I'm sorry this is late; I got sick and couldn't finish the chapter. Thank
you to all the reviewers! You are loved! *Gives out elf-pirate plushies*
~Phe-chan~
Chapter 37: Shade of the Morning Sun
A well stood in the middle of a clearing. Tall trees and brush thick enough to block any entrance or exit surrounded the clearing on all sides. Andrea stood, surprised to find herself in such peaceful surroundings. The whole world was silent and still. There was something cool and heavy in her hand. Andrea brought it up to see what it was. The object was a small golden coin, though she couldn't tell what sort of coin it was. The well seemed familiar, though. Its old, crumbling walls beckoned with an unspoken promise of comfort. Slowly, her feet moved, as if of their own will, treading softly on the soft grass and moss.
Looking over the well's stone side, she saw her face reflected back at her: tangled red hair, a face smudged with dirt, and bent glasses.
'What is your desire? What is it you want most?' The familiar voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. Andrea turned to try and find its source. There was only the clearing. 'Make a wish,' the voice sang out. Andrea's attention was drawn back to the coin in her hand. Leaning over the well again, she stared at her reflection. Her hand moved out, then, and the coin slipped from her fingers.
"Let it be right," Andrea whispered as the coin hit the water with a soft plunk. The water rippled out, lapping at the sides of the well. Just as she straightened to leave, Andrea noticed a change in the water's reflection.
The liquid shimmered and began to flash images. Andrea leaned closer to see.
A copper haired child struggled to open a door in a dusty attic. A golden haired elf gazed at the stars with a sad look upon his fair face. Another girl, tall and with hair that fell in waves, watched her red haired friend cry tears onto the pages of a large brown book. A group of friends huddled around a table, laughing as they stacked their menus into a shaking tower. An auburn haired girl in a golden gown slapped the face of a shocked elf. A small figure in elven armor fell from the back of a horse. Two almost identical elves talked near a fire. On a dark battlefield soldiers fought and fell. A pale elven figure lay upon a bed, unmoving.
The last image seemed to linger, and Andrea leaned closer. The image was of two figures, though it was impossible to tell their identities. One seemed to be crowned with a golden glow, and stood watching as the other danced about, a joyful wisp of ruby and snow colored wind. Andrea leaned closer, intent on seeing the faces of the happy pair. She never noticed that she had leaned far enough for her feet to leave the ground.
The side of the old well gave way, then, pitching her forward into the dark water. And as she fell she screamed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Andrea woke with a start. She blinked blindly at the reddish brown blur in front of her. She moved to reach her glasses and felt a warm weight lift from her shoulder.
"Here," said the blur's gruff voice, and Andrea felt her glasses pressed into her palm. When she had set them on her nose, thanking God and her mom's insistence on buying stronger lenses that they were not broken, she turned back to the blob, which turned out to be a short man with a fuzzy face. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking at her with concern. Andrea shook her head, looking around and bringing her hand to hold the pouch around her neck, only to remember that it had been lost.
"Where...where am I?" she asked, sleep still clouding her memories.
"Helm's Deep," the dwarf answered. Andrea cocked her head, her eyes on the sparkling walls of the cavern.
There are times in life when things become so impossibly hopeless that the human mind cannot focus long on reality. For Andrea, who had no way to know if she would ever see her friends, family, or home again and had no way to tell if said friends were safe, it was now one of those times. And the only thought her brain could process at the moment was that the last time she had been in a cavern, she spilt dirty paint water on the dwarf whose son now kept her company. This thought was far funnier than it should have been. As she fell to the ground in laughter, Andrea wondered if she had now officially gone insane. But then that thought coming from her made her laugh harder. After all, her clearest childhood memories were of being 'fairy spelled' in Mirkwood, and then being asked to read "The Hobbit" by her new friend - who wasn't exactly normal herself.
Gimli watched the whole spectacle in complete shock and utter confusion. "What do you find funny?" he asked in a huff.
"It's just...." Andrea gasped, still shaking with laughter. "It's just that last time I was in a cave," she paused, fighting to draw oxygen into her trembling lungs, "I spilt paint water on a dwarf. That, and I think I've now lost my last shred of sanity."
The dwarf gave her a look that let her know he agreed with her last statement. "Do you wish me to find you any help, child?"
"My name is Andrea," she informed him, whiping at the tears that had squeezed out during her laughter. She started when she felt something hard scratch her cheek. Nothing else could have shocked her back into her senses more effectively than the sight of the ring. It sat innocently on her finger, the delicate gold and diamonds throwing off the light of the torches.
Gimli was staring at her with his mouth hanging open. Andrea? Hadn't that been the name of the girl Legolas had told him about? It couldn't be, no human would look that young for that long, and yet...she matched the description perfectly: she had straight hair the color of bright copper and fire, and eyes that seemed to be the brown and green color of a forest. And she had also said something about paint water...
"Are you Squee?" The dwarf's question caught Andrea by surprise.
"To some," she answered quietly, rubbing her ring with one finger as if to draw comfort from the small band.
"How?"
"That, friend Gimli, is a long story that involves Pepsi, lawnmowers, chainsaws, time travel and ringing mirrors."
"Er...I do not understand," Gimli said, before realizing something else. "And how did you know my name? How are you here?"
"I know a lot about you, and your quest." Then her voice lightened again. "Forty-two," she told her companion without explanation. Gimli looked surprised and opened his mouth to say something in response, but Andrea continued. "And I didn't mean to come here. I'm not sure how I came to be here." The girl looked so sad in that moment that Gimli would rather her be laughing again, or even making the noise his elven friend had described.
"Well, however it is you came to be here, Legolas will be glad of it." He waited as he spoke for a happy reaction. He didn't get it.
Andrea stopped breathing at the mention of that name, and her gaze shot to the band of gold about her finger. "No," she breathed, "he's not the right one."
"Wha-"
"If he knows I'm here now, he won't ever find me in the future. It's just like why Thranduil couldn't come with us after the battle. Cause if Legolas knew I was here, I wouldn't ever be here, and then we would all blow up, which is not a good thing. That's what Sarah said, and she should know about stuff like that, I think. Gimli, you CAN'T tell him I'm here!" The said dwarf blinked, not understanding a word of the little human's babble. "Please...please don't tell him. Promise you won't!"
"I'm not sure I understand why," he began, "but I will give my word to keep your presence a secret for as long as you wish it to be so," he finished solemnly.
"Arigato, friend Gimli. You have my gratitude."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hours passed. Gimli and Andrea had no further conversation, for the dwarf had gone to speak with some of the men and left the girl to amuse herself in whatever way she could. With her mind full of spinning half- thoughts, Andrea found she could no longer sleep, though her limbs felt like lead and jelly. Instead, she spent the time singing to herself and scratching images in the dust.
"I keep recalling, how life used to be. Now and then I wonder. Have we changed? With your hand in mine, oh, the moments shine! Like the pictures in a storybook, we will turn the pages. Sharing pieces of the memory. I care for you now, as I did then, at our beginning..."
Suddenly, there came a great noise. A trumpeting boom echoed again and again, shaking the very earth and the stone walls of the caverns. Shouts went out from the men, and many rushed past Andrea, who sat still, trying to decide what to do. Finally, with a shrug, she hurried after them into the morning's chaos.
"...Great chocolate cows..." she breathed, taking in the scene before her. And then she noticed a movement upon the ridge.
"Behold the White Rider!" cried a voice Andrea had never heard, though she knew who it belonged to. And then came a voice she DID know.
"Mithrandir, Mithrandir! This is wizardry indeed!"
Andrea ducked down, hiding herself as the foul army of orcs and evil men ran about in panic. And she waited.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The battle ended quickly after Gandalf's arrival. From her hiding place, Andrea watched. She wondered if she should do something, and if so, what that something was. By mid afternoon, her eyes had grown heavy, and she let her head rest against the rock.
Something beside her fell onto the ground with a click. Turning her head, Andrea saw her cell phone.
"How on earth?" She picked it up, staring at it in disbelief. "I must have put it in my pocket...that's weird." She pushed the small button on the top and the phone turned on with a beep. And it had a signal. "That...is the most impossible thing I ever..." Pausing, Andrea looked around at the place she had found herself in. "Never mind." She began scrolling through the names and numbers saved in the phone's memory. She reached one that read: MrJoseph. With a smile, Andrea pushed the call button.
There was one ring, then another. When Andrea had lost count of the rings and was beginning to believe that trying the call had been pointless, a soft feminine voice answered.
"I am come." Andrea blinked in surprise at the voice she had NOT expected.
"You aren't Mr. Joseph."
"...No, I am afraid I am not."
"I'm confused now. And I think I lost my sanity somewhere... Can I go home now?" Andrea asked, her tone pleading.
"Where are you, young Andrea?"
~Phe-chan~
Chapter 37: Shade of the Morning Sun
A well stood in the middle of a clearing. Tall trees and brush thick enough to block any entrance or exit surrounded the clearing on all sides. Andrea stood, surprised to find herself in such peaceful surroundings. The whole world was silent and still. There was something cool and heavy in her hand. Andrea brought it up to see what it was. The object was a small golden coin, though she couldn't tell what sort of coin it was. The well seemed familiar, though. Its old, crumbling walls beckoned with an unspoken promise of comfort. Slowly, her feet moved, as if of their own will, treading softly on the soft grass and moss.
Looking over the well's stone side, she saw her face reflected back at her: tangled red hair, a face smudged with dirt, and bent glasses.
'What is your desire? What is it you want most?' The familiar voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. Andrea turned to try and find its source. There was only the clearing. 'Make a wish,' the voice sang out. Andrea's attention was drawn back to the coin in her hand. Leaning over the well again, she stared at her reflection. Her hand moved out, then, and the coin slipped from her fingers.
"Let it be right," Andrea whispered as the coin hit the water with a soft plunk. The water rippled out, lapping at the sides of the well. Just as she straightened to leave, Andrea noticed a change in the water's reflection.
The liquid shimmered and began to flash images. Andrea leaned closer to see.
A copper haired child struggled to open a door in a dusty attic. A golden haired elf gazed at the stars with a sad look upon his fair face. Another girl, tall and with hair that fell in waves, watched her red haired friend cry tears onto the pages of a large brown book. A group of friends huddled around a table, laughing as they stacked their menus into a shaking tower. An auburn haired girl in a golden gown slapped the face of a shocked elf. A small figure in elven armor fell from the back of a horse. Two almost identical elves talked near a fire. On a dark battlefield soldiers fought and fell. A pale elven figure lay upon a bed, unmoving.
The last image seemed to linger, and Andrea leaned closer. The image was of two figures, though it was impossible to tell their identities. One seemed to be crowned with a golden glow, and stood watching as the other danced about, a joyful wisp of ruby and snow colored wind. Andrea leaned closer, intent on seeing the faces of the happy pair. She never noticed that she had leaned far enough for her feet to leave the ground.
The side of the old well gave way, then, pitching her forward into the dark water. And as she fell she screamed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Andrea woke with a start. She blinked blindly at the reddish brown blur in front of her. She moved to reach her glasses and felt a warm weight lift from her shoulder.
"Here," said the blur's gruff voice, and Andrea felt her glasses pressed into her palm. When she had set them on her nose, thanking God and her mom's insistence on buying stronger lenses that they were not broken, she turned back to the blob, which turned out to be a short man with a fuzzy face. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking at her with concern. Andrea shook her head, looking around and bringing her hand to hold the pouch around her neck, only to remember that it had been lost.
"Where...where am I?" she asked, sleep still clouding her memories.
"Helm's Deep," the dwarf answered. Andrea cocked her head, her eyes on the sparkling walls of the cavern.
There are times in life when things become so impossibly hopeless that the human mind cannot focus long on reality. For Andrea, who had no way to know if she would ever see her friends, family, or home again and had no way to tell if said friends were safe, it was now one of those times. And the only thought her brain could process at the moment was that the last time she had been in a cavern, she spilt dirty paint water on the dwarf whose son now kept her company. This thought was far funnier than it should have been. As she fell to the ground in laughter, Andrea wondered if she had now officially gone insane. But then that thought coming from her made her laugh harder. After all, her clearest childhood memories were of being 'fairy spelled' in Mirkwood, and then being asked to read "The Hobbit" by her new friend - who wasn't exactly normal herself.
Gimli watched the whole spectacle in complete shock and utter confusion. "What do you find funny?" he asked in a huff.
"It's just...." Andrea gasped, still shaking with laughter. "It's just that last time I was in a cave," she paused, fighting to draw oxygen into her trembling lungs, "I spilt paint water on a dwarf. That, and I think I've now lost my last shred of sanity."
The dwarf gave her a look that let her know he agreed with her last statement. "Do you wish me to find you any help, child?"
"My name is Andrea," she informed him, whiping at the tears that had squeezed out during her laughter. She started when she felt something hard scratch her cheek. Nothing else could have shocked her back into her senses more effectively than the sight of the ring. It sat innocently on her finger, the delicate gold and diamonds throwing off the light of the torches.
Gimli was staring at her with his mouth hanging open. Andrea? Hadn't that been the name of the girl Legolas had told him about? It couldn't be, no human would look that young for that long, and yet...she matched the description perfectly: she had straight hair the color of bright copper and fire, and eyes that seemed to be the brown and green color of a forest. And she had also said something about paint water...
"Are you Squee?" The dwarf's question caught Andrea by surprise.
"To some," she answered quietly, rubbing her ring with one finger as if to draw comfort from the small band.
"How?"
"That, friend Gimli, is a long story that involves Pepsi, lawnmowers, chainsaws, time travel and ringing mirrors."
"Er...I do not understand," Gimli said, before realizing something else. "And how did you know my name? How are you here?"
"I know a lot about you, and your quest." Then her voice lightened again. "Forty-two," she told her companion without explanation. Gimli looked surprised and opened his mouth to say something in response, but Andrea continued. "And I didn't mean to come here. I'm not sure how I came to be here." The girl looked so sad in that moment that Gimli would rather her be laughing again, or even making the noise his elven friend had described.
"Well, however it is you came to be here, Legolas will be glad of it." He waited as he spoke for a happy reaction. He didn't get it.
Andrea stopped breathing at the mention of that name, and her gaze shot to the band of gold about her finger. "No," she breathed, "he's not the right one."
"Wha-"
"If he knows I'm here now, he won't ever find me in the future. It's just like why Thranduil couldn't come with us after the battle. Cause if Legolas knew I was here, I wouldn't ever be here, and then we would all blow up, which is not a good thing. That's what Sarah said, and she should know about stuff like that, I think. Gimli, you CAN'T tell him I'm here!" The said dwarf blinked, not understanding a word of the little human's babble. "Please...please don't tell him. Promise you won't!"
"I'm not sure I understand why," he began, "but I will give my word to keep your presence a secret for as long as you wish it to be so," he finished solemnly.
"Arigato, friend Gimli. You have my gratitude."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hours passed. Gimli and Andrea had no further conversation, for the dwarf had gone to speak with some of the men and left the girl to amuse herself in whatever way she could. With her mind full of spinning half- thoughts, Andrea found she could no longer sleep, though her limbs felt like lead and jelly. Instead, she spent the time singing to herself and scratching images in the dust.
"I keep recalling, how life used to be. Now and then I wonder. Have we changed? With your hand in mine, oh, the moments shine! Like the pictures in a storybook, we will turn the pages. Sharing pieces of the memory. I care for you now, as I did then, at our beginning..."
Suddenly, there came a great noise. A trumpeting boom echoed again and again, shaking the very earth and the stone walls of the caverns. Shouts went out from the men, and many rushed past Andrea, who sat still, trying to decide what to do. Finally, with a shrug, she hurried after them into the morning's chaos.
"...Great chocolate cows..." she breathed, taking in the scene before her. And then she noticed a movement upon the ridge.
"Behold the White Rider!" cried a voice Andrea had never heard, though she knew who it belonged to. And then came a voice she DID know.
"Mithrandir, Mithrandir! This is wizardry indeed!"
Andrea ducked down, hiding herself as the foul army of orcs and evil men ran about in panic. And she waited.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The battle ended quickly after Gandalf's arrival. From her hiding place, Andrea watched. She wondered if she should do something, and if so, what that something was. By mid afternoon, her eyes had grown heavy, and she let her head rest against the rock.
Something beside her fell onto the ground with a click. Turning her head, Andrea saw her cell phone.
"How on earth?" She picked it up, staring at it in disbelief. "I must have put it in my pocket...that's weird." She pushed the small button on the top and the phone turned on with a beep. And it had a signal. "That...is the most impossible thing I ever..." Pausing, Andrea looked around at the place she had found herself in. "Never mind." She began scrolling through the names and numbers saved in the phone's memory. She reached one that read: MrJoseph. With a smile, Andrea pushed the call button.
There was one ring, then another. When Andrea had lost count of the rings and was beginning to believe that trying the call had been pointless, a soft feminine voice answered.
"I am come." Andrea blinked in surprise at the voice she had NOT expected.
"You aren't Mr. Joseph."
"...No, I am afraid I am not."
"I'm confused now. And I think I lost my sanity somewhere... Can I go home now?" Andrea asked, her tone pleading.
"Where are you, young Andrea?"