I sat down at my empty easel, thinking of ways to pass the time.
Midnight blue.
Start with midnight blue.
Standing in front of my closet, I mentally bartered on which dress to wear. Today was the "tomorrow" Jesse had specified in his letter, saying that he would be staying in Mirkwood for a time.
Flipping through the dresses hanging in my closet, I thought about my childhood friend.
We had grown up together, as both our families were part of the Travelers. I smiled remembering how little I was when mom and dad had told me that we were going to go visit another world. I remembered how I stood in a field, holding my mother's hand, and then jumping through a door of light and landing in a forest. Jesse and his father were there waiting for our arrival in Middle Earth. When I had finally stopped talking my mother's ear off about how amazing the passage was, and if we could go back and forth just for fun, five year old Jesse presented me with a flower, saying that he was glad that I was here with him. Mom told me when I was older that I had kissed him on the cheek, but I really don't remember.
Many other families had come to join the secret group and live new lives of traveling back and forth to Middle Earth. I clearly remembered the first Traveler meeting, when Amelia had welcomed us all to this strange new place. I was more interested in Amelia herself than the gathering of important leaders of Middle Earth, such as: Aragorn and Lady Arwen, Lord Thranduil, Elrond and Eomer.
With the skin of a porcelain doll, and long flaming red hair with large piercing blue eyes, she resembled a nymph or faery more than a human being. During the meeting, she asked the permission of the leaders to let the small group live in Middle Earth, to escape our world. The lords and ladies graciously agreed to host the families whenever they wished to live in their land; or for as long as the family needed.
Deciding to wear my favorite dress, I slipped on the form fitting outfit and happily gazed at the color. Midnight blue with long sleeves that began to taper at the elbows just enough to let my hands have some room.
Cute and comfortable.
Just the way I liked it. Looking in the mirror my dark blue eyes became disgusted with my long tangled hair. After brushing the mass, I wrapped my near-black hair into a messy bun and clipped it into place, allowing a few random strands to hang loosely. Pleased with my ensemble so far, I fastened a fine black chain around my neck that featured a small stone of identical color. Happy with my appearance I waltzed out of my room and into the kitchen, breathing in the smell of breakfast. Sitting down at the table, I began to dish up my plate.
Looking around the dining room, I suddenly realized that my family and I had stayed almost an entire year here in this house. Time had gone by so fast in Mirkwood it was unreal.
Must be the Elves and their immortality. It's leaking everywhere causing time to seem almost unnoticeable.
Mirkwood was the place we had stayed the longest in aside from Gondor. We considered Gondor our "hometown". I grew up there, but we decided that it was time for a change, so we moved to Rohan for a few years… and didn't like it. By that time, I was sixteen and fed up with no trees and grass plains as far as the eye could see. Not to mention the constant smell of horses. After running the idea of moving to Mirkwood by Amelia, we waited for approval from her and King Thranduil.
While we were still in Rohan waiting for the "o.k" to move, Jesse and his father stopped by the city to re-supply.
They had never done much traveling between worlds and stayed in Middle Earth ninety nine percent of the time, migrating all over the map.
Finding me in Rohan, my child hood friend developed a small crush on me and wasn't afraid to let me know how he felt. My mother being my best friend; was immediately informed of this and thought it was the best thing to ever happen to me.
"Great guys like Jesse are hard to find," she insisted "I can't tell you what to do, but he's a keeper."
I had to admit, Jesse's kindness and compassion had always impressed me. He was sweet and bold as well as spontaneous at times, plus always had a way at making me laugh.
Once Boz got a whiff of a crush on his daughter, out came the double bladed axe, but it was soon put away when he found out it was Jesse.
Jesse's father Eric and my dad had been close friends for years, stretching way back to collage. Boz would come home from visiting his close friend and rave about what a fine job Eric was doing raising his son.
Jesse's mother had died in a car accident when he was four, just one year before he and his father began traveling to Middle Earth. I guessed Eric spent so much time in Middle Earth to escape the memories of his wife.
After visiting with my parents during breakfast, I grabbed my bag and headed out. Treading up the trail to the city I soon found myself in the midst of the Elven kingdom. Work shops and markets lined the wide path that was already bustling with activity. Spying the silversmith's shop, I weaved my way through the crowds of people, listening to the melodic hum of their immortal voices. Arriving at my familiar destination I was rewarded to find my best friend already gazing at the jewelry. Great minds think alike…
"Nienna!" I greeted Elven friend.
"You look lovely," she observed, "What's the occasion?" her green eyes sparkled.
"Let's talk and shop, then I shall tell you all the details." I said dramatically, hinting there was much to discuss.
Leaving the jewelry behind, we began to talk and shop. All the talk was in Elvish as Nienna, like many Elves, didn't speak the common tongue.
"So this Jesse," she inquired while we looked at dresses, "he is a Traveler, you have known him for years, and he is coming to Mirkwood?"
"Yes," I said coyly.
"When?" she asked excitedly.
"Today." I smiled.
Nienna looked at me in shock, "Today!"
I nodded, before we both began to giggle in excitement.
Nienna and I were just about to head to my house when we saw the border patrol riding through the woods. Looking closer I noticed two very un-elvish riders accompanying them.
"Do you think that's them?" Nienna asked, looking over my shoulder.
"Maybe…there's only one way to find out!" We both glanced at each other smiling and quickly headed back into the city and toward the Mirkwood stables. The stables were closer to the palace than the markets and were elegantly built, as was all of Mirkwood's architecture. By the time we got there, all the horses were unsaddled and being taken care of after the long ride.