Heyla, EHAB here again! This is a long chappie. I hope that you
enjoy. Most of the Elvish in this chapter isn't important for understanding
the storyline, but "Elëar" means "Star-sea," "Sulfëa" "Wind spirit,"
"Eldir" means "Star watcher," and "Caran" is "reddish-gold." Oh, and
"Atalante" is a name for Numenor that means "the fallen". - EHAB
Chapter Six: Armani vs. Elëar
"This is insane," Cate Gray yelled, struggling to free her pinned arms from Zane the Normalcy Vampire's firm grasp. "I demand to know why we're being held this way."
"No, YOU are eensane," Zane griped. "Very toroughly insane, I might add. I couldn't even get a neebble of normal out of you. Eetz very frustrating, vehn I am so 'ungry."
"Let me GO, you lunatic!" Cate shrieked.
"Vahtever you say," Zane shrugged, releasing her, "but I don't know vehr you tink you are going to go. Zee doors are locked."
"So unlock them," John Sallah growled from his position on the floor, being sat upon by Jesse, who was placidly eating a roast beef sandwich.
"I don't 'ave zee autority to do zat," Zane answered mildly. "Lord Ulmo has commanded zat zee doors shall only be opened upon zee return of 'eez niece, Sivi, 'er friend Andrea, or 'er 'usband Ereinion."
"Bring Lord Ulmo here and let me tell him a thing or two," John snarled.
"'Ee eez beezy at zee moment, but I am sure 'ee will geev you audience soon."
"We don't want audience. We want out of this place," Sean Mikë, being sat upon by Adam, snapped.
Zane sighed and looked at Jesse.
"Vie do 'ostages alvays try to make bargains or trehts? Eet eez predictable and boreeng."
"I don't know, Zane; I really don't. I just hope Lady Sivi and Lord Ereinion get back soon with Princess Andrea."
"She didn't strike me as a princess type," Orlando commented.
"She married into the Royal Family," Jesse drawled.
"Then what was she doing kissing ME?" Orlando queried pointedly.
Every Regular in the room turned and gave him the same ironic, undecipherable look.
"So," Bonnie-chan said boredly, "anyone up for a game of Jerudo Jenga? They can play, too, if they behave themselves," she added, indicating the actors.
"What in the name of wonder is Jerudo Jenga?" Dom asked, exasperated and incredulous.
Megan was poised to answer, but there was a rap on the front doors.
"HELP!" Liv screamed at the potential rescuer.
"Save your breath, m'lady," Sesh said quietly. "I know that knock. It's Lady Sivi."
"Ah, some answers a'last," Billy commented amiably.
"Most probably," Sesh smiled softly.
He rose and moved to open the doors. Three people entered somberly. There was a short, red-haired with large, shining eyes - shining, because obviously she had been crying. Behind her came a slender male, tall, fair of face and hair, and possessed of aqua eyes, followed by a young woman with wavy russet hair and eyes like a rainy day.
"So," said Billy haltingly, "What's wrong with the 'princess'? A'least, I assume she's the princess."
The lady turned her grey eyes on him and replied in a low tone,
"She has come through many trials. Let her alone."
"Uh, Lord Ulmo says it's time to go back," Jeremie said into the awkward silence.
"Yes, if all have come," the lady answered.
"They have, and one extra," Megan said, pointing at Andy Circus on the floor next to Orlando.
"I don't think I shall I ask how you brought all of them here," the lord said with a smile.
"We didn't," Christina said. "Mr. Turner had a cell phone."
"I see," the lord laughed easily.
"So, what now? Do we just go?" Bonnie-chan queried.
"Ah... where are you going?" Billy inquired.
"WE," the lady told him, "are going to return to Arda to defeat the Shadow that has arisen there in our absence."
"You were right," Andy murmured to Orlando. "They really are mad."
"I heard that!" Sarah hollered from the other side of the room.
"We kinda owe them an explanation," the little princess said in a soft, sad voice.
"Hear, hear!" said Ian Ash very loudly.
"Hear what, Mr. Baggins?" asked the lady with a grin. "What you have got to say? What might that be?"
Ian stared at her for a moment, then stuttered,
"Well, I mean, after kidnapping us and sitting on half of us, I really think that the princess, or whatever you call her -"
"I'm just Andrea," the girl interjected glumly.
"Well, it's just, I think she's right," Ian finished. "You do owe us one, really. An explanation, I mean.
"Andrea, would you like to begin?" the lady offered gently.
"No. Do you want me to?" the girl asked with a sigh.
"No, I will," the lady said comfortingly.
"When Andrea was fourteen or fifteen, her family moved to a new house. Andrea found an old tiara in the attic and used it to bring herself to Mirkwood."
"It was an accident," Andrea put in, not really looking at anything in particular.
"Thranduil doesn't take kindly to strangers, and if Legolas hadn't spoken for her, Andrea might still be in the Elven-king's dungeons."
"I'd be really old, though," Andrea commented.
"At any rate, Legolas and Andrea fell in love, and Legolas broke off his engagement with Morniwen, an Elf-maid. Morniwen lied to Andrea and caused her to run away and return home."
"Then I met Sivi at school," Andrea said, brightening ever so slightly.
"That would be me," the lady said with a smile. "We became friends, and she shared her misadventure with me. I shared with her that I am the daughter of Manwë and Varda and that Sarah my cousin is the child of Aulë and Yavanna. After four years, we went to college together as roommates. One morning, we went to catch one of the city buses that pass our university. We were sitting on a bench on the fringe of Central Park when Legolas met us. He had only stayed in New York, in my father's apartment -"
"I thought your father was Manwë," John interrupted sarcastically.
"He is," Sivi replied serenely. "As I was saying, it was only two days before Lady Galadriel called Legolas, and the rest of us with him, back to Lorien. The Elven Rings Vilya and Narya had stolen, so we went back in time and retrieved them, saving the lives of Gil-galad and Boromir in the process."
"How thoughtful," Orlando remarked.
"Thank you," Sivi smiled imperturbably. "We returned by different paths to the present. Legolas defeated Morniwen, whom we had discovered had stolen the Rings in the first place. Legolas and Andrea, as well as Gil- galad and myself, were married. We then returned to New York. Conditions in Middle-Earth worsened, so the heroes of the Third Age came seeking Uncle Ulmo's counsel. Morniwen found them together and attacked."
"So where are they now?" Dom asked, plainly unbelieving, when she stopped.
The silence could have been cut with a knife.
"You have to understand," Megan said at last, "that Morniwen usually attacks with spells rather than swords. You've seen our ears," she added to Orlando.
"I have. They haven't," he replied, indicating his friends with a jerk of his head.
"So much she has done to us, knowing we would not return to Eä without our friends," Sivi said.
Suddenly, it dawned on Liv where all of this ridiculous discussion must be headed. These people were insane; they had to be!
"You can't mean us!" she cried.
"We do," Sivi returned calmly.
"We're ACTORS!" John shouted.
There was a set of three firm stamps from above.
"What was that?" John demanded.
"The man upstairs wants you to keep it down," Andrea said matter-of- factly.
They all stared at her.
"Not God," Christina drawled, leaning back in her chair and staring boredly at the ceiling. "There's a guy who lives on the third floor of the building."
"Oh... Well, anyway, we're actors, not heroes, and we've never seen you before in our lives."
There was a general murmur of assent from the other thespians. Orlando added,
"We're not who you seem to think."
The red-haired girl moved and everyone fell silent. From his position on the floor, Orlando noticed a few moving to block exits. Andrea, however, merely walked to Orlando in slow, measured steps. When she knelt before him, their eyes met.
Orlando almost winced visibly at the sight of her eyes. They were beautiful, making him think very much of a forest in summer, but they were also...broken. He had a sudden unexplainable urge to just reach out and hold her, to heal the unfathomable hurt left behind now that the tears had run out. He would have acted on it too, had he not been a human chair at the moment.
"But you are," she whispered softly, interrupting his study of her eyes. She brushed her fingers through his hair softly, and Orlando felt some small piece of memory trying to fight for thought space, but he couldn't reach it. "Or you were," she amended just as softly. For some reason those words tore into his heart like a twisted blade, hurting more than he thought possible for words from such a fragile girl. Andrea must have seen this in his eyes, because she smiled sadly, as if reflecting on a good dream. Her slender fingers combed his hair, her touch so gentle it was barely more than a whisper. And then her fingers reached his ears. His round human ears. Andrea's reaction was instant; she jerked away as if she'd been burned, her face now schooled to a sad blankness.
"I'm sorry," was her only reply as she stood slowly. Orlando's heart screamed at his mind in words he could not understand. "I shouldn't hold you here like this... I'm sorry."
"Why should I hold you here? What can I possibly mean to you?"
"Everything! Everything, and so much more! I love you!"
The flash was over as soon as it had come, and Orlando had no understanding of the words he had heard... or had he only imagined them? But Andrea was walking away now, and everything in him cried out to stop her, to not let this end this way. And yet, as he racked his brain for the right thing to say, he heard a voice that was and was not his own. Squee, the voice called, Squee! I still love you! Even as he recognized the words, the voice was fading from his memory.
"Squee," he started, but he couldn't remember why, or what the word meant, if it meant anything. And it hadn't made any difference, as Andrea had already disappeared into the back room and hadn't heard.
Ulmo came down the stairs from the upper level. Looking around at everyone in their subdued quiet, he asked,
"Well? Have they been told anything?"
"Yes, Uncle," Sivi answered.
"I've called Peggy and asked her to come and to bring Tony, too," Ulmo said. "When she gets here, we can leave. Where's N - Andrea?"
"She's in the back. She'll be out in a minute," Sivi returned.
"Why did you call Andrea's mom?" asked Bonnie-chan.
"She needs to be a part of this, too," Gil-galad said. "Andrea hurts."
"Do we need to pack anything?" asked Lora the Gummie.
"Are you coming? I mean, I thought that it would just be those of us who've been," Jeremie said.
"No way! You think we'd miss this?" Bonnie-chan exclaimed. "We're all going to come."
"Well, no, don't pack anything. We usually get our supplies when we get there," Jeremie told her, looking to Sivi, who nodded.
"And how do you plan to do that?" asked Billy.
"It's as easy to purchase food and clothing in the Grey Havens as it is in New York City," Sivi shrugged.
"Is it really?" Viggo inquired with mock interest. "Do they sell Armani?"
"No, but they have a very flattering line called Elëar," Sarah said seriously.
"Oh? Is that the latest Numenorean fashion?" Viggo said, become more sarcastic and caustic with each word.
"Actually, you're forgetting your history," Megan said reprovingly. "Numenor no longer exists. Atalantë, remember?"
"I beg your pardon; how stupid of me."
"Really, Elëar caters more toward Noldor and Teleri tastes. Men are not in high favor with Círdan, his house, or his guests at the moment," Sivi remarked ruefully. "However, he'll entertain you because he'll entertain me."
"I MEANT," said Billy, attempting to bring the conversation back around to some semblance of normalcy, "how do you plan to get to Middle- Earth? Hang a right on Forty-Eighth Street?"
"Now, my personal favorite, Sar, isn't Elëar but that Sulfëa that Eldir makes," Sivi said, ignoring Billy.
"Mmm. yes, that's pretty. I suppose I prefer Elëar because of that Caran sub-line they have. You know, the scarlet velvet detailed in ithildin?"
"Of course; how could I forget, when you wore it every chance you got for a millennia?"
"Now, that's not fair," Sarah protested. "Those were my very favorite gowns, and I only wore them on extremely special occasions."
There was another knock on the door.
"HELP!" Liv shrieked again.
"No, dear, I don't need any help, just the door unlocked," a muffled woman's voice proclaimed from outside.
"Coming, Ms. Peggy," Bonnie-chan hollered, scrambling to reach the door. She knocked over a chair in her haste.
"As you can tell," Sivi said with a low chuckle, "Andrea's mother, Peggy, is quite popular among the Regulars."
"She's so nice!" Lora exclaimed. "I mean, yeah, when she gets mad, she's scary, but she hardly ever GETS mad."
Bonnie-chan unlocked the door and held it open. A short, pleasant looking blonde woman walked in carrying a portable hamster cage (complete with hamsters) and a heavy looking shoulder bag and towing an auburn-headed boy of about ten.
"Can I take your bag, Ms. Peggy?" asked Lora.
"It's great to see you again," added Jhaquira.
"Oh, thank you both, but I'm alright. The bag just has Andrea's art things. I thought she might want them on the trip," Peggy smiled.
"What, Grey-Havens-R-Us doesn't carry Crayola?" Viggo muttered snidely. "Hi, Regulars," the boy said happily.
"Hello, Tony," chorused about twenty different people, all grinning at the young child.
"Mom!" shouted Andrea, emerging from the back. "What are you doing here?"
"Going to Middle-Earth with you, dear," Peggy said cheerfully.
"How do you know about -?" Andrea said, gaping.
"I'm your mother, dear. I know everything," Peggy said offhandedly.
"But - and Tony? You can't bring Tony with us!"
"It's for moral support," Peggy replied.
"TONY is MORAL SUPPORT?"
"No, no, I'm moral support, but I didn't have time to find a babysitter. Look: see, I thought to bring Celi and Mithie so they won't go hungry while we're gone, and I've brought you your art supplies."
"Thank you," said Andrea weakly.
"Now, then!" Peggy said brightly. "Let's go adventuring!"
"Is everyone here?" asked Ulmo.
"Yes," said a multitude of voices.
"Sivi," said Ulmo.
Unexpectedly, Zane once again gripped Cate's arms from behind. Cate gasped and struggled as Sivi approached her resolutely. She clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut as Sivi reached for her throat. Certainly these lunatics were going to murder her...
"Hold still," Sivi said gently. "I can't undo the clasp if you squirm so."
Cate blinked and looked down. Sivi was unfastening the silver chain around Cate's neck. She slid it from about Cate's throat and took Cate's keepsake ring Nenya.
"I'll give this back in a moment," Sivi assured Cate.
Sivi grasped the silver ring in her fist and closed her eyes. The actors balked as the entire world shifted, fading away into nothing they had ever known... or, at least, nothing that they remembered knowing.
Chapter Six: Armani vs. Elëar
"This is insane," Cate Gray yelled, struggling to free her pinned arms from Zane the Normalcy Vampire's firm grasp. "I demand to know why we're being held this way."
"No, YOU are eensane," Zane griped. "Very toroughly insane, I might add. I couldn't even get a neebble of normal out of you. Eetz very frustrating, vehn I am so 'ungry."
"Let me GO, you lunatic!" Cate shrieked.
"Vahtever you say," Zane shrugged, releasing her, "but I don't know vehr you tink you are going to go. Zee doors are locked."
"So unlock them," John Sallah growled from his position on the floor, being sat upon by Jesse, who was placidly eating a roast beef sandwich.
"I don't 'ave zee autority to do zat," Zane answered mildly. "Lord Ulmo has commanded zat zee doors shall only be opened upon zee return of 'eez niece, Sivi, 'er friend Andrea, or 'er 'usband Ereinion."
"Bring Lord Ulmo here and let me tell him a thing or two," John snarled.
"'Ee eez beezy at zee moment, but I am sure 'ee will geev you audience soon."
"We don't want audience. We want out of this place," Sean Mikë, being sat upon by Adam, snapped.
Zane sighed and looked at Jesse.
"Vie do 'ostages alvays try to make bargains or trehts? Eet eez predictable and boreeng."
"I don't know, Zane; I really don't. I just hope Lady Sivi and Lord Ereinion get back soon with Princess Andrea."
"She didn't strike me as a princess type," Orlando commented.
"She married into the Royal Family," Jesse drawled.
"Then what was she doing kissing ME?" Orlando queried pointedly.
Every Regular in the room turned and gave him the same ironic, undecipherable look.
"So," Bonnie-chan said boredly, "anyone up for a game of Jerudo Jenga? They can play, too, if they behave themselves," she added, indicating the actors.
"What in the name of wonder is Jerudo Jenga?" Dom asked, exasperated and incredulous.
Megan was poised to answer, but there was a rap on the front doors.
"HELP!" Liv screamed at the potential rescuer.
"Save your breath, m'lady," Sesh said quietly. "I know that knock. It's Lady Sivi."
"Ah, some answers a'last," Billy commented amiably.
"Most probably," Sesh smiled softly.
He rose and moved to open the doors. Three people entered somberly. There was a short, red-haired with large, shining eyes - shining, because obviously she had been crying. Behind her came a slender male, tall, fair of face and hair, and possessed of aqua eyes, followed by a young woman with wavy russet hair and eyes like a rainy day.
"So," said Billy haltingly, "What's wrong with the 'princess'? A'least, I assume she's the princess."
The lady turned her grey eyes on him and replied in a low tone,
"She has come through many trials. Let her alone."
"Uh, Lord Ulmo says it's time to go back," Jeremie said into the awkward silence.
"Yes, if all have come," the lady answered.
"They have, and one extra," Megan said, pointing at Andy Circus on the floor next to Orlando.
"I don't think I shall I ask how you brought all of them here," the lord said with a smile.
"We didn't," Christina said. "Mr. Turner had a cell phone."
"I see," the lord laughed easily.
"So, what now? Do we just go?" Bonnie-chan queried.
"Ah... where are you going?" Billy inquired.
"WE," the lady told him, "are going to return to Arda to defeat the Shadow that has arisen there in our absence."
"You were right," Andy murmured to Orlando. "They really are mad."
"I heard that!" Sarah hollered from the other side of the room.
"We kinda owe them an explanation," the little princess said in a soft, sad voice.
"Hear, hear!" said Ian Ash very loudly.
"Hear what, Mr. Baggins?" asked the lady with a grin. "What you have got to say? What might that be?"
Ian stared at her for a moment, then stuttered,
"Well, I mean, after kidnapping us and sitting on half of us, I really think that the princess, or whatever you call her -"
"I'm just Andrea," the girl interjected glumly.
"Well, it's just, I think she's right," Ian finished. "You do owe us one, really. An explanation, I mean.
"Andrea, would you like to begin?" the lady offered gently.
"No. Do you want me to?" the girl asked with a sigh.
"No, I will," the lady said comfortingly.
"When Andrea was fourteen or fifteen, her family moved to a new house. Andrea found an old tiara in the attic and used it to bring herself to Mirkwood."
"It was an accident," Andrea put in, not really looking at anything in particular.
"Thranduil doesn't take kindly to strangers, and if Legolas hadn't spoken for her, Andrea might still be in the Elven-king's dungeons."
"I'd be really old, though," Andrea commented.
"At any rate, Legolas and Andrea fell in love, and Legolas broke off his engagement with Morniwen, an Elf-maid. Morniwen lied to Andrea and caused her to run away and return home."
"Then I met Sivi at school," Andrea said, brightening ever so slightly.
"That would be me," the lady said with a smile. "We became friends, and she shared her misadventure with me. I shared with her that I am the daughter of Manwë and Varda and that Sarah my cousin is the child of Aulë and Yavanna. After four years, we went to college together as roommates. One morning, we went to catch one of the city buses that pass our university. We were sitting on a bench on the fringe of Central Park when Legolas met us. He had only stayed in New York, in my father's apartment -"
"I thought your father was Manwë," John interrupted sarcastically.
"He is," Sivi replied serenely. "As I was saying, it was only two days before Lady Galadriel called Legolas, and the rest of us with him, back to Lorien. The Elven Rings Vilya and Narya had stolen, so we went back in time and retrieved them, saving the lives of Gil-galad and Boromir in the process."
"How thoughtful," Orlando remarked.
"Thank you," Sivi smiled imperturbably. "We returned by different paths to the present. Legolas defeated Morniwen, whom we had discovered had stolen the Rings in the first place. Legolas and Andrea, as well as Gil- galad and myself, were married. We then returned to New York. Conditions in Middle-Earth worsened, so the heroes of the Third Age came seeking Uncle Ulmo's counsel. Morniwen found them together and attacked."
"So where are they now?" Dom asked, plainly unbelieving, when she stopped.
The silence could have been cut with a knife.
"You have to understand," Megan said at last, "that Morniwen usually attacks with spells rather than swords. You've seen our ears," she added to Orlando.
"I have. They haven't," he replied, indicating his friends with a jerk of his head.
"So much she has done to us, knowing we would not return to Eä without our friends," Sivi said.
Suddenly, it dawned on Liv where all of this ridiculous discussion must be headed. These people were insane; they had to be!
"You can't mean us!" she cried.
"We do," Sivi returned calmly.
"We're ACTORS!" John shouted.
There was a set of three firm stamps from above.
"What was that?" John demanded.
"The man upstairs wants you to keep it down," Andrea said matter-of- factly.
They all stared at her.
"Not God," Christina drawled, leaning back in her chair and staring boredly at the ceiling. "There's a guy who lives on the third floor of the building."
"Oh... Well, anyway, we're actors, not heroes, and we've never seen you before in our lives."
There was a general murmur of assent from the other thespians. Orlando added,
"We're not who you seem to think."
The red-haired girl moved and everyone fell silent. From his position on the floor, Orlando noticed a few moving to block exits. Andrea, however, merely walked to Orlando in slow, measured steps. When she knelt before him, their eyes met.
Orlando almost winced visibly at the sight of her eyes. They were beautiful, making him think very much of a forest in summer, but they were also...broken. He had a sudden unexplainable urge to just reach out and hold her, to heal the unfathomable hurt left behind now that the tears had run out. He would have acted on it too, had he not been a human chair at the moment.
"But you are," she whispered softly, interrupting his study of her eyes. She brushed her fingers through his hair softly, and Orlando felt some small piece of memory trying to fight for thought space, but he couldn't reach it. "Or you were," she amended just as softly. For some reason those words tore into his heart like a twisted blade, hurting more than he thought possible for words from such a fragile girl. Andrea must have seen this in his eyes, because she smiled sadly, as if reflecting on a good dream. Her slender fingers combed his hair, her touch so gentle it was barely more than a whisper. And then her fingers reached his ears. His round human ears. Andrea's reaction was instant; she jerked away as if she'd been burned, her face now schooled to a sad blankness.
"I'm sorry," was her only reply as she stood slowly. Orlando's heart screamed at his mind in words he could not understand. "I shouldn't hold you here like this... I'm sorry."
"Why should I hold you here? What can I possibly mean to you?"
"Everything! Everything, and so much more! I love you!"
The flash was over as soon as it had come, and Orlando had no understanding of the words he had heard... or had he only imagined them? But Andrea was walking away now, and everything in him cried out to stop her, to not let this end this way. And yet, as he racked his brain for the right thing to say, he heard a voice that was and was not his own. Squee, the voice called, Squee! I still love you! Even as he recognized the words, the voice was fading from his memory.
"Squee," he started, but he couldn't remember why, or what the word meant, if it meant anything. And it hadn't made any difference, as Andrea had already disappeared into the back room and hadn't heard.
Ulmo came down the stairs from the upper level. Looking around at everyone in their subdued quiet, he asked,
"Well? Have they been told anything?"
"Yes, Uncle," Sivi answered.
"I've called Peggy and asked her to come and to bring Tony, too," Ulmo said. "When she gets here, we can leave. Where's N - Andrea?"
"She's in the back. She'll be out in a minute," Sivi returned.
"Why did you call Andrea's mom?" asked Bonnie-chan.
"She needs to be a part of this, too," Gil-galad said. "Andrea hurts."
"Do we need to pack anything?" asked Lora the Gummie.
"Are you coming? I mean, I thought that it would just be those of us who've been," Jeremie said.
"No way! You think we'd miss this?" Bonnie-chan exclaimed. "We're all going to come."
"Well, no, don't pack anything. We usually get our supplies when we get there," Jeremie told her, looking to Sivi, who nodded.
"And how do you plan to do that?" asked Billy.
"It's as easy to purchase food and clothing in the Grey Havens as it is in New York City," Sivi shrugged.
"Is it really?" Viggo inquired with mock interest. "Do they sell Armani?"
"No, but they have a very flattering line called Elëar," Sarah said seriously.
"Oh? Is that the latest Numenorean fashion?" Viggo said, become more sarcastic and caustic with each word.
"Actually, you're forgetting your history," Megan said reprovingly. "Numenor no longer exists. Atalantë, remember?"
"I beg your pardon; how stupid of me."
"Really, Elëar caters more toward Noldor and Teleri tastes. Men are not in high favor with Círdan, his house, or his guests at the moment," Sivi remarked ruefully. "However, he'll entertain you because he'll entertain me."
"I MEANT," said Billy, attempting to bring the conversation back around to some semblance of normalcy, "how do you plan to get to Middle- Earth? Hang a right on Forty-Eighth Street?"
"Now, my personal favorite, Sar, isn't Elëar but that Sulfëa that Eldir makes," Sivi said, ignoring Billy.
"Mmm. yes, that's pretty. I suppose I prefer Elëar because of that Caran sub-line they have. You know, the scarlet velvet detailed in ithildin?"
"Of course; how could I forget, when you wore it every chance you got for a millennia?"
"Now, that's not fair," Sarah protested. "Those were my very favorite gowns, and I only wore them on extremely special occasions."
There was another knock on the door.
"HELP!" Liv shrieked again.
"No, dear, I don't need any help, just the door unlocked," a muffled woman's voice proclaimed from outside.
"Coming, Ms. Peggy," Bonnie-chan hollered, scrambling to reach the door. She knocked over a chair in her haste.
"As you can tell," Sivi said with a low chuckle, "Andrea's mother, Peggy, is quite popular among the Regulars."
"She's so nice!" Lora exclaimed. "I mean, yeah, when she gets mad, she's scary, but she hardly ever GETS mad."
Bonnie-chan unlocked the door and held it open. A short, pleasant looking blonde woman walked in carrying a portable hamster cage (complete with hamsters) and a heavy looking shoulder bag and towing an auburn-headed boy of about ten.
"Can I take your bag, Ms. Peggy?" asked Lora.
"It's great to see you again," added Jhaquira.
"Oh, thank you both, but I'm alright. The bag just has Andrea's art things. I thought she might want them on the trip," Peggy smiled.
"What, Grey-Havens-R-Us doesn't carry Crayola?" Viggo muttered snidely. "Hi, Regulars," the boy said happily.
"Hello, Tony," chorused about twenty different people, all grinning at the young child.
"Mom!" shouted Andrea, emerging from the back. "What are you doing here?"
"Going to Middle-Earth with you, dear," Peggy said cheerfully.
"How do you know about -?" Andrea said, gaping.
"I'm your mother, dear. I know everything," Peggy said offhandedly.
"But - and Tony? You can't bring Tony with us!"
"It's for moral support," Peggy replied.
"TONY is MORAL SUPPORT?"
"No, no, I'm moral support, but I didn't have time to find a babysitter. Look: see, I thought to bring Celi and Mithie so they won't go hungry while we're gone, and I've brought you your art supplies."
"Thank you," said Andrea weakly.
"Now, then!" Peggy said brightly. "Let's go adventuring!"
"Is everyone here?" asked Ulmo.
"Yes," said a multitude of voices.
"Sivi," said Ulmo.
Unexpectedly, Zane once again gripped Cate's arms from behind. Cate gasped and struggled as Sivi approached her resolutely. She clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut as Sivi reached for her throat. Certainly these lunatics were going to murder her...
"Hold still," Sivi said gently. "I can't undo the clasp if you squirm so."
Cate blinked and looked down. Sivi was unfastening the silver chain around Cate's neck. She slid it from about Cate's throat and took Cate's keepsake ring Nenya.
"I'll give this back in a moment," Sivi assured Cate.
Sivi grasped the silver ring in her fist and closed her eyes. The actors balked as the entire world shifted, fading away into nothing they had ever known... or, at least, nothing that they remembered knowing.
