"Anna! Anna! Come on it's dinner time and Dad said thy have a surprise for us! I think it's new books so hurry up!" called Anna's older sister Emily from below deck.
"Coming" Anna answered dreamily. She sat with her long skinny legs hanging over the edge of the boat. Every dip to port brought the icy salt water up to tinkle her feet. Lazily she loped her arm around the rail and hauled herself to her feet. Anna wasn't an attractive girl, she was skinny in an anorexic-looking way. Not so say she was anorexic but merely looked that way. Her smile was too wide for her face and her hair cropped short making her look even taller and thinner then she was. Sigh.
She was reluctant to leave the golden sunset for the dim lamplight of the ships cabin. However the lure of new books had more sway over her the evening and she patted down the cabin's steps.
She found all her sisters and baby brother gathered around the table collectively staring at a box wrapped in brown paper. Filling her plate she joined them. "What do you think it is?" asked Charlotte, she was the second oldest of the family.
"Well, it could be those books about the French Revolution Dad promised us." Anna paused and deepening her voice said " Or some delicious new fiction to thrill our very souls!"
Emily, the oldest, rolled her eyes and said " Anna, you really don't have to make everything a mystery you know. It's probably just the history, bleh!"
Just than Mr. and Mrs. Shapiro came into the room and took their places at the head of the table. The box was setting between the on the table, but to the girls disappointment they pretended it wasn't there. The girls understood that this meant that if they so much as mentioned the box before Dad brought it forward they would have to wait till the next day to see the contents of the box.
Patience is a virtue and Mr. And Mrs. Shapiro firmly believed in teaching their children the art of waiting. The meal went on in silence, only the scraping of plates and baby
Branwell's giggles could be heard.
Minutes trickled by and finally Mr. Shapiro pushed his plate away and pulled the mystery box toward himself. Immediately the girls ceased eating and watched as the string was cut and paper removed. Three fat volumes were lifted out and laid on the table. They were bound in leather, green, blue and crimson. Mr. Shapiro sat back and nodded to the girls.
Emily picked up the blue, Charlotte the green and Anna the crimson.
"The Fellowship of the Ring; being the first part in the Lord of the Rings." she read aloud.
"The Two Towers; being the second part of the Lord of the Rings." intoned Anna darkly peeking out from behind the red book.
"And last, but probably not least " The Return of the King." finished Emily looking to her father in curiosity.
It's something new your mother and I picked up when we on the mainland last week. We were told that it's very good and quite popular. Now I know we tend to steer clear of the popular fluff, but I looked through it and I think it will be a favorite before long." Mr.
Shapiro said. "And Emily gets to read them first since Anna had the Dickens last time."
"Ohhh!" mourned the girls in unison. Emily looked from the books to her sister and said " I guess we could read them out loud and than we'd all know the story at the same time and pick it apart as we go!"
Emily turned to Anna and with mock seriousness bowed and said " Will you do the honors oh Divine Sarah? Use you superior acting skills and thrill us all with the Lord of the Rings?"
Anna curtsied and in a posh accent answered " Thank you, thank you to all the little people in my life who have made this possible."
Everyone laughed and gathered around as the first chapter was read.
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They went to bed very late that night, Anna and her dad went up topside to tighten any loose ropes and batten down the hatches for the night. They took their time because all the Shapiro's loved the gentle breeze of the sea and night sky. Once they were finished they stood pointing out the star formations to each other.
"I love stars, they're so beautiful. Sometimes I wish that it was always night so we could see them all the time." said Anna breathlessly.
"You can see more stars out here than any where in the world" commented her father giving her shoulder a squeeze. " Don't stay up too late Sweetheart, you need your sleep."
Anna leant against the cold metal railing and drank in the beauty of the night sky. She picked put the Dog star and Orion's belt, they were her favorite stars in all the universe.
But tonight something seemed different about the Dog star. It shone so bright and twinkled so like a jewel she felt as thought she couldn't take her eyes off it. She stepped away from the rail, never seeing the puddle of water until it was too late.
She sled under the rail and plunged into the icy salt water with a gasp. It was the wrong thing to do because her mouth filled with water. She trashed desperately toward the surface gagging and choking trying to clear her windpipe. She looked for the boat and something to grab onto but the boat was gone!
"Mom! Dad! Help!" she screamed. No answer came and she realized with horror that the cold water was causing her limbs to numb. She swam faster, but that only serve to wear her out and soon her arms and legs wouldn't move fast enough to keep her afloat.
"Somebody help me!" she cried one last time and sink below the waves. The last thing she saw was the Dog star twinkle, wink and disappear!
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Breath in, breath out.
Pause.
Pump 1,2,3,.
Breath in, breath out.
Pause.
Pump 1,2,3.
"Damn you, child breath!"
Breath in, out.
Pump 1,2,3,4,5.
Breath in and out.
Feverishly the two elves worked on the bluish slip of girl. One was breathing into her mouth, and the other straddled the girl pumping her chest to bring back her own lung action.
"Fingon, she's too far gone. She's not coming out of it." said the elf to his friend, Maehsos was trying to breath for the girl.
"Maehsos, I will not give up! So either help me or leave me alone."
"Here, let me try that, you cannot keep up a pace like that without passing out yourself."
The elves switched places and continued working, Fingon took a deep breath and laid his mouth over the blue lips of the girl and blow in. Her chest rose and fell with each breath, and slowly a pink tinge came to her cheeks.
" It's working my friend keep at it." Maehsos began to rubbed the cold limbs of the girl and mutter a pray to the Valar at the same time.
With a jerk the girl came to and gasped choking as salt water gushed out of her mouth. Fingon helped her roll to the side and gave her back a few helpful slaps to keep the water coming. Maehsos quickly wrapped the girl's shaking figure in a blanket. As the girl heaved one last time Maehsos peeped over her head at Fingon.
" You were right."
" Just help me get the child back to the mainland, surely it isn't everyday an Edain child goes missing."
Anna could vaguely hear voices and felt someone wrapping her in a warm blanket; carrying her somewhere. She relaxed against the person and allowed exhaustion to claim her.
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Dr. Ron turned, he had walked to the end of the garden as the woman had told her story.
"Elves? The girl was rescued by two elves by the names of Maehsos and Fingon? You must be pulling my leg. I mean, one of them at least was pretty important in Tolkien books."
"I know nothing if this Tolkien you speak of, but yes she was saved by elves who were fishing. She was lucky to live at all, she was blue and unconscious when found they her and only the insistence of Prince Fingon is the reason she is alive at all."
"But didn't she wonder where on earth she was? Wasn't she afraid of the elves? Their so strange and even your friends portrait sort of scares me to look at." Ron said running a hand through his hair laughing a little."
"She was very afraid and wouldn't let them near her for at least a week. She was fairly helpless the first few days but she had to put up with it. Almost none of the elves could speak English, Westron they called it. However Prince Fingon could and everyday he would visit her, and talk about the day and ask her questions about herself. He did his best, and when you're the high Elven Prince that is considerable. But he could not discover her family anywhere."
"Did she know that she had gone back in time?" Ron asked curiously
"Yes. In her heart of hearts she knew but for a while she simply denied it to herself. I think that she lived in hope of her family was coming to bring her home. But as the weeks turned into months she began to doubt it."
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Fingon and Maehsos stood on the balcony and spoke in hushed tones over the days events.
"My Atar said that as soon as he returns from Doriath we should begin the training in the plain lands." Fingon said, he sat with his feet propped on the table and was rubbing oil along the blade of his sword to ward off rust.
"The plains? Well, that should be interesting at least." answered Maehsos, he was occupied in drawing a map of the area from the rough stretch that one of the lieutenants had made.
"I consider that it is about time we learn to use the horses that Maedhros sent us last month." Smiled Fingon. Maehsos groaned and dropped his pencil, "Don't even mention those horrid animals Findekáno. I cannot tell you how many times those…things have broken out and wrecked havoc all over the castle and grounds."
Fingon rather unsuccessfully stifled a laugh as he remembered the way the Gardeners had angrily lead the horses from the cooking gardens irate and unhappy. The horses, who had the choicest vegetables of the garden, just managed to look smug.
"Now don't you laugh! You not the one that has to deal with the complaining of a million and one gardeners and trying for find a way to pen in the horses at the same time. Especially with that girl around." added Maehsos.
"Anna? What harm could she do? She's just a little girl." said Fingon, "Which reminds me I should go and keep to her, I've found a family in the village that are willing to raise her among them."
"I see…do you think that she'll go? Asked Maehsos, he was slightly disappointed, he had hoped that she would remain.
Fingon raised one fine black brow and said, "Are you suggesting that she would rather stay here? Or is that just you wishing she would stay?"
Maehsos smiled sheepishly and said, "I don't see why she shouldn't stay, after all we did save her and at least she knows the elves better then the humans in the village. Not of course that there's anything wrong with the humans in the village."
"I can't say that I agree with that but in any case she would be more at home with those of her own race. I confess that I had grown rather fond of her, even if she is a rather unattractive looking member of the race." Fingon laughed and ducked the pencil that the Steward threw at him.
Standing Fingon straightened his blue tunic saying, "Some people simply can't take a joke. Have you seen Anna today?"
"The last time I saw her she was walking on the beach and that was only half an hour ago." Maehsos said nodding his red head in the direction of the shore. Fingon nodded and set off down the path his long legs covering the distance between the beach and the castle quickly.
Flicking a few strands of red hair out of his eyes the Steward went back to his map. Working quickly and carefully he traced the route of a new road and just as he reached the end the pencil lead snapped and dug a hole in the parchment.
"Oh honestly!" he exclaimed and flung the pencil across the table. Just then a young elleth came running up her skirts held high so she had more freedom of movement. She stopped out of breath and gestured to the stables.
"What? What's wrong Alassë?" asked Maehsos. She gasped, "The horses got in the garden again!"
"Oh for Valar's sake!"
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Anna stooped and picked up a few stones off the beach, she was finally getting used to the continual sound of the surf breaking against the shore. She balanced a stone in her hand and threw it far out into the boiling waves.
She smoothed her skirt under herself as she sat and gazed out to sea. She had grown somewhat used to the long dresses that the female elves wore and made, her wear as well. It wasn't so bad if you never ran or did anything quickly. This was a problem for Anna at first, but she found that lifting the skirt and running was the best she could do.
It wasn't that she hated dresses because her parents never let her and her sisters wear pants anyway. It was how long they were, they had the maddening habit of getting into everything. She sighed and saw that the Prince was coming for his daily chat, not that she minded, since she had no one else to talk to.
He was always kind, never sitting too close for comfort or speaking too fast. Every other elf that knew Westron always spoke too quickly to be understood easily. He always reported the days news in the search for her family, but the reports were down to the bare bones of nothing. She noticed he tried to have something uplifting to say, even if it were that she looked well that day.
That was rather a lie anyway, she didn't look well because she was Edain, a human. Next to the Elven women she was the ugly duckling. Without even the hope of being a swan someday. She was darker because her skin tanned unlike theirs, and she had bobbed hair.
That was really the sore point, her hair was a nondescript light brown and fell just below her ears. Their hair was either like spun gold, flame red or jet black like Prince Fingon's.
His had rather nice hair when it came down to it, it was pulled back into two braids that fell just behind his ears. The rest of it hung free of any binding to the middle of his back. He had sharp grey eyes and Anna had finally grown accustomed to the starlight that beamed from them. He sat a couple of feet away on a rock and waited for her to speak.
"How was your day Prince Fingon?" she inquired politely.
"Full and busy, my housekeeper will be returning at the end of the month and preparations are underway at the house. How have you spent your day?"
"I wrote a little in my journal and walked in the garden and along the beach pretty much all day. There really isn't a whole heck of a lot to do around here when you don't speak the language."
"Yes, I suppose not, I would be willing to get you a tutor if you wish. It would fill your time and help you communicate better" he said looking at her stubborn profile.
"There's no point though is there? I mean it's not like I'll be here for very long. My parents will be here any day now don't you think?" she said not even believing her own words.
The Prince sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he formulated an answer. How could he tell her that it just wasn't going to happen? How also, was he tell her that a family in the village had offered to take in her into their home?
Clearing his throat he said "Anna, I do have some good news. A family in the village has kindly offered to bring you up as their daughter seeing that your own family is lost. I think it would be a good place for you, they have several children like your family and you wouldn't have to worry about communicating with them." He stopped at the look on her face.
"You mean you don't think that my family is ever going to come and get me? Than you don't know Edain well. My family would never leave me!" she gasped,
"I know their looking for me and I know I'LL FIND THEM SOMEDAY. But you couldn't wait could you! You had to go and "find me a family. I don't want another family I want MY family! I…I want my family."
The last was a pathetic cry as she buried her face in her knees and cried. The Prince reached out and gently touched her shoulder. She jerked away and said " Don't touch me! I don't want to be any where near any of you ever again! Just…Just stay away!" And with that she ran away down the beach as fast as she could.
The Prince watched her go without trying to catch her, he knew she wanted to be alone and that it would only make things worse if he followed her. She always came back by night fall anyway. He looked out to the lake that had brought this unhappy girl to his home and silently asked the Valar what he was supposed to do with this Edain girl.
He got to his feet and went back to the house, he had business to finish and had to complete it by the time Lady Bethriel returned in two weeks time. How was he going to explain the presence of the girl to her? The Lady Bethriel had little love for the children of men or of any Edain. How would the two live in the same household?