Chapter 9.

I don't own Lord of the Rings.

"Hey, Sophie." Collin's voice woke me from my dreams, and I rolled over groggily while rubbing my eyes. The sun was shining through my window, and Collin was sitting at the foot of my bed eating an apple.

I yawned and stretched out my arms. "What time is it?"

"About noon." He shrugged and kept munching on his fruit.

I shot out of bed and ran to my wardrobe. Grabbing whatever dress was easiest to reach, I began to get undressed to change clothes, completely forgetting about Collin sitting on the bed.

He quickly clapped his hands over his eyes. "I'm still here, you know!"

"Then get out!" I couldn't believe that I'd slept til noon; I never sleep in that late! Now I'll never get to sleep tonight... Great.

Collin stood, hands still clamped firmly over his eyes, and ran for the door. He smashed into the wall and took a step back, rubbing his nose. Blood started trickling from his nostrils, and he began patting at the wall, trying to find his way to the door.

I watched all of this, trying to contain my laughter; Collin's gotten worse things than bloody noses from running into walls.

"You alright there, budd?" I asked through my laughter.

"Oh, yes! Just splendid, m'girl. Just a flesh wound. Not to worry." Finally, he found the door and hurried out to go find a rag for his nose. They don't have tissues, here.

When I was finished getting ready I walked downstairs to get some breakfast. Kristy had made some kind of fruit salad for me, and Collin was sitting down at the table, patting the remaining blood from his nose.

"How's it going?" I gave Collin a pat on the back as I walked to my seat.

"It's hanging in there..." He must have hit his nose harder than I thought; the rag in front of him was covered in blood.

Kristy sat down and handed me the fruit salad. "It's about time you got up. How late were you up?"

"Not too late! I don't know why I slept in." Right after the mysterious man left, I went straight to bed. "Where's Gandalf?"

Collin shrugged and threw down the bloody rag. "The library. That place is huge. He got up bright and early when I was already awake, so I decided that I'd just tag along. After about an hour, he kicked me out, saying that I was too much of a distraction. All I did was ask what he was reading."

Kristy shrugged. "Meh, Gandalf's weird."

I nodded. "True, that." I finished the last few bites of my food and stood to wash the dishes. "So, what are you two gonna do today?"

Collin perked up immediately. "I'm going to my friend Aradan's house. He said that I could bring the two of you; he's got a wife, so you won't be stuck with us all day."

"I'm up for it." Kristy smiled. "I haven't really met another human in this world. What do you think Soph?"

"Hey, anything to get out of the house."

"Then it's settled!" Collin stood and grabbed our hands. "Let's get going!"

.

Aradan was pretty well off, evidently. Collin led us to to one of the larger houses on the sixth level with black banners hanging down its face, bearing the white tree of Gondor. Collin strolled right up to the door and knocked. We were admitted to the house by a young servant who led us to a large sitting room where two extremely rich-looking Gondorians sat.

The man looked up and smiled as we entered. "Collin! I was afraid you would not come! Allow me to introduce you to my wife, Vanya."

The beautiful young woman stood and gave us a bright smile. Both of the nobles had dark brown hair and grey eyes, which seemed to be the norm for people here in Gondor. They were both dressed in fine clothing, and Vanya wore a pretty decent amount of fine jewelry.

"It is nice to meet you." Vanya's voice was soft and she seemed polite enough.

"Collin told me much about you two, yesterday." Aradan spoke once more, a wide smile on his face.

"Did he?" Kristy gave Collin a curious look.

I, on the other hand, was used to having Collin run of and tell people about me; nothing surprised me these days. The only thing that never ceased to amaze me was how Collin came up with all of these high-class friends.

Oh well. A better question is, why won't his camera battery die?

"Do not worry, my dear. He spoke very highly of you both. Now, you're Sophie, and you're Kristy I presume?" We nodded. "Ah, well, it's a pleasure to meet you." Aradan bowed and turned to Collin. "Now, if you will excuse us, I would like to show Collin my collection of swords."

Ah, that's such a man thing to do. Invite you to something, then leave you to go stare at sharp pointy weapons.

Vanya playfully rolled her eyes at her husband and turned to Kristy and I once Collin and Aradan had left the room. "Forgive my husband, he must have shown all of Gondor his sword collection a thousand times already. It pleases him to hear new opinions. Leave it to men to leave their women for swords."

"Tell us about it." I think I'm going to like this girl.

Vanya smiled and motioned for us to sit. "Please, join me for tea. It's refreshing to be able to meet new people; the nobility of Gondor tend to stick together. It can be quite exhausting."

Kristy plopped down in a lounge chair and snuggled into its fluffiness. "How can it be exhausting? I'd love to live in a big house and wear nice clothes."

Our new noble friend sighed and looked down at her hands. "Yes, well, it could be better. The lifestyle is wonderful, but the people are bland. All they care about is looking good and keeping their authority over others."

"I can imagine." If I ever learned anything from history class, it was that nobles = poop 99% of the time. And the majority of them got their heads hacked off. Fun life for nobles, huh? "What's the steward like?"

Vanya shook her head and took a sip of tea. "There's nothing I could say that wouldn't get me thrown into the dungeons."

Kristy winced. "That bad, huh?"

She nodded. "Terrible. But his sons are quite the opposite; in fact, they're thoroughly admired throughout all of Gondor, Boromir moreso than Faramir. An absolutely amazing warrior, that one. He's saved the life of my Aradan more than once."

"I've heard about him. People in Rohan admire him, too." Seriously.

"You're from Rohan, then?"

Ahh, now's where things get awkward. I don't know how to explain our situation without Gandalf. Everyone believes a wizard.

Kristy spoke first. "Not exactly..."

"It's actually kind of a long story..."

Vanya smiled and leaned back into her chair. "I've got all the time in the world."

.

.

I love Collin. Honestly, he hooks me up with some of the coolest friends ever. Vanya was flipping awesome, and she told us absolutely everything we need to know about living in Minas Tirith. You want to know what's even cooler? She gave us some clothes she'd outgrown (mostly for me, because I'm so darn short), and made us promise to visit her again.

Gandalf had come home not long after us, looking weary and defeated. Honestly, I was worried about him; he'd been stressing like no other lately, and it was unnerving. Gandalf was a wizard, as well as a father-figure to Collin and I. You don't want to see your father grow weaker and weaker by the day, do you? Something was up, and I bet you it has something to do with that bloody ring. Still, why would a ring be a danger to anyone? Like Collin said, it wasn't even pretty.

Kristy had a headache, so she went to bed, and Collin had kindly informed us that he would be out all night.

Really, that boy wasn't a partier at all back home, I wonder what's gotten into him now? I blame Theodred and Eomer's nasty drinking habbits.

So I was alone again, unable to sleep and completely bored without electronics. The next time I go on a trip to another world, I'm bringing my ipod, or at least a flashlight. You would never know how dark it can get, because there are always streetlights wherever you go back in America. The only light at night time came from the moon and stars, and that's only if you're lucky and it's a clear night.

I'm not sure how much I liked staying in Minas Tirith. Ever since we got here Collin's been running around like it's the end of the world, I've hardly spent any time with him at all. The only time I really got to see him today was when I almost stripped in front of him, and most people wouldn't consider that good quality time. Well, that's a lie, a lot of people would call that a good time, but definately not with your best friend.

Man, I need a hobby. And nightvision.

A loud thud came from my window.

"Or, I need someone throwing junk at my window."

I got up and marched to the balcony doors and threw them open, prepared to yell and scream at whatever loser that was trying to break in, or Collin. He always liked to climb through second-story windows.

Fortunately, there was no theif, but there was a slightly familiar face standing under my balcony.

"Is there a problem?" I called down to the same man that had been talking to me last night.

The man smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid so."

Huh. Wasn't expecting that. "And what might that be?"

"You weren't out on your balcony."

I raised my eyebrow and leaned against the railing. "No, that's because it's the middle of the night. Most people prefer to be asleep at this time."

He nodded. "Most people, but I can see that you are not one of those people. Might I know your name, now?"

Maybe this guy would be fun to mess with. "No."

"I did not think so." A small smile was playing on his lips. "Might I stay and talk with you for a moment?"

Let's see, what would Kristy have me do? "What would you like to talk about? We don't even know each other." There was nothing that I could think of that could possibly be entertaining to talk about.

"Well, how long do you intend to stay here in Minas Tirith?"

"That depends on how long Gandalf wishes to keep me here." I can only assume that he knows who Gandalf is; I've never met a person who hasn't known the old wizard. Yet it still took me six months to find out that Gandalf was a wizard.

The man looked down and frowned slightly. "Then you will not be here much longer. Gandalf never stays for too long." He looked back up to me. "Have you seen the city, yet?"

I laughed. "No, Gandalf has not had the time to show me, I'm afraid."

"Then you must let me show you."

Well, he moved fast. "If I won't tell you my name, what makes you think that I'll let you give me a tour of the city?"

He gave me a cocky smile. "Because, you find me handsome."

"Ha! You're full of yourself!" Even though it was completely true.

"Is that a yes, then?"

It would be nice to have someone show me around, and if this guy was going to show up at my doorstep every night, I might as well make something out of it. My mom would nag my ear off, though. I'm far more trusting than she is; she'd take one look at this man standing underneath my balcony at night and label him a rapist.

"It's a maybe." I've never been able to make decisions on my own, when I lived back home with my mom, and I've been too afraid to now that I'm parentless in this crazy world. It's about time I go all out and do something crazy and stupid. Collin's crazy all the time, and look at where that's gotten him!

The man smiled, like he normally does. "And what might I have to do in order to make that a yes?"

Let's see... "I don't know. Be creative."

"Do not underestimate me, milady. I'm determined to get your name, you know."

"Do not underestimate me, sir." I began to take steps back into my room. "I'm determined to be as stubborn as possible on the matter."

"Is that a challenge?" There was a trace of humor in his voice.

I took one last look at the man before turning back to the house. "Definately."