you will not believe how much fun I had writing this chapter. It was criminal. So many have been telling me that they're looking forwards to this, so thank you for your enthusiasm! Please check out my new story Silent Flower of Song, it would mean a lot to me, since I've spent months working on it. As always, thank you. And enjoy!

Rosiethehobbit17: thank you! Did I mention that I LOVE your name? awesomesauce!

Evangeline Pond: no idea. My brain just randomly spits out this stuff. XD well sis, you know, I seem to know you well... No really though, those were just wild guesses. I'm a great guesser. XD *drools* elven hair...

fandomfangirl100: you'll find out! Keep guessing!

WoodElfJedi: twice!? Thanks so much! Qui doesn't drink tea in the movies, (shame on you, go watch them now!) but in the book Jedi Apprentice I believe that it is mentioned he is a tea nut. More SW refs on the way...

Chapter 12

Drago and Saphira were hooked to a pair of leashes that I for some reason happened to have in my room. We are all headed to the nearest park as directed, which was about five minutes away. Thoughtfully, I paused at the end of the street and looked back to our houses. Lark did too.

I smiled and have one last wave to the two figures on the porch, and then led the way around the corner of the bend with a deep breath. Then I grinned.

"Well, looks like I left my insanity behind. From now on I'll be properly sane." I said.

"Thank the Valar." Caranthir snorted.

"Stuff it, Caranthir, before I give you a nickname you will not appreciate." Lark growled, nodding at me. The park was small and was next to a small grove of trees.

"On my back." Drago spoke for the first time. Wordlessly, I bowed to the wolf and swung onto his back neatly. Lark bowed to Saphira and did the same. Dancing has its perks.

"Follow." Saphira commanded, and headed for the trees. When all of us were neatly gathered in the concealing trees, Lark's necklace and mine began to glow green and blue. And everything else began to glow and swirl. And a whirlwind appeared around us and all went black.

...

With a groan, I slowly woke up to consciousness again. I felt a little achy, but otherwise just fine. Head spinning, I jacked myself up and allowed my head to calm before peeling my eyes open slowly so that I wouldn't black out again. Lark was staring back at me, and Drago and Saphira were next to us. I blinked.

"Welcome, children." A deep voice startled me out of my disoriented stare. Lark and I turned to see fourteen bright lights and a room of white stone with a lamp on a pillar in the middle.

I stood slowly and bowed stiffly, as did Lark. The Valar were unmistakable, and as my eyes slowly adjusted to the light, I could see their forms. The one who spoke was definitely Manwë. He was magnificent and imposing.

"Your feä are quite exceptionally bright, even for an Eldar." One of them mused thoughtfully. I guessed she was Varda. Stars were her eyes, and they littered her dress.

"Hence why Nàmo chose them." Another spoke up. Vairë the weaver, by her richly embroidered garments.

"And hence why I brought them here." Manwë interjected smoothly. Lark and I exchanged incredulous glances. Really?

"Come now, there is no need to be afraid." A golden-bearded and blue-eyes one said, clad in golden armor said impatiently. Tulkas. "Speak."

"What shall we say?" Lark asked softly.

"Ah! See there, Tulkas, they are intelligent." Oromë, is the horn on his belt said anything.

"I never said that they weren't. They certainly are for all their witty humor." He retorted smartly. I laughed quietly along with Lark.

"I ask to claim Celine as my own." A quiet voice said decisively. I looked at the speaker. He was dressed in robes of black and white, dark and with grey highlights. His hair was raven-black, his eyes jet onyx, and a scar running down the middle of his right eye.

"Claim me?" I asked, confused.

"Ah. We said that you would be one of the Eldar, but it seems as though that is not possible, young one." Manwë spoke again.

"I don't understand." Lark piped up, just as confuzzled as I was.

"You may come from another world, but you are still created by Eru. Your world has darker, more subtle dangers then we do, and therefore your inner lights must be brighter and stronger to resist the evil. And here in this world, you shine far too bright to be a mere elf. An elven form would not hold your light without consequences. Therefore, you are Maiar. Along with this title comes responsibility, and hence you must be chosen by a Vala to serve under." Aulë, his arms large and brawny and face darkened by flames of the forge, spoke patiently.

Lark and I looked at each other incredulously, but with mingled excitement. "And I ask to claim Lark." A male stepped forwards, with light blue and white robes, his hair white and eyes a light blue, like his robes. He had a very dreamy quality around him, like a hazy vision, but he himself was very distinct and bright. Irmo.

"Does anyone dispute or object to these claims, including the subjects?" Manwë glanced at Lark and I. Me? Absolutely not. Lark? She said nothing either. None of the Valar said anything, and I suddenly wondered if Mairon was still under Aulë.

"Then it is settled. You, Celine, will be under the guidance of Nàmo, and Lark will be under the guidance of Irmo, the Feänturi brothers." Manwë seemed to dismiss everyone without even saying anything or making any gesture. Nàmo and Irmo came up to us, and placing their hands on us, thought us away to another place.

When my eyes opened, I saw a garden with many flowers in it and a small fountain. "You are now in one of the gardens of Lòrien." Irmo declared, hands at his sides. Lark looked happy.

"So I get to stay here now? What do I have to do? Where is everyone else?" She asked. Irmo chuckled.

"Patience. First you must learn how to choose your own form." He said amusedly, looking down at us. Both of us blinked. Then I noticed what he meant. We were nothing but vague shapes. Arms and legs were there, but hazy and not definite. Like a ghost.

"Just think of what you want to look like." He supplied. I immediately thought of myself, elf-ized with pointy ears and everything else. I materialized into my thought, and looking at Lark, saw that she had done the same. We high-fived.

"So this is what it's like to be an elf. I feel- prettier." Lark said. I laughed at her description.

"Yes, you Lark, will stay here. Your duties will differ everyday, but you will have much time to yourself. As for your companions, they are still in the halls of Mandos- except for Glorfindel, Ecthelion, Maglor, Fingon, and Mairon." He answered her previous questions. All this time Nàmo had been silent.

"So, what do I call you, master?" I asked him hesitantly, looking into his face. He smiled, arms tucked into his robes.

"The Maia are considered children of their Vala, dear one. It is your choice what to address me as." He answered, in a voice that reminded me of echoes in a deep cave. My eyes lit up.

"Okay Ada! Where is Mairon?" I asked wistfully, looking around.

"It seems that you have taken a liking to him." He noted neutrally. I nodded sheepishly.

"Yes. I know what he was before, but he's so love-starved... I just can't see anything of what he previously was except for his looks. And okay, obsession with gold and rings, but he was under Aulë." I said softly, trailing into a small laugh at the end.

"Then I will put him under your care. He is very young, even for a Maia, and was easily forced into submission. He needs someone to care for him, and I think you can do it." Nàmo said, while I broke into a grin.

"Thank you, Master!" I said happily.

"Be grateful, you must, Padawan Celine." Lark teased me. I whacked her arm.

"Hush up, initiate." I retorted smugly. She glared while I giggled.

"Celine!" A voice called my name, and a moment later, I was hurled to the soft grass while someone cut off my airway. I choked, and looked up to see amber eyes.

"Mairon!" I exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "I'm so happy to see you!" I squealed.

He buried his face into my robe, which was similar to Nàmo's, and squeezed me tightly. "Are you really gonna take care of me?" His vulnerable question was muffled in my robe. Lark 'awwed' and winked at me.

"Yes. I promised, remember? The Vala can just give you to me now." I replied cheerily. He looked up, eyes brightening, just as I kissed his cheek firmly. He blushed furiously as I giggled.

Balancing him on my hip, I stood up and smiled happily. "Thank you, Ada!" He chuckled and placed a hand on my back with a fond smile.

"My pleasure, Celine. Now, you must part from Lark for your duties. Do not worry, you can see her at any time." He reassured me. I hugged Lark and she hugged me back.

"Meet later today and exchange thoughts?" I asked. She nodded.

"The Force be with you, seeing as the Valar don't count now!" She called over her shoulder as she was led away. Laughing, I waved back as we were thought away to the Halls of Mandos.

"Am I going to get a new name, Ada, or do I keep Celine?" I asked naïvely as we walked though a long hallway with myriads of doors.

With his hand on my shoulder and Mairon on my hip, he answered as he guided me through the hall. "It is your choice, Celine. You may keep that name or you may wish to take another but still keep Celine." He answered smoothly. I thought about it. Maybe I could use a new name. Celine was rather odd for a Maia.

"Here is your room. Mairon will share with you, if you do not disagree." He said, stopping in front of a door and pushing it open. I stepped in and my mouth opened.

It was amazing. Paintings on tapestries, works from Vairë's workshops hung on the walls, and a large window overlooked a courtyard with a fountain in the middle. There was a large bed and a small one in the opposite corner, with two wooden wardrobes as well. There was a small washbasin in the corner and a towel.

"Thank you, Ada!" Geez, I'm sounding like a broken record. "Of course I don't mind sharing!" I set Mairon down and moved to a full-sized mirror on the wardrobe and studied my reflection. My lips twitched as I thought of the song 'when will my reflection show.'

My hair was still platinum-blonde, but it was longer, thicker, and brighter now. When I say brighter, I mean literally. My whole body was glowing like an elf. My face looked older and more mature, and my eyes were still the same, one blue and one green. Now, though, they were more intensified. To my surprise, I had grown older.

"Of course. Now, my room is at the end of the hall, the largest door. When you are ready for duty, come to me." He said, and closing the door, swept down the hall. I opened the wardrobe and saw many different kinds of robes, all in different colors. There were darker ones and lighter, brighter ones.

I chose a loose robe that was a grey and cream, reminding me of a Grey Jedi's tunics, with a large, loose sleeves. It was wide and voluminous, but not ridiculous. It was slit at the bottom, the break curving up to my hip and ending there. I wore cream leggings under the robe, and a black sash tied around and cinched the robe at my waist. Comfortable and practical.

Mairon was sitting on his bed and waiting for me while staring absently out the window. "Why have I grown older? How old am I?" I asked, baffled. Mairon turned to look at me.

"You're older because you skipped through time to come here. Remember? Nàmo said that time differs here and there, so the traveling made you grow older accordingly. I don't know how old, though." He answered.

"Oh." I blinked. "Oh well. Looks like I get to skip the rest of puberty, thankfully." I grinned. Mairon rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, I'm going to report for duty." I said, moving to the door.

"You don't want to wear any jewelery?" Mairon asked, pointing to a box next to the bed that I hadn't noticed before. I moved towards it and opened it up, to see many pieces of jewelery inside. There were necklaces, bracelets, coronets, and rings too. Everything you could imagine.

I hesitated, then chose one simple coronet. It was gold, and set with one blue gem in the middle. The gold part of it had many overlapping strands, but that was it.

"Okay, let's go." I said, and he hopped down from his bed and took my hand.

"I made that one, a long time ago. It was one of my first ones." Mairon told me, looking up at it on my forehead. I stopped and looked down at him.

"Really? It's so simple, and yet beautiful." I said, touching it hesitantly. "I like it." I said with a smile. He grinned, happy.

"I'm glad you like it. Let's go!" And he proceeded to drag me out the door, all the way to the large door at the end of the hall and through it into the room. I stumbled in, laughing, and the coronet slid crookedly over one eye.

Nàmo looked up and chuckled at my state as I straightened it and shook out my robes. I bowed to him. "Clone trooper Celine reporting for duty, Sir!" I saluted stiffly.

He stood with an amused smile. "Ah, very good, my child. As you know, my halls are for those souls whose lives were lost on Arda. Some are ready to go to Valinor, but others are too broken. This is a place of healing of the feä, and of the mind- but many of them have not left these halls since they came. Feänor, for example. Some do not wish to heal and forget and be forgiven." He became grave at the end.

"Hence, some of my Maia do one thing or another, running errands, but a select few who have the right personality counsel these souls and try to help them heal enough to go to Valinor. You have the right personality for such duties, as I can see by Mairon." He said.

Then he took my arm and led me and Mairon down the hall. "And your first duty as a Maia under my guidance will be to visit Maedhros." He said. I absorbed all of the information for a moment, then laughed.

"Maedhros? My brother? Then I have a big job, don't I! Well, maybe I can get him to laugh more often. Why does he not heal?" I asked curiously. He smiled slightly.

"I have had another Maia, all of whom you will meet tonight, visit him, but he does not wish to speak with her. He does not think himself befitting to enter Valinor after all he has done. He thinks himself doomed for all time." He answered.

I choked. "And being here doesn't help-!" I spluttered. Mairon laughed at me.

"Indeed, for I am, as I believe you said, doom-and-gloom-take-that-you-stubborn-Noldo, am I not?" Nàmo said dryly. Mairon and my laughter echoed through the halls.

Then he led me in front of a door. "Before I leave you, you will need this." He placed fingers on my forehead and I felt new information flood my mind. Of all of the names and locations of places in Valinor and Mandos.

"Thank you." I said breathlessly as he pulled away, trying to cope with all of the new information. He nodded and swept off down the hall again. I didn't really realize it until now, but he really does have a very sadistic, morbid, sarcastic, and sardonic aura.

So I was left in front of the door, to enter at will. Looking down at Mairon, I shrugged and knocked on the door.

"There is no one here." Came a sarcastically familiar voice.

"May I enter?" I asked.

"No."

But I went in anyway. "Oh come on, Maedhros, is that really the way to greet your sister?" I asked cheerily, closing the door and standing there, grinning at the red headed elf. He looked up blankly for a moment, and then seemed to recognize me.

"What?" He asked, baffled. I laughed and sat down next to him.

"Yep. I'm here! I'm a Maia under Nàmo actually." I bubbled gleefully.

"How?" He asked. So I explained. He blinked, and then nodded.

"I- see." He said thoughtfully. "It makes sense." He mumbled.

"Now, why exactly won't you go to Valinor? You are pardoned from your doom, and there is no reason to stay. It wouldn't please me to see my brother here for a long time." I frowned at him in displeasure. His lips quirked slightly.

"My brothers will not leave. They refuse. I cannot leave without them." He sighed.

"So if I can convince them to leave, will you?" I pleaded.

"What makes you think they will listen to you?" He answered bitterly.

"Because they listened to me back on earth. Besides, can't you see how selfish you are being? There are so many who would want to see you, like Maglor and Fingon, but you remain here." I tried to reason with him. He sighed.

"If they leave only then I will." He agreed wearily. I hugged him tightly.

"Then I will threaten them until they agree." I giggled. After a moment, he wrapped his arms around me hesitantly.

"Thank you." He said unexpectedly. I pulled back with a smile.

"My pleasure. Now, if you don't mind, I have other things to do. Being a Maia is a busy schedule!" I said with a wry grin, turning to go. "Come on, Mairon! Let's go!"

He hopped back to my side, and with a wave to Maedhros, we left. Nàmo's voice suddenly appeared into my head.

"Well done, child. Your next task is Caranthir. Next room." He said, and withdrew.

"Yes, Ada." I answered aloud, and opened the door and poked my head in- and ducked a flying book.

"Go away." Caranthir snarled, not even looking up from the window. I sighed.

"I thought you liked me better than that, Muindor." I said disappointedly. His head shot up and he looked at me.

"What? How are you here? Only Maia are allowed here." He said, trying to hide his surprise.

"I AM a Maia." I replied tartly, slipping in with Mairon. And I explained to him too.

"So. Why are you still here, dear, dark, sulky brother of mine?" I asked promptly, sitting down and propping my head in my chin expectantly.

As expected, he glared at me. "Because I do not want to leave. There is nothing for me any longer." He answered bitterly. I sighed wearily.

"Oh Caranthir." I sighed. "Because of you Maedhros will not leave and find peace and rest. Your brothers cannot see you. Your parents cannot see you. Why are you so selfish?" I asked mournfully.

"Why do you care?" He snapped in reply.

"Because your my brother and I love you like one." Was my blunt reply. Like I said, I have fact, but I rarely find the need to use it... His head turned to me slowly, a strange look coming over his face.

After a moment of intense staring, he finally spoke. "Why?"

I smiled and placed a hand on his arm. "Because I like you for who you are. I never had a brother, and you filled the role of one for me, along with Maedhros. You defended me, you teased me, and you deserve to be loved as you are. I can't help it." I shrugged. He looked at me funny for another moment.

"I never had a sister, always brothers. And they never really came to me. It was always Maedhros. I could tell that he liked you, or else he never would have called you sister." He admitted with difficulty, a frown on his face.

I hugged him. "Well, I wish you would consider going to Valinor, because I would like to see you there, happy and well. Because I promise, as long as you want a little sister, I'll always be there. I love to be hugged and treated as one!" I said happily, pulling back with a smile.

"Well, looks like I have to go, Caranthir. I'm a bit busy now, being a Maiar. See you later!" Then I grabbed Mairon's hand and beat a hasty retreat, returning his wave as we left. I didn't know that he stared at the door for a long time after that.

Again, Nàmo's voice appeared in my head. "Very well done, Celine. Take a short break, and then I will tell you who to meet next."

"Okay master! Thank you!" So Mairon and I decided to sit in the courtyard for a while. You know, I really enjoy this 'job.'