The Traveler: Chapter Four

Soon they came to two wooden doors that reached to the ceiling. The hall was just as enormous, made from stones that were bigger than her. They reminded her of King Arthur and the Round Table. She half expected Sir Lancelot to come riding around the corner.

Legolas stopped at the doors and turned to her. "My father would like to see you alone, if you do not mind." He saw she was nervous, and smiled at the thought.

She smiled and shook her head. She was scared of what was going to happen. She kept thinking about the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland and how pissed she'd be if someone tried to chop her head off.

Legolas opened the door and after long breath she walked in. She gave a little jump when the door closed behind her.

Ariana looked around the room and saw at the far end a large throne; seated in it was King Thranduil.

"Tula (come) closer, arwen en amin," she heard a soft but powerful voice call to her. She took another breath and walked to the King.

She stopped a few feet from the foot of the throne and gave a small curtsy. She instantly saw the family resemblance of Legolas in his father. His long golden hair was pulled back with small braids laced through it, like the normal Elvish style. He did not look old and he had the wisest eyes Ariana had ever seen. He was dressed in the same light greens and whites as Legolas had been. All of her fears melted away when she saw his eyes. They reminded her of her father's. She realized how much she missed her home when she looked at the King.

"How do you feel, my child?" His voice had that same soothing effect everything else had on her in Mirkwood. Maybe I need to go camping more often.

She gave a small smile and replied, "I feel great, better then normal, actually. What happened?"

"Legolas brought you to the Healer of Mirkwood who gave you an elixir that cured you."

She blushed and looked towards the ground. "I have to thank you, for letting me stay here." She looked into his face. "Thank you. I would have been lost if you hadn't helped me."

King Thranduil gave her a gentle smile. "You need not thank us, my people are always willing to help those you need it."

Suddenly he stood up from his throne. He was much taller then Ariana. Most people are though.

"The story of how you came to be in Mirkwood still confuses me. Perhaps you could tell me the story?" he asked as he walked towards a chamber door to the left. He made a motion for her to follow which she did as she told her story. She began with the book at her door, hoping she wouldn't have to explain much to the King.

When she described the necklace to the King, he asked her to see it. She slowly removed the it from around her neck. She felt a pain in her chest as she handed it to him. She didn't know where it came from, this longing to have the necklace back around her neck where she could keep an eye on it. The pain went away when King Thranduil handed the necklace back to her.

They stopped outside on a long porch. A long table with chairs on all sides sat out in the morning sun. King Thranduil took a seat and Ariana sat across from him, finishing her tale.

For a long time he said nothing, to Ariana he seemed to be in deep thought, so she said nothing.

She looked around the garden. The trees and flower were even more beautiful in the morning sun. The colors almost took her breath away. She couldn't even imagine some of the hues that surrounded her.

King Thranduil studied the young girl in front of him. He watched her eyes as she traced the line of the trees. Her story worried him, for nothing this strange had happened since the War of the Ring and the ending of Sauron's power.

Ariana finally turned away from the forest to find King Thranduil looking at her. She returned his gaze.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, a knock at the door startled them both. They turned to find one of his servants at the door. The elf first looked to Ariana, then turned to his King and spoke in Elvish. She saw a look of surprise come across the King's face, and then he looked to her. A nervous feeling settled in her stomach. This can't be good.

* * *

Ariana sat staring at the elf that had just arrived. She didn't know what he'd said, but the look King Thranduil was giving her said enough. My God, they ARE going to cut my head of.

She watched as the King told the elf something else in Elvish, then the servant turned and left them alone again. That's right, get that ax ready. Nice and sharp to chop off my lovely head. She calmed down a little when the King turned and gave her a sad smile.

"I'm very sorry, my child, but some concerning news has just come to my attention." He stood up and walked to the back of his chair where he placed his hands on the top of the chair.

"It seems the great wizard Gandalf the White has just arrived in Mirkwood, seeking a traveler who might have recently arrived in my woods." He raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "You have come from quite a distance, have you not?"

She was quickly becoming tongue-tied so she just nodded her head to his questions. Sure, we have elves already, why not throw in a few wizards. Got any dragons? She looked at his face and saw no malice towards her. At least I get to keep me head.

A small knock came at the door again but this time the King was expecting it. He looked her in the eye. "He has asked to speak to you. My advice, my child, is to tell him everything that is troubling your heart. He may be able to help you more then I." He smiled once more at her, then left her alone.

Ariana slouched down in her chair and rubbed the temple of her forehead. Her headache wasn't any better. It had slowly grown worse as the morning wore on. She would have given anything for some Tylenol.

She closed her eyes and sat silently for a few minutes. Then an old voice asked, "How do you feel this morning, my child?" Ariana jerked her head up and studied the figure before her.

The old man's grey beard almost reached the ground, it streamed down the front of his robe. He wore a pointed, blue hat. He leaned heavily on the wooden staff, though Ariana doubted he truly needed it.

She looked to his face and saw no malice. The lines on his face and around his eyes showed wisdom, not age. Ariana automatically felt safe with this Gandalf.

She sat back in her chair and gave him a half smile and told him she was feeling fine. Then she remembered the King's words about telling the truth to Gandalf. "I do have a slight headache though."

He let out a thoughtful "hmph" and pulled out his pipe. "Let us take a small walk, shall we?" he said as he turned to a small path that lead away from the porch.

She pushed her chair back from the table and stood up. She winced as the pain in her head shot up. She tried to ignore it and followed Gandalf down the path into the woods that surrounded them.

She smelled the sweet scent of grass and leaves. They walked into a beautiful land of greens and mosses.

Ariana didn't know what Gandalf the Grey knew of her arrival so she kept quiet. Besides, she was enjoying the view.

Though, as they walked, Gandalf was studying the girl walking besides him. He felt the same strange aura that Legolas had sensed when he'd first met Ariana in the forest. A red glow surrounded the girl, from head to toe. Something already had a hold on her, something evil. It worried Gandalf, for he hadn't seen any evil this strong since the Ring was destroyed.

Ariana was becoming impatient. They had walked far into the woods and not a word had been spoken. "Did, um, King Thranduil tell you everything?" Ariana finally asked him.

"Hmm, yes. He spoke of a mirror and a face." He looked her in the eyes. "This face you saw, what did it look like?"

She bit her lip and thought for a second, trying to think of the right words. "She had long blonde hair. It fell down past her shoulder. She was wearing a white dress and had a small crown on the top of her head. It weaved together on her forehead."

Ariana stopped for a moment and gently touched her forehead. Her headache wasn't any better. She felt like someone was hitting her with a hammer.

She swallowed and continued with her description. "She just appeared all of a sudden. She said something in an odd language. Please don't ask me to repeat it. I doubt I could." She paused again. She didn't know what else the old wizard wanted to hear.

Gandalf chewed on the end of his pipe as he listened to Ariana's story. The description the girl gave sounded like The Lady of Lothlóien.

"The only thing else was her eyes." Ariana looked to Gandalf. "They were full of fire. I mean, they were full of hatred. She just kept staring at me with those evil green eyes."

At that, Gandalf turned to her. "Green eyes? Are you certain that they were green?"

Ariana closed her eyes and pictured the woman's face. "Yes, they were green." Her eyes popped open. "I'm sure."

Gandalf began walking again and thinking to himself. Ariana let out a sigh and followed along beside him.

Eventually she became bored and began to finger the necklace. She did it without even realizing it.

After a few minutes Ariana realized Gandalf was watching her. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, yes, the necklace." She pulled it up over her head. She went to hand it to him, but winced when a sharp jolt of pain hit her head. She placed it in his hand.

He held it close to his face and studied the pendent as Ariana told him how it came to her. When she mentioned Bilbo Baggins, a small smile came across the wizard's face.

Gandalf turned the charm over and looked at the marble set in the middle of the necklace. It was now a cold black, showing no life or color.

He looked at Ariana and handed the necklace back to her. As soon as she had it back in her hands, her headache faded to a dull throb. She realized that the same thing had happened when the King had handed the necklace back to her earlier.

The two had come to a small clearing in the woods. Gandalf found a few rocks grouped together under the shade of a tree. He sat down on one of the rocks and gently placed his staff to the side.

Ariana stood in front of him, and then plopped down onto the cool grass. Though she was thoughtful of the dress from the Elves, she'd rather sit on the ground then a rock. She could see Gandalf clearly from the ground.

The wizard removed his hat and placed it on the rock with his staff. He pulled out his pipe and lit it, and then he took a long drag from his pipe and let it out slowly. Ariana sat silently on the ground, waiting for something to happen. She wasn't the most patient person in the world. She would have said something, but Gandalf began to speak. "There was once a great wizard named Nahron, many years ago. He had the respect of the Kings of Men, Elf and Dwarf. His talents were known across Middle Earth as the most powerful.

"He was neither good nor evil, he served no one in Middle Earth; he merely existed, but one day Nahron was summoned by Sauron, the Dark Lord. Sauron needed the one thing that would allow him the power to rule over all of Middle Earth.

"Nahron foresaw that the descendent of the sorceress Glendale would come at the end of the Third Age and would hold all the power Sauron would ever need. Nahron told Sauron that this traveler would be more powerful then the Sun and Moon.

"But Sauron was greedy, he would not wait for this traveler. He first created great rings from the three Elves, seven Dwarfs and the nine Men. Then, he had another ring forged to control all others. Into this One Ring he poured all his hatred and cruelty. It was with this ring the Dark Lord indented to rule all of Middle Earth."

Gandalf stopped for a minute and sighed. Ariana watched him puff on his pipe for awhile. A sinking feeling was starting to settle in her stomach. As she sat and listened to the tale of the Fellowship of the Ring and the destruction of the One Ring, she could barely believe her own ears. The story was so incredible. Elves, Dwarves and Man all working together to overthrow a Dark Lord, it was an amazing fantasy. A few times during Gandalf's tale, she caught herself thinking it wasn't real.

When she heard Legolas' name at the Council of Elrond, she smiled. She thought it was odd how his name made her smile.

"So then Sauron's power was destroyed. Frodo and Sam were successful in their quest. Middle Earth was safe," Gandalf looked at her. "Until now." She swallowed and listen to the rest of the wizard's story.

"You are the traveler that Nahron spoke of long ago. You hold the power Sauron seeks. You are the descendent of Glendale. I see her in you, for I knew Glendale well." Gandalf stopped and looked at the girl. Her hands laid limp in her lap and she had her eyes closed. She was taking deep breaths, trying to keep herself calm. What the old wizard had just told her was something out of one of her stories. She could have written this. Wizards, Elves, Dark Lords, ancient evils, it was an imagined world. She wasn't sitting her. She wasn't hearing this.

She took a deep breath and swallowed, then opened her eyes. She looked up at Gandalf. His old grey eyes where watching her every move. She didn't know what to say. What do you say to something like this? She looked around the ground, almost with a sense of being lost. She felt so alone, even with Gandalf sitting here with her.

"I'm Glendale's descendent? How is that possible?" Ariana asked him. "I mean, that would mean… " She trailed off. "Are you saying I've gone back in time, to Middle Earth? That what I know is.. Middle Earth?"

Gandalf watched her for a few silent moments. "The Elves all moved into the west, the dwarves burrowed deep into the earth and the rest just disappeared. Man swarmed across Middle Earth. The land was claimed only for man and anything else was pushed off."

"And they dropped the 'Middle' and just had 'Earth?'"

"Yes. Without the Elves to show Man how to care for the land, certain things were lost." Gandalf let out a long sigh. "Many things were lost."

Ariana sat in silence, taking in everything. She wasn't sure what to think. "I think, I think I need to be alone awhile," she said as she looked up to Gandalf. He nodded his head in agreement and stood up to leave. He picked up his hat and placed it soundly on the top of his head. Then he picked up his staff and turned to leave. He looked back at Ariana, who hadn't moved an inch. He opened his mouth, as to say something, but then stopped. He knew anything he could say would be lost on the girl at the moment. She wasn't listening to a thing that was happening around her.

Gandalf gave a small grunt and left Ariana alone in the small glen.

* * *

After a few moments, Ariana lifted her head and looked around. The trees were gently swaying in the wind. The sun was warming her skin as she sat there. Eventually, she stood up and continued down the trail she and Gandalf had been walking along.

****Notes****

::taps fingertips together:: Excellent. [All disclaimers and warnings can be found at the beginning of chapter 1.]