Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
A/N: I was having trouble deciding, but I think I'll introduce Legolas in this chapter and speed things up. I was gonna wait, but more Legolas is a good thing, right??
"Where are we going, Gandalf?" Ella asked.
"We go to Hobbiton, a small town of hobbits, three days' journey from here. I am visiting an old friend there for his 111th birthday," Gandalf said.
Ella was too excited to stay quiet for long.
"Gandalf, will you teach me another spell?" she asked.
"What kind of spell?"
"Hmm.. Maybe one to make bubbles appear."
Lotheon snorted derisively. Ella ignored him.
"How about a fire spell?" Gandalf asked.
"Great," Ella enthusiastically replied, "Where do I start?"
"Magic isn't just about muttering the right words and waving your arms around," he replied. "You have to have a certain amount of magic inside you before you can do anything. Fortunately, you have plenty. You just need some words that can focus you on what you want to accomplish and that will release the magic, channeling it to where you want it to go. You can even write your own spells and adapt them to fit your circumstances. But that comes with time. With even more practice, you will one day not need words for your spells, but you will be able to perform a spell that you are familiar with by just thought. Magic also requires endurance. Performing a spell takes a lot of strength."
Gandalf pointed at a stick lying in the road and muttered,
Branch lying on the road Into flame you will explode.
At once, the stick burst into bright yellow flames that consumed it within seconds. Ella gasped in surprise.
"I can do that?" she asked.
"Try," Gandalf replied.
Another stick lying in the road burst into flame. Soon, Ella was moving on to other things.
Leaf lying on the ground Flame with the power I have found.
Or
Stone sitting over there Turn into a fiery flare.
She looked longingly at Lotheon's hair, but decided that some semblance of peace should be maintained.
"Good," Gandalf had said when the stone had ignited, "That is more difficult because it isn't flammable."
Midway through the day, Gandalf called a halt for a brief lunch. Lotheon dismounted, unhitched the cart horse, and led it and his horse to the nearby stream. Gandalf handed Ella the water skins and asked her to fill them up in the stream.
She knelt by the gurgling stream and let the crystalline water trickle into the skins. She looked around her and admired the beauty. The trees and grass were an intense green and even the water seemed clearer and more refreshing than that of her land. It was only her first day, but already she was attached to the new land.
The water skins were full, so she made her way back to the cart and stowed the skins back with the rest of the packs. Just as she finished and turned around, Lotheon returned.
"Why haven't you gotten our lunch ready, yet?" he demanded.
"I'm not here to wait on you, Your Majesty," she returned sarcastically, "But I would be happy to help prepare it if I knew where our food was stored," she added, pleased she didn't lose her temper and tackle him.
"Actually, Lotheon," Gandalf said, "You have just volunteered yourself to fix lunch for today. We will all take turns. Be quick eating. We need to reach the next town before the market closes."
They quickly packed up and rode on toward their destination. Ella continued her practice with her fire spelling, with occasional tips from Gandalf. Lotheon rode with them, never far behind, and in Ella's opinion, never far enough away. He had aired his views several times on worthless humans who could only learn cheap tricks, causing Ella's dislike of him to take deeper root. They reached the town none too soon; Ella was ready to see Lotheon singed to ashes.
They entered the gates, where Gandalf saw an old acquaintance sitting outside of the inn.
"Meet me here in a couple of hours. Find some fresh fruits to last us for a couple of days, as well as some traveling bread," he said, and fished out some coins from his robe.
Lotheon strode to t he nearest tavern and disappeared into the darkened interior.
Ella walked toward the center of the town, where she thought the market would be. Everyone in the streets stared at her for her outlandish clothing and height. She noticed this, and resolved to buy some suitable clothing. She also noticed that almost everyone was armed. She decided to ask Gandalf about this.
She walked up to one of the wooden stands selling fruit, and was about to pick up an apple when someone said, "I'm closed now." Ella looked at the seller who regarded her with a wary glare and compressed lips.
"Oh, surely you couldn't make an exception for me," she pleaded. Ella won him over after some more pleading, and pulled out all the money Gandalf had given her to pay. She saw the man's beady eyes glint with greed, and was pretty sure she was being ripped off for those apples.
Well, learn from your mistakes, she thought, and moved off to purchase some bread. She did much better there, and had some money left over. She purchased a sturdy blue tunic, and black leggings, and after some haggling, she found a pair of boots.
Heading back to meet Gandalf with her purchases, she congratulated herself. She had some inkling of the value of money in Middle-Earth, as well as some proper garments. What she realized as she looked around was that none of the women in the town wore leggings. Too bad, she thought, I'm more comfortable.
"Ella, did you find the food?" Gandalf asked.
"Yes, I did," she replied and showed him the parcels of fruit and bread.
"That's all you were able to buy?" Lotheon asked, "You idiot! You could have gotten more for that much money!"
Ella showed him her clothes and gave him a small smirk. He wasn't worth the hassle of arguing with.
"Worry not," Gandalf said, "You did well enough for our trip. I have gotten us rooms for tonight. We will eat at the tavern on the bottom floor."
During dinner, Ella asked Gandalf about a sword.
" I learned how to fence in my land, and I think I could defend myself here," she said.
"Yes, that reminds me. I knew you . fenced, I think the word is, in your land, and I have the perfect thing for you," Gandalf said, and handed her a long cloth wrapped parcel.
Ella unwrapped it to reveal a bright silver sword and scabbard. The pommel stone was a deep blue, surrounded by graceful engravings. The scabbard was also engraved in the same ethereal pattern.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, "Wait, is there anything I need to know about it magic-wise?"
"Well, you can use the sword to channel energy, and you can also store energy in it, and use it later," Gandalf replied.
Ella retired early. She didn't really want to see any of the already drunken men become worse. She fell into a deep slumber and didn't wake until dawn when the innkeeper woke her. She donned her tunic, leggings and boots and braided her auburn curls away from her face into a rope down her back to keep it out of her way.
The second day Ella learned even more. Her next lesson was drawing on the power sources around her.
"Almost everything has some little but of magic, and added all together, good wizards can draw a good amount of power from their surroundings," Gandalf said. He set Ella to work tapping into energy sources, drawing in energy and releasing it. Ella perfected her fire spell, and was able to ignite something just by looking at it and picturing it in flames.
When she showed Gandalf, he complimented her on it, but when into deep thought afterward, his brows drawn together in concentration and Ella thought she heard him muttering, "Quick. almost too quick."
Gandalf also taught her a spell to freeze things in motion. She froze as many animals as she could, and was convinced she had permanently disrupted the forest.
Nightfall approached, and they set up camp in a grove of pine trees. Ella started a fire and went out to gather firewood. She returned and heard the last part of a conversation between Lotheon and Gandalf.
"Is there any need to post a watch, Gandalf?" Lotheon asked.
"No, I don't think so. I think we will have enough protection from this grove," he said.
After a hasty dinner cooked over the fire, the three bedded down for the night. Ella nestled deeper into the soft mattress of pine needles covering the ground. She couldn't remember ever being so weary, but so happy. She was finally accomplishing something. She fell into a deep, contented sleep, only to be rudely awakened hours later by rough hands. She awoke and became aware of Lotheon half shaking her awake, half dragging her up.
"Gandalf spotted an orc patrol not a quarter of a league away," he hissed, " Douse the fire and get your stuff up in a tree quick!"
Ella slung her pack onto her shoulders and clambered up the nearest tree. She listened hard and could almost hear the trees whispering of the unwanted presence.
Several orcs hacked their way into the clearing, and discussed the footprints in their hideous language. One of them was pointing to the tree where Ella was hiding in, and another was sniffing around the tree Ella had seen Lotheon climb up. She was trying to make up a spell that would incinerate the orcs, when another patrol entered the grove. They fired arrows at the orcs in the clearing, adding the sound of arrows flying to the whispering of the trees. Ella saw Gandalf get down from his tree. Lotheon hopped down from his tree and embraced several of the rescuers. Ella saw blonde hair on some, and the pointed ears on all, and realized that elfish warriors had rescued them. She rather ungracefully slid down from her tree to join them.
At that moment, more orcs crashed into the grove, drawn by the smell of blood and the noise. Now the elves were outnumbered three to one. Orcs had spotted Ella and were coming for her. She drew her sword, but, panicking, she didn't it. She simply pointed at the orc and shouted, "Burn!" The orcs were engulfed in flames before they could figure out what was happening to them. Encouraged by the result, Ella methodically started to use her magic on the other orcs, bringing the odds back into the elves' favor.
When the last orc was slain, Ella went over to the group consisting of Gandalf, Lotheon and a blonde elf she didn't know.
"You are uninjured, Ella?" Gandalf asked.
"Yes," She replied, "But you didn't mention anything about those."
"Orcs," Gandalf supplied. "I had hoped that we wouldn't run into any, so far away from Mordor that we are." He turned to the other blonde elf standing beside Lotheon. "This is Prince Legolas Greenleaf, firstborn son of King Thranduil. He and his elfish patrol have been tracking these orcs for weeks."
Ella looked from one to the other. While they were similar on first glance, Legolas' facial features were more defined. He was also taller and leaner than Lotheon.
"Great! There are two of you!" Ella said, and disgustedly added, "As if one wasn't enough."
Legolas looked at the tall girl. Witch, he corrected himself, for he had seen her incinerating the orcs. She was tall and thin, almost elfish. Some of her auburn hair had slipped out of her braid and was curling around her face in tendrils. He took in her green eyes and stubborn chin, and reached the conclusion that this was one beautiful witch. Also very powerful if she was still standing and thinking after all that magic.
"I see you have had the pleasure of making my brother's acquaintance," he said, smiling slightly. She has a sense of humor, he thought. "I don't suppose you have enough strength left to burn the rest of these orcs. It would save my patrol much work."
Not sure if this was a challenge Ella replied, "Watch me."
Orcs in this grove slain Rid us of your evil stain.
The orc corpses smoked but didn't flame as she wanted them to. She pulled energy from the environment around her, a little bit at a time like Gandalf had taught her and with her mind forced the flames to come. The last thing she knew, the flames were licking away at the orc corpses. Then blackness overcame her.
A/N: I was having trouble deciding, but I think I'll introduce Legolas in this chapter and speed things up. I was gonna wait, but more Legolas is a good thing, right??
"Where are we going, Gandalf?" Ella asked.
"We go to Hobbiton, a small town of hobbits, three days' journey from here. I am visiting an old friend there for his 111th birthday," Gandalf said.
Ella was too excited to stay quiet for long.
"Gandalf, will you teach me another spell?" she asked.
"What kind of spell?"
"Hmm.. Maybe one to make bubbles appear."
Lotheon snorted derisively. Ella ignored him.
"How about a fire spell?" Gandalf asked.
"Great," Ella enthusiastically replied, "Where do I start?"
"Magic isn't just about muttering the right words and waving your arms around," he replied. "You have to have a certain amount of magic inside you before you can do anything. Fortunately, you have plenty. You just need some words that can focus you on what you want to accomplish and that will release the magic, channeling it to where you want it to go. You can even write your own spells and adapt them to fit your circumstances. But that comes with time. With even more practice, you will one day not need words for your spells, but you will be able to perform a spell that you are familiar with by just thought. Magic also requires endurance. Performing a spell takes a lot of strength."
Gandalf pointed at a stick lying in the road and muttered,
Branch lying on the road Into flame you will explode.
At once, the stick burst into bright yellow flames that consumed it within seconds. Ella gasped in surprise.
"I can do that?" she asked.
"Try," Gandalf replied.
Another stick lying in the road burst into flame. Soon, Ella was moving on to other things.
Leaf lying on the ground Flame with the power I have found.
Or
Stone sitting over there Turn into a fiery flare.
She looked longingly at Lotheon's hair, but decided that some semblance of peace should be maintained.
"Good," Gandalf had said when the stone had ignited, "That is more difficult because it isn't flammable."
Midway through the day, Gandalf called a halt for a brief lunch. Lotheon dismounted, unhitched the cart horse, and led it and his horse to the nearby stream. Gandalf handed Ella the water skins and asked her to fill them up in the stream.
She knelt by the gurgling stream and let the crystalline water trickle into the skins. She looked around her and admired the beauty. The trees and grass were an intense green and even the water seemed clearer and more refreshing than that of her land. It was only her first day, but already she was attached to the new land.
The water skins were full, so she made her way back to the cart and stowed the skins back with the rest of the packs. Just as she finished and turned around, Lotheon returned.
"Why haven't you gotten our lunch ready, yet?" he demanded.
"I'm not here to wait on you, Your Majesty," she returned sarcastically, "But I would be happy to help prepare it if I knew where our food was stored," she added, pleased she didn't lose her temper and tackle him.
"Actually, Lotheon," Gandalf said, "You have just volunteered yourself to fix lunch for today. We will all take turns. Be quick eating. We need to reach the next town before the market closes."
They quickly packed up and rode on toward their destination. Ella continued her practice with her fire spelling, with occasional tips from Gandalf. Lotheon rode with them, never far behind, and in Ella's opinion, never far enough away. He had aired his views several times on worthless humans who could only learn cheap tricks, causing Ella's dislike of him to take deeper root. They reached the town none too soon; Ella was ready to see Lotheon singed to ashes.
They entered the gates, where Gandalf saw an old acquaintance sitting outside of the inn.
"Meet me here in a couple of hours. Find some fresh fruits to last us for a couple of days, as well as some traveling bread," he said, and fished out some coins from his robe.
Lotheon strode to t he nearest tavern and disappeared into the darkened interior.
Ella walked toward the center of the town, where she thought the market would be. Everyone in the streets stared at her for her outlandish clothing and height. She noticed this, and resolved to buy some suitable clothing. She also noticed that almost everyone was armed. She decided to ask Gandalf about this.
She walked up to one of the wooden stands selling fruit, and was about to pick up an apple when someone said, "I'm closed now." Ella looked at the seller who regarded her with a wary glare and compressed lips.
"Oh, surely you couldn't make an exception for me," she pleaded. Ella won him over after some more pleading, and pulled out all the money Gandalf had given her to pay. She saw the man's beady eyes glint with greed, and was pretty sure she was being ripped off for those apples.
Well, learn from your mistakes, she thought, and moved off to purchase some bread. She did much better there, and had some money left over. She purchased a sturdy blue tunic, and black leggings, and after some haggling, she found a pair of boots.
Heading back to meet Gandalf with her purchases, she congratulated herself. She had some inkling of the value of money in Middle-Earth, as well as some proper garments. What she realized as she looked around was that none of the women in the town wore leggings. Too bad, she thought, I'm more comfortable.
"Ella, did you find the food?" Gandalf asked.
"Yes, I did," she replied and showed him the parcels of fruit and bread.
"That's all you were able to buy?" Lotheon asked, "You idiot! You could have gotten more for that much money!"
Ella showed him her clothes and gave him a small smirk. He wasn't worth the hassle of arguing with.
"Worry not," Gandalf said, "You did well enough for our trip. I have gotten us rooms for tonight. We will eat at the tavern on the bottom floor."
During dinner, Ella asked Gandalf about a sword.
" I learned how to fence in my land, and I think I could defend myself here," she said.
"Yes, that reminds me. I knew you . fenced, I think the word is, in your land, and I have the perfect thing for you," Gandalf said, and handed her a long cloth wrapped parcel.
Ella unwrapped it to reveal a bright silver sword and scabbard. The pommel stone was a deep blue, surrounded by graceful engravings. The scabbard was also engraved in the same ethereal pattern.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, "Wait, is there anything I need to know about it magic-wise?"
"Well, you can use the sword to channel energy, and you can also store energy in it, and use it later," Gandalf replied.
Ella retired early. She didn't really want to see any of the already drunken men become worse. She fell into a deep slumber and didn't wake until dawn when the innkeeper woke her. She donned her tunic, leggings and boots and braided her auburn curls away from her face into a rope down her back to keep it out of her way.
The second day Ella learned even more. Her next lesson was drawing on the power sources around her.
"Almost everything has some little but of magic, and added all together, good wizards can draw a good amount of power from their surroundings," Gandalf said. He set Ella to work tapping into energy sources, drawing in energy and releasing it. Ella perfected her fire spell, and was able to ignite something just by looking at it and picturing it in flames.
When she showed Gandalf, he complimented her on it, but when into deep thought afterward, his brows drawn together in concentration and Ella thought she heard him muttering, "Quick. almost too quick."
Gandalf also taught her a spell to freeze things in motion. She froze as many animals as she could, and was convinced she had permanently disrupted the forest.
Nightfall approached, and they set up camp in a grove of pine trees. Ella started a fire and went out to gather firewood. She returned and heard the last part of a conversation between Lotheon and Gandalf.
"Is there any need to post a watch, Gandalf?" Lotheon asked.
"No, I don't think so. I think we will have enough protection from this grove," he said.
After a hasty dinner cooked over the fire, the three bedded down for the night. Ella nestled deeper into the soft mattress of pine needles covering the ground. She couldn't remember ever being so weary, but so happy. She was finally accomplishing something. She fell into a deep, contented sleep, only to be rudely awakened hours later by rough hands. She awoke and became aware of Lotheon half shaking her awake, half dragging her up.
"Gandalf spotted an orc patrol not a quarter of a league away," he hissed, " Douse the fire and get your stuff up in a tree quick!"
Ella slung her pack onto her shoulders and clambered up the nearest tree. She listened hard and could almost hear the trees whispering of the unwanted presence.
Several orcs hacked their way into the clearing, and discussed the footprints in their hideous language. One of them was pointing to the tree where Ella was hiding in, and another was sniffing around the tree Ella had seen Lotheon climb up. She was trying to make up a spell that would incinerate the orcs, when another patrol entered the grove. They fired arrows at the orcs in the clearing, adding the sound of arrows flying to the whispering of the trees. Ella saw Gandalf get down from his tree. Lotheon hopped down from his tree and embraced several of the rescuers. Ella saw blonde hair on some, and the pointed ears on all, and realized that elfish warriors had rescued them. She rather ungracefully slid down from her tree to join them.
At that moment, more orcs crashed into the grove, drawn by the smell of blood and the noise. Now the elves were outnumbered three to one. Orcs had spotted Ella and were coming for her. She drew her sword, but, panicking, she didn't it. She simply pointed at the orc and shouted, "Burn!" The orcs were engulfed in flames before they could figure out what was happening to them. Encouraged by the result, Ella methodically started to use her magic on the other orcs, bringing the odds back into the elves' favor.
When the last orc was slain, Ella went over to the group consisting of Gandalf, Lotheon and a blonde elf she didn't know.
"You are uninjured, Ella?" Gandalf asked.
"Yes," She replied, "But you didn't mention anything about those."
"Orcs," Gandalf supplied. "I had hoped that we wouldn't run into any, so far away from Mordor that we are." He turned to the other blonde elf standing beside Lotheon. "This is Prince Legolas Greenleaf, firstborn son of King Thranduil. He and his elfish patrol have been tracking these orcs for weeks."
Ella looked from one to the other. While they were similar on first glance, Legolas' facial features were more defined. He was also taller and leaner than Lotheon.
"Great! There are two of you!" Ella said, and disgustedly added, "As if one wasn't enough."
Legolas looked at the tall girl. Witch, he corrected himself, for he had seen her incinerating the orcs. She was tall and thin, almost elfish. Some of her auburn hair had slipped out of her braid and was curling around her face in tendrils. He took in her green eyes and stubborn chin, and reached the conclusion that this was one beautiful witch. Also very powerful if she was still standing and thinking after all that magic.
"I see you have had the pleasure of making my brother's acquaintance," he said, smiling slightly. She has a sense of humor, he thought. "I don't suppose you have enough strength left to burn the rest of these orcs. It would save my patrol much work."
Not sure if this was a challenge Ella replied, "Watch me."
Orcs in this grove slain Rid us of your evil stain.
The orc corpses smoked but didn't flame as she wanted them to. She pulled energy from the environment around her, a little bit at a time like Gandalf had taught her and with her mind forced the flames to come. The last thing she knew, the flames were licking away at the orc corpses. Then blackness overcame her.