The Light in the Darkness

Chapter 4: An Unexpected Invitation

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Disclaimer: I sadly do not own The Lord of the Rings franchise. I only own the story, Lin and Neera who tells the story.

While the new land I was being shown was beautiful and utterly breathtaking, I almost couldn't pay it the attention it rightly deserved.

That was because the young man I had the fortune of taking this tour with had completely bewitched me.

The entire time we wandered around the Shire I couldn't take my eyes off of him.

I still don't know how Grandfather deduced that I had been wanting to learn about the Shire from Frodo. Then again, my Grandfather is a wise, old man after all. I hadn't spoken that much to Frodo or knew him that well before this adventure through the Shire, but I still felt a strong connection to him. Ever since the moment when we gazed into each other's eyes for the first time, I had been acting so unlike myself. I found myself being unable to tear my gaze away from him or to stop smiling each time we spoke.

I had cut myself off from feeling any sense of happiness a long time ago. It was strange to feel such a foreign emotion while we were together. It was also strange to have this feeling of wanting to be as close to him as I possibly could.

The more he spoke, the more I couldn't take my eyes off of him. We had talked for hours as we walked through the Shire. I couldn't remember the last time I had spoken so naturally to another person that was outside my family. I had been so isolated from everyone back in Mirkwood. I know it was for my own protection.

Now, I just wanted to know everything about him.

I really can't explain why.

Despite all the dirty looks that I got from the townspeople, especially the young women, I didn't really care. I didn't really notice them at all. The beauty just mesmerized me of this unfamiliar land of endless greenery and flowers.

I was used to the beauty of Mirkwood, but at the same time, that beauty seemed rather dark and sad at times. While it was rather easy to get lost in the beauty of Mirkwood, it was just as easy to get lost in its lifeless and dark atmosphere. It was sometimes hard to see the sun. Sometimes I had to climb the tops of the large trees in the wood in order to see the sun. I could tell I wasn't going to have a problem with that here.

This place was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was much more open to the blue sky and the sun than Mirkwood. This land was rich of plants and flowers. It looked like a well-lit and more lively version of Mirkwood. It did so in a way where you could admire all the greenery and still be able to see everything and everyone. While it was difficult to pay attention to it because of my guide, I still could appreciate how different it was to where I had lived my entire life.

I did miss the beauty of Mirkwood, but I knew I would be able to see it again sooner or later. I knew that Lin and I wouldn't be staying here for very long after the party was over. She wanted to go back home as soon as the party ended. She hated the fact that we were even here in the first place. Oh, of all things now, I wanted to see how this place lit up after the sun went down. I knew well how the elves celebrated and did things during the night but seeing a birthday party was something quite unexpected for me.

Since Elves were immortal, birthdays really weren't well celebrated. Age was just not as important to us as it was to others.

I was almost three centuries old now and for elves, in the words of the King, one hundred years is a mere blink in the life of an elf. He wasn't wrong of course. It honestly didn't feel like anything to Lin or me. It was easy to say she and I were practically children in the eyes of our people. It didn't matter we were the princesses: we were still like children to them. I suppose I can't blame them for that. We were very young. Even Father was significantly older than us.

And once again, I digress. I hadn't really seen a birthday party in a very long time, and it would be really interesting to see it here. The hobbits are making such a grand fuss for Bilbo's birthday. I wonder what it's like to actually keep track of how old you are and celebrate every year.

It just seems so strange to me.

Just like my actions with this man.

I barely know him at all.

So why do I feel so drawn towards him?

Eventually, when the sun began going down, Frodo concluded our tour of the Shire by taking me to one of his favorite spots in the whole area.

He told me he loved to come here and read and to be alone. He told me as we walked over that it was the only place in the Shire that didn't have excessive amounts of noise. He talked about how he came here to get away from the chaotic nature that the Shire tended to have. Frodo acknowledged that he did love it and his home, but that there were times where he needed to be alone. how peaceful it was and how the trees would shade him and shield him from the rain during the harshest storms. He said he had run from this exact spot to greet Gandalf, my sister and me.

He then sat down on the ground and invited me to sit down with him against the trees, which I did. Frodo then offered me a piece of bread he had bought downtown for us to eat and we had pretty much finished the majority of the loaf.

Now, we were on the last two bites and sharing it together.

"Why do you enjoy this spot so much?" I asked as I leaned up against one of the trees next to where he was sitting.

He sighed in contentment before replying.

"I guess it's because of how peaceful it is. I can just forget all my troubles here with either a good book or just closing my eyes and leaning up against the trees."

I smiled. I had a similar spot in Mirkwood where I would go in order to get away from my sister. While I loved her dearly, there were times where I needed space from her. That place was towards the top of the highest tree in Mirkwood. The sun didn't really shine often in the wood, so this was really the only place I could get to witness the power of the sun.

I turned a little to face him more, causing my braid to fall on the right side of my body.

"You have troubles, Mr. Baggins? I find that hard to believe coming from one of the most popular men in this town. As well as the nephew of the guest of honor for the evening."

He laughed at my comment and again I smiled at him.

It was so strange. I had never felt such joy or peace at being with another person before, not even my father and my sister or grandfather. I had known him for a few hours and yet I can't even contain my smile. I had lived so many years practically alone and isolated from any sense of feeling.

This was done to protect me from my eventual tragic fate. This was Lin's method of protecting us from Sauron's curse. It was easy to live my life that way because there was no other way to endure the pain.

But somehow the world seemed so much brighter and full of color. Today the world felt worth living in. It was different than life had been before coming here. The joy I had long forgotten enveloped me completely because of meeting Frodo. A Hobbit man that was unlike any person I had met in my entire life. A young man full of spirit and joy who lived his life fully from his heart, the complete opposite of someone like me.

I honestly don't think I have smiled more in my entire life than I have in just a few hours with this man.

How is that remotely possible?

"I assure you, my lady, my life, contrary to its outward appearance, is not as perfect as yours," he sighed. "Yes, I have a wonderful life here, but lately I have just been so worried about my uncle. He hasn't been the same lately and has been rather distant from me, as I said before. He's just been acting...well, rather odd. I want to try to help him and yet I don't know what I can do for him. I just feel so confused and also useless. I feel like my uncle is getting ready to leave."

I listened to him and once again remembered my Grandfather's words about Bilbo before we left Mirkwood and on the ride over here. Frodo couldn't know about the Ring of Power because if he did, he would never be the same again. I didn't want him to lose this wonderful and peaceful life that he had. I decided I would try my best to reassure him and try to lessen his worries in any way that I could.

"Frodo, I'm sure your uncle is just worried about his age, his party and of course, about you. He probably knows how worried you are about him and probably doesn't want to burden you with whatever concerns him. I would just try to be there for him as much as you probably are and I know that he will appreciate it. You have a gentle heart."

At these words, Frodo gave me a look of surprise, as if he hadn't expected me to say something like that to him.

Upon his surprised expression, I then realized what I was saying and how utterly ridiculous I must sound to him. What on earth was I doing? I just met the man a few hours ago and now I'm talking to him as if I knew better. I didn't know enough about the situation with his uncle to have the right to say anything.

What the hell was I doing? Trying to convince a man I have just met that his worries really shouldn't be there based on something my Grandfather told me about a man that I haven't even met yet? What in Middle Earth was I thinking?

"Forgive me. I shouldn't have..."

Frodo laughed. "No, I appreciate your kind words. Thank you."

I breathed out a sigh of relief that he didn't think me as completely foolish as I thought he had.

Why was I acting like this? Being nervous and cautious of everything I might say wasn't like me.

He laughed again and I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

But the look in his eyes and his expression held a look I had only seen men have towards my sister.

"I just feel as though I could tell you anything and yet I can't explain why." He laughed again. "Forgive me. I must sound quite foolish."

My heart raced at that comment. He felt the same way that I did? I felt so embarrassed at this knowledge. I was acting completely and utterly like a fool. If the King were here, he would be scolding me for behaving so unlike a Princess. And even worse, Lin would if she were here as well. She would probably say I was like a drunken dwarf that would spill all of his secrets with a second thought to his enemy. She probably would have been right in this situation.

What on earth was I doing? Talking so informally to a man that I met only hours ago?

Frodo must've seen my nervousness and thus, began to speak again.

"So in all of our conversations, you never told me why or how you convinced Gandalf to let you come on this journey to the Shire. You told me your sister wasn't very content on having you so far away from home."

I gently clenched my fists at the mention of my sister.

"Why? I had to get out of Mirkwood after being stuck there for hundreds of years. I needed time away from my overprotective sister, the latter of which didn't happen. And how? I made a convincing argument that my Grandfather couldn't argue with, to which he surrendered and permitted me to come along. My sister, who I really wanted to get away from, decided that she was coming with me to keep me out of trouble. But no matter how much I protested, she refused to relent and came with us. We rode up and met you and thus here we are. Finally away from my overprotective twin sister, at least for the time being."

He laughed at that last comment.

"Is your sister really that bad?" He asked.

Well...

"Well, not exactly. I know she means well, but she's a bit... overprotective and even more...overbearing at times."

We both ended up laughing at that.

"But you're lucky, though. I wish I had brothers and sisters."

His expression then turned rather sad, and he turned away from me his gaze focused on the horizon.

"My parents drowned in an accident when I was very young."

His sad story made me think of my mother's tragic end and how my father never got over her death, even over a century after she passed away. I looked away as well.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. I know the pain of losing a parent all too well."

He turned back to face me, but I couldn't look him in the eye at what I was about to say. I never knew my mother, but her death still impacted me as if I had been there to witness it for myself. I would always feel responsible for her leaving this world. Even though Father always told Lin and me that it was her sincere wish to give birth to us, it still didn't free me from my painful guilt.

It didn't change the fact that my mother died in order for me to live. I can't forgive myself for that no matter how many times my father tells me otherwise.

"My mother passed away after she gave birth to Lin and me. My sister and I never got to meet her.

All my sister and I have left of her are her bow and cloak that she gave to Father before she gave birth. She said she wanted us both to have something of hers to remember her by after she passed away."

Frodo looked back at me with a sympathetic look on his face.

"So that cloak you're wearing belongs to your mother, then?" he asked, pointing to my cloak.

My heart clenched in pain at this question of his. As much as I wish it was, it wasn't.

"No, sadly. This cloak belongs to my father. I actually haven't traveled in years, so he gave it to me before I left home. The cloak that my sister was wearing when you met her belonged to my mother. Lin isn't as accomplished at archery as I am, so my father allowed me to have my mother's bow. It was my mother's final wish that the daughter that took after father receives the bow. So, it was only fair Lin should receive my mother's cloak instead, you see." I smiled. "I don't mind of course, because I have a small part of my mother with me always."

I looked back at him.

"Even now my mother is here with me as I am thousands of miles and worlds away from my own home in search of adventure and unknown things beyond."

I smiled slightly, and he smiled back at me. He then changed the conversation.

"Well, since you're so determined to see the various parts of different cultures, why not come to the party tonight?" he asked. "I'm sure it'll add to your knowledge and research of how different and most likely better our parties are."

I looked at him very confused. Grandfather did tell him that he brought Lin and me for the sake of going to the party, right? I mean, that's how I managed to convince him to let me accompany him on this journey. If Grandfather didn't tell him, then certainly I did, right? What exactly was he getting at? I didn't know, which is why my next response to him was this:

"Frodo, you do realize that Grandfather brought me here for the sole purpose of coming to the party, right? I would've thought it obvious to you that I would be attending with my sister and him."

Frodo looked at me and then burst out laughing hysterically, just as he did with Grandfather earlier that day. I, on the other hand, did not comprehend what he was suggesting, and I started getting slightly irritated with his teasing.

"No, I don't think you understand."

Well, he wasn't wrong, but why is he teasing me like this? Get to the point, dear man!

"I was wondering if you would come to the party with me instead of your grandfather and sister. Think of it more as being my companion for the evening, rather than a guest on the sidelines. What do you say?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I honestly thought that he was going to laugh again and say that he was joking, but yet, that didn't happen. This offer of his was completely out of the blue and for me, quite unexpected because no man had ever asked a question like this to me.

Despite my sister's very obvious message of isolation, men and elves alike constantly asked for her hand in marriage. It was because of Lin's superiority in magic and because she was so powerful and headstrong. Although we were identical twins, she always seemed more beautiful and appealing than I ever could dream to be. I never considered myself on the same level of beauty as my sister, despite our identical appearance. That was another quality that made me a polar opposite to my sister: she was more beautiful than I was, despite the fact that we were identical twins. I tried so hard all of our lives to be as dashing, quick and beautiful as she was to all the others, but I always failed. As a result of all of the men chasing her, I felt quite lonely and very unwanted. Even though I had sworn a life of isolation like her, it still hurt very badly from time to time.

But in that very moment, he had made me feel like I was the most precious and most beautiful woman in the world.

"Of course! I'd be honored," I said in surprised joy. "I would be happy to accompany you."

He smiled wildly, and I smiled at him in return. I still had no idea what this weird feeling was inside me whenever I was with him. It was almost as if I could tell him everything and anything. I had known people back in Mirkwood for countless years, almost as long as centuries. Even with those countless years of knowing them, I never felt a fondness or a bond with any of them like I did with this man. What a paradox that I should feel so drawn to a person like him when I have only known him for such a short amount of time. Like I had known him for hundreds of years like he was an old friend that I was catching up with after so long. As he said earlier, I felt as though I could tell him anything but yet, I couldn't explain why I had this feeling. He reached up and grabbed one of my hands and smiled at me.

"Wonderful," he said, beaming. "I'm sure you will have a lovely time. We hobbits do know a thing or two about throwing a party!"

Now that made me smile and laugh uncontrollably and he laughed with me. This went on for a while and then we made eye contact again once we had managed to get ahold of ourselves.

"You know something?" he said with that same smile as when we introduced ourselves.

"No. What?" I asked.

Frodo squeezed my hand tightly and looked at me with genuine emotion before speaking again.

"I'm glad Gandalf didn't come alone to the Shire this time," he said. "He's wonderful to be with, but to tell you the truth, I haven't had this much enjoyment with another person for a very long time."

His words touched me. I could somehow fully feel his sincerity as he spoke. Nobody, outside my family, had ever spoken to me so sweetly and from the heart as he had. Even Lin never spoke that way to me and she was my twin sister.

Although I didn't expect that he had been feeling the same emotions as I had felt the whole time we had been together. I thought I had been almost mad to feel these emotions for another person or to feel so connected to them. I had only known a few hours, and I felt a bond that rivaled the one I shared with my sister.

How on earth was that possible?

"I feel the same," I said, smiling and squeezing his hand in return.

I got lost in those beautiful eyes again, and I just felt intense happiness, more than I had felt in years. I could not remember feeling this bright and content before the moment. I sealed myself from those feelings a long time ago. Ever since Lin and I found out about our tragic fate, we cut our ties to things like friendship and happiness. If we were going to die, then there was no point in maintaining such friendships or relationships. It would merely come to a slow and sad ending, as we were fated to do.

But looking into those dazzling and lively azure eyes confirmed that I had made the right decision by defying my sister and coming here.

I felt grateful for myself standing up to Grandfather and demanding that I come with him on this trip to the Shire. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have met this wonderful man that I continued to grow very fond of as the minutes went by as we were together.

Now, we were going to be together all night and that thought made me indescribably happy. I found myself wanting to be with him more and more and I wanted to know everything about him. I didn't care if Lin would be lecturing me later: I would be spending the night dancing away with my new friend and she could do nothing to stop me.

There was just one thing I didn't understand.

Why was my heart beating so fast as he held my hand or when he spoke or when he looked at me like that with that smile? I just searched my mind to try to figure out why only to come up short.

It wouldn't be for a while, and I do mean a long time before I realized why. But eventually, I would find out why I felt this way towards him and why he looked at me with such an expression.

He looked at me in a way that no one had ever looked at me before. There were such tenderness and care in his eyes. No one had ever done that before. The strangest thing was that I felt I was looking back at him with a very similar expression.

At the time, I didn't understand why.

But when I did, thus would begin the immense and painful struggle but also the beauty that our love would become.

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Kagomehater4ever