Arial
Journey of the Lost
Chapter Two
By Bethuviel
Disclaimer: The estate of J.R.R. Tolkien owns all recognizable characters from the works of literature encompassing The Lord of The Rings. I receive no compensation for any work I have written and/or published on this site.
Author's note: All reviews, whether critical or applauding are appreciated.
oOo
Arial stumbled and crashed through the brush between her and the receding back of the man who had agreed to take her to his studied father. She smirked. Studied father. She had pictures of a smug pipe smoking old man in his stuffy study wearing small wire rimmed glasses set upon a huge hawkish pointy nose with a mole over the right nostril. She imagined he had thin pale lips stretching over perfect dentures all offset by a small chin. He probably wore polyester. And a fat thick tie from the seventies. She giggled at the picture she had painted causing the man in front of her to stop and turn around.
"Is everything alright?" He asked.
She was drawn of out her daydreams by his smooth voice. "I'm fine, thank you."
He turned and continued walking. Arial thought he was strange too. He looked like he had just stepped out of some arty production of a middle ages play. That sword at his side looked real though. And those arrows with that authentic looking bow. Arial started walking slower, suddenly not sure she had made the correct choice. He had a hood over his head. She wasn't really sure what he looked like.
"Oh my god!" she thought. "I'm being led back to be murdered and ate by cannibal inbreds." She followed, but started easing off in a more southern direction. Just a little bit more and…
"Do not wander off for you will place yourself in great danger." The hooded man turned and looked at her. "I swear to you by all that is good and right, I will not harm you, nor allow you to be harmed." He started walking towards her and Arial froze. She knew she could not outrun him.
He slowly reached up and removed his hood. He let it drop down onto his shoulders and she could not help but stare at him. He was beautiful. Creepy beautiful. She thought he was so beautiful he was almost ugly from it. It was like everything perfect had been thrown onto his face and somehow all that perfection just did not work together as well as it should have. Her thoughts rambled on until she saw his ears. Her mouth dropped open. In shock she slammed her jaws shut, embarrassed she had openly stared at what was his birth defect. She knew better, she had been raised better and here she was, making a disgrace of herself and her name by calling unwanted attention to the poor guy's afflicted ears. It was ok to notice, not ok to stare and certainly not with an open mouth. Ashamed of herself, she looked down and away quickly.
The man stepped closer to her and held his hands out from him in a sign of his intentions. "I mean you no harm. You are safe with me. I am leading you to a safe haven." He almost cooed the words at her. She just stood there, rubbing the ground with the toe of one of her shoes.
"You're not mad at me?" She asked timidly.
"Angry? No, why would I be?"
"You're not leading me back to be killed and ate?"
"Are you having a delusion? Do you feel well child?" Like thick syrup, his voice was laden with concern.
"Delusion? No. I'm not crazy. Some folks joke around and say I might be, but in reality, naw, I ain't crazy. I'm as sane as the next feller."
Confusion rested upon his face as he stared back at her trying to decipher what she had said. Arial looked up at him and quickly clarified, "No, I am sane." He nodded his head at her as he stopped just in front of her.
"You are feeling uneasy. Forgive me. When I found you, I was agitated that you had interfered with my scouting for tomorrow's scheduled hunt. I failed to properly introduce myself to you." He stepped back from her before continuing, "I am Elrohir, son of Master Elrond, Lord of Imladris. I and my family are at your service." With a flourish and a wave of his hand, he bowed before her. He rose up and waited expectantly.
Arial was dumbfounded and it took her a few seconds to gather her wits. "Arial Middleton, daughter of Michael and June Middleton of Waverly Kentucky. It is both an honor and a privilege to make your acquaintance, Good Sir." She did a curtsy wishing she knew how to perform a proper southern bow and hoping that her response was correct.
"The honor is mine," Elrohir replied. He swept to her side and offered his arm to her. She gladly took it and they continued on their way for a few moments.
"Pardon me, Mistress Arial, but I could not help but notice that my ears drew your attention."
Arial interrupted him stammering, "Please forgive me, I did not mean to stare."
"There is nothing to forgive, it is obvious that you have never seen an elf before." Arial stopped and pulled her arm out of his.
"Did you say an elf?"
"Yes."
"But elves aren't real, are you still in character for your play? If you are it's ok, you're back in the real world, time to be human again." Elrohir raised his eyebrows again. "Don't go raising your eyebrows at me mister 'I'm an elf'!"
It was Elrohir's turn to be surprised. "I assure you that I am as you said, in the real world, and that I am indeed of the firstborn, an elf. I am only half Atani, Peredhil."
Arial whipped around in front of him and without warning reached up and grabbed the tip of his ear intending to tear off the stage makeup. Elrohir had not expected that sort of reaction from her, knocked her hand away, then cushioned his throbbing ear with his hand.
"By the Valar! What do you think you are doing?" He cried out. "If you were not a female, I would knock you on your bottom!" He bent his head down at her and commanded, "Do not do that again!" He stepped around her and resumed walking home.
"O Crap!" Arial eeked in her panic voice. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry. Hey wait up….come on, I'm sorry I didn't believe you…"
Elrohir kept walking ahead of her, not willing to be grabbed again. "You just come along, back there. Safer for the both of us I deem." He looked as if he were stomping, except he left no footprints. Arial ran up next to him.
"Look, I'm sorry. I did not mean to hurt you." She got in front of him forcing him to stop again. She held her hands in front of her facing him. "Where I'm from, people don't have pointed ears, and the only elves existing are pictures on cookie cartons and in children's books okay. I thought you were just playing me."
Elrohir eyed her suspiciously. She continued expounding her ignorance pointing at his ears which caused Elrohir to jump back away from her, "I thought they were a birth defect."
"I am not defective." He simply stated.
"So what exactly is an elf? You're the first I've ever met, and how come no one knows about you?"
Elrohir sighed. "Iluvatar created the elves first and gifted us with the mortality of this earth, Arda. At the end of Arda when all will sing a new song before Eru, we will be renewed. Atani, the race of men were created second by Iluvatar. They were gifted with the doom of men, they must die. Where they go after death we do not know, and are not certain if they exist after death or not, or are forced to lie in their tomb until the song is sung again and they are remade."
Elrohir saw that she was perplexed and waited for another round of questioning. He began walking again, taking her arm in his.
She stumbled along, trying to figure out exactly what he had said, and if it was true or if El row her was a recent escapee from the insane asylum. She shook her head and decided to play along with his delusion.
"Are you calling God Ill loo va tar? Is that what they call him around here, Ill loo va tar?"
Elrohir smirked at her pronunciations and wondered briefly what his name would sound like coming out of her mouth. "Iluvatar is the creator of all things."
"So he's God."
"If you prefer."
"Who's Eeroo?"
"Another name for…God."
"So, let me get this straight, Elves were created first by God, then humans. Elves get to live forever, and humans get to die?" Elrohir nodded. "Well why would you want to live forever? Don't you age, get all wrinkly and decrepit?" She bent over and snarled her fingers in an attempt to mimic arthritic hands.
Elrohir bit his lips to try and control his laughter. "No we do not age."
"Oh really, and just how old are you?"
Elrohir was sure she had not meant to be rude, and decided to answer her question. "Two thousand summer seasons have passed since the day of my begetting." Her shock and disbelief was apparent. She reached a finger up and poked his chest, causing him to frown and back away.
"Oh, sorry. Forgot about the no touching thing. Well you hold up good. Any chance I can get some of this immortality stuff? What is it, some kind of potion, shot or something like that yer given at birth?"
"Did you not listen? I said it was a gift of the Iluvatar. It is not for the race of men. You can not obtain it by any means except from him."
Arial was crest fallen. She wanted to be immortal, and it would have definitely proven to her that he was not some crack pot she happened upon out in the wilds of nowhere. They continued the journey in silence, for which Elrohir was grateful.
She noted the slow changes in the terrain. Trees, bigger than any she had ever seen jotted the landscape and were becoming more numerous qualifying as a forest. The grounds were cleaner without the scraggy undergrowth. She could hear birds chirping in the braches overhead. She felt something hit her free arm and looked at it. The storm had arrived and it had begun to drizzle. The ground began to slope downward and soon she found herself walking on a well maintained pathway next to a cliff. She looked out over a valley and drew in a quick sharp breath at the scene below her. The dale below the cleft of the mountain was lush with thick foliage so rich in it's color green that Arial had to blink to make sure her eyes were correctly sending information to her brain. She felt like she had stepped into a picture that had been painted by a grand master. "Oh my," she sighed.
"Come Arial, lest you get totally soaked, catch pneumonia and die," jested Elrohir. Arial smiled at him and followed him around the mountain and over a stone bridge.
"Is this where you live?" She asked.
"Welcome to Rivendell, Arial."
Her attention drawn to the exquisite environment, Elrohir led her like a child at a spectacle. Arial was amazed at the blending of the architecture and nature. She had never before witnessed the existence of both in such harmony and peace, as if both had mated into one living thing, yet each it's own. Arial was glad she had agreed to follow Elrohir to this place, even if it led to her death. She was sure she would never again see anything to compare to the beauty she saw before and around her.
Suddenly she was standing in a marbled foyer, dripping water. She came to her senses and began looking for a door mat to stand upon. Another elf came and spoke to Elrohir in a language she did not understand but found appealing. That elf disappeared and in a few moments another appeared laden with large thick towels which were passed to her first, then also to Elrohir.
Arial patted herself dry as best as she could then wrapped herself with one extra large one. She did not fail to notice the ears on everyone and had not even hid the fact that she was looking. She was getting somewhat uncomfortable realizing the fairy tale had come to life around her. Elrohir took her arm as best as he could through the towel wrapped around her and led her into the hall of fire.
Arial instantly began to warm and helped herself to a cushioned chair close to the blazing fire in the hearth. She bent her legs to the side and place them under her. She did not care if she was displaying bad manners, she was still wet, chilled, and now hungry.
She had just gotten settled when another tall dark haired man with pointed ears floated into the room. Elrohir turned, greeted the man, and called him, Arial thought Ad tar. Elrohir spoke to him in the same language as he did to the other elf in the door. She saw the new elf raise his eyebrows the same way Elrohir did and surmised that they must be related to one another.
Ad tar stepped towards her and she stood up, grasping the towel tightly around her. "Greetings Arial, I am Master Elrond, Lord of Imladris and Elrohir is my son. He informs me that you are lost and are in need of assistance, to which I offer my services."
Arial curtsied again and replied, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Master Elrond."
Elrond gestured with his hand to the chair she had been sitting in, "Please sit down and be at ease. Here you are safe, and none will harm you. I give you my word."
"Thank you."
Elrohir pushed a settee behind his father and Elrond sat down upon it directly in front of Arial. He turned his head away from her and spoke to Elrohir, "Thank you. Please leave us." Elrohir nodded and obeyed his father's request.
Arial took advantage and studied his ear. Except for the tip on the top, it looked normal. Then he turned his head and she knew he had exposed his appendage on purpose. She could not help but look into his eyes. She knew in an instant that everything Elrohir had told her about firstborn, Ilu…Ilu…God, and humans was true. Arial saw the depths of wisdom swirling in Elrond's eyes, and something else that made her relax in her chair. She saw long ages of time. He was old beyond concept yet ageless to look upon. Elrond sat patiently, allowing her to come to terms with the truth before her. After a few moments she turned her head away, looked into the fire and whispered, "Where am I?"
Elrond spoke softly not wanting to scare the young daughter of man huddled in the chair before him. "Arial, you are in my home, in Imladris." He paused before continuing, "In Middle Earth." Elrond studied her. He knew she was not of Arda. Her demeanor, her clothing and the materials used in their construction, her speech and the words she chose whispered information to him. He waited again for her reaction.
"What do you mean, Middle Earth? I have never heard of such a place. And take no offense, but elves do not exist where I'm from. The government would have all of you whisked off to some secret lab out in area 51. It's like I've fell into some other dimension or something or another."
Elrond could see that Arial was displaying signs of distress and decided that the most direct course would better serve the situation at hand. "I will not try to mislead you, Arial. I have never before seen clothing of the type that you wear, nor of the materials from which they are made. I know nothing of this dimension you speak of, but I am sure that if we work together we can determine what has happened, from whence you hail, and therefore able to return you to your own."
She spun her head toward him with eyes wide. "I am from Waverly Kentucky. I only want to go home."
Elrond sat straighter, the words stumbling through his head. He had never heard of such a place. "Waverly Kentucky." He knew his geography well, and knew that no such place existed. "Are you sure that is the name of your village."
"Yes, I know the name of my own home. And it's not a village, it's a small city. Waverly, Kentucky. You know, Kentucky, the United States….of America…." She saw the look on his face and knew he had not heard of her home. "Elrohir reassured me that you were well studied in your geography…"
Elrond bit his lip, then said, "Mistress Arial, I am. I know every inch of this Middle Earth, and there is no place called Waverly Kentucky, or any United States of America. Did you receive a bump to your head?"
Arial rubbed her hands through her head and sighed, "No I didn't get any bumps to the ol' noggin'. Look, you got a map? Maybe I can figure this out with a map."
"I own several. Follow me please to the library." Elrond rose and led her down a passage way. She followed, no longer caring about architecture or nature. Arial's only interest lay in finding her home and maybe an I-told-you-so.
Elrond was at a loss. He had never heard of such a place. He mentally sighed. He thought Arial walked like a bull stomping through a pasture. He had hoped those funny shoes of hers would have cushioned her footsteps better, resigned himself to being wrong and having to listen to her stomp through his house. Even Estel was quieter and he was human. He led her into his library and heard her gasp in awe. Well at least she could appreciate beauty. He pretended to not notice and went to a large oak table that kept his numerous maps of Arda.
"Mistress, these are the maps you requested. Please, feel free to look through them." He waved his hand over them.
Arial looked at the maps. They were on some kind of yellowish brown paper she didn't recognize. They looked old and she was afraid to touch them for fear they would crumble. She stepped up to the table and gingerly took one by the edge. The paper was stronger than she anticipated. She was amazed. She had never felt paper like this before. Remembering the task at hand she pushed the thought away and began to look the map over top to bottom. Elrond watched her as she frowned.
"What is the matter?" He asked.
"I don't recognize any of this. Not even the names of the countries. The shore line seems kinda familiar, but it's not ringing any bells. Where exactly is this Middle Earth in relation to other continents?"
"Continents? What do you mean?"
"You know, lands across this ocean on the map?" She pointed to it with her finger.
"Mistress Arial, I assure you, there are no other lands. You are looking at the whole of Middle Earth." Arial fell into a chair behind her with a slight thump.
"But this can't be. Where's the U.S.? Where's Europe? And China? And Africa? And all the other countries?" She shuffled through the maps on the table, searching for anything that might look familiar.
Elrond leaned in closer, worried for her.
"But this can't be all. I mean, where's everything else?" She looked up at him expectantly. Her voice climbed up a few octaves and she was showing signs of extreme distress. Elrond took a silent step closer to Arial. She wasn't making any sense.
"Mistress.."
"Stop calling me Mistress!" she interrupted. Elrond stood straight, not used to being addressed in such a manner. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bite your head off, it's just…"Arial looked up at him, "I don't understand this. None of these maps of yours make any sense. I made A's in world geography, and I have never heard of anyplace called Middle Earth, Gondor, Rohan or a mountain range called the Misty Mountains. None of this corresponds to anything I've studied. Or to the world for that matter." She flopped her head onto the table and regretted it. "Now I got a bump on my head." She pointed at it with her hand. She closed her eyes and thought about tapping her heels three times.
Elrond swallowed hard and squeezed his stomach muscles tight to keep from laughing at the girl. Elrond pulled a chair next to Arial and sat down beside her.
"Where'd you get these maps?" She asked, an idea forming in her head.
"I made them. They are accurate," he replied. She opened one eye and peeked at him. He raised his eyebrows at her.
"So these are not the standard accepted maps of the world, just something you drew up?" She raised her head up and held it in place with her hands on her chins and elbows on the table.
"Arial, I am the keeper and master of knowledge in this world, and these maps are copied by permission and distributed throughout all Arda." Elrond did not understand her reaction to the maps and asked, "Did you eat anything strange or unknown to you? Perhaps drank some water from a contaminated source? Eat any wild berries? Mushrooms?"
Arial shook her head no. "There's nothing wrong with me. I swear it."
Elrond brushed his robes smooth over his thighs and said, "This is not making any sense."
"What was your first clue?" mumbled Arial.
"Excuse me?" He asked.
Arial ducked her head, "Sorry. Just frustrated."
"Perhaps if you tell me of your land, maybe then I can help."
Arial scooted sideways in her chair and rested her hand on one hand using the other one to wave around as she talked. "Well, let's see. I live at 413 Maple Street in Sherwin Oaks. That's a subdivision. That's off a Moorland that comes off of highway 127 west. There's a super Wal-mart, folks was glad to see that come in. There's the theatre, Regal 18, couple supermarkets, Kroger's, Food Lion, Food City, and oh yeah a bunch of banks and car dealerships. And we got the mall, West Town Mall. I like shopping there the best 'cause of Abercrombie, and all the cool shops. You know we was state champions last year in basketball. Went all the way. I know 'cause I played in the band. The Waverly County Marchin' Cardinals. We were pretty good. Won a lot of competitions."
Elrond masked his confusion and tried to discern the information she was spouting out of her mouth at an incredible rate of speed. He had never heard of such things or places and in truth had no idea what she was talking about.
"Umhum," he interrupted her. She looked up at him, hopeful. Maybe he had heard of their county band. "Arial, let's start simpler. Who is the lord of your land?"
"Lord? What do you mean?"
"The ruler of your people and lands." It was a simple question, he did not understand her difficulty.
"We ain't got no ruler, king or queen. We're free. We got a president and we all vote for him. Now them Brits, they got a queen, Queen Elizabeth. But she don't rule that country either, they got something called a parliament and a house of lords and what not. She goes before one of them, I forget which one every so often and tells 'em what all she'd like for 'em to do. I think she's more of a figure head, though they all love her."
Now Elrond was perplexed. A land who voted for something called a president, and another land of people call Brits with a queen who did not rule. It was obvious he would not be able to identify her home by who ruled it so he thought of another question he hoped would help him. "Who are the gods of your land?"
Arial perked up. "Well we got a few actually. But generally it all boils down to one who goes by a lot of different names. The difference really comes in how people worship him. You got the Christians, they believe Jesus is the son of God. Then you got the Muslims, they believe Mohammed is the Prophet of God who they call Allah. Then you got the Jews who don't believe Jesus is the son of God. Those is the three biggies and they generally fight a lot over their beliefs. A lot of people have fought and died over religion. But mostly all the fighting is done over in the middle east. People in my country just argue a lot with each other over it. Hardly ever comes to violence."
Elrond thought about what she had just told him. A land where people worshipped the same god by different names, and fought over who was worshipping him the right way. He thought that was ridiculous and wondered why the peoples could not worship whatever way they saw fit and let everyone else do the same and coexist peacefully. Probably the same problem that existed in Arda, someone thought they had the right to tell everyone else what to do and would resort to any means possible to achieve that dominion. Elrond concluded that greed and evil were the same no matter from where one hailed. But he still did not have the answer he sought.
"Arial, your lands sound strange to my ears, for I have never heard of a Queen Elizabeth, Brits, supermarkets Kroger Food Lion and Food City. I have never heard of Christians, Muslims or Jews, or of this prophet Mohammed or Jesus who may or not be the son of the God that is also called Allah that each group worships separately. I had hoped that your answers would provide me with a general location of your country. I will ask you some specific questions and I need you to answer truthfully."
"Okay." Arial was confused. Where had these people been? Who did not know of the problems in the middle east? Who did not go grocery shopping? Never heard of the Queen? Arial got the feeling that something was definitely wrong.
"Arial, have you ever sailed in a ship on the water?" He thought perhaps she was from a strange land heretofore unknown by any in Arda. Dashing his hopes, she shook her head no. Elrond grew suspicious. What if she were an agent of Sauron's and this were some clever ploy of his? Perhaps Sauron had gotten news of the council that had been called and Arial was a spy of his sent to find out about the ring. It would be just like Sauron to use someone so young and innocent to infiltrate the council. Elrond studied the girl closer. "Look at me Arial." She sat up and he drew her gaze into his own. He did not ask permission or bother to explain his intent. If the defenses of Imladris could be so easily invaded, he had to know now.
Arial felt herself relaxing. Her body slumped as he penetrated her mind. She felt no danger to her person and believed she had slipped into a daydream. Elrond searched her mind and found no trace of Sauron or any of his agents. But what he did discover astonished him. He withdrew. He put his hands to his head and tried to stop the rush of pictures flooding his own mind as his brain tried to dissect the foreign substance.
"How can this be?" He asked himself aloud. He felt discombobulated. He could not believe what the journey had revealed, but he saw the supermarkets, religious fighting, and her home. He saw her parents, and others of her memories. He saw the schools she had attended and the maps. Her world was not his world. Her world was frightening to him. Yet he knew that her world was no threat to his own. Her world was not a part of his world and a great void separated them. Elrond sat back in his chair and relaxed. How could this be? Two separate worlds existing at the same time yet in different spheres? Her gods were different from his. The Valar did not exist in her world. Illuvatar did exist, but he had different Valar-Beings who performed differently. And there was an evil there, a cruel malice much like Morgoth and Sauron. But he had his answer, she was no agent of the dark. Imladris was safe.
Elrond felt a twinge of his conscious. He prayed the Valar would forgive him for what he had just done. He had invaded the mind of another without permission, and without justifiable cause, only fear filled suspicion. He looked up at Arial, still slumped in her chair and glassy eyed. "Arial," he called. She immediately awoke, unaware of what had just happened.
"I'm sorry, Elrond. I must have dozed off." She stretched and yawned.
Elrond smiled sympathetically, "Do not concern yourself. It is a small thing of no great importance."
"What was the question?"
"I asked if you had ever sailed on a ship?"
"No. I saw that movie, where the ship sinks and all those people die, and have been too paranoid since. Be my luck, the one I got on would sink too."
Elrond knew she spoke truthfully. He did not know how to tell her about what he had done, and the truth of the situation. An uncomfortable silence settled about them. Arial tapped her fingers on the table, driving Elrond to distraction.
"Arial, could you stop doing that please?" She looked up, smiled and sat back in her chair. "Arial, there is something I must tell you."
"What?"
"Arial, I must ask you to forgive me." Arial scooted back in her chair, not sure where this was going. "I have done something that I regret, but that has given me the answers we seek."
"What are you talking about, Elrond?"
"Arial, I am an elf, and have certain skills. I looked into your mind Arial."
Arial could not believe what she had just heard. "You did what?"
"I asked you to look at me, remember? I looked into your mind Arial. I saw the faces of your parents, family, friends….your world."
"Prove it."
"Your father is slightly balding, bent with age and wears a beard. Your mother likes to color her hair, wears glasses and is full of laughter." Arial's mouth fell open and she frowned. "Please, understand, when your answers could shed no light on our situation, I grew fearful you were a spy of Sauron." He saw she was confused at the mention of Sauron. "Sauron is a great evil that plagues this world and threatens the free peoples of it. I thought you were a spy of his sent here to undermine…that you were a spy of his."
"Spy? Wait just a minute here! I'm no spy! And…and.." she trailed off. How could he know what her father and mother were like. She did feel weird just before he said her name when she yawned and stretched. "How dare you! How friggin' dare you! Who do you think you are?" Arial jumped up out of the chair and stood glaring at Elrond.
"I came here, needing your help. And this is what you do to me? How dare you go poking around in my head. Ever heard of invasion of privacy?"
Elrond stood slowly. Her understood her anger and she had every right to be angry with him. He had invaded her privacy.
"I apologize Arial, truly. Please, I beg your forgiveness. Please allow me to explain, please, Arial."
She was breathing hard and looked like she might hit him. "Go 'head."
"Here, in my world, there is a great evil that threatens our very lives. We are on the verge of war. This evil has a name, Sauron. He would have dominion over all these lands, peoples, everything. He will suffer no other. He will destroy everything that is good and worth living for. He will destroy every living breathing thing on this world in his greed to rule. He has no pity, no mercy, no love at all in him, only cruelty. He laughs at the suffering of others and finds delight in it. Sauron will destroy this world and everyone and everything in it. His own land is a dark wasteland devoid of life, the very air a poisonous vapor to breath. His malice knows no end. Many times has he sought to invade my land and the lands of others. Many times we have turned back his evil. Now, he has massed great armies behind his black gates and we wait for the attack. We know not where he will strike first or when, only that he will. The free peoples of this world wait for the doom of our time."
Arial stepped back and started to run, sure that Elrond was a madman, yet something of her own will held her to his words. She knew he spoke the truth. She could sense it.
"I know why we could not identify your home. I know why certain words of yours were strange to my ears. I know why your clothing and shoes are made of materials strange to my eyes. I know why you behave so differently from the females of my world. I know Arial."
A click sounded in Arial's brain. Elrond kept saying 'my world.' She held her breath for his answer.
"You are not of my world, Arial. I know because I saw yours." He tapped the side of his head and stared at her waiting for her reaction.
Elrond expected some dramatic display of emotion. He stood up slowly, intending to walk over to her. Arial did the unexpected. She turned, ran and bolted out of the front door allowing the rain to blow inside of the house.
oOo
Author's note: Please review and let me know what you think so far. Chapter Three on the way soon…..