Tadandader HalfElven

 I was surprised that Elrond had agreed so easily to the trip to the Shire. After all, I had just almost burnt the deck down around us. But after examining the potential of my abilities, he had declared that I was safe, as long as I didn't get struck by lightening.

Now Luitha and I were packing. However, most of our garments were dresses. I had tried to tell Elrond that I really enjoyed wearing the type of clothing a Ranger wore. He had of course told me that I looked absolutely stunning and enticing in a dress. That stopped my protests. I glanced at Luitha. If she ever found out about that, I would never hear the end of it.

A knock on the door distracted me. "Come in!" we called together. Elrond brought in something very shiny.

"Could you excuse us for a moment, Luitha?" he asked. She grinned at me and left wordlessly. He looked at me. "I have something for you." He unwrapped a long silver dress that was absolutely gorgeous. "I would like you to wear this when you visit Tolkien. He is held in high esteem among many, and it would not do for you to wear something ordinary to meet him. And there is this." He brought out a small box and handed it to me. I opened it to find a replica of his crown in silver.

I was stunned. "Thank you.." I mumbled, awed by the crown. He took the box and its contents and set them on the bed, then clasped my hands with his.

"I will miss you, though you shall be gone only a short time. Are you sure you do not want an escort?" I shook my head mutely. Luitha and I wanted to hang out together again.

"Very well." He ran his hand through my hair, which was getting longer, and firmly kissed my mouth. I embraced him and kissed him back. I wasn't sure if it was going to end until there was another knock on the door.

"Tadan, Elrond, can I come back in? We leave in an hour, and I still have to finish packing!" We pulled away reluctantly.

"Come in, Luitha," I called, and Elrond squeezed my hand before leaving the room.

She came in holding a dress of her own, and I caught sight of Estel in the hall before Elrond closed the door behind us.

"Oh, what's that?" I asked, at the same time she pointed to my dress and box and asked the same question.

We laughed. "You first," I said.

She gave me a look and shrugged. "All right," she resignedly answered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

El luitha uren 

 I closed the door quietly, watching them until the last moment, grinning as I saw his hand reach up to touch her cheek. I was so happy for her.

An arm wrapped around my waist, and I closed my eyes and leaned into Aragorn's chest without even turning around.

"You're supposed to be in bed."

"You're leaving?" His voice was rough and low. I turned in his arms and placed my hands on his chest. His grey-blue eyes were dulled and his face seemed worn with cares again. How had he found out? "Elrohir told me."

I started. I thought I had my thought projecting under control! He smiled. "I have always been able to hear you, El. Not in coherent thoughts, but in emotions and feelings. I do not know why. Have you not felt the same?"

I had. Tears welled up in my eyes. My heart yearned to stay with Aragorn, but I wanted to go all the same. I reached up and pushed his own long hair behind his ear.

"This is the way it must be. You are a Ranger, and will not often be in the same part of the world that I am. Rest here and go back to your wanderings. I will be here again when you return."

"And if you are not? The world is a dangerous place El, you do not know..."

"No. I don't know. That's why I am leaving, Aragorn, to find out. My heart burns to wander, just as yours does. I will be back."

He sighed and took my hand, leading me into his room down the hall without a word. I waited by the bed as he left me to search around in a drawer. He pulled out dark clothing in various shades of brown and green.

"Here," he handed them to me. "I know that you cannot always wear dresses, and meant to give you this a long time ago." I took the Ranger-like clothing with a smile and waited as he then pulled out a package, wrapped in a dark blue silk cloth.

"Open it," he commanded. The silk fell away from the dress and I touched the fabric gingerly. It was a midnight blue that contrasted brilliantly with the light blue of my eyes. I did not speak, just held the dress in wonder. I did not notice him walk around me, but suddenly felt his hands reach around to clasp something on my neck. I looked curiously at him and he led me to a mirror. A silver-white star hung on a short chain, and I put a hand up to caress it.

"That is the light of Earendil inside the pendent," he told me softly. "I visited Lorien recently and asked it of the Lady Galadriel."

"Thank you," I told him softly. "I wish I had something to give you in return."

He smiled and touched my face again, stroking my cheek with his calloused thumb before leaning over and kissing me softly. I leaned into him as his arms wrapped around me, not wanting to let go.

"Come back soon, El luitha 'uren."

I left him in the room, staring mournfully after me, and walked down the hallway. Knocking and announcing that I had to pack, I entered to see Tadan waiting for me, her own dress in hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tadandader HalfElven

 After a few days of traveling, we reached Bree. I wanted to act like a tourist, so after pleading with Luitha we went in.

I smiled as Barliman poured us drinks, seemingly nervous about serving two Elf ladies. I watched Luitha's eyes constantly go to the corner where Strider would watch the Hobbits when they came to Bree.

Finally I broke the silence. "Luitha, I really don't mean to be depressing, but what are we going to do?"

She looked at me, not understanding what I meant.

"You love Estel. He loves you. I love Elrond. He loves me. And yet, I feel that for us to part would be wrong. If you died while I lived, I could not bear it. Neither could I do that to Elrond. Then, I do not think you could watch Aragorn die."

Comprehension flooded her eyes. "I don't know, Tadan, I don't know. I don't want to think on it, yet I know we should. Perhaps this trip will provide some much needed illumination."

I nodded, and turned to watch a musician set up in the common room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

El luitha uren 

 It was decidedly eerie to be in the Prancing Pony. It also had been decidedly eerie to travel along the road from Rivendell to Bree, knowing that in a few years the hobbits would be taking the same path. We passed the Ford and Amon Sul with our mouths open, trying to decide if we should giggle hysterically or just stare in wonder.

Now in Bree, things had not changed. Elves were far and few between in the inn, apparently, because we got enough stares as to make me wonder if I had grown horns. People left us well enough alone, and we sat at a table by the window, talking quietly to each other.

I wasn't surprised by Tadan's question. But I really did not know how to answer. I hadn't been thinking of it. In truth, I'd been avoiding the very thought. Her eyes locked on the star I wore around my neck now as my own gaze drifted back again to the corner. When would I see him again? I could not have been any easier for Tadan- this was the first time she had been away from Elrond since we'd arrived in Rivendell.

We sat watching the musicians set up, when Tadan broke the silence again. "I want a keychain."

I grinned at her. "I don't think they have keychains in Middle Earth."

"Well why not? They have keys don't they? You'd think they'd have keychains with 'BREE' written on it, or some kind of merchandise."

Barliman came back over, and Tadan began her stint as a tourist. I hid my head in my hands.

"Excuse me, do you have any keychains or anything?"

"Key- chains, m'lady?"

"You know, something to hang your keys on?" Barliman looked at her with a blank stare. "Do you have anything to advertise on? My friends aren't going to believe me when I tell them I've been to Bree..." Barliman did not look anymore enlightened than before.

"Cups? Little prancing ponies? Rulers? Anything like that?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tadandader HalfElven

 Luitha was turning red. I couldn't figure out why they didn't have souvenirs. I was in Middle Earth, for crying out loud, and there wasn't anything to show for it? Finally I waved Barliman away, seeing how utterly flummoxed he was.

"Nothing! How can Bree call itself a city if it doesn't have anything in the way of mementos?"

She looked up from her drink. "Does this mean you're done torturing Barliman?"

"I was not torturing him. I merely wanted something to say I've been in Bree. I fear no one would believe me back home..." I trailed off. Home. What was home? When the word home had come to my lips, pictures of Rivendell flooded my brain, images of Elrond were in front of my eyes. Yet, what of my family? My mother, father, three siblings. Could I truly forget about them and stay here? Would I be able to go back if I tried? Did I want to try?

I felt like kicking myself. Here I was, in Bree. I should be enjoying myself, and instead I was depressing myself. Time for a distraction.

"Can we see if we can run into Tom Bombadil tomorrow?"

Luitha grinned. "Yes. But you need to promise that we will not detour to see Old Man Willow."

"But, but, it would be so neat, so very cool, to see him! We could keep eyes out for Entwives too!"

"No. With our luck, we would be trapped. I do not feel like being drowned by a tree."

"We would be careful!"

"No. You are not dragging me anywhere near that tree. I swear if you do I am going to tell Glorfindel..." she stopped suddenly.

"About Elrond and I? Oh, he knows. Fine then. But we are going to stop and spend the night on Weathertop on the way back. I don't care if it creeps you out, I think it would be awesome. And then we can race for the fords and see how quickly Asfaloth could make it if he left the walkers behind!"

She looked at me. I stopped, for a second having the odd feeling that she hadn't meant what I thought about Glorfindel, but waved it off. "Luitha, don't you want to do any of the really cool stuff here?"

"Next you'll be wanting to visit Mordor, and Mount Doom, and Dol Guldur, and Isenguard!"

"Ooh, I had forgotten Isenguard! Saruman can't be bad yet!"

She closed her eyes and moaned. I think I was getting on her nerves. Her lips started to move, and I leaned forward to hear the barely muttered words, "why me, why me, why me?"

"Hey!"

"Hey nothing! You would probably enjoy meeting Saruman! And his new master!"

"No, I think his new master scares me. I would just to see his new master's fortress. Barad Dur must be pretty this time of year!" Suddenly I remembered what time of year it was. "Luitha! Thorin! I forgot to meet him!"

"So?" Obviously she didn't know what today was.

"The Battle of the Five Armies, its today! He dies today, and I didn't meet him! Oh, I met Fili and Kili, and Balin and Dwalin, and all of the others, but not Thorin." My shoulders slumped. He was one of two Dwarves I wanted to meet.

"Are you sure it's today?"

"Yes. I actually figured out the day of the Battle by rereading the Hobbit and studying the Appendices."

"There is no Hobbit here, Tolkien can't write it yet!"

"Not here, silly! Before we left for the mall! I had been curious, so I researched it out."

"Well, there really is nothing you can do. Unless you had a time portal or figured out how to harness lightening to your will, you won't meet him. Sorry."

"You don't care, do you?"

"Honestly, he always struck me as a snob, until the part when he dies. Then he is nice."

"But he's dead!"

"Yeah, and so am I, on my feet I mean. Let's get some sleep so we can visit Bombadil in the morning." I reluctantly followed her up the stairs to our room. I had wanted a Hobbit one, but Luitha had emphatically said no.

"You know, I think I'm going to wear my silver dress to Bombadil's, as well as Tolkien's."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

El luitha uren 

 We got up early the next morning, eager to be off again. The main room was full, and we sat quietly by the window watching the chaos that erupted constantly around us. At my suggestion, we pulled our hoods over our heads. Too many strange men in there made me nervous, and I recognized the pinched-faced men in the far corner as southerners. They watched us carefully. We tried not to notice.

We got up to leave quickly and made for the stables. Asfaloth had not been happy about staying the night in a barn, but I felt rather odd leaving him to run around Bree while we slept. But as we neared the stables, we heard a rather high pitched voice coming from inside.

"Go on!" it squeaked in a rather desperate tone, "Git! Git!"

Tadan and I raised our eyebrows at each other and strode quickly inside. A slim, dark figure was standing behind Asfaloth, shoving at the horse's rump and making spitting noises to encourage him. The door to Miel's stall was open as well, but neither of the horses looked as though they had any intention of moving. Miel watched with bored interest as the figure spat some more and braced himself between the horse and wall in the stall next to him. Asfaloth ate from a grain bucket, not even twitching as the man pushed harder at his rump.

Tadan and I suppressed giggles and watched the scene amusedly for a moment. Miel heard us enter and looked with renewed interest at the door, lifting his head and issuing a small whinny. I whistled. Asfaloth jerked his head up and immediately trotted forward through the stall door, snorting as the figure that had wedged itself behind him dropped with a gasp and a painful thud to the floor.

Tadan and I mounted and turned to the figure still recovering in the stall.

"Bill Ferny," she said simply, a grin on her face. "This won't be the last time you turn out to be a pest. Take care to only mess with people that have no desire to fight back. You just might end up with an apple to your silly noggin."

We turned and trotted out into the street. Only once we were past the walls of Bree did we release the laughter we'd been bottling up and spend ten minutes gasping for air.

"Seriously," I said. "We should have done something. He's going to be a real problem in the future."

"Nah, they'll deal with it. And I don't want to think about the consequences of messing with the future."

Still laughing, we trotted off down the road.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tadandader HalfElven

 The trip to the Barrow Downs was made very short by our Elvish mounts. It was barely nearing noon when we came to a small house matching Tolkien's descriptions. As we dismounted I turned to Luitha.

"Isn't it kind of ironic that we recognize Tom's place by what Tolkien will write in the future?" She just looked at me. I shrugged, and turned to see a brightly dressed fellow come dancing out of the door. A smile filled my face as he greeted us with song and invited us in.

"Fear not to eat until you're full, Tom always has another bowl! Welcome are the Elf ladies from afar, Shine their eyes do like a star!"

I suddenly understood PJ's removal of Tom from the movie. While he was very cool, about ninety percent of the audience probably would be rolling in the aisles, laughing their heads off when he sang.

Luitha and I were smiling and merry as we sat down at his table. The luncheon was light and well made. Everything seemed to glow from within, whether it was the simple yet elegant chairs, or the food itself. I found my mind wandering in the beauty of it all.

All too soon the wonderful meal was done, and Tom leaned back into his chair with a smile and twinkling eyes. "So what brought you here to Tom's house? Fear not to tell, for Tom is a merry fellow, with tall boots yellow."

I smiled and relaxed, feeling so very much at home, and a bit surprised by the feeling. Here, as in Rivendell, I felt more at home than I ever had in my world. Why was that? I almost asked Tom, but decided upon a different question, one that had made me curious for a very long time. "Who is Tom Bombadil? What is your tale? Are you Aule, as some think, or simply an enigma?" Tom's smile grew, and his eyes positively danced.

"What is my tale, you ask of me. Am I Aule or just Tom, who may I be? You wish to know all, daughters of the Star, be patient, and your lives will go far. The answer I'll not say. It is for you. Make up your own mind as to what is true."

Our visit with Tom was over all too soon. Goldberry was heading down to the River, and Tom was going to wander his land. We thanked them for their kind hospitality, and headed for the Shire. We came to the forest, and I began to lead the both of us through the trees.

Luckily for me, Luitha had not studied the maps of the Shire areas as well as I had. When I suggested a route, she followed. For almost a full hour she followed without a word of question. After a bit of careful riding, though, she noticed where we were.

"Tadan, we better not be anywhere near Old Man Willow."

I pretended that I didn't hear her. Suddenly my crown seemed much more interesting than it had yesterday.

"Tadan?" There was a bit of danger in her tone, and I looked up.

"Well, what do you consider anywhere near?" Her look could have melted the Ring.

"Anywhere that he can get us. I don't feel like being drowned by a tree."

"Ah, but you wouldn't mind being drowned by, say, a Balrog?"

"Tadan, you know what I mean. We aren't anywhere near it, are we?"

"Him. Old Man Willow is a him."

"TADAN, answer the question."

"We're not. We are in the old woods, but we shouldn't be near him. I just wanted to see if there were any Entwives hanging around." Well, mostly. I kinda wanted to catch a glimpse of Old Man Willow as well. We were sort of close, but hopefully she had no idea. Luitha rolled her eyes. "It's also a shortcut. We'll be at Tolkien's Hobbit Hole this evening. And he is expecting us today, Elrond talked with him of our arrival. I think Tolkien might have one of the missing Palantir. It would explain a lot."

"Yes, I suppose it would. But we are avoiding big trees by water, do you hear me?" I grinned as we rode on, being careful not to draw attention to the tall tree near the water which was making a soft buzzing sound...not unlike that whichdrew the Hobbits in. Luitha, of course, didn't notice. But I watched it until we passed out of line of sight, and wondered if at one time it had been an Ent.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

El luitha uren 

 I was still in shocked surprise as we rode out of the forest. His boots really were yellow! And I still had no clue if he was Maia or not. I had meant to ask him too!

I was grinning like a fool when we came over the first rise overlooking the Shire. I saw all the hobbit holes dug into hills, their doors gleaming in the sunlight with fresh paint. Our horses cantered down across a bridge and into the town.

The Shire was just as I had imagined it. And creepily enough, it was just as PJ had imagined it too. I wondered if we had gotten lost and headed accidentally into New Zealand instead.

Hobbits! They were everywhere! Their feet was even furrier than I imagined and their hair was as curly as mine, though quite a bit messier. They were so short they only came up to a little above Asfaloth's knees. They all stopped what they were doing and stared as Tadan and I passed by. I heard awed murmurs of "Elves" and did my best to look at least a little dignified.

Asfaloth's hooves chimed on the cobbled streets of Hobbiton. We passed the Green Dragon and I peeked inside, wondering if the Gaffer was in there.

"What I wouldn't give for a camera right now," I muttered as we passed out of the main part of town and headed for the hills again. Soon little hobbit children were racing down from the hills shrieking "Elves! Elves!" just as they would for Gandalf years later. I wondered if Frodo or Sam were one of them. Had they even been born yet? I tried to work the timeline out in my head. Bilbo would be heading back soon, so Bag End would be unoccupied...

A startling and rather disturbing thought came to mind. "Tadan," I said slowly. "You said a few days ago was the Battle of the Five Armies? Bilbo will be back soon."

"Ooohh! I want a tour of Bag End!" she exclaimed.

"He has the Ring. He'll bring it here soon." The thought of such Evil coming to the beautiful and homely Shire gave me an uneasy feeling in my stomach. And it was the first time I had given serious thought to the Ring since I had arrived in Middle-Earth. How dangerous it seemed to even think about it here! The air seemed to feel heavy for a moment.

"Yes," Tadan replied, suddenly solemn. "But it will stay quiet for a long time. And we know how the story ends, don't we?" I didn't reply.

The Hobbit children racing after us lightened my mood, and we reached Tolkien's hobbit hole without difficulty, staring at awed silence at the door. I was suddenly afraid to knock.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tadandader HalfElven

 I reached for the door. Then my hand stopped. I reached for the knocker, and I couldn't open it. I was in shock. This opportunity was amazing. I saw Luitha watching me, a knowing smile on her face. She probably would have the same trouble as I. Finally I rapped with the knocker.

"Come in!" called a merry voice. "The door is unlocked, and I've been expecting you!" I looked at my shaking hand as I grasped the handle and went in, Luitha right behind.

"J. R. R. Tolkien?" I asked. The Hobbit looked stood up from the large chair he had been sitting in.

"Yes! And you are the two from Rivendell!" We nodded mutely. His blue eyes and curly hair reminded me very much of Frodo. "Ah, but Lord Elrond did not tell me your names. I shall have to give you some!" He grinned, and his eyes sparkled with jubilant delight.

"You," he turned to Luitha first. "Hmm. A star pendant, so I should call you something about a star. And you come with the evening. Evenstar. That's your name. And you, let me think." His eyes met mine, even though he barely came up to my thigh. "In silver, and with a crown. Silver Queen shall be your name." I looked at Luitha in surprise.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

El luitha uren 

 Astonished, I locked eyes with Tadan and unable to move. Evenstar? But that was Arwen! And Silver Queen was Elrond's wife Celebrian! And where were those characters? I wondered. It had been bothering me since I had arrived. I had been expecting Arwen to come tearing up and claim Estel ever since I had first set eyes on him.

"Sit! Sit!" Tolkien motioned toward some chairs facing the fire, opposite of his own, and he sat down again. "Oh! Where are my manners?" He leaped up again and approached us. "May I take your cloaks? Thank you, thank you." He went to hang them on a peg by the door and returned, bouncing once more into the chair with a sigh. I nearly laughed. How hobbit-like he was!

"Welcome again!" he said. "I am very curious to know who you are and what your business is with me though. Lord Elrond did not say anything more than was necessary, as is his way. It is not often I have two Elven ladies come to my cozy hobbit hole. What brings you here?"

Tadan and I looked at each other. She motioned for me to speak.

"Mr. Tolkien, we've known of you practically all our lives and wanted to meet you."

"All your lives?" Tolkien's eyes narrowed in confusion. I nearly slapped my forehead. The youngest Elf on Middle Earth was probably about 3000 years old!

"Mr. Tolkien, we're not actually Elves," Tadan began. "It's a rather complicated situation, you see..." Tolkien waved her off.

"I can tell when a good story is coming! Why don't you start at the beginning, and tell me your real names. You don't mind if I smoke, do you?" We shook our heads as Tolkien pulled out a pipe and began puffing away.

"I'm Tadan," Tadan said. "And this is Luitha."

"Fate and Enchants? I know enough of the Elvish tongue to realize that those are very odd names for an Elf."

"Yes," I said, "but we weren't born with those names. We gave them to ourselves." Tolkien raised an eyebrow and puffed away. I licked my lips, looked nervously at Tadan, and was about to open my mouth when Tolkien interrupted again.

"You are certainly strange for Elves," he told us. "One with curly hair, one with short hair, and both with strange accents I cannot place. It's the accents that muddle me the most, you see. You use words that I am not used to hearing."

Well of course he would notice that. I had to restrain from slapping my forehead again. Tolkien had been a professor in philology and had studied words, of all things.

"Professor Tolkien." I decided I'd better just lay it all out. "We're not from Rivendell, we're not even Middle Earth. I know you're from Britain. Tadan and I are Americans, from Florida and Virginia."

I knew I would never forget the look on the hobbit's face just then. The pipe fell out of his mouth and he stared at us in dazed wonder.