Chapter 25
Through the Looking Glass
Author's Note: Wow, I'm a little stunned that I managed to update so quickly! New readers, don't get comfort with this! I usually update once a month, so savor it! Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and stay tuned for the next one!
- January 2nd - Lothlorien - Near midnight
Singing had never been something Brianna particularly enjoyed. When she'd masqueraded as the prime Christine-character for her one and only vocal mission, Brianna had mentally promised to never sing for anyone ever again. Arda had abruptly changed that resolution, beginning with the over-eager hobbits and the perpetually bemused Aragorn whom she then knew only as Strider. Looking back on that moment, Brianna hadn't decided who she was trying to impress. A part of her wanted to say it was all Aragorn, but the more logical, self-deprecating, part of her soul knew in her bones that she'd acted as she had to show off in general. Like it or not, her voice was something gained through long hard days and nights of resolute practice. It had brought joy to those who heard it. It stood for a time less complicated and more straightforward - that time when she was only a huntress and nothing more - and because of this she kept singing.
Ellethil had made a breakthrough one evening with her during their sessions. That particular session had been more conversational than technical. Ellethil had determined early on that Brianna's trouble with harnessing magic through song was mostly psychological. This particular subject had been discussed and left Brianna with the same suggestion Galadriel gave upon her arrival. Walk Lothlorien, preferably at night, and see the wonders. Feel the fabric of Galadriel's magic which protected the land. Use it as a template to see past her own shortcomings and burst into the light.
Brianna was finally taking that advice. This night of January the Second to be exact. She could barely believe it of herself, but she'd ventured out into the woods alone. Arwen had been up at that time and had asked if her company would be welcome, but Brianna had waved her off. She needed to be alone for this. She needed complete and total emersion and wouldn't get that if there was an audience.
As she stepped out of the bounds of Caras Galadhorn, Brianna found herself wandering to the place the locals had named Cerin Amroth and stood still at the top of the hill for several moments. Releasing a shaking breath, she closed her eyes and allowed her body to take in the world around it. The night air drifted across her five senses and sent a shiver of pleasure down the length of her spine. Particles of glowing pollen released from the trees lightly dusted in a pale silver-grey against her skin. Her senses naturally attuned to the elements at large felt the deep beat of the planet the continent that made up Arda rested on. Lothlorien's magic tapped out a gentle rhythm in time with the beat.
She released a long, drawn-out breath as she felt her limbs itch with the need to join in, to dance, to sing. Many songs rushed through her head, classical and modern. A complex weave of emotions bubbled to the surface of her thoughts and left her mind blank as she tried to decipher their meaning. Overwhelmed, a few tears leaked from her eyes and she forced herself to resist fighting them.
I'm alone. I can feel. For this moment, I will let myself feel. If I don't all will be lost, she thought.
And felt she did.
Everything. Every thought, emotion, longing, and sense of helplessness invaded the surface of her mind. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around her torso as her body began to shake. Brianna stayed like that for a good long while. Emotions amplified, nearly overwhelming her senses, she waited out their torrent. After those several long moments of overworked emotions, Brianna finally managed to settle her mind in a crevasse in the middle of her river of emotions and found her balance. The tremors left her and she opened her eyes, cheeks flushed as the balance of emotions blossomed into what she could only describe as a euphoric high.
Brianna tilted her head up to the high canopy and felt the wind caress her cheeks. A smile spread across her lips and she swung out her arms as that wind picked up a knot and bathed her in the glowing pollen of the flowers blooming on the forest floor. She began to sing, to try out what worked the best in that particular moment in Lorien.
"High is the moon tonight
Hiding it's guiding light, high
Heaven and earth do sleep, still in the dark so deep
I will the darkness sweep
I will the moon to flight, I will the heaven's bright
I will the earth to light
Open your eyes with me, see paradise with me
Awake and arise with me
I am the dawn, I'm the new day begun
I bring you the morning, I bring you the sun
I hold back the night and I open the skies
I give light to the world, I give sight to your eyes
From the first of all time, until time is undone
Forever and ever and ever and ever
And I am the dawn and the sky and the sun
I am one with the one and I am the dawn"
(The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun by Celtic Women)
The song wasn't the right one. It fit the moment, but it didn't quite stir the magic the way she'd wanted it to. It didn't have enough abandon, nor did it complete the sense of release she needed to begin working magic. Brianna switched tunes with a "hum" and an "ah" as she crescendoed into another chorus.
"We are one
We are a universe
Forebears of what will be
Scions of the Devonian sea
Aeons pass
Writing the tale of us all
A day-to-day new opening
For the greatest show on Earth
Ion channels welcoming the outside world
To the stuff of stars
Bedding the tree of a biological holy
Enter life
The tapestry of chemistry
There's a writing in the garden
Leading us to the mother of all
We are one
We are a universe
Forebears of what will be
Scions of the Devonian sea
Aeons pass
Writing the tale of us all
A day-to-day new opening
For the greatest show on Earth
We are here to care for the garden
The wonder of birth
Of every form most beautiful
Every form most beautiful"
(The Greatest Show on Earth by Nightwish)
As epic as she personally felt that particular song was, Brianna had the sense that it wasn't quite right. It could, possibly, work a different sort of magic at a different time and for a different purpose, but that time wasn't then. She needed a different one, so once again she changed tunes. Another song made its way into her mind and she quieted her initial build up and drew her volume to a mere "hum" as she prepared to launch into the song she was thinking of.
"Close your eyes, you little dreamers
Numbered as the grains of sand
Do you believe there is a treasure you can't hold in your hand?
Stewards of My great Creation
I will give this gift to you
A language that can speak your heart when words could never do
The melodies will give you wings to fly above Creation
Whenever you can't find the words to say
So My child, I give this gift to you and all the nations
So you can give it back to Me one day
See the child, ashamed and broken
Words can never come out right
Dreams of failure dance in his head every single night
But twelve words in a simple language suddenly make sense somehow
That little boy, once shy and awkward, stands before you now
The melodies will give you wings to fly above Creation
Whenever you can't find the words to say
So My child, I give this gift to you and all the nations
So you can give it back to Me one day
Music is Your masterpiece, Your signature and smile
The glorious crown jewel of all Creation
Gave a voice and sense of wonder to this lonely child
Whose melodies ring forth Your coronation now
And the strings crescendo like the sunrise in the sky
The percussion section thunders like the stormclouds
In their wonder up on high
The brass is roaring like the mighty ocean's tide
Creation is music, and music is Creation
All the earth, a symphony of balanced majesty
All of life, a melody with four-part harmony
The rhythms march in great complexity
Creation is music, and music is Creation, let it sing"
(The Gift of Music by Theocracy)
When she opened her eyes the branches of the trees and the stalks of the flowers had turned in her direction. It was nothing compared to the iridescent crystal of light Brianna has sung into existence before her. It acted like a vine, spinning up from the earth and reaching for the trees above. For a moment her heart stopped as she stared blankly at what she had inadvertently done. Triumph coursed through her as she sat back on her heals and admired her creation.
She made as if to stand, but felt her body buckle and collapse into itself as the world spun before her eyes. The grass acted as a barrier between herself and the hard earth. Carefully, she pushed herself first to her side and then onto her back so she could look to the sky. Despite being drained of most physical and mental energy, Brianna still grinned. It wasn't exactly where she'd wanted to be skill-wise, but progress had been made. With her song, something beautiful had been created.
Once the world ceased spinning, Brianna pushed herself from the ground and began working her way to her feet. Parts of her body didn't want to cooperate, but she forced them to allow her to stand anyway. Once she felt the grass beneath her bare feet once more she looked to the foot of the hill and saw Lady Galadriel standing silently watching. Brianna looked back at her for a long moment then lifted a hand in greeting. The lady did the same, then beckoned with her long pale fingers. She turned and strode away from Cerin Amroth.
Confused, still slightly disoriented, and still far more tired than she needed to be, Brianna followed.
January 9th - Hollin, morning
The birds at Hollin were the first sign of things to come. Aragorn and Sam had spotted the lot flying from the pass and heading toward Hollin as if a dark hand was guiding them. Aragorn had pulled Sam from view and then told the others of that new development. Gandalf had looked troubled, but unsurprised. The others were slightly irritated at the fact; especially when Aragorn bade them to put out the fire. The hobbits took a particularly disgruntled air about them with Pippin going so far as to remark on their shared discomfort.
As they waited the day, the hobbits conversed amongst themselves about several points of their journey. Merry, Pippin, and Sam all questioned the wisdom of leaving at the beginning of winter and wished they could have left in the beginning of spring. Boromir chimed in with his opinion a time or two and prompted Merry and Pippin to turn on him with eager questions about spring in Gondor. There was a sad note to Boromir's words as he took a great deal of time explaining the solar festival celebrating the first flowers.
"The people dance in the streets of Minas Tirith wearing wreaths of the first flowers they picked earlier in the day. My father held a feast for the noblemen and women where dancing, drinking, and all around merriment would ensue. He would, of course, force me to dance with the woman he wished to betroth to me, Lothiriel, but she is a pleasant woman and I knew her well enough that the feast would pass with enjoyment," Boromir said with a far away, wistful expression in his eyes.
The hobbits, of course, wanted to know more about Gondor after that to which Boromir was more than happy to oblige. Aragorn watched, heart heavy, as he privately considered the story. In the last few years, the people of Gondor were in the throws of a great war against the enemy. They likely didn't participate in the solar festivals and Boromir, from what it seemed, was sparing the hobbits that bit of information. From the other end of the little grotto the company hid in, Gandalf watched the exchange with a frown.
"Are you betrothed?" Pippin asked.
Boromir laughed. This one was slightly more nervous than his usual jovial gawfaw. Aragorn and Gandalf's brows quirked in unison. Both exchanged an amused glance.
"In a manner of speaking, yes," Boromir replied cautiously.
"Is she the one your father wanted you to marry?" Merry asked.
"Yes, though neither of us particularly want to go through with it," Boromir replied hesitantly.
"I should think not!" Sam piped in. "No one should be forced into marriage! There's the chase and the dance that makes the romance special. When your eyes meet those of that one girl who will take your breath away when the sun shines on her hair, you'll never want anyone else."
"Well aren't you the romantic one, Sam!" Frodo said, grinning. "One would think you have a particular girl in mind."
Sam's face turned an embarrassing shade of bright red which prompted the hobbits, Boromir, and Gimli to snigger quietly into the bush. Once the laughter died down Boromir's expression sobered.
"You're not wrong, Sam. It is because of this that Lothiriel and I have long sought ways to dissolve the match. We have been unsuccessful so far, but I am hoping the tide will soon turn in our favor," he glanced at Aragorn when he said this.
Aragorn sighed and kept his vigil at the front of the little hollow. Sam's attempt at describing love was innocent, pure, and without the stain of duty, honor, or the fact of separation; however, he wasn't wrong. There were many benefits to marrying for love. Both he and Boromir understood that it likely wasn't going to happen for them.
Dusk finally peeked and brought the sun down with it. The birds, which had been flying about all day, whirled away south. As night fell, Aragorn stood and nodded to the rest of the company. It was time to go. The others looked as if they'd rather stay in the safety of the shelter, but also relieved that they were moving all the same. Gandalf looked troubled.
As they packed the hairs on the back of Aragorn's neck pricked and his hands stilled on his own bag. A glance at Legolas and Gandalf told him that they'd felt it as well. A sinister presence was about and it knew they were there.
"I will go," Aragorn mouthed.
Before anyone could protest, he buckled his sword to his hip, swung his bow and quiver over his shoulder, and slipped out of the safety of their little hole. The cold winter air dusted his cheeks with its biting wind. Bits of snow particles made the bite worse and he winced as a particularly harsh gust pulsed into him. He drew his hood over his head and slipped into the hills above.
Save the winter weather threatening to overtake them there were no signs of life as far as he could see. Aragorn stepped lightly off of the path Gandalf had chosen for them and slipped through the rough countryside. That sinister feeling continued to plague him with each passing moment. His hand rested on his sword hilt. Whatever hunted him would show its face sooner or later.
Rocks shifted behind him.
Aragorn drew his sword as he whirled around and pointed it at the dark-cloaked figure stepping out from behind a tall bolder. The hood was drawn over its head and the black cloak covered most of a long, slim, black dress. He leveled his sword at the creature as each and every sense screamed that something was amiss. Long, dark sleeves raised themselves and fell back to reveal a pair of pale arms. Thin, feminine fingers reached up to the dark hood and pulled it back away from its face. A familiar pale of amused teal eyes blinked at him. Aragorn froze. His lips parted, but no word followed.
This isn't possible, he thought.
Brianna stood before him and he was quite certain that she wasn't supposed to be there.
January 3rd - Lothlorien at about three in the morning
Galadriel didn't speak as she led Brianna through the woods back towards Caras Galadhorn. Silence settled between them like a thick curtain and it both confused and intrigued her enough to maintain the silence and allow the lady to break it when she was ready. As they approached the city, the lady veered away from it slightly and led Brianna down a small path along the edge of "civilization". After another five minutes of silent walking, Galadriel slipped under a sheet of green vines. Brianna followed suit and blinked at the sight before her.
A tall pillar stood in the middle of a modest clearing. At its top rested a wide basin and the lady stood beside it holding a pitcher. She smiled kindly at Brianna and motioned to the basin.
"We are at the stage of your training where it is imperative that you fully understand the gravity of this war and the high cost error could cause. Will you look into the mirror? Will you see what you must see?" She asked.
Brianna blinked. The importance of this moment was in her bones. After lingering so long in song and meditation the magic of Arda weighed heavily on her.
"What is it I'm supposed to see?" Brianna asked.
Galadriel smiled, "Things that were, things that are, and some things that have not yet come to pass."
Brianna quirked a brow at that and remarked, "Past, present, and future? Will it be mine, or others?"
"The mirror will only show you what relates to you even if it is not completely apparent at that time," Galadriel said with a small note of warning added in her tone.
Brianna swallowed. Apparently, whatever she was going to see was not going to be particularly happy. She breathed in, then out, and then nodded.
"Alright, I suppose there's something you think I should see. Might as well get it over with," she said dryly.
As Galadriel filled the mirror, Brianna stepped up to it. The still water shimmered with a blue light before images began to fill its surface. A tall elf woman with dark brown hair stepped up to a blond haired elf who strongly resembled Legolas. She reached out her hand and took his, a soft smile on her lips and love reflected in her grey eyes. The image faded and was replaced with the same brown haired woman looking at a small, blond haired elf-child staring up at her with tears in his eyes. She shook her head and stepped away from him to join another elf, this one an adult, with short-cropped brown hair and the same storm-grey eyes. The air shimmered before them and the elves disappeared.
Once again the scene changed, but only to reveal blood and fire. A strangled cry escaped her as the vision of her parents fighting Lord Garvellion - the elf lord who betrayed her family - filled the basin. Her father pushed her mother from him as the knight elf rushed for them and the two began to fight. Another knight elf - one of the ladies Brianna had executed during her brief stint as ruling queen - stabbed her mother from behind. Her father fought on, despite her mother's death affecting him, but to no avail. Garvellion landed a crippling blow and bore her father to the ground. Frandron ven Aldura, King of the Elves, looked up to the ceiling with a smile on his lips and tears in his eyes. Those teal eyes - her eyes - looked straight at her. Brianna's heart stopped and she forced herself to keep from crying as Lord Garvellion ripped out her father's throat with his bare hands.
The scene changed as her hands started to shake. It showed Aragorn, sword pointed directly at her, eyes wide as if he couldn't quite believe she was there. Brianna's eyes squinted at her image. She wore the black ceremonial robes of Persephone's coven, but that wasn't right, was it? Before she could look closer the scene changed again. This time, she wore a light blue dress and looked far more normal than she had before. Aragorn stood before her, hand placed on her cheek, and lips moving rapidly. Brianna watched as her future, or possible future self, stepped away from him, shaking her head. The scene changed again and Brianna was chained against the wall. A tall elf with hair as dark as midnight and the symbol of The Morrighan painted on her forehead looked down at her coldly. She opened her mouth and darkness burst forth with each unheard syllable. The darkness entered this Brianna and she writhed against the wall, eyes screwed up in pain. The scene changed again and this time Brianna was beside a tall male elf with storm-grey eyes heavily tinted with molten yellow of a sorcerer. Before them stood Aragorn, once again, eyes determined and pained. Brianna watched as the knight elf leaned down to whisper in her ear. As he pulled away, her vision-self lifted her hand and cast a stream of fire at Aragorn. He lit up in flames before he could attempt to move out of the way.
This time, as the scene changed, Brianna did cry out, but she didn't move away until the scene changed to force her to see the carnage of the futuristic battle. Everyone was dead. Arda was in flames. Mordor had won. A great, tall tower rose above the carnage and on it sat a great man with ears pointed, yet longer and narrower than an elf's. Eyes like molten lava cast their old immortal gaze in triumph as they surveyed the decimated world around him. Between his legs sat a hunched figure - and elf - with her bronze head bowed. He reached forward and grabbed her hair, yanking up to force her to look at the world below. Dead teal eyes stared at nothing. There was no emotion, no life, only a shell in the place of the elven queen. Abruptly, the scene changed once again and a great eye wreathed in flame filled the basin. Steam rose and bathed Brianna's nose with a putrid odor. She made a face and stepped back, eyes cold. Slowly, she raised her hand and waved it over the basin. The water turned to mist and floated away.
Carefully, Brianna stepped away and looked to Galadriel. The elder elf's eyes were closed and her head bowed. Brianna controlled her breathing to keep the hysteria building within in check. Such was made particularly difficult after the previous use of ardanian magic.
"I suppose you saw all of that, too?" Brianna asked and pulled a face at how alarmed she sounded.
Lady Galadriel nodded, "Yes. Parts of what I, and others, have seen now begin to make sense and argue in favor of what has been suspected by myself and Laurelie."
"Which is?"
"That the stakes are high and depend solely on your ability to let go of past fears and embrace the good before you."
Brianna's brow furrowed. The lady opened her eyes and fixed her with a long, serious, gaze.
Is this truly so difficult for you to understand? Have not the visions of what is to be spoken to the truth you know in your heart? Galadriel asked in her head.
Brianna glared at her and snapped, "Try not to speak to me in my head when you're right in front of me!"
"Forgive me, that was out of line," the lady said. "Still, denying that truth doesn't change the future. If you don't accept your fate, our worlds will fall into ruin and the Dark Lord will prevail."
Brianna clenched her jaw and fought the urge to run. The lady wasn't wrong about her. She didn't accept her fate and had been dodging it ever since she purged her court of knight elves and traitors with barely any restraint.
"The Dark Lord had me. He's looking for me along with Aries, Hades, and Persephone. Why? Do they all want the elven throne?" She asked.
Galadriel remained silent for a good long while before answering, "The Dark Lord doesn't want the throne. He wants to taunt the one who created all by enslaving you and keeping you by his side like his master did to the Silmarils. You're a prize to him and nothing more."
Brianna shivered. It was almost worse than what Hades had planned for her… almost. She swallowed and finally found the courage to ask about the one things she wasn't sure she wanted an answer to.
"And Aragorn? What was… what was the mirror trying to show me?" She asked thickly.
In her mind, Brianna could still see her fire vaporizing his flesh and the expressionless, emotionless face she had while committing the horrifying murder. That scene had cut her deep, like that fire had touched her heart and melted half of it away. How could she have taken Aragorn's life without feeling a thing?
"It is your fate should the enemy ever trap your soul and subjugate it to their dark purpose," Galadriel answered simply.
Brianna thought back to the image of that one dark haired knight elf speaking darkness into her. Slowly, she crossed her arms around herself and forced her body to remain still. Even so, a small tremor of fear broke through every so often.
"I've heard of that curse, but I didn't think anyone actually knew how to cast it. All knowledge of it had been purged after the First War," she whispered.
Silence descended between them like a hammer. Galadriel watched her. It made her skin crawl, knowing that such a matron of her people observed the fraying of Brianna's nerves.
"They would have planned to cast it and I suspect they have orchestrated a grand scheme to infect you with it. There is only one way to escape it," Galadriel said.
"I know," Brianna whispered.
The problem, was that Brianna didn't want to face it for fear of what she would find if she did.