Chapter Three:
Amin Caela N'noa
(I Have No Idea)
Elrond paced around his study with his daughter and two sons sitting and looking anxiously at him. Aragorn stood in the doorway, not wanting to burst in on matters that didn't really involve him.
"Ada (Daddy), are you mad at me?" Arwen asked quietly.
The Lord of Rivendell sighed. Before he answered her, though, he motioned to Aragorn. "Come in. Whether you would think of it or not, this DOES involve you."
Aragorn nodded and came in softly, standing behind Arwen's chair.
"No, Undómiel (Evenstar), how could I be cross with you? " Tis not your fault; it had to be done.to rescue Frodo, the ring bearer, I mean," Elrond added hastily.
Elrond sighed and sat down into his chair with a soft whoosh! He buried his face into his arms, His family was in grave danger, and there was nothing he could think of to do about it.
A long silence occurred. Elladan and Elrohoir looked at each other, trying to think of something, anything, to solve their problem.
"So." Aragorn trailed off. "What are we going to so?"
"Amin caela n'noa (I have no idea)," came Elrond's muffled reply.
"I know."
Elrond's head shot up from his desk with a look of surprise on his face.
*How did Mithrandir know about.*
Gandalf interrupted Elrond's train of thought. "Worrying has cast a shadow over your mind. You are the Lord of Rivendell, have you forgotten? All of Imladris can feel your worrying in the air. Did you think that I would not?"
Elrond attempted a weak smile. "Alas, I have forgotten. But I have not forgotten something else: your ability to read minds. I wondered for a second there about how you responded to exactly what I was thinking."
Gandalf opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Elladan. "You said you knew how to solve this.predicament we are in at this time."
*This is not the time to exchange formal greetings* Elladan thought.
"Ah, yes." Gandalf smoothed a hand over his graying beard. "There is one book that has the answer to your problems."
"Mani? (What?)" Elrohoir asked, confused.
"A book," repeated Gandalf. "A magical one that will solve all of your problems. Now, son of Elrond, if you have spent all of this time with your ears closed, then open them now!"
Arwen exchanged a glance with Aragorn. She rolled her eyes. Sometimes Elrohoir could be so stupid!
*Hodoer (Wise one)* Arwen thought sarcastically and returned her attention to what Mithrandir was saying.
"-in the Last Homely House-"
"Oh, great. We're supposed to find a tiny book in all of Rivendell. That should only take us about a month or so," Aragorn interjected, acknowledging Rivendell's immense size.
"Well, I suppose you've also forgotten all those tracking and searching skills that you learned when you were training to be a Ranger," Gandalf said with a hint of a smile tugging at his cheeks.
Aragorn sighed and shook his head, knowing that Gandalf had beaten him in an argument.
"Aragorn has a point, though," Arwen said, coming to her lover's defense. She looked at Gandalf almost pleadingly. "Don't you know what room, or at least what section of Imladris this 'book' is in?"
"Arwen, I'm glad you brought that up. Yes, I do know. But alas, my information about its whereabouts is still limited. I know that it will appear somewhere in the library-"
"Wait. What do you mean by 'appear'?" Elrond asked, now becoming the one to interrupt Gandalf's talking.
"Melloneamin (My friends), when have you all become so impatient and hard-headed?" Gandalf asked, clearly coming to the end of his patience.
He looked at the guilty faces of Elrond, Arwen, Aragorn, Elladan, and Elrohoir and sighed. "Uuma dela (Don't worry), no harm done."
Gandalf turned to Elrond. "As to your question, I was about to explain that before you interrupted."
"This special book will appear in the library," Gandalf said, pausing a little just in case someone ELSE wanted to interrupt. To his relief, no one did. "What I mean by that is that it's not just 'there' in the library, and being hidden for many years; it needs a spell to be found."
"What-"Arwen said, but stopped in mid-sentence. "Sorry, go on."
"That spell, Lady Arwen," Gandalf replied, reading her mind," is a song."
"A song?" Aragorn repeated. "What kind of song?"
"An old Istari's span of knowledge can only go so far, Estel," Gandalf said, using Aragorn's Elvish name (estel means hope). "I do not know," Gandalf restated in plainer riddles than his usual riddling.
All eyes turned to Elrond now, naturally.
"The songs must be in Elvish," Elrond said rather than asked.
Gandalf nodded. "The songs must be in Elvish, whether Sindarin or Quenya."
"Well, I guess we've got some house-cleaning to do," Elrohoir said with false enthusiasm.
Everyone laughed a little, knowing all too well about how Elrohoir hated to clean and search.
Elrond paced around his study with his daughter and two sons sitting and looking anxiously at him. Aragorn stood in the doorway, not wanting to burst in on matters that didn't really involve him.
"Ada (Daddy), are you mad at me?" Arwen asked quietly.
The Lord of Rivendell sighed. Before he answered her, though, he motioned to Aragorn. "Come in. Whether you would think of it or not, this DOES involve you."
Aragorn nodded and came in softly, standing behind Arwen's chair.
"No, Undómiel (Evenstar), how could I be cross with you? " Tis not your fault; it had to be done.to rescue Frodo, the ring bearer, I mean," Elrond added hastily.
Elrond sighed and sat down into his chair with a soft whoosh! He buried his face into his arms, His family was in grave danger, and there was nothing he could think of to do about it.
A long silence occurred. Elladan and Elrohoir looked at each other, trying to think of something, anything, to solve their problem.
"So." Aragorn trailed off. "What are we going to so?"
"Amin caela n'noa (I have no idea)," came Elrond's muffled reply.
"I know."
Elrond's head shot up from his desk with a look of surprise on his face.
*How did Mithrandir know about.*
Gandalf interrupted Elrond's train of thought. "Worrying has cast a shadow over your mind. You are the Lord of Rivendell, have you forgotten? All of Imladris can feel your worrying in the air. Did you think that I would not?"
Elrond attempted a weak smile. "Alas, I have forgotten. But I have not forgotten something else: your ability to read minds. I wondered for a second there about how you responded to exactly what I was thinking."
Gandalf opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Elladan. "You said you knew how to solve this.predicament we are in at this time."
*This is not the time to exchange formal greetings* Elladan thought.
"Ah, yes." Gandalf smoothed a hand over his graying beard. "There is one book that has the answer to your problems."
"Mani? (What?)" Elrohoir asked, confused.
"A book," repeated Gandalf. "A magical one that will solve all of your problems. Now, son of Elrond, if you have spent all of this time with your ears closed, then open them now!"
Arwen exchanged a glance with Aragorn. She rolled her eyes. Sometimes Elrohoir could be so stupid!
*Hodoer (Wise one)* Arwen thought sarcastically and returned her attention to what Mithrandir was saying.
"-in the Last Homely House-"
"Oh, great. We're supposed to find a tiny book in all of Rivendell. That should only take us about a month or so," Aragorn interjected, acknowledging Rivendell's immense size.
"Well, I suppose you've also forgotten all those tracking and searching skills that you learned when you were training to be a Ranger," Gandalf said with a hint of a smile tugging at his cheeks.
Aragorn sighed and shook his head, knowing that Gandalf had beaten him in an argument.
"Aragorn has a point, though," Arwen said, coming to her lover's defense. She looked at Gandalf almost pleadingly. "Don't you know what room, or at least what section of Imladris this 'book' is in?"
"Arwen, I'm glad you brought that up. Yes, I do know. But alas, my information about its whereabouts is still limited. I know that it will appear somewhere in the library-"
"Wait. What do you mean by 'appear'?" Elrond asked, now becoming the one to interrupt Gandalf's talking.
"Melloneamin (My friends), when have you all become so impatient and hard-headed?" Gandalf asked, clearly coming to the end of his patience.
He looked at the guilty faces of Elrond, Arwen, Aragorn, Elladan, and Elrohoir and sighed. "Uuma dela (Don't worry), no harm done."
Gandalf turned to Elrond. "As to your question, I was about to explain that before you interrupted."
"This special book will appear in the library," Gandalf said, pausing a little just in case someone ELSE wanted to interrupt. To his relief, no one did. "What I mean by that is that it's not just 'there' in the library, and being hidden for many years; it needs a spell to be found."
"What-"Arwen said, but stopped in mid-sentence. "Sorry, go on."
"That spell, Lady Arwen," Gandalf replied, reading her mind," is a song."
"A song?" Aragorn repeated. "What kind of song?"
"An old Istari's span of knowledge can only go so far, Estel," Gandalf said, using Aragorn's Elvish name (estel means hope). "I do not know," Gandalf restated in plainer riddles than his usual riddling.
All eyes turned to Elrond now, naturally.
"The songs must be in Elvish," Elrond said rather than asked.
Gandalf nodded. "The songs must be in Elvish, whether Sindarin or Quenya."
"Well, I guess we've got some house-cleaning to do," Elrohoir said with false enthusiasm.
Everyone laughed a little, knowing all too well about how Elrohoir hated to clean and search.