Disclaimer:
Never made it as a Tolkien,
Couldn't cut it as JRR writing,
Its not like you thought I was him,
Sick and tired of stupid disclaimers,
And this is how you remind me of what I do not own
This is how you remind me of what I do not own
Its not like you
To sue me
I was waiting for a review anyway
This time I know its fine
To claim that I don't own nothing!
'You Remind Me'
-Nickelback, sort of
I also don't own: any quotes from 'The Mummy Returns', any old comedy duos, animated talking vegetables, or any of Shakespeare's plays. I mention them a lot in here.
A/N: I love summer vacation! The rocks cry out my name- "Caaaaaaaara, Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaara," they say, "Come and cliiiiiiiiiiiiiimb us!"
Yes, rocks. Yes.
Anyway, here comes chapter 9. It's very long and pretty darn important.
Think of it like a '64 Camaro with flames painted on the hood.
Ian: Don't ask me. I don't know what she's talking about.
9
The voices swam around her, creating a sort of raucous blend of relentless pain inside her head. She didn't even bother listening to what they were saying anymore. She stepped back and looked at what her life was like right now, wondering how everything fell apart so quickly.
Narin was shouting, shaking a pouch of rucana vine found tied to Sarah's horse, Atriedes, for emphasis. The elf was crying for Sarah's exile, accusing her of vengefully poisoning her brother, and her argument was very convincing- she'd found Sarah rummaging through hers and Ryan's things.
Alder was between Sarah and Narin, hand on the hilt of his sword, eyes wide in horror of the irony.
Ryan was lying in bed, sweating cold and unconscious. He'd gotten paler than when Sarah last saw him, only yesterday.
Now more elves were running in, arrows drawn on Alder, now he was pulling his sword and backing away. Now Narin was crying. Now Sarah rubbed her temples and watched everything slowly disintegrate before her eyes.
She could clearly imagine what would happen next. If they were lucky, she and Alder would only be exiled from Rivendell, and if Ryan was lucky, he would live and spend the rest of his life thinking his sister had gone homicidally insane. Worst-case scenario? Sarah and Alder would die as the situation escalated, and Ryan would succumb to the poison. And the whole cycle would start over again.
Sarah closed her eyes as the world around her faded and thought fervently, 'Ryan, HELP…'
As cruel ironies, go, this would be a great one. Ryan's eyes fluttered open, and he sat shakily up in bed. Sarah's jaw dropped, and instantly everything came back into focus. She rushed past Alder and Narin, to her brother's side.
"Ryan? Ryan, can you hear me?" she grasped his hand, and with a leap of her heart, he squeezed back.
"Of course I can hear you, you're shouting madly," he murmured, eyes half-closed
He rubbed his forehead, and everyone in the room paused. Sarah turned to Alder quickly. "Drop your sword." He did.
"Ryan, look at me. Listen to me," she pleaded, as her brother tried to bring the room into focus.
Narin shrieked and Sarah found herself shoved unceremoniously out of the way. The elf threw her arms around her husband, and Ryan weakly drew his arms around her.
Sarah narrowed her eyes. She stood, brushed herself off. "If you desire resolution in this conflict, call for Lord Elrond, Aragorn, and Gandalf. We will find out the truth." One of the elves with bows drawn nodded, and disappeared. The rest kept a steady eye on the outsiders.
***
"Your awakening has not healed him, Lady Sarah," Elrond said quietly, after finally emerging from Ryan's room. "His body had been wrecked by this poison, and though he will heal, both mind and body have yet to find their former strength. I have done all that I can, and now we must wait on time."
Sarah couldn't help but feel a quivering respect for Lord Elrond- great, noble, she could see the fear of power he felt in the face of such evil as the One Ring, and she realized how the twin's presence must be upsetting the balance of temporary peace here in Rivendell. She knew she could count on his sagacity.
Sarah eyed Narin, who was sitting across the room glaring at her. "May I speak now, please?"
Elrond glanced at Aragorn, then Gandalf, and finally at Alder. "I believe it is time we heard you."
"Wonderful! Okay, here's what I can figure. It all comes back to Saruman, hallelujah- you all finally know that he's evil. I truly wanted to tell you, Gandalf, but it couldn't alter the timeline, you know. And you probably wouldn't have believed me anyway, right?"
Gandalf pursed his lips but said nothing.
"Thought so. Anyway, I think Saruman has been affecting Narin. He's been influencing her mind, abiding in her thoughts, causing her to do things she wouldn't normally do-" Narin stood in angered protest at this, but Lord Elrond motioned for her to sit.
"Thank you. Anyway, I heard Narin speaking to herself, as though she were battling with a voice inside her mind, and losing. He's twisted her reasoning and given her the means to poison my brother, through this plant! Aragorn can tell you that I brought it to him myself, and how would I know what it is? I tell you, I have not been poisoning Ryan! Narin only, in a distorted way, cared for their love." She paused, but decided to go on with her suspicions.
"I don't think she is connected to the Phenilring at all. I think Saruman put all of this in her mind, so she would be closely connected to Ryan and she'd be able to deliver him the Phenilring. It made no sense that she- for no reason- traveled everywhere with the ring. I don't think she's traveled through time at all."
Narin was almost white now, and completely silent.
"I can testify to her truthfulness involving the rucana, if that may help," Alder added, knowing full well that Aragorn respected him highly, and so Elrond and Gandalf did as well.
"It is true- she did bring this plant to me, asking of its nature," Aragorn conceded.
"Scouts have found the withered evidence of an old plant, now blackened and dead, in the glade of which Sarah has spoken. I believe that Saruman has stretched his power to its farthest reaches, and he has even infected Rivendell. This does not bode well for the quest, or for the peril of Middle-Earth." The great elf-lord sighed heavily.
"I can only assure you that I will do everything in my power to make sure this doesn't affect the Quest. Saruman was not in search of the One Ring when he cast his gaze this way." Sarah hesitated, "or at least I don't think he was."
"May I not simply have the chance to defend myself?" Narin cried, interrupting everyone's grim thoughts.
Her eyes darted wildly, making her seem like a cornered animal. Lord Elrond softly walked to the shaking woman. He laid a hand on either shoulder and looked straight into her eyes. "Child…" was all he said.
Finally, Narin had to face all the suspicions, all the uncertainty, all the hesitations she had ignored for so long for the sake of unity with the man she thought she loved.
Narin broke. Her face crumbled and she collapsed into tears of anguish. "I- I did not- please… " she looked so like a child, Sarah weakened in remembering how much she had hated the elf for so long. Thus the power of love, she thought ironically.
She stood silently. Alder rose as well, but she motioned for him to sit. As Elrond held the weeping Narindrel in his arms, Sarah turned to Aragorn. "I plead with you, change nothing in the actions of the fellowship. Leave no earlier or later, take no different road. It is essential- we cannot chance the Ring falling into the hands of the enemy."
Aragorn paused. "Would you not expedite the quest by revealing our failures and mistakes?"
She took a step closer, speaking very softly. "The One Ring and the Phenilring must remain two separate quests. I cannot even tell you if you succeed, because your doubts and uncertainty lead some of your decisions, as well as your courage and cleverness. Do you not understand? I don't know what Ryan and I must do, but we will do it. Whatever it takes to return time to its proper place. Aragorn."
He looked at her hard for a moment, then nodded once.
Sarah smiled, and turned. No one stopped her as she walked determinedly into Ryan's room and shut the door firmly behind her. She halted.
"Ryan? Ryan…what are you doing?"
He wore the clothes of an elf, a sword strapped to his side. He was pacing back and forth, and he could have appeared completely healthy if not for the dark circles under his eyes and the pale tint to his skin. He was pacing back and forth with a dark look on his face that frightened Sarah unreasonably.
"Ryan?" she asked again, gently.
"How dare you," he said in a low voice.
"What?" she stepped a little bit closer, but, in a flash, Ryan had drawn his sword and was pointing it at her neck. Sarah didn't dare move.
***
Ryan had no idea who he was looking at, but it certainly wasn't his sister. How dare this creature claim her voice? The room was almost spinning, but it was clearer than it had been a few hours ago. He could barely remember…
This… black, ugly slimy… THING had said Narindrel, his beautiful, pristine Narindrel… it said she tried to hurt him. Narin would never.
"How dare you accuse my wife of poisoning me?" he spat, making sure this thing didn't move.
He could barely look at it, it was so disgusting, and he almost lost his balance from lightheadedness and toppled over. Ryan lowered the sword slightly and leaned heavily on the bedpost. As he looked away, he recognized his sister's voice more clearly.
"You can't mean that. I didn't say she betrayed you- it wasn't her fault!"
"She did nothing!" Ryan growled. "She would never betray me. I love her more than anything in this world. I am her… her Ryaden. Shut up."
"So you deny your family and refuse your name for the sake of the woman you love. Ironic how it is bringing you to ruin," the voice was now full of bitter sarcasm, and he could almost imagine it was Sarah herself. "Does that make you Romeo?"
Sarah. It had to be Sarah… if he just kept his eyes away, it was her… Ryan's mind trudged forward.
Sarah thinks she is well versed in Shakespeare, eh? he thought. He knew every Shakespearean work by heart, and she was no match for him.
Ryan frowned. "If I am Romeo, would that make you Mercutio? Ha. Life has tipped its hat to stronger stuff than you… Sarah. What are you made of?"
"What makes me? What makes YOU? I have woven my life around my means and future ends. I am no Mercutio, though, if you'd asked, I would have bent as Benvolio to your Montague. However, my will and your want were alike as bull and dove- one solid and steadfast, the other uncertain and simpering." She fairly spat the acidic words.
At this Ryan scoffed. "Simpering? How can a rock be simpering? How can a real man be weak? I would be more woman than man if that were true. Apparently, I am Macbeth above Romeo, dear sister. I was not led to murder, only to leaving my sister, and led by the prompting of the woman I love. But I will not, no, I refuse to justify myself to such a disgusting Iago as stands before me."
Sarah's jaw dropped, though Ryan didn't see it. "You think I am lying about her? You cannot trust her as she is, Ryan- she was being controlled by Saruman! I do not speak out of malice, only fear for my brother! Would I were Orlando to your Oliver, after the battle with the lion."
"I think no less of you than you deserve. And no battle with any beast would sway my sight of you- conniving, wretched, broken and scheming after years of loneliness and a vengeful spirit." His eyes swept her up and down with disgust, and he finally declared,
"Edmund! Trusted one, betrayed me! No realization could so scour my eyes and destroy my will than this that I experience! You, sister! No, no sister of mine. I deny you that honor, at least. You care only for yourself."
After this tearing, Sarah lost all love for formal language. She resorted to the only thing she thought would make him see reason- vernacular and a good chewing out.
"Oh, spare me the Machiavellian accusations, Ryan! I am no Edmund! Why would I pit you against your love? How would that benefit me? The only stake I have in this idiotic mess we call a quest, is the constancy of knowing I have a brother to confide in and run to, and the idea that maybe we'll get out of this alive, with Middle-Earth safe. You can't promise your little wife anything more, and you know it! So why don't you climb down off of that high-horse of yours, and join the REAL world again! You know, the world where we are on the same side? You and me? Batman and Robin? Abbot and Costello? Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SILENT BOB? Come on."
She rested her arms at her sides helplessly, a pure appeal.
The conflicting thoughts showed painfully on his face. He felt very drawn to her, and he hated to see her in pain. But something made him stop… made him want to sever himself from her. He wanted nothing to do with her, this disgusting object of hatred! She had to get out, he had to make her leave, or kill her! But he loved her more than anything in the world…
His hand twitched at the hilt of his sword. He could kill her, quickly, but for some reason there was nothing he wanted to do less in the world. And more.
Ryan forced himself to calm down, think rationally.
Who is standing in front of you? His mind answered, your sister.
But his eyes answered differently. He saw a small, crouched figure, emanating slimy deceit.
What is going on? He closed his eyes, and forced himself to picture the Sarah he knew. She was funny, silly, strong and sarcastic. Larry to his Bob. Faithful, emotional, decisive. Honest.
He opened his eyes.
"Sing."
Sarah let out a quick, cutting laugh. Then she realized he was serious.
"What?"
"I said, Sing." Ryan placed a hand directly on the hilt of his sword, gripping it decisively. "I don't know what's going on, and I don't know what I see, but I know one thing that will tell me if I can trust you. Sing."
She nodded slowly, not taking an eye off that sword for a second.
"Okay. I can do that. Give me a minute."
He waited- he could wait all day if it would show him that his sister stood before him, same as so many years ago.
She picked a light, smirking song. It was at once cheerful and sarcastic, honest and hopeful. A truly blatant song.
"Open up this box of sunshine,
and smile as confetti comes raining down on you.
You feel a lot like the 'good guy',
But do you know why
Everything's so blue?
Well, love is fire and the coals are barely burning.
Cold fills the emptiness that fills this empty place
I taught you to walk but then you ran away from me
And that's not how it's supposed to be -"
She left it right there, without starting the chorus. He would have to continue it- can't forsake the rhythm, right? The measures passed like a snap of the fingers, and Sarah's stomach jumped-
"I, I collide,
Love is an elusive state of mind,
I know there's something else there's supposed to be.
I, I collide,
Love is an elusive state of mind,
Something's killing me!"
They ended singing together. Then, Sarah skipped a verse and sang from memory:
"You could be the best one,
to clean up this filthy mess…"
"You could be the best one," Ryan went on, the notes rising.
"Be the best one-" higher.
"Be the best one…" finished.
Both panted slightly. But Ryan looked at his sister, and trusted what he saw.
***
A grin broke out on her brother's face, and Sarah choked back a happy sob. She finally had her brother back.
Ryan dropped his sword and held out his right hand. Sarah wanted nothing more than to take that hand, and as she grasped it, electricity shot through her.
"The greatest relief," she whispered.
"Joyous reunion," he answered softly.
Then both looked down at their clasped hands, and froze.
Images flooded both minds- the same images. Gandalf's story of his visions in the Galadriel's mirror- two people, one hand. The wizard didn't say three hands, one shared between the two. He said ONE HAND. That would mean… Images of a person, from a dream and a statue, without hands.
Ryan's eyes shot to Sarah's. "We were separated…"
"…no hands."
"But when we are together, we are bonded- we share. Connected."
His heart pounded at the realization, and Sarah gasped for breath. "But even when we're together… something is missing. We're both…"
"Missing the bond, missing another connection. Missing another hand."
"Three. Not two."
"Completion."
"But who? Who are we missing?"
Suddenly Ryan laughed, as it all came together. "The Children of Númenor. Amanda."
Sarah smacked herself on the forehead. "I don't know why we assumed she wasn't involved! Three! A triangle, bonding us all together, Númenorean blood- the three children of Númenor! …But it doesn't matter, does it? She's back in 2002… right?"
"I thought so… and Gandalf's vision- we fail when we are bonded as two. We are missing the third side of the triangle- I think that's why we fail. We have to get her to us, somehow…"
"But we can't risk using the ring! Remember- evil for good? This would be a very great act, and so something very evil would accompany it." Sarah still held onto her brother's hand- she fervently didn't want to let it go.
"Let's ask Gandalf and Aragorn. Maybe they'll know what to do."
Sarah nodded, and both strode out of the room with new life.
~~~ The author felt like a little exposition. Okay, a lot of exposition. It's so satisfying when big chunks of the plot start falling into place! Yay!
Review, please!
Never made it as a Tolkien,
Couldn't cut it as JRR writing,
Its not like you thought I was him,
Sick and tired of stupid disclaimers,
And this is how you remind me of what I do not own
This is how you remind me of what I do not own
Its not like you
To sue me
I was waiting for a review anyway
This time I know its fine
To claim that I don't own nothing!
'You Remind Me'
-Nickelback, sort of
I also don't own: any quotes from 'The Mummy Returns', any old comedy duos, animated talking vegetables, or any of Shakespeare's plays. I mention them a lot in here.
A/N: I love summer vacation! The rocks cry out my name- "Caaaaaaaara, Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaara," they say, "Come and cliiiiiiiiiiiiiimb us!"
Yes, rocks. Yes.
Anyway, here comes chapter 9. It's very long and pretty darn important.
Think of it like a '64 Camaro with flames painted on the hood.
Ian: Don't ask me. I don't know what she's talking about.
9
The voices swam around her, creating a sort of raucous blend of relentless pain inside her head. She didn't even bother listening to what they were saying anymore. She stepped back and looked at what her life was like right now, wondering how everything fell apart so quickly.
Narin was shouting, shaking a pouch of rucana vine found tied to Sarah's horse, Atriedes, for emphasis. The elf was crying for Sarah's exile, accusing her of vengefully poisoning her brother, and her argument was very convincing- she'd found Sarah rummaging through hers and Ryan's things.
Alder was between Sarah and Narin, hand on the hilt of his sword, eyes wide in horror of the irony.
Ryan was lying in bed, sweating cold and unconscious. He'd gotten paler than when Sarah last saw him, only yesterday.
Now more elves were running in, arrows drawn on Alder, now he was pulling his sword and backing away. Now Narin was crying. Now Sarah rubbed her temples and watched everything slowly disintegrate before her eyes.
She could clearly imagine what would happen next. If they were lucky, she and Alder would only be exiled from Rivendell, and if Ryan was lucky, he would live and spend the rest of his life thinking his sister had gone homicidally insane. Worst-case scenario? Sarah and Alder would die as the situation escalated, and Ryan would succumb to the poison. And the whole cycle would start over again.
Sarah closed her eyes as the world around her faded and thought fervently, 'Ryan, HELP…'
As cruel ironies, go, this would be a great one. Ryan's eyes fluttered open, and he sat shakily up in bed. Sarah's jaw dropped, and instantly everything came back into focus. She rushed past Alder and Narin, to her brother's side.
"Ryan? Ryan, can you hear me?" she grasped his hand, and with a leap of her heart, he squeezed back.
"Of course I can hear you, you're shouting madly," he murmured, eyes half-closed
He rubbed his forehead, and everyone in the room paused. Sarah turned to Alder quickly. "Drop your sword." He did.
"Ryan, look at me. Listen to me," she pleaded, as her brother tried to bring the room into focus.
Narin shrieked and Sarah found herself shoved unceremoniously out of the way. The elf threw her arms around her husband, and Ryan weakly drew his arms around her.
Sarah narrowed her eyes. She stood, brushed herself off. "If you desire resolution in this conflict, call for Lord Elrond, Aragorn, and Gandalf. We will find out the truth." One of the elves with bows drawn nodded, and disappeared. The rest kept a steady eye on the outsiders.
***
"Your awakening has not healed him, Lady Sarah," Elrond said quietly, after finally emerging from Ryan's room. "His body had been wrecked by this poison, and though he will heal, both mind and body have yet to find their former strength. I have done all that I can, and now we must wait on time."
Sarah couldn't help but feel a quivering respect for Lord Elrond- great, noble, she could see the fear of power he felt in the face of such evil as the One Ring, and she realized how the twin's presence must be upsetting the balance of temporary peace here in Rivendell. She knew she could count on his sagacity.
Sarah eyed Narin, who was sitting across the room glaring at her. "May I speak now, please?"
Elrond glanced at Aragorn, then Gandalf, and finally at Alder. "I believe it is time we heard you."
"Wonderful! Okay, here's what I can figure. It all comes back to Saruman, hallelujah- you all finally know that he's evil. I truly wanted to tell you, Gandalf, but it couldn't alter the timeline, you know. And you probably wouldn't have believed me anyway, right?"
Gandalf pursed his lips but said nothing.
"Thought so. Anyway, I think Saruman has been affecting Narin. He's been influencing her mind, abiding in her thoughts, causing her to do things she wouldn't normally do-" Narin stood in angered protest at this, but Lord Elrond motioned for her to sit.
"Thank you. Anyway, I heard Narin speaking to herself, as though she were battling with a voice inside her mind, and losing. He's twisted her reasoning and given her the means to poison my brother, through this plant! Aragorn can tell you that I brought it to him myself, and how would I know what it is? I tell you, I have not been poisoning Ryan! Narin only, in a distorted way, cared for their love." She paused, but decided to go on with her suspicions.
"I don't think she is connected to the Phenilring at all. I think Saruman put all of this in her mind, so she would be closely connected to Ryan and she'd be able to deliver him the Phenilring. It made no sense that she- for no reason- traveled everywhere with the ring. I don't think she's traveled through time at all."
Narin was almost white now, and completely silent.
"I can testify to her truthfulness involving the rucana, if that may help," Alder added, knowing full well that Aragorn respected him highly, and so Elrond and Gandalf did as well.
"It is true- she did bring this plant to me, asking of its nature," Aragorn conceded.
"Scouts have found the withered evidence of an old plant, now blackened and dead, in the glade of which Sarah has spoken. I believe that Saruman has stretched his power to its farthest reaches, and he has even infected Rivendell. This does not bode well for the quest, or for the peril of Middle-Earth." The great elf-lord sighed heavily.
"I can only assure you that I will do everything in my power to make sure this doesn't affect the Quest. Saruman was not in search of the One Ring when he cast his gaze this way." Sarah hesitated, "or at least I don't think he was."
"May I not simply have the chance to defend myself?" Narin cried, interrupting everyone's grim thoughts.
Her eyes darted wildly, making her seem like a cornered animal. Lord Elrond softly walked to the shaking woman. He laid a hand on either shoulder and looked straight into her eyes. "Child…" was all he said.
Finally, Narin had to face all the suspicions, all the uncertainty, all the hesitations she had ignored for so long for the sake of unity with the man she thought she loved.
Narin broke. Her face crumbled and she collapsed into tears of anguish. "I- I did not- please… " she looked so like a child, Sarah weakened in remembering how much she had hated the elf for so long. Thus the power of love, she thought ironically.
She stood silently. Alder rose as well, but she motioned for him to sit. As Elrond held the weeping Narindrel in his arms, Sarah turned to Aragorn. "I plead with you, change nothing in the actions of the fellowship. Leave no earlier or later, take no different road. It is essential- we cannot chance the Ring falling into the hands of the enemy."
Aragorn paused. "Would you not expedite the quest by revealing our failures and mistakes?"
She took a step closer, speaking very softly. "The One Ring and the Phenilring must remain two separate quests. I cannot even tell you if you succeed, because your doubts and uncertainty lead some of your decisions, as well as your courage and cleverness. Do you not understand? I don't know what Ryan and I must do, but we will do it. Whatever it takes to return time to its proper place. Aragorn."
He looked at her hard for a moment, then nodded once.
Sarah smiled, and turned. No one stopped her as she walked determinedly into Ryan's room and shut the door firmly behind her. She halted.
"Ryan? Ryan…what are you doing?"
He wore the clothes of an elf, a sword strapped to his side. He was pacing back and forth, and he could have appeared completely healthy if not for the dark circles under his eyes and the pale tint to his skin. He was pacing back and forth with a dark look on his face that frightened Sarah unreasonably.
"Ryan?" she asked again, gently.
"How dare you," he said in a low voice.
"What?" she stepped a little bit closer, but, in a flash, Ryan had drawn his sword and was pointing it at her neck. Sarah didn't dare move.
***
Ryan had no idea who he was looking at, but it certainly wasn't his sister. How dare this creature claim her voice? The room was almost spinning, but it was clearer than it had been a few hours ago. He could barely remember…
This… black, ugly slimy… THING had said Narindrel, his beautiful, pristine Narindrel… it said she tried to hurt him. Narin would never.
"How dare you accuse my wife of poisoning me?" he spat, making sure this thing didn't move.
He could barely look at it, it was so disgusting, and he almost lost his balance from lightheadedness and toppled over. Ryan lowered the sword slightly and leaned heavily on the bedpost. As he looked away, he recognized his sister's voice more clearly.
"You can't mean that. I didn't say she betrayed you- it wasn't her fault!"
"She did nothing!" Ryan growled. "She would never betray me. I love her more than anything in this world. I am her… her Ryaden. Shut up."
"So you deny your family and refuse your name for the sake of the woman you love. Ironic how it is bringing you to ruin," the voice was now full of bitter sarcasm, and he could almost imagine it was Sarah herself. "Does that make you Romeo?"
Sarah. It had to be Sarah… if he just kept his eyes away, it was her… Ryan's mind trudged forward.
Sarah thinks she is well versed in Shakespeare, eh? he thought. He knew every Shakespearean work by heart, and she was no match for him.
Ryan frowned. "If I am Romeo, would that make you Mercutio? Ha. Life has tipped its hat to stronger stuff than you… Sarah. What are you made of?"
"What makes me? What makes YOU? I have woven my life around my means and future ends. I am no Mercutio, though, if you'd asked, I would have bent as Benvolio to your Montague. However, my will and your want were alike as bull and dove- one solid and steadfast, the other uncertain and simpering." She fairly spat the acidic words.
At this Ryan scoffed. "Simpering? How can a rock be simpering? How can a real man be weak? I would be more woman than man if that were true. Apparently, I am Macbeth above Romeo, dear sister. I was not led to murder, only to leaving my sister, and led by the prompting of the woman I love. But I will not, no, I refuse to justify myself to such a disgusting Iago as stands before me."
Sarah's jaw dropped, though Ryan didn't see it. "You think I am lying about her? You cannot trust her as she is, Ryan- she was being controlled by Saruman! I do not speak out of malice, only fear for my brother! Would I were Orlando to your Oliver, after the battle with the lion."
"I think no less of you than you deserve. And no battle with any beast would sway my sight of you- conniving, wretched, broken and scheming after years of loneliness and a vengeful spirit." His eyes swept her up and down with disgust, and he finally declared,
"Edmund! Trusted one, betrayed me! No realization could so scour my eyes and destroy my will than this that I experience! You, sister! No, no sister of mine. I deny you that honor, at least. You care only for yourself."
After this tearing, Sarah lost all love for formal language. She resorted to the only thing she thought would make him see reason- vernacular and a good chewing out.
"Oh, spare me the Machiavellian accusations, Ryan! I am no Edmund! Why would I pit you against your love? How would that benefit me? The only stake I have in this idiotic mess we call a quest, is the constancy of knowing I have a brother to confide in and run to, and the idea that maybe we'll get out of this alive, with Middle-Earth safe. You can't promise your little wife anything more, and you know it! So why don't you climb down off of that high-horse of yours, and join the REAL world again! You know, the world where we are on the same side? You and me? Batman and Robin? Abbot and Costello? Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber? WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SILENT BOB? Come on."
She rested her arms at her sides helplessly, a pure appeal.
The conflicting thoughts showed painfully on his face. He felt very drawn to her, and he hated to see her in pain. But something made him stop… made him want to sever himself from her. He wanted nothing to do with her, this disgusting object of hatred! She had to get out, he had to make her leave, or kill her! But he loved her more than anything in the world…
His hand twitched at the hilt of his sword. He could kill her, quickly, but for some reason there was nothing he wanted to do less in the world. And more.
Ryan forced himself to calm down, think rationally.
Who is standing in front of you? His mind answered, your sister.
But his eyes answered differently. He saw a small, crouched figure, emanating slimy deceit.
What is going on? He closed his eyes, and forced himself to picture the Sarah he knew. She was funny, silly, strong and sarcastic. Larry to his Bob. Faithful, emotional, decisive. Honest.
He opened his eyes.
"Sing."
Sarah let out a quick, cutting laugh. Then she realized he was serious.
"What?"
"I said, Sing." Ryan placed a hand directly on the hilt of his sword, gripping it decisively. "I don't know what's going on, and I don't know what I see, but I know one thing that will tell me if I can trust you. Sing."
She nodded slowly, not taking an eye off that sword for a second.
"Okay. I can do that. Give me a minute."
He waited- he could wait all day if it would show him that his sister stood before him, same as so many years ago.
She picked a light, smirking song. It was at once cheerful and sarcastic, honest and hopeful. A truly blatant song.
"Open up this box of sunshine,
and smile as confetti comes raining down on you.
You feel a lot like the 'good guy',
But do you know why
Everything's so blue?
Well, love is fire and the coals are barely burning.
Cold fills the emptiness that fills this empty place
I taught you to walk but then you ran away from me
And that's not how it's supposed to be -"
She left it right there, without starting the chorus. He would have to continue it- can't forsake the rhythm, right? The measures passed like a snap of the fingers, and Sarah's stomach jumped-
"I, I collide,
Love is an elusive state of mind,
I know there's something else there's supposed to be.
I, I collide,
Love is an elusive state of mind,
Something's killing me!"
They ended singing together. Then, Sarah skipped a verse and sang from memory:
"You could be the best one,
to clean up this filthy mess…"
"You could be the best one," Ryan went on, the notes rising.
"Be the best one-" higher.
"Be the best one…" finished.
Both panted slightly. But Ryan looked at his sister, and trusted what he saw.
***
A grin broke out on her brother's face, and Sarah choked back a happy sob. She finally had her brother back.
Ryan dropped his sword and held out his right hand. Sarah wanted nothing more than to take that hand, and as she grasped it, electricity shot through her.
"The greatest relief," she whispered.
"Joyous reunion," he answered softly.
Then both looked down at their clasped hands, and froze.
Images flooded both minds- the same images. Gandalf's story of his visions in the Galadriel's mirror- two people, one hand. The wizard didn't say three hands, one shared between the two. He said ONE HAND. That would mean… Images of a person, from a dream and a statue, without hands.
Ryan's eyes shot to Sarah's. "We were separated…"
"…no hands."
"But when we are together, we are bonded- we share. Connected."
His heart pounded at the realization, and Sarah gasped for breath. "But even when we're together… something is missing. We're both…"
"Missing the bond, missing another connection. Missing another hand."
"Three. Not two."
"Completion."
"But who? Who are we missing?"
Suddenly Ryan laughed, as it all came together. "The Children of Númenor. Amanda."
Sarah smacked herself on the forehead. "I don't know why we assumed she wasn't involved! Three! A triangle, bonding us all together, Númenorean blood- the three children of Númenor! …But it doesn't matter, does it? She's back in 2002… right?"
"I thought so… and Gandalf's vision- we fail when we are bonded as two. We are missing the third side of the triangle- I think that's why we fail. We have to get her to us, somehow…"
"But we can't risk using the ring! Remember- evil for good? This would be a very great act, and so something very evil would accompany it." Sarah still held onto her brother's hand- she fervently didn't want to let it go.
"Let's ask Gandalf and Aragorn. Maybe they'll know what to do."
Sarah nodded, and both strode out of the room with new life.
~~~ The author felt like a little exposition. Okay, a lot of exposition. It's so satisfying when big chunks of the plot start falling into place! Yay!
Review, please!
