Anna’s mind was still whirling full tilt. She was cold. One did not usually feel cold in dreams; not even medication or concussion induced ones. Anna had not been the type to try drugs, but she had been high as a kite once when her appendix was removed. She remembered it had left her mother in shock when she came to visit and Anna had been so high on the anesthetic she had asked her mom flat out,
"Who are you?"
She was also very hungry. Dreams never left one feeling like this. This could not be real though.
Anna’s maternal Grandma had been Old World Irish. They had known each other only a short time before she had died, but Granny O ’ Keith had told her stories about women who fell backwards in time and met the Sidhe. In the stories, though it was always two hundred years into the past. The people she had seen here were definitely not dressed in two hundred-year-old styles. No, their clothes looked more like something someone would wear in Rome or Greece. Thousands of years before, not hundreds. It couldn’t possibly be real could it? It had to be a drug induced dream right? The problem was it felt way too real.
" All right, suppose it is all real just for the sake of argument." She was talking to herself again. It was a bad habit she indulged in whenever she was very upset."That means I’m where exactly? And that guy with the pointy ears: he would be what? One of the Sidhe?"
When Legolas returned she decided to ask him. Legolas was busy putting things into his saddlebag, so she tapped his arm to get his attention. She could see his curiousity reflected on his face in the firelight. She knew this wasn’t going be easy and she remembered what had happened earlier when she tried to get her point across. Old beardy had backhanded her. She took a couple steps back to get beyond arm’s length just in case.
" You sidhe?" She pointed at him. He shook his head 'no', pointed back to himself and said,
"Legolas." She tried to repeat the name, pointing at him, she said
"Lauka Los?"
His eyebrows crept up to his hairline and his mouth dropped open. He shook his head vehemently and spoke slowly as though he was talking to someone who is either deaf or not too bright.
"Legolas"
She tried again
"Luk Lisse?" Gimli, who had returned, and was laughing heartily at this exchange.
Legolas looked very embarrassed and Gimli’s laughing was obviously not helping matters. He gave Gimli a sharp look and then tried again. Pointing to himself he said very clearly.
"Legolas".
Then, without giving her time to repeat it, he in turn pointed to her and raised one brow in question. He did not look very amused. She had quite obviously gotten his name wrong and whatever she had said was very strange and humorous.
"I just hope I did not call him stupid or something."
She thought.
There was no sense in insulting someone who had treated her decently so far. She then pointed to herself and said,
"Anna"
This brought an even worse stream of guffaws from Gimli, who turned to Legolas, laughing so hard it had brought tears to his eyes Legolas turned and went to find Aragorn.
" What?" She asked.
"What did I say that was so darn funny?"
Gimli couldn’t understand exactly what she was saying, but her tone had had the desired effect. Still smiling, he made a slight bow as if in apology and went off to follow his friend. Anna now found herself alone with her thoughts. Things looked and smelled so real. The fire felt warm, the night felt cool and breezy , her arm was still bothering her, even the heather had that fresh grass after a rain smell. Anna had had some vivid dreams in her time, but nothing like this. No, as hard as it was to imagine, this had to be real, she decided. All right, she told herself, think. She began talking to herself again.
"If this is real then all those stories of granny O' keith’s must have a foot in reality. So, all I have to do is find my way back to the place where I fell into this reality and I will be back home right?"
She mulled this over in her mind . In the stories it was always the heroine that got lost in the land of the elves, then after some fantastic adventure or other they found their way back the same way they came in. Which way was that? She had been out cold for most of the ride here and even if she had been conscious finding her way was not her strong suit. Her husband used to tell her that he thought she could manage to get lost in a round ten by ten room with only one door. In granny's stories, of course, everyone understood each other.
"I can’t even ask where the bathroom is for pity sake", she mumbled. Her thoughts drove her to pace as she talked to herself.
"I really do need to go to the bathroom come to think of it." She headed out toward the trees thinking .
"I won’t go beyond earshot. so I should be able to find my way back".
Meanwhile, Legolas and Gimli had found Aragorn and were discussing what should be done with the woman. The ride to Minas Tirith would be long and full of unknown danger.
"She is strange and different from any mortal I have ever known." Legolas told Aragorn.
"How do you know this?" replied Aragorn
"Can you not feel it ? There is a strangeness that flows in her like water in a river."
Gimli decided to take this opportunity to tease his friend and added, " Maybe you just have trouble accepting gifts."
"Gifts?" asked Aragorn. "She tried to give you something Legolas?"
Gimli interrupted, "Oh yes , laddie ,First she tried giving him a new name, and when that did not work, she tried giving him herself.
Aragorn's brows shot up as he looked at Legolas.
"That was not exactly what happened," Legolas said as he explained the conversation of sorts which had taken place.
"She has an elvish name. There are very few Rohirrim who would give their child an elvish name, especially here in the north. You know that most men are reluctant to have any dealings with elves."
Aragorn nodded in agreement. Most of the men folk here were going to ride with them. Legolas, being an elf , was much more open to the idea of people acting and thinking differently than he did. Even after all the elves had done to help at the battle of the Hornburg, still the people gawked and stared and said little.
" Some of the folk from Lothlorien who survived will be riding with us , but a small group will be returning to the wood to bring news to the Lord and Lady. We will send her with them." Aragorn decided.
Though all roads now were dangerous , the one north would probably be the safest one for her to take. If Frodo succeeded in destroying the ring there would be time later to find her people; and if he did not , then no place in Middle Earth would be safe for any of them.
King Theoden wished to leave as soon as possible. This meant Aragorn and his friends would have little time to explain the situation to the elves. The three of them returned to the place they had last seen the young woman but she was not there. It was Legolas with his keen sight that spotted her first heading into the underbrush.
"She is there." Legolas pointed to the edge of the darkness that surrounded Dol Baran, and without waiting for the others to catch up he went to retrieve her.
"What is the matter with you Anna? It is dangerous to be wandering alone. If I had been an orc you would be dead, or worse you would wish you were."
Anna did not understand anything he said with the exception of her name, but she could tell he was upset about something. He sounded angry. Anna could not understand why he seemed so upset with her and his tone was making her defensive.
"I can't understand a damn word you are saying," she responded in an apt imitation of Legolas's tone. " Nature calls all right? I am going behind the bushes!" She pointed to
the thick line of underbrush at the edge of the camp.
Legolas grabbed her arm and shook his head no. He had had enough of this. If she were too foolish to understand the danger then he would just have to make her understand somehow. Legolas still had an iron grip on her arm and was pointing in the opposite direction from the cover she needed for her potty break.
"Look," she said, "I need to go! You understand go pee?" She pointed roughly toward the area between her legs, crossing them and hoping this guy would get the hint when she started dancing from one foot to another.
Gimli and Aragorn had caught up with them by now. Aragorn was a little surprised at Legolas but tried to calm the situation.
"Legolas, calm down my friend you are frightening her," Aragorn said.
" Good," replied the still angry elf, "perhaps her fear will keep her from being the target of an orcish arrow."
"She looks like she needs the privy " added Gimli.
Legolas glared at Gimli shocked then turned his gaze back to Anna. Yes, he thought, she had pointed between her legs and into the bushes and she was now dancing around like a young elfling with an overfull bladder. Legolas' mouth dropped open and his eyes grew wide as the realization of what Gimli had said hit him. All she wanted was to relieve herself and he had acted like a troll. Legolas felt his face grow hot with embarrassment as he relaxed his grip on her arm a bit. What is wrong with me? He wondered. It should not have taken a dwarf to tell me something so obvious. Legolas led her gently to the edge of the brush, pointed to the bushes and waited.
"Well, its about time you caught on" she said. "Not the brightest bulb in the pack are you?" Anna regretted her tone almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth but she was angry and he had hurt her arm. It was still sore from the crash and here he was hauling her around like she was a rag doll.
Legolas could hear the tone of sarcasm in her voice, which did nothing
to assuage his mood.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" He asked her, still staring open mouthed. She was getting good at guessing his tones too. With her forefinger pointed down, she put one had in the air and made a circular motion. Again Gimli jumped in before Legolas had a chance to respond and stated the obvious.
"I think she wants us to turn our backs and give her some privacy."
Legolas glared at Gimli and purposely made an about face. Gimli made him feel foolish, which angered him; he was upset with the girl for being such a distraction, and perhaps most of all he was angry with himself for not having understood a simple situation.
"What is wrong with me?" Legolas mentally questioned himself once again. For the second time that day Legolas frowned deeply, looking like a young mirror image of his father.
Anna finished what she was doing and returned from behind the bushes. They all heard her but waited until she spoke to turn around. Anna wanted to wash her hands and there was no way she was going to ask tall blonde and angry where the water was, so she directed her question to Gimli. Making a washing motion with her hands she asked, "Is there any water close by?"
Gimli knew or thought he knew what she wanted he motioned back toward where the horse were tethered, took a canteen off the saddle pack and motioned for her to hold out her hands. As she held them out he poured a bit of water over them.
"Thank you," she said and smiled a bit.
Meanwhile Aragorn was thinking that the sooner they entrusted her to the group from Lothlorien, the sooner they could get under way
"Come," said Aragorn. "Let us be on our way." Gimli rode with Legolas, Merry with Aragorn, and the girl rode with …omer. The six of them made good time from Dol Baran to the fords of Isen.
From time to time Legolas would pass a quick glance toward the woman to see how she was. She seemed to be ignoring him completely. When they reached the ford, a group of riders overtook them, the Dunedain and the sons of Elrond. Together they rode steadily from there to Helm's deep, arriving early in the morning.
Anna noticed that some of the group that had joined them also had pointed ears and were as unnaturally tall and handsome as legolas. This however is where their similarities ended. Legolas was blonde and very fair skinned these two were obviously twins; they had raven black hair and were somewhat darker complected than legolas. They also had the same musical tone to their voices. Every once and a while when Legolas's horse pulled ahead a bit Anna would steal a glance at him. She had caught him more than once out of the corner of her eye doing the same thing but he never spoke a word. Anna found herself comparing Legolas to the twins. All three were drop dead gorgeous and she began to wish she spoke enough of thier language to know them a little better. The twins were certainly being friendlier than tall blonde and stubborn was and Anna smiled broadly at them receiving large answering smiles in return. At least Anna thought these two did not seem apt to drag her around by her sore arm and yell at her. Still Anna found herself wishing she could straighten things out with Legolas and find out if he always acted like Mr. Grumpy pants or if he had just had a bad week?
Anna was exhausted, hungry and thirsty. She ached in muscles she had forgotten existed Anna had been on a horse before, but she had never ridden very well and she certainly had never had to ride days at a time. When she dismounted she could hardly walk and felt she must look like some weird parody from a cowboy movie. Her hair was a tangled matted mess and she felt a bit lightheaded. Aragorn motioned for her to follow him. He led her to where Merry Legolas and Gimli were already starting to enjoy breaking their fast with some of the folk from Helm's Deep.
Someone placed a wooden plate in her hand with what looked like a ladle and she looked for a place to sit. As soon as she sat down she stood right back up. Her rear ached from having ridden so long.
…omer recognized her 'affliction' and said, "It would seem the lady is unused to riding."
Legolas knew by Eomer's tone that he found the fact strange in the extreme and wanted an explanation. Everyone in the Riddermark knew how to ride almost before they knew how to walk. A grown woman who did not know how to ride stuck out like a warg at a festival.
"She is merely exhausted …omer. Doubtless her injuries make staying horsed
difficult." Legolas replied hoping this reasoning would satisfy him.
…omer looked pensive for a moment then let the subject drop. He had seen the elf glance furtively at his riding companion the entire way from Dol Baran to the Deep and while he was still curious about her, he was not going to interfere. It was quite plain that this elf considered the woman somehow under his protection.
While Anna ate she thought about everything that had happened over the last few days. All around here were obvious signs that a battle had been fought. Many of the males bore gaping wounds. Some of the wounded were little more than children. People seemed to be trying to carry on with life as normal, something her oldest used to describe in her letters from her time in the USMC as 'going into survival mode'. Thinking about her daughter again made Anna sigh
heavily. If they had fought a hand-to-hand battle with an enemy with only primitive knives and machetes then these people had escalated by leaps and bounds in her opinion. Anna had never actually been in a battle herself but she had been in Guatemala when guerilla warfare had driven the villagers into the jungles protecting their families not only
against forces with better arms but also against the elements in the jungle. It would also explain why her tall blonde friend had been so reluctant to let her go into the bush alone and unarmed.
War was no game. It gave no second chances. If one happened to run into an ambush a civilian could wind up just as dead as a warrior could. Standing for what one believed in at any time was difficult it was ten times harder when one knew it meant going up against a force with the barest of weapons. When your death might leave your family destitute and without protection, choosing to fight required a courage few men possessed.
Anna's thoughts were interrupted by Aragorn who had returned with a small group of elves carrying someone on a litter. Anna put down her plate and stared openly at the person on the litter. He was alive but was unconscious and sweating, and his skin, though pale, had the tell tale marks of fever. She could tell he must be someone they cared deeply about because of how gently he was being treated and how noises he made in the delirium of his fever affected everyone nearby. Even Legolas looked very sad. One of the group was changing a damp rag at his head periodically while another, probably the leader of the group, spoke with Aragorn. After a few seconds of this she couldn't take it any more. This was someone's son, maybe someone's husband, someone's father. Without thought she went to his side, took his hand in her own and started speaking soft reassuring words trying to comfort his delirium.
"It will be okay, you'll be fine, really. Hush now it's all right; you're safe now."
Legolas gasped when he saw Anna go to Haldir's side and take his hand. If he had been closer he would have stopped her. The small group of males were surprised by her action at first, but calmed quickly when they saw that her touch and soft voice seemed to have a calming effect on the March Warden. Legolas watched as Orophin agreed that the young woman would be taken to the Lady of the Wood If anyone could determine where she came from and how to return her to her people it would be Galadriel. Legolas found that unfamiliar emotions were warring within him. He knew that they could hardly carry an unarmed female into battle, but the thought of leaving her with Orophin and the elves of Lothlorien wrenched his heart. Seeing her holding hands with the March Warden and speaking tender tones of comfort to him when all she had spared for Legolas were angry mocking tones was enough to make him feel nauseated. Remembering the bright smile she had flashed at the sons of Elrond on the way here while she had totally ignored him made him wish that Elladan and Elrohir were anywhere but there at the moment. While Aragorn made Anna understand he wanted her to go with these people, Legolas turned his back on the scene. He did not know why but he could not bear to watch her leave in the company of Orophin and the others. Anna saw Legolas turn his back on her and thought, oh great he's not even going to bother saying good-bye. Well fine, if he can't be bothered then neither can I. Once Anna understood what Aragorn wanted she nodded her head to him in acceptance and patted him on the arm in farewell, she did the same to the twins being rewarded with Twin smiles for her efforts. Gimli received a light hug because of the group of them he had been so far the most helpful in making her understand in a kind way what was required of her. She frowned at Legolas's back shrugged her shoulders sighed and followed this New person whose name she learned was Orophin.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Translations:
Sidhe = The People : an old Gaelic term for elves.
Lauka = warm
Los = sleep
Luk = enchanted , magical
Lisse = honey
Anna = gift