Caradhras was more difficult to cross over than I had ever imagined. I had gone hiking before, even climbed mountains, but I had never trudged through waist deep snow covering sharp, rocky terrain on a steady incline of a mile-high mountain with a mind of its own. Not to mention I was sleep deprived thanks to Samara and had creepy images sticking in my subconscious mind no matter how hard I tried to focus on something else. It made for difficult climbing, to say the least. The Elves could walk on top of the snow, but the horses were more difficult to manage. We had to carry some of their load ourselves to keep them from getting stuck in the drifts from the weight of it. It was freezing cold the whole time, of course. Justin wasn't as bothered by it as I was – he loves that kind of extreme hiking stuff. I usually do too, but this was a little different. I wasn't entirely convinced that we would make it. We had no safety equipment or anything – the drop was too long to even think about if we fell. I knew that the Elves took this treacherous path all the time and thought little of it, if anything. But I was still incredibly nervous the whole time.
Then finally, one day Legolas ran on ahead of us to the edge of the ledge we were on. He crouched close to the ground ahead of us, then turned back with a bright smile and motioned for us to come closer. He stood up again when I reached his side and directed my gaze across the vast expanse of land below us toward a tiny, jewel-like oasis tucked in the valley, almost hidden entirely from view.
"Look, Esther," he said, laying a hand on my shoulder, "There lies Imladris, the home of Lord Elrond and of Arwen Undomiel, the Evenstar of our people."
I felt excitement mingled with an inexplicable sense of awe as it dawned on me exactly what I was looking at.
"Rivendell," I murmured. I looked back at Justin, who was just behind me, looking down at the valley over my shoulder. He grinned broadly at me, his eyes lit up with the same thrilled anticipation I was feeling.
"We made it, Esther," he said, "Can you believe it?"
I laughed; I didn't know what else to do. The sound just bubbled out of me like I was a child on Christmas morning. It was so beautiful, even from a distance: I could see the rich gold and red colors of the trees, tucked inside the fork of a sparkling blue river, and if I strained my eyes I could just make out little pieces of the Elven architecture inside, carefully built around the growing trees so that nothing had to be cut down. I looked back at the other Elves in our company; they all wore an expression of serenity and joy. I'm not sure how to describe it – they looked so peaceful upon first glance, but I could see the massive relief just barely contained in those beautiful faces.
"Come," said Legolas, turning back to the path, "We have nearly reached our destination. Quickly, your safety is still at stake here," he added to me, not that I needed reminding. In that instant though, I saw a quick flash of something unfamiliar in his eyes. It was like concern, but different somehow. The look was vaguely shielded, almost as if he didn't want anyone to see it, and it passed away very quickly. I had never seen a look like that before, at least not directed at me. We followed him down the path, our hope strengthened by the promise of our journey's end not far away.
We were off of the mountain by nightfall, and although Justin and I were both very tired we were as eager of the rest of them to reach Rivendell as soon as possible. So we mounted the horses again, Justin riding with Malfanaion and myself riding with Legolas, and kept going. I don't remember falling asleep, but I must have because when I awoke we were just arriving. The horses passed under an elaborately carved archway to stop in the clearing just beyond. I gasped; there were delicately shaped buildings that seemed to grow from the trees themselves, stone carvings lining the forest paths, and everywhere the leaves fell, covering the ground with a thick, many-colored carpet. In the distance I could hear the rushing water from the nearby ravine. I looked up; high on one of the carved platforms, peering through the trees with worry creasing his brow, stood none other than Gandalf the Gray.
Our company departed quickly, leaving Justin and I little time to marvel at our surroundings. Legolas glanced back at me as we led the horses away, his eyes shadowed with uneasy fear.
"What is it?" I asked him. But he shook his head, so I waited. After the horses were stabled and the others led Justin in the heart of Rivendell, Legolas took me aside.
"Now that we're here," he began gravely, "The purpose of our journey comes back to me. We've come here bearing ill news."
"What news?" I asked; surely I knew that part of the story?
"A prisoner has escaped our nets in Mirkwood. I have come on behalf of my father to inform Lord Elrond of this danger."
An escaped prisoner. . . Why couldn't I remember? Then, all the sudden, the answer came to me. I'm not sure how I knew, because it wasn't from memory. I think I may have read Legolas' mind in that instant.
"Gollum," I murmured. He nodded.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.
"Because you are my responsibility now," he said, "I must add your story to the one I already bear. Tell me what you saw in your dreams."
"What?" I wasn't ready for that.
"Please," he repeated, "I must know more about this specter that haunts you, if I am to ask Lord Elrond to protect you. What did you see? What did she show you?"
Cautiously I let my mind wander back to the scene in my dreams, the vision of Katie's death. I hadn't seen all of it, but I had seen the terror in her face. That was enough for me.
"I saw –" I gasped sharply; she was Here. I didn't see her, but I knew it. I could feel her presence very close to me. She invaded my mind again, and I was back in the dream, in the vision.
"No," I whimpered; I watched Katie pull the electric cord out of the wall again, and the television went silent. I realized suddenly that I wasn't asleep; I could still feel the ground under me, and I was standing upright. I reached out frantically for something to grab onto, hoping that Legolas was still there with me. He caught one of my hands in his and pulled me close. The vision didn't leave me; I watched as Katie ran out of living room, stopping short at the bottom of the staircase in the front hall. She gazed up at the stairs, frozen, looking up into the dark hallway above her.
"Who is she?" I heard Legolas ask, his voice strangely faraway-sounding.
"Can you see this?" I asked incredulously.
"Yes."
I squeezed his hand tighter, feeling some of the fear melt away with the knowledge that I wasn't alone this time. Katie's mouth dropped open as she tried to speak.
"Becca?" she called in a small voice, "Can you hear me?"
There was no answer. Katie stared up at the dark staircase one moment longer, then bolted up the stairs as fast as she could. She paused again at the top, looking down the dark hallway; there was water on the floor. A thin film of wetness crept out from under her bedroom door, covering the polished wood of the hallway; the crystal doorknob was dripping.
"I don't want to see this," I whispered.
"Wait," said Legolas, his voice impossibly calm.
Katie moved towards the door, breathing shakily, almost as if she was drawn against her will. Her small hand closed around the crystal doorknob. She turned it and pushed the door open. Her gaze immediately found the television at the foot of the bed. Then everything seemed to happen at once: There was a blast of angry static from the TV, then Katie's deafening scream filling the air as a blur of something, lightening-fast, charged towards her. Then it was over.
I opened my eyes. I was shaking; my hand, still grasped by Legolas, was cold and sweating. I looked up into his eyes; inside them was a look of astonishment and horror, accompanied by deep sorrow. He put his other hand on my shoulder; immediately I stopped shaking.
"Do you know what happened afterwards?" he asked quietly.
I nodded weakly.
"She died," I said, "All of them did. The others that watched it with her."
"The others?"
"I don't know how to explain it to you. You wouldn't understand."
I pulled away from him, hiding from that penetrating gaze of his, and made my way back to the stables. I sat on a stone bench next to the forest path, just thinking. It occurred to me that Legolas probably didn't know that Justin and I were from a different time. I really like the idea of having to explain the haunted videotape to him. He wouldn't get it. It was too technological, too futuristic. And the way he looked at me, like he was trying to see straight through me – it made me uncomfortable. At least that's what I kept telling myself.
Oh, who am I kidding? I thought finally, I'm crazy about him. I got up and started pacing back and forth, the way I always do when I have too much to think about. I didn't want to fall for Legolas – but why not? He was perfect: he was strong, patient, kind, he seemed to genuinely care for me – and he was gorgeous, of course.
This is ridiculous, I thought, It's probably just a crush anyway. He did save me from creepy Devil-child Samara a couple times – that's why I like him, that's all. He's an Elven warrior – who wouldn't love him? And besides, what are the chances he'd love me back anyway?
That was the tricky part: what if he did love me? It was possible, when I thought about the way he sometimes looked at me. What was I so afraid of? I mean, if I even actually had a chance to—
"Esther!"
I looked up; Justin was coming down a stone staircase behind the trees, heading towards me with a big smile on his face.
"Where have you been?" he asked, "You've got to look around – this place is amazing! It's even better than – Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I said quickly, reaching up to smooth my long hair back into place. (I had a habit of twirling when I got upset, and Justin knew that.) He gave me an unconvinced look, but he didn't press me further.
"Okay," he said with a shrug, "Well, c'mon lemme show you around."
He led me through the paths of Rivendell, pointing out sunlit glades, exquisitely crafted gazebos, and breathtaking views of the waterfall cascading down the ravine. Then he led me up a pearlescent, marble staircase and into an open room with a gigantic featherbed against the wall.
"This is your room," he said, "Mine's over that way somewhere," he pointed vaguely down the corridor to the left, "I'll show it to you later."
"This is so . . ." I breathed. I had no words for it: it was just incredible.
"I know, isn't it?" agreed Justin, "I'll see you later, at the banquet. Okay?"
"Banquet? What banquet?"
"There's a banquet tonight. So go get cleaned up and we'll meet everyone downstairs in like an hour. K?"
"By 'everyone' do you mean--?"
"Yep. All the Elves, and probably most of the Fellowship. They're all here somewhere. See ya!" With that he waved and was gone again, off to explore some more. I sat down on the bed and looked through the archways at the leaves that kept falling outside. And that was when it really hit me: I was in Rivendell.