Disclaimer - Would Tolkien really write something so hideous as a girl dropped into Arda fic?
A/N - Forgive me if my Silmarillion facts are off - it's been a while since I last read the Sil, and the Encyclopedia of Arda does not always have the information that you need . . . :o) Also, I would like to apologize for the Mini-Balrog inadvertently created in the last chapter(s) - it's Peredhil, not Peredhel. Feel free to set Miss Cam on me. :o)
Finally, the information about time travel used in this chapter is somewhat accurate. Up to a point.
It was not until after Elrond had left that the full realization of what was happening hit her. Up until now, getting home had not been a major priority - yes, she had been wondering how time was changed and if her parents were missing her, and she had been homesick in her first few weeks in Arda, but it had never really occurred to her what might happen if she was not able to return home. The prospect frightened her.
"If I can't go home, what will happen to me? What will happen to the story?" She pondered as she changed into her nightclothes. She had a sudden vision of everything going up in smoke. "No! I won't let that happen! I won't let canon be destroyed!"
Suddenly drowsy, she felt sleep overtake her.
"Welcome once again to my hall, Anna." A voice greeted her merrily.
She shook her head. "Hello."
"Do you know why you are here?"
"Because I've changed the plot yet again?"
"Yes. Come and see."
She felt herself pushed forward, into a different part of the Hall where elves sat, waiting, it seemed, for their final judgement. Being a Silmarillion fan, she knew precisely where she was. Being a fan of the movies, she knew what to look for.
In the far corner of the hall Haldir, march warden of Lorien, waited for Mandos to pass judgement upon him.
"Do you see why it was to my hall you were brought, Anna? Do you understand why it was I you were brought before, and not Manwë or his wife Varda?"
She swallowed, feeling a lump grow in her throat. "Yes. I was brought here because you are the one that deals with death among the Eldar."
"Yes," said Mandos, his voice suddenly sorrowful. "And it is death that you have brought with you, death and destruction upon your arrival. Watch."
A scene was played before her eyes. A battle. Helm's Deep. As she watched, a legion of elves approached, and soon joined the fight. She closed her eyes, knowing what would happen, but still could hear the sounds of the battle - and the lament over Haldir's death.
Without warning, the noise stopped. She opened her eyes. Helm's Deep had disappeared.
"Now do you see?" Mandos' voice asked her.
"Yes - I've changed the story, caused death and destruction as you said," Anna answered feebly. "But why?"
"Why? What do you mean by asking why?" Mandos' voice inquired, his tone quizzical.
"Why have things changed when I've done nothing? I mean, why has the story changed? I haven't really done anything, other than arrive here. Yes, I tried to tell Elrond Peredhil what happened in the books, and I did go to the council they held - but that's it." Anna answered hurriedly. "I've done nothing wrong - I've tried not to influence the characters. So why have I changed canon?"
A sigh resonated throughout the Hall. "True, you have not done anything that would have affected the story adversely. By all means, nothing should have changed, save for a tiny disruption caused simply by your presence. But something did change - something did happen. When you told Elrond about the books the first time, what was his reaction?"
"He did not believe me - he thought I was telling a story." Anna said heavily.
"Have you not learned by now that most of the tales told in Arda are true?"
"I know they are," answered Anna, remembering the stories related in the books that she had found to be true when reading The Silmarillion. "But Elrond told me himself that he doubted me."
"Did he? Why then did he believe you at a later date?"
"I don't know. Maybe the thought had time to process or something, or maybe he decided that I wasn't lying - oh." She stopped abruptly. "He did not believe me in the beginning but after a while he decided that I wasn't telling him a story - he must have talked to Glorfindel - he must have thought that I couldn't have known who Glorfindel was, who Asfaloth was without some prior knowledge. He must have remembered that Imladris is not a name known to many."
"And what might he have done, had he come to this decision?" Mandos asked of her.
"He might have - he might have told the others about it. Oh - Sîrwen! Glorfindel, Arwen, Elladan, Elrohir, Lindir - he might have told them all. And Elladan and Elrohir would ride with the Dunedain - they would have told the Rangers what Elrond had said, and since they are kindred of Aragorn later on they would have told him, and things would have been changed even further. The end would be changed. I understand now. It's like the conundrum about time travel." She paused, and took a deep breath. "If you choose to go back into the past and change a decision that you knew would turn out for the worst, what would happen? Surely you would not make that decision in your younger life because you would be advised by your older self, so there would be no need to go back and tell your younger self not to make that choice - so what would be the outcome? What would happen to you? Would you make that decision or not? I can see now why things have changed."
"And for that I am grateful, for you shall need that ability once you return. We, the Valar, cannot intervene. You must find your way back of your own accord - and soon."
Dismayed, Anna asked, "But how? There's no one that can help me find my way back!"
"There is no one that might help you but the oldest of them all."
Namo's words rang in her ears as she awoke with a start in Rivendell.
Replies to Reviewers:
Thanks for all that gave constructive criticism! :o)
Hellga - *Sticks out arm* Go ahead - take a sample. Although I'm afraid it's more from experience than anything else. :-)
Lailonniel - Whoa! Did I update fast enough?
Yuhi-thedoerofevildeeds: Did this clear things up?
Acharnae - Thank you for taking the time to leave some constructive criticism. :o) Thanks for pointing out the problem with Anna being too calm - I'll be sure to keep that in mind for later chapters. Thanks again!
Elanhin - I don't know. Why don't you tell me? :o)
Ainu Laire - Yes and no. Perhaps this cleared things up a bit as to why things were so screwed up.
AlmightyIsboo - It's never too late for s'mores! No, not necessarily the Valar - I'm trying to figure out who it might be but I'm kind of conflicted at the moment . . . do you think Tom Bombadil knows about quantum mechanics?
Leonora J - Thank you for giving me constructive criticism - hardly anyone does nowadays. :o) *Whaps forehead* Duh. I knew that. I even told it to a ff.net author once. Thank you for telling me - I'm afraid that I might not have noticed without you putting in a word. :o) I'll think about the Sindarin thing.
A/N - Forgive me if my Silmarillion facts are off - it's been a while since I last read the Sil, and the Encyclopedia of Arda does not always have the information that you need . . . :o) Also, I would like to apologize for the Mini-Balrog inadvertently created in the last chapter(s) - it's Peredhil, not Peredhel. Feel free to set Miss Cam on me. :o)
Finally, the information about time travel used in this chapter is somewhat accurate. Up to a point.
It was not until after Elrond had left that the full realization of what was happening hit her. Up until now, getting home had not been a major priority - yes, she had been wondering how time was changed and if her parents were missing her, and she had been homesick in her first few weeks in Arda, but it had never really occurred to her what might happen if she was not able to return home. The prospect frightened her.
"If I can't go home, what will happen to me? What will happen to the story?" She pondered as she changed into her nightclothes. She had a sudden vision of everything going up in smoke. "No! I won't let that happen! I won't let canon be destroyed!"
Suddenly drowsy, she felt sleep overtake her.
"Welcome once again to my hall, Anna." A voice greeted her merrily.
She shook her head. "Hello."
"Do you know why you are here?"
"Because I've changed the plot yet again?"
"Yes. Come and see."
She felt herself pushed forward, into a different part of the Hall where elves sat, waiting, it seemed, for their final judgement. Being a Silmarillion fan, she knew precisely where she was. Being a fan of the movies, she knew what to look for.
In the far corner of the hall Haldir, march warden of Lorien, waited for Mandos to pass judgement upon him.
"Do you see why it was to my hall you were brought, Anna? Do you understand why it was I you were brought before, and not Manwë or his wife Varda?"
She swallowed, feeling a lump grow in her throat. "Yes. I was brought here because you are the one that deals with death among the Eldar."
"Yes," said Mandos, his voice suddenly sorrowful. "And it is death that you have brought with you, death and destruction upon your arrival. Watch."
A scene was played before her eyes. A battle. Helm's Deep. As she watched, a legion of elves approached, and soon joined the fight. She closed her eyes, knowing what would happen, but still could hear the sounds of the battle - and the lament over Haldir's death.
Without warning, the noise stopped. She opened her eyes. Helm's Deep had disappeared.
"Now do you see?" Mandos' voice asked her.
"Yes - I've changed the story, caused death and destruction as you said," Anna answered feebly. "But why?"
"Why? What do you mean by asking why?" Mandos' voice inquired, his tone quizzical.
"Why have things changed when I've done nothing? I mean, why has the story changed? I haven't really done anything, other than arrive here. Yes, I tried to tell Elrond Peredhil what happened in the books, and I did go to the council they held - but that's it." Anna answered hurriedly. "I've done nothing wrong - I've tried not to influence the characters. So why have I changed canon?"
A sigh resonated throughout the Hall. "True, you have not done anything that would have affected the story adversely. By all means, nothing should have changed, save for a tiny disruption caused simply by your presence. But something did change - something did happen. When you told Elrond about the books the first time, what was his reaction?"
"He did not believe me - he thought I was telling a story." Anna said heavily.
"Have you not learned by now that most of the tales told in Arda are true?"
"I know they are," answered Anna, remembering the stories related in the books that she had found to be true when reading The Silmarillion. "But Elrond told me himself that he doubted me."
"Did he? Why then did he believe you at a later date?"
"I don't know. Maybe the thought had time to process or something, or maybe he decided that I wasn't lying - oh." She stopped abruptly. "He did not believe me in the beginning but after a while he decided that I wasn't telling him a story - he must have talked to Glorfindel - he must have thought that I couldn't have known who Glorfindel was, who Asfaloth was without some prior knowledge. He must have remembered that Imladris is not a name known to many."
"And what might he have done, had he come to this decision?" Mandos asked of her.
"He might have - he might have told the others about it. Oh - Sîrwen! Glorfindel, Arwen, Elladan, Elrohir, Lindir - he might have told them all. And Elladan and Elrohir would ride with the Dunedain - they would have told the Rangers what Elrond had said, and since they are kindred of Aragorn later on they would have told him, and things would have been changed even further. The end would be changed. I understand now. It's like the conundrum about time travel." She paused, and took a deep breath. "If you choose to go back into the past and change a decision that you knew would turn out for the worst, what would happen? Surely you would not make that decision in your younger life because you would be advised by your older self, so there would be no need to go back and tell your younger self not to make that choice - so what would be the outcome? What would happen to you? Would you make that decision or not? I can see now why things have changed."
"And for that I am grateful, for you shall need that ability once you return. We, the Valar, cannot intervene. You must find your way back of your own accord - and soon."
Dismayed, Anna asked, "But how? There's no one that can help me find my way back!"
"There is no one that might help you but the oldest of them all."
Namo's words rang in her ears as she awoke with a start in Rivendell.
Replies to Reviewers:
Thanks for all that gave constructive criticism! :o)
Hellga - *Sticks out arm* Go ahead - take a sample. Although I'm afraid it's more from experience than anything else. :-)
Lailonniel - Whoa! Did I update fast enough?
Yuhi-thedoerofevildeeds: Did this clear things up?
Acharnae - Thank you for taking the time to leave some constructive criticism. :o) Thanks for pointing out the problem with Anna being too calm - I'll be sure to keep that in mind for later chapters. Thanks again!
Elanhin - I don't know. Why don't you tell me? :o)
Ainu Laire - Yes and no. Perhaps this cleared things up a bit as to why things were so screwed up.
AlmightyIsboo - It's never too late for s'mores! No, not necessarily the Valar - I'm trying to figure out who it might be but I'm kind of conflicted at the moment . . . do you think Tom Bombadil knows about quantum mechanics?
Leonora J - Thank you for giving me constructive criticism - hardly anyone does nowadays. :o) *Whaps forehead* Duh. I knew that. I even told it to a ff.net author once. Thank you for telling me - I'm afraid that I might not have noticed without you putting in a word. :o) I'll think about the Sindarin thing.