AN: Another week, another update! I had quite the adventure in Microbiology lab today. We were supposed to be staining this one slide a very bright green. It took this super complex procedure that had to be followed down to the last letter in order to get this one slide to stain. I was on one of the last steps (involving staining the slide through tissue paper with the slide steaming over boiling water for fifteen minutes) and I was taking my slide off the steam when someone banged on the table. The table shook and another slide flipped onto the table. By the time everything got sorted out, I had green dye all over my hands! My professor, thankfully, wasn't mad since accidents happen in lab but she had to comment on the fact my green hands matched the green sweater I was wearing. Anywho that was my adventure for the week and I hope all of you had great, green dye free weeks! Thank you for all the reviews! You really don't know how much I appreciate them. They're just the cure for green dyed hands and bad school days!
Mystic-realm: Well, I'm glad you liked my story! Here's the next part, fresh from my computer.
et-spiritus-sancti: First off, thank you for the compliment. Hope is one character I wasn't sure was ever going to come off as a believable character. She was more of a character created while waiting for genetics to start last semester. I'm glad you like her, though. As for the twins, are you a fan of those characters?
Elainor: Fire's not exactly the easiest character to get along with and she likes to give anyone and everyone her opinion. Let's just say she and Niphredil aren't going to be best of friends because of that. I'm happy you liked the ending. I wasn't sure it was going to work out properly.
sunni07: Oh my! I hope your wrist is alright! You're competing in a triathlon? Well, GOOD LUCK and I hope you do well. I'm glad you like the chapter, though, and I appreciate your compliment.
Ms. Unknown: Well, I'm happy you liked the ending! Here's another chapter for your reading pleasure.
IrethAncalime3791: No need to explain anything! Everyone has stuff that ties them up in the "real world." Why the twins decided to bother Fire and Niphredil will be revealed shortly. They are there, though, to get Fire to back down since she wasn't going to listen to her sister or any sort of reason.
elentir girl: I would have written more but my mother frowns upon me going to be near 4 AM on a school night...even if I'm in college. Here's the next installment!
LJP: I'm quite glad you're not confused anymore. Being confused is never any fun! I hope that everything's cleared up for you and I don't get confusing anymore.
Lindiel Eryn: Hi there! Glad to see you're back and I hope everything's well with you. I'm happy you liked the way Elrond turned out. I was really worried I wasn't going to do that character any justice when I wrote him. You are correct; she has just met her uncles. What they do or say to her will be revealed shortly. There may be some Tae Kwan Do coming up soon as well since that's not a skill, normally, found in Middle Earth.
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.
"What brings you two here," Fire snapped, her never returning as she fell into place between her sister and Mac.
That comment seemed bother Ice as she shot her sister a seething glare. Apparently, the question she had asked was not a proper on. It indicated to Niphredil that this pair had "rank" of some kind. That is, they were owed some respected. The same type of respect Niphredil, herself, was owed but rarely got from Fire.
"You should not be asking them that, Fire," Ice admonished, "They have every right to go where they want and say what they want."
"Does that include interfering with our business, my dear sister?" Fire wanted to know, adding the last part of the question with a certain amount of sarcasm in her voice.
Ice seemed at a loss for words and a look a victory crossed Fire's face. Her sister's- holder of a slightly higher rank- silence was being interpreted as a very good thing. Almost a sign of victory for the younger of the pair.
The look quickly disappeared when one of the twins- the one on Niphredil's right- stated, "It would do you well to listen to your sister, Fire. She is, most obviously, the wiser of the two of you."
"Perhaps," added the twin on Niphredil's left, "that is why she holds a higher rank?"
"I was under the impression that it was a result of Ice's maturity. You never see her leaving chaos in her wake," the twin on her right commented, a bit of dry humor in his voice.
"That is correct. You should take not of your sister's behavior, Fire. You may learn a thing or two or ten," the figure on her left added, his voice laced with blatant humor.
Fire spat something in a language Niphredil only recognized as elvish. Not the form she knew but another form of the melodic language she recalled.
From the reaction it garnered- shock on the face of Ice, resignation on the faces of Mac and Goose and the same slightly amused expression on the faces of the twins- Niphredil wasn't sure what to make of the comment at first. She took Ice's reaction as the proper one and decided that whatever was said was probably not the most well advised thing to say. If it was at all possible, Niphredil decided to was some type of sarcastic elvish response.
The twins, not letting the comment hang in the air for more than a few moments, started speaking quickly in a similar language to Fire.
This seemed to satisfy the elven warrior as she continued to speak in her language with an almost delighted tone. She had been spoiling for an argument since being asked to carry a message for Aragorn. Her anger needed to be vented and, if it couldn't be vented on the princess who had "dishonored" her, then these two were just as good a target.
Niphredil wasn't quite sure why this pair had come to her aid and was continuing to fight her battle for her. Not that she minded, really. As Fire's challenges continued to be hurled in her direction, she found herself wanting more and more to break one of Doc's cardinal rules of the martial arts. That rule being that just because one knew any form of martial arts it didn't give them permission to use it in any conflict they saw fit. It was only in situations where talking got you no where or where fighting was the only option that the use of martial arts was warranted.
As she saw it, her little "argument" with Fire fell into the former of the two categories. There was no talking her way out of the situation. It was only through physical action that she was going to be able to get Fire to stop challenging her.
It was that physical action that Niphredil was not keen on using, which was odd for her. Normally, she enjoyed putting her martial arts skills on display whether those skills be empty handed or with some type of weaponry. Here, though, where only a handful of people even knew what Tae Kwan Do was, she was loath to use her skills. A misplaced kick or an ill time pouch could result in her seriously hurting someone. That wasn't something she wanted to have on her mind.
Her eyes were only on the twin figures as they "spoke" with Fire and her sister. They were dressed in an alike manner though everything about them seemed to be alike. Even the inflection in the voices was the same. It would have been eerie and frightening to some but Niphredil found it rather interesting. She'd seen twins and triplets before but none of them were similar in such extreme ways. There were always differences and these two appeared to have none of them.
"You never answered out questions, young lady," the left side twin commented, rounding on Niphredil.
The young half-elven maiden was pleased to see that Fire was leaving. Not under her own power- Ice was nearly physically moving her- but she was leaving. Niphredil knew that she was going to have to deal with Fire and her attitude sooner or later. She was just glad it was later rather than sooner.
After all she had learned during the course of the day, a fight was the last thing she wanted.
"Our first question, of course, is irrelevant now," one twin commented, "since there seems to be no trouble now."
"Was Fire the cause of the trouble you were having though?" his mirrored image wanted to know.
Niphredil found her voice and, with a bit of hesitation, answered, "Fire took offense to something I said earlier today. I accused her of listening to a conversation I was having with....Lord Elrond and accused me of doing much the same now."
She thought for a moment before hastily adding, "I thank you for your help. I really didn't want anything to do with that situation. I'm not sure why Fire finds bothering me so much fun."
The half-elven maiden was pretty sure, nearly one hundred percent sure, that the pair hadn't heard her. They were speaking to each other in hushed tones. Their language was familiar and she caught just a few snippets of words. The general gist of the conversation, however, was lost on her.
"What did you and Lord Elrond speak about?" one twin questioned, the tone in his voice changing slightly.
No longer was he joking or being humorous in a sarcastic way. Instead, there was an edge of seriousness there, a type of concern.
Niphredil's guard came up immediately. Discussing "private" matters with anyone was still a bit of a chore. It was most definitely getting easier with family members as she grew closer to both her parents. With strangers, it was still difficult. They didn't appear to have to right to know what went on within her own, private world.
Plus, as an almost added bonus, she knew there were those in the citadel who didn't want her there. What she discussed with a high ranking elven lord would be of great interest to them. Especially the part detailing the choice she was being asked to make.
"Why do you want to know?" she snapped, "It was a personal matter."
Her response- quick and pointed as an arrow in flight- caught the pair off guard. That was not what they expected her to do or say. Though they really didn't know what to expect for they weren't sure who this female- no more than a girl really- was.
"What was said concerns both of us, my friend," the right side twin started.
The statement was finished by his mirror image who said, "since he is our father."
The connection was easily made in Niphredil's head as the puzzle pieces flew into place. That was why the twins looked like her mother- They were her brothers. - and her grandfather since these two were his sons. They were the uncles her grandfather had told her about.
From the looks of it, though, they didn't know she was related to them. Maybe they didn't even know she was the reason why their father was called to the White City. It was almost ironic in a way that they had come to her "rescue." Of all the people, it had to be family members unknown to one another.
"If he is your father, you must be my uncles," she stated, making sure not to catch the stunned expressions thrown her way.
"How is that possible?" one asked.
The other stated, "Our sister has no children, much less a slightly grown daughter."
"You can ask him yourself if you don't believe me. My name is Niphredil, daughter of Arwen and Aragorn," she responded, "I'm afraid I don't know your names, though."
Maybe they believed her. Maybe they didn't. Both looked at her skeptically, as if trying to see the lies from her eyes. Her eyes were honest, as honest as her statement. There was no lie to be had.
"I am Elladan and that is my brother Elrohir," the twin on Niphredil's right stated, his voice as confused as the look on his face.
"How are you our sister's daughter?" Elrohir asked, obviously wanting to know the truth of the matter.
Niphredil sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It seemed that explaining had become second nature to her. Not that it bothered her in any way. It was just strange because she never liked to talk about her life in the other world. It was like telling half a story...a half truth...the very thing she had left the Muggle World because of. No longer did she want the shadow of lies looming over her. She wanted the whole story, the truth.