PREVIOUSLY:"Aah," he said, pointing down-river. "We are close to our destination." You looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a lone boat make its may out into the river from a smaller stream and upriver towards your boat. There were four figures in the boat: two rowing, two standing. The shorter of the two standing figures was dressed in grey and had what looked like a longbow slung over their shoulder. You guessed that this was one of Celeborn's guards. The other figure looked strangely familiar, even from such a distance. They were wearing a white cloak and had a staff with them. You squinted in the sunlight, trying to decipher who this figure was, when all of a sudden they waved, and you could see them more clearly.
"GANDALF!!"
What possible purpose can Gandalf have? (Me: You'll see!!!)
The boat from Lorien quickly rowed up to the King and Queen's boat, and you saw Gandalf and the guard get off and consult with the royal family. After a few minutes' conference, Gandalf and the guard got back on their boat and the boat headed toward the little tributary that led to Lorien.
Your heart beat quickly with excitement. You were so close... close to your home for the next little while, close to discovering the source of your dreams, close to finding out whether Legolas and Elrohir were alright or not... you couldn't wait until you reached the forest.
You, your mother, and Merenwen began to pack up while your father and a few other male Elves rowed toward the tributary. Soon your fleet rounded the bend in the river and there, waiting for all of you, was an even bigger fleet of Elven boats, rowed by Elves in the clothing of the Galadhrim, the Tree-Elves that inhabited Lorien. Ropes were thrown in between all of your boats and soon, as one giant mass, all the fleet rowed up the Nimrodel towards the heart of Lorien. You and Merenwen sat in awe as the mallorn trees became more abundant and taller.
Neither of you said anything at all, but glanced at the forest around you. As you went deeper, the air became more familiar, and you couldn't place it... but then you realized, you were back in a forest! This reminded you of home.
Oh, how I miss Mirkwood! you thought, still holding Merenwens hand. And to think, when I became a lady-in-waiting, I thought that was to be the biggest trial of my life... how wrong I was. I just hope that we can stop Caradien and her army so we can go home...
...keep going!
After an hour or so, the boats finally docked on the right bank of the river and your family stepped out and towards Gandalf and the three guards, who were leading the group to the heart of Lorien.
"Attention, everyone!" Gandalf called. You were most anxious to notice his mood... did he seem like he was grieving? Celebrating? For you knew he was a participant in the battle at Rivendell some days ago, and you wanted to know the outcome so badly. But Gandalf's soothing voice did not betray any emotion except comfort for all the weary travelers in front of him.
"Attention, please!" he called again, and everyone quieted down. "Thank you!" he said.
"Well," he continued, "I welcome you to Lothlorien on behalf of Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel, who had some pressing business to attend to at their home and could not come to welcome you. They wished me to say that you are safe here and that they will do all in their power to help those of Rivendell and those of Mirkwood to fight the threat of Caradien and her orc army. If you will please follow Haldir" (the guard) "and myself to the dwellings, we will get you all settled. Please do not worry about your luggage; it will be taken care of soon." [A/n: Haldir does not die in the books at the Battle of Helm's Deep.]
With that he turned and began to walk deeper into the forest, and all followed him, including you and your family.
You didn't notice who was walking behind you until you heard Merenwen say, "Arien! Oh, Im so glad were here!"
"So am I, Miss Merenwen," Arien said, falling into step beside you and your sister. Then he said, "Nessa, would you care to walk with me so we can speak to the Lord and Lady as soon as we can?"
"Yes, Master Arien, I'd like that very much," you said. You gave your mother a quick hug, waved to Merenwen, and followed Arien towards the front of the group.
The two of you walked in silence for quite some time, until you began to notice an abundance of flets in the trees. You also noticed that Arien seemed more relaxed than he had in the past few weeks.
"Happy to be home?" you asked him, knowing what his answer would be.
"Happy, dear Nessa, is an understatement." With that, the two of you looked ahead, and both stopped: you in wonderment, Arien in utter joy.
"Caras Galadhon, home of the Lord and Lady," Arien said.
huh? (Me: pictures below!)
You looked around in awe. The mallorn trees had grown to an astonishing height here, giving the forest the atmosphere of a large hall, larger than you had ever been in before. Winding staircases were built around the trees that led to a mass of interconnected flets high above your head. Though the sunlight was fading, thousands upon thousands of candles were lit all around you. This place was beautiful. You knew that you had been here a few times before, when you were younger, but you never remembered feeling such wonder upon arrival.
Perhaps, you thought, it is because I know that we are safe.
As the group behind you dispersed, Arien led you to one of the larger staircases.
"This is the way to meet Galadriel and Celeborn," he said simply. You followed him up, up, up, until it seemed like you could climb no longer. There was a bridge in front of you, and, on the other side of the bridge, there was a huge flet that looked almost like a palace high in the mallorn tree. You knew this was the dwelling place of the Lord and Lady of the Wood.
oooh! PICTURES! (?ME: aren't they pretty?)
Silently you followed Arien across the bridge and entered the palatial flet. The room you came into looked like a throne room, with two ornate chairs at the far end. Two people were in those chairs, two tall and stately people who, when they saw you, came towards you and Arien. As they reached you, you curtsied, but a hand pulled you up, one that was soft and delicate.
"No relative of mine must curtsy in front of me," you heard Galadriel say. You looked at her and saw that she had a warm smile on her face, and she pulled you into an embrace. You looked over to see Arien and his brother Celeborn, long separated, also embracing. When they pulled apart, Celeborn warmly shook your hand.
"Welcome to our home, Nessa. We are glad you are here," he said, smiling.
"Yes," Galadriel added, "our home is yours. And we have much to discuss. Please, follow me."
With that she turned and walked toward a doorway to the left of the thrones on the far side of the room. You, Celeborn, and Arien followed her, with Arien and Celeborn talking quietly. You assumed they were updating each other on the war situation until you heard your name and the word "mirror" slip out. You moved a little closer to hear better, but by that time you had reached the doorway, and so you walked through it and found yourself in a small room that had an open window looking upon the forest. There were five chairs in the room, but there were only four of you... You decided to think nothing of it and sat down next to Arien, facing Galadriel.
"Well, Nessa, Arien has informed us of the dreams you have had lately," Galadriel began, looking at you shrewdly. "I understand that they have been highly upsetting, and I am sorry that we have not been able to help you sooner. However, the fact that these dreams have manifested themselves so late is rather a surprise to us."
"What do you mean, Galadriel?" you asked.
"Well, Nessa, in our family runs a line of foretelling... we are able to see into the future with the help of a certain object. You know of my Mirror, I am sure?"
You nodded, still wondering... did you have a Mirror gift as well?
"Also, as you might have guessed, the Mirror blood runs in my husband's family- Arien told us that you saw his Mirror in Mirkwood."
You found a voice this time. "Yes, Galadriel."
Galadriel continued, "We saw some time ago that this gift would be discovered in a child of my cousin's, a child that would have hair the color of the earth and eyes the color of honey. That child is you, Nessa. However, the gift being passed on depended on many things- my cousin, your mother, marrying the right man, for one. Thankfully, this vision we saw came true and you were born. Unfortunately, the visions we saw did not tell us that your gift would come so late in your life, but we feel that the traumatic circumstances of the past weeks have stirred the magic in you and woken your gift. All you must do now is choose to accept it, let us siphon your dreams into the water of the Nimrodel, and take it with you back to your home. You can then establish your own mirror, which will help you communicate with all others with the gift."
You were speechless in shock, and yet it was not an angry shock... finally you would be able to end the horrible dreams.
"I'm ready, Galadriel," you said, standing up. "Let's do it now."
REST IN RESULTS!
About an hour later you arrived back in the meeting room, fairly exhausted. The siphoning process had been tiring, but worth it... you now carried with you a vial of Nimrodel water mixed with your powers, and you would create your own Mirror when you arrived back in Mirkwood.
"Well, Nessa?" said Arien. "How do you feel?"
"Tired," you admitted, "but satisfied. And..." you hesitated.
"Ready for news?" Galadriel asked, a small smile on her face.
"Yes!" you said, your tiredness melting away. You wanted to know so badly the outcome of the battle... now you could find out how your friends had fared.
Celeborn rang a small bell and Gandalf entered almost instantly. You got up and shook his hand, then sat down. (Now you understood the presence of the fifth chair.)
"Well," began Gandalf, "let me begin with good news- our army of Elves and a few men has won the battle. Caradien's army is completely decimated and the army escaped with relatively few injuries. Caradien, however, is nowhere to be found, but our leaders aren't too worried- without a strong force behind her, she is powerless to do any harm to our people."
Your body surged with relief. Then you thought of your friends... and looked at Gandalf. He would not meet your eye, however, but studied his hands as he continued to speak.
"Young master Elrohir has escaped unscathed, and fought very bravely." Gandalf paused a moment, and your heart sank... what about Legolas?
Gandalf looked you in the eye, and then took a deep breath.
That's it for now... aren't I evil? Rate and message, and SOMEONE SEND ME BANNERS PLEASE!!! The next part should be out soon, I hope... :)
