"-and so if he cast the last one into the sea... then did that break the oath? If he threw it away though... didn't that condemn him to the dark as his oath implied?"
"You've a rather agile mind," Aragorn raised his brow in questioning.
"Ravenclaw," Cassidy shrugged in reply.
"In truth, no one knows. Some say that Maglor Feanorian roams the shores of Arda to this day, nevermore dwelling amongst his kin."
The pair continued to talk as they walked side by side. Cassidy had allowed Aragorn to tie his sack to Gwedal's saddle and dismounted so that they could walk together. He had spent the last several days recounting tales of Middle Earth and Cassidy was thoroughly enthralled by the rich history and mythology of the land. Although Aragorn was very much the stoic and silent type, with enough prodding he became a brilliant story teller. Cassidy mulled over his words as he explained the tale of the Silmarilions, lost to the sky, the sea, and the earth.
"Ah yes... cause elves are basically immortal, right?" A detail from earlier caught in her mind. Aragorn nodded and so she continued. "So then the elflings that Maglor raised, Elrond and Elros... was your foster father named after Elrond?"
"He is Elrond."
"He's that Elrond?! That would make him... I don't even know how old!" she exclaimed in shock. Aragorn chuckled lightly in response.
"In truth, I doubt that he knows for he has long ago ceased to celebrate his begetting day."
"That's amazing! You were raised in the house of a man- of an elf, who lived through the history of your world!"
"Not to mention Glorfindel," he muttered half to himself.
"Glorfindel?"
"A tale for another time."
For several more days, their travels were much of the same. Each night as the sun fell, the pair would make camp together. Cassidy was careful to ensure that protective spells were laid in place around their campsite whilst Aragorn would venture out to fetch wood and often hunt for food. The switch from dried fruits and lembas to fresh meat was a welcome change and Cassidy found that after tramping through the wilds all day, a simple roast rabbit or pheasant was nearly as good as Molly Weasley's cooking. Most nights, Aragorn would spend at lest part of his time sitting awake, staring out across the expanse. No matter how many times Cassidy demonstrated the strength of her charms, he still refused to fully trust them.
The more they traveled though, the more that Cassidy noticed how unused to magic Aragorn was. She was used to a world where magic and muggle were distinct. Everyone was sharp dived between those who knew and those who didn't. This world however was somewhere bizarrely in between. Aragorn was obviously a muggle, but he didn't seem alarmed at the concept of magic and was even a friend of elves who were somehow magical but not nearly as powerful as those of her world. Yet, protective charms and even the simple act of lighting a fire with her wand seemed to startle the man. The wizard that she had met before, Gandalf, seemed competent enough and Aragorn knew him. Hadn't he seen Gandalf perform magic?
Cassidy also learned a plethora of information about Middle Earth, its history, and its peoples. She was fascinated by mentioning of races that seemed similar to magical creatures that she was familiar with from home. Although, they all seemed to hold far less magic than the creatures of her own world. He also spared no details on the struggles of Middle Earth. No matter how many times Cassidy insisted that she merely wished to remain as a neutral traveler, he felt inclined to share with her stories of their own dark lord, Sauron. Apparently, he was originally a servant of the previous dark lord, a being of such great power that it took a host of elves, humans, dwarves, and beings who were somewhere close to gods in power to take him down.
"So..." she continued her long line of questions that emerged with each tale. "If the Valar once banded together to take down Melkor... why can't they just snuff out Sauron. If he's below them in power, he shouldn't be too hard to defeat."
"Ah, the question as old as the Valar themselves," Aragorn smiled ruefully. "The War of Wrath was violent and destructive, so destructive that part of the land sank into the sea. That was the last major interference of the Valar in Middle Earth. We, the children of Iluvatar, must learn to make our own in this world. It is our fate to battle evils or yield to the evils of the world."
"Some parent he is," Cassidy mumbled, half to herself.
"Tis the consequence of free will."
"It's one thing to allow some bad things and challenges to occur for people to overcome, but it's another thing to allow a dark lord to rise and take over."
"It is not for us to judge," Aragorn looked at Cassidy with an unreadable expression on his face. "It is our duty to fight for what we know to be right and to trust."
"It is always for us to judge," Cassidy raised a brow at the man. She always hated fatalistic acceptance. "That is what free will means. We judge and we question. Those above us must face the consequences of our judgment just as surly as we face the consequences of their action... or their inaction. Tell me Aragorn... if you had the power, would you slay Sauron this day?"
"Yes."
"Would Eru, or the Valar have the power to do so?"
"Perhaps."
"Then why don't you judge them for not?"
"It's not for me to make those judgments."
"Why not?"
"You ask a lot of questions."
Cassidy merely hummed in response to this, that pair falling into another bout of silence. While Cassidy was rather new to the world, she could recognize logical fallacies anywhere. At least with Dumbledoor, she understood his reluctance to use dark magic and his warnings for her. There is such a thing as too much power, and absolutely power corrupts absolutely. Perhaps that was why she always hated legends of the absolutely powerful... the heroes either turned evil or the tales were unrealistic. She much preferred stories of underdogs... the powerless who fought despite everything.
"We are nearing the boarder of the Woodland Realm," Aragorn spoke suddenly, breaking the silence of their journey.
At the edge of the horizon, Cassidy could see the faint outline of a thick line of trees. Even at a distance, Cassidy could feel something stirring in the air. It wasn't that pleasant hum of magic that she had felt in Lothlorien... no, it was darker. She obtained that same feeling back at Hogwarts when she would gaze at the Forbidden Forest at night. It wasn't wholly unpleasant to her as she had learned to love the Forbidden Forest, much to Professor Flitwick's annoyance... but that aura coming from an unfamiliar woods was unsettling. At their pace, they would reach the wood's edge by the next morning.
"It's a home of elves?" Cassidy inquired.
"Yes... though once known as Greenwood the Great, many have taken to calling it Mirkwood for the shadows that stir. The Necromancer's influence has spread and the elves of the Woodland Realm do all that they can to keep the darkness at bay."
Cassidy nodded in understanding, noting down a few points in her journal.
"Is there anything that I should know about the differences between these elves and those of Lothlorien?"
Aragorn hesitated for a moment.
"Yes," he fixed her with a sharp glare as if to remind her to not pass on this information. "It has been said by many that the elves of Silvan origin, most especially those of the Woodland Realm are more dangerous and less wise than their Noldor or Sindarin cousins."
"Hold up," Cassidy paused in mild alarm. "You're saying that they're more dangerous and less wise than the Noldor, the elves that disobeyed their gods, stole ships, crossed icy paths, and waged wars for the sake of three jewels?"
"There are many more Noldor than just the Feanorians," Aragorn corrected bluntly before continuing. "The Woodland realm is almost entirely Silvan, ruled by the Sindarin King Thranduil who is not quite known for his temper. I will warn you... they are a suspicious lot. Darkness is spreading across the land and the elves of the Woodland Realm have sought to look inward, closing themselves off from the world of Man most especially."
"Hmmm... sounds familiar," Cassidy mumbled to herself, recalling how the Wizarding community, each time at the brink of war, would close up even tighter. If only they were more open with the muggle world... perhaps more lives could be saved.
That night, they made camp under the full moon. They were as close to the edge of Mirkwood as they dared to camp for Aragorn warned Cassidy of the giant spiders. The young girl did her absolute best to present to be solemn at his warning, yet she couldn't help but buzz with excitement. The creatures that he spoke of sounded so akin to Acromantula that she was just itching to get a glimpse at one. Perhaps they were a sign of convergent evolution across universes! As far as Cassidy was concerned, she was the only known wizard to cross universes and she had so many theories and hypotheses about the differences and similarities between them. Even if she never had a chance to return home with her findings, at least she could keep a record of all that she learned.
The next day, Cassidy took care to cast a protective charm around her, Aragorn, Gwedal and the strange Gollum in Aragorn's sack. She explained the purpose of her charm, but Aragorn still maintained a hand on his sword. Cassidy still wore her boots with their silencing spell, but she was alarmed by how quietly Aragorn managed to walk even as they crossed dead leaves which should have crackled. He was silent in speech as well, having warned Cassidy ahead of time that it would be best if they kept talking to a minimum whilst in the woods for fear of drawing forth unwelcome attention. Cassidy grudgingly obeyed though it did not stop her from occasionally wandering from the thin path in order to collect a specimen of a new plant or bug that she happened to notice. Each time this seemed to thoroughly vex Aragorn who she would often forget was still within her charm which moved with her, causing the muggle to bang into the walls of her protective charm each time she walked too far away.
They were about four hours into their walk through the woods and around the time when Cassidy was ready to mount Gwedal for she was quickly becoming sick of walking when Aragorn froze. Cassidy, having learned that the muggle was extremely keen on his surroundings, froze as well.
From out of nowhere, an elf dropped directly in front of their path, bow drawn and leveled at Cassidy's chest.
From the corner of her eye, Cassidy saw more elves appear all round them, a distinct rustling in the tree tops above indicated that they had them surrounded from up high as well. The elves that she could see were dressed in armor made of leather and steel. They all bore bows, but many carried long knives or swords across their backs as well. Finely pointed ears and long brown hair easily identified them as elves of this strange world.
"If you so much as twitch your fingers, witch," the lead elf spat, "I will shoot you."
"Feren?" Aragorn spoke calmly beside Cassidy, not yet moving towards his sword. "What is the cause of this? She is an elf-friend."
"Estel!" a voice from above cried as another elf, this one of blond hair, dropped beside the elf apparently named Feren. "Step away from the witch, she is dangerous."
"I come meaning no harm," Cassidy spoke carefully. Though she knew that the arrows would be unable to penetrate her charm she hoped that they could resolve their conflict with more peace than a show of power. "I am merely a traveler, aquatinted with your kin in Lothlorien."
"You ride an elvish steed and speak our tongue. How?" the blond elf spat.
"Legolas, what is the meaning of this?" Aragorn asked.
"We have reason to believe that the dark haired witch is an agent of Sauron."
"Oh for the love of Merlin," she rolled her eyes. "I am not in league with anyone. I'm impartial... neutral. Sure I'd love for whatever dark lord you guys are dealing with to be dead but I'm not getting involved with anyone!"
"I will approach and confiscate your wand," Legolas spoke slowly, steel in his voice. "You will then be taken to the King."
"Um... how about no," Cassidy rolled her eyes, mildly surprised that they even knew how her magic worked. The elves of Lothlorien seemed entirely clueless when dealing with her.
"You should listen to them, Mudblood," an all too familiar voice sneered. Cassidy froze with recognition. "Their arrows fly faster than your draw."
From behind Legolas, the branches rustled lightly, indicating that someone with less grace than the elves was approaching. Cassidy felt a chill run down her spine, cold dread settling in as the speaker approached.
Hey guys, thanks for reading!
Just wanted to say that if you have a spare minute or if you're enjoying the story, then I'd really appreciated hearing from you! I love getting feedback from my audience and I'd definitely appreciate it.