Disclaimer: I don't own anything that originates in Middle Earth.
Chapter 14: The White Council
The summons had come as a complete surprise for Marie.
It was a particularly warm afternoon, about a week into their stay at Rivendell. Supplies were being gathered and she had fallen into her training routine with surprising ease. Poor Bilbo had still been having trouble wielding the small sword that Gandalf had found for him in the Troll-horde, much to Dwalin's annoyance. Gandalf had informed the group of the need for patience.
Hobbits, he told them, are by nature peaceful people and have little to no use for weapons. Marie, on the other hand, had progressed well in the use of her daggers and in sparing with her own lightweight blade. The group had decided to reward themselves by taking a small rest at the fountain they had bathed in on that first day.
Marie was enjoying the cool water, allowing her feet to dangle down into the water as she sat on the edge of the beautifully carved wall. She watched as her friends splashed in the water, shoving each other around and splashing about. She didn't hear Lindir walk up behind her until he had decided to make himself know to the company.
"Miss Marie." He addressed her suddenly. Marie jumped at the sudden presence behind her, crying out as she fell off of her precarious seat and into the cold water.
About three separate sets of hands plunged into the water after her, hauling her out and steadying her as she gasped for breath. She turned to face the Elf, clothes clinging to her body and tangling around her legs uncomfortably, almost causing her to loose her balance and fall into the water once again.
Lindir stood just outside of the fountain, arms behind his back, looking down at Kili's angry face, unfazed.
"What is wrong with you?" Kili shouted up at the taller man. "She could have died! What if she had hit her head and drowned before any of us could reach her?!"
"It's ok Kili." Marie told him as Bofur helped her out of the fountain. "No harm done. Other than being a bit damp, I'm no worse for wear." She turned her attention to Lindir, barely hearing Kili mutter something about sneaky Elves. Lindir had not moved from his original stance, only moving his eyes to stare down at her instead of Kili. "Did you need something Lindir?"
"Yes. Lady Galadriel, Lord Elrond and Master Gandalf have asked me to retrieve you for the council meeting."
"The council meeting, as in the white council?" Marie asked him, surprised.
"Yes Miss. The members of the council would like to speak to you about the incident with the painting."
The reminder of the eerie event sent chills down her spine, causing goose bumps to rain up and down her exposed arms. A heavy, warm cloak settled around her shoulders, casting away her chill. She turned to see Kili's determined stare move from her to Lindir. "If she goes, I want to go with. If that's okay with her, that is."
Marie looked at him for a moment, warmed by his caring sentiment. She didn't want to go alone, she knew that much. Although she trusted their hosts far more than her friends seemed to, the idea of being separated from the company members made her feel nervous. The topic of discussion was far from pleasing as well. A week wasn't enough time to ease her nerves. Every time she thought of the scene she had somehow "witnessed" she got the chills. Although...it would be nice to get some answers.
"Could he come with me?" She asked Lindir, looking up at him beseechingly. "It would put me at ease."
He looked from her imploring gaze to Kili's determined glare before answering. "You are welcome to come, Master Dwarf, although I cannot guarantee you will be allowed to remain once we arrive."
"Thank you." Marie told him, politely. They would deal with Kili not being able to stay when, or if, it came up.
The pair followed Lindir through the halls, silently. He was perfectly polite, but Lindir certainly wasn't the friendliest person Marie knew. Although he did allow them to stop by the room the company had commandeered so Marie could change out of her soaking dress.
She laid it out near the fireplace to dry as she changed into her other set of clothes as quickly as she could. She wasn't sure if the tunic and leggings were appropriate for a council meeting, but it would have to do.
She hesitated as she stood at the door, gripping onto the doorknob with a white knuckled grip. "Relax." She told herself as she forced her death grip on the door to loosen. "You'll be fine. They may be able to tell you what's going on."
Taking a deep breath she opened the door and continued on to meet with the council.
/
Marie stood next to Kili, feeling very uncomfortable with four sets of eyes staring at her with varying degrees of interest.
When they had arrived Gandalf had been sitting at a table with another elderly man, Elrond and Galadriel standing nearby. Based on the long white robes the stranger was wearing she assumed he must be a wizard as well, a creepy one. While Gandalf had always been kind to all of the creatures the group had met along their journey, this other man was discussing Radagast in quite a rude manner. If the way he was staring down his long nose at her was any indication, he didn't think very highly of her either.
Not that she minded.
He made her feel incredibly uncomfortable, and not only because the nails on his hands were disgustingly long. The moment his eyes met hers she knew something was wrong. This man could not be trusted.
She hadn't noticed she was moving toward Kili until she bumped into his side, gripping instantly onto his sleeve for comfort. She relaxed slightly as he laid his other hand over hers, warming her chilled fingertips.
"Marie." Gandalf called to her calmly. She forced her gaze away from the creepy man's cold stare to look in her friend's direction. Gandalf looked concerned as he waved a hand toward the man in introduction. "This is Saruman the White. He is a wizard like myself."
"Marie!" Kili cried out suddenly as she fell to the floor, her pained scream tearing into the air around them. She clutched at her head, attempting to keep it from splitting in two as dozens of images flashed through her mind. None of them made sense, but they all featured the White wizard seated before her. Saruman at the top of a dark tower, ordering Orc around as if they are his own personal army. Gandalf and Saruman enthralled in some kind of epic wizard battle, both bloodied and exhausted. The last image featuring the old man was one of him staring into a dark glass orb, his freakishly long fingernails skimming the surface. Every image was crystal clear and instant.
New pain burst through her as a giant flaming eye filled her mind's eye, evil and terrifying.
Sauron.
"Marie." A soft voice called to her. She recognized Galadriel's soft voice floating through her mind, filled with urgency. "Look away child, quickly!"
She somehow managed to pull her gaze away from the eye, turning to find a much more peaceful sight. A young girl with brown hair and hazel eyes stared back at her. Before her eyes the child grew, her face barely changing as time seemed to morph her body in fast foreword. Through the entire experience the girl smiled up at her, trust shining in her eyes. Marie knew this face!
She recognized Beth's face, wondering how she could have ever forgotten her sister and best friend, even for a moment. The person that she had grown up with, played with.
"Beth!" She cried out into the void as darkness crushed in around her, ripping her away from the familiar face and into the darkness.
/
Kili felt his agitation pique as Marie bumped into his side, both of her small hands clutching on to his arm. He could feel the chill of her fingers through the fabric of the thin blue tunic he had decided to wear while they had been playing in the fountain, before the company had been rudely interrupted. He felt her fear and unease even before he looked down at her. Her eyes were glued to the stranger, and the stranger stared back. He didn't understand why this man made her afraid, but he also couldn't rightly say he cared. She was afraid and that was all that mattered.
He laid his free hand over hers, trying to provide warmth to the frigid digits along with some form of comfort. He hoped that she could feel it, his fierce determination to protect her.
Gandalf's voice broke through the tension, introducing the man as another wizard named Saruman the White. The moment his name was mentioned Marie became white as a freshly bleached bed sheet. Her knees went out from under her too quickly for him to catch her, or even slow her descent to the ground as she sat heavily. A horrible scream ripped from her throat as her hands flew to the sides of her head.
"Marie!" He cried out as he dropped down next to her. Her only response was another pained scream that echoed in the room. He turned to the White wizard, dagger already drawn as he screamed at the elderly man. "What have you done to her?!"
Saruman didn't seemed fazed by his rage or Marie's pain. He continued to stare down at them from his seat as Gandalf and the others rushed to their side. "I've done nothing, you fool. I have no idea what's gotten into this weak creature."
Kili felt the growl leave his throat more than he heard it, as he moved to get up off of the floor and charge the arrogant wizard. Marie whimpered in pain next to him, causing him to forget the ancient looking man. She was almost laying in the circle of his arms, her body not being able to support itself any longer, head still clutched in her hands. Her beautifully carefree face was pinched in pain, and her entire body shook in what could have been shock or pain.
"Let me help her." A quiet voice above him said, causing him to look up at the lady Elf that had been standing behind Gandalf when they had arrived. His mistrust of the Elves caused him to pull Marie closer into his chest, shielding her from the strange lady with his own body.
Gandalf was beside him the next moment, laying a hand on his shoulder as he addressed him. "Kili, it's alright. Lady Galadriel only wants to help her. She won't hurt Marie, you can trust her."
Kili looked at Gandalf for a moment, able to see that his friend did trust this Lady Galadriel. He eased his hold on Marie enough for the other woman to be able to see her pale face, but refused to release her completely.
Galadriel knelt down opposite of him, so that Marie's shivering body lay in between them. She said nothing more to Kili as she reached out and laid one of her pale, thin hands onto Marie's forehead, causing her to flinch slightly.
Almost instantly Galadriel threw her hand away from Marie as if she had been burnt, a look of shock and panic replacing the stony expression she had worn just a few seconds before. Worry sliced into Kili's chest at the display.
"The eye!" Lady Galadriel hissed at the others, all of their faces registering the same shock as she said it. The words meant nothing to Kili, though, his main concern was Marie.
"What are you talking about?! Can you help her?" He asked, hearing the desperation that he couldn't hold back seep into his voice.
"I will try." Galadriel told him as she placed her hand back onto Marie's face, which had become even paler, taking on an ashy dullness.
He waited with baited breath as silence filled the room, Gandalf and Elrond watching as Lady Galadriel sat with Marie's head cradled in her hands. The White wizard, Kili noticed, was nowhere to be seen. Probably too bored with their trivial problems, the jerk.
Marie stirred slightly in his arms, bringing his attention to her once again. Her face had lost the ashen color, pink filling into her cheeks once again giving her a rosy hue. The small creases between her eyes and the pinched look around the corners of her mouth had also smoothed out. She looked as if she had simply decided to take a nap on the cool marble floor, instead of having some kind of excruciating experience.
Finally Galadriel released her and stood back up, looking concerned and confused. He shifted them both slightly, getting more comfortable on the ground and pulling her into his lap. He was sure that if he left her on the stone floor for much longer after her fall she would be significantly bruised in the morning. He looked up at the Elf lady, still unsure of what happened, but intensely grateful that Marie's pain had finally seemed to end. "Thank you." He told her, to which she simply nodded at him. Her face was still concerned, but now had purpose.
"You saw an eye?" Gandalf asked quietly.
"No Mithrandir. Not an eye...THE eye." She told him quietly before looking down at Marie. "Your friend here is very different indeed. She does not hail from the realm of Middle Earth, but from another world, very different from ours."
"Another world?!" Kili asked, shocked. She had certainly seemed different, but he had simply attributed it to the fact that she was a daughter of the race of Men. They could certainly be strange. "She doesn't remember anything about her old life, before she joined us." He added as an afterthought.
"No she doesn't, and there is a good chance she will not." Galadriel continued. "When I was connected to her, I pulled the only memory of her past I could find to the fore of her mind. I needed something to cast the eye away, an old and comforting memory. I had trouble finding anything in her mind that wasn't connected to her life before she joined you, but I found a set and used them. And before you ask, Master Dwarf, I will not tell you what it was. She will be the one to share her memories, I only did what was necessary." Her gaze turned to his, serious once again. When he heard her voice again it was inside his head, airy and strange. "Her quest in life will not end in Erebor, Kili. She will need someone to trust. Someone to follow her, and aid her when her own strength fails her."
He nodded up to her without hesitation. His mind had been made up the moment he met her in the woods that day not too long ago. He wasn't familiar with all of the feelings that she brought to his heart, but there was one that he could understand perfectly. The need to shelter and protect the slight woman in his arms was more fierce than any enemy he had ever encountered, and he would use it to keep her safe even if it cost him everything.
/
The dark figure slipped through the halls silently, aware of the placement of every Elven guard and citizen in Imladris. It easily avoided any detection or suspicion as it slipped down the hall and into one of the rooms in the Halls of Healing, the well maintained door not even whispering in the darkness.
The shadow walked into the darkness of the room, stealthily avoiding the Dwarf prince that dozed in one of the chairs pulled close to the bed, his head laying back against the chair, snoring softly. This shadowed figure was not interested in the royal Dwarf, though. It moved around the bed to get an unobstructed view of the sleeping figure.
'It is a shame really.' It thought to itself as it looked down at the sleeping face of the young woman. 'That such an example of beautiful innocence must be disposed of.' And it truly was! But, his master had ordered it to be done, so now it must.
The ghostly presence pulled it's long dagger from it's belt, taking a moment to admire the glint of moonlight off of the blade before positioning it above the young woman's chest, ready to be done with it. It was most likely that very delay that ruined everything.
In that one moment of admiration, a pair of emerald eyes shot open in the same sliver of light that had caught the glint of cold steel. Before the creature could finish the job, her perfect rosebud mouth opened and emitted an ear shattering scream.
It wasn't until this creature was outside of the walls of Rivendell that it realized it had left it's beautiful dagger behind, and certainly not buried deep into an equally beautiful creature's chest.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing and keeping up with my story! Before everyone, or anyone I guess, asks...I don't even know who that shadowed assassin was! That's how much of a mystery it is! All I know is that I tried to make it as creepy as possible. :)
I hope I'm doing at least an okay job with the progression of Kili and Marie's relationship. If you guys have any suggestions please review and let me know. Next chapter next week! Please review on this one!