AN: Hey all! I'm sorry to be such a delinquent author. I'm trying as best I
can to get up other chapters but the real world, such as it is, is trying
to make me crazy. My Girl Scout troop too a massive number of kids and
parents to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on Friday and an
equally massive number to the circus. The movie was excellent, by the way,
but the book, as always, was better. Anyway, please keep the reviews
coming! All of you are the best for putting up with me and I greatly
appreciate your feedback. It makes it all worthwhile.
LalaithoftheBruinen: I'm glad you liked the fact everyone is as awkward as humanly possible around each other. I figured that if everything went from strange to normal too quickly, it would have been not as real appearing. Plus, I didn't want it to be too clichéd. I'm glad you liked it and, as always, thanks for the review.
hobbitgirl11: Congrats on being out of school! As for tips on dancing on Pointe, make sure you buy shoes that fit and are comfortable. My first pair of Pointe shoes were too big on me and it made using them not really all that fun. Also, make sure to use whatever you need to in your shoes to prevent blisters. Most people I know use lamb's wool. I'm glad you liked the chapter and the song!
pixie88: Congrats on graduating! I can see how that would keep you busy! I'm happy to hear you like how this story is getting on. I don't think I could even write the whole super-happy reunion. I figure it would just naturally be as awkward as possible. Aragorn visited because he's just as curious about her as she his about him. I'm glad you liked it, though!
sunni07: Yeah, the Real World isn't exactly a good place sometimes. I think I'd like to live in Rivendell or Lothlorien. Here's the latest chapter.
PixiePea000: Blasted squiddies! Tell your operator or captain to get the EMP ready, lest you wind up like poor crew of the Osiris. She'll get around to talking to her mother. Agent Elrond Smith may be on his way but I'm not saying anything. He's busy with Mr. Anderson. The dynamic duo and friends are on Agent watch.
LadyJadePerendhil: Don't worry; I'm not breaking anyone up. I'm glad you liked his answer, though. Elrond may pop up to give his feelings on the entire situation, eventually. Here's the next installment!
Midnight-Insomniac1532: Thanks!
Calm Serene: I'm glad you like the story and how it ties into the other one. Here's the next part.
Lindiel Eryn: Yeah, it's heading toward sequel as we speak. I'm glad you like how the story's been going, though!
Elainor: Well, wait no longer! Here's some more!
A Monkey's Harp: EEP! No computer must have been rough! I liked the Coldplay song so I put it in there. Plus, you don't see a lot of their songs around in stories. I happy to hear you liked their little discussion.
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.
Niphredil walked along one of the courtyards in her new home, replaying the previous night's events. The finding out of who she really was, the discovery of who, and what, her parents were and how she fit into the entire scheme of things. The visit from her father and how he had treated her. They all played in her mind like a never-ending loop.
It was strange that twenty-four hours, maybe less, could make such a difference in one person's life. She was no longer just Niphredil, the unwanted daughter of some rich family who had all these strange memories of a life that seemed more fiction then face. Now she was Princess Niphredil, daughter of the High King Aragorn and his wife Arwen.
The transition was strange to say the least.
Where her parents were at the moment, she could not say.
She assumed her father was doing whatever kings did as part of their job. The only kings she had ever heard about were in history books and most of them didn't seem to care all that much about their kingdoms. All they wanted was more power. From the look of the city that spiraled down below her, power came somewhere far after the people.
Her mother might have been with her father but, just as easily, she could have been someplace else. Niphredil was well aware of the fact a one-on-one conversation with her was in her future but she was not all that keen on having the conversation at the moment. It wasn't that she blamed her mother for anything. More that she did not want to add to her already jumbled up feelings. Once she dealt with the feelings in her head, she would speak with her mother.
Someone, somewhere in her vicinity was playing music. Reedy, woodsy sounds filtered through the vast courtyard catching Niphredil's attention. The tune was sad, almost contemplative as if the person playing was dealing with their own feelings.
As she walked to find the source of the music, another instrument joined in, picking up the tune and carrying it along. Other instruments joined in, filling out the melody...sending the same sad tune soaring through the air.
She found the mystery musician, apparently court minstrels practicing in the gardens for some reason. With them, was a small silvery-white haired child. She seemed to be lost in her own world, dancing along to the melancholy tune.
The motions were too practiced to be anything but trained. Niphredil recognized them as ordinary ballet steps, ballet steps from the world she had so recently left. That could only mean the child was Emma; the only other person to have been brought back home to Middle Earth.
The tune wound down, the musicians returning to whatever posts they had been manning prior to the practice.
"You're a ballerina?" Niphredil questioned, appearing behind Emma but not catching her off guard.
The young elf-child nodded happily and said, "I use to take dance lessons in the other place. I dance here, too. Well, not here in Gondor but at home."
"Where is your home anyway?" Niphredil questioned, curiously.
"A way's away. I live in Mirkwood," Emma answered, "It's not all like here you know."
Niphredil turned the name over in her mind. It seemed to indicate a forest, making some sense because the child was an elf and, in the other world, most elves lived in the woods, that was murky and dark. Not at all an ideal place to live it seemed to her.
"Is it...nice there?" Niphredil broached, trying to find the right words to use to test her assumption about Emma's home.
"Nice enough, I guess. I live in this huge palace carved from naturally occurring caves. The woods around us use to be dangerous but they're getting better now as the shadow, as my brother calls it, retreats. He says it's still not safe to go walking alone but someday it might be. I miss the tree though, especially when I'm here," Emma explained.
The pair grew quiet for a moment, each trying to find out the path this conversation was taking.
Emma had promised Aragorn she would try and befriend his daughter and she had no intention of breaking that promise. To her, there was no time like the present to start trying to keep said promise.
"What do you think of it here?" Emma brought up, "I remember my first impressions of this city when my brother brought me here to talk to your father."
Niphredil stared at the young elf for a moment, trying to puzzle out her ulterior motives. No one would be this friendly unless there was some reason behind it. In the other world that seemed to be the norm. Then again, this was a whole other situation, with other types of people involved. Perhaps the rules would be different as well.
"It's actually very nice here. I mean, when I first saw this place last night I was a little afraid of everything. It's so very different here than it is in the other world. But, in a way, it felt right to be here, like I was home for the first time in a long time," Niphredil admitted.
With a laugh, she added, "It might take some getting use to, though. Last night was the first night I could remember in a long time where I didn't hear cars in my sleep."
Emma smiled, remembering the first few times she had to deal with the nearly silent and almost totally dark nights of Middle Earth. It had been a little disconcerting, to say the least, when compared with the noisy nights of the other world.
"It does take some getting use to. This place is very different than the other world. I mean, my father- not my biological father but my other father- still does not know what to do without television," Emma pointed out.
"I was never big on television. I always had my book, martial arts, and singing to keep me busy. Well, that and Girl Scouts," Niphredil commented.
A stunned expression crossed Emma's face but Niphredil could not figure out what it was for. She went over her last sentence in her mind, hoping to not had said something offensive
"You were a Girl Scout?" Emma asked, sounding incredulous.
"Is that so hard to believe?" Niphredil retorted, unsure if she should or should not be offended by Emma's question.
"Well, sort of but that is not the point. I use to be a Girl Scout too," she admitted, sheepishly.
Niphredil laughed a bit. Girl Scouts, though both a fun and miserable experience, was something that always inspired shared stories and the inevitable cookie joke.
"So very sorry," she joked.
A sudden thought, one she had the night before but did not have the time to deal with, occurred to Niphredil. She had seen this child, and her older brother, before walking the streets of her former neighborhood.
"I know this is going to sound strange but have you been to Westchester recently. More specifically, Salem Center?" Niphredil asked.
Emma nodded and gave the older girl a sheepish smile. She and Legolas had taken part in a strange sort of surveillance, watching Niphredil before they could bring her to Middle Earth. They had wanted to get use to her habits, to her comings and goings, trying to find a good time to approach her with the truth. Emma had been the one to explain the idea of martial arts to her co-conspirators Gandalf, Legolas, and Aragorn.
"Actually, my brother and I have. We use to watch you because we needed to know when it would be easiest to confront you. I'm sorry if we scared you any. It was not part of our plan," Emma admitted.
"So it was you, I knew I had seen you and your brother before. Did it feel good to go back?" Niphredil asked.
"Not at all. I only went back because your father asked me to help. I do not like going back there, not at all. It does not feel right to," Emma, quickly, stated.
"Think it's going to be like that for me, if I were to go back?" Niphredil mused, aloud.
Emma gave a small shrug and commented, "Who says you are going to want to go back? You may find that your home is more here then there. Once you give this place a chance, there is a lot to it."
A silence grew between the two young girls, minds working on overdrive.
"So, you dance? That is pretty neat. Maybe someday we could work out a song I know with a dance you know. It could be interesting," Niphredil, slowly, suggested.
"That would be nice. Your dad is not a big dancer himself but he likes to watch others dance. He might find it very interesting," Emma said, accepting the suggestion.
"Good," Niphredil said, finality in her voice, "now we just have to find and song and a dance."
She started to laugh at how strange the idea sounded to her, prompting Emma to do the same. The pair had discovered their common roots, the world they had lived in and the funny coincidence their hobbies of choice provided.
LalaithoftheBruinen: I'm glad you liked the fact everyone is as awkward as humanly possible around each other. I figured that if everything went from strange to normal too quickly, it would have been not as real appearing. Plus, I didn't want it to be too clichéd. I'm glad you liked it and, as always, thanks for the review.
hobbitgirl11: Congrats on being out of school! As for tips on dancing on Pointe, make sure you buy shoes that fit and are comfortable. My first pair of Pointe shoes were too big on me and it made using them not really all that fun. Also, make sure to use whatever you need to in your shoes to prevent blisters. Most people I know use lamb's wool. I'm glad you liked the chapter and the song!
pixie88: Congrats on graduating! I can see how that would keep you busy! I'm happy to hear you like how this story is getting on. I don't think I could even write the whole super-happy reunion. I figure it would just naturally be as awkward as possible. Aragorn visited because he's just as curious about her as she his about him. I'm glad you liked it, though!
sunni07: Yeah, the Real World isn't exactly a good place sometimes. I think I'd like to live in Rivendell or Lothlorien. Here's the latest chapter.
PixiePea000: Blasted squiddies! Tell your operator or captain to get the EMP ready, lest you wind up like poor crew of the Osiris. She'll get around to talking to her mother. Agent Elrond Smith may be on his way but I'm not saying anything. He's busy with Mr. Anderson. The dynamic duo and friends are on Agent watch.
LadyJadePerendhil: Don't worry; I'm not breaking anyone up. I'm glad you liked his answer, though. Elrond may pop up to give his feelings on the entire situation, eventually. Here's the next installment!
Midnight-Insomniac1532: Thanks!
Calm Serene: I'm glad you like the story and how it ties into the other one. Here's the next part.
Lindiel Eryn: Yeah, it's heading toward sequel as we speak. I'm glad you like how the story's been going, though!
Elainor: Well, wait no longer! Here's some more!
A Monkey's Harp: EEP! No computer must have been rough! I liked the Coldplay song so I put it in there. Plus, you don't see a lot of their songs around in stories. I happy to hear you liked their little discussion.
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.
Niphredil walked along one of the courtyards in her new home, replaying the previous night's events. The finding out of who she really was, the discovery of who, and what, her parents were and how she fit into the entire scheme of things. The visit from her father and how he had treated her. They all played in her mind like a never-ending loop.
It was strange that twenty-four hours, maybe less, could make such a difference in one person's life. She was no longer just Niphredil, the unwanted daughter of some rich family who had all these strange memories of a life that seemed more fiction then face. Now she was Princess Niphredil, daughter of the High King Aragorn and his wife Arwen.
The transition was strange to say the least.
Where her parents were at the moment, she could not say.
She assumed her father was doing whatever kings did as part of their job. The only kings she had ever heard about were in history books and most of them didn't seem to care all that much about their kingdoms. All they wanted was more power. From the look of the city that spiraled down below her, power came somewhere far after the people.
Her mother might have been with her father but, just as easily, she could have been someplace else. Niphredil was well aware of the fact a one-on-one conversation with her was in her future but she was not all that keen on having the conversation at the moment. It wasn't that she blamed her mother for anything. More that she did not want to add to her already jumbled up feelings. Once she dealt with the feelings in her head, she would speak with her mother.
Someone, somewhere in her vicinity was playing music. Reedy, woodsy sounds filtered through the vast courtyard catching Niphredil's attention. The tune was sad, almost contemplative as if the person playing was dealing with their own feelings.
As she walked to find the source of the music, another instrument joined in, picking up the tune and carrying it along. Other instruments joined in, filling out the melody...sending the same sad tune soaring through the air.
She found the mystery musician, apparently court minstrels practicing in the gardens for some reason. With them, was a small silvery-white haired child. She seemed to be lost in her own world, dancing along to the melancholy tune.
The motions were too practiced to be anything but trained. Niphredil recognized them as ordinary ballet steps, ballet steps from the world she had so recently left. That could only mean the child was Emma; the only other person to have been brought back home to Middle Earth.
The tune wound down, the musicians returning to whatever posts they had been manning prior to the practice.
"You're a ballerina?" Niphredil questioned, appearing behind Emma but not catching her off guard.
The young elf-child nodded happily and said, "I use to take dance lessons in the other place. I dance here, too. Well, not here in Gondor but at home."
"Where is your home anyway?" Niphredil questioned, curiously.
"A way's away. I live in Mirkwood," Emma answered, "It's not all like here you know."
Niphredil turned the name over in her mind. It seemed to indicate a forest, making some sense because the child was an elf and, in the other world, most elves lived in the woods, that was murky and dark. Not at all an ideal place to live it seemed to her.
"Is it...nice there?" Niphredil broached, trying to find the right words to use to test her assumption about Emma's home.
"Nice enough, I guess. I live in this huge palace carved from naturally occurring caves. The woods around us use to be dangerous but they're getting better now as the shadow, as my brother calls it, retreats. He says it's still not safe to go walking alone but someday it might be. I miss the tree though, especially when I'm here," Emma explained.
The pair grew quiet for a moment, each trying to find out the path this conversation was taking.
Emma had promised Aragorn she would try and befriend his daughter and she had no intention of breaking that promise. To her, there was no time like the present to start trying to keep said promise.
"What do you think of it here?" Emma brought up, "I remember my first impressions of this city when my brother brought me here to talk to your father."
Niphredil stared at the young elf for a moment, trying to puzzle out her ulterior motives. No one would be this friendly unless there was some reason behind it. In the other world that seemed to be the norm. Then again, this was a whole other situation, with other types of people involved. Perhaps the rules would be different as well.
"It's actually very nice here. I mean, when I first saw this place last night I was a little afraid of everything. It's so very different here than it is in the other world. But, in a way, it felt right to be here, like I was home for the first time in a long time," Niphredil admitted.
With a laugh, she added, "It might take some getting use to, though. Last night was the first night I could remember in a long time where I didn't hear cars in my sleep."
Emma smiled, remembering the first few times she had to deal with the nearly silent and almost totally dark nights of Middle Earth. It had been a little disconcerting, to say the least, when compared with the noisy nights of the other world.
"It does take some getting use to. This place is very different than the other world. I mean, my father- not my biological father but my other father- still does not know what to do without television," Emma pointed out.
"I was never big on television. I always had my book, martial arts, and singing to keep me busy. Well, that and Girl Scouts," Niphredil commented.
A stunned expression crossed Emma's face but Niphredil could not figure out what it was for. She went over her last sentence in her mind, hoping to not had said something offensive
"You were a Girl Scout?" Emma asked, sounding incredulous.
"Is that so hard to believe?" Niphredil retorted, unsure if she should or should not be offended by Emma's question.
"Well, sort of but that is not the point. I use to be a Girl Scout too," she admitted, sheepishly.
Niphredil laughed a bit. Girl Scouts, though both a fun and miserable experience, was something that always inspired shared stories and the inevitable cookie joke.
"So very sorry," she joked.
A sudden thought, one she had the night before but did not have the time to deal with, occurred to Niphredil. She had seen this child, and her older brother, before walking the streets of her former neighborhood.
"I know this is going to sound strange but have you been to Westchester recently. More specifically, Salem Center?" Niphredil asked.
Emma nodded and gave the older girl a sheepish smile. She and Legolas had taken part in a strange sort of surveillance, watching Niphredil before they could bring her to Middle Earth. They had wanted to get use to her habits, to her comings and goings, trying to find a good time to approach her with the truth. Emma had been the one to explain the idea of martial arts to her co-conspirators Gandalf, Legolas, and Aragorn.
"Actually, my brother and I have. We use to watch you because we needed to know when it would be easiest to confront you. I'm sorry if we scared you any. It was not part of our plan," Emma admitted.
"So it was you, I knew I had seen you and your brother before. Did it feel good to go back?" Niphredil asked.
"Not at all. I only went back because your father asked me to help. I do not like going back there, not at all. It does not feel right to," Emma, quickly, stated.
"Think it's going to be like that for me, if I were to go back?" Niphredil mused, aloud.
Emma gave a small shrug and commented, "Who says you are going to want to go back? You may find that your home is more here then there. Once you give this place a chance, there is a lot to it."
A silence grew between the two young girls, minds working on overdrive.
"So, you dance? That is pretty neat. Maybe someday we could work out a song I know with a dance you know. It could be interesting," Niphredil, slowly, suggested.
"That would be nice. Your dad is not a big dancer himself but he likes to watch others dance. He might find it very interesting," Emma said, accepting the suggestion.
"Good," Niphredil said, finality in her voice, "now we just have to find and song and a dance."
She started to laugh at how strange the idea sounded to her, prompting Emma to do the same. The pair had discovered their common roots, the world they had lived in and the funny coincidence their hobbies of choice provided.