//Your voice is small and fading
and you hide in here unknown//
Swivelling around, I saw the wizened man in white from below and Faramir applauding at my dance. I gaped at them in surprise before they started to walk towards me.
"Lady Summer, this is Gandalf the White, the most powerful wizard in the lands of Middle Earth," Faramir introduced the wizened man to me.
Blushing, I kept my head down, concentrating on the creases in my dress. Fingering the folds nervously, my head snapped up when one of them cleared their throat.
Both Faramir and Gandalf looked at me expectantly, the wizard with his head slightly tilted, as if inspecting my clothes, my hair, my face, my movements, my stumbles, my cries, my…
"Would you care to try again, Miss Adams?"
"No, no, I-I-I'm sor…sorry…"A warm hand placed itself on my shoulder, making me shiver involuntarily. Looking up, I found myself staring into a pair of grey eyes filled with an infinite amount of wisdom. As I stared into the cloudy orbs, my sense of time vanished and suddenly I was nowhere…bleakness….oblivion?
I found my body responding to a set rhythm, as an imaginary hand guided me through the ethereal plane I was in. Images flashed, tears, smiles, shoes, laughter, yelling, music, blood…lots of blood…spilled across shards of glass that cut their way through my heart.
Screaming…God, how I wanted the screaming to stop. Stop, end the pain, end the cloud which suffocated me and dragged me six feet under, as it did my mother. Yes, my mother, as far as I knew, was gone forever, buried deep in dirt which rotted her body away.
Images from the nightmare reappeared. The ghostly white of my mother's face. Her peeling lips which were stained a deadly blue; her molten eyes, boring into my soul, tearing me apart, searching for something that wasn't there. The pretty white dress was now tainted a midnight black as she chanted words…//poetry//…sending me spinning, twisting and writhing my way through…
I suddenly found myself back in my stationary body, staring into the now troubled eyes of Gandalf the White. Stepping back, I would have tripped over the hem of my dress if Faramir had not reached out and grabbed me.
Steadying myself, I sunk to the ground and held my head. Words tumbled around in my mind, and stars swirled in front of me as Faramir and Gandalf the White were transformed into blobs of white on green.
I faintly remember someone holding me and murmuring soothing words in my head, but that was all lost as tortured memories were wrenched from my subconscious, tormenting my very being.
The horrendous sound of metal smashing against metal, glass shattering and the screams of those in pain. I could see my mother's distorted face as she cried out to me for help, while I was so selfishly trying to win my way into a prestigious academy.
Such a selfish brat, always thinking of herself, trying to be mummy's little girl and play nice, play in the dirt and be naughty because that's all you are, a dirty little…
One horrible memory flashed in my mind's eye, one that was long forgotten, locked away, never to be opened again. Words hurt me, and he was full of them, hurting me and making me wail in agony while I begged for forgiveness.
Father.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The soft murmuring of voices beside the bed awoke me to an incessant pounding in my head which I groaned in response to. Flickering my eyes open, I found four round faces gazing curiously into mine. Blinking furiously, I tried to regain my bearings and settle the rampage of questions which formed in my mind.
"Ah, Lady Summer, you have awoken at last," a voice spoke from beside me.
Turning my head, I found the familiar eyes of Gandalf the White. He had a sheepish smile on his face as he continued.
"I apologise for any pain that I have put you through, Lady Summer. I merely performed a simple spell on you which ran a little out of hand, I'm afraid," he apologised.
I stared at him in shock.
"A spell? You performed a spell on me!?"
"It was just a small charm to identify you, my dear. During this time, although Sauron has been defeated, we do not know what evil still lurks behind corners," he replied.
Still slightly exhausted, and definitely not in the mood for an argument, I sighed in resignation and let the topic drop.
Continuing, Gandalf introduced me to the other people around my bed.
"This is Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin. They are Hobbits. At the end of the bed is King Elessar, or Aragorn, crowned ruler of Gondor. And this is Legolas and Gimli," he said, gesturing to each person.
My eyes drifted from face to face, absorbing the rounded faces, sparkling eyes and worn exteriors. There was something comforting about their presences, something that soothed the raging battle within my heart.
Sitting up gingerly, I noticed that I was back in the white dressing gown. My eyes widened in shock as I quickly and embarrassingly pulled the sheets up to cover my body.
Chuckles erupted from all around, pink grazing the modest cheeks of the Hobbits. My cheeks and ears burned as I spoke up, "I'm Summer Adams."
Clutching the sheet like a lifeline, I looked up to see grins on all the faces. Shooting them mock glares, I only ended up giggling crazily like a schoolgirl. When I had calmed down, Aragorn asked, "Where are your origins, Lady Summer? You seem foreign to these lands."
"Well…" I started slowly, unsure on how to explain, "I'm from a place called Earth. It's very different from here."
"How so?" one of the Hobbits piped up.
"Um, for a start, only humans live in my world," I replied.
"What are humans?"
"Oh, I think you just call them Men here. Like Aragorn and myself."
Astounded looks crossed all faces except for Gandalf's, which I found extremely odd and disconcerting.
"What else do you have on…Earth?" Gimli, the dwarf asked.
"Much like here, we have great evil as well. Although there are great and beautiful things in my world, there are a ton of things that have been done to make me ashamed of being human," I answered, bitterness colouring my voice.
"My kind has abused the power that we have, using it to kill our own people to achieve more and more control over the world. We dig up the earth for our own use, and lie to ourselves, saying that it will heal and everything will be sunshine and roses. But it's not, it's not."
Silence reigned the small, curtained space we were in. Jaws had been dropped, gasps elicited, eyes bulged, but all of that flew by me as I continued on.
"We create products which harm ourselves, tobacco, alcohol, drugs. Some of these, when used in the right amount can be useful, but again, we abuse them for our own enjoyment," I said angrily.
"Are they no beautiful things in your world, Lady Summer?" one of the Hobbits, Frodo, I think, asked softly.
Glancing at him, his eyes that held great sorrow and pain, I gave him a small smile.
"Yes, there are beautiful things in my world. Love, hope, friendship, kindness; all the things which keep us alive. And I think that's what the mankind on Earth is still holding on to."
Seemingly satisfied with my responses for the day, Gandalf ushered everyone out, leaving me to rest. But before Aragorn turned to leave, he invited me to a dinner celebration that night at his castle. I shrugged absently, but the smile that played on his face told me he knew otherwise.
Excitement bubbled in me that night, as a handmaiden sent by Aragorn dressed me in a stunning azure dress embroidered in white jewels. Gazing in the mirror, I noticed that my eyes held a twinkle that had previously been dampened. I twirled around, allowing the dress to trail elegantly behind. The handmaiden had left my naturally streaked hair to tumble down past my shoulders while she twisted two small braids at the side.
Before leaving, the handmaiden informed me that an escort would arrive shortly to accompany me to the castle. Thanking her, I sat down on my bed, and reached into the pocket of my purple jumper. I felt around the mess of gum wrappers and small change until I found the thin chain which I was looking for.
Gently pulling it out, I stood in front of the mirror and clasped on the small necklace which my mother had handed down to me as a good-luck charm. Hanging in the middle of the silver chain was a small gold heart with intricate patterns on it. The tiniest words were inscribed on it but it was too small for me to read.
A Warden with a cheeky grin on her face notified me that my escort had arrived. Giving myself the once through, I walked out of the room, for the first time in Middle Earth, ready to face the future.