Chapter Five: Oh No...

January 16

The good news is that we have finally met up with some kind of civilization.

The bad news is that the civilization that we have met up with doesn't like us one whit.

I guess I shouldn't complain. I mean, we were being chased by freakin' orcs until we found these people- err, Elves. Okay, they actually found us and scared me half to death in the process.

We were running from these orcs that were chasing us out of Moria when we arrived at this river. Legolas named it as the Nimrodel, and he started singing this tune to himself. If I make it out of here alive, I'll remember to ask him for the words; it was a nice song. I didn't ask him earlier because he was giving us history lessons on Lórien, criminally cheerful for someone who is being chased by myriads of evil counterparts. Actually, Legolas is almost always criminally cheerful, so I may never get a chance.

Anyways, as soon as we had waded across (finally a large-ish body of water! As a Florida girl, I need large bodies of water or I feel dried up) we entered Lothlórien. Those trees are huge. Absolutely humongous. But our condemnably cheerful Elf decided to climb around a bit. All of a sudden, this voice from nowhere called out, "Daro!" I nearly fainted in fear, because I'm such a wimp.

Legolas' ironclad optimism suddenly faltered, because he immediately jumped down and tried to make himself as small as possible against the tree trunk, which he was dwarfed by but not concealed by. Another voice called out something, and Legolas answered. If I didn't know such a thing was possible, I would have sworn he was stuttering. Merry and Sam were whispering to each other, when Legolas said to Aragorn in a low voice, "They bid me climb up with Frodo, for they seem to have had some tidings of him and our journey." Then this rope ladder came down from a tree branch above me, making me jump. I scooted over to a tree where the others were standing while Legolas and Frodo climbed up the ladder. I didn't think it could hold Frodo's weight, since it was so thin, but the rope must have been made of something really tenacious, because it held.

Looking down to my fellow companions. Aragorn was looking wistful, the hobbits were looking quite out of their depth, Gimli was looking distrustful, and Boromir was nearly out of his mind with fright, but he never would admit it, least of all to me. So I decided to try and help him, though it probably wouldn't work. I stood beside him and said quietly, "This land is strange, is it not?"

Boromir nodded back, "It is most certainly odd. People living in trees instead of on the ground!"

"That was a very hobbit-ish statement," I observed.

"True," he admitted, a little bit more at ease. Any mention of the hobbits seemed to make him feel better, especially if it was about Merry and Pippin, who were under his wing along with me, so to speak.

Soon enough, Legolas came down. "We are to climb up," he explained. He gave a wary eye to Gimli, as if he doubted that he could climb the height that proved to be great. But climbing ladders to get to and from the deep places under the mountain greatly aided our friend, and he managed to get up. Aragorn, who went after the hobbits (the hobbits were first), said that you could almost see it in the eyes of the three Elves (other than our own obscenely positive one) that they were keeping score: 'one point for the dwarf, but there are five thousand wanting.' Then up went Sues One and Two. And then my turn.

I had not climbed a rope ladder or a tree since I was six. But I managed to get up rather quickly- more quickly than the Sues, at any rate. I could swear that all three of the Elves were surprised (that is to say, their eyebrows shot up) when they saw that I, a fifteen year old girl, was traveling with these hardened warriors and very important people. But any expression of surprise was erased when Boromir came up behind me and placed a firm hand on my shoulder, glaring so hard at the three that I could feel it on the back of my head.

At first glance, all three elves looked very much alike, and were very similar to Legolas, except their raven hair was straight and worn in a short-ish ponytail instead of curly and too short to be tied up. But their eyes were harsh, as if they had seen much more death than anyone of their species could handle and remain humane. The tallest one, Haldir, barked (yes, barked) that we were to stay up here tonight. Then I noticed the ears:

Haldir's ears have five, yes, count 'em, five points. Like a maple leaf.

There is no more to be said about that.

--

The hobbits were really worried about sleeping in a tree (they like heights no more than my mother) but they managed to settle down. Gimli, Aragorn and Boromir managed to get some sleep (Aragorn hit the hay- err, talan, instantly) and Legolas was off talking to some distant cousin on the other side of the huge talan. But I couldn't see the two Sues, and that worried me. The last time they weren't in front of my eyes, I almost ended up splattered all over any hard surface that might exist under the bridge of Khazad-dum. I also realized that I was a little too close to the edge of the talan, but I couldn't get any farther back, because I was leaning against the trunk on the narrowest part of the platform. Suddenly, I felt a hand from behind me, gently 'encouraging' me to fall off the edge. I luckily grabbed a hold of the cloth-swathed arm and bit my fingernails into the skin (through the cloth; yup, my new fingernails are sharp) and I heard this hiss and the arm instantly let go. I immediately shifted my position so that I could be seen by anyone looking at the trunk. So it's Guardian Angels: 2 Me: 1 Sues: 0.

But all the Sues need is one, and I lose. Oh joy.

January 17

We're in Caras Galadhorn, and it took some time to get here. We all had to be blindfolded, because of Gimli. He insisted on us all wearing blindfolds because he had to. Our cheerful Elf was not so happy about it, but eventually gave in. When we got to the city, the blindfolds went off, by the order of the Lady, we were told. I noticed that there were four holes with brownish stains on the edges on the sleeve of Sue Two. Hah, take that, you imbecile! I may not be as old as you, nor as pretty as you, but I may inflict pain on you! HAH, I SAY!

Anyways, we met the two important people here- the Lord and Lady. I really can't recall the meeting, because there is a dreamy sort of aura around that hall that makes you sleep while awake. Memories run together so that the only thing that comes out is the stark truth. And the truth about Lórien is so densely covered that there is no truth- just a bunch of false intentions and wishful thinking. Which, I have been told by Legolas, is really what the older Elves are about. They cannot see the truth sometimes for fear, and instead grieve for futures that could have happened. I actually think that that is the reason why Legolas was chosen for the Elves; of all of that species readily available, he was the youngest, and thus, more prone to hope.

January 18

I've been called to the Divine Presence.

Apparently her ladyship has decided that I didn't say my whole part yesterday, so I now have to report in full by myself. Oh fun.

Galadriel was standing in this little glen surrounded on three sides by mallorn roots. She waited patiently as I figured out how to descend properly to the bowl area. When I arrived, she said (rather bluntly), "You were not to be here."

That did it. "I know I shouldn't be here; but I didn't really have a choice! I have to keep things from getting any worse messed up than they are. That's my job!" Then I suddenly realized who I'd mouthed off. "I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I'm just a little frustrated, that's all."

"You have a right to be," she said in a very calm voice. "But I did not say that you should not be here, only that your presence here was not in the Song." Whoosh! What is that sound? That is the sound of a comment going right over my head.

"Ummm... okay," I said uneasily. "So, why am I here?"

"There is someone we must talk to, and she is not disposable until the Sun sets."

"Oh."

So we waited for about thirty minutes, during which time I could play the Jepordy song in my head for a full sixty repetitions. And then that star shape came up. "Nice to see you again, Alatariel," said the light pleasantly.

Galadriel bowed. "Likewise. I believe you know this maid? And would you please stop glowing. I know you can stand in normal form; I have seen you do it. And you will attract attention."

"That shape is anything but normal," muttered the shape, but the glow died down and was replaced by a red-haired woman clad in white and yellow. "All right, what is this we need to talk about?"

"Arë," said Galadriel to me, "How many times have those wenches under the disguise of humanity tried to kill you?"

I frowned. "I think… three times."

"Well, it was more than that. Thrice in the caves they tried poison in your stew, only Legolas sensed it once and Aragorn saw it twice and they prevented it. They tried to kill you in the caves more than once during the battle under the mountains, but they became distracted. And last night, Alquawen tried to stab you with that thing that looks like a knife, but it was shot from her hand before she could come near you. She believed her grip to be shaky." She smiled sardonically.

The red-headed woman shook her head remorsefully. "Oh my. What have I gotten you into?"

Galadriel replied for me in a voice as sharp as the sword I carry. "It is not a question of what will happen, it is a question of how you will alleviate the situation."

She thought for a few minutes, then spoke. "I have a possible solution, but it involves... complicated things."

"Such as?"

" Arë," the redhead turned to me, "I am sorry, but I need to tell you this now- you can never return to your home. I didn't know that that would happen, but it did. I have pleaded with Ilúvatar himself, but he said that I could not take you across the barrier again."

I was in shock. I would never see home again. I would never be with my friends, never bait my enemies, never groan over schoolwork, never enjoy a cup of cocoa again. I barely heard her next words. "This much I can tell you of your new life. If you do not accept my aid, then you will die at the hands of my goddaughter and her friend. If you do take my help, you shall live, but you shall not be the same person as you are now. Which do you choose?"

I thought a moment and then voiced my decision. "I cannot make this choice on what I wish, rather, what this world needs. I need to rid the world of these two, and reverse the damage they have done. It is my duty." I took a deep breath. "I shall take your aid." I sounded like a bloody speechwriter.

The redhead smiled bitterly. "Then here is your new fate. I'm so sorry this had to happen." I saw a flash of blinding light and it lead into darkness.

Same day, but events from three days after previous entry

Gods, why did this have to happen?

When I woke up, I was in confusion. There were so many sounds- water droplets outside for miles, it seemed, were all falling in my ears. Myriads of Elves were talking outside, but I could not understand them. Countless leaves were rustling onto a microphone whose attached speakers were right next to my ears. It was terrible. Then I made a mistake to open my eyes. There were so many colors, my head spun. Things were shaped as they should, but the coloration was different, more acute. I shut my eyes and tried to think rationally, which was a struggle. Maybe I had picked up a disease and was hallucinating. Maybe I had developed schizophrenia. If only that were true. I half opened my right eye and looked down at my hand, knowing what I would see but hoping nonetheless.

It was glowing.

--

I was in shock. Changing species is no easy switch, especially if the sensory perception is changed. But not only was my perception of the world changed, I personally had changed. I felt different, like what I used to think cats felt like; I felt poised. But all this new sensation was making me dizzy, when the Lady herself came in. I covered my eyes with my hands, she glowed so brightly. Almost like a searchlight. "I am sorry," she whispered; it sounded very different from the last time I heard her. "But we had no choice."

I clenched my eyes shut. This couldn't be happening, not to me. It was Sue-ish! This was breaking one of the fundamental rules of this universe. The whole reason I was here was to make sure that as many rules were kept intact as possible.

"Not so," said Galadriel. Dagnabit, I'd forgotten that she can read minds. "You see, your particular species of human is not the same as the one here. The ban does not apply to you. It's a loophole in the will of Ilúvatar, to use terms familiar to you. And you are not evil if you take advantage of the same things that Evil does." That didn't explain the glow -or make me feel better- but hey, I could survive this- immortality thing.

I hoped.

I breathed in and breathed out. "Okay, I have a few questions now."

I could feel her smile (evil new senses!) "You may ask as much as you wish."

"All right. First of all, who is the red-headed woman?"

"She is not exactly a woman. She is Arien, the bearer of the sun. That is why she cannot come but at night."

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Time out. I nearly mouthed back on one of the Maiar? Valar save my broken body!

"Second question. Is this permanent?"

This time I could feel her grimace. "I am afraid so. But you have the capacity to deal with the change." No surprises there, but hey, I could hope.

"How can I learn to deal with this?"

"Unfortunately, you will have to relearn a lot: walking, probably; running, certainly. You will even have to relearn the art of your blade. However," here she paused and actually sounded a bit cheerful, "It will all happen a lot faster than it did the first time to learn these skills."

"What about the hearing and sight?"

She paused again. "I do not know what you have gone through in that respect, since I have never undergone your particular change. But I surmise that your senses are a lot sharper in those departments. Sight you will have to get used to, in time. However," another pause, "the hearing is another problem. You had a trained ear for a human, do you not?"

"Heavily trained." I wasn't bragging; it was the truth.

"Then you will have to learn to dull that sense. Otherwise it will overwhelm you. Now, to start with the simplest task. Open your eyes."

I opened them, and I was greeted by a rush of color, just like before. Only I kept my eyes open this time. "I would advise looking at the ground for a while," said Galadriel calmly. "Looking to the trees would only make you lightheaded." I looked at the boards. Those planks that had seemed so smooth only hours ago were suddenly quite textured and uneven. My eyes traveled to the chair on which the lady sat. There were patterns within patterns, scrolling in different directions. Then I looked at the Lady's dress hem. It was very neatly done, probably because it was sewn by eyes that could gauge imperfection. The threads were also more even than I had expected. I couldn't look directly at the Lady, because of the fierce glow, but I assumed that I would see her in greater detail if I could look and no imperfection would be hidden by impairment.

"I think," I ventured to say, "I can get used to this."

About week later, since I've lost track of time

She wasn't lying when she said that I would need to relearn how to walk. In fact, it took me two days to get enough coordination to walk across the room. Now I've moved on to this new thing- running. It is a lot harder than you would think. Now the nerves are connected differently to muscles, so it's not easy to do any major motions. But hey, I'm doing pretty well. I had to relearn walking for goodness' sake, and I managed it in two days. It's been a week total and I can now manage a brisk jog. Go me!

The hearing bit's been pretty hard. Turning off a skill that took years to hone is not easy. I've also learned that I can't try to look at anything more than a hundred paces away or I get dizzy. Which, of course, is not really that convenient, seeing as the entire reason I got these super-eyes was to be able to see the Sues sneaking up on me.

I am happy to add that this change thing also negated some of the effects of my last change- the Lady calls them "secondary effects." First off, I am back to my hard-earned five foot three and three quarter inches, since most elves are shorter than humans. Even Legolas is shorter than Boromir. Secondly, my hair is dark auburn (I was born strawberry blonde) since all elves that I've seen (excluding the Lord, Lady, and Glorfindel) have had jet black hair. But unfortunately, it's still as thick and long as it was before all this. Drat the hair!

February 16 (hah! Another date!)

We leave today, and we all got gifts- even the Sues. Merry and Pippin got dirks that were like swords to them. Aragorn got a brooch that was passed to him from Arwen, and Boromir got a golden belt. Legolas got a bow and quiver, and his criminal optimism returned. There had been a little lapse in that annoying attitude when I was relearning motile lifestyle, but now we have an Elf that would be bouncing off walls if there were any of substance to bounce off of in the area.

I did relearn running, and have run faster than I ever have before. I also relearned the sword-saber-thinga lot better than the first or even second times. I mean, there are trained warriors here who have spent millennia learning how to use this thing, and I got the benefit of their training. I assume that the Lady told them that I needed to learn or die for lack of knowledge and they sympathized with my youth, but for whatever reason, I got some proper training at last. I also got down the looking far away, but I learned the hard way to never look above the horizon- I did it once and was reduced to a nonmotile state for two days. I'm still working on the hearing, but I've toned it down a bit. But I digress.

Back to the gifts. The Sues each received a gold necklace- something pretty, appeasing to them, and completely useless. They weren't even made of anything valuable. Gimli, of course, got the biggest gift of all- the regard of the Lady for him and his kin. I think that makes up for the five thousand points that the three Elves we first met were counting. And I got a small, discreet dagger that I can hide in my boot- top- flap- thing. I have a special plan for this dagger, and I think it'll come in handy when we get to the Falls of Rauros. That's the next major opportunity for murder, as long as I row in the back.

Oh, and I found out who Sue Two is headed after. Right before the boats left, Haldir came up behind me and said, "If fortune favors you, let your dagger find its way to that black heart of the Swan Maiden," and disappeared. Who'd a thunk that Sue Two would be a Haldir fangirl? Well, if she manages to survive until Helm's Deep, man will she be disappointed. Note to self: Laugh. Hard.

Reviewer responses:

Outlawblue: Ever wondered how I get these things up so fast? That's because they're already written; I'm just doing a lot of tweaking.

Angeltread: Ah, the great inspirer of Dr. Suess. Gotta love Thing One and Thing Two. I think we should do a comparison with IQ levels- Things or Sues: Who's Got More Brain Power? The downside is we already know who's smarter.

Laer4572: I can give that to you right now: Sue One: 0, Sue Two: 0. Tsk, tsk, those Sues should study something other than the males in the immediate vicinity.

Cainwen the Warrior: Yes, huzzah! Without nerdy girls, there would be no next generation of Chess Club and Mu Alpha Theta members.

Tera Earth: Finally someone who agrees with me about Legolas' hair. The new point (he he) in question: Can elves have multiple points on their ears? All Tolkien said was that they were leaf-shaped. I think I like the maple-leaf look.

All my readers: If you really like it, please review! I even accept anonymous reviews! Please? I shall wish you cookies. And it works, too! Ask angeltread!