Authors' Notes: Here's another chapter up. It's amazing how this thing seemed to have a life of its own. It just kept growing! We kind of went a little overboard… and now it's a bit long. Hopefully you don't mind. More author's notes at the end.
We still don't own Lord of the Rings.
Chapter 2
"Are you ready, Haurion?" Gandalf asked anxiously.
"Ready as I'll ever be!" he replied enthusiastically. His brow then furrowed in thought, "Wait, what am I supposed to do again?"
Gandalf groaned, and slowly, carefully, and very, very patiently restated the plan. He believed it was the third time, "Do you understand now?"
"Yes," Haurion said confidently, "I believe so." Gandalf muttered an incantation and Haurion began to fade away. Suddenly, a look of confusion crossed the boy's features. He lifted a finger and said, "Wait! I have one more question!" before vanishing out of sight.
Gandalf put his head in his hands before raising his face to the sky, "My prayers are with you, Legolas."
* * *
Legolas stood in front of a mirror studying his strange new clothes. Elyssa's father was a hefty man and so, his clothes were slightly too big for him. The sweater hung loose and the pants stayed on only due to the belt. Elyssa looked Legolas over and made a face.
"I do believe that we're going to have to take a trip to the mall today." Elyssa smiled, "Good thing my parents are so generous." She looked his hair over but thought twice about changing it.
"What is a mall?" Legolas asked curiously.
"It's a big place," Elyssa said walking to a drawer in her room and searching for something, "where you can buy things."
"Ah, so it is something akin to the markets that the men have?"
"Yeah, something like that," she pulled out some bus tickets from a drawer and smiled brightly.
The two shortly arrived at the mall, much to the relief of Legolas, who was terrified of the large steel, moving box that Elyssa called a "bus". He looked up at the building in wonder; it was nearly as big as a palace.
Quickly, Elyssa took his hand and led him inside. The shopping center was packed with teenagers loitering from summer vacation. The two threaded through the small crowds and made their way to a clothing store where Elyssa picked out some clothes for him. Legolas obediently tried them all on, although he was a little reluctant to model for her. Elyssa, on the other hand, was enjoying every minute.
After buying the necessities, underwear, and the not so necessary, a $40 shirt that just looked "oh-so-cute" on him, the two decided to sit on a bench for a rest.
"This mall," began Legolas, "is amazing. Who is the king of this palace?"
Elyssa tried to suppress a giggle, "This isn't a palace, Legolas, it's just a shopping center." This seemed to puzzle Legolas further but he just smiled and nodded. Silence fell as Legolas observed the top of the girl's head. Feeling his intent gaze, she decided to examine her shoes, feeling her face flush.
The sound of hysterical laughter broke the silence. Legolas turned to the noise and saw a small group of girls emerge from a tall box with a curtain over what seemed to be the doorway.
"What's that?" he asked.
Elyssa turned to see what he was pointing to and perked up. She grinned wickedly, "Come on, I'll show you." Grabbing Legolas' hand, she tugged him to the photo booth. It was a tight squeeze even with just two people, yet somehow, neither she nor Legolas minded. Elyssa inserted the money into the coin slot and waited for the inevitable.
"What's going on?"
*FLASH*
Elyssa giggled, "Just smile!"
"Smile? Oh… alright…"
*FLASH*
"Make a weird face!"
"Very well."
*FLASH*
"Smile nicely again!"
*FLASH*
Elyssa chuckled, "It's over…"
"What was that?" asked the stunned elf.
"That was photo booth picture taking," Elyssa smirked. The two exited the little box and waited anxiously for their pictures. Legolas, unsure of what pictures were, was eager to find out. What exactly were they waiting for?
Suddenly, a little strip of paper slipped from a slot. Elyssa immediately pounced on it. Her eyes squinted as she inspected the little strip, then her head flung back with laughter.
"What is it?" Inquired the elf. Elyssa wiped the tears from her eyes and handed him the pictures.
He found four squares; the first one was of Elyssa smiling delightfully while he gaped at her in confusion. The second was of her laughing and him smiling nervously. The next was of Elyssa sticking her tongue out while Legolas crossed his eyes. The last one was of the two smiling cheerfully into the camera.
Elyssa peered over his shoulder and pointed to the third picture, "Where'd you learn to do that?" He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. She paused looking at him curiously, "Aaaalright… well, what do you think? Fun, isn't it?"
"It's amusing, My Lady. You look very nice," he was telling the truth. These pictures seemed to capture her beauty, eccentricity, and her humor all in one, or four, snapshots.
"You look great, too." She said, "You know what? I'll keep the bad ones. You can take the last one."
He looked at her with appreciation in his bright blue eyes, "Thank you." They stayed like that for a moment, oblivious of the passing shoppers.
"Elyssa? Elyssa, is that you!" Elyssa closed her eyes and cursed under her breath. She put on a smiling face and turned around.
"Hello, Courtney."
"I knew it was you!" Courtney bubbled, "Who might this be, hmm?" She stuck out her hand and when Legolas didn't respond she grabbed his. "I'm Courtney Smich, what's your name?"
Legolas looked to Elyssa for support who quickly stepped in, "This is Legolas. He's a friend of mine who just came to visit for a little while."
"Oh, I see," she looked him over. "I've never heard that name before, what nationality is it? Spanish? Yaaa-keeroo-taco-bell?" she said uneasily.
Legolas looked at her with confusion, "I beg your pardon?"
Elyssa stepped in once more, "It's an old Celtic name. His parents are really into history."
Courtney turned away from her and back to Legolas, "Fascinating…" she drawled. An awkward silence took over but after a moment she seemed to gather her senses. "I never got a chance to tell you," she said still looking at Legolas, "I'm having a get together this Friday at Wired, the karaoke bar. You're welcome to come."
Elyssa's eyes widened, "I don't think we…" She trailed off when Courtney turned to her as though it was the first time she'd spoken.
"A karaoke bar?" the elf questioned.
"Yup. You sound interested, so I'll count you in. Well, I've got plenty of shopping to do so I'll see you two there!" with that, Courtney winked at Legolas, turned around, and walked rapidly away. Elyssa rubbed at her temples cursing again.
"Who was that girl?"
"That was Courtney Smich. How convenient that her name happens to rhyme with her description," Elyssa grunted. When Legolas cocked his head to the side puzzled, she continued, "She's a rich, superficial social climber who'll do just about anything to get her way." That didn't seem to clarify very much for Legolas. She sighed and tugged at his hand, leading him to another part of the mall.
"Where are we going now?"
"I'm starved, aren't you? We haven't eaten all day."
* * *
After eating, the two stepped out of the mall they noticed that the sun had made its way across the sky. Elyssa made her way to the bus stop but Legolas stopped her.
"Must we go on the bus again, Elyssa?"
Elyssa paused and reconsidered, "It is a nice day, and my house isn't too far. We might as well walk." The two strolled along quietly until Elyssa broke the silence. "You haven't told me very much about your world, Legolas, I'm curious."
Legolas enchanted the girl with detailed descriptions of his homeland. He illustrated with his words the mirth of the forest, the splendor of his city, and became somber when he spoke of the state of distress of Middle-Earth. He finished his tale with his arrival to her realm.
Elyssa treaded on quietly listening carefully to his story, nodding occasionally to show she was still listening. She noticed that his eyes brightened when he spoke of his world; he missed it greatly. She finally fully understood his anguish and need for return. Resolutely, Elyssa decided that she would ensure his safe homecoming. The depiction he gave of his world, however, drew out flickers of faint memory from her dream. Her thoughts became restless, how had her mind come to dream of a world that already existed? She mentally searched her brain for connections until she was snapped from her thoughts.
A ball zipped toward the two and Legolas easily caught it with one hand. Looking around, Elyssa realized that they had inadvertently found their way to the front lawn of her house. A little boy ambled quickly to them and smiled brightly, "That's my ball. Thank you for catching it."
Legolas' eyes widened in surprise as his eyes quickly roamed over the child's features, "Haurion? How can this be?"
The boy looked at him curiously his eyes shifting from Legolas to the girl and back again, "Ho-Ryan?" he asked, "My name's not Ryan, it's uh… Derek. May I have my ball back please?"
Legolas bent down level to the boy and handed him the ball. As the boy took it, Legolas noticed a deep blue color under the boy's fingernails. He placed one hand on Derek's shoulder, "You are Haurion. I know this. Please tell me, how shall I return home?"
Elyssa watched on quietly, realizing suddenly that she felt sad that Legolas would be returning so soon. Her brow furrowed in confusion as the boy whispered something to the elf. It was nearly inaudible, but what she did hear, she recognized as the same melodic language that Legolas had spoken to her upon their first meeting. She noticed Legolas nod before the little boy blinked and ran off.
"That was odd," Elyssa commented.
Legolas uncurled himself from his position and turned to Elyssa smiling, almost forcefully. He looked at her as though he were about to say something, but seemed to think better of it. He looked to the house, "I suppose we should go inside?"
Elyssa watched him a moment as he strode to the door before quickly following.
* * *
Are your eyes tired yet? We're sorry that it was so long, although, what was said was needed to be said. And as for the Mary-Sue bit, we've done the test and it's original! I don't understand how someone can make a decent fic when there are so many restrictions. Any genre of fiction can have the exact same content as a Sue save for the romance, and be considered a masterpiece. Ah well. Anyway, Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Every little bit helps! Keep on truckin' …I mean sending out those reviews. ^_^
Erika and Jerika