They stood, staring at each other across the arm's length between them, each mirroring the surprise of the other. Moments passed, and Andromeda saw an amused twinkle growing in the old man's eyes. She felt a sudden bubble of amusement at the impromptu staring contest between them, and her mouth began to twitch. A smile worked its way onto the man's weathered old face and he began to chuckle. It was a deep rich sound, full of mirth, and Andromeda found herself laughing as well; feeling suddenly far less despairing and lonely.
As her laughter subsided she gestured for the old man to take one of the seats by the fireplace, and as he sat down she placed herself in the other. Once settled, their staring contest resumed; though the man now had a kindly smile on his face, his eyes still glittered with curiosity.
Taking a few milliseconds she reviewed the results of her sensor scan of him. He wasn't human, as she had first thought. His bodily systems and structure were a close match, but there were anomalies in the readings that seemed to indicate an energy of some sort contained within his form. Her sensors couldn't quite get a clear reading on it, saying it both was and wasn't there. Clearly it is, though, since he felt my scan.
At that moment her arm chose to give a little spasmodic twitch as her repair nanos completed another portion of circuitry. Sensation flooded back into her hand as it reconnected to what passed, as her central nervous system.
The twitch caught his attention and his brow furrowed in an expression of concern. Leaning forward, he reached out to take hold of her hand.
With a raised eyebrow she let him. "Someone already tried healing that. If you're going to try too you're wasting your time."
He looked up at her face as she spoke, and then returned his gaze to her arm. His touch was sure, yet very gentle, as he probed it softly with his fingers.
Jerking suddenly straight in her chair she looked at where his fingers touched her arm. "What…?" She felt something, but the sensation wasn't emanating from any of the sensory circuits in her arm. Running a diagnostic she found two things. One, the circuits were working perfectly, and two, in spite of her feeling the sensation, it wasn't registering on any of her hardware.
The sensation was akin to encountering another AI in a computer network. It was a gentle brush of presence and query. Almost like that, but also distinctly different, and the contact did not come through any computer network. It seemed pure mind and …she had no reference point but…spirit. She sat staring at where he held her arm, trying to process what she was sensing. When she finally looked up at him he was looking at her with an expression that was perplexed.
"What did…" She tried again and stopped. This language barrier is becoming too much of a problem. Well, it may take a little bit but we can do something about that.
Setting aside her disturbed thoughts for later she pointed to herself and said, "Andromeda."
His eyebrows rose a little and then with a small smile he indicated himself and said, "Gandalf."
Andromeda reached down and touched the small table next to her chair and, raising her eyebrows, looked at him inquisitively.
There was a full smile on his face this time as he pointed at it and said a word.
She repeated it, clearly, and then pointed to the chair.
So it went for several hours. When they had exhausted the objects in the room they moved out onto the balcony and named everything they could see from that vantage. From there he took her walking through parts of the house, pointing out objects, and the actions of people; trying to get across the more subtle words. Even as he taught her, he observed her. At times his eyes were bright and curious, at others thoughtful.
I hope his opinion is positive, she thought, aware that a great deal about her future depended upon the goodwill of the people living here.
It was late into the night when he finally left; escorting her back to her rooms, he bid her goodnight.
* * *
Gandalf sat staring into the crackling fire, and puffing slowly on his pipe. With the occasional murmur of a word he would break his self-imposed silence, but mostly he sat still and quiet, deep in thought. The firelight cast flickering shadows, both over his form, and the expanse of the hall around him. The Hall of Fire was generally empty, except upon days of feast and merriment, bereft of any illumination but a fire burning in the great hearth, and altogether a good place to sit and think. The stranger who called herself Andromeda had given him a good deal to think about, and the story told to him by Arwen added layers to the already complex thoughts in his mind.
His worry over Frodo often intruded upon his ruminations, but was set aside. Frodo was in the care of Elrond, and thus in hands far more adept at healing than his own.
Long hours passed, and still he sat by the fire, moving occasionally to refill and relight his pipe, until finally, in the hours of the early morning, a presence behind him brought him out of his thoughts. Gandalf turned his head and observed as Elrond, moving with silence only elves posses, passed him and knelt next to the hearth. Taking up the poker he stirred the coals of the now burnt down fire and placed several more logs atop them. Gandalf waited to speak until he had settled into another chair close by.
"How is Frodo?" He asked.
"Still in grave danger," Elrond replied, staring into the fire. "I believe a part of the knife broke off into the wound, yet I have been unable to find it. Glorfindel is with him now. I needed a moment's rest before attempting to locate it again."
Elrond turned to him, "What of our mysterious guest? Is she of the Maiar, as I have suspected?"
It was Gandalf's turn to stare into the flames. "Of the Maiar? No. In the sense of her there are similarities, and yet in all other respects she is totally different. She is something I have never encountered before, and that is saying much. What I sense from her feels…alien… to Middle-Earth, as if she had come not from here, but from another place."
Elrond's eyes filled with wonder, "Another place…another world? Perhaps…" He focused questioningly on Gandalf, "Did Iluvatar create more than this one?"
Gandalf sighed and shook his head, "I do not know. Perhaps not even the Valar know. For ever was their thought occupied with this world. These questions, right now, we cannot answer. She, however, may be able to answer some of them soon."
"She does not speak any of our languages Gandalf," Elrond said, shaking his head. "I think asking questions of her might be rather difficult."
Gandalf smiled, "I think she will speak the common tongue quite passably before the end of tomorrow. She learns with remarkable speed."
Surprise was evident on Elrond's face.
Gandalf chuckled, "My friend, she looks like one of the race of Man, but even as you have surmised, she is not. Do not ascribe the limitations of Men to her, or I feel that you will find yourself wrong on every count."
"So you have spoken with her?"
Waving his hand in a negative gesture, Gandalf said, "Only briefly, most of the time was taken by the learning of words, and structures of speech. When I left her it was late in the night. Her name, it appears, is Andromeda"
"Andromeda," Elrond repeated. "We must speak with her soon, as there is a point which troubles me: she sensed the Ring. Not even you could do that, after long exposure to it."
"Ahhh, yes. The Ring," Gandalf face was troubled as he turned back to the flames. "It is possible, that with her nature so strange to this world, that the Ring would have no hold over her."
"Or it might." Elrond countered.
Gandalf sighed, "Yes it might. Though she has already demonstrated astonishing resistance to such power in the healing of her arm from the blow to the Ring-wraith. In killing one of the Nazgul, she has struck the enemy a grievous blow, and one he will not soon forget. When his servants report back to him, he will doubtlessly perceive her unique nature, and then she will have not only his enmity, but also his interest. And that," he continued slowly, "Is not something to be desired."
They sat in silent thought for a long moment, when Elrond stood. "I must return to Frodo and again attempt to find the splinter. I leave the matter of…Andromeda in your hands."
* * *
Andromeda watched as the light of the rising sun crept slowly down the walls of the valley to touch upon the roof and gables of the house. Mansion is more like it, she thought. What did Gandalf call it? The Last Homely House.
There were still gaps in her vocabulary, mostly in the realm of the more abstract words, but she had spent some of the night processing her memories of what had been said around her since she had arrived. From the conversations, Andromeda had been able to add a great deal to what Gandalf had taught her, particular in terms of the structure and organization of sentences. She now felt that she could actually hold a conversation with the people here. In addition, during her analysis she had come to the conclusion that there were two other languages she had heard spoken, but did not have enough information to come to any conclusions about them.
Turning away from the balcony, Andromeda made the sudden decision to have a look around. She had gotten to see some of the house last night with Gandalf, but there was a great deal she had not seen. Her hosts had not given any indication that she was confined to these rooms, so she took that as an invitation to explore.
Leaving her rooms she turned toward the outside, wanting to investigate several of the garden areas she had seen last night with Gandalf. Passing through the corridors of the house she encountered, singly or in groups, several elves. She was surprised when they bowed or nodded respectfully at her as she passed, but managed an awkward acknowledgement in return.
Either they are very polite to visitors, she thought, or this has something to do with those riders I fought yesterday.
Reaching the garden she had seen last night, she stood looking about for a moment, then started down a path. The trail meandered slowly through the trees, and looking ahead she saw that it crossed a stream on its way to a gazebo on the far side.
Her footsteps made little noise as she stepped onto the bridge crossing the stream. Stopping at the center of the span, she looked upstream following it back to the pool and waterfall that fed it. Gazing at it she watched the sunlight refract on the spray from the falls and create a small rainbow in the air. Trance would love it here. She smiled a little. Even the new Trance.
Turning, she continued on across the span, and reaching the other side stepped into the clearing containing the gazebo. A sudden gust of wind moved the branches of the trees, sending leaves, colored in the gold and red shades of autumn spiraling slowly down through the air.
Andromeda's eyes, first following one of the leaves drifting through the air of the clearing, focused beyond them on the man sitting under one of the trees. He was sitting on a bench formed by the intersection of the root systems of two trees. The man's back was settled comfortably against the bark of the tree and an open book sat in his lap.
He had looked up from his book when Andromeda stepped into the glade and he now met her eyes across the breadth of it.
That is the man from the courtyard last night, who came in with the small ones and Gandalf, she thought. Humm, maybe this is a good chance to ask a few questions about where I am and what it was I stepped into yesterday.
Andromeda stepped forward, walking across the clearing toward him. As she approached, he rose to his feet and gave her a slight bow. Taking in his dark hair, gray eyes and slightly unshaven face she stopped within a few feet of him. He was definitely human.
"Hello," she said.
His eyebrow rose with surprise. "Greetings lady," his head cocked slightly in curiosity. "I was told you could not speak our language."
His voice was soft, intense; in some aspects it reminded her of Tyr, but this man had an aura of grave nobility that Tyr lacked.
She gave a little half shrug in response to his question, and said, "I spent a good portion of the night learning from Gandalf."
"Ahh," he made a sound of understanding. "I am pleased that you have Lady, for it gives me opportunity to convey to you my thanks." His eyes were very earnest, staring into hers.
Andromeda blinked in confusion, "For what?"
"For your actions, yesterday before the Ford. From what I have been told you quite likely have saved the lives of both Frodo and Lady Arwen."
"In that case, you're welcome," she said. "Though I have some questions about exactly what it was that I did." She gestured back toward the house. "Everyone has been bowing and giving me strange looks since I arrived yesterday, and I'm not entirely certain why."
"You saved the life of Lady Arwen, who is the daughter of the Lord of this house; Elrond Half-elven. In the act of doing so, you stood off the Nine, and slew one of their number." He gestured for them to sit on the bench, and they did, the book between them.
"What exactly are the Nine?" She asked. "They're like nothing I've ever seen."
His voice was quiet and his eyes thoughtful as he said, "They were once great kings of men, and in their lust for power, they each, unquestioning, accepted a ring from Sauron. One by one the darkness claimed them, and now they are slaves to his will. They are hollow, empty things, yet they hold great power, and there are few, even among the mighty, that could do as you have done."
Andromeda closed her eyes for a moment and there was a little frown of concentration on her face. When she opened her eyes and looked at him she said, "I'm a stranger to this place, I don't have the background knowledge to make sense of the things that you're talking about." She opened her hands in a helpless gesture.
"That is something I believe we can remedy Lady. Some of the tales you should hear from others in this house, who are far more capable of telling the old stories than I. But I shall endeavor, in brief, to tell you of the history of Middle-Earth and its current troubles, in which you find yourself embroiled."
He paused, and after a moments thought, began to speak. He told of the elves, the dwarves, and men. He spoke of the powers in the West, of lost Numenor, and of the Dark Lord Sauron and his many servants. He spoke of all these things, and many more, until the sun rose high into the sky and began its descent back to the horizon.
It was a couple of hours after noon when Andromeda heard voices in the direction of the bridge.
"Come on Merry, maybe he's over this way."
"Slow down Pippin, there's no need to break our necks finding him!"
The man had by this time heard them as well, and he said, "It appears they have sent out searchers for us Lady."
Just then two short figures burst into the glade. "See, there he is Merry…" Pippin stopped suddenly, and his eyes grew wide. "Merry," he said out of the corner of his mouth to Merry. "That must be her."
Andromeda cocked one of her eyebrows up and said dryly, "Yes, it would be me."
"You talk like Gandalf!" Pippin exclaimed.
Merry jabbed him in the side with his elbow.
"What?" Pippin gave Merry a wounded look. "She has his accent."
"That's rude, we don't know her," Merry hissed into his ear.
"It's alright Merry. I should talk like Gandalf," Andromeda replied smiling at the antics of the two. "I learned to speak your tongue from him."
"So," she said. "The two of you were looking for me and…" Trailing off she turned to the man. "I've realized I don't even know your name."
"He gave her a half bow, "Aragorn son of Arathorn, at your service Lady."
I think I like the manners here better than at home, she thought, and she smiled at him. "My name is…"
"Andromeda," Pippin chimed in, "though it's an odd type of name if you ask me."
He got another elbow in the ribs from Merry.
Andromeda smled wryly, gave a little shrug and said, "That's one of my designations. Depending upon which me we are talking about, you could call me Andromeda, Andromeda Ascendant or Shining Path to Truth and Knowledge Artificial Intelligence model GRA 112, XMC-10-284." She looked straight at him and a smile quirked the corner of her mouth. "Most of my friends just call me Rommie. Andromeda could be considered a little more formal, but without going overboard."
Pippin, his eyes wide, just blinked back at her with a baffled look on his face.
Merry said, "There are other yous?"
Both Aragorn's eyebrows had shot up.
There was a moment of silence, and then Aragorn turned back to the hobbits and gave a gentle verbal nudge. "You were seeking us because…"
"Oh, right," Merry said. "Gandalf wanted to see you. He wanted to talk to you a bit more about what had happened on the road here. There wasn't the chance last night, what with getting here late and with Frodo and all."
He had an expression on his face as if remembering something, and he turned to Andromeda, "Thank you for what you did miss…ah…Lady Andromeda. We greatly appreciate what you did to help cousin Frodo. If there is anything I can do for you, well, Meriadoc Brandybuck at your service." He gave her a clumsy bow.
Pippin once again spoke up, "Peregrin Took as well."
Aragorn stood, and said, "It seems I must leave. I would be happy to continue this conversation at a future time."
"I think Gandalf will be looking for you too Lady," Merry said. "He said something about going to find you when we left him."
"We'll just go tell him we found you both and save him the bother." Pippin grinned cheerily and took off toward the bridge.
Merry, heaving a sigh followed him.
"So those are Hobbits," Andromeda said, staring after them.
"Indeed they are Lady. They are a most…surprising people, filled with hidden depths that are belied by their appearance."
Aragorn studied her out of the corner of his eye for a long moment until she turned to him and said, "What?"
"I am considering similarities, please forgive me if I offend you Lady," he said. "But you do not look as if you are capable of what you have done. I have battled the Nazgul before, and I know of very few who could have endured simply facing them, and yet, you not only did so, but killed one of their number."
She looked at him for a moment, and her eyes lighted on the book, forgotten on the bench. Reaching down, she picked it up, and placed it in his grasp. "There is an old saying where I come from Aragorn: never judge a book by its cover."
He looked down at the book in his hand and abruptly laughed. It was a quick burst of merriment, but it lifted the grave air from about him, and left his eyes dancing as he looked at her, "Indeed, Lady Andromeda, words of wisdom, and ones that I shall henceforth pay great attention to."
Still smiling he made a sweeping gesture for them to follow the Hobbits.
* * *
Elsewhere, a great throne hall; a place wrapped in shadow and eternal night, the darkness broken only by the searing, hideous light of its Lord. A great being, composed of, and cloaked in fire and darkness, waited on the throne; at times taking the seeming of a great lidless eye, wreathed in flame, its gaze cast outward beyond the walls of the room. Stonewalls were little barrier to a being such as this, even after how terribly far he had fallen.
Were one to stand in that dreadful place, the awful weight of darkness and fear, the total absence of hope, would crush all light from the soul. That room was a place of utter horror.
It was to that place the spirits of the Ring-wraiths came, standing before their Master un-bodied and humbled, trembling under the ghastly weight of his gaze. The chief of the Nazgul, the Witch-King of Angmar, slunk forward like whipped dog, to stand alone before the throne and give his accounting of what had transpired.
Moments later a blast of terrible rage shook Barad-dur to its foundations. All the twisted, evil creatures, of the Plateau of Gorgoroth quailed in fear for miles around as even the gray twilight of that place dimmed, and was filled with the burning heat of their Master's rage.
Slowly, as all creatures around him cowered in abject fear, that terrible fire cooled, and cunning crept back into his thoughts. And the thoughts of that vast mind turned toward Rivendell, and this new being that had entered into the world.
There in the deepest shadows of Mordor, his dark thought began to take shape, and slowly, were there anyone who could perceive it, Sauron began to smile.
