AN: HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE! The reason for my somewhat good mood...Spring Break is next week. Of course, I'm not going anywhere because of homework and dance lessons but it'll be nice not to have Biochemistry and Physics for a whole week. Anywho, Thank you all for your reviews. Please, keep them coming! All of you are the best!
Kerla: I'm sorry for the slow updating. I have very evil professors this semester. She's going to find a rather unique way to survive in this world with her new parents.
Saralitazie: I hope your week was good. I can assure you Niphredil will most likely be fine. Nothing too bad is going to happen to her.
hobbitgirl11: Here's more! You'll learn more about the Jones family very soon.
LalaithoftheBruinen: It's sort of the same idea except without the puppy. This time it's a little, all be it elven, kid.
sunni07: Yeah, not the nicest reason to want to adopt a kid. They're not all that moral though, as you'll soon learn. I promise nothing too awful is going to happen to Niphredil.
LadyJadePerendhil: First off, good catch! Westchester, NY is indeed the home of The X-Men. I'm a hopeful genetic engineer so I'm fascinated by The X-Men. There may be one tiny X-Men cameo but it's going to be a made up character. I'm glad you like Niphredil.
pixie88: Things are about to get more interesting for Niphredil, as you'll soon see. She's now stuck with truly Muggle parents.
PixiePea000: Nothing too awful, I can tell you that much. The rebels want to know if you'd like to be unplugged and if you need protection from the Smithies. Well, all but one that is. He's not going to be around much longer. By the way GOLLUM and watch out for Agent Elrond Smith and dress wearing Neo.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for a handful of made up characters. Tolkien thought up the concept and, as such, it belongs to him. I'm just playing in his world. I'm broke and in college. All I own are Pointe Shoes.
"I didn't do it," protested a six year old Niphredil, "it wasn't me!"
"Who did it then?" questioned Jay, coming nose to nose with the little elven girl.
"It was Jane and James. I didn't do anything," Niphredil answered, "I was outside playing in the trees and they broke the lamp with the rocks."
She was telling the truth but she knew Jay wasn't going to believe her. Everything that went wrong in the house was her fault. If something was out of place, blame Niphredil. If something broke, well that troublemaking Niphredil was probably involved. A rude comment? Dollars to doughnuts, it was Niphredil who had said it.
It had become like this ever since Kay had the twins. The twins, Jane and James, were three year old terrors and the biological children of Jay and Kay. They'd been born when Niphredil was three years old.
The twins were terrors on wheels, causing nearly all of the havoc that Niphredil was blamed for. She didn't hate them for it. They just didn't understand. Like Kay didn't understand why Niphredil had flat out refused to call her "mom" and Jay "dad" or why she, herself, didn't understand why the twins called their grandmother "nana."
"I'm sure they did," Jay commented, snidely, "I can't believe you'd want to place the blame on two good little children. You're a bad seed, you know that. That's why your parents didn't want you. They saw how rotten you were."
That was Jay's major defense against Niphredil. When it doubt, bring her parents up. The elven child clung to the fact Jay was lying like Jane clung to her ratty purple blankie. She wasn't bad and her mother wanted her, she had heard her mother say something just like that.
"Get out of my sight, brat," Jay spat.
Niphredil ran out of the room, heading for the back yard and the safety of one of the biggest trees in the yard. Up in the trees she was safe. They were big and strong, something she wasn't. They could protect her from Jay's words and from Kay's scrutiny.
A few days had passed since Jay's little argument with Niphredil. She now found herself being dragged down one of the long blocks in the Westchester neighborhood she lived in.
"Where are we going, Jay?" she questioned in a small voice.
He stopped in his tracks, glaring at the sweat suit clad child he was leading.
"For the millionth time, Freddy, I'm taking you out," he spat, "Are you deaf or just stupid?"
He didn't wait for her to answer. There was no need when the answer was so obvious to him. She was just a stupid little girl whose usefulness and worth had run out long ago. They only kept her around because the neighbors would talk if they got rid of her.
Niphredil, meanwhile, heaved a great sigh. She disliked nicknames of any kind. Her name was Niphredil and that's what she liked to be called. It was her name, after all.
The pair stopped in front of a glass windowed storefront. Inside were row upon row of white clad figures standing in neat rows. Different colored sashes adorned the waists of nearly all the white clad people. The rest of the room was sparse, almost utilitarian in nature.
With a rough shove, Jay pushed Niphredil through the door and into the building.
"I'm here to register this thing for classes," Jay said to the shocked looking woman sitting at the front desk.
The woman pushed her huge glasses up the bridge of her nose and gave Niphredil the good once over. If she saw something she liked or disliked, she didn't say anything.
"Here you go, sir," she said, handing Jay a sheaf of papers, "if you hurry, she can join the class that just started. They're all her level."
With a flourish, Jay filled out the papers he had been handed and returned them to the lady with a wad of bills.
"I'll be back for her later," Jay said, walking out and leaving Niphredil to face whatever this situation was alone.
"Come on, kitten, let's get you ready," the woman with the glasses said, looking down at Niphredil and feeling sorry for her.
"Ready for what?" Niphredil asked nervously.
"Your first class of course," the lady replied, handing Niphredil a bundle of white clothing and a white sash.
The elven child found herself, moments later, standing before a huge man. He looked down at Niphredil, black bearded face a few feet from her own.
"What's your name?" he asked, in a gruff voice.
This little girl, with her hair in a braid and wide, frightened eyes, didn't seem like the type who would make it very far or last very long in his class. Then again, there had been a few surprises when it came to his students.
"Niphredil," she replied, in a tiny voice.
The man laughed and said, "Well, Niphredil, I'm Doc. Welcome to Tae Kwan Do."
He looked at his class, filling in the entire room.
"Move over Angie, let her stand next to you," he said, pointing to a spot on the floor.
Niphredil took the spot and stood just like all the others. She had a funny feeling she wasn't going to like this activity and that Jay had made her do this as a form of punishment.
Years Later...
Fourteen year old Niphredil sat against the wall in the auditorium of the local private school. Sitting next to her, almost incongruous in appearance, was another female. Though the other was Jane's age, she was the only friend Niphredil had in this world. The two had something in common, something very strange.
Both were outcasts in the local Girl Scout Troop.
"What's your act, Hope?" Niphredil questioned the young girl sitting next to her.
Hope was a tiny, frail looking child with bright hazel eyes and a head of mousy brown hair. No one in the troop liked her because her mother taught and she attended a local boarding school instead of the local public or private school.
"I'm going to sing, of course," she answered, "Reflections by Christina Aguilera. It's from the Disney movie Mulan so it covers the requirement for this year."
Niphredil laughed knowingly. Hope never did anything without a reasons and she had a good guess as to why she had chosen that particular song.
"What are you doing?" the tiny girl asked.
"You'll see," Niphredil, mysteriously replied, "Let's just say Jay and Kay aren't going to be happy with me, again."
"Then again," she mentally added, "when are they ever."
"And here to sing 'Once Upon a December' from the movie Anastasia is Niphredil Jones," called Miss Fran the Cadette/Senior Girl Scout Leader and an all around scatterbrain.
Niphredil took the stage, walking over to the microphone. She wore a long dress, cream colored, and her feet were bare. The dress was a stark contrast to her very long, inky colored hair. Around her neck, sitting on the outside of the dress, was the star shaped snowflake she always wore. Her one reminder of who she was.
She had chosen this song for one reason and one reason only. This song had a very particular meaning to her. It seemed to be describing her life. Her mind, as of late, had been torn. The part of her that was still firmly entrenched in Middle Earth reminded her constantly that she was a half elven maiden of a house with a long lineage. The other part of her mind had started to believe Jay. Maybe her mother wasn't really in any danger and had given her away because she did not want her any more. Perhaps she had made up the story about elves and wizards to make herself feel better.
As she sang, she found that memories invaded her mind, memories that had found their way into her dreams. The song spoke to her in ways that she couldn't truly comprehend. It was almost as if the song, with its haunting melody was written for her.
She remembered golden trees and people with fair faces. There were swans and it was always pleasant there. It was never too hot and never to cold. She remembered being happy and carefree.
There was always a woman in her dreams and a child. The two were happy living in these woods. She recalled being wanted and being loved. She had never had a cruel word spoken in her direction.
She wanted to know why she remembered these things. She wanted to know, in the worst way, the truth behind the images her mind was showing her. Was she really ever wanted? Did someone actually miss her?
She remembered horses and riders. Yet, unlike the horses Jane and James rode, these riders had no saddles. They ride swiftly, leading their mouths with musical sounding words.
She felt like this place was not her home. Her home was someplace else, someplace far away from all the noise and the foul smells and the mean people. She could not remember how to get back there, though.
The song ended and the crowd politely applauded. Content with her song, Niphredil darted off to get changed. There was something else she had to do.
"Returning to the stage to act out a routine to "Chateau" from The Matrix Reloaded, is Niphredil Jones," Miss Fran read, stumbling over the title of the piece.
Again Niphredil took the stage. This time she wore just a simple white karate outfit belted around the middle with her black belt. Tucked into the belt was a long wooden sword.
The first few classes had been rough but, as time passed, Niphredil had fallen in love with the martial arts. The almost dance like motions of two people sparring had captured her imagination and had a very familiar quality to them.
She had stuck with the martial arts, much to Jay and Kay's dismay. They had thought it to be a punishment for Niphredil. They never came to any of her competitions or to any of her promotion ceremonies but she didn't care. She was happier that way.
She bowed to the gathered crowd and faced her imaginary opponent. Then the fun started. She became a flurry of motion, of arms and legs moving in time with the music against an assailant only she could see. At one point she pulled the sword from her belt and began to use that as both a prop and a weapon. All the while she had a wide smile on her face. Jay and Kay wanted her to stick with her singing and, while she loved to sing, this felt right too.
The show ended and Niphredil walked over to Jay, Kay, and the twins. She was still clad in her karate uniform, sword still at her side.
"You are a totally and utter disgrace," Jay said, find your own way home.
They left Niphredil standing, mouth agape, in the middle of the auditorium. She had no way to get home, unless Hope's parents were still there or she could walk the twenty or so blocks by herself in the dead of night.
She sighed and set about looking for Hope and Hope's parents.