Chapter 2
She led him down the road to the nearest café. She noticed how nervous he was as cars whizzed past them on the roads. Instinctively she took his hand to let him know it was safe. Something about him made her believe he was telling the truth, even though it went against everything she believed. Time travel? Middle-Earth? She shook her head in disbelief. This couldn't be real, but yet she somehow knew it was. As a lorry thundered towards them, she felt his grip on her hand tighten. She rubbed his hand with her thumb, and pulled him close. "It's alright," she said. "These are what we use for transport. They run by burning petrol, it's like oil. The energy drives the wheels and makes them go forward."
"No horses anymore?" he said giving her a smile
"No horses."
She sat him down in a quiet corner away from the crowd of kids who couldn't be bothered to go home after school and brought him a milky coffee. "It might be a bit bitter for you. Try it and I'll put some sugar in if you want." He nodded and pulled a face at the taste. Tally automatically put two sachets of sugar in and stirred to make sure it was dissolved. She then put two in her own. He took another sip and smiled.
"Thank you," he said, "I suppose I should begin my story. I know it may sound far fetched, but if you are aquatinted with the story of Frodo and the one Ring, then I may skip some details. After the War of the Ring was over, Gimli and I went travelling much. We both longed to see the good in the world after so much evil. We spent much time with King Aragorn and Lady Arwen in the White City and visiting the Hobbits in the Shire as well. Often we met Gandalf. The last time was in the Golden Woods. I was there and then suddenly I was here."
"What?" Tally interrupted loudly, "How can that be? You can't just do things like that. It just not possible."
"My lady, if there is one thing I have learnt travelling and meeting the people I have, it is that nothing is impossible, especially with wizards like Gandalf around." Legolas proceeded to tell Tally the story of his last meeting with Galadriel. Tally sat quietly, ignoring the stares that she got for siting with a man who was so definitely not 'normal'. "If only there was someway I could find if there were still Elves. They are immortal. There should still be some."
"The Internet!" Tally exclaimed with a triumphant smile. "It's a way of communicating between entirely different parts of the world. If Elves still existed and were spread out across the globe then there'd have to be a website these days for them to keep in touch. We can go to my house and try, if you want." She said half warily and half shyly.
"I'll try anything. But first, you must answer me one question. Your name, I do not know it. It would feel wrong going into the house of a lady without knowing her name." He said cheekily
She smiled, "Natalia. Natalia Greyson. Most people just call me Tally though." She blushed as he murmured her name to himself and reached out to kiss her hand. This time she let him.
As they walked back to her flat where she had found him she began to sing to herself again, just an old song from her childhood. She realised he was watching her and she came to an abrupt halt, "Please do not stop. You have a beautiful voice. Elves can hear very well. You may have been trying to sing quietly, but I could still hear." Tally blushed again but didn't restart her singing.
She fumbled again for her keys outside the door into her block of flats. Finally getting in after a fight with the ageing locks on the door. Tally led him up to the first floor flats and took the left hand one. He walked inside and was greeted by a beautiful medium sized room decorated, he knew, just by her. It seemed to scream Natalia from every nook and cranny. He smiled and sat on the sprawling sofa, watching as she busied herself in front of a black object in the corner.
"Ok," she said, "This is my laptop computer. It runs of electricity, it's a type of energy. The Internet is an electronic system and it is made up of many pages like a book all linked together and you can search through them really quickly using special types of pages." He nodded here, pretending to understand, "Now if there was something particular that you could have say in Elvish that no one human would understand, like a password that no human would ever use or know, then we could search for it and see if we could find some Elves. Does that make sense?"
"Not at all, but I'm willing to try it, if you think it might work. I'm just trying to think of something that might be useful." He thought for a while and then said something Tally didn't understand.
"Umm you'd better type it in Legolas," he was shocked to hear her say his name, she hadn't said it before, he felt sure she believed him now. "All you have to do is press the key that corresponds to the letter of the word and then this one is a space. I'll show you, look." And she typed his name, slowly pressing the keys to show him. Tally stood up and let Legolas sit in her chair. She stood behind him as he typed in words that made no sense to her what so ever, "What does it mean?"
"I can not tell you. It is a secret only known to the Elves. It protects us. It has been used since the days of the Eldar as something to distinguish Elves from any other. It is taught to our children at birth and is kept a secret which dies unspoken unless in great need and even then it is only whispered."
"Oh ok." Said Tally
"I have finished putting in the words. Now what do I do?"
"You have to press the enter key. This one here." Tally leant over Legolas and hit the return button. The search result came up immediately. Nothing. Legolas looked at the floor and sighed. "You can try other things. Here let me show you." She showed him the mouse and how to go back and try new searches. He caught on quickly. Tally left him alone and went to make them more coffee. It would be a long night, she felt.
It was 2am when he finally stopped. "This is no use," he said, "It is not working. How am I meant to get help like this?"
"Why do you need help? That's what I don't get. There's no danger here. There's no one invading London, raping and pillaging." Tally yawned. "I need to get some sleep. I'll make you up a bed in the spare room. Elves don't sleep, right?" Legolas nodded, "Well you can have the bed just the same, you look like you could do with some rest. Do you have any clothes to change into? No? Well you're about the same size and my friend, he left some clothes in my wardrobe when he last stayed. You can have them. We'll get you something tomorrow. You.. umm.. can't wear clothes like that without getting looked at strangely, and you can't wear your bow and arrow thing in the streets. It's illegal. They're dangerous. You might be a psycho trying to hurt someone, or that's what the police'll think." Tally gabbled off the last bit. Legolas wasn't really listening, she could tell, but he might hear some of it. She didn't want him getting hurt.
She led him down the road to the nearest café. She noticed how nervous he was as cars whizzed past them on the roads. Instinctively she took his hand to let him know it was safe. Something about him made her believe he was telling the truth, even though it went against everything she believed. Time travel? Middle-Earth? She shook her head in disbelief. This couldn't be real, but yet she somehow knew it was. As a lorry thundered towards them, she felt his grip on her hand tighten. She rubbed his hand with her thumb, and pulled him close. "It's alright," she said. "These are what we use for transport. They run by burning petrol, it's like oil. The energy drives the wheels and makes them go forward."
"No horses anymore?" he said giving her a smile
"No horses."
She sat him down in a quiet corner away from the crowd of kids who couldn't be bothered to go home after school and brought him a milky coffee. "It might be a bit bitter for you. Try it and I'll put some sugar in if you want." He nodded and pulled a face at the taste. Tally automatically put two sachets of sugar in and stirred to make sure it was dissolved. She then put two in her own. He took another sip and smiled.
"Thank you," he said, "I suppose I should begin my story. I know it may sound far fetched, but if you are aquatinted with the story of Frodo and the one Ring, then I may skip some details. After the War of the Ring was over, Gimli and I went travelling much. We both longed to see the good in the world after so much evil. We spent much time with King Aragorn and Lady Arwen in the White City and visiting the Hobbits in the Shire as well. Often we met Gandalf. The last time was in the Golden Woods. I was there and then suddenly I was here."
"What?" Tally interrupted loudly, "How can that be? You can't just do things like that. It just not possible."
"My lady, if there is one thing I have learnt travelling and meeting the people I have, it is that nothing is impossible, especially with wizards like Gandalf around." Legolas proceeded to tell Tally the story of his last meeting with Galadriel. Tally sat quietly, ignoring the stares that she got for siting with a man who was so definitely not 'normal'. "If only there was someway I could find if there were still Elves. They are immortal. There should still be some."
"The Internet!" Tally exclaimed with a triumphant smile. "It's a way of communicating between entirely different parts of the world. If Elves still existed and were spread out across the globe then there'd have to be a website these days for them to keep in touch. We can go to my house and try, if you want." She said half warily and half shyly.
"I'll try anything. But first, you must answer me one question. Your name, I do not know it. It would feel wrong going into the house of a lady without knowing her name." He said cheekily
She smiled, "Natalia. Natalia Greyson. Most people just call me Tally though." She blushed as he murmured her name to himself and reached out to kiss her hand. This time she let him.
As they walked back to her flat where she had found him she began to sing to herself again, just an old song from her childhood. She realised he was watching her and she came to an abrupt halt, "Please do not stop. You have a beautiful voice. Elves can hear very well. You may have been trying to sing quietly, but I could still hear." Tally blushed again but didn't restart her singing.
She fumbled again for her keys outside the door into her block of flats. Finally getting in after a fight with the ageing locks on the door. Tally led him up to the first floor flats and took the left hand one. He walked inside and was greeted by a beautiful medium sized room decorated, he knew, just by her. It seemed to scream Natalia from every nook and cranny. He smiled and sat on the sprawling sofa, watching as she busied herself in front of a black object in the corner.
"Ok," she said, "This is my laptop computer. It runs of electricity, it's a type of energy. The Internet is an electronic system and it is made up of many pages like a book all linked together and you can search through them really quickly using special types of pages." He nodded here, pretending to understand, "Now if there was something particular that you could have say in Elvish that no one human would understand, like a password that no human would ever use or know, then we could search for it and see if we could find some Elves. Does that make sense?"
"Not at all, but I'm willing to try it, if you think it might work. I'm just trying to think of something that might be useful." He thought for a while and then said something Tally didn't understand.
"Umm you'd better type it in Legolas," he was shocked to hear her say his name, she hadn't said it before, he felt sure she believed him now. "All you have to do is press the key that corresponds to the letter of the word and then this one is a space. I'll show you, look." And she typed his name, slowly pressing the keys to show him. Tally stood up and let Legolas sit in her chair. She stood behind him as he typed in words that made no sense to her what so ever, "What does it mean?"
"I can not tell you. It is a secret only known to the Elves. It protects us. It has been used since the days of the Eldar as something to distinguish Elves from any other. It is taught to our children at birth and is kept a secret which dies unspoken unless in great need and even then it is only whispered."
"Oh ok." Said Tally
"I have finished putting in the words. Now what do I do?"
"You have to press the enter key. This one here." Tally leant over Legolas and hit the return button. The search result came up immediately. Nothing. Legolas looked at the floor and sighed. "You can try other things. Here let me show you." She showed him the mouse and how to go back and try new searches. He caught on quickly. Tally left him alone and went to make them more coffee. It would be a long night, she felt.
It was 2am when he finally stopped. "This is no use," he said, "It is not working. How am I meant to get help like this?"
"Why do you need help? That's what I don't get. There's no danger here. There's no one invading London, raping and pillaging." Tally yawned. "I need to get some sleep. I'll make you up a bed in the spare room. Elves don't sleep, right?" Legolas nodded, "Well you can have the bed just the same, you look like you could do with some rest. Do you have any clothes to change into? No? Well you're about the same size and my friend, he left some clothes in my wardrobe when he last stayed. You can have them. We'll get you something tomorrow. You.. umm.. can't wear clothes like that without getting looked at strangely, and you can't wear your bow and arrow thing in the streets. It's illegal. They're dangerous. You might be a psycho trying to hurt someone, or that's what the police'll think." Tally gabbled off the last bit. Legolas wasn't really listening, she could tell, but he might hear some of it. She didn't want him getting hurt.
