DISCLAIMER: I do not own LotR. Enough said.

Eleanor's thoughts will be in italics.

P.S. I hid a Doctor Who reference in here. Let me know if you spotted it :D

.oOo.

Chapter VIII

A Lesson in Everything

Waves on the shore,

Like the passage of time.

I always want more,

Of what used to be mine.

~REMdream

.oOo.

After we gathered all of our herbs we walked the short distance home. Soon after we organized everything in the shed I picked up a basket and told Darcy that I was going to go "pick berries" and to cover for me. She was reluctant at first but after she figured out that I was going no matter what she did, she said that she would keep my secret.

I hugged her to show my thanks and called a hardy "See you later." as I walked down the path to the forest. I would have jogged but my legs were still hurting from the exercise I did that morning.

Walking through the fields, my mind was buzzing with questions like, 'Where am I in the East?' or, 'What's the date?' I certainly hope that it's after the war for the ring, but it wouldn't make sense because of the way Silvius spoke of the mercenaries. It was as if Sauron was still alive.

I humphed, 'Well, I suppose I need to really stay out of the deceiver's radar. If he knew that I knew the outcome of this war, there's no telling what would happen.'

Once I entered the forest, I made my way to the ruins. It was cool beneath the trees shadows, which was uncharacteristic for a summer afternoon but nothing that I would complain about.

I climbed the steps of the entrance and entered the crumbling hall setting down my basket beside the piano as I went. The sunlight filtered through the treetops above and fell on the stone floor in a dappled pattern. I sighed contentedly. No matter how many times I visited this place, the feeling of magic never got old.

I sat down on the bench and leaned back to look at the sky which was partially revealed through the crumbling roof. I stayed there for a few moments before I began humming to myself, and smiled at the memories it brought as my voice stopped to remember. My whole family were singers. My brothers, my parents, and even some of my grandparents. Both my mother and my grandmother sang in opera before they married and expected me to follow in their footsteps; even though, my voice was a significantly lower range than theirs. I snorted a laugh. Lewis could sing higher than me before I really started working on my voice. He was always upset about it. Said that it didn't feel right. I finally got to where I could sing one note higher than he could, and he was satisfied with that. It was something we would always joke about.

People would always say that we had our own personal choir and it was true for the most part. Lewis would sing soprano, I would sing alto, Michael tenner, and William would be bass. We would mess around all the time and make up songs on the fly. Those were fun times, but now... now I couldn't bring myself to sing the words. Not now. I hope I'll have the strength soon, but not today.

"You came!" the surprised voice of Silvius made me look down and to my right to see him standing beside a particularly large hole in the wall.

I tilted my head, "Why wouldn't I?"

He fidgeted with his sleeve, "You seemed frightened of me yesterday."

I got up from the bench, "Well yesterday was yesterday, and today isn't yesterday now is it?"

He smiled shyly, "I guess not."

We stood in silence for a few moments. I shifted my weight and he fidgeted with his sleeve again. 'Oh good grief.' I thought, 'Where do we even begin?'

"So..." I started, not liking awkward silences, "what's your favorite... color?"

He tilted his head at me, "My... favorite color? I haven't really thought of that before." He thought for a moment, "I suppose..." then sighed with an apologetic smile, "Maybe you should tell me yours first."

I smiled back, "Alright. My favorite is blue. My second favorite is red."

He tilted his head, "I like blue as well. And green. Lavender is beautiful as well." he thought aloud, and I laughed with him at his indecision.

After another moment of silence I spoke up again, "Do you suppose we can start on the Quenya lessons now?" He grinned and nodded, "What do you wish to know?"

"Um. How do you say Hello?"

He smirked, "Istan quetë ya merin, ar lá hanyuvatyen." (I can say what I wish, and you won't understand me.)

I blinked, "Could you say that slower?"

He laughed, "Don't worry. We shall start off with something less complicated."

"You were messing with me!" I exclaimed in disbelief, "What did you say?"

He laughed again, "I am sorry..."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "No you're not." which only made him laugh more.

I sighed, 'Wow. This guy is jollier than Santa Clause.'

He finally quieted and gestured to the piano bench, "Please sit so we can begin our lesson comfortably."

I did as he asked and he sat on a nearby piece of rubble, "Now, repeat after me. Alla."

"Alla." I repeated.

He smiled, "Good. That means hail."

I nodded and he went on with the lesson. Learning Quenya was definitely much harder than Braric. I suppose my brain is over saturated with languages as I am fluent in German and French, and I dabbled into Japanese and Korean a bit. I'm very good at languages, except for Spanish. I didn't like Spanish and Spanish did not like me.

Never the less, we practiced simple phrases in Quenya for about an hour before he said it was my turn to teach him English, or Westron; whatever it's called.

Since he already knew quite a bit, I held a conversation with him and defined words that he didn't know the meaning of, instead of starting with the basics. I even had a secret laugh of revenge when I got him to say 'comfy chairs'.

We went on like this for another hour before I announced the lesson over and we sat back in our seats to listen to the songbirds chirping in the treetops.

"Have you ever been to the West?" Silvius asked me in English.

I looked over to see a longing in his eyes as he gazed out at the blue horizon. I returned my eyes to the trees, "No." I replied, "But, I've heard many stories of it."

"Tell me." came his quiet demand.

"What do you want me to share?" I asked him.

He stood and walked toward the western side of the hall, "Tell me... of my people. The elves of the west. What are they like? Where do they live?"

"Why? Don't you know?"

He shook his head, "No. Ever since we, the Avari, refused Orome all those years ago, we have remained in the East as wanderers, scavengers... homeless." He sighed, "My people do not care for the elves of the west, nor do they desire to go west, but I... I do. I want to walk under the trees of Lothlorien and see my distant brothers and sisters. And the sea... Elanor, have you ever seen the sea before?" He turned to face me with a hopeful gaze.

I smiled, "Yes, I have."

"What did it look like?" he pleaded.

I stared off into the distance as I recalled the beaches of Georgia, "Beautiful. An endless blue and green tide, forever crashing and rolling onto the shore. The salty breeze running through your hair makes you feel like your flying high above the world." I looked back at Silvius to find him smiling back at the horizon, "It sounds perfect."

He then turned back to me suddenly, "Now tell me of the elves. Where do they live?"

"Well, there are three kingdoms. The Great Green Wood, Lothlorien, and Imladris. The Green Wood is ruled by Thranduil, the keepers of Lothlorien are Lord Celeborn and the Lady Galadriel, and the lord of Imladris is Elrond Half-elven."

"What are they like?" he asked me as he sat back down on the boulder.

"Well, I can't really say because I haven't met them, but I've heard that they are very wise, and are full of joy." I might as well give him the good side of things.

He smiled before turning to me confused, "How do you know all of this if you have never been to the west?"

"I uh... read about the west in books that I found here and there." I stuttered.

"I see." he quietly said.

The sun was halfway down the sky by now; its rays starting to turn the clouds a brilliant golden yellow and pure white.

I remembered what the man in town said about the mercenaries and turned to Silvius, "What happened to the rest of those men?"

"The one's who attacked us?" he confirmed.

I nodded, and he, turning away, sighed.

I put two and two together, "They're dead. Aren't they?"

He gave a single nod then turned to me with a concerned expression a moment later, "Elanor, you must promise me this. Do you see the edge of the forest there?" He pointed out the way he came in. I nodded and he continued, "Don't go past that border."

"Why?" came my quiet question.

He sighed, "Because you are an Easterling, and my people would not see you left alive if you invaded our territory."

'I am not an Easterling.' I thought before I sighed, 'But I look like one.'

A stone slowly sank into my stomach as he continued, "I can protect you here, but if you step across that line of trees, there will be nothing that I can do. I know that you are different. I can sense it in you, but they do not know you. You would not be safe."

"I see." I quietly said before thinking, 'So Sauron hasn't been defeated yet? If he had I doubt the Avari would be this affronted by the Easterlings.' But that brought a question to my lips, "Silvius, what is today's date?"

"I believe it is July 12, 3018."

"What age?" I mumbled in shock. Don't be the third age please.

He thought a moment, "The third age I think."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, 'Great. Just great. Not only am I in the East but I've got a whole war to worry about and or avoid. But I have a feeling the only thing I'll be avoiding is peace.'

"Are you alright?" I heard Silvius ask.

I let my hand fall from my face, "Yeah. I'm just a little shaken up."

He cocked his head to the side in a silent question.

I sighed, "It's complicated."

He nodded and minutes of quiet passed by. For once in my life I embraced the laps in conversation and used the time to sort out my own thoughts, 'Ok. So, if I'm at the beginning of the war I still have time to figure out everything and get home before things get crazy. I need to know where this place is in relation to everywhere else in Middle-earth.' I exhaled, 'With my luck, I'll be smack dab between Mordor and the East. But how will I find out? Kelvin is the mayor of the town and he doesn't have any scrolls in his house. Of course, he could work out of another building but I doubt he would let me look at a map. So what are my other options? Sneaking a look? No, I don't even know if he has a map let alone where it is.' I pondered the thought for a little longer before a brilliant idea sprung in my mind.

"Hey Silvius, do you have a map of the surrounding area?"

"Yes, why?" he asked.

"I was thinking that if I knew where I was in relation to everything else, I could find my way home." I looked at him hoping that he would buy it. It wasn't the full truth but it did have some truth in it.

He smiled, "I shall have to show you one tomorrow then."

"Really?" I smiled back.

"Of course! If it will help you get home then I'll be happy to assist you."

"Thanks."

"You are very welcome."

I chuckled at his emphasis on 'very'. It was one of the new words he learned.

I looked back at the sky and noticed that the sun was low in the sky. I stood, "I had better get back before I'm missed."

He rose with me, "Of course. I will see you tomorrow?"

I jogged over to the stairs and waved, "Yeah, see you then!"

"Namarie." he smiled with a raised hand.

I turned and copied his gesture, "Namarie." smiled, and headed back down the path through the forest.

My mind went back to my family as I walked down beneath the trees. My brothers are gone, but my parents are still out there. 'Maybe the map will point me home. If so, Mom, Dad, I'll see you soon. I can't just let you face the turmoil of our country alone. I don't care what the consequences are. I will see you again. I promise. I won't forget you.'