Chapter 3: Thinking of a Way
The Fellowship did not set out for a few months. During which time, the guests of Rivendell fully indulged in the hospitality of Lord Elrond. For the most part, the knowledge of the Fellowship was confined from Serena. She did not begrudge them for their distrust, after all, she was a maiden who dropped from the sky from a different dimension which was rather remote to their current state of imagination. Still, it was hard to deny to existence of such an alliance but she was simply given a much abbreviated and glossed-over rendition of the quest.
On this particular day, the four Hobbits had been holding their own council as well. The topic of conversation was of the Ring, Bilbo and also Lady Serenity. The four halflings had seen the beautiful maiden whom Lord Elrond had introduced to Frodo at the 'secret' Council.
"I wonder where she is from?" wondered Pippin.
"I wonder if she is an Elf?"
"No, Merry. Didn't you see her ears? They arn't pointed, then she can't be an Elf"
"Ah, what do you know, Pip? You were just as far away as I was."
"I say that she is very beautiful. I wonder what she is liked up close. Of course, I couldn't take a close look at her from where I was..."
"She seemed very nice to me when I saw her at the Council. You are right, Sam. Lady Serenity is very gentle and her smile filled with much love but her eyes betrayed her."
All the Hobbits turned to Frodo who had let out a sigh after his speech. They starred him in astonishment. "Are you fond of her, Frodo?" asked Sam.
That shook Frodo out of his reverie. "I am merely saying my own opinion on the matter..."
"On what matter?"
Four pairs of eyes turned to the source of the voice and their current topic of conversation stood before them. They felt themselves blushing before Lady Serenity and had to look away from her. After an awkward silence, she said, "Frodo, it is nice to see you again. Are these your friends as well?"
With that Frodo nodded and introduced her to Sam, Merry and Pippin who were delighted to finally see the lady up close. They were surprised to find her part of the world of Men and not an Elf. Also, they were impressed by her beauty and strength could be portray with every stride that she made. She talked with them a little of how she came to Middle Earth but mostly she asked about Hobbiton and about Hobbits. They were happy to oblige and began retelling old stories to one who is willing to listen.
The truth is that Serena wanted to find out as much as possible about Middle Earth. In a way, she was "using" the Hobbits, friendly but very talkative creatures. Legolas and Strider - Aragon, she reminded herself, were busy with their own preparations. She enjoyed the company of Frodo and his friends yet she felt a foreboding feeling whenever she felt the presence of the Ring.
"Lady Serenity, are you all right?"
Serena jolted from her reverie. "Sorry, Sam. I was just in a daze. I am quite all right. Please, call me Serena. Serenity sounds rather formal to me. By the way, what are all of you doing in Rivendell? Surely, this is not the place where most Hobbits will venture to."
There was a minute of silence while the four friends tried to think of a reasonable answer without revealing about the Fellowship. "We are here to see Uncle Bilbo," said Frodo rather quickly.
The other three Hobbits nodded. "Who's Uncle Bilbo?"
"He was the one who first found the Ring and now Mr. Frodo has it!" All looked at Sam in shock and he immediately clasped his mouth for his outburst.
Serena pretended to be confused and instead, she said, "Well, come on little ones, would not introduce to me this Uncle Bilbo?" The Hobbits sighed out in relief and while Pippin and Merry led the way, Frodo lectured Sam to be careful what he was saying around Lady Serena.
"I am sorry Mr. Frodo. Please don't tell Mr. Gandalf about this. I am scared that he might turn me into a pig or something."
"Don't worry, Sam. I won't but please be more careful next time," said Frodo as they near Uncle Bilbo's room.
Uncle Bilbo was rather fascinated by the lady of Men. He stared at her for a moment before saying, "Oh my, for a moment, I thought I was seeing a queen before me. Please to meet your acquaintance, Lady Serena."
Serena was shocked by Bilbo's comment but she smiled to mask her amazement. Instead she said, "Frodo has been telling me that you are writing a book."
"Yes, I am. It is almost done and I think I have the perfect ending for it, but if you don't mind me asking, how did you come to Rivendell?"
After Serena told of her encounter with Legolas, Bilbo asked, "What was it liked where you came from?"
Serena thought for a moment before she said, "How about a compromise? I will to try to answer all of your questions and in return, you tell me all about Middle Earth?"
Eventually, Bilbo's curiosity won him over, and as the two began to talk with the four Hobbits listened on, Bilbo was absolutely taken by Lady Serena.
On most mornings, she would sit with the older Hobbit and exchanged stories. Most of them were rather superfluous, for most were too farfetched to be believable. Of course, she left out parts about being Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts and Bilbo left out parts about the Ring. During other parts of the day, she would explore Imladris with her newfound friends: the Hobbits, Legolas, Strider and even Boromir. She even gained the companionship of the Evenstar, Lady Arwen.
It was clear Serena that the bond that Strider and Arwen shared was more than simply platonic. With the knowledge of the fellowship and the Ring, as well as Arwen's confidence, they spoke of the matter, at one point.
"My choice is both sweet and bitter, for I shall forsake the path of immortality and that of my people, but I do not regret my choice, for my heart and my love is freely given."
" I know of love that is beyond time, love that rides upon the outcome of our every actions. It takes strength and courage and the purity of one's soul. I do not envy your choice, for I know the lengths to which we go for love."
The daughter of Elrond nodded in understanding, the words coming from the woman before her. Serena rarely spoke of her pasts and the residences of Rivendell did not press for what they assumed to be painful memories. Love was something that Serena knew a lot of. What is not her choice to leave her own dimension for the sake of those she love?
--oo--
At times, the Hobbits would be in Bilbo's room for another round of storytelling between the elder Hobbit and Serena. However, today, Gandalf had wanted a word with them. Serena knew the reason why, so her heart was hardly in the present conversation.
"I have not shown anybody this except for Frodo but somehow I felt that I should."
"What is it?"
"It's my book filled with stories of my travels, but I also included a map," he said while flipping pages.
Serena memorized the pages before her. She had wanted to see the map of world she was in. Though Lord Elrond had a vast supply of books, most of them were Elvish. Of course, many of them were in Westron, but Serena was not much of a reader by choice. At least, having seen a map of the world would help in tight spots.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door and it revealed Lord Elrond. Serena untangled herself from Bilbo's book and excused from the Lord of Rivendell. He smiled kindly at her and Serena walked outside to the verandah while the Council had been held not so long ago. She smiled as she lifted her head to face the full moon whose rays peered through the clouds. She held out her hand to catch some of the rays and to her surprise they began to form at the palm of her hand. They swirled in an array of silver sparkles. Some turned into a images of Elves, stars and flowers. Others began to disperse until they encircled the princess of the moon. The moonlight seemed to grace her presence and seemed rather honoured to have the princess in their light.
"I see you can charm moon rays, Lady Serenity. It is a rare gift that many do not possess."
Serena turned to see Gandalf the Grey behind her with his ocean blue eyes piercing at her. His staff held firmly at his side.
"It is a gift that I do not know I possess until now."
He walked forward and held the palm of his hand to the moon rays though they did swirl for a bit but they were not as effective as Serena's. He withdrew his hand after a while and said, "It is a gift so rare that not even I can truly appreciate, Lady Serenity."
"Mr. Gandalf, I know not of what you speak."
"No, perhaps not since you are new to our world. I am certain that my dear friend, Bilbo had answered much of your questions."
She nodded unsure of what to say and the effect of her words if she had spoken out. Gandalf seemed to analyse her once more before saying once more, "The night grows old, Lady Serenity, I bid you a good night."
With that, he turned and disappeared the way in which he came. She let out a sigh of relief. Once again, she felt that Gandalf was trying to assess her powers but hid most of it from him. Still, she had to be careful.
She was about to go inside when she heard whispering coming from the amongst the trees. From the shadows, emerged two figures whom she recognized to be Lady Arwen and Aragorn. Serena felt that she was prying but still she felt herself drawn to the scene before her. Soon Lady Arwen leaned forward and pressed an object to the palm of Aragorn's hand. Whatever words were spoken could only be heard by the two lovers but soon they sealed those privates words with a kiss.
Somehow, in the midst of it, Serena felt herself drawn back to the memory by the waterfall while she first met Legolas. She felt safe when she was with him. All her fears, obligations, her fated duties forgotten as she laid in his arms. She yearned for that feeling once more but instead she felt a chill from the night winds. She remembered that it was rather late and she still had to plan for the departure of the Fellowship and with that, she went back inside.
--oo--
(Next Day)
Legolas was looking for Lady Serena. He could not find her within palace or at Bilbo's room. None of the Hobbits had seen her but they did talk with her briefly. Lady Arwen or Aragorn had not seen or talked with her. He had even asked Boromir but still the lady seemed to have disappeared. Eventually, he scanned the outskirts of the palace grounds and he spotted the lady in the last place imaginable.
Serena was sitting at the edge of the waterfall, the first place in which she came upon when she first arrived at Middle Earth. The Hobbits had told her gravely that they were leaving soon on a journey and they know not of when they would return. She hugged each of them in turn for she knew that at last they were leaving for Mordor.
Since then, her plan had been formulated to follow the Fellowship. She knew that Legolas would be going and with his ability of sight over vast distances, she could not simply fly over them. Following them from a distance would be next to impossible with Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gandalf and even Gimli in the company. Finally, that left her with only one choice and that is her Crystal.
She decided to use teleport which would be dangerous but she was much stronger right now and the Crystal seemed to adapt well to the magic of Imladris which would strengthen its capabilities. She knew she could only use it once since she would need her strength and by then, the Fellowship would know of magic. She had decided to detect the energy of the company by using her friend Sailor Mars psychic powers and when she felt that they were in danger, then and only then would she teleport herself there. The plan carried the most risk but it was the only one where the company will not know of her secrets.
Legolas came upon the lady who was still in deep thought. He let out a polite cough, "Lady Serena?"
Her eyes turned from the edge of the water to him and she let out a smile. "Legolas. Have you come to inform of your departure as well?"
Her voice was laced with sadness yet a hint of emotion that he could not describe. "Yes, I am leaving at the break of tomorrow's dawn as well as the others, but I shall miss you while I am gone."
"Yes, as will I." With that she turned and starred at the water once more.
"It is rather ironic that we shall meet at this exact same spot and we shall say our good byes here as well."
"Please, lets speak not of goodbyes but enjoy the moment while it lasts." Legolas nodded before wrapping his arms around her liked that first day when they first met. He rested his chin upon her head as the two admired the beauty before them. Serena felt her heart breaking at the thought of what she must do but for now she set her concerns and snuggled closer to Legolas.
End of Chapter 3
