Hope you liked the prologue! Although judging by the reviews I'd say one
kind of rude reviewer didn't.
Shout outs:
Your worst nightmare13: OK, So only most of that review was a constructive criticism... those, you know... being the rules and everything. Thank you for the part that actually told me what I could do though. If you look back at the authors notes-Which aren't really authors notes, the correct term would be 'Legal crap' (Which unfortunately you have to have at the beginning of a fic or you get sued) You'll notice I removed Arwen (Change of plot) and replaced 'Fifteen year olds' with 'young' or 'younger' It just took a while to load up because you have to wait twenty four hours and I just posted the story yesterday.
Elfobsession2931: I'm glad you're enthusiastic over it all! I'm really enjoying writing the fic (Even though some think it's a Mary-Sue... What the hell IS a Mary-sue anyway? People have told me that some of my characters are but have always declined to tell me what they are) But anyway... Enjoy the chapter!!
ElenwenDutari: Oh Jeezy Chreezy... sorry about all that. If you go back and look I did change it yesterday in the vain hope that it might intercept the original chapter and then nobody would notice I had to change it. But thank you for being impressed! I hope you enjoy the next chapter!
Spedyedie: Hey! Thank you for all of your advice and I'm going to try and follow it as closely as possible! Hope you like this chapter!
~Chapter one~
~Story told By Mariette Winters~
~~~~~
I yawned and stretched my legs, hearing my muscles creak and my joints crack. I looked around and suddenly felt that I did not like what I saw.
I was lying in a garden. The sun was beating down and there was somebody next to me snoring their little heart out. It could only be Vikki really.
The smells around me were divine and the birds chirped a beautiful little song in there tree. However, I was still filled with a strong sense of uneasiness, probably to do with the fact that no matter how hard I pinched my arm I still didn't wake up.
I crawled over to Vikki and began to shake her awake. Somewhere nearby a stream gurgled and a child laughed. Now I was sat up I could see further on than the grass and trees and plants.
Beyond the garden there was a beautiful city, something so divine and heavenly a lot of us can only dream about it. There is no way I can do it justice here so I won't even try.
I continued to shake Vikki. She can sleep very heavily when she wants to.
"Wassa matter?" she grumbled, turning away from me, covering her face with her dark hair.
"The matter, Vikki, the matter is that we aren't in the Drama studio anymore! We're not even at school anymore!"
Vikki idly opened one eye and sat up so quickly we whacked each other on the head.
"Where are we?" Said Vikki rubbing the spot that my forehead had collided with.
"I don't know Vikki. I'll just get my satellite navigation system out of my bra shall I?" I said testily while massaging my now aching forehead. This was so not the time for this.
Vikki opened her mouth to argue when a voice interrupted us, "Who are you?"
We looked up to see two guys who looked a little older than us, maybe sixteen or seventeen. One had dark hair and a solid build. The other had long blonde hair and a very lithe build. A slight breeze blew both boys' hair away from their faces a little and I suddenly spotted that they both had pointy ears.
I stood pulling Vikki up with me and said "Um... We're lost, actually. If you could tell us where we are that would be really good."
The dark boy drew himself up to his full height and said, "What is your business in Rivendell?"
"Business? No business, honest. We didn't mean to end up here if you must know." Stated Vikki simply. I nodded.
"We had better take you to my father. Come on." The dark haired boy beckoned us and we followed him and the blond haired boy with pointy ears. I would have had more time to appreciate the celestial sites and sounds if I hadn't been trying to quell the uneasy nausea that was pleading to be noticed in my stomach. I dug my nails into my palm and prayed to whatever God was on duty that I didn't throw up.
We followed them into the city and up many staircases, finally ending in a library that would make Disney's Beauty and the beast blush in shame. A man with long Dark hair was seated at the desk studying a book intently.
"Atar." The boy stated simply. The man looked up and I was surprised to see that this man also had pointy ears.
"We found these girls in the West Gardens. They say they do not know where they are."
The man stood up and looked at us for a long time. I got uneasy and began plaiting my fingers, while Vikki shifted from foot to foot like a three year old needing the toilet.
Then the man did something we never expected.
He hugged us.
It sort of started out with him smiling. And then a few tears escaped from his eyes. Then he grabbed us and crushed us into a big bear hug. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the two boys look at each other in confusion. Over the man's shoulder I could see Vikki with a look of wide eyed panic on her face and probably would have bust a gut laughing if he hadn't been hugging me too.
Finally he pulled back and smiled at us, "Welcome home."
"But... This isn't our home," I pointed out gently, "We don't even know where this is."
The man looked at us carefully, decided we weren't joking and told the two boys to hurry and get Elladan and Elrohir, whatever that was.
"Atar, who are they?" said the dark haired boy.
"I will explain all to you Finwë. Do you not see that Legolas is just as confused as you are?" Said the man-I remember being puzzled and wondering if he was referring to the blond boy with pointy ears.
The dark haired boy (Now named Finwë) looked at his friend and nodded. They left and the man motioned for Vikki and me to sit down. We shot each other looks of misgiving and made an unspoken agreement as we lowered ourselves into the plush seats that at the first sign of anything that may end in rape or otherwise, we were going to run like the wind on steroids.
The man seated himself behind the desk once more and stared at us for a long while again.
"As soon as the two of you walked into this room, it was as though a great weight was lifted from my heart and there was light once more. I must ask you though. Do you remember anything of this place? Anything of me?"
He looked first at Vikki, who shook her head, then at me. I felt that I was letting this man's balloon of hope deflate completely but I also shook my head.
The man sighed, "The spell worked better than we hoped then. It seems we are back at the beginning."
The man stood and walked to the window. He stared out over the city as far as his eyes could see. He was silent for a long while and then he began to speak.
"My name is Lord Elrond. I am ruler of this city. You are in Rivendell, city of elves. This is your Home, and always has been. I sense strongly that this will come as a shock to you but... I am your father." (A/N: Cue the heavy breathing, Darth.)
I sat up then. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Vikki frozen in her position, a lock of dark hair nervously wound around her finger.
"What are you talking about?" She asked, casting a glance at me, "We're not even sisters. How can you be our father?"
Just then the door swung open and Legolas and Finwë came in with two boys at their heels. They looked older then us, but younger than Legolas and Finwë, if you catch my drift. (A/N: I did the appropriate sums and it turns out that Legolas is the oldest, and since Finwë is an OC, so is he)
Lord Elrond told the four boys to sit down and as they took seats, Lord Elrond introduced them to us.
"This is Prince Legolas of Mirkwood. He and His father are here visiting Rivendell for a short while," Lord Elrond gestured to the Blond haired boy who had been one of the ones to discover us in the gardens. Legolas gave a short bow before sitting down.
Lord Elrond turned to the other three boys, "This is Finwë, Elladan and Elrohir," He said gesturing to each one in turn, "They are my sons... and your brothers." He added quietly, even though everyone heard him.
"Atar... Do you mean that our sisters have come home?" asked Elrohir, his voice slightly strangled.
This was far fetched even for me. And I was possibly the most ludicrous person on the planet.
"Hang on a minute," I found myself interrupting, "This is impossible. How can this all happen?" The confusion in my voice matched Vikki's expression. This was probably the most bizarre, out of the ordinary thing myself or Vikki had ever encountered. It was like something from a book... (A/N: Just so you know I'm not doing that whole 'Gadzooks! We're in a book!' type thing. I just thought it would be funny to frustrate the plot)
"This is very peculiar." Put in Vikki, "How can we be your daughters? Like I said... we're not even sisters and where we come from now we're only children who already have fathers. Surely we would remember maybe just a diminutive part of this?"
Lord Elrond stayed silent for a moment. "Come with me," he said finally, "There are things you must see."
Telling the four boys to stay in the study, Lord Elrond led Vikki and me outside and through a courtyard. I could smell Magnolia in bloom and breathed a great lungful.
Through several hallways we wandered and out into another courtyard, where we stopped. A fountain stood in the centre of it and a stone bench was almost veiled in blossom. It looked divine.
Lord Elrond pointed up to a small stone Balcony perhaps eighteen feet above the ground. It was slightly masked due to the Ivy growing across it, shimmering in the sun. This was apparently my quarters. Next to it was a completely clear terrace. Vikki was told this had been her quarters. Lord Elrond told me that when I was younger I had requested the gardeners to let the ivy grow on my balcony while Vikki had not liked it.
"If you will stop for a moment and endeavor to recall any memories?" Lord Elrond gestured toward the stone bench. Vikki and I sat while he stood.
For a long while I just stared around at me drinking everything in, convinced this was the very first time I had ever been here. The sound of the fountain, the feel of the breeze – it was all new to me.
I could tell Vikki was thinking the same thing because she was fidgeting, desperately uncomfortable with the situation.
Seeing the white violets growing in one of the flower beds I slowly got to my feet, walked over and picked one. Smiling at the sweet dewy scent I sat myself on the edge of the fountain and gently lowered the flower into the water. It floated for a while, like one of those aromatherapy candles that you put in water. Suddenly I had the most incredible feeling of –
"-Déjà vu!" I heard Vikki exclaim. I turned to see her look straight at the flower.
"I beg your pardon?" I asked.
"I just... I feel like I can remember seeing you do that before..." Vikki breathed. We both looked to Lord Elrond. He smiled slightly.
"Come, there is still much to see."
Lord Elrond led us to our respective quarters. Looking into Vikki's first, the pair of us were rendered speechless.
There was a queen sized four poster bed situated in the middle of the room bathed in the deepest ocean blues and lavenders. A silver dressing table sat against one wall and a Chaise lounge was placed in front of the French windows where beautiful sea green drapes hung. The whole room was light and airy, full of serenity and peace. On one wall there were two doors next to each other. One led to a bathroom and the other to what was apparently my room.
My room was a huge shock as well. Never had I seen anything so beautiful in my entire life.
Against one wall was a queen sized bed with cream coverings, but an enormous pile of throw pillows in the most amazing oranges, reds and brushed gold had created a splash of color. At the end of the bed in place of a Pine trunk that Vikki had, I noticed that there was a sort of cushioned bench seat in a muted gold. Burnt orange drapes garlanded the French windows and a light pine dressing table that matched the floor boards was pushed up against a wall. I also had a Chaise lounge, I noticed, but it was cream and in a different place. A soft red rug covered the floorboards.
"You planned the rooms yourselves, do you not remember?" I heard Lord Elrond ask gently, "We called this room-"
"-The sunset room." I breathed from out of nowhere. A soon as it was out of my mouth I almost had heart attack. Vikki looked as though she could be heading that way as well.
Lord Elrond gave a half smile, "That is right, although it was in Elvish. Annun Naur is its name."
Vikki suddenly turned to him, "Hang on a minute. If this is true-And I'm not saying it is-does that mean... does that mean... we're – we're elves?"
I understood where Vikki was coming from on that. In all the chaos of everything we hadn't time to question Lord Elrond when he told us that Rivendell was a city of elves.
Lord Elrond smiled, "Yes, this does mean that you are elves."
Something struck me then, "But... we don't look like elves."
"All will be explained to you if you will accompany me back to the study, where I believe my sons and Prince Legolas are still waiting."
When we arrived back the four of them were waiting patiently, something neither I nor Vikki were accustomed to. (If you've never been to a school in Britain you won't know what I'm talking about) Also, another woman was sat in there. She was possibly the most exquisite person I'd ever seen. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Vikki's jaw drop.
She looked at us with her bright blue eyes and suddenly I felt a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. I felt... happy? Good. I felt good. Like when you found out you aced the test you thought you were going to fail.
We turned to looked questioningly at Lord Elrond. He smiled and said "This is your mother, Celebrían."
"We thought we should fetch her, Atar," Said Elrohir.
My mouth was frozen. What do you say to your mother when you first meet her? If, I thought, she is indeed your mother?
But she took care of that. As if in one graceful movement she stood and caught us in a sweeping embrace.
The smell of wild roses and piquin filled my nostrils. It was heavenly.
Celebrían stepped back to look at us, "My daughters," She breathed "You have grown to such beauty."
She was so sweet it was hard not to smile.
We took our seats and Lord Elrond began to explain.
"There is an explanation for why the pair of you do not look like elves or each other for that matter. The story begins three hundred and ninety eight years ago, in the year two hundred and forty one. Elladan and Elrohir were one hundred and two and Finwë was one hundred and fifty four years old. Two daughters were born to my wife and your mother, Celebrían. That was you. But you were in danger. At the time there was a powerful Elf goddess who wished to take your souls so that she would become more powerful. She wished for your souls especially because of the beauty and pure light in each of them. You were raised as elves for two hundred years, but then the danger became too great. With the help of the lady Galadriel, we hid your elfin features and sent you to another world where we knew you would be safe. Now the danger has passed and the goddess has been defeated it is safe for you to come home. Now we may lift the veil that covers your memory, your true features and your true names."
Nobody spoke but as I looked over at Vikki I could tell she was thinking. Hard.
Finally she said, "How old does that make us then?"
I hadn't thought of that. Suddenly, I realised I wasn't fifteen anymore... I was... well... very old.
Lord Elrond said "You are both three hundred and ninety eight years old."
"Wow..."
There was silence again for a few moments and then something struck me, "What do you mean 'our true names'?"
Lord Elrond gave a half smile, "The names you were given at birth are not the same names you carry now. Your name," He said looking at Vikki, "Is Arwen. You are the Evenstar of our people. Your name," He said turning to me, "Is Aredhel. We always called you Tinuviel."
"Why?" I asked quietly, not knowing a single thing about elves.
"Because it is Elvish for Nightingale," Said a quiet voice. I looked over to Celebrían. She smiled at me, "You always sang, night and day."
Vikki looked at me in shock, "She knows you!" She mouthed silently to me. It was true. At school I always sang for the choir and did a couple of school musicals. I didn't think I was very good but the audience seemed to like it.
Lord Elrond interrupted my thoughts by saying, "And now we must lift the veil of untruth and see your true features."
I got worried then. True features? What did I really look like? What if I was ugly? I had become accustomed to my face and rather enjoyed having it around if you know what mean. I didn't think I could handle getting used to another face-Not to mention another name. What did Aredhel mean anyway?
Lord Elrond told Vikki and I to sit facing each other. We did so and he stood over us. When he told us to close our eyes we did so but with a lot of dubious ness. Softly Lord Elrond began to sing;
"Ort sina collo a cait, Ort sina collo a cait, Ort sina collo a cait..."
The words were beautiful and I guessed them to be Elvish or something as I had never heard Spanish quite like that before.
When Lord Elrond told Vikki (Or rather, Arwen) and I to open our eyes I almost screamed.
"You look so different!" We both exclaimed. Vikki looked gorgeous. She had looked lovely before but now she was practically celestial. She had deep violet eyes and porcelain skin. Her long dark hair was now unnaturally shiny for a teenager and she had a divine figure.
We both looked at Lord Elrond, who looked so overjoyed I was afraid his heart might burst.
~~~~~~~
After sitting for an hour and discussing our lives (Or the part we could remember) up until then, King Thranduil (Legolas' Father) appeared and we had to leave Lord Elrond, Celebrían and him in the study. The four boys were told to escort us around.
As we walked, Elrohir (I think it was Elrohir) turned to us and said, "If you do not mind me asking, what are you wearing?"
Vikki and I looked down at ourselves. We were wearing our school uniform with a few – ahem – alterations. Thankfully our school didn't make all the girls wear skirts so we were both sporting black bell bottom trousers. Mine were all ripped at the bottom from all the lunch time football matches I had taken part in. We were also wearing white tee shirts (The V necked type with collars) underneath a black V neck sweat shirt. We also had to wear a tie in our house colour. Ours was red but we made a point of not wearing our ties right. At the end of the year before, Vikki and I had started the 'let's wear our ties around our heads' fashion, but this year – after numerous detentions – we had gone for something slightly more subtle but wearing our ties around our necks but not under our collars.
We explained our uniform to them and they looked surprised to say the least. Walking around the gardens that afternoon I have to admit that everything was still strange to me.
~~~~~
Sitting at my mirror that night I could barely get over the change in me. My eyes used to be deep green but now they were a Silvery blue and my hair that used to be a honey blond was now a startling brunette. My skin was not porcelain like Vikki's but now slightly tan. I never used to be happy with my figure but now I was curvaceous. I felt strange in this new body. Like I didn't belong.
There was a sudden knock on the adjoining door and Vikki came in.
"Hey." She said quietly, seating herself on the end of the bed, "I can't handle all of this you know. I don't think its right. How can we be elves?"
I didn't know how to answer so I just shook my head.
"I mean, I thought Lord Elrond said he was going to make us remember? Why don't we remember?"
I went to join Vikki on the seat next to the bed, "Maybe there's nothing to remember. Maybe he's got the wrong people."
"How could he be wrong Mariette? Look at us."
We sat in silence for a few moments. I kicked the rug slightly. It moved easily and a dark shadow on the floor came into view. I frowned and moved the rug a little more.
On the wooden floorboards there was a dark stain, about as big as a dinner plate. Until now all of it had been covered by the rug.
I knelt down on the floor, motioning for Vikki to join me. Gently I reached out and touched the stain.
~Flashback~
"Have you got the paint, Arwen?" I called out. Elladan, Elrohir and I had led the paper out upon the floor and were waiting patiently for Arwen to return with the blue paint. We had seen a portrait in the hall and thought we could do better.
"Yes, I'm coming, be patient." Came Arwen's gentle tone. Walking in slowly with a pot full of blue paint she placed it on the floor, at the same time knocking the pot of black paint over. It spilled all over the floor in an inky puddle.
Running into the bathroom Elrohir and I seized a cloth from the side and tried to wipe the worst of it up. After a while we realised that there was going to be a black imprint on the floor forever. Covering it up with my rug we made an agreement that we would never tell father.
~End flashback~
I looked at the stain, then at Vikki, then at the stain again.
"Wow."
~~~~~~
Jeezy Chreezy that took bloody ages!!!!!!!! I hope you liked this chapter and thanks again to all of those who reviewed!
Shout outs:
Your worst nightmare13: OK, So only most of that review was a constructive criticism... those, you know... being the rules and everything. Thank you for the part that actually told me what I could do though. If you look back at the authors notes-Which aren't really authors notes, the correct term would be 'Legal crap' (Which unfortunately you have to have at the beginning of a fic or you get sued) You'll notice I removed Arwen (Change of plot) and replaced 'Fifteen year olds' with 'young' or 'younger' It just took a while to load up because you have to wait twenty four hours and I just posted the story yesterday.
Elfobsession2931: I'm glad you're enthusiastic over it all! I'm really enjoying writing the fic (Even though some think it's a Mary-Sue... What the hell IS a Mary-sue anyway? People have told me that some of my characters are but have always declined to tell me what they are) But anyway... Enjoy the chapter!!
ElenwenDutari: Oh Jeezy Chreezy... sorry about all that. If you go back and look I did change it yesterday in the vain hope that it might intercept the original chapter and then nobody would notice I had to change it. But thank you for being impressed! I hope you enjoy the next chapter!
Spedyedie: Hey! Thank you for all of your advice and I'm going to try and follow it as closely as possible! Hope you like this chapter!
~Chapter one~
~Story told By Mariette Winters~
~~~~~
I yawned and stretched my legs, hearing my muscles creak and my joints crack. I looked around and suddenly felt that I did not like what I saw.
I was lying in a garden. The sun was beating down and there was somebody next to me snoring their little heart out. It could only be Vikki really.
The smells around me were divine and the birds chirped a beautiful little song in there tree. However, I was still filled with a strong sense of uneasiness, probably to do with the fact that no matter how hard I pinched my arm I still didn't wake up.
I crawled over to Vikki and began to shake her awake. Somewhere nearby a stream gurgled and a child laughed. Now I was sat up I could see further on than the grass and trees and plants.
Beyond the garden there was a beautiful city, something so divine and heavenly a lot of us can only dream about it. There is no way I can do it justice here so I won't even try.
I continued to shake Vikki. She can sleep very heavily when she wants to.
"Wassa matter?" she grumbled, turning away from me, covering her face with her dark hair.
"The matter, Vikki, the matter is that we aren't in the Drama studio anymore! We're not even at school anymore!"
Vikki idly opened one eye and sat up so quickly we whacked each other on the head.
"Where are we?" Said Vikki rubbing the spot that my forehead had collided with.
"I don't know Vikki. I'll just get my satellite navigation system out of my bra shall I?" I said testily while massaging my now aching forehead. This was so not the time for this.
Vikki opened her mouth to argue when a voice interrupted us, "Who are you?"
We looked up to see two guys who looked a little older than us, maybe sixteen or seventeen. One had dark hair and a solid build. The other had long blonde hair and a very lithe build. A slight breeze blew both boys' hair away from their faces a little and I suddenly spotted that they both had pointy ears.
I stood pulling Vikki up with me and said "Um... We're lost, actually. If you could tell us where we are that would be really good."
The dark boy drew himself up to his full height and said, "What is your business in Rivendell?"
"Business? No business, honest. We didn't mean to end up here if you must know." Stated Vikki simply. I nodded.
"We had better take you to my father. Come on." The dark haired boy beckoned us and we followed him and the blond haired boy with pointy ears. I would have had more time to appreciate the celestial sites and sounds if I hadn't been trying to quell the uneasy nausea that was pleading to be noticed in my stomach. I dug my nails into my palm and prayed to whatever God was on duty that I didn't throw up.
We followed them into the city and up many staircases, finally ending in a library that would make Disney's Beauty and the beast blush in shame. A man with long Dark hair was seated at the desk studying a book intently.
"Atar." The boy stated simply. The man looked up and I was surprised to see that this man also had pointy ears.
"We found these girls in the West Gardens. They say they do not know where they are."
The man stood up and looked at us for a long time. I got uneasy and began plaiting my fingers, while Vikki shifted from foot to foot like a three year old needing the toilet.
Then the man did something we never expected.
He hugged us.
It sort of started out with him smiling. And then a few tears escaped from his eyes. Then he grabbed us and crushed us into a big bear hug. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the two boys look at each other in confusion. Over the man's shoulder I could see Vikki with a look of wide eyed panic on her face and probably would have bust a gut laughing if he hadn't been hugging me too.
Finally he pulled back and smiled at us, "Welcome home."
"But... This isn't our home," I pointed out gently, "We don't even know where this is."
The man looked at us carefully, decided we weren't joking and told the two boys to hurry and get Elladan and Elrohir, whatever that was.
"Atar, who are they?" said the dark haired boy.
"I will explain all to you Finwë. Do you not see that Legolas is just as confused as you are?" Said the man-I remember being puzzled and wondering if he was referring to the blond boy with pointy ears.
The dark haired boy (Now named Finwë) looked at his friend and nodded. They left and the man motioned for Vikki and me to sit down. We shot each other looks of misgiving and made an unspoken agreement as we lowered ourselves into the plush seats that at the first sign of anything that may end in rape or otherwise, we were going to run like the wind on steroids.
The man seated himself behind the desk once more and stared at us for a long while again.
"As soon as the two of you walked into this room, it was as though a great weight was lifted from my heart and there was light once more. I must ask you though. Do you remember anything of this place? Anything of me?"
He looked first at Vikki, who shook her head, then at me. I felt that I was letting this man's balloon of hope deflate completely but I also shook my head.
The man sighed, "The spell worked better than we hoped then. It seems we are back at the beginning."
The man stood and walked to the window. He stared out over the city as far as his eyes could see. He was silent for a long while and then he began to speak.
"My name is Lord Elrond. I am ruler of this city. You are in Rivendell, city of elves. This is your Home, and always has been. I sense strongly that this will come as a shock to you but... I am your father." (A/N: Cue the heavy breathing, Darth.)
I sat up then. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Vikki frozen in her position, a lock of dark hair nervously wound around her finger.
"What are you talking about?" She asked, casting a glance at me, "We're not even sisters. How can you be our father?"
Just then the door swung open and Legolas and Finwë came in with two boys at their heels. They looked older then us, but younger than Legolas and Finwë, if you catch my drift. (A/N: I did the appropriate sums and it turns out that Legolas is the oldest, and since Finwë is an OC, so is he)
Lord Elrond told the four boys to sit down and as they took seats, Lord Elrond introduced them to us.
"This is Prince Legolas of Mirkwood. He and His father are here visiting Rivendell for a short while," Lord Elrond gestured to the Blond haired boy who had been one of the ones to discover us in the gardens. Legolas gave a short bow before sitting down.
Lord Elrond turned to the other three boys, "This is Finwë, Elladan and Elrohir," He said gesturing to each one in turn, "They are my sons... and your brothers." He added quietly, even though everyone heard him.
"Atar... Do you mean that our sisters have come home?" asked Elrohir, his voice slightly strangled.
This was far fetched even for me. And I was possibly the most ludicrous person on the planet.
"Hang on a minute," I found myself interrupting, "This is impossible. How can this all happen?" The confusion in my voice matched Vikki's expression. This was probably the most bizarre, out of the ordinary thing myself or Vikki had ever encountered. It was like something from a book... (A/N: Just so you know I'm not doing that whole 'Gadzooks! We're in a book!' type thing. I just thought it would be funny to frustrate the plot)
"This is very peculiar." Put in Vikki, "How can we be your daughters? Like I said... we're not even sisters and where we come from now we're only children who already have fathers. Surely we would remember maybe just a diminutive part of this?"
Lord Elrond stayed silent for a moment. "Come with me," he said finally, "There are things you must see."
Telling the four boys to stay in the study, Lord Elrond led Vikki and me outside and through a courtyard. I could smell Magnolia in bloom and breathed a great lungful.
Through several hallways we wandered and out into another courtyard, where we stopped. A fountain stood in the centre of it and a stone bench was almost veiled in blossom. It looked divine.
Lord Elrond pointed up to a small stone Balcony perhaps eighteen feet above the ground. It was slightly masked due to the Ivy growing across it, shimmering in the sun. This was apparently my quarters. Next to it was a completely clear terrace. Vikki was told this had been her quarters. Lord Elrond told me that when I was younger I had requested the gardeners to let the ivy grow on my balcony while Vikki had not liked it.
"If you will stop for a moment and endeavor to recall any memories?" Lord Elrond gestured toward the stone bench. Vikki and I sat while he stood.
For a long while I just stared around at me drinking everything in, convinced this was the very first time I had ever been here. The sound of the fountain, the feel of the breeze – it was all new to me.
I could tell Vikki was thinking the same thing because she was fidgeting, desperately uncomfortable with the situation.
Seeing the white violets growing in one of the flower beds I slowly got to my feet, walked over and picked one. Smiling at the sweet dewy scent I sat myself on the edge of the fountain and gently lowered the flower into the water. It floated for a while, like one of those aromatherapy candles that you put in water. Suddenly I had the most incredible feeling of –
"-Déjà vu!" I heard Vikki exclaim. I turned to see her look straight at the flower.
"I beg your pardon?" I asked.
"I just... I feel like I can remember seeing you do that before..." Vikki breathed. We both looked to Lord Elrond. He smiled slightly.
"Come, there is still much to see."
Lord Elrond led us to our respective quarters. Looking into Vikki's first, the pair of us were rendered speechless.
There was a queen sized four poster bed situated in the middle of the room bathed in the deepest ocean blues and lavenders. A silver dressing table sat against one wall and a Chaise lounge was placed in front of the French windows where beautiful sea green drapes hung. The whole room was light and airy, full of serenity and peace. On one wall there were two doors next to each other. One led to a bathroom and the other to what was apparently my room.
My room was a huge shock as well. Never had I seen anything so beautiful in my entire life.
Against one wall was a queen sized bed with cream coverings, but an enormous pile of throw pillows in the most amazing oranges, reds and brushed gold had created a splash of color. At the end of the bed in place of a Pine trunk that Vikki had, I noticed that there was a sort of cushioned bench seat in a muted gold. Burnt orange drapes garlanded the French windows and a light pine dressing table that matched the floor boards was pushed up against a wall. I also had a Chaise lounge, I noticed, but it was cream and in a different place. A soft red rug covered the floorboards.
"You planned the rooms yourselves, do you not remember?" I heard Lord Elrond ask gently, "We called this room-"
"-The sunset room." I breathed from out of nowhere. A soon as it was out of my mouth I almost had heart attack. Vikki looked as though she could be heading that way as well.
Lord Elrond gave a half smile, "That is right, although it was in Elvish. Annun Naur is its name."
Vikki suddenly turned to him, "Hang on a minute. If this is true-And I'm not saying it is-does that mean... does that mean... we're – we're elves?"
I understood where Vikki was coming from on that. In all the chaos of everything we hadn't time to question Lord Elrond when he told us that Rivendell was a city of elves.
Lord Elrond smiled, "Yes, this does mean that you are elves."
Something struck me then, "But... we don't look like elves."
"All will be explained to you if you will accompany me back to the study, where I believe my sons and Prince Legolas are still waiting."
When we arrived back the four of them were waiting patiently, something neither I nor Vikki were accustomed to. (If you've never been to a school in Britain you won't know what I'm talking about) Also, another woman was sat in there. She was possibly the most exquisite person I'd ever seen. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Vikki's jaw drop.
She looked at us with her bright blue eyes and suddenly I felt a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. I felt... happy? Good. I felt good. Like when you found out you aced the test you thought you were going to fail.
We turned to looked questioningly at Lord Elrond. He smiled and said "This is your mother, Celebrían."
"We thought we should fetch her, Atar," Said Elrohir.
My mouth was frozen. What do you say to your mother when you first meet her? If, I thought, she is indeed your mother?
But she took care of that. As if in one graceful movement she stood and caught us in a sweeping embrace.
The smell of wild roses and piquin filled my nostrils. It was heavenly.
Celebrían stepped back to look at us, "My daughters," She breathed "You have grown to such beauty."
She was so sweet it was hard not to smile.
We took our seats and Lord Elrond began to explain.
"There is an explanation for why the pair of you do not look like elves or each other for that matter. The story begins three hundred and ninety eight years ago, in the year two hundred and forty one. Elladan and Elrohir were one hundred and two and Finwë was one hundred and fifty four years old. Two daughters were born to my wife and your mother, Celebrían. That was you. But you were in danger. At the time there was a powerful Elf goddess who wished to take your souls so that she would become more powerful. She wished for your souls especially because of the beauty and pure light in each of them. You were raised as elves for two hundred years, but then the danger became too great. With the help of the lady Galadriel, we hid your elfin features and sent you to another world where we knew you would be safe. Now the danger has passed and the goddess has been defeated it is safe for you to come home. Now we may lift the veil that covers your memory, your true features and your true names."
Nobody spoke but as I looked over at Vikki I could tell she was thinking. Hard.
Finally she said, "How old does that make us then?"
I hadn't thought of that. Suddenly, I realised I wasn't fifteen anymore... I was... well... very old.
Lord Elrond said "You are both three hundred and ninety eight years old."
"Wow..."
There was silence again for a few moments and then something struck me, "What do you mean 'our true names'?"
Lord Elrond gave a half smile, "The names you were given at birth are not the same names you carry now. Your name," He said looking at Vikki, "Is Arwen. You are the Evenstar of our people. Your name," He said turning to me, "Is Aredhel. We always called you Tinuviel."
"Why?" I asked quietly, not knowing a single thing about elves.
"Because it is Elvish for Nightingale," Said a quiet voice. I looked over to Celebrían. She smiled at me, "You always sang, night and day."
Vikki looked at me in shock, "She knows you!" She mouthed silently to me. It was true. At school I always sang for the choir and did a couple of school musicals. I didn't think I was very good but the audience seemed to like it.
Lord Elrond interrupted my thoughts by saying, "And now we must lift the veil of untruth and see your true features."
I got worried then. True features? What did I really look like? What if I was ugly? I had become accustomed to my face and rather enjoyed having it around if you know what mean. I didn't think I could handle getting used to another face-Not to mention another name. What did Aredhel mean anyway?
Lord Elrond told Vikki and I to sit facing each other. We did so and he stood over us. When he told us to close our eyes we did so but with a lot of dubious ness. Softly Lord Elrond began to sing;
"Ort sina collo a cait, Ort sina collo a cait, Ort sina collo a cait..."
The words were beautiful and I guessed them to be Elvish or something as I had never heard Spanish quite like that before.
When Lord Elrond told Vikki (Or rather, Arwen) and I to open our eyes I almost screamed.
"You look so different!" We both exclaimed. Vikki looked gorgeous. She had looked lovely before but now she was practically celestial. She had deep violet eyes and porcelain skin. Her long dark hair was now unnaturally shiny for a teenager and she had a divine figure.
We both looked at Lord Elrond, who looked so overjoyed I was afraid his heart might burst.
~~~~~~~
After sitting for an hour and discussing our lives (Or the part we could remember) up until then, King Thranduil (Legolas' Father) appeared and we had to leave Lord Elrond, Celebrían and him in the study. The four boys were told to escort us around.
As we walked, Elrohir (I think it was Elrohir) turned to us and said, "If you do not mind me asking, what are you wearing?"
Vikki and I looked down at ourselves. We were wearing our school uniform with a few – ahem – alterations. Thankfully our school didn't make all the girls wear skirts so we were both sporting black bell bottom trousers. Mine were all ripped at the bottom from all the lunch time football matches I had taken part in. We were also wearing white tee shirts (The V necked type with collars) underneath a black V neck sweat shirt. We also had to wear a tie in our house colour. Ours was red but we made a point of not wearing our ties right. At the end of the year before, Vikki and I had started the 'let's wear our ties around our heads' fashion, but this year – after numerous detentions – we had gone for something slightly more subtle but wearing our ties around our necks but not under our collars.
We explained our uniform to them and they looked surprised to say the least. Walking around the gardens that afternoon I have to admit that everything was still strange to me.
~~~~~
Sitting at my mirror that night I could barely get over the change in me. My eyes used to be deep green but now they were a Silvery blue and my hair that used to be a honey blond was now a startling brunette. My skin was not porcelain like Vikki's but now slightly tan. I never used to be happy with my figure but now I was curvaceous. I felt strange in this new body. Like I didn't belong.
There was a sudden knock on the adjoining door and Vikki came in.
"Hey." She said quietly, seating herself on the end of the bed, "I can't handle all of this you know. I don't think its right. How can we be elves?"
I didn't know how to answer so I just shook my head.
"I mean, I thought Lord Elrond said he was going to make us remember? Why don't we remember?"
I went to join Vikki on the seat next to the bed, "Maybe there's nothing to remember. Maybe he's got the wrong people."
"How could he be wrong Mariette? Look at us."
We sat in silence for a few moments. I kicked the rug slightly. It moved easily and a dark shadow on the floor came into view. I frowned and moved the rug a little more.
On the wooden floorboards there was a dark stain, about as big as a dinner plate. Until now all of it had been covered by the rug.
I knelt down on the floor, motioning for Vikki to join me. Gently I reached out and touched the stain.
~Flashback~
"Have you got the paint, Arwen?" I called out. Elladan, Elrohir and I had led the paper out upon the floor and were waiting patiently for Arwen to return with the blue paint. We had seen a portrait in the hall and thought we could do better.
"Yes, I'm coming, be patient." Came Arwen's gentle tone. Walking in slowly with a pot full of blue paint she placed it on the floor, at the same time knocking the pot of black paint over. It spilled all over the floor in an inky puddle.
Running into the bathroom Elrohir and I seized a cloth from the side and tried to wipe the worst of it up. After a while we realised that there was going to be a black imprint on the floor forever. Covering it up with my rug we made an agreement that we would never tell father.
~End flashback~
I looked at the stain, then at Vikki, then at the stain again.
"Wow."
~~~~~~
Jeezy Chreezy that took bloody ages!!!!!!!! I hope you liked this chapter and thanks again to all of those who reviewed!