she-Elf's staring eyes widen before my orb exploded with its dark lightning. The black light spread out around us.
My own eyes widened as I watched the lightning with fascination. It flickered and danced like a wild thing until I was sure that my light would be permanently blackened. Galadriel drew her hand back and the lightning faded, crackling around my orb every few seconds or so.
"Um…what did you do to it?" I asked, checking over it carefully.
"I drew out the core of its power," she said softly. "Instead of seeking my answers within your heart I looked within your power."
"So, the heart of my power is darkness?" I asked in horror. "Evil?"
Galadriel just looked at me.
"I am not certain, anymore. Once I was sure what you were meant to be, but now… Now that time is on our side I will tell you your answers," she said firmly.
"Okay," I said, still worried.
I did not have a good feeling about this.
"In the years after the Second Age," Galadriel began sadly, "the Queen of Mirkwood befriended a wandering she-Elf from this realm of Lothlórien. The wanderer was named Vilya and with the aid and friendship of the Queen she had settled within Mirkwood with the beginnings of a family and was soon expecting a child."
I sat back in my seat, wondering where this was heading.
"One night there was an unforseen attack on the place where Vilya and her mate were living. The struggle was brief, but when it ended, Vilya's husband was dead and the she-Elf could not be found. It was thought that the raid had been committed by a band of Orcs or the like, and Vilya taken by them for their own uses. Her expected death and that of her unborn child were heard with great sorrow by the Queen, who made a promise in the memory of her friend."
I could see now why Galadriel wassounding so depressed. She took a deep breath, looking away before continuing.
"The years passed, and rumour came to Lothlórien of a devastating force that seemed to spread itself from Mordor, randomly destroying anyone or anything in its path. Survivors could only summon the image of a small, unclothed child with eyes of darkness and the power for destruction…" she trailed off, remembering something.
"And what else?" I prompted. Galadriel smiled sadly.
"This child also had the appearance of my kind," she said slowly. I took in a sharp breath.
"You mean the kid was an Elf?" I asked. When she nodded I added, "But an Elf wrecking stuff doesn't sound right."
"Will you allow me to go on?" Galadriel asked.
"Yes."
"Those with possession of the Three – the Elven Rings – had to halt this dark child before she devastated the whole of Middle-Earth – "
I cut her off. "So this evil kid was a girl?"
"She was," Galadriel continued. "Elrond, Gandalf and I combined our power to capture her, and together we were able to rid Middle-Earth from her menace."
"How?" I asked.
"We forged a link between this world and another and sent her there to be reborn as a human child, hoping that that would seal away her power. It was after this that I foresaw a Prophecy in my Mirror, the telling of the child's destiny. Over time the message changed, influenced by the child's actions in her new world."
"But did what you three do get rid of her power?"
"We simply did not. It was only contained it within her body, waiting dormant for the hour it could return," Galadriel answered.
"And what's this got to do with the death of the she-Elf, Vilya?" I questioned, and then gasped. "Unless…!"
"You are quite right, child," she told me, nodding. "Vilya did not die at first. She and her unborn child were taken deep into Mordor, where The Dark Lord Sauron was regaining strength after his defeat. He infused the babe with his evil, killing the mother, but allowing her child to live. And so he created a dangerous tool, a child who was half-Elf and half-Darkness with the power he needed to dominate Middle-Earth."
I was shocked at where this story had headed. It was scaring me a lot, thinking of all the deaths and evil stuff that had happened.
And it a child who had done it. An innocent little kid.
Okay, maybe not innocent as such, but still. A kid.
"However, when she was reborn she was only a third of those two things, as a third of her being was also the human part that held back the Dark," the Lady continued, then stopped again.
"That makes sense, I suppose," I said, trying to get her to keep talking.
"You are sure that you would like to hear the remainder of this tale?" Galadriel asked suddenly.
"Well, sure," I said, shrugging. "I don't really know why you're telling me it, but I know that it must lead to at least one of my answers."
She smiled sadly. "Do you remember the verse that I asked Lord Elrond to give you?"
Um, yeah. I'd only been puzzling over it since forever.
"From the dark and light will come gray, powerful but tainted it will be. Unknowing but caring, unthinking but with knowledge," I recited from memory.
"Is that what he told you?" Galadriel asked.
"Yes."
"Well, he did not repeat it to you correctly. The verse is as such:
From the Dark and Light will come Grey,
Powerful but tainted it will be.
In confusion it will care,
And know things unseen.
"Also," she continued when I opened my mouth to speak. "There are two other verses. They are:
Created by Light and owned by Dark,
The Grey shall be the divider.
Love of one Light will hold it,
Corrupt though it seems.
It will unite with another's love,
And save one who is lost.
Create with the gift of death,
And destroy with the curse of life."
"So… that Prophecy is about an evil kid from history?" I asked her.
"Yes," Galadriel confirmed. "I believe that the Grey foretold was the child that we sent away from this world to be reborn."
I eyed her carefully. "And that's all to the story? There's nothing else?"
"There is one other thing to tell," Galadriel sighed. "The child would someday return here to walk her destined path."
"So what's this got to do with me?" I asked, although I did have a small, unnerving suspicion.
I just hoped I was wrong.
My hopes plummeted down to the bottom of the ravine of Moria when I saw Galadriel's face.
"Víralairë. Child. I am sure you must have realized it by now. Vilya's daughter, the Dark child that slaughtered so many…"
She trailed off, and looked at me sadly.
"She was you."
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm so evil…-looks behind her and sees angry readers readying sharp and pointy things to throw- um…SOMEBODY HELP ME! –runs away screaming with an angry mob chasing after her–
Ahem.
HA! I BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT ANSWER COMING :) Sorry about the cliffhanger, my dear readers. I assure you that the next chapter will make up for it…hopefully…
OK, my lovelies, as soon as the site gets fixed I will be posting this and the first chapter of my InuYasha fic. It will be called: To Imbue A Soul so please go and check it out, then REVIEW and tell me what you think! –makes big puppy eyes– PLEASE?
And please review this chappie:) And tell me what you think of Víra now that you know a bit more about whoever or whatever she is! Any questions will be answered with pleasure and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! This time, reviewers will get the chance to get a SHINY:) Tell me what your shiny thing is in your review! Enjoy!
Namárië!
ElfD :)