There was a bit of a surprise at the end of dinner. Elrond stood from his seat, and the hall fell silent.

"You all know Estel, whom I love as my own—Aragorn, son of Arathorn." Estel sat on Elrond's left, and Elrond put his hand on the young man's shoulder. Estel looked lovingly up at him. "Tomorrow he will be taking his leave of us and traveling into the wild, to fight in the cause against the Shadow." There were a few muttered gasps at this, but no one spoke. "May he become as great as his forefathers." Elrond raised his glass. "To Aragorn."

The ellyn all rose, and the entire hall raised their glasses. "Aragorn," they said, and toasted him.

After they had all taken their seats again, some conversation resumed. But at the head table, everyone was quiet and subdued. Looking down the table, Katie saw that the twins looked very serious, and Arwen was concentrating a little too intently on her plate.

Katie had obviously picked up on the fact that Aragorn must be another of Estel's names, but it puzzled her why he would have two.

000

The next day saw Estel's departure. Katie knew he said a long farewell to each of the twins and to Arwen, although she didn't witness them. When it came her turn, he gave her a hug.

"I hope to meet you again, Katie Johanson," he said.

Katie forced a smile. "You too. Keep out of trouble, okay?"

Estel smiled back. "Oh-kay."

Katie intended to ask someone about Estel's mysterious other name, but she was a little bit depressed about the whole thing the first day, and she didn't want to ask the twins, and then the whole thing just slipped her mind.

Mithrandir himself left a few days after Estel. "I would have liked to stay and find out more about this Vivian Lewis," he told Elrond, "but I'm afraid I have things to see to, and cannot spare the time at the moment. Do let me know if you ever discover anything about her; I am much interested."

Then he too rode out of Rivendell and headed west.

000

Katie took a walk by herself one morning, leaving her grandmother and Erestor to have a chat in the gardens. She headed down toward the Bruinen.

It was a gorgeous day, with all the accoutrements one would expect in a lovely spring morning. Birdsong, buzzing insects, waving grasses and flowers and the sunlight dancing in patches on the grass as the breeze gently tossed the leaves above.

When Katie came out from under the trees, the sunlight on the grass was so bright she had to squint. But she crossed it anyway, the sun warming the top of her head.

She had let her hair grow out a bit over the months she had been here, and it was now down to about her elbows. Had she been at home, she would have cut it long before this, but the climate was a little milder here, and it wasn't nearly as hot and bothersome as it would've been at this time of year in Pennsylvania.

The river sparked and shone in the bright sunlight, and Katie walked along it for a little way. Then she looked up and spotted Lossefalme coming from the opposite direction with a basket full of flowers so colorful, Katie could see them from here. When the elleth spotted her, she came forward quickly.

"Katie!" she exclaimed when she was within speaking distance. "Come out for a walk?"

"Yep. It's a gorgeous day, isn't it?"

Lossefalme murmured assent, and glanced back the way she had come for a moment. She gave herself a little shake, and she and Katie started back toward the house.

They met Sadron in the stable yard. He bowed to them both with a smile. Katie waved, and Lossefalme said, "Good morning, Sadron."

Sadron's smile slowly faded, and he gave Lossefalme a searching look. But the two girls walked straight on past, barely noticing his expression.

Back in the house, Lossefalme went to arrange the flowers she had cut and Katie headed for Erestor's study.

Vivian and Erestor were chatting away merrily. Vivian appeared to be explaining something about gas prices, and mentioned cars. "Horseless carriages," she clarified.

"Ah, yes, the twins and Estel told me about those," Erestor said. "I take it they weren't too pleased about riding in them at first." He paused. "The fact that the twins and Legolas could travel to your world at all confuses me," he admitted.

"But not Estel?" Katie asked, puzzled.

"No; Estel is human. But elves—we are confined to Arda."

"Arda?" Vivian asked.

"Our world. Middle-earth and Aman," Erestor clarified.

"Planet Earth and the nearest environs," Katie added.

"Ah."

"Men can—and do—leave Arda. But Elves do not. I cannot understand it. How is it even possible that they should have gone to your world?"

When it was obvious that no suggestion was forthcoming, Katie asked a question of her own. "You know, I've been meaning to ask. Why did Elrond start calling Estel 'Aragorn'?"

Erestor smiled. "Because that is his name."

Katie still looked confused, and he continued. "Elrond took Aragorn and his mother in when he was two years old."

Katie nodded. "Arwen told me that."

"Well, Elrond gave him the name Estel and did not tell him about his true identity until this past summer."

"Why?"

"For his own safety. You see—" Erestor paused a moment and regarded her critically. "You know that Estel is descended from Elrond's twin brother Elros, who chose mortality, and that Elros was the first king of Númenor. And I taught you that Númenor sank into the sea."

Katie nodded.

"Well, some of the men of Númenor did not take part in the attack on Aman, and they escaped the destruction. They came here and founded the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor. Arnor, founded by Elendil, ceased to be a kingdom in the year 1975 of the third age, but Gondor still exists. It was founded by Elendil's sons Isildur and Anarion. It is much smaller now than it was, and the line of kings ended nearly a thousand years ago. But Aragorn is Isildur's heir—heir to the throne of Gondor."

Katie blinked at him. "You mean to tell me Estel is a long-lost king?"

"Yes."

"Oh, my." Katie and Vivian both sat and chewed over that thought for awhile.

"You keep talking about Númenor and Aman," Vivian finally said. "I don't really understand what you mean. Do you have a map that shows them?"

"Certainly," Erestor said, rising and heading over to the bookcase. In a minute he came back with a map and spread it out on the table.

"You see, this large landmass here in the east is Middle-earth. We are here, in Rivendell." He pointed to the land between the two tributaries of the Bruinen. "This landmass to the west is Aman, where the Valar live, which is now removed from the world. And this island here is Númenor, which sank into the sea when the Númenoreans tried to invade Aman."

Vivian frowned, trying to grasp all this. "Think 'Avalon' and 'Atlantis'," Katie advised her.

Erestor looked up sharply. "What did you say?"

"Avalon and Atlantis. Why?"

"How did you know that?"

Katie was entirely confused now. "Know what?"

"Those names!" When Katie showed no sign of understanding him, he continued. "Avallonë is the haven of the Elves on Tol Eressëa; its tower is the first sight one sees of Aman from the Sea. And Atalantë is the Quenya name for Númenor—'the Downfallen'."

Katie and Vivian both blinked at Erestor. "You mean—" Katie said, and stopped.

"You don't suppose—" Vivian began. They exchanged a look.

"Avalon is what the Irish called the paradise that lay west across the sea," Vivian explained slowly to Erestor. "And they say that there was once an island called Atlantis in that sea, but the Atlanteans angered the gods, and the gods sank all of Atlantis into the sea thousands and thousands of years ago. That's why it's now called the Atlantic Ocean. But the stories are so incredibly old that hardly anybody believes them anymore."

"No way," Katie said quietly, staring intently at the map.

All three of them were silent for a long minute. "You realize what this means?" Erestor finally said. "You never actually left your world. You only traveled in time. The twins and Legolas did not leave Arda. They were in Arda all the while. They only went to a future Arda." He sat down in his chair, looking almost as floored as the two humans before him. "It is no wonder Elrohir saw so much decay around him; he was seeing the world he loved several thousand years older."

Vivian's face split into a huge grin. "Then Avalon and Atlantis really did exist! 'The land of Faerie, where beauty has no ebb, decay no flood!' It's real!"

"And that means that is really is true, that the morning and the evening star is both Venus and Ëarendil," Katie said quietly, almost to herself. "It's true. It's all true. I almost can't believe it. Ilúvatar is real, and he did make our world! Well, I obviously rather believed that, but… And the Valar are real! And they really exist in our world!... I think I need to sit down," she concluded.

But she jumped up a moment later. "Grandma!" she exclaimed in shock. "Do realize what this means? Estel is an Atlantean!"

TBC

AN: The Council of Elrond and Encyclopedia of Arda are my friends. :)

cat: Oopsie. —smiles nervously— Only the first typo you've found? lol

Princess Siara: —reads off a prepared statement— I will neither confirm nor deny any theories concerning possible romantic involvements between Katie and/or any other characters. lol

FallenTruth: Do let me know when you get that list together!

Laer4572: Hate to shoot holes in an interesting theory, but Radagast was still hanging around right before the War of the Ring, as he carried Saruman's message to Gandalf. Also, I really can't imagine a Maia getting married. I mean, sure they've got bodies, but have you ever heard about any of the "married" Valar ever having children? I don't think they reproduce like the "Children of Eru". But good guess! Keep thinking!

Thanks also to Fk306 and Renegade Kitsune!

Please review! Oh, and I'd appreciate any feedback I can get on my piece on fictionpress dot com—hint-hint-nudge-nudge-wink-wink…