allo everybody! News flash time!
This just in: Dawn Searcher, AKA Vesper, has created some fanart for this story! See the beautiful pictures at my website under the page 'fanart'! They're amazing and absoutly wonderful! Okay that is all. Enjoy the chapter and have a wonderful day!
Chapter eighteen
Skalds and Shadows
The hot running water felt wonderful on Gwen's back. An hour ago she had woken up on one of the couches. Kisha had helped her up and gave her something to eat and then when it looked like she could be left on her own, she decided on a shower. She blasted the stereo in the bathroom and stood under the waterfall of water. Blind Guardian played over and over again and she felt as if she never wanted to leave the bathroom. When the twenty-two song CD played for the second time over, she decided it was time to get out and with a sigh she turned the water off. She changed into a fresh pair of jeans and t-shirt and walked down the hall.
While she had been eating Kisha told her that the two idiot Dark Lords had gotten the talking to that compared to no other. Kisha was sure that other campsites in the area could probably here their screams, though nobody would report it of course. There was an unwritten camp rule that said that the only time the fire department, police, or paramedics would go by a campsite was when they were directly called by the camp itself. Sometimes different camps would play games involving shrill screaming, or light off fireworks, as Kisha's camp did, and so it would prove frustrating if the police came by to the camp every week.
After Manwë and the others returned he told everyone that Morgoth and Sauron's punishment was to clean and repair any damages caused to the camp. That practically meant rebuilding Lammoth and changing windows in the Great Hall. Kisha thought it would maybe take them a week. While the two would be making repairs, it was decided that the staff members would reside in the camper dorms in the living rooms. They divided it up so that there would be fifty-seven staff members per dorm and nineteen on each of the living rooms on all three floors. The campers did not mind the fact that there would be staff members sleeping in the living rooms. Some were starting to believe that they were actually from Middle-Earth. Other's scoffed at this remark saying that it was highly impossible that it could ever happen.
When everything had settled down, everyone assembled in the dining hall. Seeing as there were broken glass panes everywhere in the Great Hall, it was not suitable for teenagers to be in it. Manwë had taken Morgoth and Sauron over to the Great Hall to start with glass cleanup so that hopefully they could use the Great Hall before the end of the night if they needed it.
When the campers settled down, Kisha stood on a chair at the head of the dining hall.
"Okay well that was a very interesting couple of days and seeing as it is now Friday we have the choice of two things we can do. We can either have the weekly bonfire next to the beach or we can have a showcase of talents in the Great Hall. Now remember that what we don't do tonight we'll be doing tomorrow night. So what shall it be? The talent show or the bonfire?"
When Kisha said 'bonfire' there was a very loud amount of applause. When she said 'talent show' there was a small amount of applause.
"Okay so we'll be doing the bonfire! You have free time until eight when I would like everyone gathered on the tree stumps around the fire pit. See you in an hour!"
She jumped off the chair and landed on the ground. The campers quickly left the dining hall and headed out to hang with friends for an hour, the staff members, on the other hand, lingered in the dining hall. Kisha went back to the staff table and sat down.
"Okay, I need someone to play the evil witch, one to play the handsome hero, and another to play the beautiful maiden," Kisha told everyone after all the campers had left.
"Why?" someone asked.
"Well bonfire night has ghost stories, tales, and songs that are told. The last story before everyone goes to bed is the tale of the beautiful maiden. We normally have three people act out the scenes on the Great Lawn. We make it appear as if they're ghosts and they're acting out some never ending scene of great peril and sadness. So like I said, we need an evil witch, a handsome hero and a beautiful maiden."
"Does the evil witch have to be a female? Because I think either Sauron or Morgoth should play that," Gilrean suggested.
Kisha thought for a moment and then shrugged.
"Fine by me."
It was then when Manwë entered the dining hall with the two dark lords in tow.
"The Great Hall is clear of glass. All that remains is getting new glass and replacing them," Manwë told Kisha.
She nodded.
"Good, Gwen will probably head into town to buy glass for the Great Hall tomorrow," Kisha replied.
"I will?" Gwen asked.
Kisha nodded.
"Yup, maybe you can take someone into town with you like last time," Kisha said.
Gwen shrugged.
"Okay."
Kisha then remembered something.
"Oh, Morgoth, you're going to be playing the evil demon at the bonfire tonight."
"I'm what?"
--
The entire camp gathered around the bonfire that now resembled a burning inferno. At the moment Kisha was leading everyone in an old camp song called Tarzan. She jumped around the bonfire and hit her chest like Tarzan.
"Tarzan!" she called out. Everyone repeated her.
"Swinging from a grapevine!" she yelled as she danced around the fire.
The campers repeated her.
Eärendil elbowed Gwen.
"What in the name of Ilúvatar is this?" he whispered.
Gwen shrugged.
"She's like this every campfire night. After this there will be a ghost story followed by another song and then more ghost stories. She does this every weekend," Gwen replied.
"How long does this go for?"
She raised her hands in an 'I don't know' fashion.
"Sometimes it can go until one o'clock in the morning," she replied.
Kisha finished her Tarzan song with much laughter from the campers. Next was the story of the Bell Witch told by Gwen and Kisha. The two had told certain staff members to scream at a specific time and so the entire bonfire was engulfed in screams of bloody murder. This was then followed by much laughter from Gwen and Kisha. After that story Gwen stood up and pulled out a tambourine. Kisha pulled out an acoustic guitar and Maglor put a flute to his mouth. Gwen's clothing looked as if she came from a renaissance fayre. She wore a beautiful flowing red dress with white sleeves that had crisscrossed gold ribbon weaving around them. Upon her head there was a crown of flowers with red, yellow, pink, and white ribbons in her hair.
Kisha began playing the acoustic guitar and Maglor began playing the flute. Gwen began to dance around the fire. After going a few times around the fire Gwen began to sing.
"Would you believe in a night like this? A night like this when visions come true. Would you believe in a tale like this? A lay of bliss. We're praising the old lore. Come to the blazing fire and see me in the shadows. See me in the shadows. Songs I will sing of runes and rings. Just hand me my harp and this night turns into myth. Nothing seems real you soon will feel. The world we live in is another skald's dream in the shadows. Dream in the shadows."
Gwen stopped singing and the guitar, flute, and tambourine continued to play. She danced lightly around the fire and then began singing again.
"Do you believe there is a sense in it? Is it truth or myth? They're one in my rhymes. Nobody knows the meaning behind the weaver's line. Well nobody else but the Norns can see through the blazing fire of time and all things will proceed as the child of the hallowed will speak to you now. See me in the shadows. See me in the shadows. Songs I will sing of tribes and kings. The carrion bird and the hall of the slain. Nothing seems real you soon will fell. The world we live in is another skald's dream in the shadows. Dream in the shadows."
She stopped singing again but continued to dance around the fire. The flute played on with the guitar backing it up.
"Do not fear for my reason there's nothing to hide. How bitter your treason how bitter the lie. Remember the runes and remember the light. All I ever want is to be at your side. We gladden the raven now I will run through the blazing fires that's my choice. Cause things shall proceed as foreseen."
Gwen continued to dance and play the tambourine as the guitar and flute ceased its music. When they had finished the song the campers and staff members clapped. Gwen, Kisha and Maglor bowed and Gwen sat back down.
"I didn't know you could sing," Nimrodel commented.
Gwen shrugged it off.
"Kisha makes me sing a song every campfire night. I hate doing it but she always threatens to hold my pay cheque if I don't do it. I'm rather fond of the one I just sang. It's a Blind Guardian song off the new single," Gwen replied.
"Well it was pretty anyway, and rather fitting I might add," Nimrodel said.
"Thanks."
During Gwen's song, Lúthien, Morgoth, and Aragorn slipped out. They pulled on their costumes that made them look like spirits. They waited under the porch for Kisha to give them their cue. While they waited, Kisha began walking around the campfire.
"Now it is time for a tale of old. A tale of unending sorrow and heroic deeds. A tale of love and loss and beauty and darkness. This is a legend of a beautiful maiden and her heroic lover. It is said that long ago on this very spot stood a villainous castle. This villainous castle housed the vilest, evilest, malevolent, demon to ever live. This demon hated everything that was good and it just so happened that his castle was only separated from another kingdom by this very lake.
"On the other side of the lake sat a beautiful castle. The beautiful castle was home to the most beautiful princess in the entire world. The demon lusted after the beautiful princess and many times he tried to capture her. One day he succeeded in luring her across the lake with a beautiful song. As soon as her delicate shoes touched his shores the song ended and she saw with true eyes who the demon was. She tried to escape but he locked her in his dungeon below the castle. The king of the beautiful castle became saddened that his daughter had been taken by the demon and so he sent many heroic men to rescue her. One after another they were captured by the demon and killed in front of the lake to show the king that his men had failed.
"One day however, the king had given up and decided that he would never get his daughter back. But one young man, who had grown up with the princess in the castle, thought otherwise and so he snuck to the villainous castle and slithered his way into the dungeon. He rescued the princess and the two left the evil castle but they were stopped by the demon's vile talking snake.
"He alerted the demon that the princess was escaping and so he rushed out to stop her. The heroic young man fought against the demon on our Great Lawn for many hours. He matched the demon's blow for blow and blocked all he could. Now the princess knew that the demon would kill the heroic man and she did not want him to die. The princess knew this heroic man very well. They had played together as children and she was scared that he would die. She looked around for something to fight the demon with but found nothing. When her attention turned back to the fight she saw that the demon had the upper hand and the heroic man seemed to barley cling to his sword.
"She quickly made up her mind and with all her might she pushed the heroic man out of the way and the demon ran her through the heart. The heroic man was grieved as he actually loved the princess and so the two fought on. Then, at the crack of dawn, the heroic man felt like he had the advantage, but it was just the demon making him feel that way. As the heroic man lunged forward and shoved the sword through the demons chest, the demon smiled and did the same to the heroic man. The two collapsed next to the dead princess and the heroic man's last vision was of the one he loved. It is said that on certain nights, when the moon is bright, you can watch them fighting. You can even see the determined face on the heroic man and the…wait, watch!"
The campers looked over and on the Great Lawn stood the heroic man, the demon, and the princess. The heroic man and the demon were locked into combat while the princess looked helplessly on. Then when it looked like the demon had the upper hand, the princess pushed the heroic man out of the way and the sword pushed through her heart.
Oh I sincerely hope Morgoth didn't actually kill Lúthien. Beren will be pissed. He better have used the retractable sword like I told him to. Kisha thought.
With the spirit of the dead princess lying on the lush green grass, the demon and heroic man continued to fight. They seemed to be really going at it.
Maybe it wasn't a good idea like I thought it would be to use Aragorn and Morgoth for that. I picked Aragorn because I thought he wouldn't have any personal grudges against Morgoth like Fëanor would. Kisha thought.
As the battle continued a hand was placed on Kisha's shoulder. She turned around and saw Aragorn. Her head shot back and she furled her eyebrows.
"But aren't you fighting on the Great Lawn?" she asked perplexed.
"We lost our cue. Sorry we screwed up your ghost story," Aragorn apologised.
She turned her head back to the fight ensuing on the Great Lawn and then back to Aragorn.
"But if you're here and…"
Aragorn looked over and watched the demon and the heroic man kill each other and fall to the ground.
"HOLY SCHIST!" yelled Kisha.
Now it is true that the demon did die in the fight against the heroic man, but he, being a demon, was able to break free from the constant cosmic battle and walk to the bonfire. The heroic man and the princess vanished from the Great Lawn but the demon continued heading to the bonfire.
"I don't think this is supposed to happen," Gwen whispered to Nimrodel.
She nodded and watched the demon approach the fire.
"Yes, I got the same impression when I saw Aragorn talking to Kisha with Lúthien and Morgoth standing behind him.
Gwen gulped.
It was about this time when the campers realised this was not supposed to happen. The demon smiled evilly at them as he got closer. A few campers stood up and ran all the way back to the camper dorms. The demon paid no attention to them as he advanced at the fire. He drew his sword and pointed it at Gwen.
"The princess!" he yelled.
Gwen looked around.
"Nope, no princess here. You killed her remember?" she replied hastily.
Nimrodel took Gwen by the hand and the two ran for it.
"Gwen! I think he's after you!"
"Why? I am not the bloody princess! Do I even look like a princess? Bloody hell Lúthien looks more like a princess then I do! You look more like a princess then me! I'm a tom boy! This is the first time I've been in a dress since last year at camp! Why is he after me?"
"Well take a look at your clothing. It resembled that of the ghost princess!"
Gwen looked down at her dress.
"Oh bloody hell! This is the first time I've worn a dress in a long time and this happens!"
Nimrodel turned her head and saw that the demon was still after them. But instead of looking transparent and well, dead, he looked whole and he ran after them instead of floating. His eyes appeared to be on fire and his face looked blackened by coal.
"Gwen he's catching up!" Nimrodel yelled. "And he doesn't look like a ghost anymore!"
"Damnit I hate these bonfire nights! This is the last time I am ever wearing a bloody dress!"
"You've said that already!" Nimrodel exclaimed as the two continued running.
At the exact moment Gwen said 'dress' she tripped on the hem of it and tumbled to the ground. Nimrodel fell to the ground with her as they were holding hands and before the two could get back up again, the demon was upon them.
"You're mine!" the demon exclaimed.
Before Gwen could react a figure jumped in front of her and battled off the demon. The demon and the figure backed up to the Great Lawn and battled under the moonlight.
"This better go towards my community service Manwë!" Morgoth yelled as he cut the demon in the leg.
Nimrodel helped Gwen up and they stood near the bonfire and watched what was happening on the Great Lawn. Only a few campers lingered to watch what was going on. Most had run to the dorms and watched from the windows.
Morgoth continued to fight the demon. The clash of swords was the only sound in the camp. The two fought on and Morgoth swore a few times.
"Do you need some help there Morgoth?" Sauron asked.
"No! Shut up and get me my mace damnit!" Morgoth replied.
Sauron ran off to find Morgoth's mace and the ex-Vala and demon fought ever on. Neither one seemed to get an upper hand on the fight but both never tired. Kisha made her way over to Gwen and Nimrodel.
"Are you okay?" she asked them.
They both nodded.
"I'm never wearing a dress again," Gwen concluded.
"I wouldn't blame you," Kisha said.
Sauron returned to the Great Lawn carrying Morgoth's mace. Morgoth tossed out the sword Kisha had gave him to fight Aragorn on the Great Lawn and Sauron tossed in the mace. When he caught it he knew that the fight would be his and in a matter of moments the mace connected with the demons head knocking it clean off. The bloody body dropped to the grass.
"Aragorn get over here," Morgoth yelled.
With an unknowing shrug, Aragorn quickly ran to Morgoth's side.
"Can I see that sword? I gotta make sure it's dead," Morgoth asked.
Aragorn handed Morgoth his sword and he quickly plunged it into the demon's heart. Then the demon simply vanished. There was nothing special about it. There was a sudden stillness and then nothing. Even the head vanished. Morgoth handed the sword back to Aragorn.
"You never answered the question Manwë. Did that go towards my community service?" Morgoth asked.
Manwë shrugged.
"I'm going to bed," he replied never answering the question.
He, and most of the other staff members, walked to the camper dorms. The living rooms were already set up for them to sleep in and their personal belongings, such as clothing, would also be in the living room.
Gwen walked towards the dorms absolutely livid. Nimrodel didn't bother to ask why she was mad and Gwen really did not feel like disclosing it. Her foot stepped on her dress again and she almost took another tumble but Nimrodel caught her.
"Are you alright?" Nimrodel asked.
Gwen brushed off her dress.
"Peachy."
"Hey, don't I get a thank you for saving your life?" Morgoth called out.
Gwen turned around. Her face looked ready to kill and her eyes pierced through him.
"You want me to say thank you? I would have said thank you! If you weren't so damn ego-centric! For the first time I thought that maybe somewhere in there you cared about the well-being of people and you didn't want me to get hurt! But now I see that all you care about is your own damn self!" she screamed at him.
"But I…"
"No bloody buts! I was so happy when you saved me! I couldn't believe it! I thought that for once there was something more inside but I was wrong! 'Does this go towards my community service?' you asked! You had the audacity to ask! You ego-centric son of a batard!" she screamed before turning back around and heading to the camper dorms.
Morgoth stood in a stunned silence. Sauron came up behind him and patted him on the back.
"You just missed out on some kissing action," he said with a smile.
"What?"
"I'm pretty sure she would have hugged and kissed you because you saved her. You ruined that with your stupid comment."
Morgoth rolled his eyes.
"Oh I don't care."
Sauron shrugged.
"You say that now but wait. I'm pretty sure tomorrow you'll be wishing that you had gotten that kiss."
"Shut up," he said growling at Sauron.
"See? I can already see that's what you want."
"I said shut up!"
Sauron laughed.
"Damnit Sauron! Shut up!"
"Morgoth like men that's why…" Sauron exclaimed and then took off running.
"I do not like men!" Morgoth yelled as he chased after him.
--
Kisha looked at Gwen's ankle and concluded that it was only a sprain. She found an old pair of crutches in the infirmary and also wrapped her leg in bandages. After that the staff members fell asleep on the couches and floors of the living rooms. Gwen couldn't get to sleep though. She kept tossing and turning until finally she sighed and sat up on the couch. She looked around and saw that nobody else was awake. She grabbed her crutches and inched her way through the living room and went out on the porch. She sat down on one of the porch lounge chairs, looked up at the stars and sighed.
"They're beautiful tonight aren't they?" Gwen heard a voice say.
She jumped and looked around. She did not know that there was anyone else on the porch. She finally spotted Kisha smoking a pipe and leaning over the banister on the far right side.
"I didn't know you smoked," Gwen said.
Kisha shrugged and walked over and took a seat next to Gwen on the lounge chairs.
"I normally don't but Gandalf gave me some pipe-weed and a spare pipe and said I could use it."
"Oh."
The two sat in silence for much time looking at the stars when Gwen finally said something.
"I wonder what our friends are doing in Middle-earth."
Kisha shook her head.
"They're not in Middle-earth."
"What?"
"Well, they could be in Middle-earth but in an alternate dimension of it."
"Kisha explain yourself," Gwen asked. Though she thought it was too late to explain the scientific theory behind the location of her friends.
Kisha put her pipe on her lap.
"You've read The Langoliers by Stephen King right?" she asked.
Gwen nodded.
"Well it's kind of like that except on a much grander scale. You see I originally came up with a different conclusion then the one I have now. When I first realised that characters from Middle-earth were here I thought that maybe our staff members replaced them and are acting out its history but now I know I'm wrong."
"How is that?"
"You see I decided to talk to all of the characters and keep a log of what they said. I asked everyone what they were doing when they got here. The Valar, for instance, had just returned to Valinor from Middle-earth and Fëanor had just left Valinor to sail to Middle-earth to reclaim his Silmarils. The fellowship had just left Rivendell and yet when I asked Elrond what he was doing he told me that he had just arrived at Mt.Doom. Galadriel had just received her ring of power and Celeborn had just met Galadriel for the first time. To make a long story short, every character, for the most part, was doing something different and was in a different time when they arrived. This being the case I concluded that Middle-earth, as we know it, ceases to exist."
"What?" Gwen asked. She was clearly confused.
"If the Valar arrived here just after they returned to Valinor then who will give aid to Eärendil when he and Elwing sail to Valinor to ask for help? If Fëanor had just left Valinor to sail to Middle-earth then who will die and leave his sons to continue the quest? If the fellowship arrived just after they left Rivendell then who will destroy the ring? If Galadriel arrived just after she got her ring of power then who will meet the fellowship in Lothlorien? Because of this time is at a stand still in Middle-earth. The Middle-earth we know ceases to exist because there is no one there to continue its history in the way it's supposed to be."
"Yes, but then where are our friends?" Gwen asked.
Kisha shrugged.
"I don't know. They could be in an alternative universe of Middle-earth for all we know. I'm really looking forward for when they return. I want to know where they've been."
Gwen had a thought.
"But what about the fans in Earth who know and love Middle-earth? If its history ceases to exist then does it cease to exist here? I remember buying a shirt that had the eye of Sauron on it at a second hand store."
Kisha thought for a moment.
"Then we're going to have to go back in town to check up on that because I don't know."
Gwen looked up at the stars and then she remembered something Sauron had said.
"Yes but what about Sauron? He is in his fair form when he went among the elves and forged the rings but when Manwë and the other Valar showed up he said that he didn't mean to make the one ring or sink Numenor. How is that possible?" Gwen asked.
Kisha shrugged.
"I don't know. It appears as if he had an unknown foresight about future actions through the eyes of Ar-Pharazôn or someone else that's here from Numenor. Or maybe being a Maiar he could chose his own form and subconsciously chose his fair form. Thuringwethil did the same thing; she doesn't look like an evil vampire messenger girl. She looks like a fair evil vampire messenger girl."
"Yes and she hasn't used her wings or bitten anyone yet," Gwen added.
"That we know of," Kisha replied.
Gwen shuddered.
"If I found out she's bitten anyone…"
"Well Sauron's a vampire too," Kisha said.
"Don't remind me."
The two sat looking up at the stars for a bit. Kisha took another puff from her pipe.
"Well that sure helped me. I need to go back to bed. See you tomorrow morning," Gwen said after a bit.
As Gwen stood up and grabbed her crutches, a storm cloud over head rolled out some thunder.
"Looks like a storms coming," Kisha concluded as she took another puff off the pipe.