And here is chapter 7 and part II of Rivendell. I don't own the Hobbit or Merlin. I hope you like it. Tips and reviews are welcome. It is my first fanfic after all.
PS: If you see changes in the previous chapters, it only means I'm correcting grammar mistakes. If I make a real change in the story, I'll put it in the authors note.
The next morning, Maddie woke up to the sound of streaming water and the singing of Elves.
She stood up, washed herself and put on another robe of the Elves. This one was brown with golden embroideries and made of soft silk.
She walked out of her room and looked down the hallway. She didn't know the way in Rivendell and she had no idea where breakfast would be served.
'If you want breakfast, it's this way.'
Maddie spun around to see who had been talking to her.
Behind her stood none other than Lord Elrond himself, dressed up in a purple robe. He smiled and beckoned her to follow him.
Maddie walked after him and soon, she stood in the same room where she and the Dwarves had had supper last evening. A few Dwarves were already eating.
Maddie joined Elrond again at the bigger table and both enjoyed their breakfast. It was mostly toast with salads.
After they had finished their breakfast Elrond invited Maddie for a walk.
For a few minutes they walked in silence, but then Elrond began to speak. 'Gandalf told me that you're from a different world. May I ask how you've teleported?'
Maddie told Elrond of the Crystal Cave and the green flash.
Elrond nodded and seemed to think about Maddie's answer. 'So, you want to go back to save your friend,' he concluded.
Maddie nodded.
Elrond then sighed. 'To get back, you will need another green flash, and I don't know when one will appear. '
Maddie was a bit disappointed. She had hoped that Elrond, as wise as he was, knew another way for her to return. But he didn't, so she would have to wait, and make the best out of it.
Maddie and Elrond walked into a big room. At one side hung a painting of a man holding a shard of a broken blade, trying to protect himself from a giant creature in black armor, that wielded a bludgeon.
On the other side of the room stood a statue of an Elvin Lady with a plate in her hand. On the plate lay the shards of a sword. Maddie realized that it was the same sword as the one on the painting.
Maddie frowned. Somehow, the sword seemed familiar to her.
'The shards of Narsil,' Elrond said when he saw that Maddie's attention was drawn to the sword. 'It's the blade that cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand.'
'Who's Sauron?' Maddie asked.
Elrond pointed to the giant creature with the bludgeon. 'The Dark Lord Sauron was the Enemy of the Free People of Middle-earth. With his evil magic Ring, he tried to dominate all life.'
Maddie glanced back at the sword. 'May I?' she asked.
Elrond nodded, so she held out her hand and touched the handle. The images she saw made her freeze.
She was still a little girl. In front of her stood a young boy, a little older then her. He had black hear and bright blue eyes. Somehow Maddie felt that she was supposed to know the boy.
The boy hugged her and then said: 'I hope we will see each other soon.'
A hand grabbed her and pulled her away from the boy. She struggled a bit, but the man had strong arms. 'Come now, it's for your own safety,' he said as he lifted her up and put her on the back of a horse. Maddie glanced back at the boy and saw him waving at her. She waved back with tears on her face.
The man took place behind her on the horse and then they rode off.
They were just riding through a forest when Maddie and the rider heard the sound of other galloping horses. It seemed they were being chased.
The man speeded up his horse and rode as fast as he could. But soon they were surrounded.
The man stopped his horse and draw his sword.
One of the pursuers then demanded: 'Give up the girl.'
The horse with Maddie and the man pranced, and Maddie accidentally fell off the horse.
Maddie hit the ground hard. Her arm ached when she tried to move it.
She looked up. The horse was still prancng and its hoofs were about to crush her.
She wanted to scream, but then a green flash blinded her eyes.
And then... darkness.
Maddie woke up as someone was shaking her shoulder.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw a young boy. It was not the same boy who had said goodbye to her. This boy was a bit older. His black hear looked like a bird's nest and his blue eyes looked down at her in worry. He wore a blue shirt, a red scarf and a brown jacket. When she saw the pile of wood next to him, she realized he'd been collecting fire wood.
'Who are you?' Maddie asked.
'I'm Merlin' the boy answered.
Maddie opened her eyes.
She was lying on her back next to the statue. Elrond stood next to her, his face worried.
'Are you alright?' he asked.
Maddie nodded. 'I think so. What happened?'
'You touched the sword and suddenly you fell on the ground, your eyes firmly shut. I tried to wake you, but you didn't respond.'
Elrond helped her up and leaded her to a bench that stood nearby. 'What happened to you?'
Maddie closed her eyes. She had seen a memory. A memory of her unknown past. It was what had happened just before she had woken up near Ealdor and Merlin had found her.
Instead of giving answers, the memory had given her even more questions. Who was the boy who had said goodbye to her? Why had she had to leave him? Did the green flash mean she had teleported before? But from where?
Maddie opened her eyes and saw that Elrond was still waiting for an answer. Quickly, she told him what she had seen.
'Do you know who the boy is?' Maddie asked after finishing her story.
Elrond hesitated. It almost seemed as if he was deciding whether or not to tell her something.
'I am not the one to reveal you this,' he finally answered. 'It is something you must find out by yourself.'
Maddie frowned. What did Elrond mean by that? She was sure he knew who the boy was, but he didn't seem to be willing to tell her.
Maddie then stood up. 'I need some time alone to think,' she said.
Elrond nodded. 'I understand.'
He then too stood up and led Maddie back to her room.
After Elrond had left Maddie, he went looking for Gandalf.
He was just walking down a corridor, when the voice of Lady Galadriel inside his head made him stop in his tracks.
'You didn't tell her about her brother.'
'No, I didn't.' Elrond replied before starting to walk again.
Gandalf rubbed the sleep from his eyes. It was in the early morning and he hadn't slept all night.
Three days had passed since the company had arrived in Rivendell and now, Gandalf had to explain his actions and those of the company's to the Council.
The Council consisted of a few members and often made decisions about issues that concerned all the folks of Middle-earth. Now, only Gandalf, Elrond, the Elvin Lady Galadriel and the Wizard Saruman the White were present.
'Tell me, Gandalf... , ' Saruman began, '... did you think these plans and schemes of yours would go unnoticed?'
'Unnoticed?' Did Saruman actually think that he was trying to hide the purpose of the quest? Of course, he didn't want everyone to know about the quest, but he wasn't sneaking either. 'No, I'm simply doing what I feel to be right,' he answered.
'The dragon has long been on your mind,' Galadriel remarked.
Gandalf nodded. 'That is true, my lady. Smaug owes allegiance to no one. But if he should side with the enemy, he could be used to terrible effect.'
'What enemy?' Saruman asked, disbelieve written on his face. 'Gandalf, the enemy is defeated. Sauron is vanquished. He can never regain his full strength. For 400 years we have lived in peace, a hard-won, watchful peace.'
'Are we? Are we at peace?' Gandalf contradicted him. 'Trolls have come down from the mountains. They are raiding villages, destroying farms. And Orcs have attacked us on the road.'
'Hardly a prelude to war.' Saruman waved Gandalfs words away.
Gandalf sighed. It was hard to convince a person like Saruman.
He leaned forward in his chair to emphasize his next words. 'There is something at work beyond the evil of Smaug. Something far more powerful. We can remain blind to it, but it will not be ignoring us, that I can promise you. '
Elrond frowned. 'What do you mean?'
'A sickness lies over the Greenwood. The woodsmen who live there now call it Mirkwood. And they speak of a Necromancer living in Dol Guldur. A sorcerer who can summon the dead,' Gandalf explained with a serious look on his face.
'That's absurd,' Saruman replied. 'No such power exists in this world. This Necromancer is nothing more than a mortal man. A conjurer dabbling in black magic.'
'And so I thought too,' Gandalf agreed. 'But Radagast has seen…'
'Radagast? Do not speak to me of Radagast the Brown. He's a foolish fellow,' Saruman interrupted him with a laugh. 'His excessive consumption of mushrooms has addled his brain and yellowed his teeth. I've warned him that it is unbefitting for one of the Wizards to be wandering the woods…'
Gandalf didn't hear what Saruman said next, for Lady Galadriels voice filled his head.
'You carry something. It came to you from Radagast. He found it in Dol Guldur.'
'Yes,' Gandalf replied. There was no use to lie about it.
'Show me.'
Gandalf nodded and lay the dagger that Radagast had given to him down on the table in front of him.
Saruman stopped talking in the middle of a sentence.
'It's a relic of Mordor,' Galadriel spoke with horror. 'A Morgul Blade, made for the Witchking of Angmar. And buried with him.' Galadriels face lost its normal calm and was filled with confusion.
The Council exchanged glances. How was it possible for this dagger to end up here?
'When Angmar fell…,' Galadriel continued,'… the Men of the North took his body and all that he possessed and sealed it within the High Fells of Rhudaur. Deep within the rock they buried him, in a tomb so dark that it would never come to light.'
Elrond shook his head in disbelieve. 'This is not possible. A powerful spell lies upon those tombs. They cannot be opened.'
Gandalf glanced at Elrond. He felt the same confusion.
'What proof do we have that this weapon came from Angmar's grave?' Saruman asked.
'I have none,' Gandalf replied.
'Because there is none,' Saruman then said, completely convinced of himself.
Gandalf sighed. Saruman didn't understand the seriousness of the situation.
'Let us examine what we know,' Saruman continued. 'A single Orc pack has dared to cross the Bruinen, a dagger from a bygone age has been found, and a human sorcerer who calls himself "The Necromancer" has taken up residence in a ruined fortress. It's not so much after all.'
Saruman then turned his attention directly towards Gandalf. 'The question of this Dwarvish company however, troubles me deeply.'
Gandalf opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Saruman.
'I'm not convinced, Gandalf. I do not feel I can condone such a quest. If they'd come to me, I might have spared them this disappointment. I do not… '
Gandalf heard Galadriels voice once more in his head.
'They are leaving.'
Gandalf turned his towards Galadriel. 'Yes.'
'You knew.' The remark was meant to sound accusing, but instead it sounded as if Galadriel was trying to hold back a smile.
'… No, I'm afraid there is nothing else for it.' Saruman finished whatever he had been saying.
Suddenly, Lindir walked into the room, causing everyone to turn around to face him.
'My Lord Elrond, the Dwarves are gone,' he said.
At the same moment, Maddie and the company were walking on a narrow path that led away from Rivendell.
Maddie stopped walking and turned around to have a last glance at the Elvin city.
She didn't like to sneak off like this, but it was necessary. Gandalf had warned her and the others last evening, that they needed to leave with the break of dawn the moment Gandalf would be talking to the Council. Gandalf had suspected that the Council wouldn't let the company go.
Maddie sighed. She would have liked to ask Lord Elrond if he knew anything more about her past. But she had not been given the chance to do so.
Somewhere behind her, she heard how Thorin spoke to her.
'Miss Maddie, I suggest you keep up.'
Maddie turned around, nodded to Thorin, and started to walk again.
'You will follow them.'
'Yes,' Gandalf replied.
He and Lady Galadriel were standing in the Council room in Rivendell. Saruman and Elrond had already left.
Gandalf had just denied to the Council that he had known the company was leaving. None of them believed him, but the company was already out of their reach and there was nothing they could do about it.
'You are right to help Thorin Oakenshield,' Galadriel continued. 'But I fear this quest has set in motion forces we do not yet understand. The riddle of the Morgul Blade must be answered. Something moves in the shadow unseen, hidden from our sight. It will not show itself. Not yet. But every day it grows in strength. You must be careful.'
Gandalf nodded and started to walk towards the door.
Galadriel stopped him by asking: 'Mithrandir, why the girl?'
Gandalf turned back. He hesitated for a moment. He hadn't thought about it when he had invited Maddie. Why did he bring her along? Why did he bring a girl on a dangerous quest to reclaim a homeland from a fire-breathing dragon?
'I don't know,' he finally replied. 'Saruman believes it is only a great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love. Why Maddie?' he chuckled. 'Perhaps it is because I'm afraid… and she gives me courage.'
Galadriel sighed and took Gandalf by the hand.
'Do not be afraid, Mithrandir. You are not alone,' she said as she used her free hand to push a lock of Gandalfs hair that was dangling in front of his face behind his ear. She then gave Gandalf a reassuring smile.
'If you ever need my help, I will come,' she promised.
Gandalf looked at his hands. He was touched by Galadriels promise. They had been friends for a very long time. He always had had the highest regard for her.
Galadriel slowly removed her hand. Then it became quiet. The minutes passed without anyone speaking. Gandalf looked up.
Galadriel was gone.