Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR.
A/N: Thank you again to all the dear readers. To all those who favourited or followed the story, I present my huge thanks. You guys rock!
WinnieFawn: Thank you for the awesome feedback. I hope you enjoy this chapter too. Btw "goodbye is a terrible loss when you don't have that many people to say it to in the first place..." might just become a quote in this story, if that's alright with you.
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To all the readers,
Enjoy the Chapter! R&R.
Chapter 12: Another Beginning.
The dry glass glowed golden in the bright hues of the sun. The pleasant scenery along with the balmy breeze of the late summer had a serene effect on the mind. This particular village that I was approaching was a lot smaller than Èohere's but there were acres of farms spread out around it. The village itself was all wood. Even the largest building, most probably the central hall, was made of planks of light oak. I walked for a while, taking my time in reaching the destination. Unlike many other areas, this distinct settlement had no boundaries. No gates to mark the start. Just suddenly the wheat crops ended and the houses began. I wished to say that the town was bursting with life and laughter but it was not. There were only a few people going on about their business, others were probably working in the fields I reasoned. I looked around for a moment to see if there was someone I could ask for help. A few houses away three women stood chatting, baskets of supplies hanging on their arms. There were short giggles of laughter at a few intervals. Tapping the inner pocket of my dress to make sure that I hadn't dropped the letter, I took a long breath and moved towards the women with purpose in my step. They quietened and turned to stare at me just as I stopped beside them. After muttering a few awkward pleasantries I asked them about the location of Èhara, the woman I was searching for. For a moment their eyes showed startled expressions but it was easily covered up once again with pretty smiles although this time with slightly bitter quirk of their lips. That made me realise that this woman I was searching for was yet another outcast. The villagers didn't accept her which made me doubt her utility but as Èohere had told me of her I couldn't complain. It was better to trust his decision. After getting the directions I nodded my head in thanks and went along the path. The houses in this track were a few and considerably smaller ones. They had told me to see the one with black iron ring at front, which by the way was a totally useless explanation as all of the houses seemed to have black rings for knocking. I tried my luck at the second house. The door was opened a moment later by a withering old grandma. Not a pleasant grandma though. Her expression was one of annoyance and distrust seemed to be deeply rooted in those black orbs. The frown on her face added a few more years to her sharp features.
"Are you Èhara-"
"The fourth house on your right." And the door was slammed on my face.
I muttered a hesitant thank you and moved towards the specified house. It was similar to all the others in the lane. Small with probably two rooms and single story. The entire house was built with rough boards of light brown wood. I knocked at the door and waited. Again the door was opened by a woman. This time maybe in her early thirties. Her corn hair pulled back and tied in half. Those doe eyes stared at me curiously. After an initial shy smile, I asked "Miss Èhara?"
She straightened and nodded. "Yes, what can I help you with M'lady?"
I placed my bag on the step and took out the letter from my pocket. Without delay, I extended it towards her. She took one look at the letter and seemed to recognise who wrote it, which made her even more surprised. She took it from my grasp and after sparing another indecipherable look towards me opened the fold. It took her only a few moments to read the note, an indication of her good education. She folded it once more albeit a little slowly this time and moved away from the door.
"Come in, Lady Lanette." She called over her shoulder with a smile. I stalled for a moment, her smile had seemed too forced. Surely Èohere had something on this woman because I could tell that I wasn't welcome here and yet as an act of courtesy she had invited me in. Plastering a small polite smile on my face I grabbed my bag and moved in behind her. She took me to a small room and told me to freshen up in the small bathroom beside it. Then she left me without another moment of pause. I stood still, taking in my surroundings. Finding nothing out of ordinary I moved towards the bath in hopes to rein in my increasing discomfort at my parting with Èohere.
I was washing my face in the small basin when I realised that I had to make a story about my past to make this woman believe me enough to let me tag along, and a pretty probable one at that. I went over all of the little information I had gathered about the life in Middle-Earth. My mind raced with all the possible scenarios I could make and searched for the best one. I was wringing my hands dry on the small towel and solidifying the last of my story when Èhara called me from the common room. I took a sharp breath and slapped lightly at my face to loosen up a little, trying my best to quench my guilt at lying to someone who was going to help me. After a last reminder to myself about the delicacy of the situation, I went into the said room, the confidence in my step surprising to my own self.
We ate in silence for a while. The small wooden table was covered with dishes and plates. The food was simple, as Èhara was obviously not expecting company. But still, it was better than the meals we had on the road in the last few months. There were fresh, soft pieces of sesame bread. A small platter of cream and cooked vegetables with a small bottle of honey. I ate with fervour. After being on road since dawn it was my first meal and a delicious one at that. I took another piece of bread from the basket and placed a small heap of braised vegetables on my plate. Èhara cleared her throat and took a large gulp of mead.
"I offer you my condolences." I looked up at her with surprise, which she took as the consent to continue her talk.
"You are a brave person to continue to fend for yourself, m'lady, even after such tragedy occurred to your family." I swallowed the remaining pieces of the bread and nodded a little uncomfortably. If Èohere was going to make up a story about my past then he should've at least told me. Things could get messy if he had explained one thing and I said another. Looking at Èhara again I found her waiting for my reply.
"Thank you." I said, my voice a little croaky, "I wished to explain it all to you myself but it looks like Èohere already has." I gave her a weak smile.
She maybe took it as criticism towards him and I was definitely surprised to see her jumping in to defend the said man. "No M'lady, it was not Lord Èohere's intention to anger you. He did not tell me anything except for the fact that your family was slaughtered in an orc raid and now you have to adopt a job to fend for yourself!" Lord Èohere?I nearly choked on the water. Looking at her, I nodded once again. Èhara could be easily deciphered, as she had the tendency to display all of her emotions on her face. She was looking at me with a crease in her brow, seemingly contemplating whether to ask me what was on the tip of her tongue or not.
"But how can a lady such as yourself work in the household of another, and as a maid nonetheless." Her voice was light when she made her comment, her eyes zeroed on my face to gauge my expression.
"I'm hardly a lady, Èhara, you can comfortably address me by my name." I passed her an amused smile.
"You are not a lady? M'lady." I shook my head slowly. Did Èohere also write about me being a lady? I resisted the urge to groan.
"My apologies m'lady, your mannerisms are too refined and the way you hold yourself highly, anyone will deduce the same." I only gave an airy chuckle at that. If only she knew all of my mannerisms...
"Just address me as Lane." I said firmly and got up to assemble the plates. As I moved towards the small sink to stack the dishes I was sure I heard her mutter 'What a strange name' under her breath. I smirked slightly, hoping with half an heart that my modern mannerisms won't cause trouble with my to-be-new bosses.
We started our journey towards Gondor with a small pack of travellers. They were going to pass through the front of the village without cessation. Èhara looked harassed as she tried simultaneously to clean and lock up the house and pack her bags for her journey and stay. Nevertheless we were ready soon enough to join the small party as it moved away from the village. There were a total of six people aside from me and Èhara. Two women, three men and one small girl, not older than ten at any rate. The men rode on their horses and we women adjusted, with no little difficulty, into the sole cart. I would've preferred infinitely to ride a horse or to just walk all the way but giving up in the face of propriety I shut myself up and sat with the women. The journey was long and took us almost four weeks to reach anywhere near Minas Tirith. The jaunt was mostly bleak, without any remarkable incident. On one occasion the women had asked me about my husband, not that there was a husband to tell them of. I wasn't surprised to see their startled and distrustful glances when I told them of my lack of a partner. Even with my story of the loss of my family in my prime and having to work hard for my self did not work to decrease their pensive moods. It was bordering on unbearable for me. On many instances I wanted to just drop the act and give them a long lecture on the virtues of work and responsibilities that these women seemed to lack. I wanted to tell them that there was so much more to life than sitting around being pretty every day just so you could have a good husband when you hit your twenties but knowing that they would think me not right in mind if I tried this, I just rolled my eyes once and settled to look out towards the changing surroundings. Things were tense between me and the party and I couldn't seem to achieve any sort of friendship with Èhara. I hoped day in and out that we reach our destination safely but a little faster and that I won't have problems with the people there. But this sinking feeling in my gut made me register once more that things were easy for me when I came to Middle-Earth. First I had Raforta and Butterbur to help me and then I had Èohere as an awesome companion but now I needed to work and prove my place myself if I wanted someone to trust me. Everyday I thought about how it would've been different had I just opted for comfort and gone with Èohere, and everyday such thoughts caused my heart to sink a bit more. I thought about going back so many times. It wasn't until I could see the huge, tall structure of Minas Tirith looming as a shadow in the distance and the vast plains of Pelennor surrounding it that I realised that I had come too far to go back.
It took us three more days to reach the front gate of Minas Tirith. I had seen many huge and spectacular structures back home but never in my life had I heard of a whole city situated on seven levels. The structure was large enough that it could be seen days before even arriving at the front gate. Huge white marbles constituted in its making. The rays of the sun glinted off of the polished marble giving it even more majestic glow. I looked on with awe as we neared the front gate. It was a huge and heavy structure that seemed to take an entire force to open. There were platoons of soldiers surrounding the entire parameter, their size looking bulkier in their silver armour and chainmail.
"Magnificent, is it not," said Braihūr, one of the men that had accompanied us. I startled to attention at his sudden voice, my eyes snapping towards his face. Noticing belatedly that my mouth had been slightly open for a while now, I cleared my throat and managed a small yes, still in reverence of my surroundings. The creases of his face lightened as he looked on towards his home, making him look considerably younger. The guards stopped us at the gate for only a moment as they exchanged greetings with everyone. Their eyes lingered at my new face and I gave them a small polite smile. One of the guards flicked his hand and a loud creaking sound was heard. The door opened at a slow pace and we were greeted by the hustle and bustle of the city.
We continued moving through the curved roads, twisting and turning to reach the upper levels. It wasn't an easy task to be honest, the bustling crowds on the pleasantly breezy day, halted the roads, the vendors and shops bursting with life and the market brimming with masses. In addition to the horde, the perimeter of the city was also huge, it took a long time to travel through one level to reach the next. There were gates marking the start of each level and as we continued upwards the security got more tense. I later found out that the levels increased with the swell of the classes. The commoner crowd and the markets inhabited the first three levels. The next two with considerably less mass and more posh houses. Our destination was the sixth level, which surprised me for a moment because it would only make it easier for me to have access to the king's library on the seventh level, if our Lord was an influential one. We were stopped at the sixth gate and the guards moved about our cart and checked all the belongings. For a fleeting moment I feared that they will find the sword I had in my bag and sighed in relief as they nodded and the gate was opened indicating us to move on. This level was all chic and deluxe. Huge marble houses were on the left of the boundary wall. Their balconies over shadowing the porches. The large wired gates giving peeks of lavish gardens and beautifully carved entrances. I craned my neck over the side of the cart to get a closer look at the stately houses. The path moving through this level was wider than the previous ones and much more cleaner. There were only a few maids and servants moving about carrying basket or supplies. Looking at them made me wonder if I'll do well in my pending job. I wasn't used to taking orders. Being a surgeon ensured that I always had to find the solution and offer my opinion which was seldom rejected and was always followed on by the interns. I hoped again and again that the owners of the mansion were passive enough to not be bullies because if it came down to that then I didn't know if I would keep my pride and independence buried inside.
We moved on the smooth marble roads until we reached a considerably wider mansion at the middle of the sixth level. The outside of the house was light coloured marble like all of its counterparts. A large black iron gate was barred. One could easily see the lawn from the gaps between the iron rods. This house reminded me of all those large manors we could see on he TV which had those curved and carved gates that could easily be breeched. I never understood why they had such huge gaps in the gates. It was like inviting the thieves to raid their house and these particular ones didn't even have CCTV or electronic alarm system. The gates were opened by the sole guard standing on the inside. He tipped his head as a greeting towards Braihūr and the other men. Then he looked back towards the youngest member of our company and gave a cheerful wave to the young girl. His eyebrow creased for a moment as he took in my presence but then he turned around to do his duty once again. I tried to not show my nerves. If everyone was going to have such a reaction to me when I hadn't even opened my mouth I was not ecstatic to learn what they'll think of the modern mannerisms that seemed rooted deep into my self.
The garden was a total luxury, vines twisted over the boundary walls, weaving and turning, spreading in intricate patterns over the wall. The flower beds bursting with delicate flowers. I loved the way rose bushes spread out along the whole length of the lawn. The grass was lush green and the plants finely trimmed. Seeing roses growing in all their glory brought a smile to my face. The apartment complex I had resided back home had a large frontal lawn. Our gardener had tried his all to find some way to grow roses there but all in vain. It was hilarious to see him caught up in fights with others whenever someone talked about the utility of roses and what a pity it was that he couldn't grow them. Not that it was his fault, the soil inspection team had explained that there was a certain particle in the soil because of which a few species couldn't be grown but Tom, the gardener had never been over that fact. I shook my head, suppressing my smile and focused on my surroundings again.
The front entrance rose up to two steps and then led to a large polished wooden door. Even from afar one could tell that it was the wood of highest quality. We got out of the cart at the entrance and then moved along the slightly narrow stoned path between the mansion and the garden towards the back of the house. The manor was huge, which surprised me as I wasn't sure how large the closed city could've been to accommodate such houses. The fact that such huge halls can be made inside the bounded city at the sixth level and in the Medieval times was, to say the least, awe-inspiring. The lawn was also spread out behind the mansion. At the very back was a delicate looking swing. Ivory covering its ropes and seat. Tiny flowers bloomed on the ropes. It was that sort of swing that you see in Disney movies for all the many nature-loving princesses. The path widened at the back and a small wooden door came into the view. The woman leading the pack was Èhara. She knocked once at the door and entered without pause. I stopped for a moment, trying without luck to smooth out the crinkles on my dress. I brushed a hand through my hair to fix a few small strands that had left the knot on my head. Taking in a large gulp of air I moved inside. Half dreading and half expecting what was yet to come.
To be continued...