The Lord of the Rings was created by the genius J.R.R. Tolkien.
Chapter 16: The Usual Breakfast Meeting, Not!
I woke up peacefully to a white popcorn ceiling and air conditioned air. I sighed into the warm sheets that were hitched up to my nose and then my eyebrows pulled together in confusion. My arms held me up as I sat myself up on the soft bed and I leaned back on them. Then my eyes fresh from sleep started to take in the room I was in surprise.
The sun shone brightly through the vertical white blinds and on to the bed that I was laying on, it had a gray comforter covering it. I looked down at the vanilla colored square tiled floor that was lit up brightly by the sun's rays as well. This was obviously a bedroom somewhere on Earth but I have never been here before.
My gazed traveled from the window to the white wooden door with a golden doorknob. I pulled the sheets away from my body and I moved to slide out of bed but I felt a fabric softer then the sheets pull and brush against my collar bone and around my shoulders. I looked down and saw that I was wearing white silk pajamas. My eyebrows pulled even closer together as my confusion grew even more.
"Where am I?" I questioned no one. Well there's no use in waiting to find out.
I pushed myself off of the bed and my feet fell onto the cold floor, it was almost uncomfortable. I walked towards the white door and turned the nob and it swung open with ease. After the door opened completely I walked slowly through the shadowed hallway that was out of the sun's reach , and it led me infront of the living room.
The furniture in the living room looked bulky and light brown in color and the entire set of three couches were facing the television that was set in front of the windows near the front door. And they were also faced away from the dinning room next to it. I was in an apartment? How? I went to sleep back at the inn.
The hallway I came out from intersected with a pathway made with the back of the largest of the three couches and a wall beside the front door. Everything in the apartment was so quiet and still until I heard a faucet turn on. My eyes shifted from the dinning room to the continued pathway that went straight to the back door. And just before that was large rectanglar entrance most likely leading to the kitchen. Of course the kitchen was infront of the dinning room, I just couldn't see it in back of the wall of the hallway.
Of course it quickly occurred to me that someone else was in the apartment andI started to silently freak out. I gotta get out of here! I started softly turning on my feet towards the front door but when my back was completely turned and I began to take my first step a voice froze my careful movements.
"You know you could at least have breakfast first before you leave." A gentle voice belonging to a guy said from behind me. I stood there frozen for a couple of seconds before I turned my head to the side towards the voice, and then I slowly turned all the way around. My mouth dropped a little when I saw who it was.
It was Hendry, with his curly brown hair and his soft light brown eyes. He was looking at me with amusement showing in his eyes and a smile on his face as he wiped his hands on a paper towel. I took a big breath and stood up straight.
"Now i'm really confused. Hendry why are we in this apartment?.. And where is this apartment?" I asked him and then he walked over to me.
"We're at my place. Please make yourself comfortable." He said as he put his hand on the small of my back and led me into the living room. When we stood in front of the large couch I looked up at him at a lost to what was going on.
"Please sit down." He said gently. I nodded slowly to him and sat down on the couch, it was very comfortable. It seemed that everything in the apartment was in great taste and it did'nt suffer discomfort for it. I expected Hengry to sit down with me but he didn't.
"Aren't you going to sit down?" I asked.
"Oh, i'm not going to get comfortable just yet, I have just started cooking." He said and I gave him a strange look.
"But you're a...uh... I mean you're not...ah" I didn't know how to say you're DEAD so you don't need to eat without sounding rude. He smirked and sat next to me on the edge of the couch and then he grabbed my hand.
"It's okay to say it. I'm dead. Except for that it happened prematurely there isn't anything really sad about it." He said.
"Okay..." I had no choice but to just agree.
"Good. Now before I go back to the kitchen let me further explain where we are." He said and I give him an interested look that told him to continue. "We are in between the spiritual world and your subconscious mind." He said simply and I squited my eyes at him.
"What does that mean?" I asked him.
"We are in the separate world from the regular one but it's just in your head. " He said.
"A dream basically."
"It's somewhat more complicated than that." I looked at him questioningly. "What ever occurs here is real. For example if you would bruise yourself on this table." He gestured towards the dark wooden center table. "You'll wake up with it." He said.
"And it's as easy as that?" I asked.
"Not really this time I mixed in quite a bit of my own memories and strength. Everything wouldn't seem so still if it were just you. As I recall last time we ran out of time fairly quickly."
"You gave me some of your memories?" I asked as I observed the apartment more. He was right I could even focus on even the most smallest of details. Like that small hole in back of the front door, it looked like it was brought in by the door knob slamming into the wall, obviously a memory.
"Yes."
"Okay I think I understand. And I guess that explains why i'm dreaming of a place i've never been in." I said.
"Good. Now i'm going to finish making breakfast, don't worry I won't be long." Hendry said as he stood up and walked around the couch. But before he went into the kitchen he said something else, that was a bit odd.
"And feel free to chat with my other guest while I do that." He said and then my expression became a confused one.
"Wait, what other guest?" I asked him when I turned around and grabbed the back of the couch with both of my hands. He turned and looked at me before he answered.
"Yes I have someone else joining us as they are actually the reason why we're here." He said in way that made me think he didn't even want to tell me. Maybe that's the reason he wants to rush off to the kitchen and cook so that he could avoid being caught in an awkward situation. This observation of mine made me curious.
"But what does this other guest of yours have to do with me?" I asked. Hendry's light brown eyes went towards the ceiling and he rubbed his neck with his hand clearly bothered by the question.
"Well, you see...I thought when I opened the doorway to Middle Earth and led you through it that there wouldn't be any complications after that.." He said.
"Except that I have to live in this world against my will-" I said but then he quickly interrupted me.
"Unfortunately that was a miscalculation on my part, and now my plans are no longer my own." He finished. I was confused as I watched his face and saw that his eyes were no longer on me, but passed me. Of course the need to turn around and see what was on the other side of the living room was easy to give in to, so I did. I turned around to see what he was looking at.
It was a man, he was sitting on the couch across from me, I squinted my eyes at him because I knew that he had not been there a minute ago. I released my hand from the back of the chair to turn around, sit back down and face him better. He was just sitting there calmly while giving Hendry a knowing look before he shifted his eyes over to me and he gave me a soft smile. All I could do was give him a hesitant one in return.
His eyes were a striking cerulean and shined with an alluring light, not like the rays of the sun but with an emotion that I couldn't put my finger on. His hair was a long silvery blond and flowed over his shoulders and curved back up and flopped over them. And he wore white and blue robes that reminded me of the flow and softness of water. This man held so much beauty.
I turned towards Hendry and gave him an enquiring look.
"Hendry, who is this?" I mostly mouthed then whispered.
"Well I was thinking that it would be better if he explained that." He said before he walked off to the kitchen, so I faced the man across from me once again.
"Hello Jessica." He said. The sound of his voice was smooth and calm and it also had a certain sound about it that made sure my ears gave it its full attention.
"Hello...who are you." I said awkwardly and he still smiled at me.
"I am Lórien, master of visions and dreams." He said. Although he spoke softly his title was very intimidating. I give him a slow nod before I spoke again.
"Okay...may I ask what's uh...the situation?" I asked. Wow i've never felt more like a child with someone. Lórien smiled wider at me, I suppose it's because i'm being so articulate at the moment.
"Yes, you see when you came here the strand of your life had began to be woven into the tapestries of our world by Vairë. And every night you have slept here I began to know more of your hopes and ambitions. Your every move has led and lead you farther away many comforts. And now you are not only apart of this world but also the decisions you have made have changed the lives of others both near and far. No one truly knows the effect that they have on the world simply by breathing. You cannot just leave, you have a purpose to fulfill. And that is what I am here to tell you, your purpose in Arda before you leave." I looked at him as worry started to sink in behind my eyes and in my chest.
"This is of high importance, at the strand that had begun when you entered Arda must not be a loose one. Or else it will cause the tapasty to unraval and branch out into other strands that will become curruption. You must finish what has already started so that it may continue to be woven beautifully long after you are gone." He said and his eyes conveyed the seriousness of the situation.
Okay now I know why Hendry is cooking at the moment rather then sitting here listening to this. This is getting heavy, and it and was taking a lot out of me not to lose my patients and have a hard frustrated cry. Yet tears were slipping out and running down my face. I've already been through so much. I lost my family,I'm in a place where nothing is familiar and I have been scared out of my wits by what ever has been hunting my friends and I. I don't normally let people see me cry, I usually wait until i'm alone but there are times like these that are simply to much.
"I can't go home?" I more stated then asked as I sniffed.
"Not if you do not complete your purpose. I know this breaks your heart, but if you do as you are told you will go home. And not as the person you once were when you came here but more." He said. I heard it all and though the last part did sound beneficial to someone like me my mind was still planted on how I couldn't go home. I wanted to see my family, I couldn't just hide this pain forever.
"My purpose? I was never suppose to have been here in the first place." I said.
"But you are here and everything that has life in it has a purpose. Your presence here has caused the destiny of others to awaken earlier then they were set to be. If you don't fall into place and complete your purpose others may lose their way. You will not be able to cross back into your world and you will die here, and your soul will dwell here forever." He said. This was getting harder to listen but that was all I could do. I wasn't in control from the beginning and things just became a lot more complicated. Then I started feeling jittery down to my stomach.
"Why?! Who are you that you can just help some dead guy take over a girl's life!?" I said almost hysterical.
"I told you I am Lórien." He said seriously."You have a choice to complete your purpose and go home or don't and stay here. Just because the latter's result isn't to your liking doesn't make it any less of choosing matter." I actually started pouting at this point.
"What is my purpose?" I asked in an unpleasant tone and Lórien stopped smiling a while before he started to explain these serious matters.
"You must see to a certain amount of people and set them on the right paths." He said almost casually.
"You think it would be easier to travel to another world." I said and then I criss crossed my legs and l leaned back into the smell of bacon and eggs. I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds before I opened them again. "Who am I supposed to help anyway?"
"I am not the one who must reveal that to you." He said.
"Uh..." I said roughly before looking back at him. "How am I supposed just find someone and help them if I don't know who they are? And know that I think about how am I supposed to help them?"
"It is already in your heart to know how to help them, not everyone has a heart to help others like yours do."
"How do you know anything about my heart?" I asked.
"It is what I am to see passed flesh." He said. At that moment Hendry came out of the kitchen and handed us to plates of bacon, eggs, and blueberry pancakes to us. Lórien sat his down on the center table and I held mines in my lap.
"Thank you Hendry, I thought that you were going stay in that kitchen a while longer to avoid me." Lórien said.
"Me too." I agreed and then I looked down at my food and my stomach rumbled like it would in the waking world. Hendry blushed.
"Sorry, where are we in the conversation?" He asked.
"Well we discussed how the choice is mine whether I stay if I don't agree or go home when I do what he says..." I knew we passed that part but I wanted someone to agree with me that it wasn't fair. Unfortunately Hendry didn't speak up before Lórien corrected me.
"No you have a choice, it is just led more by your common sense then by your wants." He said. Sure it is...
"Okay now I remember, I asked how was I supposed to know who I was supposed to help." I said.
"Yes, well have you wondered about the flame you came across in Hobbiton?" He asked me. I squinted my eyes when the memory of what happened my first day in Hobbiton rushed forward in my mind. The memory of it was almost as vivid as when I really saw it, which was strange because I don't really think about it anymore. And I have also put it in my mind that it was my over reactive imagination.
"Yes, I can see the memory in your eyes." He said as he looked at my eyes.
"What was it and why did it appear in front of me?" I asked him.
"It was a fire spirit that was sent to you from the fountain of Irmo ." He said.
"Sent to me, sent to me by who?"
"Me." He said. I was almost afraid to ask why but I had to know.
"Why?" I asked him. Why did all these crazy things have to happen to me?
"The flame will aid you in your tasks, it is how you will know who to help." He said and I squinted my eyes at him.
"Well that answers one question but also brings up another. How can a flame help me look for people?"
"Now that's a good question. I was wondering about that myself when I first heard about it." Hendry said and then I turned to him.
"You knew?" I asked him.
"Of course I did. " He said softy as he looked directly at me.
"Yes, dear Hendry has been watching over you." Lórien said. I looked at Hendry who had a very handsome smirk on his face when Lórien said this. "And now to answer your question...You don't need to think about it. The trick is to stay calm and it will lead, guide and help you in any situation." Lórien said.
"Any situation?" I asked.
"The warmth of river's water for example." He said. My mouth opened into an 'o' shape when the curiosity from that time at the river was answered. "It aided for a simple cause then as it will aid you in any other. The flame is apart of you."
And just like that the windows and the apartment started to grow in darkness.
"What's happening?" I asked as I started to sit up and look around as the room went pitch black.
"It alright Jessica." I heard Hendry say so I tried to contain myself.
I sat still and faced forward waiting for the light to come back and suddenly out of the dark before my eyes was a beautiful orange dancing flame. It waved around softly in the air and lit up the room, it's light reflected off of everything it shined on. I stared at the beautiful flame mesmerized by its pretty orange glow and its heat that warmed my skin.
I brought my face closer to it to see every move it made. At the short distance I was from it the heat it give off alone should've been hot enough to burn me. But it didn't, all I felt was a welcoming warmth. This flame...is apart of me... I was literally discovering apart of myself. This felt like reuniting with an old friend but the old friend was me. How is it possible for me to feel this way?
My heart thumped in my chest when it came closer and snapped me out of my musings. I gasped then the flame was out and the light came back and once again shined through the windows. I first looked at Hendry then at Lórien questionably.
"What happened?" I asked him.
"As I said before you must be confident." He said and I nodded. I guess I lost it when it surprised me by coming closer. "In the use of this flame you my need guidance. Gandalf would be an excellent mentor in this matter."
"Gandalf..." I said looking down at my untouched breakfast, I had forgotten that I even had it in my lap. I sat it down on the center table when a thought occurred to me.
"Where is Gandalf? He didn't meet us at the inn." I asked Lórien but Hendry spoke instead.
"You don't remember? Gandalf is being held captive by Saruman." He said and I gave him a surprised look.
"What!?" I said.
"Yes, a tragic betrayal by one of great importance." Lórien said grimly. "The once wise wizard has become a corrupted old fool." Hendry turned to me after he said this, I think it was the utterly confused look on my face that grabbed his attention.
"What do you remember about the story?" He asked me.
"I don't know, some battles...most of the major characters. Uh, oh yeah! I know to look out for that gray big eyed thing Gollum. And I had remembered when Frodo had disappeared, but I couldn't stop that." I said.
"You must be careful on this journey whether your memory serves you or not. Your presence in this world has deferred it but a little and it is not any less dangerous than when you came here 2 months ago." Lórien said seriously and he also stared at me with a worried expression. I was surely going to take all the of words he said to heart. I looked over at Lórien when I saw him sit his empty plate onto the table. When did he eat all that!? I never saw him put anything in his mouth! I looked at my plate and took it into my lap before eating it.
"Now is there any other questions you have to ask me before I take my leave?" Lórien asked me softly and the smile on his face had finally returned. I searched my mind for anything that was a mystery to me and then the question of my dreams with Legolas came to mind. For some reason I avoided eye contact with Hendry before I spoke.
"Twice I have had strange dreams with Legolas in them. They seem so real...and in the dreams I feel..." I was a little embarrassed to describe what it felt like in the times we have met and dropped my eyes to the ground.
"Legolas? As in Legolas Greenleaf, prince of Mirkwood?" Hendry asked with a raised eyebrow and I nodded to him.
"The link between you and the prince of Mirkwood is strong and there is little you can do to control it." Lórien said. And that looked like it almost shocked Hendry more then the flame did me.
"What do you mean?" I asked him and Hendry looked at him leaned forward in his seat in curiosity.
"You and Legolas are strongly connected in a way that goes beyond most bonds. It doesn't matter what world you two are in your souls strive to be together as they have in and out of time. And since you have defied so many laws already by crossing into the in between some physical boundaries were broken. There is not much to wonder why you can have a spiritual connection with him. Especially in your dreams where you unconsciously express your fears, needs and desires." He said. Information overload. I absent mindedly blinked a couple times.
"Did I not answer your question? "Lórien asked.
"That ...I was not..." I fumbled.
"Expecting that. A heavier answer then you thought it was going to be." He said.
"Yes." I said still surprised.
"It's not hard to see why, but your connection is definitely a special one. You two are each others destiny." Lórien said.
"Destiny? What if I never came to this world?" I asked.
"You two would have still found each other, it just would have been a different you." He said. I sat down my plate that was still half full and I leaned back and took a couple of deep breaths. I glanced at Hendry with raised eyebrows and he just shrugged.
"Whoa,whoa,whoa ... A different me?" I said shaking my.
"Yes, but there can be only one in each world. There are only a hand full of beings that there are only one of, myself and the rest of the Valior included, and also those who carried the name Tolkien and are blood realitives of J.R.R. Tolkien. Which is very fortunate when they come into a world other then their own world, there isn't another person to put into the in between." He said. I closed my eyes when my head started to feel light, and then I took a few calming breaths and opened them.
"So this other me was taken into the in between?" I asked.
"Yes Herenya has been taken there, particularly in the mountain of Knowledge."
"Is she okay? What does she think about all this?"
"She is fine and she remain in slumber there until your tasks here are completed. Unknowingly you are her only hope of getting out." He said.
"Are you sure that i'm not being forced into this, because the consequences that I will have if I don't succeed are higher!" I said standing up.
"Yes, but you will have help, don't forget about the fire that's in you." Lórien said. I nodded and rubbed my face before I hashly sighed and sat back down.
"Okay I think that I understand what you have said." I said. Lórien gave me a nod and then we all turned towards the window near the front door when a blue light shined through it. Lórien got up from his seat on the couch.
"Well I must really be going, I have my duties to attend to." He said to both Hendry and I and he went to stand directly at the door before he looked directly at me. "And you have your duties to tend to as well. Remember I see beyond flesh, you should know that I have confidence in you that you will succeed." He said and then he gave me a smile and I gave him a nod.
"I'll remember that." I said.
"Goodbye." He said.
"Goodbye." I said.
"See you later Lórien." Hendry said and Lórien gave him a nod before leaving through the front door. After a couple of seconds of silence passed Hendry got up and took a seat next to me. He looked down at me with his coffee brown eyes before spoke.
"I didn't know that this was going to happen." He said.
"I know that." I said and then Hendry put his face into his hands in frustration and shame.
"I tried to help you and this happened." He said. Oh god, I hope he wasn't going to start beating himself up. I sighed deeply before I spoke.
"You wanted to help me because of how grateful you were to me, there's nothing wrong with that."
"Yeah but-"
"No! I know my situation isn't easy, and I know it will be the hardest thing i'll have to do in my life but you beating yourself up isn't going to help me. I need you to keep a clear head because I won't always know what's coming my way, i'll need you to help me with that. Just apologize so we can move on." I said and he looked me in the eye for a good long moment, I guess to see if I was being true and not just trying to make him feel better which I was.
"I'm really sorry for being responsible for all of this. And i'm going to help you as much as I can." He said.
"Great." I said with a smile.
"You know before Lórien even came to me about our situation I was planning on bringing things from Earth to you."
"Really? Like what?" I asked him.
"Just little nessities that every girl needs." He said. From the way he avoided contact with my eyes I knew what he was talking about. Wow even dead guys are afraid to say it.
"Okay, thank you." I said with a smile and a couple of nods.
"You're welcome. You know you should finish eating before you go, your time is winding down here." He said.
"Why, it's not real food." I said.
"Don't be so sure." He said and I gave him a strange look as I took my plate off of the table and started to eat it. When I was almost finished I noticed that Hendry was staring at me, so when I was done eating I looked up and gave him another strange look.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" I asked him, but it was only when a moment passed did he say something.
"I didn't tell you last time..." He started to say and his eyes were looking at me in the most interesting of ways.
"What didn't you tell me?" I asked him but it was he just snapped out of the daze thst it seemed he was in. Instead of answering my question he asked me another one.
"What do you think about this connection that you have with Legolas?" I wasn't expecting that and I blinked before I blew out a breath. After I thought about it seemed like a reasonable question, so I answered him as truthfully as I could.
"At first I thought that maybe I was feeling a little loney and I was having dreams about him because I was in Middle Earth and he was an attractive character in the story. But how vivid these dreams were made me question them and big part of me knew it had to be real. Sometimes I would be thinking about him out of nowhere and I had to make sure that I wasn't losing anymore of my sanity then I already have by coming to this world. And now I know that the dreams were some what real. I feel excited because the way he makes me feel..." I didn't know how I could describe what it felt like to be with him.
"I get it."Hendry said giving me a small gentle smile that showed off a bit of his dimples. But something was off about it I could tell.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Nothing, we should really get you to bed." He said and then he stood up. I nodded and put down my empty plate before I stood up too. Before we started walking Hendry held out his hand for me to take, and at first I thought that it was an odd gesture but I took it anyway. We held hands all the way back to the bedroom I had came from and Hendry opened the door for me. Then he turned around and looked down at me.
"Lay down please." He said to me. I let go of his hand and went over to the bed and laid down. Hendry walked over to me before he laid the sheets that were moved out of the way over me and I started to feel tired already. The sunlight that shone through the blinds lighted up the darker strands of his curly blond hair.
As I laid there I felt the weight of the food I ate in my belly then my eye brows scrunched up.
"What is it?" Hendry asked.
"Everything about this place is so realistic down to the food I can feel in my stomach." I said and then Hendry smiled.
"One of the many things I can get to you is food. When you wake up it will be there in your stomach still." He said.
"How?" Something like that made me very curious.
"Just one of those unanswered other worldly things that I can do." He said.
"Okay you don't have to tell me." I said and I nearly pouted. Hendry laughed at me as he sat down on the bed next to my midsection. He has such a handsome face I thought as he looked down at me. I started to wonder what was the thing he didn't tell me last time.
"Hendry..." I murmured.
"Shh relax, you'll be waking up from this soon." He said and I listened to him. I closed my eyes and I could feel myself drifting away. I was almost gone when I felt the bed shift when Hendry leaned closer to me. He put one hand on the other side of me before he bent down near my face.
'What was he doing?' I thought as I felt his cool breath on my ear.
"I didn't tell you this last time but I wish I did. I wanted to tell you how beautiful I thought you were when I first saw. When I matched your face to your kind soft voice I couldn't help but smile. If only I called you sooner maybe we would've gotten to have known each other in the physical world. All the knowledge in the world can't turn back the hands of time and let me meet you again. When all of this is over I hope this other Legolas makes you happy." He said to me while he rubbed his thumb on my cheek and then he kissed it softly.
'Oh Hendry...'Was my last thought.
Hello to all of my patient, patient, patient readers! Sorry I have not updated in so long! I tried my best to finish my first story so I could concentrate more on this one but ended up just updating three/four times. So to make things better i'll update three/four times with this story and leave that one alone until then. So please review what you think of this new chapter and I hope that you enjoy the future chapters coming your way!