Thanx to the reviewers:
Lady Fae: Thank you for reading, especially since the beginning was quite bad and probably the hardest part to resist the temptation to stop reading altogether. Lol.
yuhi-thedoerofevildeeds: Cyber café, huh? I've never been in one before but it would be nice to be in a café and surf the web at once. lol. Thank you for the review (and come back soon!).
Angel312: The comment was nice, and thanks for taking the time to review. Interesting that my main character and a reviewer would have the same name. Lol.
Alandra: You'll just have to read on to see when the Fellowship finds out about Angel's witchcraft. But I'll tell you now that it's not gonna happen right away. It's one of those things where they get more and more suspicious, then something happens that she can't explain and. . . okay, I'll stop now before I give it away.
Cindy: I had the idea for a Lotr/Charmed fic for quite a while before I ever got around to actually writing and posting one. Guess I was just paranoid that people would flame. But I'm glad that I did! Yes, our all time favorite hot elf is gonna fall for her. . .
BTW: Are you the same Cindy who reviewed before?
Songbreeze1125: Prue was cool, they so should not have killed her off! runs over and strangles the script-writers geez, sorry if I forget everything I learned in 6th grade. It WAS two years ago. . . shakes head but at least I remembered that Holland was in Europe! Lol. Another thing, it wasn't colored dark blue on the map, it was dark GREEN! HA! Who's got the bad memory now? sticks out her tongue A list of all of Kendall, Adrian, Wyatt, and Angel's powers is at the end of the commentary.
Roos: So, ARE you my muse? Yes or no? Straight answer plz, I'm no good at digging up hidden metaphors, which is why I suck at English. And yes, this will be a Legolas/Angel, which will become a little clearer in this chapter. hint hint
ElvenWitch13: Thanx for coming back again, I promise I'll take a look at your other stories when I get the chance. Rotk was a great book, but half of it was all appendixes, which was fine.
Nikki: My faithful reader! Well, I took your advice about the meeting at the fountain thing, and Kendall walks in on them. . . Nikki is ready to skip the rest of the commentary and jump straight to the chapter No wait! I'm not done yet! reaches out and grabs Nikki back But they don't kiss. It's far too early for that.
Salem: You're back again! runs over and gives her a hug Switching between time realms is fun for me too. Lol.
Lady Light: Glad to see that you're better now. What do I have in store? Well, you'll just have to read to find out, won't you?
One of my reviewers asked about my characters' powers, and here it is:
Kendall: telekinesis, Empathy, premonitions, levitation, and astral projection.
Adrian: telekinetic orbing, teletransportation (orbing), throwing energy balls, telekinesis, and hovering.
Angel: pyrokinesis (throwing fire), molecular manipulation (exploding), temporary stasis (freezing time), and freezing (literally).
Wyatt: creating forcefields, telekinetic orbing, teletransportation (orbing), throwing energy balls, healing, hovering, and glamouring. (The full extent of Wyatt's powers is unknown, but since he is the most powerful magical being the world has ever known, there's more than what has been mentioned.)
Ch. 7
A Vision in Dreamflower
Kendall brushed her shoulder-length black hair out of her eyes. She was in the living room looking through the Book for a spell that might help her in creating a time portal. After the family reunion/meeting yesterday, she had volunteered to be the one to bring Angel back. She grinned, knowing that Adrian had wanted to pick up their sister.
The witch turned a page and her smile turned into a light frown. Because she was an Empath, Kendall knew very well what Adrian's concerns for his younger sister were. She too worried about Angel a lot, but not to the extent that Adrian did. Perhaps the cause for his excess concern was that he was the oldest of the three and felt it his responsibility to watch out for his sisters. Wyatt didn't understand why his cousin was so overprotective, but then again, Wyatt didn't have any younger siblings to worry about. And Adrian did.
From what she could sense, Kendall knew that Adrian felt guilty for going off to college and leaving Angel on her own with Wyatt. But Kendall felt that there was no need to trouble over it. Even if Wyatt was a bit immature and irresponsible sometimes, he took his job as their Whitelighter very seriously. Besides, he was the most powerful magical being to have ever existed, and he was their cousin. Who better to keep an eye on Angel?
Kendall ran a hand through her hair and put her hands on her hips. There seemed to be nothing in the Book about making portals. The page in front of her had a spell to create a door, would that work?
Just then, Wyatt walked in with the Golden Retriever Comet at his heels. He had gone back to New York the night before to pick up their dog. "Found anything yet?"
"Does creating doors include creating doors through time?"
"Probably. It's the person's intentions that counts, remember?"
"I guess," replied Kendall slowly. "Well, it won't hurt to try." She took a deep breath, and said,
"When you find your path is blocked,
All you have to do is knock."
Kendall drew a large rectangular shape in the air with her hand and knocked three times. A door materialized in front of her, suspended about a foot off the ground. Kendall exchanged looks with Wyatt, reached forward cautiously and pulled the steel doorknob. It opened and they found themselves staring through the frame at a forest of strange trees with golden leaves and light gray, almost silver bark.
For a while they just gazed in awe.
"Nice looking trees," commented Kendall.
(A/N: How cool would it be to have a door to Middle-earth in your living room?)
"But how do we know it's the past?" asked Wyatt.
"Easy." Kendall picked up a watch off the coffee table. She held it through the frame and watched the hands spinning counterclockwise so fast that were just mere blurs. She could even feel the faint vibration of the whirling hands. "It's the past all right," she said, retreating the watch.
Kendall stepped through and turned around to face Wyatt. "Wow, it's weird to think that we're two feet apart, but separated by thousands of years."
"I know what you mean," said Wyatt. "It's like something from The Twilight Zone."
"Haven't our whole lives been something from The Twilight Zone?" Kendall asked smiling. "I'll be back soon."
"Take your time, you have plenty of it."
Kendall laughed and walked into the trees to find her sister.
Angel splashed cold water onto her face. She was leaning over a white fountain in a glade bordered by golden mallorns. Ever since they arrived at Lothlorien, she had not been able to shake off the feeling of guilt that she had allowed Gandalf to die. She had gone wandering off into the woods of Dreamflower many times, hoping that some quiet time alone and isolation from people would help her get over it.
This morning had been the same. She woke up before anyone else was about yet, except for a few elves, had a quick breakfast, then went for a walk before anyone could stop her. The rest of the Fellowship was devastated by the loss of the wizard, of course, but none of them except for Frodo felt it more than Angel.
The young witch sat down on the broad ledge of the stone fountain. Never before had she ever failed to protect an innocent, what had happened?
She was so immersed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Legolas entering the dell until he was right beside her. Angel looked up startled, then seeing who it was lowered her head again, waiting for him to speak.
The Sindarin elf sat down beside her, trying to think of something that could comfort her. He didn't understand why she seemed to truly believe that Mithrandir's death was her fault. "Let it go," he said softly.
Angel did not respond to this. Of course Legolas didn't understand. He wasn't a witch, he didn't know the obligations of protecting the innocent that came with being a witch.
Legolas didn't know what caused him to do what he did next. Perhaps it was pity that someone needed to experience death at this age. He put an arm around her and held her close.
Angel was totally startled by his action. She flinched and almost pulled away before realizing how good his comforting touch felt. When was the last time she had felt someone hold her like that? Angel searched through her memory. She didn't know and she didn't care. It just felt nice that someone was close by in a time like this. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. "Thanks, Legolas," she mumbled indistinctly, not really expecting him to hear her.
"We will stay in Lorien for a while. Rest before we leave." The elf listened to her slow and even breathing. Then he tensed. His ears picked up the sound of something moving through the vegetation. They recognized the rustling sound of leaves and leaf litter and twigs crunching underfoot. His sharp elven eyes swept the scenery around them, and they fixed on a shape that was flitting through the trees.
Angel lifted her head up. "What?" Then a person stepped out from between two mallorns. Angel gasped and freed herself from Legolas's embrace. In her hasty movement, she overbalanced and fell over backwards. Legolas reached over quickly and grabbed her arm just in time. One split second later and she would have splashed into the fountain.
"Thanks," Angel said shakily. Then, turning her gaze to the new arrival, she asked incredulously, "Kendall? What are you doing here?" she hissed.
Kendall walked over with a teasing smile on her face. "Did I just walk in on something?"
"No!" yelled Angel a little louder than she had intended. A faint pink blush crept up her cheeks.
Legolas looked from one to the other, the traces of mild suspicion and confusion evident in his voice. "Do you know her, Angel?"
Kendall placed a hand on Angel's shoulder. "I'm her sister."
"How were you able to get past the sentinels without them seeing you?" asked Legolas suspiciously.
"Oh, I – uh. . ." Kendall faltered, not able to think up a plausible lie.
The younger Halliwell bit her lip. "Um, Legolas, could we have a private moment, please?"
After a moment of hesitation, the elf bowed. "If you wish, my Lady."
Angel watched him walk off, trying to restrain a sigh of disappointment.
Kendall fixed an amused grin on her sister. It didn't take her Empathy power to figure out what Angel was thinking. "You like him!"
Angel's head snapped back to glare at the older witch. "No I don't!" Then, at a skeptical raised eyebrow from Kendall, she sighed. It was impossible to lie to an Empath. "Okay, fine, so what if I do?"
"Nothing, just that I'll never figure out how you ever managed to snag a guy that hot." Kendall replied. She remembered what Legolas was feeling for Angel. She could have sworn that the emotion he had been emitting was. . . She decided to change the topic. Turning serious, she said, "We need your help for a moment."
"Help?" Angel asked. "What, you mean the demon attacks are getting to be too much for you guys to handle back home?"
"Warlocks," corrected Kendall. "We're only fighting the most powerful force of evil to ever exist."
That caught Angel's attention. "What does that mean?"
"It means exactly what you think it means. We're fighting three warlock brothers from a line of warlocks called the Rowe Coven."
Angel waited for her to go on.
"But like you said, it isn't an easy job fighting off demons every hour. They are really taking advantage of your absence, Angel. Yesterday, Darryl called and asked us to help out with three Rowe warlocks who were wrecking San Francisco. So we orbed over."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Darryl called and you guys went clear across the country to fight some warlocks?"
Kendall smiled. "Is that really so far fetched?" When Angel didn't respond, she went on. "The Rowe brothers were tearing down a shopping mall when we got there."
Angel's jaw dropped. "They were – what?" she cried. "Destroying a mall? With all those people to see them do it? What are they trying to do, expose magic?"
"Yes, they were blowing up a mall in public. And that was exactly my reaction too," said Kendall grimly.
Kendall recounted everything that had happened ever since they had decided to let Angel stay in Middle-earth."
At the end of the account, Angel shook her head. "Letting my stay here was a big mistake."
Kendall immediately became alert at the guilt that she was sensing from her sister. "What happened?"
"What?" asked Angel startled.
The older Halliwell fixed her with a piercing stare. "You're feeling really guilty about something."
Angel turned away, the memory of Gandalf's fall burning fresh in her mind. 'My job was to protect the Fellowship and I failed.'
Kendall suddenly felt the terrible remorse of failure, and in a softer tone, she asked gently, "Did one of your charges die?"
(A/N: okay, if this sounds really weird right now, just keep in mind that Kendall is an Empath.)
Slowly, Angel nodded her head twice. "I don't understand why I wasn't able to prevent it."
Kendall held both her hands in hers. "It was meant to happen."
"It was meant to happen? But Kendall, he was my innocent! How could it have been meant to happen?" Angel asked in disbelief. Did Kendall not care that an innocent had died?
"Angel, you seem to be forgetting that this has all happened already. Anything that Belthazor did not cause was destined to happen. You cannot change the past," Kendall told her, her honey brown eyes locking with Angel's royal blue ones.
Angel nodded numbly. Kendall's words caused her guilt to ebb somewhat, but the loss of the wizard was still painful.
Kendall released her from her gaze. "You have to let everything play out the way it's supposed to. Time travel is risky, you don't know what consequences can result from saving someone who was meant to die." She let go of Angel's hands. "Come on, everyone's waiting for us.
"So, how did you get past the guards?" asked Angel as she stood up and they went into the trees.
Kendall winced. "Oh, I kinda created a time portal."
"You created a time portal?" asked Angel in awe. "Whoa Kendall, you're getting better and better at these spells."
She smiled weakly. "Let's just find it. The sooner we get back to the present, the better."
They walked in silence for a few minutes until they came across another clearing.
Kendall looked around, musing. "I remember passing this place. The portal should be somewhere nearby."
"Wait. . . Someone's here." Angel said, indicating to a tall man sitting on one of the stone benches situated in the glade.
He stood up and turned around when he heard Angel speak. It was Boromir. Angel couldn't help but notice that he was eyeing Kendall with great interest. She couldn't blame him. Kendall's shiny black hair, warm honey brown eyes, and slim figure made her irresistible to any guy who set eyes on her. It looked like Kendall had just added a new name on her long list of admirers.
Angel turned back to her sister and her jaw dropped when she saw the look on Kendall's face. Instead of the apathetic expression that she usually wore when any guy gave her that look, she looked, if anything, lovestruck. Her eyes were unfocused and glazed over, and she had completely unmoving. It was like she had been frozen.
'Kendall and Boromir. Who would have thought it?' She could practically see the sparks flying. Angel nudged her sister in the ribs. "Kendall, quit staring."
Kendall snapped out of her trance abruptly, then blushed deeply when she realized what she had been doing. "Then can you introduce us?" she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
Angel smirked and led her over to Boromir. "Hi, Boromir. This is my sister, Kendall."
"It is a pleasure to meet a lady so fair as you, Lady Kendall," said Boromir, bowing.
If possible, Kendall flushed an even deeper shade of pink. "Likewise, Boromir."
Boromir straightened, and he was wearing a smile like Angel had never seen on him before. 'Wow, does my sister have a way of doing this to guys.' She backed away ten steps to give them some room to get acquainted.
"Where do you hail from, Lady Kendall?"
Kendall cast a quick frantic look at Angel that plainly read "What should I say?"
Angel answered quickly for her, "She came from a very far away land." It wasn't very far from the truth.
"And where would that be?" asked Boromir innocently.
"Oh – um, you've probably never heard of it before, I'm sure," stammered Kendall.
"Would you like to try me?"
"No, I wouldn't."
Angel decided it was time to intervene. "Uh, Kendall, we kinda need to go."
Kendall smiled weakly, then turned to join Angel. "I'm sorry, we need to go now." As she passed the Man of Gondor, she brushed his shoulder slightly. Instantly, her breathing became constricted. Her knees buckled, and she knelt over, shaking convulsively.
Angel ran over to her sister. Boromir bent down beside Kendall. "What's the matter with her? Should I call for help?"
"No!" cried Angel. "Don't worry, she'll be fine!" She had seen this before. Kendall was having a premonition. There was nothing for her to do but wait until the vision ended.
"Are you sure? She seems to be in a lot of pain," said Boromir uncertainly.
"Yes I'm sure. I'm her sister!"
Kendall was unaware of what was happening around her. Images flashed through her mind, fleeting, but connected.
Boromir was trying to wrestle something out of Frodo's grasp. The halfling suddenly put something on his finger. . . Kendall caught a glimpse of gold. . . and disappeared. The scene changed. Boromir was fighting off scores of orcs. . . His sword flashed brilliantly with every stroke. A blur whizzed past, the next thing Kendall saw was Boromir with an arrow shaft sticking out of his chest. . . The scene changed again. . . A white boat with Boromir's body in it floated down a river, strangely surreal, yet vivid at the same time.
When the vision finally ended, Kendall sat up, breathing rapidly and drenched in cold sweat. She looked at Angel, who reached out and offered her a hand up. Kendall pulled herself up, and turned away from Boromir. She couldn't bear to meet his eyes.
"We have to leave," she said. "Bye Boromir. . . and take care of yourself."
Boromir was confused. Kendall had been writhing in pain only a few moments ago. "Farwell Lady Kendall. Until the next time we meet."
"Yes, until then," said Kendall, doing her best not to choke on the words. Then she almost dragged Angel with her away. It took all her willpower to keep herself from sprinting into the trees.
"What did you see?" asked Angel anxiously. Something was going to happen to Boromir.
Kendall passed a hand over her eyes. "I'll tell you when we get home." At the same time, a soft voice in her head said, 'The past can't be changed. Boromir's death was in the past. I can't intervene.'
Sorry if this chapter was bad. I wasn't in a writing mood when I wrote it. This has been my second shortest chapter and I planned to make it longer, but I just don't have my heart into it right now, so I'm stopping here. I wanted to edit this over the weekend and post on Monday, but then I decided that I was too lazy to do so.
And another thing, NO, this will NOT be a Legomance, no matter how much I made it sound in this chapter.