AN: To all my reviewers, a great big thanks! All of you are helping me keep
up the nerve to post this story.
HathorCol: I'm glad you like (or dislike, which might be a good thing in this case) the way I created my dancers. Trust me; these dancers are like this is real life. I'll also try to incorporate your suggestion. Thanks!
Lomiothiel: As always, thanks! Her parents' reactions will be brought into the story soon. Her mother's reaction will be very different from her father's, though.
Kat: I'll try to update as fast as I can. School gets in the way a bit sometimes.
PixiePea000: It's the truth, she does act like that! The truth will get out soon enough. By the way, GOLLUM!
Arwen4: Thanks for both the review and the complement! I'm glad you like my idea.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for a handful of made up characters. Tolkien thought up the concept and, as such, it belongs to him. I'm just playing in his world. I'm broke and in college. All I own are Pointe Shoes.
"I believe... The truth is rock....I believe visitors....the truth is out there!" (The X-Files: The Truth and the Light)
Class ended early, 9:10 PM instead of the usual 9:30 PM. Emma looked up at the clock hanging on the wall and sighed. She knew she had a very long wait ahead of her because the people at the studio would not allow her to use the phone to call her parents.
She changed slowly, exchanging her jazz shoes for normal sneakers and pulling a t-shirt and green fleece over her body suit. She, then, sat down and prepare to wait out the twenty, or so minutes, by herself.
"So, Emma, have you ever read Lord of the Rings?" Lee asked, coming over to where Emma sat and sitting down next to her.
Not hearing his approach on a wooden floor that usually creaked, Emma jumped a bit at the sound of his voice.
"Actually I have, once or twice. Before I forget, thanks for the costume part. I kind of knew Miss Michelle wouldn't have gotten them for me," Emma replied.
"It was my pleasure," Lee said, "If I may ask, what was your favorite part in the book?"
He hoped that, by exploiting the fact she had read and liked the books, he would be able to break the truth to her.
"Personally, I liked all the parts that involved the elves. Tolkien's elves are-I don't know- some of the best written fictional creatures I've ever read. That's why I'm happy with the part Spiro gave me," Emma replied, trying to sound happy but not, totally, accomplishing it.
Lee smiled inwardly. Her answer was the best one she could have ever given and, he felt, could be an important key in getting Emma to accept the truth.
"You do not sound truly happy, Emma. Why is that?" he asked her.
"Like I said earlier, they gave me this part out of spite. They don't like me here because I'm different-I don't look like them- and I don't bow down to Miss Michelle's every order. Behind my back they make fun of me and talk about me. They call me names, too, like "Lucky Charms" and "that elf looking thing." They gave me this part because they think it's funny to have me play an elf since they think I look so much like one," Emma explained in a hurried whisper.
Lee just shook his head sadly. No one deserved to be talked about and treated in such a manner.
He, then, noticed that Emma had taken her hair down from its complex system of twists and braids. It fell like a sliver-white waterfall down her back.
"There are two things I'm really looking forward to about playing this part," Emma stated, wrapping hair ties around her wrist.
"What are those two things?" Lee asked, curiously.
"Well, first I don't have to wear a wig like everyone else. I have to wear one for tap though and it's not fun. Second, I get to dance with my hair down. I never ever get to dance with my hair down," Emma said, with a smile.
"Emma, what do you know about mirrors?" Lee asked, suddenly.
Emma looked confused by the sudden and unexpected change of topics.
"They're used to show a reflection," she answered.
"That I know," Lee said, "do you know their history in magic?"
"A little. I know that for a long time they were associated with the occult and things like that but what does this have to do with anything," Emma replied.
"Stand up," Lee ordered, "and face the mirror."
He got up from the floor and expected the dancer to do the same.
After a moments thought, Emma pushed aside her dance bag and coat and followed suit.
"Um, Lee, what are we looking at?" she asked, seeing only their own reflections in the mirror.
"The truth, Emma, the truth. What I told you last time I saw you was the truth. I am an elf, just as you are. My father has instructed me to bring you back home to Middle Earth, where you belong," Legolas, no longer the false dancer Lee, told Emma.
Emma wanted to run, wanted to get away and call for help. Instead she stood, transfixed by the swirling colors that had appeared in the mirror before her.
"Mirrors can show us what we want to see, Emma," the elf continued, "they show us who we want to be. Sometimes, when we least expect it, they show us the truth---the truth of who and what we really are."
The swirling colors had gone. The mirror was still for the briefest of moments. Then two images appeared on its smooth face.
Gone were the images of a dancer dressed in a bright green fleece, black dance pants, and black sneaker and of a man dressed in a stuffy looking suit.
Instead, they had been replaced by two images. Before Emma stood a girl who looked exactly like her, a reflection of her features, but in a different manner of dress. She wore a long dress in a deep shade of green. On her head sat some type of band of braided silver. Glancing over, the reflection before Lee was that of her character from the ballet.
Realization swept over Emma like a wave over the beach. Yes she was looking at herself, everything from the way the eyes looked to the way the image held itself was her own, but it wasn't her as she was now. She had a feeling this was what she was suppose to look like.
The images faded fast, leaving Emma staring confused at her own reflection.
"How.how did you do that?" she asked, mostly still in shock.
"A trick someone I know showed me. Do you believe me now?" Legolas said, deliberately avoiding the first part of the question.
"I'm not sure," Emma said, sitting back down and pulling her coat into her lap, "what if you used a projector or something?"
Legolas sighed and silently mused, "Al least she did not run away this time."
After sitting in an uncomfortable silence for a handful of minutes, Emma asked, "If I am an elf, then why wait until now to come and find me?"
Legolas shrugged something he had seen the people in the studio do when they were not sure they knew a step or where to stand.
"I wish I could answer that, Emma, but I cannon. I can only tell you that you belong with us in Middle Earth," he answered.
All of her past, as well as a good chunk of her present, seemed to fall into a kind of sharp understanding. The type of understanding one faces when he or she is shown the truth and just has to reach out his or her hand to accept it.
"Are we related?" Emma asked, thinking about her initial shock when she had first seen him, "Some how I think we should be, seeing as how I'm an orphan and all. My parents were never able to find any information about my birth family."
Legolas looked at Emma very carefully. They shared many features, from hair and eye color to the slope of the ear.
"I do not think so," he, slowly, replied, "my mother passed when I was just a baby. You are only a child yourself."
Emma looked crestfallen. She was hoping that, somehow, she had found a link to her own birth family.
"I think I believe you but I have a family here. I don't want to leave them," Emma confided.
That fact, the fact this child had a family who cared for her and her for them, hadn't crossed Legolas's mind.
"I was only sent here to retrieve you. I do not know what to do about your family. Are you willing to come with me?" he asked again.
Emma shook her head and said, "I can't. I have responsibilities here. As awful as they treat me, I have a responsibility to the people here. I just can't walk out of their dances. I can't leave without telling my parents, anyway. They'd worry about me."
"I understand," Legolas admitted, "I will continue to check on you, though. We will go when you are ready."
Emma nodded and noticed the time on the clock. It read 9:31 PM---time for her to go.
"Before I leave, I have to know---Lee isn't your real name, right?" she asked, as she put her coat on.
Legolas laughed and replied, "Very observant, Emma. My proper name is Legolas and I hail from Mirkwood. I do believe that you already knew that though. My image in the mirror looked very much like that picture you brought to Spiro."
Emma nodded her previous knowing and said, "I'm Emma O'Connolly. I guess I'll be seeing you."
With a wave, she ran out to her father's waiting car. Inside she felt as if a weight had been lifted. She knew who and what she was now. All she had to do was break that news to her parents.
HathorCol: I'm glad you like (or dislike, which might be a good thing in this case) the way I created my dancers. Trust me; these dancers are like this is real life. I'll also try to incorporate your suggestion. Thanks!
Lomiothiel: As always, thanks! Her parents' reactions will be brought into the story soon. Her mother's reaction will be very different from her father's, though.
Kat: I'll try to update as fast as I can. School gets in the way a bit sometimes.
PixiePea000: It's the truth, she does act like that! The truth will get out soon enough. By the way, GOLLUM!
Arwen4: Thanks for both the review and the complement! I'm glad you like my idea.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for a handful of made up characters. Tolkien thought up the concept and, as such, it belongs to him. I'm just playing in his world. I'm broke and in college. All I own are Pointe Shoes.
"I believe... The truth is rock....I believe visitors....the truth is out there!" (The X-Files: The Truth and the Light)
Class ended early, 9:10 PM instead of the usual 9:30 PM. Emma looked up at the clock hanging on the wall and sighed. She knew she had a very long wait ahead of her because the people at the studio would not allow her to use the phone to call her parents.
She changed slowly, exchanging her jazz shoes for normal sneakers and pulling a t-shirt and green fleece over her body suit. She, then, sat down and prepare to wait out the twenty, or so minutes, by herself.
"So, Emma, have you ever read Lord of the Rings?" Lee asked, coming over to where Emma sat and sitting down next to her.
Not hearing his approach on a wooden floor that usually creaked, Emma jumped a bit at the sound of his voice.
"Actually I have, once or twice. Before I forget, thanks for the costume part. I kind of knew Miss Michelle wouldn't have gotten them for me," Emma replied.
"It was my pleasure," Lee said, "If I may ask, what was your favorite part in the book?"
He hoped that, by exploiting the fact she had read and liked the books, he would be able to break the truth to her.
"Personally, I liked all the parts that involved the elves. Tolkien's elves are-I don't know- some of the best written fictional creatures I've ever read. That's why I'm happy with the part Spiro gave me," Emma replied, trying to sound happy but not, totally, accomplishing it.
Lee smiled inwardly. Her answer was the best one she could have ever given and, he felt, could be an important key in getting Emma to accept the truth.
"You do not sound truly happy, Emma. Why is that?" he asked her.
"Like I said earlier, they gave me this part out of spite. They don't like me here because I'm different-I don't look like them- and I don't bow down to Miss Michelle's every order. Behind my back they make fun of me and talk about me. They call me names, too, like "Lucky Charms" and "that elf looking thing." They gave me this part because they think it's funny to have me play an elf since they think I look so much like one," Emma explained in a hurried whisper.
Lee just shook his head sadly. No one deserved to be talked about and treated in such a manner.
He, then, noticed that Emma had taken her hair down from its complex system of twists and braids. It fell like a sliver-white waterfall down her back.
"There are two things I'm really looking forward to about playing this part," Emma stated, wrapping hair ties around her wrist.
"What are those two things?" Lee asked, curiously.
"Well, first I don't have to wear a wig like everyone else. I have to wear one for tap though and it's not fun. Second, I get to dance with my hair down. I never ever get to dance with my hair down," Emma said, with a smile.
"Emma, what do you know about mirrors?" Lee asked, suddenly.
Emma looked confused by the sudden and unexpected change of topics.
"They're used to show a reflection," she answered.
"That I know," Lee said, "do you know their history in magic?"
"A little. I know that for a long time they were associated with the occult and things like that but what does this have to do with anything," Emma replied.
"Stand up," Lee ordered, "and face the mirror."
He got up from the floor and expected the dancer to do the same.
After a moments thought, Emma pushed aside her dance bag and coat and followed suit.
"Um, Lee, what are we looking at?" she asked, seeing only their own reflections in the mirror.
"The truth, Emma, the truth. What I told you last time I saw you was the truth. I am an elf, just as you are. My father has instructed me to bring you back home to Middle Earth, where you belong," Legolas, no longer the false dancer Lee, told Emma.
Emma wanted to run, wanted to get away and call for help. Instead she stood, transfixed by the swirling colors that had appeared in the mirror before her.
"Mirrors can show us what we want to see, Emma," the elf continued, "they show us who we want to be. Sometimes, when we least expect it, they show us the truth---the truth of who and what we really are."
The swirling colors had gone. The mirror was still for the briefest of moments. Then two images appeared on its smooth face.
Gone were the images of a dancer dressed in a bright green fleece, black dance pants, and black sneaker and of a man dressed in a stuffy looking suit.
Instead, they had been replaced by two images. Before Emma stood a girl who looked exactly like her, a reflection of her features, but in a different manner of dress. She wore a long dress in a deep shade of green. On her head sat some type of band of braided silver. Glancing over, the reflection before Lee was that of her character from the ballet.
Realization swept over Emma like a wave over the beach. Yes she was looking at herself, everything from the way the eyes looked to the way the image held itself was her own, but it wasn't her as she was now. She had a feeling this was what she was suppose to look like.
The images faded fast, leaving Emma staring confused at her own reflection.
"How.how did you do that?" she asked, mostly still in shock.
"A trick someone I know showed me. Do you believe me now?" Legolas said, deliberately avoiding the first part of the question.
"I'm not sure," Emma said, sitting back down and pulling her coat into her lap, "what if you used a projector or something?"
Legolas sighed and silently mused, "Al least she did not run away this time."
After sitting in an uncomfortable silence for a handful of minutes, Emma asked, "If I am an elf, then why wait until now to come and find me?"
Legolas shrugged something he had seen the people in the studio do when they were not sure they knew a step or where to stand.
"I wish I could answer that, Emma, but I cannon. I can only tell you that you belong with us in Middle Earth," he answered.
All of her past, as well as a good chunk of her present, seemed to fall into a kind of sharp understanding. The type of understanding one faces when he or she is shown the truth and just has to reach out his or her hand to accept it.
"Are we related?" Emma asked, thinking about her initial shock when she had first seen him, "Some how I think we should be, seeing as how I'm an orphan and all. My parents were never able to find any information about my birth family."
Legolas looked at Emma very carefully. They shared many features, from hair and eye color to the slope of the ear.
"I do not think so," he, slowly, replied, "my mother passed when I was just a baby. You are only a child yourself."
Emma looked crestfallen. She was hoping that, somehow, she had found a link to her own birth family.
"I think I believe you but I have a family here. I don't want to leave them," Emma confided.
That fact, the fact this child had a family who cared for her and her for them, hadn't crossed Legolas's mind.
"I was only sent here to retrieve you. I do not know what to do about your family. Are you willing to come with me?" he asked again.
Emma shook her head and said, "I can't. I have responsibilities here. As awful as they treat me, I have a responsibility to the people here. I just can't walk out of their dances. I can't leave without telling my parents, anyway. They'd worry about me."
"I understand," Legolas admitted, "I will continue to check on you, though. We will go when you are ready."
Emma nodded and noticed the time on the clock. It read 9:31 PM---time for her to go.
"Before I leave, I have to know---Lee isn't your real name, right?" she asked, as she put her coat on.
Legolas laughed and replied, "Very observant, Emma. My proper name is Legolas and I hail from Mirkwood. I do believe that you already knew that though. My image in the mirror looked very much like that picture you brought to Spiro."
Emma nodded her previous knowing and said, "I'm Emma O'Connolly. I guess I'll be seeing you."
With a wave, she ran out to her father's waiting car. Inside she felt as if a weight had been lifted. She knew who and what she was now. All she had to do was break that news to her parents.