Anna looked quizzically at the little person staring wide-eyed at her. "Could you help me? I really am in a bit of trouble." When the boy nodded solemnly, she smiled and said, "Then take me to where your parents are staying."
"Are you lost?" the boy asked.
"I am afraid so." Anna glanced around her uneasily and then gazed at the boy with narrowed eyes. "What about you? Are you lost? It is awfully late for someone as young as you to be out and about."
"Me?" the boy cried indignantly. "I just had my thirteenth birthday! I can find my way home." He stood up straighter in an obvious attempt to appear taller, his eyes saying quite clearly: and you cannot!
"Thirteen!" Anna exclaimed incredulously. She immediately decided not to take the point any farther, for her little would be savior was already vexed enough. Instead she quickly masked her surprise with an indulgent smile. "I beg your pardon, Mr…"
"Gamgee. You can call me Frodo, though. Or Fro, like my brothers and sisters do."
"Very well, Frodo. You may call me Anna."
"Anna? That's kind of a funny name."
"Is it?" Anna asked, thinking she could very well make a similar observation.
"Well, it just doesn't sound very…Elvish, but I don't know much Elvish, not like Old Mister Bilbo did. He wrote a whole book-"
"Listen Frodo," Anna interrupted as she gathered her things and piled them on her rolling case, "Why don't you tell me this story on the way to your home?"
"Alright, follow me," her companion said amiably before taking her hand and continuing his chatter. "Old Mister Bilbo knew Elvish very well because he was very fond of Elves and even lived with them for a time. Of course, I never made his acquaintance since he traveled West before I was born. More is the pity, for he would have loved to have met a pretty Elf like you."
Anna came to an abrupt halt as she listened to his seemingly innocent prattle and turned a sharp eye upon her guide who looked back at her questioningly. It seemed that wherever she went, she could not escape this dreaded subject. "What did you call me?"
Frodo looked at her in wide-eyed surprise at her sharp demand. Seeming a little upset at her swift change of mood, he merely shrugged slightly in reply.
Her face softened to see the child wince, and she knelt down before him. "You know, it's not very kind of you to name-call. If anyone one around here is an Elf, it's you!" Anna said gently, regarding the boy's size and rather whimsical attire with a hint of a smile.
Clamping his hand over his mouth, obviously to smother a fit of giggles, Frodo took a step backward and nodded.
"Well then, shall we continue?" Anna suggested, pointedly ignoring his amusement.
Frodo nodded again and reclaimed her hand. After a period of silence he asked, "What city did you say you were traveling to?"
"New York. I hope to be able to go to school there."
"Is it as big as Minas Tirith?"
"I don't know. I have never heard of Minas Tirith."
"Really?" Frodo asked, looking at her as if she were the silliest girl he had ever seen. "It's the biggest city in Gondor, and the King and Queen live there."
"I'm afraid I have never heard of Gondor either, and what King and Queen do you mean?"
Frodo sighed a little impatiently and proceeded to explain, "King Elessar and Queen Arwen! I am taking you to see them, because I think you must be very lost. They are staying in the King's house at Lake Evendim, and my parents are their guests. It's a big house, so I suppose you can be a guest too until you find your city. The Queen is an…er, I mean the Queen is a lot like you so I am sure she can help."
As Frodo's merry chatter continued unabatedly, Anna swiftly came to the conclusion that she had either hit her head very hard during the bus accident or had simply died. She also supposed she should not discount the possibility that she was being led to an Amish community. An Amish monarchy?
However, the feel of the woods and the air and sky seemed eerily familiar to her as they made their way around the lake Frodo had mentioned. She did not doubt she was in the midst of one of her dreams. They often caught her at unawares and at once surprised and frightened her with their realism. This time was no exception, but in none of her previous dreams did she take her cell phone with her. At least I now know why I couldn't get through to Susan, she thought bemusedly.
A bright star rose at that time and scattered its light upon the surface of the lake. The star was unlike any other Anna had ever seen. Her eyes were irresistibly drawn to its brilliance, and she found herself unable to turn away from it.
"Oh!" Frodo cried excitedly. "Do you see that star? The Queen told me about it. She says it's really not a star at all but a Sim-, a Silma… Oh, perhaps you should ask the Queen about it. The star has a pretty name, but I don't remember it."
"It is a very pretty star. And you are right. It is not a star but the planet Venus. I didn't think this was the time of the year for it to reach that point in the sky, not on this part of the globe anyway." A strange yearning twisted Anna's heart as she looked upon this star that was not a star. Its light seemed to whisper tauntingly to her as it tip-toed back and forth across the lake in a lively dance. Here I am! it called. And you cannot reach me!
Perhaps not, Anna called back, but why would I wish to?
Frodo shook his head firmly. "No, that was not the name. The Queen would know it."
Anna and Frodo had not walked far before she heard voices calling from the far side of the lake. Bright gold flecks appeared in that direction, and Anna could almost make out the figures of people moving in and out of the trees. Farther along the lake, she saw the silhouette of a great structure that she assumed to be the house Frodo had described.
"People are coming, Frodo. They must be looking for you," Anna said.
Frodo looked up at her curiously. "How do you know?"
"Who else would they be looking for in the middle of the night but a wayward little boy who has lost his way?" Anna replied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.
"No! I mean how do you know people are coming?"
"Can you not hear them? Their voices are becoming clearer now. I think they are calling your name. You did say that members of your family call you Fro, right?"
Frodo remained silent for a moment, listening. "Oh! I can hear shouts now! I don't know what they're saying, though, but I wager I'll be in hot water when I get home. Let's hurry!"
It required little effort for Anna to keep pace with the hurried strides of her strangely diminutive companion, and they reached what Anna rightly assumed to be Frodo's search party in little less than half an hour. The party consisted of an odd assortment of five people, each bearing golden lamps. At first glance, it seemed to be a group of four adults and one child who was not much taller than Frodo, but when this child rushed forward to meet them, Anna saw with astonishment that he was not a child at all.
"Frodo my lad, you were terribly naughty to worry your mama and I so!" the little person sobbed as he embraced Frodo. "What possessed you to amble off in the woods for so long and not return for supper? I was certain you had been drownded in the lake or worse!"
"Your extended outing caused quite the uproar in my household today," the tallest of the men said.
"I am sorry, Your Majesty," Frodo whimpered, his voice muffled by his father's coat.
The King smiled and said, "Apologize first to your father, Frodo, and then to your mother who is at this moment waiting in tears at the Queen's side."
Anna, who observed the great concern of everyone present, cocked an eyebrow at Frodo and whispered, "And just how long were you absent, Frodo?"
Frodo withdrew from his father and hung his head shamefully. "Well…all day long, I suppose…"
When Anna had spoken, the men turned to her as if noticing her for the first time. The King studied her with interest, and another stepped forward and held his lamp to her face. The lamp's bright light prevented Anna from seeing her observer.
After an awkward silence, the King said, "Mae govannen, mellon."
Frodo approached the King and said, "Her name is Anna, and I don't think she'll understand you. She became angry when I said she was an Elf."
The King listened to the boy without removing his eyes from Anna's face. "You are welcome here, Lady. Whence do you come?"
Anna hesitated. "From afar," she replied carefully. "It was actually I who was lost, and Frodo found me and kindly offered his assistance. I am certain he would have returned much sooner but for me."
Frodo smiled at her gratefully and affirmed her statement with a firm nod.
"I was traveling to a… distant city when I lost my way," she added.
The King seemed to ponder her words and replied, "You must indeed have journeyed from some distant country, for your speech is wholly strange to me, and I have traveled much in my lifetime. I am King Elessar, and you are come to the northern regions of my realm."
The bearer of the lamp spoke up suddenly, speaking to the king in the language that Anna gathered she was supposed to understand but did not. It was lovely, even lovelier than French, and she felt she would like to study it. Though she could not interpret the words of the speaker, she could easily detect a hint of excitement in his voice that made her all the more curious about what he was saying. Her curiosity peaked when the King turned back to her with an expression of extreme surprise.
"Well, Anna from afar, you cannot travel further this night. Though you are a stranger among us, I will welcome you in my home." The King turned his gaze to the little people who had been watching the exchange with interest. "Master Samwise, I believe it is time that you returned this lad to his mother, and I would have you take the Lady Anna to the Queen as well."
When they had departed, the King turned to his three remaining companions, and spoke in low tones to the one who had previously addressed him, "What does this mean, Glorfindel?"
"I am not entirely certain," he admitted, his expression grave.
"That this elleth should live with the light of the Trees shining from her eyes and yet deny her heritage is beyond explanation!" one of the others exclaimed.
"You speak truly, Elladan," the King replied. "Did you mark the words of the young hobbit? She had been angered when he named her as one of the Elven kind."
"And she was careful to reveal nothing of her origins. I would learn more of this matter before welcoming her as freely as you have done, Estel," the third companion advised the King.
"Nay Elrohir, I detected no malice in her countenance. What say you, Glorfindel?" the King asked.
"She presents to us no danger. If she were a bearer of evil, you would have known it, Elrohir," Glorfindel said thoughtfully. "However, it is in part this lack of taint that perplexes me. She has the air of a Noldo, yet she walks in the lands of the Exiles without even a hint of the curse that Mandos laid upon our kindred. What is more, she bears a striking resemblance to one Noldo in particular, and it troubles me to no end."
The King looked thoughtfully between his companions as he contemplated their words. "A Noldo who has slipped through the fingers of Mandos abides freely in Middle Earth. Who will solve this riddle?"
His companions did not respond. Nothing more was spoken of this matter, and the four returned in silence to the house of the King.