Thanks for the reviews. I didn't think my last chapter was particularly strong, so the positive feedback was really nice.
Note: Important!!! This chapter takes place four years after the twins were brought to Middle Earth. They have just turned nineteen years old. It is 3018, the year the Fellowship leaves Rivendell. Also, assume all conversations between the twins and Elrond, Bilbo or Aragorn take place in Sindarin unless stated otherwise. All conversations between Penny and Kieran themselves are in English, and so I don't have to repeat all the dialogue, any conversations between them and the hobbits are being translated back and forth by Bilbo, Aragorn or another third party. They don't speak much Common Tongue yet. Also, for the purposes of this story, the name 'Aislinn' is pronounced 'Eye-slinn ' instead of with a long 'a' at the beginning. That's just how pronunciations work in Middle Earth. I read it in the appendix.
Answers to questions. I have been asked if there are sheep in Rivendell to get wool from, which is a good point as I stated that Penny uses wool in the last chapter. Truth be told, I've never heard of sheep in Rivendell, but then I've never heard of wheat fields, cows or chickens in Rivendell either, and no one seems to question the existence of bread, butter, cheese or cakes so I must assume that whether the elves have a farm in Rivendell or trade for supplies, they have access to flour, milk and eggs. I don't think it's too far a stretch to assume that they can acquire wool from the same source, be it farm or trade. Thanks for pointing it out, though. It's nice to have readers who notice details and ask questions. Keeps me on my toes.
Oh, and LeeLee, I did mention in the first chapter that the twins know sign language, and I've used it occasionally. I've just tried to keep it low key before.
A few hours after nightfall, Penny and Kieran watched from the trees of Imladris as Glorfindel led Aragorn and four hobbits to the House of Elrond. One looked sick, even from this high perch in the dim light.
"I thought Arwen was supposed to bring Frodo here," Kieran said.
Penelope laughed.
"What? In the movie she rescued them."
"Probably needed to incorporate her into the story. Elrond will be busy for the next four days or so. So will Bilbo, I imagine, probably Aragorn."
"In other words we'll be ignored. More so than the past few weeks."
"Less teaching and more homework. Basically. More maps, more cultures and customs."
"More Common Speech."
"You may hate it now, but you'll be glad when you learn it. It's nice to learn a language in the normal way."
"I'd be just as happy to go back to Canada and speak English."
"I know. Let's go. It's late."
They climbed down the tree and made their way inside. Aragorn and three hobbits were outside one of the guest rooms looking weary, worn and worried. The door was closed and Penny would have smiled were the situation not so serious."
"Were you kicked out, or were you even allowed in?" Penny asked in Sindarin.
"We were not allowed in," Aragorn said.
"Oh, speak Common," one of the hobbits--a stout, one with brown/blond hair--said. "We don't speak Elvish."
Penny switched languages. "I am sorry. I speak little Common and my brother speaks less."
"Who are you?"
"Penelope Ryan, but my friends call me Penny. My brother's called Kieran."
Aragorn introduced the hobbits as Samwise Gamgee--the one who'd spoken, Meriodoc Brandybuck, and Perigrin Took. The twins nodded politely as if it were news to them.
"Come with me. You need food," Penny said.
"We're not going anywhere," Sam informed her.
Penny switched back to Sindarin, having reached the limit of her ability in Common. "Aragorn, your friend will be fine. Tell them that. Also tell them that they will be no good to their friend if they collapse from exhaustion.."
Aragorn translated and persuaded the hobbits to follow the Edain, but made no move to follow himself.
"She meant you too," Kieran said. "We need someone to translate."
"Of course. I forgot." the Ranger said and followed reluctantly.
"You must be tired. Come on. You know Penny; if she says you need food, you eat."
"She does have a stubborn streak in her, as do you."
"She's right though. This time. You look tired."
In the kitchen Penelope found soup and bread for herself, Kieran, and the travelers. There wasn't much talk as first hunger than fatigue stopped conversation before it started.
Pippin said something eventually to which Aragorn almost smiled.
"All right, I heard my name. What did he say?" Penny asked.
"He said that you are the strangest lady he's ever seen," Aragorn told her.
Penny glanced down at her outfit and nodded. "Probably. I'm no lady." She was wearing one of Kieran's shirts and a pair of his pants held in place by a cloth tie, and tucked into his boots. She had also borrowed one of this shirts, and the sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. Her hair was pulled into a pony tail. "Ask him if he's ever tried climbing trees in a dress with loose hair."
A moment later Aragorn said, "Pippin says hobbits have the good sense to keep their feet on the ground whether they wear dresses or not."
"Just eat your supper. Then you should get some rest."
When the meal was finished the twins led Aragorn and the hobbits to the guest rooms they had seen prepared earlier.
"Does Elrond know you're doing this?" Aragorn asked as they showed him his room.
Kieran shrugged. "We told him we'd keep watch for you."
"Where were you? I didn't see you."
"In a tree."
"Penny can finally climb trees, can she?"
Penelope blushed as she remembered an incident that had happened about two years ago. "I heard that! I only fell out of that tree because I was sick."
"Good night, Aragorn," Kieran said and beat a hasty retreat.
"Good night, Kieran. Good night, Penny."
"Good night, Aragorn." She smiled sweetly as she left. Too sweetly. She'd get back at him for that. Eventually.
The day after the Council of Elrond the twins were introduced to Frodo. They had avoided the activity of the past few days, but now Bilbo was eager for them to get to know the hobbits even if he did have to act as translator. Aragorn was off somewhere in the wilds. The hobbits and the Edain sat in one of the unused rooms. Penny was cleaning a wooden flute. Kieran had his sketch pad and pencil out, as he usually did these days, and was drawing as they talked.
"You look much more like a lady today," Pippin observed of Penny.
The young woman, clad in a red dress that matched the colour of the autumn leaves of her homeland, nodded. "I'm sure I do, but I'm not a lady, Pippin."
"Where are you from that you don't speak Common?"
"New-Berlin, Ontario," Kieran said. "It's very far away in a land unknown to you."
Frodo stood and walked over to glance at Kieran's picture. It was a basic sketch of Aragorn and Arwen walking through a garden of birch trees. Arwen was laughing and Aragorn was smiling. The outline had been drawn earlier. Kieran was just filling in the details.
"Do they know you're drawing this?" Frodo asked.
"They don't even know I saw them yet," Kieran said without looking up.
"Why did you come to Rivendell?" Merry asked.
"I don't know. We were brought here."
"Kieran," Penny warned.
"I don't see the harm, Pen." To the hobbits he continued. "We were walking through the forest outside our grandparents' home, and then we were in the woods outside Rivendell. We don't know how and we don't know why."
"Why haven't you gone home?" Sam asked.
"We can't"
"Can't?"
Penny didn't want Kieran to give too much away. He had said too much already, really. "It's very far away," she said quickly. "Too far away to reach on horse. Besides, it's hard to travel when you don't know the language."
"True enough."
They were saved from further questioning by Arwen entering. "Penelope, Kieran, Ada wishes to see you in his study."
The twins stood. "Yes, milady," they answered simultaneously, and left.
Elrond was sitting at his desk looking over maps of Middle Earth.
"Are those for the Fellowship?" Kieran asked.
"No," Elrond said, seeming unsurprised that they knew of the Company before it was fully formed. "These are for you." He folded the maps and stood to face them.
"But we aren't going anywhere," Kieran said.
"Not yet," Elrond agreed. "Several times these past few years you have asked how you came to be in Middle Earth and why. I believe it is time for you to learn."
"You know?"
"I do not."
"Then how are we supposed to find out?"
"By leaving Rivendell and going to find out yourselves."
"So we're supposed to wander around Middle Earth until we stumble upon the answer. Do you realise the odds of that happening? Probably about a billion to one! Not to mention that we don't speak the language."
"I agree with Kieran," Penny said. "This is not a good time to wander. I doubt the Wilds were ever truly safe, but now the danger grows every day. War is coming."
"This is true. I will not dwell in Imladris forever, though, and neither can you. If there is a way to send you back to your world I would like to know it before I depart. I would have preferred to learn before the war."
"Well it's a little late for that," Kieran snapped.
"I know. You have not been ready to leave before now, however. You will leave in one month for the Blue Mountains. I will show you your route later, and I will provide a guide of course, and horses."
"Toll," Penny said sarcastically. There were still a few German words she used at times of stress. "Why then and why the Blue Mountains?"
"Because that is the right time, and because I believe you will find the answers you seek there."
"Why?"
"Trust me. You will be prepared by the time you leave."
Regardless of what Elrond said, the twins had little faith in their readiness for this journey, either now or in a month. Once they were dismissed from the study they went to their rooms to get their bows and quivers. Penny also tied her hair back. As lovely as it was loose, near waist-length hair was not something she wished not something she wished to contend with in archery practice.
In the long hall where they practiced archery only one elf was currently practicing and he was at the far end of the hall. From what they could see he had blond hair, but that was not uncommon. They stopped about half way down the hall, Kieran taking 'his' spot, where an arrow was still embedded in the ceiling directly over the bull's eye. He was the first to shoot, and it hit the inner half of the target. Penny hit the outside of the target the first time. Both got progressively closer to the centre as they continued. Kieran actually managed to hit the bull's eye twice. Penny was happy to get in the inner half of the target, but that happened consistently now.
They practiced the archery for an hour before leaving for another training court where they could practice their swordsmanship. They were on more equal footing here, and Penny liked it better. It was nice to have control of the blade at all times, unlike the arrows where once it was out of your hands it was out of your hands.
Eventually they went back for supper. They ate with the hobbits now most nights and tonight was no exception. It was easy to hide their silence behind the constant chatter of the little people. The fact that they understood less than half of what was being said gave an excuse, and they never said much at the dinner table.
Bilbo noticed, though. By dessert it was obvious that this was more than their usual silence. "You seem troubled," the old hobbit said in Sindarin.
"Elrond's sending us away in a month," Kieran told him.
"Are you sure?" Bilbo asked.
"He said as much. He's sending us on some sort of quest."
"It's more of a fact finding mission, really," Penny said. "We're going to the Blue Mountains to try to learn how we came here and why. I don't like it."
"I'm sure he wouldn't send you if you weren't ready."
"What if we're not ready?" Kieran asked. "We don't speak Common, we aren't great archers. We're not bad, but we're not great. We can handle swords. I'm not sure if he's sending us because we are ready or because there isn't time to wait until we are. He said. That we will be ready when we leave. Not that we are now."
"If Elrond says you will be ready, I'm sure you will be," Bilbo said reasonably. "He would never lie about such a thing."
Kieran sat back in his chair, chewing a bite of apple pie.
"I don't doubt that he believes we will be ready," Penny said, "but there is a difference between being truly ready for something, and being ready for it because you have to be. When our father died, we'd known it was coming for two years. We had time to prepare. I guess we were ready, as ready as we could have been at any rate, but that was because we had to be. I'm not sure ready is really the right word, but I can't think of a better one even in my own language. Prepared, perhaps. It's hard to explain, but even assuming we do have the necessary skills--even if we're ready in that sense--I don't think we really are."
"You think too much," Bilbo said. "Both of you, but I agree in this case. There are some things you can never be truly ready for, but you need to face them all the same."
"What if we'd rather stay in Rivendell until we're at least functional in Common?" Kieran asked. "I know we'll never be fluent--I won't at any rate--but it would be nice not to need a translator before we go."
"Oh, Kieran, my lad, that's just an excuse, I'm afraid," Bilbo said. "You may speak for both you and your sister in this matter, I don't know, so you'd both better listen. You'll never be ready to go to the Blue Mountains, just as I will never be ready to let Frodo go to Mordor, and he will never truly be ready to go, but you must go and see kin you've never met, and I must let Frodo go, and he, indeed must go. You aren't afraid of the journey so much, I think, than of what you will find when it ends."
"I'm afraid of being kidnapped by orcs, starving to death or my sister shooting me with her bow and arrow. There's nothing in the Blue Mountains to fear besides being shot at by people who may not be happy to see us."
"Not even being told that you cannot go home?" Bilbo asked. "You'll never be ready for that, I reckon, nor for choosing between your homeland and Middle Earth if it comes to that."
"Thanks for the reassurance," Kieran muttered.
Penny put a hand on his arm. "Stop it, Kieran," she said in English. "It is not his fault, and he speaks nothing but the truth we need to hear." Her voice was quiet and not unkind, but firm, leaving no room for argument. It was a tone her mother often took with difficult children, and sometimes adults.
Kieran shook his head and left. Penny stood to go after him. "Excuse me," she said in Common.
"Let him go," Bilbo said.
"I should go after him."
"Yes, but not now. He needs some time to cool off. Sit down and finish your dessert."
She shook her head. As delicious as the pie was, she now felt no desire to finish the half piece left on her plate. "I'm full."
"Penelope."
She sat and picked at her pie. Bilbo never used the full version of her name.
When she'd finished, the elderly hobbit reached over and put another piece on her plate, complete with a dollop of whipped cream. She'd introduce the kitchen staff to the concept of not churning the cream all the way to butter some time ago. "You didn't eat near enough at supper. When you're done that, you can take Kieran a piece."
Kieran didn't want to talk about what Elrond had said, or what had happened at dinner, and couldn't think of anything else he wanted to talk about, so Penny just left the pie on his desk and left. She had her own homework to do, and if Kieran didn't want to talk he wouldn't. He was just as stubborn as his twin. She just hoped he wouldn't leave the talking until it was too late. Last time he had. When Mum had told them that Dad wouldn't be coming home, he'd refused to talk about it for days, leaving Penny alone. When he did talk about it, it was to say that nobody knew for certain that he'd die. Maybe he'd go into remission. Maybe a new treatment would work.
"Kieran, please. You have to talk about it. You have to accept it. Go see him. Please," Penny begged in the living room of their house. The late May sun was streaming in, bathing the room in light.
"I don't have to see him today, or tomorrow, or next week because he'll be there when I don't have time to."
"He won't. Kieran, if you won't trust the doctors and Mum, then trust me. He doesn't have much time left. I can feel it."
"How can you feel it? Like magic or something from those books you read?"
Penny shook her head. "I see him every day, unlike you. He's dying. It hurts. I'm sorry, but it's true. If you don't say goodbye to him when you can, you'll regret it later. Maybe forever, he's your father."
"Dad can't die." He said each word like it was a separate sentence.
"The doctors give him three days."
"And you believe them?"
"Of course not. He's stronger than that. He'll probably last the week, just clinging to the hope that he'll see you again. But no matter how hard he fights, he can't last any longer than a week. I can feel it in my heart, I can see it in his eyes. I don't need a doctor to tell me that he's dying."
"How can you sit there? How can you sit there every day and watch him fade? Why not just wait. You don't know he's going to die."
"I do know. I've known for six months since he went out of remission again. I've known, sort of, since this all started two years ago. I knew he was sick before he ever admitted it. I could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. You must know. Look at the numbers, if nothing else. The numbers don't lie, and they're all against him. It's too late for new treatments."
"Not for miracles."
"If you're so sure he won't die, then there's no harm in coming to visit." Maybe this tactic would work.
"Don't you believe in miracles?"
It was so unlike Kieran to ask anything like that. Sure he went to church with the rest of the family, but he'd always asked more questions, and since he was ten he'd started to put more faith in science than God. He must be desperate, Penny thought, to be asking her if she believed in miracles. She considered her answer very carefully.
"Well?" Kieran prompted after a few minutes.
"I believe," Penny said slowly, "that the fact that Dad's lived so long with cancer is a miracle. I believe that the fact that he' s still alive now, giving us--giving you--a chance to say goodbye is a miracle. I don't think that we can expect anymore, and I don't think this chance will last forever."
"That's the oldest sounding thing you've ever said. And I don't like the answer."
"It's the oldest thing I've ever had to say, and you don't have to like the answer. You don't even have to accept it, but it's your loss if you don't. Just see him once. Write a letter if you can't go in person, but for your own sake, say goodbye."
"You know, some people would say for God's sake."
"But God's not the one who'll be hurt if you don't. You are."
"Don't you pray for him to get better."
Penny shook her head. "No. Not any more."
"What?" The look of shock on his face was terrible. He'd thought he knew his twin so well. "Why not?"
"I did. For the first twenty two months I did, but these past three I just pray that he's not in too much pain. It hurts him so badly, Kieran. I know it's bad that he'll die. It sucks. I hate it," her voice shook with the effort to contain her tears, to reach her brother, "but at least he won't be in pain. The pain will be over. It's bad that he'll die, but it's good that he won't be in pain anymore. If you'd just visit you'd see that and maybe it would be easier." A tear rolled down her cheek and she choked on the last two sentences. "He's ready to go. He's just waiting till we are."
"Well I'll never be. I'm not going."
He never had.
Penny sighed and took inventory of her closet. She'd have to get some pants and shirts before they left. Maybe she'd take one dress, for when they got to whatever settlement they were going to. There was a dark green one she liked. It replaced the one she'd worn her first day here. She'd outgrown that one long ago.
Glorfindel sat in the massive library of Imladris reading an old leather bound book. Though in good condition, the covers were slightly scuffed with long years of use, and no amount of care could prevent a slight yellowing of the ancient pages.
Elrond passed the shelves upon shelves of books to sit at the oak table with Glorfindel. He was not looking forward to this conversation, but he needed to have it.
"Is there something you wish to ask me, Elrond?" Glorfindel asked after about a minute of silence. The candle light flickered in his serious, sea blue eyes, and made his golden hair shine with their light.
"Are you aware that I'm sending Penelope and Kieran to the Edain settlement in the forest surrounding the Blue Mountains?"
"Yes. I believe the hobbits mentioned something about Kieran storming away from the dinner table."
"They do not like the idea."
"I gathered as much. Are you sure they are ready?"
"Estel was riding with my sons when he was their age."
"Estel spoke Common and had more than four years training with a sword and bow."
"They are leaving in a month and I promised them a guide. I'd like you to go with them, be their guide."
Glorfindel closed the book. "Elrond, surely I can be more use in the coming war if I am not babysitting the twins in the west. Do not misunderstand me. I care for them greatly, and will do all I can to prepare them, but all in all it seems a rather useless errand."
"Perhaps," Elrond said, "but it is far from useless to them. Whatever they find there, they need to know regardless of whether or not they want to. I want you to be their guide because you are fond of them. You have taught them. They know you and are comfortable around you. Many elves tolerate them, but you actually care what happens to them. If you refuse, though, I will find another. The elves will do little in this war. It is for men to fight."
Glorfindel sighed. "This is true. I will go with them then. I doubt you'll find anyone else both willing and able."
"Thank you," Elrond said, and rose to leave.
Kieran grudgingly prepared for the journey. He practiced archery very hard with and without Glorfindel. Penny practiced on her own too, but not to the same extent. She'd accepted long ago that her hand-eye coordination would never be as good as Kieran's, nor would her aim. She'd been putting in an extra hour a day for four years now. Four weeks wouldn't make much difference at this point. She worked more on the sword, where she could see the most improvement. She also ensured that she would have shirts and pants for the journey. There was absolutely no way she was spending two months in the wilderness in a dress. Unfortunately that meant sewing her own, or modifying clothes that Kieran had outgrown.
They also went over maps endlessly with Elrond. They knew enough about survival by now that they didn't need to review that, but it was always good to know how they would get to their destination. They'd follow the Bruinin to Tharbad where they would cross the bridge and follow the road to Sarn Ford. At the fork they would turn west. When they reached Sarn Ford they would follow the Baranduin west until it ended. From there they would head due west until they came to and Edain settlement deep within the woods on the edge of the Blue Mountains.
It was a week before Kieran spoke to Elrond, and then only when he had to. He simply avoided the elf-lord when he could, and for the first time she could remember, Penny found herself avoiding Kieran for more than an hour. Trying to deal with him and her own preparations was more trouble than it was worth. Elrond had been teaching her and Kieran about medicinal herbs for some time now, though Penny received more in-depth lessons in this, as it interested her more. Really these lessons had begun when she'd helped treat Aragorn all those years ago, and had increased with her understanding. While she had these lessons, and weaving, Kieran studied elven art and architecture, was well as those of other peoples. The library held a wealth of information on every subject.
Now she was silently putting together a medicine kit under Elrond's worried gaze. His gaze always seemed to be worried these days. She wasn't sure when the laughter had left his eyes, but slowly it had faded, become rarer. He didn't have to worry about this. Penny knew these plants like she knew the back of her hand. She knew them by sight. She knew them by touch. She knew them by smell. And a few she knew by taste too, unfortunately. She sighed softly as she selected another bundle of herbs. Elrond was not her first teacher of herb lore.
"Are you not speaking to me as well?" Elrond asked. Although he said it with a touch of humour, when Penny looked over her shoulder, his eyes were more serious than they should be. His voice had a serious undertone too.
"I am merely thinking, Elrond."
"Are you angry with me?"
She sighed. "Yes. I know I shouldn't be, but I am. You have to understand how difficult this is for us. Kieran will come around. Give him time." She geld up a small bundle of peppermint and inhaled it's soothing fragrance. "Gramma always grew this. She taught me about herbs from the cradle." She set the bundle in her bag.
"Perhaps I should not force you to go," Elrond said softly.
Penny turned to face him and set her bundle on the small table. "No. We have to go."
"Perhaps it would be wiser to wait."
Penny couldn't believe that Elrond was second guessing himself like this. "Wait for what? Until we can speak Common? We don't have time to wait for that. If there is a way to send us home we need to know now. You and Gandalf may be needed to help, and when the war ends I would not keep you from Valinor." She paused. "And if we can't go home, I'd rather know sooner than later. Kieran would rather keep his hope that we will go home whether it is real or not." She forced a smile. "We have Glorfindel. We will be fine."
"You have two weeks."
A week before they left, Penny and Kieran practiced their swordsmanship with Glorfindel, and the hobbits. It was amusing to watch the little folk wield swords that would have been no more than daggers to the others present, and even more amusing to think of them fighting enemies twice their size with them. Glorfindel shouted instructions from a little ways off. Usually along the lines of, "Move your feet," or "Watch your opponent." There were a few calls of, "You're holding the sword wrong," as well, which were always followed by a swift intervention on the teacher's part.
Eventually Glorfindel said, "That's enough for tonight. Kieran, if you would stay for a minute."
Penny carefully avoided her brother's gaze as she put her sword in its sheath and left. She didn't have to look to know that he was glaring at her and the elf. The followed the hobbits to the gardens and sat under a birch.
Kieran glared at his sister as she left the training hall. She probably had something to do with this. He shoved his sword in its sheath more forcefully than he should have.
"You are going to make this journey very unpleasant for your sister and me if you continue to behave in this manner," Glorfindel said.
"So?"
"You are hurting Lord Elrond. Do you realise that?"
"How am I hurting him?"
"With your silence, and your harsh remarks. He only wants what is best for you and Penelope. You have one more week in Rivendell. Perhaps you should make amends."
"I have nothing to be sorry for. He's the one who's sending us away."
"You are hurting him, and you are hurting yourself with this attitude."
"You sound like Penny. She always thinks that if you just accept things as they are it'll be okay. It won't."
"Really?"
"Yeah, even when Dad died. Even when we were brought to Middle Earth she just accepted it."
"Did she have a choice but to accept your father's death? And did she accept that you would remain in Middle Earth forever, or that you were here for a time and you needed to adapt?"
"She's never said that we'll never get home I guess, but she's never looked for a way to get home either. She's far too accepting."
"I've watched both of you since you came here, even before we were introduced. You've both grown up a lot. You seem to have grown happier too. Tell me, have you not been content here? Has Elrond not been good to you? Sharing his home, making time to teach you Sindarin and now the Common Tongue."
"He has," Kieran mumbled, looking down.
"Perhaps you should make your peace with him before you leave then." The elf walked away, leaving Kieran to think about what he'd said. He doubted that it would have been so easy, but the few conversations Kieran had had with his twin in the past few weeks had revolved around this trip, and his attitude.
Kieran hesitated at the door to Elrond's study, then reached up and knocked softly. Penny, Bilbo and now Glorfindel had finally gotten to him. They were right. He was acting like an idiot.
"Come in," Elrond said.
Kieran opened the door and went inside. The elf-lord stood and turned to face him. Though he was six feet tall, Kieran suddenly felt smaller than the hobbits and very much like a child. The floor became very interesting. Cold grey stone slabs with many-pointed stars at the intersections. Someone had put a lot of work into this.
"What is it, Kieran?" Elrond asked after several minutes.
Kieran opened his mouth to speak, but it suddenly felt dry, and his throat didn't want to work. "I just--I'm sorry," he got out. "The way I've been treating you, and everyone else for the past three weeks has been unacceptable and childish, and I'm sorry. I don't want to part on bad terms."
"Nor do I, Kieran," Elrond said kindly. "Look at me."
Kieran looked up and was surprised to see relief in Elrond's eyes. "I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just. . . I never said goodbye to my father, you know. I was too scared. I couldn't admit that he would die. I just got angry at Mum, the doctors, Penny--anyone who tried to make me face facts. Penny especially because she never questioned what would happen. They were right, though. Now I'd cut my right arm off, I'd give up my sight if I could go back and take those five minutes to say goodbye. After that, after I'd missed out on something that important, it was so easy not to face other problems, like coming to Middle Earth and this journey. I don't want to make the same mistake twice, though."
"You haven't. Really, you haven't been so bad for the past two weeks."
"I have to you."
"I am sorry to send you away now, but time is growing short. This can no longer wait."
"I know."
"It is late. We will talk more in the morning if you wish."
"Thank you. Good night."
"Good night, Kieran." He gave a small smile and Kieran left.
Now that Kieran was on speaking terms with him, Elrond decided it was safe to tell the twins another minor, but important point of their journey. He called them into his study and read in their faces that they were worried. It was their eyes that really gave them away. Though Penelope's were green and Kieran's blue, they both had a grey tinge to them from their Dunedain blood. Whenever they were upset or worried their eyes turned more grey, like a stormy sea or a cloudy day. He'd have to call them in here for something pleasant one of these days, if he got the chance.
"What is it?" Kieran asked. "Is this about our journey?"
Elrond nodded once. "Yes. As you have probably realised, the names of your world are very different than those of Middle Earth. In towns, and with strangers it would be best if you could blend in as much as possible."
"You want us to change our names," Kieran said softly, almost bitterly.
"Not you. Kieran sounds close enough to Edain names that I doubt anyone would notice. Penelope, on the other hand, could draw unwanted attention outside the bounds of Imladris."
"So I need to change my name," Penny said softly, her voice carefully neutral.
"You could just say your name backwards," Kieran offered.
"Epolenep?"
"Well, it sounds. . .um. . .hmm."
"Ridiculous? Thanks. I knew that. Perhaps my middle name, Aislinn, would work."
"Aislinn will do," Elrond said.
"Good. In that case I need to go make sure no one's stolen the pants I've spent the past month making and modifying," Penny said with a slight edge to her voice. Some of the maids here still thought it inappropriate for a lady to run around in pants. She turned and left, muttering something in English. Kieran followed.
The rest of the week was a flurry of activity as the three travelers made their final preparations. Penny had managed to make one shirt, a pair of pants, and had dug up and modified five outfits Kieran had worn the year they came to Imladris. It wasn't fair that at nineteen she was as tall as her brother had been at fifteen, but it came in handy now. She also made sure to pack her flute. She had learned to play the harp over the past four years, and even owned a small lap-harp Kieran had made with the help of one of the elves (okay, so he'd just carved the runes in it--that took a lot of time and effort), but there was no way she was taking that instrument on horseback. Her medicine kit also went in her pack. Glorfindel was very competent in healing, and next to him her skills were nothing, but she still liked having her own supplies on her in case something went wrong.
Kieran packed the necessities of course, but also a small travel desk that held his paper, pencils and pens. It would lay across his lap to write, and looked like nothing but a very thin box, but Penny had woven cloth to trade for it from a wood working elf. He also took a Common-Sindarin dictionary Bilbo had made for the twins. That would come in handy.
Glorfindel actually disappeared for three days, but returned the afternoon before the trip. Where he'd been he refused to tell the twins.
Penny sat in the Hall of Fire as close to the fire place as possible. She was on the floor, cross legged, lap harp resting on her knees. Her fingers hovered just above the strings, not wanting to disturb the peace of the crackling fire and the soft scratching of pencil against paper from where Kieran sat. The only song that came to mind was Gramma's lullaby, and she didn't really want to play that now. She had a feeling it had started all this the night she'd first sung it, four years ago now.
"Just play already," Kieran said.
"You won't like the song," Penny warned. No one else was here. They'd been left mostly alone for the better part of two days now, though Bilbo had said his farewells to them after supper.
"I don't care what song it is. I know what song it is and it's still Gramma's Lullaby."
Penny nodded, her fingers going to the harp as if drawn by a magnet. She wove harmonies around the melody, beautiful but simple, disguising the basic tune. Kieran hummed along as he drew. Some how--probably counting the bars if she knew him--he knew when to come in with words on the second verse, only he started with the words to the first verse.
He had a nice voice, Penny realised. She hadn't heard him sing since the Christmas before Dad died, and then only with the family. It wasn't an amazing voice, by any stretch, but it was a good, solid tenor.
She joined in on the second verse, adding a high, clear descant to the haunting melody. The song may be a lullaby, but it was written in a-minor with only two bars per verse in the tonic major.
As the last chord faded, Kieran put down his pencil and Penny set the harp on the floor softly.
"It's hard to believe we've been hearing Common Speech since we were born," Kieran said. "Think they still sing that in the Blue Mountains?"
"I'm sure they do. I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow. It's a good thing Glorfindel's coming. I don't want to go."
"Neither do I."
"The whole place knows that, but at least you can handle a bow and a sword. You can mount a horse without a leg up."
"You are. . .good enough with a bow, and you can handle a sword. You should pick up on the language really fast now."
"There is that."
"This isn't about archery or mounting a horse, is it?"
Penny shook her head. "No. It's about being in the wilds for the War of the Ring. It's November twenty third, and on Christmas day the Fellowship will leave Rivendell. I can tell you the day Baradur falls in the book. Lorien will be attacked three times. Did you know that? And the west of Middle Earth is hardly mentioned. There are orcs out there, and if we run into a band, one elf and two kids are not going to make much difference."
"We're not kids."
"Tell that to the elves." She sighed. "It's stupid, but even knowing how the story ends, now that it's not a story, I'm afraid."
"Me too. I'm really worried about meeting the people of the Blue Mountains. Do you think Gramma and Grampa really come from there?"
"Where on Earth could they have learned that song?" Penny asked in all seriousness.
"No where on Earth, but plenty of places on Arda. I wonder what our family here will think of us."
"The door opened and Elrond stepped in. "Penny, Kieran, bed time."
"We're nineteen," Kieran protested. "We don't need a bed time."
"You leave at dawn. You do realise that you need to get up about an hour earlier?"
"Yeah," Kieran said. "Who's idea was that?"
"Glorfindel's" Penny said.
They left, and on the way to their rooms Penny started singing the lullaby again, only this time with different words in English.
"Now the Shadow Rises in the East.
Darkness soon will cover every land
The king will rise to claim his throne
But he will not the Shadow slay.
The Shadow sleeps no longer now
And all free people fear
Upon strange beds we lay our heads
Your hands can't dry our tears.
Still, light will come with morning's dawn,
The star of hope shines clear.
Though you can't reach me with your arms,
We'll hold each other in our hearts
Till our worlds meet again."
It was still dark when Elrond woke Kieran and Penny, both muttering under their breath in English about getting up at this ungodly hour. They dressed and made their way from their rooms to the dining hall where Glorfindel was already eating breakfast. He was much too awake for this hour. Tea sweetened with honey was shoved at the twins, then bread, jam and fruit. They ate, and the sugar woke them fairly quickly.
After the meal they checked their packs, making sure nothing had been forgotten, and Penny pulled her hair into a braid. When all the preparations were made they went out to the stables to ready the horses. They waited in the hall of the massive building while stable hands brought out the great white horse called Asfaloth, a smaller silver stallion, and a blue roan mare with a white star on her forehead not much bigger than a large pony. They already bore saddles and bridals. All that remained was to introduce the second and third horses to their riders and fix the packs to them.
Elrond had come in and handled the introductions. "These are your horses," he said. "They are a gift for your journey. The silver horse, Brethil, is yours, Kieran. He is an Elven horse. I regret that the mare is not, but all the elven horses are too large for you, Penelope. She's a good horse, though, and will bear you to the Blue Mountains if you are kind to her."
"What's her name?" Penny asked, stroking the mare's star. Kieran was behaving in much the same manner with Brethil. Both teens were enchanted with their animals.
"That is for you to decide," Elrond said.
"Oh." She considered for a moment. "Elloth."
"Star Flower. That is a good name for her," Glorfindel said.
"These horses are your responsibility," Elrond told the twins. "You have enough training that you can care for these horses without Glorfindel's help. And remember to call Penelope Aislinn with any strangers you or in any towns you stop at."
"We will try to avoid any towns and settlements," Glorfindel said.
There was a mad scrambling of feet and four hobbits appeared at the door, still in their night clothes.
"Wait!" Pippin called. "We want to say goodbye too!"
Elrond looked almost amused. "Is it possible to keep anything from you four?"
"This is hardly secret," Pippin said, "though we didn't know they were leaving this early."
"We just want to say goodbye," Frodo said, "since we don't know what'll happen now. They might be sent back to their home, and we don't know how our. . . journey will end. We've eaten with them for the past month, and trained with them. So, Penny, Kieran, I hope your trip is safe and you can go home. So does Bilbo, only I hadn't the heart to wake him."
"He said goodbye last night, Frodo," Kieran said. "Good luck with your quest. Goodbye." He mounted his horse.
Penny crouched down to get on eye level with the hobbits. "Elrond, you won't have to translate." She changed languages and spoke in her halting Common. "Goodbye, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin. Good luck. Be safe. Say to Aragorn from me goodbye."
"We will," Frodo said.
She stood and mounted Elloth. Glorfindel led them out of the stables and along the road of Imladris while the hobbits all called, "Goodbye," after them. The sky was changing, the stars beginning to fade, and to the east, through the trees, the first rays of light were peaking over the horizon.
"Just for the record," Kieran said in English, "this is not dawn."
"It's twilight," Penny offered.
"Twilight is not dawn. If twilight were dawn it would be called dawn and I would not know both words in Sindarin."
"Let's just hope he remembers we're Edain and need to sleep at night."
"Why are you so sleepy? You're the morning person."
"It could be argued that this is not morning."
"True."
They rode in silence for a time before they came to the gates of Imladris and passed through them. Glorfindel kept his head forward, but the twins glanced back at what had been their safe haven for four years. There was no turning back now.
Author's note. If you don't have a problem understanding the difference between being functional in a language and being fluent, you don't have to read this, but I thought I'd explain. Being fluent in a language means you can speak it like you would your first language. In fact, most people are only ever truly fluent in their first language. Someone who's fluent in a language will have an intimate knowledge of the language, and will get the humour, puns, understand idioms and clichés, and can think in that language for an extended period of time. If a person is functional in a language it basically means that they could be stuck in a place where that is the only language spoken and get by without a translator. They could function. However, they would probably miss humour, puns, clichés, and idioms and would most likely translate back and forth in their head. They may be able to think in that language for short periods or certain phrases, depending on how functional they are, but not for extended periods.
Please review. Constructive criticism is more than welcome. I can't fix problems if I don't know they're there. Questions are also welcome. I will do my best to answer them.
