AN: I'M SO SORRY! I was going to update again but my dad decided to have his friend "fix" the computer because he didn't like the way it was working. Well, in the process of fixing it, the guy managed to delete all of my files. Those files included a couple of stories I've been working on. I've spent the rest of the week trying to put the pieces a friend of mine had saved on her computer back together. As long as I don't have another episode like that, I should be able to update again. All the reviews I got did make me feel better though. Please keep them coming!
hobbitgirl11: I'm glad you liked it, even though it was a bit odd. I figured I take a different spin on the reunion thing. Plus, Niphredil's been living with people who aren't really too fond of her so she's not all that sure what to make of a real family.
A Monkey's Harp: Thanks for the advice, as always! First things first, your paper was very well written and very thorough. It was a good read! Secondly, I'm glad you liked the chapter and the weirdness.
PixiePea000: Who did you call; Link, Sparks, Jax, AK, or someone else? You know why I do the cliffhanger thing. If you want someone to blame for it look you the folks in charge of The X-Files or The Matrix Trilogy. As for your questions. Yes, they realize she's gone. You'll see if they care or not. Hope may pop up again. I'll leave that last one open. Anyway, GOLLUM and watch out for Agent Elrond Smith (the dynamic duo and friends are having issues with him again).
LalaithoftheBruinen: Sorry about the cliffhangers. I'm sorry it drives you out of your mind. Here's my latest update which I intended to put up last week but the computer's conspiring against me.
LJP: The knocker will be revealed soon. I'm glad you liked this chapter. I'm sorry if you were confused about the whole parents thing. I am glad, though, you felt for Niphredil. Thanks, as always, for your review!
sunni07: Quite alright! I know the real world has a tendency to get in the way sometimes. I'm glad you like the story. What happens with Emma and Niphredil will be shown in time.
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.
He had all intentions of going to sleep. The day's events had left his mind in a twisted knot and only time and sleep appeared to be the means by which the knots would be untied.
There was something though, like a splinter in his mind driving him mad, he had to do. There was no getting around it. He wanted to speak further with Niphredil, to hear more about her and to answer more of the questions he knew she had. She was a stranger in a strange land and he felt that, by easing the transition that would make up for all the time he had lost.
So he stood in her doorway, hoping that she had not yet gone to sleep and that he would have the opportunity to speak with her even for a moment.
Niphredil had heard the knocking from the inside of the rooms she had been given. For a moment, she hesitated unsure of what she wanted to do. Should she open the door and face the person on the other side or pretend she did not hear the knocking and take some rest?
Her mind was a jumble of strange thoughts, trying to work their way through her mind. She'd found her family, that was true and she felt like that piece of the eternal puzzle was complete. Then again, she felt like several other pieces had been pushed out of place. One question answered, one door closed with more questions to be asked and more doors to open.
The knocking became slightly more insistent, as if the person on the other side was determine to find out of the room's lone occupant was awake or asleep.
Getting up from the bed, where she had been sitting, Niphredil pulled the door open to reveal her father.
Both father and daughter stared at each other for a long moment, unspoken questions forming in both their eyes.
Aragorn took in his daughter's state and, peering over her shoulder, the state her room was in.
"Did I wake you?" he asked, sounding slightly confused."Oh, no you didn't. I was just thinking about some things. Going to sleep was just one of them," Niphredil replied, suddenly feeling very wide awake.
Thinking it was rude to allow the king to stand in the hallway, she added, "Please, come in."
Aragorn followed his daughter into her room, taking a seat in the nearest chair. He watched as she sat down on the bed, dark eyes washing over him.
To Niphredil, he had the air of someone who was regal but not. He looked as if he could get down and work with his hands. She knew she was already attached to the idea that she had a father who wasn't Jay but there were still reservations there. She was not yet sure what to make of the man sitting in here room."I am sorry," he, finally, said.
"Sorry for what?" Niphredil, more than a little confused, asked.
She had only known this man for a scant few hours. In that short amount of time, he had said and done nothing to offend her in any way. As far as she was concerned, he had committed no transgressions against her.
"For not being part of your life. I should have been able to shoulder my responsibilities instead of forcing them to be sent away to deal with at a later time and palace," Aragorn replied.
"You shouldn't be sorry," Niphredil stated, "I don't think there would have been any way for you to have known about me unless you were told. I mean, I think I would have rather grown up here and to have gotten to known you when I was little but that's the past and you can't change that."
"I am very, very glad you feel that way. If it is any consolation to you, I would have loved to have known you when you were younger. That way, whatever damage that other would has caused you would have never occurred," Aragorn stated, sounding extremely relieved.
He had been afraid of, among other things that Niphredil would be feeling some form of resentment toward her parents. He could not blame her for feeling that way, if she did. The fact she did not, was a heavy burden off his chest. She seemed to want to allow them back into her life, to create a bond that should not have been broken.
"I am hoping to be a part of your new life here, if you would allow me to," he broached.
"And I am hoping you will give me the opportunity to be a part of yours. Though I am not sure how much of a princess I will be. There were no princesses where I lived," she retorted with a self depreciating laugh.
"You will learn quickly. There is not much to the role," Aragorn commented.
He stood to take his leave, not wanting to bother his daughter further."Can I ask if you were mad at her?" Niphredil blurted.
Part of her was worried that her presence would cause a rift between her parents. A rift created by the new feelings she assumed were going to crop up. The last thing she wanted to do was to destroy anyone's little world. The Joneses had accused her of enough destruction.
"At your mother?" Aragorn questioned, wanting to verify just who his daughter was referring to.
Niphredil, for her part, just nodded her head.For a handful of moments, Aragorn grew quiet. He appeared to be mulling the question over in his head, trying to decide how best to explain the answer to his child.
"For a time I thought I was. I realized, though, it was more a feeling of betrayal I was experiencing. Your mother and I have known each other for many, many years and I was under the assumption she could tell me anything," Aragorn replied, "It might have been for the better, in actuality. I am not sure I would have been able to go on my quest and risked my life if I knew I had a child at home waiting for me."
With an almost sheepish smile, he added, "I am also very sure your grandfather would not have been pleased with your mother and I when he discovered your existence."
Niphredil made a mental note to ask about this grandfather at a later time.
"May I ask you a question about Emma?" Niphredil brought up.
Something the elven princess said had caught her attention and was forcing questions to be asked in its regard.
"You may but I do not know if I will be able to provide you with proper answers for them," he replied.
"Why does she call her biological father her, well, biological father?" Niphredil asked.
Aragorn laughed at the question and at the strange words used by both Niphredil and Emma. In all of Middle Earth, he knew they were the only two to ever think of using such a strange term. He recalled asking Emma what the term meant and the explanation he was give regarding it.
"They do not get along, Emma and her father that is. It would be more accurate to say that he does not like her," Aragorn answered.
"Why? She seems like a nice enough child...elf...kid," she brought up, shrugging as she could not think of the proper term to describe Emma.
With a jolt she realized that she now lacked the proper terms to describe herself. The part of her mind that recalled her time in Middle Earth was providing her with a phrase but she was unsure about its nature. How would one be half-elven anyway?"Her father feels she was a mistake that should have never happened. He is angry with himself but has decided, in his infinite wisdom, to take those feelings out on her. She is very lucky her brother likes her very much," came Aragorn's reply.
"So it's just her and her brother? Do you know what became of her adoptive parents?" Niphredil inquired, knowing that her constant questioning was in all likelihood growing very annoying.
"They live here too. You will have the opportunity to meet them in time. They may be part of the reason Emma's father is not entirely keen on her presence here," Aragorn stated.
"Why?" Niphredil asked.
Aragorn threw a glance at his daughter, though it was not the sharp one she had been expecting. Instead, he seemed mildly amused by her questioning and appeared to be willing to take said questioning in stride. To her, he was well aware, everything was new. As familiarity breeds invisibility, newness bred questions. Questions that deserved answers.
"You are full of questions, child! Her mother's soul is a hold over from a previous age. By being given Emma, an age old myth was brought full circle," Aragorn replied.
"What myth?" she questioned, thriving on the knowledge she was being give.
"That is a story for another day, when it can be told in full. Now, though, you should take some rest. I believe you will be very busy the in the next few days," Aragorn answered.
Niphredil yawned and climbed into bed. The rush she had experienced when her father first walked in had worn off. She had become very, very tired once again.
"Good night, Aragorn," she said, sleepily.
Catching her completely off guard, Aragorn came over and, clumsily, tucked her in.
Placing a kiss on her forehead, he stated, "Sleep well, daughter."
(AN: I borrowed the "like a splinter in your mind driving you mad" thing from the first Matrix movie. I was watching it the other night and it was sort of sitting in my head all day.)