Standard disclaimers apply--so obvious I don't own any of the recognizable characters.
Chapter 2: Meeting
Jacqueline followed the men on horseback as they headed toward the "palace" they were talking about. She did her best to stay camouflaged, but the wizard Gandalf continued to look up at where she currently was from time to time. How could he sense her? Even her friend, who was a master of the martial arts couldn't when she decided to become unnoticeable!
As the group walked into the glittering white palace, Jacqueline groaned. She'd never find out if Evelyn were safe or not. Even if she was a spoiled brat, they were still blood relations. If she tried to sneak into a palace crawling with elves, not only would she be heard, but her very different appearance would cause a fuss. Elves were all blonde, pointy-eared beings with extremely keen hearing; a black-haired, blunt-eared girl wearing black would be pretty conspicuous. Sighing again, she settled down for a long wait. If her cousin woke up and was safe, she'd definitely raise a commotion.
- -
Gandalf accompanied his friends up to a guest suite for the blonde stranger, speculating on why the girl with black hair and clothes would be following them. Finally, he could only think of two things. Either this other stranger was infatuated with the handsome prince Legolas or she was concerned about the blonde Legolas was carefully placing on the canopied bed.
It was clear that the blonde would not awaken for a long time, so Gandalf excused himself from his companions and walked back down the stairs and out to the courtyard facing the garden, which in turn faced the forest. Placing his hands on the top of his staff, he called out, "I know you're there. You might as well come out now."
- -
Jacqueline almost fell out of her tree when Gandalf called out. She clutched the branch nearest her as she tried to slow her rapidly beating heart. Slowly, she climbed out of the tree to stand in front of the man she thought was Gandalf.
"What are you doing here?" The man's face didn't give her hint about what his thoughts might be. This would make a lot harder for Jacqueline. Finally, she decided to throw caution to the winds.
"Are you the one known as Gandalf the Gray?"
- -
Now it was Gandalf's turn to be surprised. "Who are you and how did you know my name?"
"So you are Gandalf," The girl coolly replied.
Gandalf was puzzled. Why was this girl so impudent when she knew who he was? Most people grew weak-kneed with awe when they saw him. Didn't this girl know that he had enough power in his smallest finger to blast her to smithereens? Evidently, she knew and didn't care; "You still haven't answered my other question."
"I don't think so, Gandalf." Jacqueline was amazed at how calm her voice sounded. Inside, she was quaking with fear at what he might do with her because of her rudeness. "I suspect that you want to know more about the girl, yes?" Without waiting for him to reply, she went on, "I am Jacqueline and that girl with the pink shirt is my twice-removed cousin, Evelyn Lowell. Where is she?"
- -
Meanwhile, in the guest suite that had been assigned to the girl, an argument was taking place. Legolas was arguing with the hobbits to whether or not to wake the blonde.
"Legolas! Think! She's been asleep for more than an hour already! She must be well rested by now!"
"Yeah! And she does look like the type to wake up at noon everyday, whether it is a workday or not. She must have enough rest already!" Added Merry.
"Merry! Pippin! Don't you understand? She's exactly the type to go," Legolas adopted a high falsetto. "You're a prince? Great! You've got rank and looks!" His voice dropped back to its normal light tenor. "I'm sick and tired of females looking at me like a piece of steak!" He said 'female' like he'd say 'orc'.
Merry and Pippin cracked identical evil grins. Aragorn groaned and shook his head at Legolas' foolishness. Legolas realized his mistake as Merry pulled out a large feather from nowhere and handed it to Pippin, who was the closest to the bed. Admitting your weakness to hobbits who would take advantage of it is not a wise thing to do. Legolas lurched toward him, intending to pull the feather from his grasp, but . . . too late. The blonde sneezed . . . once . . . twice . . . and woke up.
Her bright cornflower-blue eyes looked dazed as she looked from Legolas's and Aragorn's face, completely ignoring the hobbits. The first words out of her mouth were, "Hey, are you two single?"
Merry and Pippin fell over, laughing until they cried. Aragorn looked horrified and Legolas . . .well, Legolas looked as if only politeness' sake prevented him from running out of the room screaming his head off. Only the entrance of Gandalf stopped him. Gandalf glanced around the room before his penetrating gaze rested on the girl still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, looking exactly like Sleeping Beauty just awaken. "Evelyn."
Evelyn started. "How did you-" She was interrupted by the sight of Jacqueline easing herself shyly into the room with a reticent smile.
- -
Legolas almost screamed before the girl finished her sentence. She was just as he'd thought, an exceptional example of the perfect little airhead. Sure she was beautiful, but he had been around beautiful women ever since he was born. Besides, she was nothing compared to Arwen Eveningstar. When Gandalf walked into the room, he let out an almost audible sigh. Gandalf would keep his sanity safe.
Then a girl slid quietly around the door. She had waist-length, straight black hair tied up in a no-nonsense ponytail. Her side bangs framed a classic face with cheekbones sharp enough to cut. Eyes a gray so light they looked blue looked on soberly. She was dressed in a loose-sleeved white shirt under a black, soft-looking vest. Her long, black trousers that flared a little at the bottom seemed to be made out of the same material as the girl, Evelyn's, skirt. Her shoes resembled the soft boots his kind preferred, at least of what little he could see of them. The way she moved reminded him of his trainer, Darinel. Any other man not used to beauty would've said she could have given Arwen some stiff competition in the looks department. Softly, she walked to stand beside Gandalf and introduced herself.
- -
"Hello, I'm Jacqueline and that's Evelyn, my cousin. And no need to introduce yourselves. You're Aragorn of the Once-Broken Sword. You two must be Merry and Pippin, hobbits of the Shire. You're Prince Legolas of Mirkwood." It was a statement, not a question and everyone in the room, with the exception of Aragorn and Evelyn, looked at her in bafflement. Aragorn looked thoughtful, and Evelyn glared, jealous that the identities of the two major hunks were already known to her low-life of an orphan cousin.
Gandalf was the first to speak, "Might I ask how you knew, Jacqueline?"
Jacqueline smiled again. "Merry and Pippin are quite obviously hobbits, and they were the only two hobbits to have any business doing here in Mirkwood, home of the wood-elves. And what human has not heard of Aragorn? Legolas gave himself away when he didn't bow to Gandalf as all the elves I've seen done. Gandalf?" She shrugged. "Tall, blue pointy hat. Gray robes, long, white beard, and tall, wooden walking staff. Not to mention an almost palpable cloak of power. How could I have missed?"
Aragorn rose to speak, "To people of Middle-Earth, yes. But you and Evelyn are not from our world. Aren't you, Mistress Jacqueline?"
Marry and Pippin exchanged startled glances with each other before scrutinizing Jac again, this time taking note of every single foreign detail. Their conclusion made them both lift eyebrows and ask, "Jacqueline's not a human (not in Middle-Earth), or Elven name."
Legolas just looked at her until she took a seat and began to tell her tale.
- -
When she finished, she was met with thoughtful silence. Into it, Evelyn, who was desperate for attention, said, "Well, if story-telling time is now finished, I'd like to eat. I'm hungry!"
At this, even Gandalf frowned at her, "Young Lady, it is considered a breach of courtesy to interrupt a speaker. I assume it is the same on your Earth?"
In response, Evelyn pouted and made puppy eyes at the grown men, "I can't help it if I have high metabolism."
Aragorn happened to be looking at Jac at the time, so he saw the look of disgust and weary resignation that crossed her face at Evelyn's words. He guessed that thoughts going through her head were probably "how immature can she get?" Quietly, he filed it away for future reference, not that he would use that information against an ally, but he still wasn't sure whether or not to trust the stranger. After all, an ally was not necessarily a friend.
After a few more minutes of quiet consultation between Aragorn, Gandalf, and Legolas, Gandalf ended it with a decisive nod and walked out, heading toward who knows where. The rest of the group, including the hobbits, and the two cousins, headed toward the dining hall for a belated lunch. All along the way, Evelyn spent flirting with the two men, regarding the hobbits as mere "boys".
Jacqueline, seeing that Evelyn was occupying Aragorn and Legolas with her fluttering eyelashes, discussed the world of Middle-Earth with the two irritated hobbits. Their mood quickly changed to delight when they realized that Jac had a wry sense of humor as well as the ability to use her brain. Hobbits trusted easily. The trio was laughing over a joke of Merry's when they arrived to the hall. There, Jac stopped short, although Evelyn continued on her quest to get a royal boyfriend.
Jacqueline was oblivious to Pippin's impatient tugging at her hand; she was too busy gazing in wonder at the architectural masterpiece that was the dining hall. She doubted that even all of Earth's geniuses couldn't have found a way to build all this on such a large scale. At least not build it and somehow find invisible supports for it. The graceful, fluted columns ran down the entire length of the hall. The arched ceiling positively soared into the air.
Where they met, pictures showing the ancient history of the elves. The carvings and mosaics were done by an expert had that looked like the he truly loved what he did, which Jacqueline could tell from the exquisite detail on each and every scene. The pictures were beautiful in their simplicity. The few tints of color a painter had added only emphasized their gracefulness.
The hall was open except for the vast ceiling and climbing flowered vines winded themselves around the pillars. Light tapestries floated in the slight noon breeze, giving the hall an ethereal look. The occupants eating on the tables that looked like they were made of ivory laughed and gestured with the long, elegant fingers did nothing but add to the illusion of other-worldliness.
The musical sounds that Jacqueline heard entranced her. She had learned the elven language as best as she could from Tolkien's books, when she was locked in her room as one of her milder punishments for displeasing Evelyn. Bored out of her mind and in need of distraction from the pain, she had read all three books. Then almost too hungry to think after three days of starvation, she'd looked at the back of the third and slowly learned the elven tongue. By the end of her week of punishment, she had mastered it. Listening to the elves talk, she thanked God mentally for her smooth speaking and singing voice. She'd sound like a lark among all these nightingales!
"JAC!"
"Wha-"
It was Merry and Pippin this time. Both were pulling with all their might at her hands. Unconsciously, Jac had exerted her strength to hold her in place. When she snapped out of her trance, the strength faded and the three almost fell over. Merry and Pippin did, but Jac managed to teeter on her toes and regain her balance. She helped her new friends up and they headed toward the buffet line.
Sitting down with the hobbits, Jacqueline glanced around, "Hey, guys. Where's Gandalf and the rest?"
Pippin's mouth was already full, so Merry spoke, "Dunno."
Jac rolled her eyes, "Thanks, Merry. That was a lot of help."
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Sorry about the year-long lag, but junior year was the worst!
Review, please.