Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. I do not own any of the character, places, names, or anything associated with the works of J.R.R Tolkien or the Lord of the Rings (books or movie, whatever). My characters are Anita, Leila, and Arlandria and that is all.
Chapter 5: Give Me a Sign
Anita was sulking. After two weeks of mind numbing boredom, it was the only thing left to do. She hadn't been back to the piano since she had found it, and the ability to draw had apparently been left in Tucson since when Anita picked up a pencil the page stayed blank. Leila of course was too busy studying the new world with Elladan and Elrond as her teachers, and had very little time outside of meals to spend with her twin. So instead Ani wandered around Rivendell, sulking and trying to stay out of everyone's way. One thing she could say for certain was that this town was much bigger than it appeared, houses and stables were nestled into little nooks in the surrounding mountains or in clusters of trees, hiding most of the town from plain sight.
Anita probably wouldn't have been so sullen about how her day was spent had it not been for the discovery of the wall. Yes there was in fact a wall that surrounded the very outskirts of Rivendell, hidden by a line of trees, it was impossible to see until you were literally a foot from it. It wasn't that the wall necessarily derailed Ani's day to day activities, but knowing it was there made her feel claustrophobic. Why did there need to be a wall? What were they trying to keep out? Or in? Either way, it made Anita antsy just to know it existed. After two weeks of wandering around and becoming more and more aware of the presence of the wall, Ani was desperate to get on the other side of it. But discovering the wall meant discovering the guards that patrolled along the wall, granted they were hard to see between the thick overhanging tree limbs, but Ani had seen them none the less. So climbing them and making a run for it wasn't an option.
Before she could ask her father about a day excursion to the outside though, she had to find him. And that was Anita's current conundrum. The wall Ani was facing had an intricately drawn tree carved into it, so detailed one could make out individual leaves. She knew she had seen this tree before, which meant one of the two hallways whose junction she was currently standing at would lead her where she needed to go. It was the remembering that was hard.
"You appear to be lost Lady Anita," The gravelly voice didn't make her jump, after two weeks Anita had gotten really used to being snuck up on. Turning to look at the man addressing her, Ani realized she had met him before sometime in the last week. He was pretty much the only human who called Rivendell his permanent home. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she scrambled her brain trying to remember the man's name.
"Aragorn, son of Arathorn," The man seemed to realize that Anita had blanked on his name and offered it up willingly.
"No offense dude, but if I can't remember your name I sure can't remember your father's name." She turned back to the picture of the tree and continued to wrack her brain on how to navigate this place. "Hey do you know how to get to Elrond's study from here?"
"Of course, but if you are looking for your father or grandfather they are in the great receiving hall. I am headed there now, If you would like I will show you the way." Aragorn gestured down the hallway to the right of where they were standing.
"Yeah that would probably save me a lot of time. Thanks." Anita followed the other gentleman down the hall way. Anita didn't know why she had such a hard time remembering this man, he stuck out almost as much as she did in this place. Compared to the Elves, Aragorn looked…unkept. Not unclean just a little disheveled. But seeing as how every Elf was primped at all times, looking unkept by comparison wasn't a hard look to achieve.
"How have you been liking your time here in Rivendell?" Aragorn's voice drew Anita from thoughts of Elvish hygiene.
"I'm adjusting," Anita's responded vaguely, but immediately wanted to change the subject. She was getting sick of everyone asking how she was doing. Considering that Ani had just been ripped from her life in Tucson and plopped in a place that was polar opposite of the life she had just left, how did everyone think she was supposed to be doing? " My grandfather doesn't seem to like you."
"No I suppose he doesn't," She almost missed the little twitch of a smirk that crossed his face when he said that.
"Are you shagging my aunt?"
"I beg your pardon?" Anita raised her hands palms open to indicate surrender and recanting the question.
"Anita!" Both Aragorn and Ani turned when her name was called. Leila was briskly walking to meet the pair before they had even made it five feet inside the receiving hall. Aragorn kept walking on where her family was standing with an Elf she didn't recognize, whom Aragorn greeted enthusiastically like he already knew him. "Hey Dad has a guest here, so try to be on your best behavior."
"Don't worry, I just gotta ask him a question and then I'm out." Anita followed her twin, who was dressed in the traditional robes of her people, back to the family. It was still a point of contention that Anita refused to dress in anything besides her jeans and tees.
"Lord Legolas, this is my daughter Lady Anita of the House of Elrond." Elladan started to introduce her to the new Elf as her and Lei joined the group. Why the hell everyone here identified themselves by their lineage or parents Anita couldn't figure out. "Anita, this is Legolas Greenleaf, Crown Prince of the woodland realm of Mirkwood."
Anita held her hand out to shake his and was immediately rewarded with a little slap on the hand from her twin. Glaring at Leila, her fair haired twin just shook her head subtly, and then indicated with an almost imperceptible bend of the leg that Anita was supposed to curtsey in response to Legolas' bow. Anita made a rude sound with her mouth, like hell she was going to curtsey. Anita sized Legolas up as soon as Elladan started to drabble on about how excited they were to welcome Legolas to their home. At 5'9" Ani and Lei were by no means short, but was everyone in Middle Earth 6' or taller? Looking up into his face, she studied his striking facial features and was amazed to have to admit that for a man, he was beautiful. There were models that would kill for those kinds of chiseled and strong features. Naturally Ani would never have admitted that out loud though.
"Now then my dear, Lord Aragorn indicated you were looking for me?" Elladan voice pulled her eyes away from Legolas and to her father.
"Yeah I just wanted to take a little day excursion outside the walls."
"No." His answer was straightforward and his tone indicated there was no room for discussion.
"Come on man I'm getting cabin fever being stuck here all day."
"Anita, we will discuss this later." Honestly she was a little shocked that Elladan had just dismissed her that way. She bristled a little bit and shot Legolas a dirty look, realizing that Elladan must be putting on the show of good fatherhood to humor this guy. If living with her mother had taught her anything, 'we will discuss this later' meant no. Spinning on her heels, Anita left the receiving hall without a backward look, much like a two year old throwing a temper tantrum would.
Despite the show of force that Elladan had shown in the receiving hall, he truly didn't have the heart to deny his two daughters anything they asked for. So now he sat in his father' study with Gandalf and Rivendell's head of the guard, Glorfindel.
"My lord what you are asking for simply isn't conceivable," Elladan and Glorfindel had been going around in circles in the same conversation for about ten minutes, unable to come to a concession while Gandalf sat quietly by.
"I find that very hard to believe since I am only asking for a single member of your guard."
"You are asking for me to remove a member of the guard from their post of protecting this city so that he may guide your daughter as she goes gallivanting about, and all because you lack the simple fortitude to tell her no." The two Elves stared each other down across a small seating arrangement.
"It is a trivial thing that my daughter asks for, I do not think there is any reason that I deny her such an inconsequential request." Elladan held much respect for Glorfindel, everyone in Rivendell did, which was why Elladan had come to him with this request instead of just assigning a guard to this detail. But now he was wishing he had bypassed the older Elf altogether.
"That is because she has planted that thought in your head, that you owe her these things." Elladan stood up quite suddenly as Glorfindel spoke and went to stand by the window. From where he stood he could see both his daughters in the courtyard below, Leila lounging against a pillow while reading a book, and Anita was doing some physical activity that appeared to be stretching her muscles. Even as he watched he could hear them laughing between themselves about some little joke that only the two of them understood.
"Has she said anything that wasn't true, Glorfindel?" His question was quiet, but he knew the other elf could hear him nonetheless.
"I beg your pardon my lord?"
"Has my Anita lied about anything since she has come here to be with me? Am I not a father that was absent for the first eighteen years of their lives? Did I not miss any involvement in their childhood? Have I not turned their lives completely upside-down now by bringing them here?" Elladan turned back to the other Elf expectantly, but Glorfindel didn't have a response to any of his questions.
"And what of you Mithrandir? Can you deny any of what she had accused me of?" When addressed, Gandalf; who had been sitting silently for some time now, finally spoke up.
"Anita is confused and she in angry, but with a little more time I do feel she will adjust as well as her sister has."
"My daughters were victims in what happened between Arlandria and I, I do not think granting a few trivial requests or doting a few gifts on them will even begin to make up for the time I have lost. Seeing the young women they have become, it pains my heart daily to know that I was not there for them in their youth." Elladan sighed with a heavy heart.
"To be fair," Glorfindel started, "If Arlandria hadn't conceived your daughters…."
"You stop that sentence right there, "Elladan demanded, cutting off his friend. "Don't you dare speak a word of that ever again, especially in front of my children. Ever."
There was a long and tense moment of silence as all three men sat contemplating the situation. After going around in a proverbial circle, they were no closer to a solution, and no one was any closer to giving in than the others were before. They were at an in passé.
"What of the young prince?" Gandalf finally asked after his moment of quiet thought.
"Legolas? What of him?"
" Anita needs a guide and a protector outside of the walls, who better than Legolas? He is far closer to her in age and maturity than any member of the guard."
"He also knows the lands here almost as well as he knows his own realm," Glorfindel added to Gandalf's statement, "And there is no one I know who is better skilled with a bow."
"Have you both fallen into madness? You want my daughter alone in the woods with the Prince of Mirkwood? Do I need to remind you of his reputation?"
"I really do not think that will be a problem." Gandalf said while suppressing a chuckle very poorly.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that even with all the charm and luck in the world I do not believe that boy would be able to take advantage of Anita. That being the case I personally will speak with Legolas and guarantee he understands the situation."
"I trust that you will," Elladan said as he turned his attention back out the window to where he could see his two teenage daughters. While Elladan trusted Gandalf's judgment unwaveringly, but he couldn't help but wonder what the old wizard was getting at by pairing his daughter with Legolas. He never would have admitted it to the wizard, but of the two of his daughters; Anita was the one he was least worried about. Despite her bristly personality, Anita was nothing like the fragile little bird that Leila seemed to be. Perhaps Gandalf was right. But anyone who knew Gandalf knew one thing, the old wizard may look and act innocent, but very rarely did he do anything without his own hidden agenda.
Give Me a Sign- Breaking Benjamin