Arial
Chapter 12
Salvation and Hope
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 have received 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 had gorged herself until she could literally feel food sitting in her throat. She felt assured that if she bent the wrong way, every thing she had just eaten would come spewing out of her mouth. With her hunger staved off and feeling content, she wondered what this curious white wizard would do with her.
She had little to no skills. She could grow and tend a garden, wash dishes, and maybe do a little cooking over a campfire. Other than those few things, she had no idea how she could repay the debt for the hospitality that had been given to her.
The wizard was watching as if questioning himself about her. She wondered what had clouded his eyes and desperately hoped that his thoughts were not too critical of her.
Anxiety built within her, and curiosity ate at her. Arial wanted to look around the strange building where she was now housed, hopefully as a guest. She was tired. Her bones hurt and her muscles ached from her weariness. Mentally, she was taxed as far as she could withstand. She feared teetering over the edge into a yawning void, forever to fall in darkness with no escape.
She waited patiently for Saruman to make his next move.
oOo
He could not believe that one so small could hold so much food. He wondered where she put it…maybe she was related to half-lings. He had heard a rumor that the little beings ate like mumakils. It was a small matter of wonder to Saruman.
He sighed. Saruman anticipated the upcoming battle for Middle Earth. Harboring no doubts of sending the female sitting before him to her own world where she could gobble up her own food, he searched his memory for anything that would assist him in that labor. He was not confident if he was powerful enough to accomplish such a feat. Saruman winced at the thought of having to ask his new nemesis, Gandalf, for help.
"I am the white wizard, the head of our order. I will not beg any boons of that raggedy lover of humans." He thought. Remembering the girl in front of him, he quickly masked his features to show only benevolence. He could not afford for her to guess his true nature.
His eyes grew larger as he watched her as she guzzled another glass of red berry juice.
Saruman stood and gathered his robes around him. "My dear Arial, I shall have a bath drawn for you. Unfortunately, I do not have any clean clothing to offer you, as the Ornthanc has long been bereft of feminine company." He watched as delight danced on her features and continued, "Thereafter, we shall have to travel to a companion and friend of mine. He shall assist us in sending you back to your proper home."
oOo
Arial could not believe her good fortune. "A real bath!" She thought. She felt like dancing. Not only was her stomach full, but she would be clean as well. Arial did not mind so much about fresh clothes, at least she could scrub her skin clean and wash her dirty hair.
"Home!" She exclaimed aloud. "Oh thank you! Thank you!" Arial could not contain her joy and excitement. She jumped up and down, flailing her arms in the air. She would be going home at last!
At a few moments, she remembered herself and calmed down. "Eh, sorry. It's just that that is all I've wanted from the beginning, to go home. But no one would listen to me; no one would help me. And, well, you're the only one who's got it. That I want to go home, I mean."
The old man smiled at her. Arial grinned back at him. She let down her guard and relaxed. She felt confident that Saru…Saur…Saru…what ever his name was would indeed help her. At last, she had found a true friend.
Arial heard him chuckle. "He likes me, he really likes me," she thought. She had temporarily forgotten that he had mentioned a friend.
She followed him out of the room and down a narrow hall. She looked at the design and confirmed her suspicions that she was in a circular tower made of some kind of stone she had never seen before. Touching the walls lightly with the tips of her fingers, she felt the smooth stone. "Like glass. I wonder how they did this." She questioned in her thoughts.
She used the hand railing as they went down a stairway to another level. She felt dizzy. She held her head with her free hand and swallowed. Arial felt like she would vomit. She swallowed again and started to control her breathing. Her humiliation would be insurmountable should she regurgitate after everything Sarusomething had done for her. Not to mention the fact that she had ate like a pig…
He led her into a rounded chamber that looked like a regular bathroom from back home during the early forties. She took in her surrounding. There was an iron tub supported by four claw feet. A few feet from the bath was a freestanding vanity of sorts with something that resembled a hairbrush sitting in front of a real mirror, and off to the right of that to her surprise was a crude working toilet with a wooden seat. Arial smiled. She had landed, at last, in some civilization.
Saru…Sarman…Sariman…the old man showed opened a wooden cabinet and showed her where the towels were located and excused himself, closing the door to the chamber behind him.
Her posture slumped as she sighed. She felt at peace. Arial turned on the faucets to the tub and allowed the warm water to fill the bathtub. She stripped off her clothes. She picked up her underwear and went to the vanity. She turned on the water, picked up a bar of soap and began scrubbing her dainties. Arial sniffed them in her hand and determined that they were clean. She rinsed them out and hung them from the edge of the vanity to air dry.
She went back to the tub and turned the water off. She stepped into the water and eased herself down until she was comfortably stretched out; then lay back and let the warm water tickle her chin. She had not meant to, but Arial fell asleep.
Hours later, the chill of the water woke her.
oOo
Saruman had left the girl to do whatever females did in the bathroom. He knew she would be in there for at least an hour, if not hours on end. Females were alike; they took forever to do the simplest of tasks in that one room. Nevertheless, he knew he needed that time to prepare for their journey. He knew what lay ahead, and he hated that he had no recourse except to go before the Great Dark One. He knew if there was any chance to save Middle Earth, her world, and the continuum of time itself, he would have to have his lord's assistance.
He dreaded having to travel in that obnoxious dark wasteland. Then, to have to go before the presence of that malevolent being, Saruman felt a sort of defeat gnawing slowly at his soul. This was not what he wanted for her, to have to expose her to that sort of evil. Would she be tainted? Would she survive the encounter? Once she was in her own world, would Sauron be able to follow her?
Would Sauron have access to other worlds and spread his evil disease, conquering without mercy or end?
Saruman knew that he had no other choice. Sauron alone had the power to send her back.
Saruman hoped those despicable elves and men did not have the one ring and manage to destroy it before he accomplished this task, else they would all be doomed.
"How ironic," he thought, "the very thing we all seek must not be destroyed just yet. Ironic indeed! That I shall have to grovel before that evil bastard and elicit his help to save Middle Earth, other worlds and realms…." Saruman shook his head. "But it must be so, for if not, all will be lost. No one will survive and there will be no worlds or realms, no life, nothing…"
oOo
Arial sat upright in the cold water. She used her big toe to turn on the hot tap, and then pulled the drain plug to allow the cold water to escape and prevent an overflow. When the water had drained halfway, she used her toes to maneuver the plug back into the drain. Feeling lazy with her muscles fully relaxed, she scrubbed her body and washed her hair. When she was finished, she stepped out, walked over to the wooden closet, and retrieved a towel.
She patted herself dry. Bending over, she gathered her hair and wrapped the towel around her head.
She looked at herself in the mirror. She not only looked clean, but smelled clean as well. Smiling at her reflection, Arial noticed she had lost weight. "Well, I needed to lose a few pounds anyway, just never imagined I would lose it like this," she whispered to the air.
Checking her underwear and finding them dry, Arial dressed herself. She heard a tapping at the door. "Yes," she called out, "please come in."
Saruman opened the heavy oak door and stepped inside. His face revealed nothing except a fatherly concern for Arial.
"If you are ready, we must leave immediately. Time is of the up most importance and we cannot delay. I apologize, for I would have you rest for at least one night before such a journey, but alas, we do not have such a benefit. Come, we must hurry, Arial, before all is lost."
She removed the towel from her head, picked up the hairbrush and ran it quickly, removing all the tangles. Laying it back down on the vanity, she tossed the towel into the tub, and followed the old man out of the bathroom, down the seemingly endless stairs to the ground floor. She watched him scoop up a bag and hand her funny looking leathery ones filled with what she assumed was water. Arial slung them over her shoulder, adjusting them so the weight was even on her back.
"Come; follow me to our salvation and hope." His graveled voice filled the large foyer with authority. She nodded her head and willingly did as he bade her.
oOo
AN: Thank you for your patience. I apologize for the long wait with the update. I promise I will try to update weekly.
Leave a review and let me know what you think…