Chapter Three
Haldir of Lorien tread softly as he made his way through the woods. The Lady had informed him to take the guard to the edge of the wood for an unexpected visitor had come. Immediately, he had gathered his men and set out.
Now he saw the stranger sitting beside a meager fire, shivering, red hair bound up. He raised his hand in signal and the elves took formation around the person whose concentration seemed intently focused on the air before her. So deep was the visitor's concentration that they stood there for a couple minutes until she looked up. And screamed.
Immediately, the elves winced in pain as their sensitive ears took in the harsh sound. Haldir held steady his bow though as the girl's fearful eyes stared at him. He took quick inventory of her appearance. Her face was dirty, her eyes red and swollen. Her feet were bare and she was covered in strange apparel that was shocking in its revealing quality.
"Who are you? Why have you entered these woods?" He waited for an answer, but received none.
Colleen couldn't believe what she was seeing. A troop of men surrounded her, bows and arrows at the ready. Her situation had gone from bad to worse. But through the fear, a sense of recognition and familiarity prodded her. She had seen this scene before, but where, she didn't know specifically.
She waited for one of them to lose their grip and release one of the deadly arrows aimed at vital parts of her body. Maybe they could then end her nightmare. Maybe if she died, she would wake up from this insane situation and be back in her real life. Then one of them spoke in some strange language.
Apparently that was a question, she thought as she saw the elf wait for an answer, his eyes focused on her face, waiting for her lips to respond. She just stared back. I have no idea what you are saying, she thought.
Haldir frowned as it became obvious that the girl was not going to answer. He drew his bow back a little further in threat. "Answer me. Who are you? What is your purpose here?"
Colleen saw the elf stretch the arrow farther. Okay, say something before he really shoots you, on the chance that you won't wake up in the real world, if you die. Maybe he will understand.
"I mean no harm." She raised her arms to show she had no weapon. "I don't understand what you are saying and I don't know where I am. But I'm not your enemy." She held her breath as some small hope grew that they would understand her even though she couldn't understand them. Maybe they would be able to tell her what the hell was going on, where she was, and other minor details like that.
Haldir listened in confusion to the strange language that came out of the girl's mouth. He had never heard such a language. It looked like she was from the race of Men but she did not speak the Common Tongue. He saw her raise her arms in what looked like an attempt to show that she was harmless. He decided to try language of men just in case she would understand. "What is your purpose here? From whence, have you come?" He waited but she just looked more confused.
Haldir sighed. He needed to make a decision. Slowly, he lowered his bow and signaled for one of his men to tie her hands and blindfold her. He would treat her as hostile and escort her back to the city and let The Lady decide what to do with her.
Colleen watched carefully as the man who seemed to be in charge put down his bow. She relaxed somewhat. At least they see that I'm not a threat. Movement came from the side of her and she turned her head to see another man come forward. He took something from his pack and made to reach for her. Colleen's eyes widened as she saw with alarm that he had rope in his hands. Her panic reached a new level and quickly she reacted. Balancing on her right foot, she brought up her left and snapped a sidekick to the elf's face. The elf stumbled back and she took advantage of the gap in the circle and ran.
Colleen stumbled through the trees, jumping over logs and branches as she tried to block out the pain in her raw feet. God, what is going on? She wakes up in the woods after just falling asleep for a nice nap in her apartment, to become stranded for a night and get cold, wet, and hungry. She wishes for people to find her, and in horrible irony, gets found by what looks like obsessive insane Renaissance carnies who speak a language she has never even heard before and who want to tie her up. Please let somebody sane find her. Please let her find her way out of Yellowstone Park. Please let her just go home.
The elves recovered quickly from the shock of the girl's surprise attack. Haldir immediately moved forward, his eyes focused on the fleeing girl who was quite easy to see through the trees in her brightly colored clothing. He was intrigued that the girl had been able to surprise one of his men but obviously trying to tie her up without her understanding had not been the right move to calm her down. They moved as one as they tracked her and followed her path through the forest. Many of them noticed her limp as she ran and were not even moving at full speed to catch up to her.
Her feet were blazing with pain, skin ripping away as she tried to run across stones and weeds and uneven ground. But she pushed the sensation to the back of her mind, telling herself that any feeling was better than being killed by men with bows and arrows. She heard voices call out to each other behind her and she nearly screamed as she realized they were close behind. She jumped a couple more bushes and pushed her way through some more brush, branches scratching at her face and arms until she finally risked a look back. Running still as she turned to see how close her pursuers were, she grimaced as she realized she had not lost a single one. She turned her focus to the path ahead of her just in time to see a low hanging branch appear.
Haldir winced as he watched the girl's forehead connect with the branch and her figure crumple to the ground. As the group reached her, he knelt down and saw that she was unconscious, a knot already forming. He lifted her into his arms and turned.
"We will take her to Lothlorien." He stared down at the pale and dirty face. Somehow he knew that this girl would leave her own mark on Middle Earth.
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Fireworks were erupting inside her mind, their bright colors appearing on the backs of her eyelids. She groaned as another streak of color shot across her brain, bringing with it accompanying agony. Her head felt like it was broken.
She slowly opened her eyes, groaning again as the low light that shone in the room strained her vision and made her very eyeballs creak.
God, what happened? She thought as she blearily tried to take in her surroundings. She was in an unfamiliar room, one that appeared to be covered with wood paneling. Shadows of furniture appeared in the weak light that was cast from the candle that burned beside her bed. Candle? She looked at the fixture for a moment. Where is the electricity? And where am I?
Colleen strained to remember the last things that happened before her head decided to explode and with alarm, recalled the troop of men armed with arrows and the chase that had resulted in her head on collision with a tree branch. Her hand slowly reached towards her head and her fingertips found a very large lump where there used be a normal forehead. She probed it very lightly and nearly bit her tongue off with the pain that resulted. I really hurt myself, she thought. But where am I now? And where are the people who tried to tie her up?
Her thoughts were interrupted as a figure stepped through the doorway, shoving beside a curtain that covered the opening. Colleen wondered stupidly where the door itself was as the person moved towards her bed.
A beautiful woman with long blonde hair smiled at her and said something in a language that Colleen did not understand. It sounded familiar and Colleen remembered the leader from before had spoken in the same tongue.
"I'm sorry. I don't know your language." The woman just smiled and bringing a bowl and some clothe, sat down by Colleen's side. She dipped the white fabric in the bowl and brought it to Colleen's forehead, wiping the knot softly.
Colleen made movement to stop her, remembering the pain that had accompanied her own examination but stopped when she felt nothing but a soothing release. The woman kept attending her wound until Colleen felt almost no pain and her headache had completely vanished.
She couldn't believe. Whatever the woman had done had been better than a bottle of Tylenol. "Thank you." When the woman look confused, Colleen pointed to her head and smiled her appreciation. The woman nodded and stood up and moved to the end of the bed. Colleen realized that the lady meant to do the same for her torn feet and soon the pain there had been relieved as well.
After she seemed satisfied with her tending of Colleen's wounds, the lady gathered the materials she brought with her and headed for the door.
Colleen didn't want to be left alone again. "Wait!" The woman turned. "Is there anyone who understands English?" The woman just continued to stare at her. "You know? America? USA?" The woman registered no comprehension on her face. Colleen sighed and gestured to her feet and head. "Thank you." The woman nodded and made to exit. As she left, she pushed her hair behind her ear and Colleen saw with astonishment that the woman's ear was pointed.
Confusion once again assuaged Colleen and she lay on the bed trying to understand what she just saw. If she wasn't firmly rooted in reality, she would have said that the woman was an elf and that she seemed like the other elves that had chased her in the wood. But Colleen was rooted in reality and thought instead, that crazy people had found her and they were going to kill her and eat her. Well, then why did they fix her wounds? They probably just liked their victims healthy. And with that thought, she fell back to sleep, exhausted from the little effort of being awake.
This routine continued for a couple of days. The woman or elf would come in and tend her wounds, leave her food that Colleen had never seen before and made sure she was comfortable. But ever, Colleen stayed in the wood paneled room. Though she had windows, the first couple days, every attempt she made to stand had led to extreme dizziness and nausea. But she was slowly getting better.
On her fifth day there, Colleen had stood with no pain and no nausea and had been able to dress and cross to the window. It looked like mid-afternoon from the light that came through and as she lifted the oily cloth that covered the window, she expected to find herself in a log cabin or house in the middle of the woods. Maybe in a gypsy encampment or some other European type gathering. She had never expected to find herself in a tree.
Around her, in every direction, the largest trees of the strangest color surrounded her. Staircases lead to rooms and homes that were carved directly out of the living wood. Everywhere, beautiful pale people walked and lived.
Her eyes widened in amazement as she tried to process the unbelievable sights before her. Familiarity danced at the rim of her vision as images of a movie and a story from a book returned to her thoughts.
Where am I? If I did not know that there are rules to the universe and that reality is something that does exist, I would almost say I have moved into the Lord of the Rings movie. I definitely remember this place as the woods that they went to after Moria.
She watched as the inhabitants of the village, she guess you could call it, walked about and carried their business with a peace and grace that she had never seen among people before. Everyone seemed to be tall and lithe, hair the color of wheat left in the sun falling in waves down their backs, men and women alike. And their ears.
She shook her head, trying to jar the fantasy that stood in front of her and immediately winced as a mild throbbing resulted from her wound. That was not a good idea when a couple days past you have received a head injury. Note to self, do not move head, move body.
A sound came from her doorway and she flinched, startled as the woman who had tended her for the past days came in. The girl smiled as she saw her patient was dressed and standing.
Quickly, she crossed the room, purpose evident in her stride as she reached up and lifted the bandage on Colleen's head. The wound was practically healed and from the lack of pain on Colleen's face, so it seemed were her feet. The girl stepped back and nodded enthusiastically, gesturing her delight at the state of her patient.
She turned and walked a ways, and then stopped. Colleen realized that she was waiting for her and moved forward, the girl beckoning with her hand to go through the door.
Colleen tried to tell herself that what she saw was not real, that obviously she was dreaming that they were walking down a curving staircase, one that wrapped around the enormous tree that had apparently housed her for the time she had spent here. She didn't bother trying to hide her look of amazement and her intense gaze that she lay upon every person that passed them as they walked a well-worn path to a raised area near the center of the city.
She took in the unusual plants and the clean scent of fresh air, the most pure thing she had ever breathed as they climbed a few steps that been carved out of the earth, leading to a small dais. The girl gestured that she stay there and then with a smile left her charge to face whatever was coming.
Colleen's mind was a whirl, trying to process the scenes and events that were facing her as she waited for what only the maid had known was arriving. This can't be real. Things like this do not exist. There are no unicorns, no dwarves, no angels, and no devils. Things like this do not exist.
She knew that she was not in the middle of an immense forest dwelling that housed and flourished a race of mythical creatures. She was just on an elaborate movie set or a place for a reenactment society. Things like those existed. Not villages of elves.
Her thoughts were interrupted as footsteps fell upon the stairs that lay above her. She looked up and suddenly her ability to breathe was robbed as she beheld one of the most amazing and wonderful persons she had ever seen.
The woman's coloring was no different from the people Colleen had passed on the paths here; she had the same build as the woman who had cared for her. But her beauty somehow surpassed anything that Colleen had ever been lucky enough to gaze upon. From within her body, shone a silver light that wrapped and twisted itself through her and lightened the nature around. Her very beauty seemed not to make things ugly in comparison, but somehow bring out their best qualities. The plants seemed greener, the colors more vivid, as the woman stood, letting Colleen take her time to peruse her and try to understand and rationalize.
'Welcome, Colleen.'
Colleen stumbled as she suddenly heard a voice in her mind, a voice welcoming her. Her bewildered eyes looked towards the woman standing on the stair and widened as the woman stared back.
'Welcome to Lothlorien, stranger not of this world.'
Colleen trembled as she realized that the voice seemed to be coming from the lady who stared upon her, who seemed almost to be able to see inside her and uncover her secrets. Colleen thought for a second. Should she entertain the wild notion that the woman could speak in her mind? She should be crazy and try to reply in the same manner?
She sighed. She had no other choices and so she thought.
'Where am I? Who are you?'
The woman smiled in empathy and encouragement. 'You are in my woods, within my city. I am Galadriel, sometimes called the Lady of the Wood.'
As the voice answered her, Colleen's whole world seemed to shift over five inches. Here was a new reality and a new set of rules. Things that should be impossible weren't. But her need for answers and need for someone who could understand her overrode any astonishment.
'Galadriel. No, you are just a character, a fictional person that someone made up in his mind. You are not real. This place is not real. Please tell me, where am I? What world is this?'
The thoughts came quickly, like water being released from a dam and Galadriel smiled.
'This place is real. And you are in Lothlorien, the Mallorn woods, in Middle Earth.'
Middle Earth. The words resonated and echoed within Colleen's inner conscious and immediately she felt faint and angry. Faint that the insane notions that had flitted around in her mind were supposedly real, and angry at the fact that she did not ask for this, she did not want this adventure, she did not want this supposed new reality.
'No!'
A slight frown appeared upon Galadriel's face as the vehement reply came back to her.
'No?'
Colleen shook her head. 'No, this is not real. This is a story. This is fiction. I was just napping on my couch watching the movie of the Lord of the Rings. You know a movie? With parts played by actors? People who just recite words that someone else has written? I mean, I was watching a DVD!'
Colleen started pacing as she thought these things. 'I intended to watch the making of and all the extra crap that was on there. You do not just go to sleep after finishing a test and eating spicy beef fried rice and magically appear in some fictional world!' She turned to Galadriel and implored her.
'Don't you understand? I didn't say any magic words; I didn't pass through a wardrobe. I just woke up and found myself in my pajamas at the edge of a forest!'
Pity shined in the Lady's eyes as she witness the girl's desperation. 'Calm yourself. You are confused and weary. May the peace of Lothlorien ease your spirit.'
Colleen sighed at the words, the tones calming and soothing, but at the same time, not the best of help. How can a non-existent place ease my spirit? She thought to herself. But she forgot that Galadriel was in her head. How she forgot that, she didn't know.
'This place does exist. You must know that, for I have seen the images in your mind, images of my people, of others known to me, and I wonder that you had such an ability to view into the future, to scry into such a clear looking glass.'
Colleen just stared at her hands. Looking glass? Scry? I just pushed play, she thought. She looked up and met Galadriel's stare and asked the question that weighed the heaviest in her mind.
'Why am I here?'
But the Lady had no answer. 'The purpose is hidden and the means with which you have arrived unknown. But I know and have seen in the mirror, that your being here is no accident, your destiny exists and will be found within this world.'
Colleen said nothing, half wanting to believe that, for it would give meaning and reason to her sudden appearance, and half wanting to scoff at the ridiculous idea that she, a normal student who kept to herself, messed with no forces, just lived life, would have a purpose for going on such a strange ride.
Galadriel reached out and touched the face of the confused woman standing before her. 'Go now and rest. You have much to think about and much to come to terms with. Tomorrow will be fresh and contain a new outlook of your situation.'
With no signal or word spoken, the maid appeared again and waited for Colleen to notice and follow her back to the room that Colleen had become familiar with. With one last look at the Lady, Colleen followed the woman silently, lost in her thoughts.
Galadriel watched as Colleen left and her eyes were thoughtful. The mystery surrounding that girl held questions and power that would be revealed, and have consequences. Good or bad, she knew not.