A/N: This chapter contains the explanation for the relationship between Elrond and Anayah and why she calls him Ada and why he calls her daughter. I was once a foster-child myself, and through the years have had many daughters and sons whom society labeled "foster" but who I called "my own." I made a point of omitting the heinous term, "foster," when referring to my many children for I always felt that life had been cruel enough to my babies by denying them a loving family environment when they needed it the most and so, out of respect as well as love, they became children of my heart and to them, I became Moms, a name that will be mine for the rest of my life.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
Chapter 10
The Vision
When the first wave of dizziness hit her, she reached a hand out to the wall to keep herself from falling. Closing her eyes and trying to keep perfectly still, she took some deep breaths to calm herself then waited for the room to quit spinning. After some moments, she slowly opened her eyes and finding that the dizzy spell seemed to have passed for the moment, continued down the hallway to her room as quickly as she could.
Dizziness slammed into her again and she lurched into the wall, fighting to remain on her feet but when she could no longer remain upright and fell to her knees, she tried crawling towards her room. When Anayah found that she was unable to move more than a short distance in her present condition, she remained where she was, swaying back and forth unsteadily but when even that position became impossible to maintain, she fell to her stomach on the floor with a cry of pain. Hearing her cry out, the twins ran out of their rooms and rushed to where she lay, then Elladan knelt at her side and called her name. When the elder twin received no answer, Elrohir left the two and ran to summon his father while Elladan picked her up, carried her to her room and laid her on the bed.
When Lord Elrond arrived in Anayah's room a short time later, he was shocked by what he saw for every object in the room was shaking and rattling as if they possessed lives of their own. A cup clattered noisily in its saucer, a book shook itself off the bedside table then fell to the floor and the bed swayed back and forth, as did the chair sitting next to it.
Even though Elladan appeared frightened, he still did not let go of Anayah's hand until, when Elrond entered the room, his son moved from the bed to a nearby chair to make room for his father. Elrond turned to Elrohir who was still standing in the doorway, staring in disbelief at what was happening.
"Go make a sedative tea, my son."
When the younger twin did not move, he repeated himself in a firmer tone of voice.
"Elrohir, go and make a sedative tea. Do it now!"
Elrohir turned and almost ran down the hall.
Elrond looked at Elladan.
"When did this start?"
"Elrohir and I heard Anayah cry out and ran from our rooms to help but when we got here, we found her lying on the floor in the hallway. I called to her but could not get her to answer me so I picked her up and carried her in here and a few moments after we arrived, the shaking started. Ada, what is going on?"
"I do not know Elladan - I just do not know."
Anayah had covered her eyes with her hands and was rolling her head from side to side as if trying to escape from the pain and when Elrond tried to pry his niece's hands away from her eyes he was unable to do so. He tried calling her name but she still didn't respond and when Elrohir arrived with the cup of tea a short time later, he was very relieved. It took all three of the elves some moments to pry her hands away from her head and get her attention before they were finally able to get her to drink the medicine.
Within a few moments, she started to relax and when she did, the room stopped shaking. With a trembling hand, she pointed to a small ornately carved box that sat on the bedside table and when Elladan retrieved the box and handed it to his father the Lord opened the box and saw what looked like small, ordinary, bits of moss. Offering Anayah the box, she pick up one of the bits of moss and put it in her mouth and moments later, with a sigh of relief, relaxed completely.
The three elves thought Anayah had lost consciousness but a few tense moments later she opened her eyes, at which time both the twins and their father noticed that her eyes had now turned a muddy, green-black color. She looked at the three concerned faces around her and tried to sit up but Elrond pushed her gently back down to the bed.
"Anayah. Can you tell me what just happened?"
She had to try twice before she could get a sound to come out of her mouth for her mouth and throat were so dry that they prevented her from either swallowing or talking. Elrond carefully lifted her into a sitting position, Elladan arranged the pillows behind her back and Elrohir brought her a glass of water, which she quickly drank.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"For what?" Elrond took the glass from her and sat it on the nearby table.
"I should have warned you about this but it slipped my mind although I was kind of hoping that this would not happen while I was here." Her eyes brimmed with tears of embarrassment.
"I do not know what you mean. What did you not want to happen?"
All three elves had puzzled looks on their faces.
"I have just had a vision."
"A vision? You have to go through this kind of torment every time you have a vision?"
Elrond was astounded for he often had visions as did Lady Galadriel, and he knew that other elves had this gift as well but he knew of no elf that went through what Anayah had just gone through. What worried him the most were the violent physical symptoms that she had to endure when she experienced her vision. He waited quietly and patiently for her to settle herself and become comfortable enough to talk to them about what she had just experienced. The twins sat on either side of the bed, silently lending her their emotional support and Elladan smoothed a stray, sweat-soaked tendril of hair away from her forehead.
"I have been having visions accompanied the symptoms you just saw, for a number of years and with Grandmother and Gandalf's help, I have learned how to cope with the pain. A few years ago, Gandalf started making the moss balls for me and if I can get to them, they help relieve the pain although this time it hurt so bad that for a moment I actually thought I was going to die."
"Does everything always shake when you have a vision?" Elrond had never heard of this type of occurrence and he was curious.
"Sorry, but that one was all me. If my head did not hurt so bad right now I would demonstrate but I think another time for a demonstration might be more appropriate. The shaking happens most often when I am under a great deal of stress but not just exclusively with my visions. Lately I have found that if I concentrate hard enough, I can will things to vibrate or move. The only theory I have, and Gandalf seems to agree with me, is that the shaking is an outlet for my own physical and emotional energy, like a safety valve."
Elrond sensed that Anayah might be uncomfortable talking about her vision with the twins in the room.
"Elladan, Elrohir, I believe the crisis is over so would the two of you mind giving us some time alone, please."
The twins both kissed Anayah's forehead and turned to leave.
"Boy germs!" Anayah said weakly.
The two turned and smiled at her.
"Thank you," she said.
Smiling back at her, the two left the room.
"Now. Are you calm enough to tell me about your vision? Is it something that I can help you with?"
Anayah frowned, still disturbed by what she had seen.
"I saw them die painful, gruesome deaths. First, their souls were forcefully ripped from their bodies while they yet lived, then after this creature, or whatever it was had taken their souls, it began to devour them, one piece at a time. I was there and felt their shock, their fear and their pain but was so terrified that I could not move - could not help them. They died while I stood there and looked into their eyes."
Anayah shuddered at the remembrance then, putting one hand over her eyes, she began to cry. Elrond gathered her into his arms and comforted her as he had often done with his own sons, on many occasions, when they had experienced something that overwhelmed them. Finally, after some time, her crying stopped and she pushed herself away from him.
"I'm sorry - I got your shoulder all wet!"
"That's quite all right," he said, wiping her tears away with the sleeve of his tunic. "Your brothers have all managed to have the same experience at one time or another. I am quite used to it. Now tell me, Anayah, who did you see die?"
When she didn't answer him he took her chin and raised her head so she was forced to look at him.
"Who did you see die?"
"Legolas and Estel."
When Elrond sat up straight, shocked by what she had just told him, many different thoughts began to go through his head. Some thoughts were irrational, like chaining both Estel and Legolas to their beds for the rest of their lives, and others very rational – like chaining both Estel and Legolas to their beds for the rest of their lives.
Anayah interrupted his thoughts.
"Grandmother Galadriel once told me, and I have found this to be true on more than one occasion, that visions oftentimes only hint at a possible future. Sometimes the vision is only a small and incomplete part of the whole but even considering it from that point of view, I have found this one thing to be true. The greater the pain that comes with the vision, the greater the chance the vision is a true portent of an upcoming event."
The elf lord thought about this for a few moments. He didn't have any knowledge or experience to base his thoughts on although he knew that Galadriel's advice was always sound.
"Is there anything that we can do about this?"
He knew the answer in his heart but he had to ask anyway for his worry for the prince and his human son was growing by the moment.
"No, I am sorry Ada, but there ..."
She stopped in mid-sentence. Her green eyes, now back to their normal color, opened wide and she blushed a deep red to the tips of her pointed ears then clamped her hand over her mouth when she realized what she had just said.
Elrond couldn't help himself and burst out laughing as she grabbed one of the throw pillows she had been reclining on and buried her face in it in embarrassment.
"I am so sorry." She mumbled from behind the pillow.
He grinned as he took the pillow away from his niece.
"I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to feel comfortable enough to start calling me that but if it will ease your heart, you can look at it this way, my dear. Estel is your brother, you are his sister, he is my son and so it would logically follow that you are my daughter. Anayah, I would be pleased and honored if you would call me Ada."
The twins who had obviously been eavesdropping outside her room, took this moment to bounce in and jump into the middle of her bed, throwing their arms around her and ruffling her hair.
"We have a new little sister! Welcome to one of the most amazing families in Middle Earth!"
Anayah playfully batted at both of them with another pillow while Elrond laughed.
"And what exactly is going on here!"
The twins froze when they saw the man standing in the doorway. Trying to look as innocent as possible while still trying to ruffle Anayah's hair, they said, "We are just talking to our new little sister!"
When Estel and Legolas walked into the room they both had their arms crossed over their chests and were shooting mock-glares at the twins. However, it was Anayah who explained.
"I accidentally called Uncle, Ada. My extremely embarrassing mistake seems to have been some sort of initiation rite and so now I guess I am an official member of the family."
"And about time," Estel said, grinning. "I was going to suggest that very thing but it seems circumstance beat me to it."
Estel suddenly felt more at ease about Anayah's presence in Imladris than he had been since she had arrived some months before.
Lord Elrond patted her knee affectionately. "So now, my new daughter, do you feel better?"
She nodded.
"Feel better? What do you mean? What happened? Were you ill?" Estel was instantly by her side, feeling her forehead for fever and looking into her eyes for any trace of illness.
Looking first at Lord Elrond, then glancing around the room at the others, she thought for a moment before she spoke.
"I have had a vision, Estel, and a difficult one it was." She cleared her throat before she went on. "It was painful and quite disruptive but I am better now thanks to our brothers and ... Ada."
Estel frowned. "What did you see?" He got a sinking feeling in his stomach when he asked the question.
"I saw you and Legolas die." Her statement was flat, brutal and to the point. "But, I must remind you both that visions are only probabilities, fragments of a possible future."
She grabbed both of his hands in hers and held them tightly.
"Estel, and you too Legolas ... I want both of you to promise me that you will be very, very careful until this vision plays out - please. I am begging this of both of you!"
Estel looked at his sister. "Anayah, I promise you that both Legolas and I will do as you request. We will sleep with one eye open until you feel the danger has passed."
"Thank you brother. I could ask for no more."
As the family sat and talked about the vision as well as other mundane matters, they were all unaware that many leagues away, in Mirkwood Forest, a King was crawling from where he had fallen, to a chair that stood nearby. He sat for many moments with his head in his hands trying to catch his breath and master his pain, for he too had just experienced a painful and horrifying vision.
TBC