The first thing I thought when I woke, was how embarrassing it was to faint in front of everyone. The second thing I noticed as I blinked my eyes open in the sunlight, was a warm arm wrapped around my middle and that I was also on a horse. I looked behind me and saw Voronwë was holding me in place atop of the horse.
"Lady Kiera, you are finally awake. You had us all worried when you fainted. Lord Ecthelion managed to grab you as you fell so you didn't hit your head. He was also gracious enough to let us ride his horse as we walked towards the city," said Voronwë.
I turned back around and saw Tuor walking with Ecthelion as he led his horse. He was also carrying my backpack. "How embarrassing; I travel for days in the wilderness and run from dark creatures, yet I faint in the presence of an elf," I muttered.
Voronwë laughed behind me and I could see Lord Ecthellion was smirking. He must have heard me as well. Stupid elf hearing. Tuor didn't hear me or notice my embarrassment, he was too busy talking and pointing at the city.
"I would like to get down now if that is alright?" I ask.
"Certainly, my lady," replied Voronwë.
He pulled on the reins and the other two ahead of us stopped. He jumped down gracefully and helped me down. Once on the ground, I noticed we were about halfway to the city. Voronwë and I walked up to Tuor and Ecthelion introduced himself.
"Well met my lady. I am Lord Ecthelion of the fountain. I am also the Warden of the seven gates. I apologize if I had anything to do with your fainting. I am here to escort you into the city and to the king," he replied with a large smile.
I smiled back at him and said, "It's nice to meet you as well. I'm Kiera Sutherland and I am excited to see the city and meet the king. I have no idea why I fainted, but I don't think it was your fault. I think I was just overwhelmed by everything."
He nodded and Tuor eagerly led us on. Voronwë went to walk with Tuor while Ecthelion walked beside me, leading his horse.
"I can take my bag back if you don't want to carry it," I offer.
"It is no trouble, my lady. May I ask you a question?"
"Sure," I chirped.
"Your companion Tuor says you also have the blessing of Lord Ulmo but did you ever live in the blessed realm or see the two trees? I was young when we left but there were never any mortals. I don't recall any mortals being permitted actually. Your eyes though; they have a golden light similar to the Noldor who have seen the trees," he asked curiously.
"No, not that I know of. Voronwë asked a similar question when he first met me. I never lived in this blessed realm or saw any trees. Honestly, I'm not even from this world. I have only been in middle earth for about a week. People commented on my eyes in my own world, but I was born with them so I don't know. We all got them from my grandma. My mom and my two siblings all have the same colored eyes. They are called hazel eyes in my world."
He stopped in shock and asked amazed, "truly, another world? I did not think that they existed. Are you speaking honestly, and if so how did you end up here?" he asked.
Voronwë heard our conversation and answered for me "Lord Ulmo said Eru Ilúvatar brought her here. Her destiny is unknown but Lord Ulmo gave her his blessing and said she was to come to Gondolin with Tuor and me."
Ecthelion is staring at me in wonder and muttering to himself in elvish. Tuor winks at me while Voronwë smiles at me. I get uncomfortable with his staring so I say "I don't know much about this world, but I know whatever brought me here is powerful. I just want to be treated normally though. I have no special powers or magic. I'm just a normal mortal girl who ended up here."
"Very well my lady. I will have to tell the king though and possibly the other lords," says Ecthelion.
"I get it and understand. I'll let Tuor do the talking though. He's got a message from Lord Ulmo. I'm just along for the ride," I say.
They all nod at me, and we continue walking. Voronwë points out things to Tuor and they talk to each other. I take in my surroundings while trying to ignore the curious glances Ecthelion is giving me. I wish Voronwë hadn't said anything except that I had Ulmo's blessing.
The path we are on is a cobblestone path with wildflowers on each side. The wildflowers are scattered about with many different colors blanketing the area. In the distance, I see a large lake and stone fountain. A few elves are sitting on the shore. In the other direction are crops and elves walking through the fields plowing or gathering the crops. Harvest season is almost over and winter is fast approaching.
I turn back and look towards the city. The walls are made with smooth white marble. Far ahead is a large steel doorway. On top of the wall, there are spiral towers and the tops of buildings seen from the city. In the center, there is one large white spiral tower high above the rest.
The city is truly magnificent and I can't wait to explore and see all of the designs and architecture. We have a long way to go yet so I start to talk to Ecthelion.
"So, could you tell me a little about yourself?" I ask.
"Certainly my lady. I am the Lord of the Fountain. We maintain all the streams and fountains found in the city. I am also the warden at the gates and I am in charge of training the soldiers and the guards. I was born in Valinor; the blessed realm. I left with my kin and all the other exiles. I followed high king Turgon when he built this city. I have been here ever since, although I have left a few times for battles. I am sorry to say I have never met any mortal woman," he says with a shoulder shrug.
I shrug my shoulders and say "there are no elves in my world, or orcs or nasty creatures; just humans. Voronwë was the first elf I met and I thought I was dreaming."
"I am saddened to hear there are no elves where you are from. You will meet plenty here in the city, for there are no mortals here," says Ecthelion.
"I am excited to learn all I can, I really want to learn elvish so I can understand everybody," I reply.
He looks at me thoughtfully and says, "that would probably be for the best, my lady. For many of the elves do not speak the common tongue. Only the guards, the lords of the city, and a select few others ever learned the language. We have excellent scholars who would be glad to help you, with the king's blessing of course."
"I hope we can stay, the city is beautiful. Everybody seems nice so far. What do you like to do in your free time? I'm sure my hobbies from my world don't exist here, or at least some of them. I don't really know what people do in this world to pass the time. Voronwë and Tuor have told me some of there's while we were traveling."
He smiled happily and said "elves have many hobbies. We have long amounts of time to perfect our craft. Many elves are smiths, jewelers, builders, soldiers, healers, and many more. We like to sing and dance and we hold many festivals in the city. I enjoy playing the flute and sparring, but I also have my duties to keep me busy. Do you know a craft or play any instruments?"
I brightened up at the question and replied "I was going to school to be an architect. That is like a builder here, I guess. My father was one, and I always had a passion for it. I don't play any instruments. I sing though, but only when no one is around. I have terrible stage fright."
He laughed a joyous laugh and it was like pure music to my ears. Elves need to stop being so attractive. Ecthelion seemed too perfect for words and he was proving to be very kind. Elemmaki and Voronwë were more on the playful side while Ecthelion was calm and curious.
"Perhaps, you will join the builders in the city. Although, they lack work as the city has been built. They mainly build new dwellings and fix areas around the city."
I get sad at the thought but I have so much to learn and see here that it will be a while before I get settled enough to learn a new trade. I wondered about the future and I figured if Ecthelion is in charge of training I should ask. "Are women allowed to train or learn to wield a sword? I admit I didn't really look around at some of the elves at the gates. I was too tired, but now I'm curious."
"We have many female elves who guard our city and the gates. They prefer to use a bow over a sword. I am in charge of most of the training as well as my good friend and fellow Lord Glorfindel. Do you have a desire to learn?" Ecthelion asked.
"Yes," I exclaimed. "I realized on our travels that I'm not prepared to protect myself in this world. While this city is safe and hidden, I still would like to learn if possible. If I'm not any good with a sword then maybe a bow. I know we will have to wait and see if we will be allowed to stay, but if we are, I would like to learn if you have the time. Or if someone you know has the time, I don't want to be a burden if you are busy."
Ecthelion smiles down at me and exclaims "I hardly train anyone these days. We are all skilled warriors. We mainly spar together and teach the younger elves who wish to learn. If I do not have the time, I would be glad to find you a teacher. My friend Glorfindel has fewer duties than me and might train you. We shall have to see."
I smile back at him, "no rush. I'm sure if we stay I will spend a little while learning elvish and getting to know the city. I haven't given it much thought as to what I'm going to do. I figured since we are talking that I could ask and see if it was even possible."
"Certainly, my lady."
"Could you tell me about some of the festivals you said the city has? I enjoyed all the summer festivals in my hometown. We hosted many throughout the year and I enjoy a good party with music," I ask kindly.
That must have been the magic word for Ecthelion because his eyes lit up even more and began to talk about all the city festivals. I only understood some of what he was describing but the overall theme was that the elves made every excuse to party. Honor to the gods, party. Someone getting married, party. Birth of a child, party. Changing of the seasons, party. It was all so exciting. It seemed like the city was always bustling and the lords of the houses did a good job of organizing so everyone could enjoy the festivities.
Ecthelion said some of the smaller gatherings were held at the lord's houses like weddings and birth parties. The larger seasonal and honorary festivals were held all around the city. Everyone was given a day off for those, even most of the guards. They rotated with a small crew for each festival so everyone got to enjoy some.
I spent so much time focused on Ecthelion and the conversations, I completely ignored the boys ahead of us. They had both stopped talking and seemed to be listening to our conversations about the festivals. I felt bad for ignoring them so for the rest of the walk, the four of us talked together. Tuor was also excited by all of the parties. He was quite lonely by himself for all his years. Soon though, our walking and talking made the time fly past as we arrived at the main gate to the city.