Summery: Three Thousand years into the fourth age, a modern era has taken hold, and the races of middle earth live side by side in a technological world much like our own. But when Lord Elrond receives news of his son's untimely death, he returns from Valanor to M.E. to meet his granddaughter.
Rating: T for possible language
Disclaimer: I Don't own Lord of the rings. That should be apparent, since I am after all on FANFICTION. NET
AN: hmm, to my dismay it seems even with a BETA reader I still don't always see all of the spelling and grammar errors, along with the little typos. How do you? (LOL) anyway, thank you to all of the readers; I was surprise to see the number of hits the first chapter got. I hope this story doesn't anger anyone, for some reason I feel that people are getting annoyed while reading, are you? Or is it just my natural paranoia?
Is this a Mary Sue? Well I hope not. (Heaven forbid)
-A gifted Life-
Chapter two "death and love"
A wind blew threw my hair as I swiftly made my way out of the school building. The grey clouds overhead blocking out the sun. I could feel that a storm was coming, any minute now the sky would release and rain would come pouring down. The school was located conveniently close to my house, so on most days I would walk home; but parked outside the building was an expensive looking old car. Its sleek black paint gleamed. I instantly knew who it belonged to.
"Herion!" I said excitedly as I ran the rest of the way.
Before I reached the car, the door opened and a tall elf come out. He had long blond hair held up in a loose pony tail, and wore a business suit.
"Theirs my shining star" he said, smiling when I reached him.
"Herion, what are you doing here?" I grined at my mentor
"It's been so long since I've seen you. Can I not come visit a friend?" he said with a mischievous smile. "Come, let's get in the car before the valor see fit to drench us" he said looking up to the sky.
He let me in first, and then went to the driver's seat. "So the 24th is almost here." I could see him looking back at me through the rear view mirror. His blue eyes the color of a summer sky.
"Yeah" I said softly. I didn't like to think of what was about to happen. If I thought too much about it, it felt as if my chest was tightening. The thought of leaving all that I have come to know behind was too much of a burden, one I wasn't willing to face.
"You shouldn't worry young one." He spoke in a kind voice "I know your Grandfather, and Uncle. They are great people. Lord Elrond has a kind heart; And Lord Elladan will love you regardless." His words were meant to comfort, but instead my heart seemed to tighten instead. My mind contradicted itself in my thoughts. I longed to know them, to meet them, but I was frightened that I would disappoint them. "You're too young to look so serious Aranel. Lets cheer you up, let's go anywhere you like" his voice was cheerful as he spoke to me. Herion had a natural charisma that I couldn't deny.
"Can we go to…" I thought of a place I would like to visit. "Minas Tirith?"
"Lets leave that to when Lord Elrond Comes," he said laughing
"But I want to see Elurin" I complained in a whiny voice. He laughed at my reaction.
"I know, I know, but don't you think the others will wish to meet the prince of Gondor when they arrive? We can all go when their ship takes dock. I'm sure Elrond is curious to see how the descendents of Lady Arwen are doing."
It was true that Elurin was the prince, and future King of Gondor, but he was still my close friend. His mother the queen, insisted that he and I become friends when we were young; after all I was his distant relative. And so every couple of weeks I would travel to Minas Tirith and spend time with my 'cousin'.
"I guess" I grumbled
"How about I take you to see Voronwe? He's been rather moody lately. I'm afraid that my brother has become a bore as of late. Seeing you might raise his sprits. He really does adore you."
"That sounds fine" I said mindlessly. I really did like seeing Voronwe and Herion, I loved to hear the tales they would tell about Mirkwood in the third age. They had so much to say about everything (especially Herion), but I didn't really feel in the mood for it now. As I thought, the storm began. Heavy pellets of water plummeting to the ground below.
"if it were a tad bit colder this would have been a nice snow" Herion said to no one in particular as he drove through the rain
"I'm tired of snow and rain…I want it to be clear." I said pouting
"yes a clear day would be nice" he said cheerfully
"No, not clear day, clear night. I want to be able to see the stars" I said while staring out the window, the heavy rain erasing all remains of the last snow storm. "yes to see the stars clearly would be nice" his voice sounded oddly melancholy. "Did I ever tell you about the time when…" he went on to explain a story to me, telling how he and a few other elves, in their youth got in trouble with king Thranduil.
-
The next day I sat in History class, the teacher hadn't come in yet, so me and Morwen, along with some boy Meneldir talked about random things
"Yeah, and I'm the heir of Isidur." Meneldir said sarcastically "Morwen, you're so full of crap. Theirs NO WAY you're the granddaughter of the king of Rohan" he said while Morwen and I laughed. It was Common for Morwen to tell people she never met before outrages lies. 'it entertained her' she said.
" Yeah but wouldn't it be cool if I was?" she said leaning back in her seat.
"Ok class, settle down" a man said walking in to the room. He was tall with light red hair, and wore glasses . "I'm your Substitute teacher, your teacher has a family emergency and will be out for the next two weeks.
The class instantly started to lean over and gossip about the development.
"So let me tell you a little bit about myself." The teacher said as he wrote his name on the board "I'm Mr. Eorl, I'm originally from Rohan, near Lorien national park" he continued, as he scanned us, trying to get a feel for this new class.
"I have a masters in history form the university of Bree, and I'm really excited about being your teacher. I here that this is advanced history? Perfect. I will try my best to be a good instructor." He said smiling. He seemed like a fun man, very energetic and eager. Someone MUCH better than the stubborn old dwarf who usually taught.
After he called role, he instantly went in to the lecture. He started teaching us about the third age. He went on about the different wars between different nations, a subject that I was surprisingly interested in, but then, to my dismay he began to talk about the elves. Whenever this subject was brought up in school, all heads would turn to me. To my surprise, Mr. Eorl, didn't look to me when he began teaching this new topic
"So there were three elvish domains in middle earth during this period. Can anyone tell me their names?" he said
Morwen shot up her hand "Lothlorein, Mirkwood, and Rivendale." She seemed so proud of her self. She usually wasn't the brightest kid in the class, but he asked such an easy question, even she could answer.
"Correct" Mr. Eorl said smiling
"and the rulers were Elrond, Galadriel, and Thranduil. All of whom were IMENTSLY old and wise." He continued to talk, while some of my class members began to turn their heads in my direction. The teacher eventually noticed "And what's so interesting about…."he paused as he read from the seating chart "Aranel?" the class was silent for a few seconds. Obviously he didn't know he was teaching an elf.
"Well….you know…" one girl said
"Yeah, she's an elf…" another finished
The teacher looked stunned
"An elf, really?" he seemed really surprised. The last elf to be born in middle earth took place 1000 years ago. In M.E. I was an oddity.
"Yeah" I sad softly, blushing immensely pulling my loose hair behind my ears.
"So maybe you can tell us a little bit, I may not know." he seemed eager
"Do your parents know any interesting information about the three elven rulers?" he asked.
All eyes were on me, and I was NOT enjoying it. "Well…actually…" didn't know if I really wanted to tell everyone "Lord Elrond is my grandfather, and Lady Galadriel is my great grandmother." The class looked stunned. This was the first time most of them found out. Morwen leaned over "dude, not a smart move" she whispered to me looking worried. "Fascinating." The teacher said as he looked to me. "So that means your father is…." He waited for me to continue. "Elrohir" I said looking down to my desk. I could feel my ears burning in blush.
"Ha! Well this is a first, I bet you know more than even me about elvish history. But I promise I wont make an oddity out of you" Mr. Eorl said laughing in delight. "Lets move on and give her some space." I instantly started to like this man. If it were any other person they would hound me with questions. "Thank the Valor" I breathed in relief.
After class, everyone was talking about the new substitute teacher
"Isn't he drop dead gorgeous? Did you see his eyes? They were such a beautiful shade of green, and his jaw line!" Morwen gushed as me and Eomir stood waiting for her to finish "isn't he handsome Ara?" she asked me
"For a human I guess" I said without a care.
"Oh yeah," she said "I forgot, you get to spend time with all the elvish hotties out their" she said nudging me in the side.
"Mor. Stop." I said pleadingly with her. I wasn't comfortable talking about things like dating and sex and Morwen knew it.
"Fine" she pouted, turning from me to Eomir remarking to him how he wasn't as handsome as Mr. Eorl.
We continued on to lunch without incident and took our normal seat at a back corner table. Morwen was finely done with talking about the new teacher and was back to her normal self.
"so. . ." she said looking over to me "just one more week till the family reunion." She knew my feeling on the subject and was worried or me.
"Yeah. I don't really know what to think."I said looking up to the ceiling absently.
"Well I would be freaked if I was in your place" Eomir said form beside me. "Meeting some legendary dude , who just so happens to be your grandfather. Talk about intimidation." He said while pouring salt on his food.
I was silent; he'd pinpointed my feeling exactly.
"Well I would be excited." Morwen said from across the table. "Just think of the stuff they could tell you! My grandpa has tons of great stories, and he's only 70 years old. Think what kind of stuff a guy who's lived for thousands of year would have to say!" I knew she was trying to make me feel better, but it wasn't helping. I still had a feeling of dread.
The table was silent for a moment.
"But that's not all" Morwen then continued "think of what you could tell them."
Her words confused me. What would I have to say to great elf lords, who've spent the past couple thousand years in Valenor?
"Like what?" I asked her.
With an almost sad smile she replied. "Well, they've been gone for so long. I here that valanor and M.E. are like totally cut off from one another. Just imagine how curious about everything they will be. I mean this use to be there home too." She paused for a moment "And I'm sure they would want to here from YOU, everything you remember about your father."
I looked toward her with out knowing what to say. My Father?
"He is there Brother, and Son, and they've missed the pass coupe thousand years of his life. If I were in there places, I would be very interested in hearing from the closest person to him what his last couple years were like."
Morwen has never been the smartest kid in the class when it came to book work and trivia; but when it came to life, she seemed to be in a good standing place. Always knowing what to say, and how to put things in a different perspective.
"I. . . don't remember much about him" I said softly.
"not true." She said back. "Last time I was at your place, you and I listened to a bunch of old music, you said were his favorite songs. That's pretty important about a person you know. The kind of music they like practically defines their mood and emotions. I think it will be pretty significant to show your uncle and grandpa things like that."
When I though back, I did know a few things about him. The music he liked, the books he read; and according to Morwen's philosophy, that defined a person's character.
"It would be interesting to show them stuff like that." I replied with a soft smile.
I didn't know about my fathers' life century's ago. I didn't know what he was like as a leader, or a warrior. What I did know about him -I realized- no one else knew. I knew him as the man who would sing soft lullabies to me. The man who would bring me to beautiful locations and tell me stories about my mother. I knew him not as an elf lord, but as my father. My sad and lonely father who would cry softly as he sat next to my bed, thinking I was asleep.
"Your great Mor" I said smiling. From across the table she replied dramatically
"Well of COURSE I am! Are you just figuring this out?"
-
Later that night I sat in a soft chair in my fathers' old study. A room surrounded by books and paintings. A fire softly burning in the fire place.
I sat back listening to a song I remembered my father often listening too. It was a song so engraved in my life it hardly seemed odd to hear it playing softly through the halls of the manor.
After Dad died, Eldacar often played it in his memory.
"The rusted chains of prison moons
Are shattered by the sun.
I walk a road, horizons change
The tournament's begun.
The purple piper plays his tune,
The choir softly sing;
Three lullabies in an ancient tongue,
For the court of the crimson king."
The lyrics were beautiful and ancient sounding; it reminded me perfectly of my father. An ancient being who seemed out of place in the modern world I knew so well.
"Ara?" the voice of Eldacar shook me from my thoughts. I looked up to see him leaning against the door frame to the entrance to the study. "How are you holding up?" his face was worn and tired. His eyes showed what his words did not.
"I'm fine" I said as I clung to the blanket wrapped around me. He had returned form his trip a few days ago, and had spent the time since making sure I was happy. To his disappointment, I haven't been though. I knew that it hurt him to see me so 'distant' in thoughts, but I couldn't help it.
We were both silent for a few moments, the music in the background closing the gaps our words left.
"Your father would do the same thing, you know." He said as he looked towards the fire place, still standing in the door way.
"What?" I asked him in confusion.
Finally entering the room, Eldacar replied "He would sit in that chair for hours listening to music, or reading." He stopped in front of the fire place, looking deeply in to the flames. "I would come in at late hours of the night and find him lost in thought. These same songs playing in the background." His voice sounded melancholy and distant.
"I remember." I said softly looking at me guardians back. "I never saw him sleeping" I said thinking back.
"I don't think he did towards the 'end'" Eldacar replied looking up above the fire place to a portrait of my mother and Father.
In the painting they seemed happy. Content. My mother smiled almost mischievously, while my father had a dignified, yet joyful grin. They wore the fashion popular at the time the painting was commissioned. The painting seemed so ancient and mysterious. It was hard to think of the man in the portrait, and the man I remember to be my father, as the same person.
"He wouldn't want you to be mopping like this." He said turning towards me. "He wanted you to be happy in life." His voice was solemn.
I couldn't reply to him. Instead I clung even tighter to the blanket surrounding me. As if, if I let go I would fall apart.
"The coming of your kin isn't something you should dread Ara." His voice was stronger than before. I continued to be silent "I know it scares you." His words reverberated in my mind. Eldacar probably knew be better than anyone in the world. "I know that facing you kin, will force you to also face your demons. But you can't keep ignoring your troubles Ara. You have to face the reality of your parent's death." his voice grew silent as I closed my eyes tight. Tears making there escape.
"But your not alone" I felt Eldacar's presence next to mine. "We're all with you" he said in barely more than a whisper as he placed his hand on my shoulder. Like a child I wrapped my arms around his stomach and cried in to his shirt. As I wept, he tried his best to comfort me. Whispering silent words, and gently rubbing my back.
I hated the fact I couldn't stop my tears. Every time I did a vision of my mother singing would enter my mind, reminding me that, even though I did have family coming for me, I didn't have her. Just as I didn't have him.
They were gone and I would never get them back. I would never hear his voice, and never feel her embrace.
I thought for a moment how cruel the valor were, for taking them from me. For leaving me behind without them.
As if he were reading my mind, Eldacar softly said "you don't have them, but you do have others who love just as much". He released my grasp from around him and pushed me away slightly as he knelt down till he were at my level. "I know I'm not much of a replacement, but I do love you as if you were my own daughter" his grey eyes stared deeply in to my own.
"I love you too." I said as tears fell from my eyes.
"And you know what?" he said to me, never loosing eye contact "the ones coming on the boat love you too. Even now, even though they don't know you. They love you Ara."
His last four words seemed to echo in my mind 'They love you Ara'
They love me. . . just as my parents loved me.
I don't have my mother or father . . . the void in my heart where there love would have been held had been empty for so long, it was an emptiness that haunted my dreams and daily life, knowing that the void would never be filled with their love. Knowing that I would always be left drifting with out the bonds of family.
But- a thought crept in to my mind. Maybe I didn't have to be left drifting. Maybe, just maybe, the empty void in my heart could be filled with the love from the ones who were closest to my parents. The ones who loved me simply for being there daughter.
It was at that moment, I first felt the deep desire for the family I had making there way to my shores.
I truly longed for them. Just as I had longed for my parents for so many years.
Authors Note:
WOW! Sorry I hadn't updated! I wrote the first half of this chapter months ago, and just tonight decided to finish it!
I actually wanted to keep writing, but thought that 3500 words was decent for just one chapter.
Next chapter Ara meets her lost family!
The song that made its appearance in this chapter is "the court of the crimson king" by king crimson.
It is truly a beautiful song and inspired me to write this chapter.
Please leave me reviews ^__^
The two things that motivate me to write are music and reviews (so do your Part!)
-vala