Disclaimer- Middle-Earth belongs to Tolkien, Agnes Nitt and Death belong to Terry Pratchett, and my story belongs to me.
AN- Thanks for the kind reviews on the last chapter. I think I didn't like it 'cause it's been sitting half-done for weeks :oP Oh, and thanks to mirielle for suggesting the perfect title for this chapter.
Oh, and for this chapter (and possibly henceforth), I'm abandoning writing dwarvish as "[italics]", and will be writing it normally instead, considering it's the only language Agnes can understand and such.
I just finished reading Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky. I highly recommend them.
Agnes and the Elves
Chapter 6 - Agnes vs. Lord Elrond
Agnes trailed nervously behind Gimli and Glóin, she wasn't looking forward to this chat with Lord Elrond. Lords tended to be overbearing, pompous, and unfriendly to witches (except for King Verence, but he was married to a witch, so he doesn't count). And he would probably have difficult questions about where Agnes had come from, which she would have a hard time explaining.
I'll just have to be honest, and explain everything that I can about the Dancers.
And what about the… other elves? Perdita asked. Are you going to explain about them too? I'm sure this guy will be real happy to hear about those elves.
Agnes bit her lip. I don't know.
To distract herself from that uncomfortable thought, Agnes started paying attention to her surroundings, and gaped. This place was beautiful. Made almost entirely of wood, the house seemed to have grown rather than been built. Graceful saplings made each doorway into a delicate arch, exquisite carvings and paintings covered the walls, and there were windows everywhere. The entire house seemed more like an overgrown pavilion than a home.
Agnes tapped Glóin on the shoulder. "What is this place?" she asked politely.
He slowed a bit so that he was walking next to Agnes. Gimli continued to walk in front of them huffily. "This place is Rivendell, also called the Last Homely House, and Lord Elrond Halfelven is its master."
"Wait… Last Homely House?" asked Agnes, disbelieving.
Glóin shrugged "I know what you mean. This place could use more stone halls, but it is lovely. The Elves say that places far more beautiful exist across the sea."
They walked in silence the rest of the way.
Glóin stopped in front of a large door. "Here we are!" he said cheerfully, and knocked three times on the door. A voice from within called out something, and Glóin pushed the door open. The two dwarves, Agnes, and the elven guard filed inside.
Seated around a small table were Lord Elrond, the shabby-looking wizard Gandalf, and Glorfindel. As they entered, Elrond said something to the guard, who left the room scowling and shut the door behind him.
Glóin started speaking to the seated people in a language that Agnes didn't understand, but she noticed that it sounded very different from the language Glorfindel had used when he found her in the woods. Must be yet another language.
When Glóin finished, Gandalf spoke to him and Gimli, and they sat down in chairs near the table. Then Gandalf spoke to Agnes. "Agnes, my name is Gandalf. As you can see, I speak dwarvish. Lord Elrond would like to ask you some questions, and I will translate between you." His voice may have been kind; it's hard to tell with dwarvish.
"Th-thank you." Agnes managed.
Gandalf nodded to Elrond, who began to speak to Gandalf while never taking his eyes from Agnes'.
"Lord Glorfindel tells me that he and his scouts saw you appear in our woods out of thin air, where did you come from? Another place in this world or… someplace else?"
You're a witch, pull yourself together and act like it. Agnes thought to herself. She took a deep breath, and matched Elrond stare for stare. "I do not think I came from this world, lord."
He raised an eyebrow, but didn't really look surprised. "And how do you think you came to this world?"
"In my world, there are places where the barrier between worlds is… thinner." The intensity of Elrond's gaze was making Agnes very uncomfortable. "And there are some worlds that… sometimes… try to get into our world, and make it their own." The two dwarfs gave small starts at this statement, but Gandalf and the elves seemed unperturbed.
"But the people in the… other worlds…. are afraid of iron, so a long time ago people put large stones made of thunderbolt iron in circles around the doorways."
Gandalf interrupted her here: "Thunderbolt iron"
Agnes (gratefully) broke off her staring contest with Elrond to look at Gandalf. "There is a kind of iron that… loves other iron. It attracts iron. And when these stones are put in circles around the doorways, nothing can go through. Especially not iron."
Agnes waited while Gandalf explained this to Elrond, reinitiating their staring contest. Then Elrond asked the question that Agnes had been dreading.
"And what manner of creatures tries to get past these circles into your world?"
Agnes swallowed. "Well…"
When Agnes had unwillingly said 'the elves', Glorfindel had exploded out of his chair, anger and consternation in his eyes, and his voice raised in a strangled protest. Elrond had been no less surprised, but better able to contain it. Glóin had looked surprised and concerned; Gimli looked surprised and just a bit smug. Gandalf's expression had not flickered.
They began firing questions at Agnes so fast, Gandalf barely had time to translate before the question was asked. Agnes explained as best she could, stressing the difference between the elves she had seen here and the Fairy Folk, but it still took nearly an hour to settle their anger and satisfy their curiosity.
Elrond finally gave a small sigh. "This is a very interesting story, but how did you come to fall through this circle, if none can pass through it except during this 'circle time' that has not happened yet?"
"I really don't know Lord Elrond. I don't suppose this is a particularly… thin… time in this world?"
Elrond glanced at Gandalf, then back at Agnes. "Not to my knowledge, Agnes Nitt."
He spoke for a moment to Gandalf and Glorfindel. "I have one more question for you Agnes. Who is Perdita?"
Oh bugger, this one might take awhile.
AN: Elrond vs Agnes scoring: 5 points for Elrond for making Agnes really uncomfortable during the staring match, and 5 points for Agnes for managing to surprise Elrond. Winner: Gandalf, because he's just that cool.
