Something Special

Author: Lil-Hellraiser

Disclaimer: Don't own any of em. Nope, just my computer here and my poster of Orlando. waves: HI BABY!

Author's Note: Sorry I've taken so long. I've been thinking long and hard about how to make up for the crappy chapter five, and I've been stressed out about my Harry Potter fic. Also, summertime is totally bugging me out and I've had so many things to do lately…I didn't count my vacation as 'officially on' until last week! Enjoy chapter 6!

::..::

"You can do better! Come on, hit me!"

"Estel, I swear, you've worn me out! Let me rest!"

"Just one more duel. Please?"

I sighed and replaced my sword in my custom-made sheath. "No chance. I'm beat." It had been about six years since I had come to Middle Earth. Estel had been taking sword lessons since he was about seven or eight, and had requested that I practice with him. It's only because every time we duel, he beats me, I thought wryly. However, I continued these battles, hoping that perhaps my skills would improve with time. Either that or I would spend the rest of my life never being able to live down the reputation of being continuously beaten by a twelve-year-old.

I strolled over to a bench and sipped some water from my bottle of sheepskin, then splashed some on my face. I stared up at the fading sun. We'd been at it all afternoon.

"Estel, lets pack it up. I don't want to miss dinner like last time."

Estel grinned. There were times when we had gotten so wound up in fighting that we completely forgot to come in for dinner. Lord Elrond would come outside looking for us and find us at it again on the practice grounds. I watched him as he replaced his sword in his sheath. He'd really grown up fast.

We walked together back to the palace, laughing and talking.

"Aunt Jolie?" He asked as we turned to go to our separate rooms.

"What happened to Auntie?" I teased.

He huffed. "That's for children." I didn't want to point out that at twelve he was in every meaning of the word still a child, but decided that I wanted to hear what he had to say.

"What were you saying?" I asked him, starting to turn. He started running down the halls, something he knew he shouldn't do, but loved to do anyway.

"You'll never change!" He shouted as he turned a corner. I heard a crash. "Sorry!" Came a cry belonging to Estel. I chuckled and headed to my rooms to clean up. Of course I could never change. I was 'Aunt Jolie', the Dayflame, and Estel's constant sisterly companion! For his sake, I couldn't really afford to change. I glanced down at my ring and sighed. It was too bad that I wouldn't be around to see the end of his days. He would be far too young to see the end of mine. By the time I was dead, I was counting on being in my seventies or eighties, and he would probably still be in the wild then.

I entered my room and walked straight to the mirror. I was about twenty-three now, my hair still vibrant and red, and my figure hadn't really changed. I glanced into my eyes. They seemed to hold brightness to them, of course, but they were showing no sign of giving up their child-like glow. I would have thought that by the time I was in my twenties, the child-like innocence that my eyes had would go away, but it was not so. It seemed that I had not changed since I was seventeen. But maybe some people just appeared to look the same until they were overtaken by old age. I'd never been twenty-three before, so I would just have to see.

I hastily grabbed a cloth and dipped it in warm water, proceeding to wash dirt spots from my arms and face. Then I picked out a blue gown from my closet and some pretty silver slippers and put them on. I let my hair down from my screwed up ponytail and brushed the tangles out of it. Not entirely satisfied, but altogether okay with my appearance, I made my way to the dining hall.

I sat next to Gilraen just as the food was being served. We had become like sisters as the years passed, and I was always more than happy to spend time with her. I frequently babysat Estel when Gilraen felt ill or needed time to relax.

"Where have you been?" She asked as I slipped into my seat. "Elrond was thinking if he should go out searching again."

I looked up from my plate and saw Lord Elrond a bit down the table, who gave me a weary look. I grinned sheepishly and went back to eating.

"I was training again with Estel." I said simply. "You've raised quite a headstrong kid, girl." Gilraen laughed. Estel stole into the room sneakily and sat down next to his mother. He looked cleaner than before, but Gilraen noticed something immediately.

"You missed a spot on your forehead." She chastised. She brandished a kerchief from her pocket and began to furiously wipe his forehead. I giggled. Aragorn quietly pleaded his mother to stop, and she eventually stopped. He was quiet for most of the meal, and unknown to me, a question was brewing in his young mind. I noticed nothing until he said, quite loudly:

"Where did I come from?"

I swear that most of the people in the hall went silent…but it was probably because of the shock that overcame me. I guess I imagined it. The noise was cut in half at least. I went red and Gilraen did also. The attention of some elves surrounding us was on us, because we were really the only humans here, and Estel's question couldn't possibly be proper conversation for meals. I cursed elves and their great hearing. I chanced a look at Elrond, who had frozen with his fork in front of his mouth. He looked at Gilraen, who looked at him. I didn't know what the big deal was. A bit embarrassing, yes, but it was only a kid who was curious.

"Those matters are not suitable for the dinner table." I said to him quietly. He opened his mouth to speak, and I kicked his ankle under the table. He went silent. After a few seconds my hearing must have evened out and sound slowly flowed back into the hall. Elrond, Gilraen, and Estel weren't very talkative that evening. I amused myself by chatting with Glorfindel, who I always loved talking to because he always did his best to make our conversations lively and entertaining. He didn't seem concerned with Estel's question at all. Perhaps he had not heard it.

After dinner I followed Lord Elrond and Gilraen to Lord Elrond's study. They both looked flustered.

"What was that all about?" I asked. Lord Elrond sat in his chair, a worried expression on his face.

"Estel wants to know where he came from."

I cocked my head to the side. "Doesn't everyone? I mean, haven't you told him yet?"

Elrond shook his head. "Gilraen and I were planning on waiting for him to be a trifle older."

I frowned. "Why? You should have explained all this to him a long time ago."

"We didn't want him to get carried away. There are still people who are after him because of where he came from." Gilraen spoke softly, eyes downcast.

"…Doesn't everyone come from the same place?" I asked, visibly confused. "Are we even talking about the same thing?" Elrond looked up.

"What were you talking about?" He asked.

"The fact that Estel has a right to know where babies come from!" I nearly hollered. "Slow." I muttered. But Elrond and Gilraen looked relieved.

"Is that all?" They asked. I regarded them strangely.

"What's up with you guys?" I said. "What were you talking about?"

Elrond hesitantly walked to stand beside Gilraen. "It is a long story, Jolie. You are now a trusted member of the House. What you hear must not travel from this room. Ever."

I nodded, eager to be let in on the family 'scandal'. Lord Elrond took a deep, hesitant breath.

"I am not the birth father of Estel." He said, resting a hand on Gilraen's shoulders. She seemed to be shaking.

"Could've fooled me." I said sarcastically. He looked at me funny.

"You would do well to treat this situation with sensitivity." He warned. I sighed and motioned for him to continue.

"When Estel was very small, his birth father passed away, leaving Gilraen to raise him on her own. Estel's bloodline saw it fit for him to be raised in Imladris, as his forebears were. I have bestowed upon him the elvish name Estel, and not soon after, you…dropped in."

"And who was Ar…Estel's real father?"

"A man of high power. His name was Arathorn, son of Arador. He was a King of Gondor, and a remaining Dunedain, a race of men blessed with long life. When Estel was but a babe, Arathorn was riding against the fearsome Orcs in battle alongside my sons and was pierced through the eye with an arrow." Elrond finished, glancing at Gilraen. She sat in a chair, her head hanging low. I whistled and muttered an 'ouch'.

"Estel was given the name Aragorn at birth, but for reasons of secrecy, as you can imagine, we have bestowed upon him an Elvish name and keep his true lineage hidden from him."

I tried to pretend that this was all new to me. "Ah." Was all I got out. "Well…when will Estel know of his true heritage?" I asked. Elrond looked pensive.

"Estel cannot reside in the House forever, for he is young, and will have a desire to explore. Perhaps when the time is right my sons will take him into the wilderness to be rejoined by the Rangers of the north, of his race. The last of the Dunedain."

I nodded. Little Estel would have such a long life ahead of him. When I first got here, the Fellowship was to be formed in eighty-one years. I'd been here for six years, so minus six from eighty-one and you get seventy-five years. I was only twenty-three and to join the Fellowship I'd have to be ninety-eight. It seemed so far away. And from what I could tell, Estel would be leaving in a few years, because I assumed that you grew up a little faster in Middle Earth. At that moment, I felt horribly lonely.

"Excuse me." I said, angered by the depressed tone in my voice. I could almost hear the protest in Elrond's voice when he said, "Jolie –"

"I am sworn to secrecy." I assured him. "Estel's identity shall remain his own." I smiled weakly though my back was turned and opened Elrond's door. "Make sure that Estel's question is properly explained to him. These are things he really should understand." I felt like I was giving a pet to a friend while I went on vacation. I just spend so much time with Estel, to think of him leaving so soon made me very distressed.

And make sure he gets warm milk when he has an upset stomach, that always works for him…oh, and have in mind that when he loses in a fight you still need to pretend that he won so that he isn't beating himself up over it later…and he's happiest when he's in a field with his horse, Burlap…and –

"Jolie?"

I stiffened as I froze in the corridor. I hadn't noticed that there were tears that I had to keep in my eyes until one spilled onto my cheek. I wiped it away.

"Yes, my Lord?" I wasn't surprised to find misery evident in my voice.

"Jolie? Could we talk?" Lord Elrond asked me. I nodded, and keeping my head down, he led us to a garden bench that was overshadowed by a pretty flourishing apple tree.

"What is it that you request?" I asked, somehow feeling that I needed to be polite now. He looked me right in the eyes.

"Jolie, you may drop your formalities. You are considered a valuable member of the House." He tipped up my chin. "Now why are you behaving so oddly?"

I reflected on answer carefully before replying. "I suppose it's just the talk of everyone leaving." I sighed at his questionable look. "I mean, I've come to love everyone in Imladris. I have not met many people of the race of men, except for Gilraen, Estel, and the odd traveler. All of my Elven friends will live on, and even Estel will outlive me, if what you say about his ancestors are true. He'll live for a long time. I won't. Everyone will go on without me to accomplish great things." I was hinting at the War of the Ring, but he'd never figure that out. Elrond gave me a thoughtful look.

"There are human inhabitants in Imladris as well, Jolie, though there are too few to see. You must 'hunt them out' if you will, to discover them. Perhaps you would do well to have an occupation in the city where you can meet and befriend these people. What did you do in your own world?"

"I cleaned." I said, without blinking. His cocked his head to the side.

"Did you have many hobbies?" He asked.

"I didn't have a lot of time." I said dismissively. "I went home to my aunt and uncles house after school was over, I cleaned everything up before they got home, took out the little shit –" Elrond raised an eyebrow " – their dog, and made dinner. After dinner I'd wash the dishes and then I'd do my leftover schoolwork. If I had any time to myself, it would usually be spent getting ready to go to sleep. I wasn't spared too much time to have many hobbies."

"…You only cleaned?" He asked in disbelief. I wondered if I had offended him. He was probably disgusted that someone with the former position of servant/maid was living on very respectable terms with him. I lowered my head. Once again, he tipped it up and grasped my hands.

"I have seen your hands playing Legolas Greenleaf's harp." He started. "And I have watched as you try to join the orchestra's at feasts, gracing them with your voice and receiving tips of their musical wisdom. And I cannot believe," He brought my hands up to my eyes. "that these hands had ever been subjected to any such labors." I stared at my slender hands, made for playing a piano and strumming the strings of a beautiful harp. I felt my eyes well up with tears.

"My mom and dad died when I was smaller, do you remember me telling you that?" I asked. He nodded silently. "I felt like they've abandoned me, and I feel like everyone I love is going to be ripped away because I'm going to get too old and I'll die. Everyone will carry on. I'll be forgotten." I sniffled, thinking that what I was going to say next could win the title of 'Most Likely to Be A Lifetime Original Movie'. "And…and I don't want to be left behind." I stared at my hands. Did I really just pour my life story out to Lord Elrond???

I felt strong, yet fragile arms embrace me. I stared forward, looking into the red robes of Lord Elrond. He loosened his grip and regarded me.

"You will not be left behind, Jolie Aurenàrë. You are every bit as accepted and received by our people as the bird welcomes the sun. Be at peace," He moved his fingers along my temples, "and release the resentment of the dark times that have left you so utterly broken. Be at peace." He then stared me right in the eye. Though his gaze was unnerving, I discovered that I actually felt a bit better. I glanced down at my ring, which seemed to have my finger throbbing. It was glowing softly. Elrond took notice of it.

"A peculiar piece of jewelry you have." He commented, giving it a piercing stare. I looked at it as well. I didn't know why it kept doing that. Then I had an idea.

"Lord Elrond, what if I wanted to take a trip?"

"To where?" He asked, interested.

"Um…Lothlorien, I had in mind." I said offhandedly. He seemed very hesitant to comply with my wishes, but looked out at the moon.

"We shall see. I have kin in Lorien."

I nodded. "Arwen?"

He seemed forlorn and unconciously nodded before snapping his head in my general direction. "How did you know about the Undomiel?" I shrugged.

"Glorfindel." I lied. I don't know if he believed me or not. Maybe he was just messing with my mind so that I would assume that I was safe for the time being. "So, a trip to Lorien sound dandy?"

He stood, facing the darker half the sky. "We shall see."

That night as I was going to sleep, I had one last thought: If there was one person in all of Middle Earth who could probably help me now, it was Galadriel.

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Hope that wasn't a lame chapter. It's like one in the morning, and I'm buying Return of the King today! I'm pissed off that I still don't have it. It's my fave out of the whole trilogy, even though it had like a million endings. Happy reviewing! (And NO there will be NO romantic relationships with Elrond and Jolie, if I gave you that vibe.)

P.S. Internet is down now, so I might not get this posted for a little bit, but it was Friday when I wrote this. Or EARLY Saturday, more like. Later!

UPDATE: I bought return of the king, and my mom, dad, and sis (who said that it was boring) got sucked into it. That's power.