CHAPTER TWO - MEETINGS
"So Fred, when we get to Minas Tirith, how exactly are we going to talk to Faramir? I mean he's like a prince or something isn't he and he might not even be there."
Fred looked blank. "I'm sure we'll think of something. Perhaps you could provide a distraction whilst I look for him."
"Why do I have to provide the distraction?" Chrissie said, tapping her foot.
"Well I can't really see you using your massive amount of tact and subtly to try and persuade Faramir. You'd probably give him a good slap if he tried to refuse. Anyway I'm the English student, so I'll handle the persuading."
Chrissie frowned, but realised the truth in what Fred was saying. She never had been one for diplomacy.
***
They walked quietly that day, everyone anticipating their coming ordeal in Minas Tirith and savouring the silence as it lasted. Fred couldn't help but wonder that in every minute they rode south, they were heading a minute further away from Frodo and where they needed to be. Where they could help him and save him.
She understood they had to have help, but she still hadn't worked out exactly how they could gain help from Faramir without arousing his suspicions or changing the future. From what she'd read Faramir was a kind and gentle person but from Kelly's account, he was irrational, annoying and liked to stereotype.
The thing was, she didn't know how the situation had been left. On one hand, mentioning Kelly could give her validity, but if they'd parted on bad terms, she could be thrown instantly in jail.
Fred was so deep in thought, that she didn't realise Chrissie had been chattering away to her for the last half hour. Apparently Chrissie had been talking about camping that night, since there didn't seem to be any cover for miles around.
***
Duin-Shiel let his horse walk slightly ahead of the girls so they could have their conversations in privacy and anyway, he had a lot to think about.
When he'd told Chrissie he had a few weeks before he met Thranduil, technically he had exaggerated. The further south they went, the longer it would take to return to Rivendell. Thranduil had told Duin-Shiel there had been a council held and one moon after that council would mark the choosing of the Elves.
Thranduil had talked long with Duin-Shiel about the choosing and it was clear that Thranduil did not wish to remain in Middle Earth much longer and that he wished for Duin-Shiel to accompany him. At the time of their talking, Duin-Shiel had had nothing to hold him in Middle Earth.
But now.it was so complicated. Sometimes it seemed he and Chrissie were the only people in the world, yet sometimes she seemed almost to ignore him. It reminded him of Aragorn's situation with Arwen and he wondered where he and Chrissie would end up.
He knew she wanted nothing more than to return home to the future and although he'd thought about going with her, from what she'd told him of it, it seemed a hostile and terrible environment. Faced with a choice between that and eternal life in the Undying Lands, at first glance the choice would seem easy. But then again, Chrissie would be in the future.
Did she really mean that much to him, he asked himself time and time again, yet not once could he pinpoint what exactly their relationship was. He was sure they were more than friends, yet they were not lovers. He didn't understand and her ignorance of it confused him.
To reach Rivendell at the time he'd agreed with Thranduil, he'd have to start back in three day's time, accepting the fact that he was making his trip back longer with every step he took.
***
When they settled down into camp, a deep gully he had chosen for shelter from the wind, Chrissie and Fred were still talking. They never looked up at him or even acknowledged he was there. He wondered if this was the answer to all his problems.
He'd just nodded off into oblivion when he heard the sharp snap of a twig. He was instantly up and moving towards it, silent as a cat. He saw the outline of a figure in the moonlight and preyed it wasn't any of Kelly's *friends*.
Yet the figure seemed nervous, twitching in the cold and rubbing his hands together. Any respectable assassin would have at least one weapon out, but this person had none. In one swift motion he grabbed the figure by the throat and knocked him to the ground.
He heard a scream behind him and was surprised to see Fred creeping on cat's paws behind him.
"Mark?" She whispered.
***
Realising Fred knew this person, he released his grip and stepped back. When Fred hugged him, he smiled at their reunion, but when Chrissie hugged him, he scowled and took another step back. He made some quiet excuse about checking the perimeter and took long strides out into the night. Into the dark where no one could see the pained expression on his face.
He kept saying to himself, if he didn't love her, why was he feeling this way when all she did was hug someone? Why was he being torn up when he thought of all the things they could be doing right now or could have done in the past? What if he was her boyfriend from back home and he himself was just something to tide her over?
Duin-Shiel stopped right there and scolded himself. Chrissie wasn't like that, he knew that for certain.
***
"Mark! It's really you, what are you doing here? Oh my God!"
Chrissie and Fred were kind of jumping around and clapping, but when they finally all calmed down, they ended up cuddled in their cloaks together. They had all grown up together and it was great to meet someone else from home.
Mark was shocked to hear of Kelly and their previous misadventures, but told them of his visions in the mirror of Galadriel. Fred was shaken by the images of the spider, but they were all shaken by the vision of the Fellowship. Mark knew they were holding something back about that.
"Of course, that second vision will never come to pass. I mean, no one bar us knows that where the Fellowship will be, so how could anyone possibly plan an attack on them?"
Chrissie and Fred looked at each other and frowned.
"Well that's not completely true. Kelly knew.and she kind of got persuaded to mention a few things about the Fellowship and their journey." Fred said slowly, trying not to upset Mark only hours after their reunion.
"What do you mean a few facts? How much did she tell whoever it was she told?" Mark asked, his voice rising a little.
"Uhh, pretty much everything from what we can gather."
Mark put his head in his hands. A month ago, he would have laughed at this kind of situation. Even two weeks ago, he would have said that this was only a fantasy world and didn't even exist. It had taken nearly a week of being in this place for him to accept it as real.
Now he cared about what happened to it, cared about the Elves back in Lothlorien, cared about their fate. Although it was unbelievable that Kelly would put Middle Earth at risk, he couldn't see any reason why Chrissie and Fred would lie to him.
***
They set off early the next morning, trying to make all haste towards Minas Tirith. Although Fred seemed to get edgier by the minute in anticipation of her confrontation with Faramir, Chrissie seemed happy enough with Duin- Shiel riding beside her. Mark was lost in a world of his own.
They rode over ridges and hill, valleys and streams for that day and the next, happy that nothing was trying to kill them for once. When they sighted the Golden Hall of Edoras, after a brief stare of awe they turned east. They stayed close to the mountains, hoping that no orcs would venture this near to the realm of goblins.
Duin-Shiel had said there was always something foul to be found in the mountains, yet would not say anything more. Every time they camped, it was at least a mile from the base.
***
On their second camp since seeing Edoras, Duin-Shiel sat out alone on watch. So far they had not bothered to set any kind of guard, trusting fate to be kind to them after all the troubles they'd been through so far. He could well have joined the others in sleep, but his stomach was full of butterflies and denied him any rest. Tomorrow he would have to turn back north to Rivendell and he still had not mentioned it to Chrissie.
He thought about it day and night, turning over the arguments in his mind, trying to see some kind of solution to his problem. Yet always the answer eluded him, however straight forward the problem was. He was Elven kind and she human. He could cross to the Undying Lands with his people in a few weeks time and spend the rest of all time wondering how she had fared, wondering whether she had made it home or not.
Or he could tempt fate, remain here in Middle Earth; with her. Yet he knew that her priority was still to go home and that he could not go with her, so whichever way he chose he would always end up alone.
Morning came without him noticing and Chrissie with it.
"Are you alright?" She asked timidly, not wanting to disturb him.
He took in a deep breath. "I'm just clearing my head before I leave." He stood up and turned to face her. "I have to return to Rivendell, return to Thranduil. Once I am reunited with my people, we are making our one last trip in this world together. To the Grey Havens."
Chrissie stood in shock, barely able to breathe let alone speak.
Duin-Shiel willed her to say anything, give him a reason to stay, but she breathed not a word.
Chrissie's mind whirred. She understood what he was saying and despite whatever he might have thought, she had been thinking on it too. If she kept him here, where she herself would be leaving soon anyway, he would be alone.
Drawing in a deep breath, she did the hardest thing she had ever had to do. She told him to go and be happy, wishing him good luck on his journey. She turned back to her horse and mounted. She even ignored the startled faces of Fred and Mark as she started riding east. Eventually she heard the sound of hooves following, but there were only two pairs.
***
Duin-Shiel stood in that clearing, tears clouding his eyes. Trying to force a smile from under his shock lined face, he readied his horse. If she wanted him to go to the Grey Havens, then that was where he would go.
However much it hurt.
"So Fred, when we get to Minas Tirith, how exactly are we going to talk to Faramir? I mean he's like a prince or something isn't he and he might not even be there."
Fred looked blank. "I'm sure we'll think of something. Perhaps you could provide a distraction whilst I look for him."
"Why do I have to provide the distraction?" Chrissie said, tapping her foot.
"Well I can't really see you using your massive amount of tact and subtly to try and persuade Faramir. You'd probably give him a good slap if he tried to refuse. Anyway I'm the English student, so I'll handle the persuading."
Chrissie frowned, but realised the truth in what Fred was saying. She never had been one for diplomacy.
***
They walked quietly that day, everyone anticipating their coming ordeal in Minas Tirith and savouring the silence as it lasted. Fred couldn't help but wonder that in every minute they rode south, they were heading a minute further away from Frodo and where they needed to be. Where they could help him and save him.
She understood they had to have help, but she still hadn't worked out exactly how they could gain help from Faramir without arousing his suspicions or changing the future. From what she'd read Faramir was a kind and gentle person but from Kelly's account, he was irrational, annoying and liked to stereotype.
The thing was, she didn't know how the situation had been left. On one hand, mentioning Kelly could give her validity, but if they'd parted on bad terms, she could be thrown instantly in jail.
Fred was so deep in thought, that she didn't realise Chrissie had been chattering away to her for the last half hour. Apparently Chrissie had been talking about camping that night, since there didn't seem to be any cover for miles around.
***
Duin-Shiel let his horse walk slightly ahead of the girls so they could have their conversations in privacy and anyway, he had a lot to think about.
When he'd told Chrissie he had a few weeks before he met Thranduil, technically he had exaggerated. The further south they went, the longer it would take to return to Rivendell. Thranduil had told Duin-Shiel there had been a council held and one moon after that council would mark the choosing of the Elves.
Thranduil had talked long with Duin-Shiel about the choosing and it was clear that Thranduil did not wish to remain in Middle Earth much longer and that he wished for Duin-Shiel to accompany him. At the time of their talking, Duin-Shiel had had nothing to hold him in Middle Earth.
But now.it was so complicated. Sometimes it seemed he and Chrissie were the only people in the world, yet sometimes she seemed almost to ignore him. It reminded him of Aragorn's situation with Arwen and he wondered where he and Chrissie would end up.
He knew she wanted nothing more than to return home to the future and although he'd thought about going with her, from what she'd told him of it, it seemed a hostile and terrible environment. Faced with a choice between that and eternal life in the Undying Lands, at first glance the choice would seem easy. But then again, Chrissie would be in the future.
Did she really mean that much to him, he asked himself time and time again, yet not once could he pinpoint what exactly their relationship was. He was sure they were more than friends, yet they were not lovers. He didn't understand and her ignorance of it confused him.
To reach Rivendell at the time he'd agreed with Thranduil, he'd have to start back in three day's time, accepting the fact that he was making his trip back longer with every step he took.
***
When they settled down into camp, a deep gully he had chosen for shelter from the wind, Chrissie and Fred were still talking. They never looked up at him or even acknowledged he was there. He wondered if this was the answer to all his problems.
He'd just nodded off into oblivion when he heard the sharp snap of a twig. He was instantly up and moving towards it, silent as a cat. He saw the outline of a figure in the moonlight and preyed it wasn't any of Kelly's *friends*.
Yet the figure seemed nervous, twitching in the cold and rubbing his hands together. Any respectable assassin would have at least one weapon out, but this person had none. In one swift motion he grabbed the figure by the throat and knocked him to the ground.
He heard a scream behind him and was surprised to see Fred creeping on cat's paws behind him.
"Mark?" She whispered.
***
Realising Fred knew this person, he released his grip and stepped back. When Fred hugged him, he smiled at their reunion, but when Chrissie hugged him, he scowled and took another step back. He made some quiet excuse about checking the perimeter and took long strides out into the night. Into the dark where no one could see the pained expression on his face.
He kept saying to himself, if he didn't love her, why was he feeling this way when all she did was hug someone? Why was he being torn up when he thought of all the things they could be doing right now or could have done in the past? What if he was her boyfriend from back home and he himself was just something to tide her over?
Duin-Shiel stopped right there and scolded himself. Chrissie wasn't like that, he knew that for certain.
***
"Mark! It's really you, what are you doing here? Oh my God!"
Chrissie and Fred were kind of jumping around and clapping, but when they finally all calmed down, they ended up cuddled in their cloaks together. They had all grown up together and it was great to meet someone else from home.
Mark was shocked to hear of Kelly and their previous misadventures, but told them of his visions in the mirror of Galadriel. Fred was shaken by the images of the spider, but they were all shaken by the vision of the Fellowship. Mark knew they were holding something back about that.
"Of course, that second vision will never come to pass. I mean, no one bar us knows that where the Fellowship will be, so how could anyone possibly plan an attack on them?"
Chrissie and Fred looked at each other and frowned.
"Well that's not completely true. Kelly knew.and she kind of got persuaded to mention a few things about the Fellowship and their journey." Fred said slowly, trying not to upset Mark only hours after their reunion.
"What do you mean a few facts? How much did she tell whoever it was she told?" Mark asked, his voice rising a little.
"Uhh, pretty much everything from what we can gather."
Mark put his head in his hands. A month ago, he would have laughed at this kind of situation. Even two weeks ago, he would have said that this was only a fantasy world and didn't even exist. It had taken nearly a week of being in this place for him to accept it as real.
Now he cared about what happened to it, cared about the Elves back in Lothlorien, cared about their fate. Although it was unbelievable that Kelly would put Middle Earth at risk, he couldn't see any reason why Chrissie and Fred would lie to him.
***
They set off early the next morning, trying to make all haste towards Minas Tirith. Although Fred seemed to get edgier by the minute in anticipation of her confrontation with Faramir, Chrissie seemed happy enough with Duin- Shiel riding beside her. Mark was lost in a world of his own.
They rode over ridges and hill, valleys and streams for that day and the next, happy that nothing was trying to kill them for once. When they sighted the Golden Hall of Edoras, after a brief stare of awe they turned east. They stayed close to the mountains, hoping that no orcs would venture this near to the realm of goblins.
Duin-Shiel had said there was always something foul to be found in the mountains, yet would not say anything more. Every time they camped, it was at least a mile from the base.
***
On their second camp since seeing Edoras, Duin-Shiel sat out alone on watch. So far they had not bothered to set any kind of guard, trusting fate to be kind to them after all the troubles they'd been through so far. He could well have joined the others in sleep, but his stomach was full of butterflies and denied him any rest. Tomorrow he would have to turn back north to Rivendell and he still had not mentioned it to Chrissie.
He thought about it day and night, turning over the arguments in his mind, trying to see some kind of solution to his problem. Yet always the answer eluded him, however straight forward the problem was. He was Elven kind and she human. He could cross to the Undying Lands with his people in a few weeks time and spend the rest of all time wondering how she had fared, wondering whether she had made it home or not.
Or he could tempt fate, remain here in Middle Earth; with her. Yet he knew that her priority was still to go home and that he could not go with her, so whichever way he chose he would always end up alone.
Morning came without him noticing and Chrissie with it.
"Are you alright?" She asked timidly, not wanting to disturb him.
He took in a deep breath. "I'm just clearing my head before I leave." He stood up and turned to face her. "I have to return to Rivendell, return to Thranduil. Once I am reunited with my people, we are making our one last trip in this world together. To the Grey Havens."
Chrissie stood in shock, barely able to breathe let alone speak.
Duin-Shiel willed her to say anything, give him a reason to stay, but she breathed not a word.
Chrissie's mind whirred. She understood what he was saying and despite whatever he might have thought, she had been thinking on it too. If she kept him here, where she herself would be leaving soon anyway, he would be alone.
Drawing in a deep breath, she did the hardest thing she had ever had to do. She told him to go and be happy, wishing him good luck on his journey. She turned back to her horse and mounted. She even ignored the startled faces of Fred and Mark as she started riding east. Eventually she heard the sound of hooves following, but there were only two pairs.
***
Duin-Shiel stood in that clearing, tears clouding his eyes. Trying to force a smile from under his shock lined face, he readied his horse. If she wanted him to go to the Grey Havens, then that was where he would go.
However much it hurt.