Chapter 2:
As soon as I was able to catch my breath and my legs had regained their strength, I was helped to my feet and we carried on. I guessed that it must have been getting close to night time by now, as I felt like I had been walking for the better part of the day.
We had walked no longer than a few hours when all of a sudden I began to hear a voice in my head, deep and melodic. I tensed up, unsure if the voice was actually in my head, or if I was hearing things in my fatigued state.
"Welcome, child, to the Golden Wood."
As the words echoed in my mind, the party around me stopped, and I bumped into the elf in front of me. Embarrassed, I took a quick step back and mumbled my apologies. Suddenly, I felt the band being loosened from my eyes as a pair of hands untied the knot behind my head.
"The Lady Galadriel wishes for you to see the city," a new voice said from behind me. I felt relief course through me as I realised that I could understand what he was saying.
"You speak English?" I asked dumbly as the fingers quickly worked at untying the knot.
"I do not speak English, I have not heard tell of that language," the voice replied as the fabric was lifted away from my eyes. My gaze was immediately filled with the silvery light of the city before me. I gasped and my lips parted in awe. Before me was the most beautiful place I had ever seen in my life. The movies did it no justice, I thought to myself. It was, as I had guessed, night time, and the giant trees that made up the city were illuminated by thousands of small glimmering lanterns. Each tree was dotted with an innumerable number of wooden platforms, some with lodgings built upon them, and some without. From where I stood, I could see the sweeping staircases that wound their way up and around the trunks, each covered by magnificently carved arches. The small figures of elves graced the city, seeming to glow themselves.
As I gaped at the sight before me, I heard the quiet laughter of one of the elves beside me. Turning to my left, the elf stopped laughing and smiled at me. Suddenly, I remembered the voice in my head.
"Are you taking me to see the Lady Galadriel?" I asked no one in particular, for I was unsure who had been speaking to me a moment ago.
"Yes. She has felt your presence and wishes to speak with you." I shivered at his words and turned around to see who the voice belonged to.
"I am Haldir, Marchwarden and captain of the Galadhrim." The elf behind me spoke again, his face neither friendly nor dismissive. "You have already met my brothers, Orophin and Rúmil, although I doubt you have been introduced." He tilted his head to his left, and my gaze followed to the elf who had been laughing at my awe, as well as the elf who had initially confronted me. I smiled best I could, given our less than ideal meeting situations. All three brothers had silver hair that fall past their shoulders, and their faces were fair. I had little memory of how Rúmil and Orophin had been portrayed in the films, but Haldir bore an uncanny resemblance to the character I could rememeber.
"My name is Christa," I said simply as I turned back towards Haldir, not knowing how else I was supposed to address myself. Mentioning that I was not from this world was probably not such a good idea. Haldir nodded slightly.
"That is a strange name, and your garb is very odd. From where do you hail?" he asked me, his gaze piercing. I pursed my lips, trying to think up a good cover story as quickly as possible.
"From a country unknown to you or your people. I have no memory of how I got here," I lied, hoping that my words were believable. Haldir's eyes narrowed slightly.
"The elves are an ancient culture. There is very little that we lack knowledge of. The Lady will know of your land. Come, we will go there now," he finished and walked on ahead of me. Glancing quickly back towards Rúmil, he smiled but made no move to follow us. Though he could not speak to me, I wished that he would come with us. So far, he was the only one who had made any sort of effort to be friendly with me. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I followed quickly after Haldir, who had already put a small distance between us. I had to jog to catch up with him, but once I did it was easy enough to match his pace.
As we made our way through the city, I couldn't help but notice the stares that I got from the elves we passed. I tried my best to ignore them, but I could feel their eyes on me and I felt uncomfortable. They must not get many visitors here.
It didn't take us too long to arrive at the largest tree in the city. Stopping at the foot of the stairs, I glanced upwards, amazed at the sheer height of the structure. Quickly getting dizzy, I lowered my gaze and started to follow Haldir up the steps. The stairs had no railings, only the arches on either side of me offered me comfort that I would not trip and fall from the edge. Still, my heart fluttered nervously as I willed myself not to look too far over the edge. Higher and higher we climbed until at last we reached a wide platform, illuminated so well that I nearly forgot that it was night time.
I followed the Marchwarden as he strode across the wooden platform and stopped in front of a set of heavy wooden doors. The wood was a silvery grey and matched the trunk of the tree that the platform was fashioned around, and was covered in hundreds of beautifully carved designs.
"The Lord and Lady wait for you behind these doors," Haldir said suddenly as he gestured towards them. I nodded and took a step forwards, extending my arms and pushing open the door, which was surprisingly light and easy to move. My eyes adjusted as I stepped foot inside the room. Haldir followed close behind me, yet gave me no more directions. I needed no further guidance, however, as my gaze went immediately to the back of the room, where two elves sat, radiating a brilliant silver glow. I swallowed my nerves and made my way over to stand before them. Should I bow?
"Welcome, Christa. I am Galadriel, the Lady of Lórien, and this is my husband, Celeborn." The female elf in front of me spoke up and the elf beside her smiled warmly before I could introduce myself. I shuttered. Of course she knows my name. She can hear my thoughts! I remembered suddenly, and hoped that I hadn't thought anything that would insult her earlier. A deep, gentle laughter briefly filled the room and Galadriel smiled.
"Do not fear me, child. You know of me in your land, then?" She smiled knowingly at me. I blanched.
"I have learned much about you and your people," I replied in my mind, hoping that she wouldn't inquire further. She continued to smile, and suddenly I figured I had better say something in reply to her welcome.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn," I bowed my head slightly, unsure if that was the appropriate thing to do. Galadriel paused for a moment, seeming to be speaking to her husband in her mind, before she spoke up again.
"Haldir, show Lady Christa to her talan." She turned her head to the Marchwarden, who was standing near the back of the room. "You will sleep here tonight. We shall talk again come the light of day." I heard her voice in my head.
"Thank you," I said out loud, bowing my head slightly again gratefully. Lady Galadriel smiled and I turned away and followed Haldir back out into the cool night air of the forest.
He proceeded to lead me up another flight of stairs, where we came up onto a bare flet. At the far end there was a bridge that linked the platform we stood on to another on the next tree over. Stepping foot on the bridge, I willed myself to look straight down at the boards in front of my feet, not wishing to lose my balance because of the height. All this intricacy and yet they couldn't put in some simple railings… I was extremely thankful when I stepped off of the bridge and back onto the wide flet on the other side.
"It is just one more flight of stairs up from here," Haldir spoke as he turned his head quickly to peek back at me. I nodded and followed him, silently cursing the stairs as I dragged myself up to the top. Here there were many flets that jutted out from the main platform that we stood on, each connected by a short bridge. Upon each flet was a small lodging. We passed by a couple before he stopped at the end of one of the flets.
"This is where you will stay the night. I will arrange for a handmaiden to come by in the morning," He said, regarding me for a moment. "It is not often we have allowed mortals to stay in Caras Galadhon." He added, eyeing me with interest. I felt myself stiffen uncomfortably beneath his gaze. "I do not doubt the Lady's decision. I suppose we shall see tomorrow why she holds you in such high regards." He paused again and I began to fiddle with my thumbs at my sides.
"My brother Orophin said that you spoke the Sindarin word for friend when he discovered you in the woods, but that you did not seem to understand when he asked if you spoke the language," he added, eyeing me curiously now.
"I know the word, and a couple of others, but that's it," I replied, hoping that he wouldn't question me any further. I was exhausted from the trip and frankly just wanted to be alone to think about what was going on. Haldir seemed to want to inquire further into the matter, but for whatever reason chose not to. Lifting his gaze back up to my face, he gave me a quick smile.
"Good night then, Lady Christa."
"Good night, Haldir. Thank you for showing me how to get here," I said as he turned and strode away back down the way we had come. Turning to my left, I eyed the bridge to my flet dubiously before quickly crossing it. Though it was only a couple of feet long, I just hated that there were no railings. Arriving safely on the other side, I put my hands on the door to the building and pushed it open easily. The inside of the flet was dark, but I easily found a lantern. After finding nothing to light it with, I picked it up to fiddle with it and it immediately illuminated in my hands. Raising my eyebrows in amazement, I tried to figure out how it had turned on, but soon gave up.
Though I was tired, I couldn't help but explore the living quarters that I had been assigned. The room around me was fairly small in size, but contained everything I could have needed. In the far corner sat a large bed, and next to it was a chair and table, upon which sat another lamp. Curious, I walked over and touched it, smiling in wonder when it promptly began to cast a warm glow as well.
After setting the lamp back down on the table, I resumed my walk around the flet. Besides the bed, table, and chair, there was also a small shelf which held a variety of books, some small and some large, some bound with leather, and others left loosely tied with string. Near the bed there were two doors, one which was cracked open slightly. Slipping into the separate room, I found a bath tub, a chamber pot, what I assumed was a small station for washing clothes, and a vanity with a stool and a mirror. Beside the tub was a fireplace, where a decent sized cauldron was hanging. Wandering over to the vanity, I sat down on the stool and stared at my reflection in the mirror, relieved to see my own pale face staring back at me through hazel eyes. Turning on the stool away from the mirror, I looked longingly at the bath tub.
"The cauldron is definitely for boiling the water for the tub, but where the heck does the water come from?" I glanced around the room, searching for some sort of pump. When I found none, I decided that there was nothing I could do to wind down, other than to get into bed and try to sleep.
Leaving the bathroom, I made my way directly towards the bed and sank down into the mattress, which turned out to be surprisingly comfortable. Not bothering to change out of the t-shirt and jeans that I was still wearing. Thank God I wasn't wearing my pyjamas, I shuttered at the possibility of being caught with my wobbly bits all loose. Lifting the covers up and over myself, I curled up into a ball and stared into the dimly lit room. Briefly I wondered if I should try to turn off the lanterns, but no sooner had the thought occurred did the lights fade, leaving the room in darkness. Closing my eyes, I clutched the pillow tightly in between my fingers.
Only now did the gravity of the situation hit me. It slammed into me, making my insides twist and my heart ache. I was in Middle Earth. I had no idea how it had happened, but I was in Lothlórien. I had met Haldir and his brothers, and the Lord and Lady of the Golden Wood. And I had no sweet clue how I was going to get back home. Suddenly, I felt tears spring to the corners of my eyes, and alone in the darkness with no one to see or hear me, I let them fall as I whimpered softly. As I welcomed sleep with open arms, I clung to the last desperate hope that this was all a dream and when I woke up, everything would return to normal…
Sunrise came too soon. I stirred as the bright rays of the sun shone through the open window and onto my face. Blinking, I raised my hand and covered my eyes, trying to ward off the light. Suddenly remembering the previous day's events, my eyes shot open and I looked around the room wildly, seeing the same room that I had fallen asleep in. My heart dropped as I let go of my last hope of returning home so easily. There was no way that this was a dream anymore.
Clutching my head, I slowly swung my legs around and sat on the edge of the bed, staring out across the room. Even if I was stuck here, it wasn't like I could curl up and die. No one would let me get away with that here. Besides, maybe Galadriel will be able to help me. Pulling myself up and off the bed, I wandered over to the second door that I had forgotten to check out last night before bed. Peeking in with curiosity, I realised that it was simply a closet. Swinging the door open wider to that the sunlight would shine into it, I noticed that the shelves were stocked with several different articles of clothing. Tilting my head slightly, I reached in and gingerly pulled out one of the bundles. As I lifted it off of the shelf, the garment unfolded and cascaded down in front of me.
"Oh," I muttered as I realised that it was an elven dress. Holding it up in front of me, I sighed as I quickly realised that there was no way this was going to fit my chest. A sudden knock on the door made me jump.
"Uh, come in!" I called as I tried to quickly fold the dress back up and shoved it onto an empty shelf. As I closed the closet door behind me, a female elf entered the room carrying a tray of food. She smiled at me and placed the tray down at the foot of the bed, before quickly scurrying back outside.
Making my way over to the bed, I looked down and immediately felt my stomach growl. I couldn't remember the last time I had had anything to eat. Hesitantly, I reached down and picked up the bowl of fruit which was sitting off to the side of the tray. The fruits were cut up into bite-sized pieces, and seemed to be some kind of purple-pink melon. Cocking my head to the side, I decided that the fruit looked yummy enough to eat, and I popped a small piece into my mouth. Nodding to myself in agreement, I finished up the fruit just as the elf re-entered the room carrying a bundle of towels. Scurrying off towards the bathroom, she smiled at me once again as I watched her. Other than the now empty bowl, the tray also held two small pastries shaped like crescent moons, and a glass of juice. I quickly consumed the rest of the food and looked up just as the elf emerged from the bathroom.
"Raina" she said simply as she raised both of her hands, gesturing to herself. I nodded in understanding and raised my own hands, mimicking the gesture she had made.
"Christa," I replied with a shy smile. It was becoming more and more obvious to me that next to no one would be able to understand me here.
"Christa," she repeated my name and her smile increased, before quickly gesturing for me to follow her into the bathroom. Inside, I found that she had boiled the water, and added it into the already half-filled tub. Where the water had come from still baffled me, but I gladly removed my clothes and climbed into the steaming water without thinking too much about it. I hadn't had a bath in years, and I instantly felt my tired muscles relax. Back home I had become accustomed to hurried showers, but here it seemed I would be able to lie in this tub until the water became cold.
Raina promptly showed me where the soap and towels were, and left me to bathe. After relaxing for a while, the water soon started to cool off and I figured that I had better actually wash up before I had to do it in the cold water. Washing my body was easy enough, but washing my hair with the bar of soap proved to be hellish. Once I had climbed out of the water and wrapped myself in the soft towel, I glanced at myself in the mirror and grimaced at the tangled mess of hair on top of my head.
Right on cue, Raina entered the room armed with a comb and ushered me towards the vanity, where she proceeded to tackle my hair. I still have no idea how she managed to do it, but within a matter of minutes, she had combed through the entire length of my long brown hair without so much as pulling on it.
"Beautiful," she said suddenly as she ran the comb through my hair one final time. Glancing at her in the mirror, I smiled shyly.
"Thank you," I replied, hoping that she would understand. She must not see a whole lot of hair that's not blonde. I laughed to myself. Back home, my hair was far from enviable. I hadn't even been to the hairdresser's for a trim in months. She smiled back before turning and heading out of the room. She returned carrying the dress and motioned for me to stand up. I winced as I noticed the garment and lowered my gaze to the floor.
"I don't think that I will be able to wear that," I eyed the dress skeptically, and Raina cocked her head to the side, trying to figure out my words. Pursing my lips, I reached out and accepted the dress, before holding it up in front of me, hoping that she would understand. Luckily, she caught on quickly and seemed to blush, embarrassed that she had not noticed sooner. I gave her a small smile, doubtful that she would be able to find anything that would fit me properly. It wasn't that I was fat, but I did have a few too many pounds on me, and I definitely wasn't as lithe as the elves around me. My bust was bigger than the female elves, at least all of the ones that I had seen or read about. I had wider hips and thighs as well, though those weren't really too much of a problem considering the fact that all of the women here most likely wore dresses.
Raina was back in the bathroom quicker than I expected, and she carried a light blue dress folded in her arms. I eyed the bundle skeptically as she unfolded it and handed it to me, before making her way out of the room to let me get dressed.
"Guess there's no harm done in trying," I said quietly to myself as I stepped into the dress. The fabric was soft, and to my amazement had a fairly elastic feel to it. Sliding it up and over my shoulders, I looked at myself in the mirror and was surprised when I didn't look horrendous in the garment. Despite the fact that it could have fit better around my chest, it was still pretty comfortable thanks to the soft, stretchy fabric. I pursed my lips and nodded in approval, just glad that the dress fit me at all.
Though it was simple by elvish standards, I had not worn a dress so fancy since my grade twelve prom a year ago. Just as I was about to attempt to lace up the back of the dress on my own, Raina hurried in and did it for me. Once it was tied up, I took a deep breath, trying to get used to the corset around my waist. This is going to take some getting used to, I sighed.
"Thank you," I turned to Raina and smiled, sincerely thankful that she had helped me with so much already this morning. Giving her signature smile, she bowed her head and gestured towards the door to the flet.
"Haldir is here for you," she spoke hesitantly, clearly repeating the words she had been instructed to tell me. I chuckled lightly and thanked her again before making my way out into the entrance to the flet. Haldir was waiting silently by the door. When he saw me, the corners of his mouth turned up for a moment in welcome, before his lips went flat again.
"Good morning, Lady Christa," he spoke warmly, yet with a clear air of business. "I am here to show you to the Lady Galadriel. She has requested your presence immediately."
Extending his arm, I hesitated before realising that I was supposed to be looping my arm through his. I'm a terrible lady, I laughed to myself in my head as I quickly took a hold of his arm and he led me out and back towards Lady Galadriel's chambers. I shivered as his words echoed in my mind. Though Galadriel had told me not to fear her, I was still very much intimidated by the fact that she wished to speak with me so urgently. As we approached her flet, I closed my eyes for a moment and attempted to calm myself. Walking up to the door, Haldir pushed it open and gestured for me to enter first. Removing my arm from his, I entered the room.
Lady Galadriel was standing in the middle of the room, her silver dress spread about the floor, her whole being seeming to sparkle and twinkle, even in the daylight that filtered through the windows.
"Good morning, Lady Christa."
"Good morning, my Lady," I replied, curtseying slightly. The action felt extremely awkward, but because I was wearing the dress, it would have felt even more wrong not to curtsey. Galadriel smiled and her eyes shone, though I could tell that she was eyeing me with curiosity.
"I should like to take a walk. Would you accompany me to the gardens?" She spoke after a moment, still smiling.
"I would love to," I said, smiling nervously. I knew where she was taking me. She was taking me to look into the mirror. I felt myself tremble, but I couldn't tell if it was out of fear or anticipation. The mirror could tell me why I was here. It could tell me any number of different outcomes of my being here... Galadriel's eyes darkened and I knew that she was hearing my thoughts. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would have to tell her the truth. I would just have to hope that she would believe me.
Here it is, the second chapter already! I hope that you guys are enjoying the story so far. I have a couple of followers! *Does a happy dance* Please review and let me know what you think so far!
-Eru