A/N: As always, thanks for the reviews (Ch. 10: Tanny, Sick Little Fiend,
Casey Toh, Hannah, and Jessica). I know the Pete/Renée relationship
was fast, but in keeping solely to Jenny's perspective, a lot of their story
had to go untold. Let me know if anyone would really like to
see a sequel detailing their story, but otherwise, I'll leave the details
to the reader. In any case, thanks for all the input, and I'd love
it if you'll keep it up.
Ch. 11: Revelations
The lunch bell rang, and Renée and I worked our way to the dining hall. Elrond came in, accompanied by Gandalf, Glorfindel, Aragorn and Pete. Over the next few minutes, an assortment of Hobbits, Men, and Dwarves filtered in. They were the representatives gathered for the council.
"Well, at least we found Pete. He was hiding out with the guys all morning." The "guys" looked pretty serious. We walked over and found our places. Lunch was pretty quiet. Afterwards, Glorfindel and I walked out to the gardens.
"Is everything well?" I asked.
"As well as it can be. The council tomorrow will help to clarify matters. The Ring Frodo carries is indeed the One Ring, and it will have to be destroyed. Unfortunately, that is an almost impossible task. The Ring can only be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. I do not know who will do it or how they will accomplish that task, but someone will have to try. There is no other way." In other words, it was a suicide mission.
"I guess there really isn't anything to do except wait." He nodded. "You're very troubled by all of this, aren't you?" He nodded again. I slid an arm around his waist, grateful that I could. Small things like that meant so much to me. "Somehow it will all work out. It has in my life, and I guess there's nothing to do but trust that this will work out, too." I leaned against him, trying to comfort him, but also tired from being up and about all morning. I tried to cover it, but not very successfully.
"You're tired, aren't you?" There was a slight smile in his voice. Continuing the game, I just nodded. "Come on. You need rest." I was even more tired than I'd realized, and I stumbled a bit as we turned to go inside. He picked me up and carried me to his—our—room. This room was to have been mine, but I was having a hard time adjusting to thinking of it that way after being yanked away so suddenly. He set me down gently on the bed, then laid down beside me. I fell asleep quickly, and I think he just held me while I slept.
Glorfindel nudged me awake after perhaps an hour, and we both got up. I felt incredibly refreshed. The soreness was also starting to ease a little. Glorfindel went off on business of his own, and I went to find Renée. She was sitting with the hobbits in Frodo's room. The one I assumed was Frodo was in bed, and the rest of them were perched around the room. Two of them were on the sides of the bed, which dwarfed their little forms, and another was sitting cross-legged on a chair by the bed. I knew what hobbits were, but I'd never seen any of them close-up before. Renée was sitting on a chair on the opposite side of the bed.
"There you are, Renée!"
"I tried to find you earlier."
"Yeah, I needed a nap. I will be a while before I'm up to full speed." I looked over at the hobbits. "I don't think I've met any of you yet, young masters. My name is Jennifer. I'm Glorfindel's wife." That sounded good. I'd never really adjusted to the idea because I'd left this world so suddenly.
"I owe your husband my life. My name is Frodo Baggins. It's good to meet you." Frodo spoke from the bed. "I'm told you're recovering from an injury of your own."
"Yes, I am. Thanks for your concern. My injury was nowhere near as dangerous as your own."
"This is Samwise Gamgee." Frodo gestured to one of the hobbits on the bed. "We call him Sam. This," he gestured to the other hobbit on the bed, "is Peregrin Took."
Before Frodo could continue, the younger hobbit interrupted. "Pippin, ma'am."
Frodo continued. "Over there on the chair is Meriadoc Brandybuck, or Merry."
"I'm pleased to meet you all." Renée got up and brought another chair over. I sat down and we all chatted for the rest of the afternoon.
"I have never meet hobbits before. Would you tell me a little about yourselves?"
"We can certainly try," Frodo replied. "We're from the Shire, west and a little south of here. It's actually quite unusual for Hobbits to be found anywhere outside of the Shire. The furthest we usually go is Bree. We don't often go on adventures. Most of Hobbiton, my city, thinks me quite queer because I have met Elves and traveled a bit. I'm not like my uncle, Bilbo, though. He enjoys travelling, but I'd rather go home and live a quiet life without any more adventures."
We continued to chat for the rest of the afternoon. Hobbits really are amazing creatures. They're so small, but there is a lot of courage in them, too. They just don't realize it. Frodo and the other three had already faced the Nazgûl and brought the ring from the Shire to Rivendell. That in itself was an incredible feat. Yet again, I had the feeling that they would shape all of our futures. There was strength in them that they didn't realize. We walked with them to dinner, and afterwards we all went to the Hall of Fire. I had missed spending time there.
Glorfindel and I sat together, and watched as Frodo was reunited with his uncle, Bilbo. We listened to Bilbo tell a story of Ëarendil he and Aragorn had created together, then Aragorn and Arwen sang a song to Elbereth. It was a bittersweet moment. I knew what was between Aragorn and Arwen, and I could only guess at how it must break Elrond's heart. Like her ancestor Lúthien, Arwen would sacrifice her immortality to marry this mortal. The love between the two was great. I had to hope that Aragorn would survive the coming war and finally take his ancestral throne. Were he to die in the attempt, it would be to the loss of all, especially Arwen.
Despite enjoying the music, I grew sleepy, so we slipped out rather early. Glorfindel helped me up but didn't carry me. I woke up once I started moving. We wandered out into the gardens for a while, then headed back in to our room. We didn't exactly get to sleep right away…
Ch. 11: Revelations
The lunch bell rang, and Renée and I worked our way to the dining hall. Elrond came in, accompanied by Gandalf, Glorfindel, Aragorn and Pete. Over the next few minutes, an assortment of Hobbits, Men, and Dwarves filtered in. They were the representatives gathered for the council.
"Well, at least we found Pete. He was hiding out with the guys all morning." The "guys" looked pretty serious. We walked over and found our places. Lunch was pretty quiet. Afterwards, Glorfindel and I walked out to the gardens.
"Is everything well?" I asked.
"As well as it can be. The council tomorrow will help to clarify matters. The Ring Frodo carries is indeed the One Ring, and it will have to be destroyed. Unfortunately, that is an almost impossible task. The Ring can only be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. I do not know who will do it or how they will accomplish that task, but someone will have to try. There is no other way." In other words, it was a suicide mission.
"I guess there really isn't anything to do except wait." He nodded. "You're very troubled by all of this, aren't you?" He nodded again. I slid an arm around his waist, grateful that I could. Small things like that meant so much to me. "Somehow it will all work out. It has in my life, and I guess there's nothing to do but trust that this will work out, too." I leaned against him, trying to comfort him, but also tired from being up and about all morning. I tried to cover it, but not very successfully.
"You're tired, aren't you?" There was a slight smile in his voice. Continuing the game, I just nodded. "Come on. You need rest." I was even more tired than I'd realized, and I stumbled a bit as we turned to go inside. He picked me up and carried me to his—our—room. This room was to have been mine, but I was having a hard time adjusting to thinking of it that way after being yanked away so suddenly. He set me down gently on the bed, then laid down beside me. I fell asleep quickly, and I think he just held me while I slept.
Glorfindel nudged me awake after perhaps an hour, and we both got up. I felt incredibly refreshed. The soreness was also starting to ease a little. Glorfindel went off on business of his own, and I went to find Renée. She was sitting with the hobbits in Frodo's room. The one I assumed was Frodo was in bed, and the rest of them were perched around the room. Two of them were on the sides of the bed, which dwarfed their little forms, and another was sitting cross-legged on a chair by the bed. I knew what hobbits were, but I'd never seen any of them close-up before. Renée was sitting on a chair on the opposite side of the bed.
"There you are, Renée!"
"I tried to find you earlier."
"Yeah, I needed a nap. I will be a while before I'm up to full speed." I looked over at the hobbits. "I don't think I've met any of you yet, young masters. My name is Jennifer. I'm Glorfindel's wife." That sounded good. I'd never really adjusted to the idea because I'd left this world so suddenly.
"I owe your husband my life. My name is Frodo Baggins. It's good to meet you." Frodo spoke from the bed. "I'm told you're recovering from an injury of your own."
"Yes, I am. Thanks for your concern. My injury was nowhere near as dangerous as your own."
"This is Samwise Gamgee." Frodo gestured to one of the hobbits on the bed. "We call him Sam. This," he gestured to the other hobbit on the bed, "is Peregrin Took."
Before Frodo could continue, the younger hobbit interrupted. "Pippin, ma'am."
Frodo continued. "Over there on the chair is Meriadoc Brandybuck, or Merry."
"I'm pleased to meet you all." Renée got up and brought another chair over. I sat down and we all chatted for the rest of the afternoon.
"I have never meet hobbits before. Would you tell me a little about yourselves?"
"We can certainly try," Frodo replied. "We're from the Shire, west and a little south of here. It's actually quite unusual for Hobbits to be found anywhere outside of the Shire. The furthest we usually go is Bree. We don't often go on adventures. Most of Hobbiton, my city, thinks me quite queer because I have met Elves and traveled a bit. I'm not like my uncle, Bilbo, though. He enjoys travelling, but I'd rather go home and live a quiet life without any more adventures."
We continued to chat for the rest of the afternoon. Hobbits really are amazing creatures. They're so small, but there is a lot of courage in them, too. They just don't realize it. Frodo and the other three had already faced the Nazgûl and brought the ring from the Shire to Rivendell. That in itself was an incredible feat. Yet again, I had the feeling that they would shape all of our futures. There was strength in them that they didn't realize. We walked with them to dinner, and afterwards we all went to the Hall of Fire. I had missed spending time there.
Glorfindel and I sat together, and watched as Frodo was reunited with his uncle, Bilbo. We listened to Bilbo tell a story of Ëarendil he and Aragorn had created together, then Aragorn and Arwen sang a song to Elbereth. It was a bittersweet moment. I knew what was between Aragorn and Arwen, and I could only guess at how it must break Elrond's heart. Like her ancestor Lúthien, Arwen would sacrifice her immortality to marry this mortal. The love between the two was great. I had to hope that Aragorn would survive the coming war and finally take his ancestral throne. Were he to die in the attempt, it would be to the loss of all, especially Arwen.
Despite enjoying the music, I grew sleepy, so we slipped out rather early. Glorfindel helped me up but didn't carry me. I woke up once I started moving. We wandered out into the gardens for a while, then headed back in to our room. We didn't exactly get to sleep right away…