AN: Hello! Another Chapter! Yay! Start reading it! Please! I think this was a waste of an Author's Note! Oh Well! :D
Everything but Rosalie is owned by Tolkien (Sorry, I haven't done a disclaimer for a while)
Am I Aurora?
Bright and harsh light filtered through half closed eyes and the wizard spoke. It was like there were two speakers, two voices that harmonised and echoed powerfully around them. "You are tracking the footsteps of two young Hobbits." The figure in the light boomed and Rosalie fought the urge to cover her ears. "Where are they?" Aragorn shouted, holding a hand up to shield his eyes. The light seemed to diminish slightly, enough for the girl to see a shadow of a face. "They passed this way, the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?" Rosalie could hear the smirk in the wizard's voice and she bristled while Aragorn growled beside her. "Who are you? Show yourself!" The light receded back into the figure, the bright light seeming to illuminate the clothes he wore instead. The hair and beard were a brilliant shade of white but the blue, twinkly eyes were the same as she remembered. She sucked in a shaky breath.
"It can't be..." Aragorn said, sounding just as shaky as she felt. "You fell..." Around her, the men fell to their knees but Rosalie stayed standing, staring at the familiar face. "Too far and further than the lowest dungeons and the highest peaks. I fought the Balrog." He said, eyes wandering from each of the four friends. "Until at last, I threw down my enemy and shouted his ruin on the mountainside. Darkness took me and I strayed out of thought and time. Every day was a lifetime. But it was not the end." The wizard's face changed, becoming blanker as if he was lost in thought. "I felt life in me again. I have been sent back for my task is not yet done."
"Gandalf," Aragorn murmured and the wizard turned to him, looking puzzled for a moment before relaxing. "Gandalf? That was what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name." Gandalf smiled but the rest of them still seemed stunned. "Gandalf." Gimli said and Gandalf turned to face him, still smiling. "I am Gandalf the White. And I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide." He looked over the companions, stopping briefly on Rosalie. "One stage of your journey is over and another begins. War has come to Rohan; we must ride to Edoras with all speed."
Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn and Rosalie were all quiet as Gandalf finished his speech. He frowned at the silence, "What?" The wizard asked and while the men just stared, still in shock, the girl ran forward, pulling Gandalf into a bone-crushing hug. "I've missed you so much!" She squealed and earned a chuckle from more than one person.
Gandalf was different from how Rosalie remembered him, but she guessed death could have some side effects. This Gandalf looked like he had drunk a bottle of Vanish Stain Remover, like the stuff in her cupboard back home. He wasn't quite as chatty as he was before, though he wasn't that talkative to begin with. He had taken lead of the little group, guiding them through the dense forestry. They were almost completely silent, time taking an eternity to pass in Fanghorn. After what felt like forever, the wizard announced that the sun had already set, not that you could particularly tell in the forest, and so they stopped for the night, hidden away at the bottom of a tree.
Aragorn lit a fire, keeping it small but scarlet, throwing glowing ash into the air. They all sat around it, the earth slightly damp and cool to sit on. Rosalie sat next to Legolas, across from Gimli and Gandalf, Aragorn in the middle. The wizard was staring at her, scrutinizing her like he had done when they had first met but Rosalie swallowed down the uncomfortable feeling of his eyes on him. The ranger had left briefly with the elf, returning later with two dead rabbits that made Rosalie's insides squirm, and a victorious grin. At least, they had skinned and, presumably, gutted them before the pair came back.
As the evening wore on, the silence was broken by short conversations, the occasional groans of the forest and the crackling flames of the fire. It was then that Gandalf decided to speak. "You are very gifted." He said, staring at Rosalie who glanced up from the fire. She looked briefly at her companions then at Gandalf, like she couldn't believe his words. "Me?" She asked disbelievingly and the wizard nodded furiously. "You are so creative and so imaginative that these talents roll together and make you very powerful." Rosalie flushed at the compliments and shook her head. "I don't think that's right Gandalf." She mumbled quietly, looking at the floor and the wizard sighed.
"You have a habit of what you call 'daydreaming' correct? This is when you fantasise about strange things like mystical animals or golden dust and giant flowers, yes?" The girl ducked her head, recognising the moment from the feast at Rivendell. "You 'dream' so powerfully, so strongly that you actually pull those dreams into reality. That night, you dreamt of flowers that created huge plumes of pollen and you actually created it, albeit for a minute or so." She stayed silent, internally shaking with each word. "That is why Saruman tried to capture you, and that is why you must learn to control it."
Rosalie shook her head, in denial as the rest of the group watched the pair like a tennis match. Gandalf sighed in frustration. "It is true and you can demonstrate your powers right now, if you wished to." The girl snorted, still shaking her head, and the wizard let out a sound close to a growl. "Alright, I want you to focus." The girl huffed but did as she was told. "Dream. Dream of something, anything. Find your creativity and create something." Rosalie was still reeling, only half-listening to whatever Gandalf was saying, staring deep into the heart of the fire. It had started to smoke, grey ash and globes of cherry spat into the sky.
Gandalf noticed her staring. "Imagine," He said, softer and smoother than before, almost in a lullaby tone. "In your mind's eye that the fire changes. It doesn't matter how, but it does. You are the one that changes it, so you must imagine it changing." Rosalie could see it, strangely enough. The smoke twisted abnormally, still rising and dissipating the higher it got. Then, it started changing. Her daydream took over and started making a shape. The fire reminded her of a story she was told as a child. A phoenix can rise from the ashes, and live for as long as it can sing. In her mind, the grey smoke twisted and turned, some lightening while other parts darkened. They became the body; small feather details while the lighter smoke became the wings. A head formed above the body, a glowing red eye resting above a shadowy beak, cherry ash creating a crest on its head.
Four pairs of eyes widened as smoke began to pour, charcoal grey dust rising heavily, spitting sparks in every direction. Rosalie was staring at the fire, but also not at the fire, as if she was staring at something else that was in the fire. The smoke was churning upwards, like a hurricane and Gandalf stared up, fascinated while beside him, Gimli was shrinking back. A bird rose from within, spreading ash wings and opening one blood red eye. It let out a screech and Gimli stumbled back, feet flailing and dirt flying. Across the fire, Rosalie flinched at the dirt shrapnel and suddenly the bird was gone, disappearing as smoke in the wind.
There was silence, apart from the dwarf's grumbling. After a few minutes, Gandalf clapped slowly, eyes never leaving the hunched figure with bright blue hair. He was grinning at her, the girl feeling and looking a little shocked, as were the rest of them. "See?" Gandalf said smugly, "Did I not say that you could do that? Was that not a show of what you can do and why you were important?" The girl stayed silent and Aragorn glanced at her before shooting a warning look at the wizard. Gandalf nodded but continued with his prodding. "Do you see Rosalie? Do you see what you can do? Why you are so important? I will help you, I promise and I will help you to learn to control it."
At that, Rosalie got up, stalking off, leaving four faces staring after her. She wandered off into the tree line. "Don't go too far," Aragorn called and the girl laughed coldly, in a way they hadn't heard before. "Don't worry; I'll use my magical mind powers to protect myself." She shouted back angrily, her voice fading with each word. Aragorn looked pointedly at Gandalf. "I think you pushed her too much." Gandalf's white beard twitched, like he was chewing his lip, tension still running high around the little fire, one pair of blue eyes still watching the invisible path Rosalie took into the depths of Fanghorn.
Rosalie was lying on the ground, bathed in starlight from a rare break in the trees. She had calmed down a lot from the... incident at the campsite. Her fingers trembled just thinking about it. What's happening to me? A voice in her head screamed and she sighed deeply. There was a snap beside her head, and she jolted, sitting upright and staring up at a familiar face. Rosalie sighed again and relaxed and the blonde elf crouched, sitting down next to her. Fortunately for Rosalie, Legolas stayed silent, staring up at the sky like she had been doing. He waited a few minutes before starting to speak. "I saved some things for you." He said quietly, his voice smooth but masculine at the same time. She looked at him, but he kept his eyes trained on the stars. His hands slipped down, pulling out a small leather bag and passing it to her. Rosalie sat up straight, opening the bag and then looking back down at Legolas.
The knives and the sword. She smiled into the bag, and then grinned at the elf on the ground. "What is a warrior without her weapons?" He asked, still not looking at her but he was smiling as well. "We couldn't carry your other possessions like the drawing book and the... pencils? And so, I hid them instead, so after all of this, we can go back and get them." He stated innocently, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. For some reason, a warm feeling swelled inside of her and she sat back down, staring up at the sky. Something niggled in her mind, and she hesitated before asking it.
"Why haven't you said anything?" Rosalie whispered, and for the first time in their conversation, Legolas rolled over to look at her directly, deep blue eyes searching her face. "Why haven't you asked about my- what Gandalf said earlier?" Her voice shook a little but refused to glance at the elf's face. She heard and felt him sigh next to her. "It does not change you. It changes people's perspective of you." The girl snorted. "When did you get so wise?" She jokily asked and Legolas smiled mirthlessly. "I am a lot older than I look and I have had a lot of time to contemplate life." His smile didn't reach his eyes. They stayed silent, mulling over what had been said. After a few more minutes, Legolas jumped up and held out a hand for Rosalie before walking her back to the campsite with the others.
Gandalf acted like nothing was out of the ordinary as Rosalie walked back into the circle, Legolas a few feet behind her. Gimli had apparently turned in for the night in the few hours she had disappeared. Aragorn was still sat in his same place, a pipe now being thoroughly chewed between his lips. The wizard was staring off into space, hidden in some memory and didn't move when the pair came back. "Would you like to hear a story, Rosalie?" His voice was a quiet murmur, most of it muffled by his beard. Aragorn and Legolas both shot him a look this time and Rosalie stayed silent. Gandalf took that as a yes and sighed, then put some more of something in his pipe. Oh great, that explains it. He's always baked like a potato. Rosalie thought to herself and Gandalf cleared his throat.
"Years ago, there was a group of people, of entity. They drew from the elements and the power of the Gods to create things with their minds." Legolas glanced over at the girl, who didn't dare to meet his gaze. "It was said that they could travel great distances in seconds, defeat a hundred men in a row and had the lifespan of elves but looked like men. They were never born in Middle-Earth, claiming to come from different worlds. This, of course, was all a long time ago, forgotten by all of Middle-Earth. But to those who remembered, they were called the Aurora."
Gandalf paused, staring at Rosalie before continuing. "They called themselves the Aurora because of something in their own world." Gandalf looked at her curiously as she nodded. Always wanted to see the northern lights. She thought gloomily but kept silent. "The Aurora were pure energy, and power. Many believed they came at times of great hardship but there were only always a few. Perhaps... two or three that were ever recorded. No one has seen an Aurora in over seven thousand years, far before the War of the Ring all those years ago." The mood around the fire seemed to sour as the ranger turned his attention from Gandalf to the flames. The bright blue eyes across from her bore holes into her head. "You are the last, Rosalie. My dear, you can do so much good, so much potential locked inside you." All three men looked at her, all mirroring the same expression. Rosalie looked at each of them in turn, lingering on the one closest to her.
She nodded shakily, and stood up fast. "I'm gonna go to bed." The words came out rushed as she hastily stumbled away from the men. "Night." She mumbled and sat down close to where Gimli was already sleeping, laying down but knowing she wasn't going to get much sleep.
Further away, Legolas and Aragorn glared at Gandalf who, surprisingly didn't crumble under their glares. "She had to know." He said bluntly, but even he felt a little guilty as he watched every emotion Rosalie felt play across her face.
Gandalf had gotten them all up early, shaking Rosalie gentler than he shook the rest of them. She still hadn't spoken a word to the wizard yet, not directly at least. Slowly though, the forest began to thin, more light breaking through the gaps in the branches. Bigger patches of sunlight surrounded the path Gandalf was dragging them along. Soon enough, they saw light at the end of the journey. As they approached the fringe of the forest, the glow brightened and Legolas let out a sigh.
Fanghorn stopped and opened out into more of the plains Rohan seemed to like. Above them, white cotton-candy clouds floated across blue skies, a few swooping black specks in the distance. Gimli and Aragorn stayed close to Gandalf but Rosalie was just staring up at the sky, a luxury she had missed over the past few days in Fanghorn.
She looked down at the grass at her feet. She narrowed her eyes, sneaking a peek at the wizard, thankful his back was turned. She stared at the grass below her, almost glaring at it. The grass shivered and Rosalie could feel a bead of sweat form at the base of her neck. It shivered again, this time rippling outwards like it was water. As the ripple continued, the grass changed. Pale green, stringy threads became jade and lush, thickening and brightening under the focus of the blue-haired girl.
A hand on her shoulder made the girl jump, the ripple dying away as quickly as it arrived. Legolas looked down at her, a small smile playing at his lips and he gestured around them. Rosalie looked down, turning her head to get a good look at her handiwork. They stood in the middle of an almost perfect circle of deep green; a green healthy colour that stood out like wildfire against the pale grass of the plain. She peeked around the elf, using him a bit like a human... elven shield.
Three faces at various heights stared over at her, Aragorn smirking like the elf beside her, Gimli looking more shocked and Gandalf had raised one bushy eyebrow which was now lost somewhere underneath his hat. "Are you done?" The wizard asked, sounding sarcastic as he did it and Legolas and Rosalie looked at each other. He was still smiling and the girl couldn't help but let a little giggle escape. Legolas' eyes widened at it and she let another one loose, louder now. The elf's grin grew as Rosalie kept laughing, covering her mouth as if to mask them. It wasn't working.
Rosalie was still laughing as Legolas dragged her back to join the others, the ranger smiling at her. Eventually they started to die down, though occasionally one would bubble up. Gandalf ignored her a lot better than the rest of them did; he was searching for something on the plains while the trio behind him looked like they might end up joining in with the girl. Suddenly, the wizard whistled shrilly, causing the elf to wince in pain. Then, there was silence and Rosalie leaned over to Aragorn. "What's going on?" She whispered and the ranger looked down at her, putting a finger to his lips in the universal sign for be quiet and shrugged.
After a few minutes, Gimli took the opportunity to slump to the ground and a few seconds later, Rosalie joined them. Aragorn sent them a withering look but Gandalf kept his attention on his search. Legolas' head spun around, facing the same direction as the wizard, looking almost bewildered. Then, Rosalie swore she could hear a horse cry from across the plains and apparently she wasn't the only one as everyone turned to where they'd heard it, Gimli and Rosalie getting off the ground.
A pure white horse was galloping towards them, bright like snow, faster and bigger than any horse she had seen. Behind it, Rosalie could see the shapes of the two horses that the Riders had given them. The elf gasped quietly, staring at the leading horse that kept getting closer. It had started to pull away from the other two, its powerful legs pushing it forward. It slowed, stopping in front of Gandalf and shook out its mane. He snorted, tossing his head and Legolas looked like he was fan-girling. "That is one of the Mearas- unless my eyes are cheated by some spell." He spoke quietly, voice full of wonder, blue eyes wide. Gandalf smiled over the elf's antics, that familiar twinkle back in his eyes. "Shadowfax." The horse turned at the name, wise, intelligent eyes inspecting everyone in the group before settling on Rosalie. She reached up, brushing her knuckles against the horse's neck. "He is the Lord of all horses and has been my friend through many dangers." Gandalf sounded almost wistful, staring at Shadowfax until the other two horses caught up.
Legolas and Gimli mounted the other white horse while Gandalf got onto Shadowfax. Aragorn lifted Rosalie onto their brown horse, Hasufel. The moment the ranger was behind her, Shadowfax was off like a shot, speeding away, not waiting for the rest of them to catch up. Rosalie leaned back into Aragorn. "Why do I feel like my butt is going to hurt tomorrow?" She asked and got a chuckle and a head shake in return.