Chapter 19: The Eternal Sky

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Merry here!

Ummm…. I think we made a very BIG mistake… I um, I kinda lost track of Ash and, well…
She's gone.
I don't know where she is, but she's gone and I've had to follow my own path. I'm sure Legolas and the others will find her, but I've got Frodo and Sam to think of now.
I can't let them go to Mordor alone… especially not with that damned Gollum.
Anyway…
If you DO hear from Ashley, tell her I'm going to kill her when I see her again. She's been such a pain!

Laters!

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'Where am I?'
There was a very annoying beeping sound that was slowly beginning to penetrate through the haze of unconsciousness. She knew she was elsewhere, she knew… somehow… that she was no longer in Middle-earth.
And yet…
This realization made her loath to wake up.
'I didn't want to leave… really…'
"But you had to. You don't belong there…"
'Who's there?'
Laughter came from above her and Ashley's eyes opened, only to find Amy starring down at her.
Her friend smiled, "I can't believe you've forgotten about me already."
Ash blinked in confusion, automatically trying to sit up.
Bad idea.
Pain coursed through her left shoulder, a ripping feel.
Then she noticed it…
The arrow was gone and, in it's place, a pristine white bandage.
"Lay down before you tear your stitches." Amy admonished angrily, though there was the hint of a teasing smile.
The woman shook her head, "What happened, Amy? Tell me!" she pleaded.
Her friend sighed. "Imagine our shock when you suddenly fell onto the sidewalk outside of Castle Dungeon… with an arrow sticking out of your shoulder!" Amy sighed, "Kenneth and Jessica called an ambulance while Mark and I just tried to keep you conscious… to no avail. You passed out cold."
"Did… Did I say anything?" the woman pressed.
Amy nodded, "Actually yeah… you kept saying you were sorry…"

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"It seems endless… doesn't it?"
Legolas smiled, glancing over to the woman as they talked.
The two were sitting outside, beneath a large oak tree, in Rivendell's gardens. It was perhaps one of the last warm days of October, before the winter set in... Before they left for Mordor… And they were spending it in peace and quiet, looking up at the sky and the clouds which slowly moved overhead.
"It does." The prince replied, his gaze returning to the heavens. "I wonder sometimes… what is beyond that blue hue."
Ashley laughed, "Well… space."
"Space?" Legolas turned to her in confusion.
"Yeah…" the woman began uneasily. "Space… it's where all of the stars are… Where the moon and the sun are."
The prince shook his head, "No, they are in the sky… not space."
She smiled, "Space is a name our people gave the place beyond the sky. At night, when the stars and the moon come out, there are other things above as well. Planets, which look simply like bright stars, but are really far away worlds…" Ashley laughed. "Our people have been to space. We fly there in a huge shuttle, which is like a dragon made of metal. We've been to the moon, walked on its surface… In space, you're weightless. It's the feeling you get when you're swimming… this sense of fluid movement, as if the limits of your body are no longer, well, limited… I couldn't do a back flip to save my life, but I can when in water… and I suppose I could if I were in space."
Legolas was silent for a long time as he contemplated this. "It is told that the stars were made from the dew of the white tree, Telperion… that Elbereth created the stars to give us light…" the Elf paused. "Is that not true?"
"I like that idea far better than the one I know…" Ashley replied with a sigh. "To my people, stars are simply suns that are very far away. Long ago, we believed that stars were the souls of the departed. Neither sound as lovely as the dew drops of this world, however."
The prince smiled, "You are full of strange knowledge, Nileregwen. Tell me, what then is the sun? The moon?"
Ashley sighed, "But I like your version better once more… The sun, being made by Aule to hold the radiance of the last fruit of Laurelin… a heavenly body which travels with the guidance of Arien. The moon, also crafted by Aule to hold the last flower of the great Telperion and guided by Tilion. The two chase after one another, never meeting, always circling…"
"But tell me, what are these things to your people?" Legolas pressed.
"The moon was once a part of the Earth, in theory, created due to the impact of a large meteor or something like that… A meteor is a rock which flies through space. The sun is a huge ball of burning hydrogen and other gasses, and is so hot you would melt before you could even come close to touching it." Ashley laughed slightly, "It's far less romantic and mysterious than the tale of the sun and moon from this world."
Legolas stood, his eyes still on the sky above, "Such a world where myth and legend do not live… it would be a sad existence."
"Iston…" Nil whispered. "There are few of us who study the stories of the past… science replaces all the old thoughts, the old ways…" she sighed, closing her eyes as she lay back upon the grass. "The eternal question of 'Who created us?' has become, 'How did the universe bring us into being?'. There are some however that still believe that humans were created by a divine power… yet now it's all about what cosmic event spurned the world into creating life in and of itself." The woman sighed once more. "But how does something create with nothing? It's never made any sense to me… why should it? It's not that I have a problem with science… without it there would be no cars or cd players or anything even remotely interesting… but…" Ashley opened her eyes, only to find Legolas watching her carefully. "But then… when I'm here… I can realize that science doesn't hold all the answers. Your lives are simple… and to be quite honest, I haven't had this much fun in ages… A simple life is something one can hardly live in my world."
The prince knelt down, his blue gaze locked on the woman's brown eyes. "Why not? Why can you not simply let go of all which smothers you and live a simple life?"
"Because, it's not the ideal life."
"Why must you live an ideal life?"
Ashley was silent, contemplating this. "The world tells you to rush, to make money, to go to school and become rich… to be famous… It says that if you do these things, you'll be happy. You'll be well off and you'll never have to worry about anything."
"But you worry anyway, do you not?" Legolas asked.
"Yeah… I worry about making it in the world… I worry if I'm good enough… If I can prove myself…"
"And yet, here… you do not worry?"
The woman laughed, "The only thing I worry about here is if I'm going to be of any help at all."
Legolas smiled and placed a hand on top of Ashley's head. "You have already proven yourself here, Nil…"

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"Hey, how're you feeling?"
Ashley looked up from the hospital bed she was sitting in. A smile came to her features as she caught sight of her friends in the doorway. But Amy saw that the smile did not reach her friend's eyes.
"I suppose I have you to thank for my return?"
Mark laughed, "Of course!" he said with a slight bow. "Actually, it was Jessica's idea. We got Danielle's messages… the ones about… well… you know…" he suddenly found himself elbowed in the ribs by Becca.
Ashley smiled slightly, "Thanks, perky goth."
"Oh! Your friends on campus have been looking for you, by the way." Kenneth put in. "Katie, Jon, and Stefanie… all three have called us countless times."
"We told them you moved to London." Mark added.
The woman sighed, "It's not that I don't appreciate it… but come on! Me? Move to London? Are you daft?" Ashley said… with a British accent.
This caused everyone in the room to look at her strangely for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

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I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved…

- "She Will Be Loved" (Maroon 5)

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TWO WEEKS LATER…

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"Concert tickets… for me?"
Amy nodded, "I had planned to give them to you and to Danielle also… but since she won't be here… It'll be myself, you, and Katie."
The woman flung herself at her friend, nearly tackling Amy to the ground. "Arigatou goazimasu!" Ashley shouted. "Front row Josh Groban tickets…" she let go, tilting her head as she stared at Amy. "Did I ever say I loved you?"
Her friend laughed, "Come on, we both know that only Danielle swings that way."
Ashley smiled, "Thanks though…"
"No problem. The concert's this weekend, at the Spencer Theater. I was amazed when…" Amy replied.
"No… not that…" Ashley spoke up as the two walked down Sudderth Drive, the main street of Ruidoso.
They passed the tourist stops, the tourists themselves, and simply walked in the warm sunshine. The smell of the pine trees was strong, for it had rained terribly the day before. The smell also held the promise of rain to come. Both knew that the sunshine would not last through the day.
She shook her head slightly, "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, I mean…"
Amy sighed and quickly pulled her friend into the Café Rio Pizzeria. "We're going to have fun today, Ash… And I'm going to get your mind off of everything that happened. Come on, pizza and root beers on me."
"Can't I just have a beer instead? It might make me feel better…" the woman half-heartedly joked.
Amy shook her head, "The alcohol will have to wait til tonight. I'm taking you out all day, just the two of us." She laughed, "You can get smashed later."
A small smile graced Ashley's expression. "Then I'll just have to wait til later then."
As the two ordered pizzas and root beers and sat down at one of the wall tables, Ashley found herself gazing around at the strange odds and ends which decorated the small café. She'd always found a couple of the guys who made the pizza's very attractive, but she hadn't ever thought of saying anything to them.
She was shy after all.
Suddenly, she felt as if her heart stopped.
'You're not shy at all…'
'You're just closed about your feelings…'
'If they were your friends, they'd know your feelings…'
'I know your feelings…'
"Ash, something wrong?" Amy asked, looking up from her root beer.
The woman shook her head, "No, I…"
"Ash?"
"I just think…" she locked her gaze with that of her friend. "I just think I made a terrible mistake!"
Amy shook her head, "What? You…"
"I have to go back!" Ashley shouted, standing from the table. "I have to!"
Before her friend could stop her, Ashley was running out of the restaurant and down the street.
Outside, the sun had been hidden by thick storm clouds, and as the thunder boomed overhead, a torrent of rain fell from the heavens.

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THE END...

(of Part II, that is…)

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Author's Notes:

NOTE:
Danielle doesn't really swing that way… it was just an old joke amongst us. I thought I'd clear that up before she kills me. Or takes away my Josh Groban ticket… I LOVE YOU MERRY!

NOTE 2:
All the locations involving Ruidoso are actual places. Café Rio is a freakin' awesome place to eat (on Sudderth Dr.) and the Spencer Theater really is a performance theater. Concerts and plays are held there. Sudderth Dr. is also the main street, on which almost all of Ruidoso's
tourist shops (many of them awesome like Misty Mountain or Candle Power) are located. If you go there, tell them you came because you read about the places in a fanfiction!

NOTE 3:
Moira has to do with the three Greek Fate goddesses (Klotho, Lakhesis, and Atropos). They dealt out the fate of every man (made his life thread, measured his life thread, then cut that thread when the time came). This note deals with the story title of the next installment (which you'll see the title at the end of this chapter).

NOTE 4:
I've got chapters for "Hiro Hyn Hidh Ab'Wanath" and for "Savior & Destroyer" almost finished... I've also got an update for "Barbossa's Revenge" almost done. I'm just working out the ending first, and doing some blocking for the final sword fight scenes. The S&D chapter will be the last for that story, but I will begin work on it's sequal (which I think I've titled "Revenge") as soon as I can. It'll be taking place in the future, with some old baddies back for more torment and angst. There aren't very many more updates for HHH left however, and once that story is over, I'll start working on "Nothrinraegoth" which isn't actually a part of that series, but it deals with Legolas' elder brother Morolas (but the main focus is, as always, on Legolas). So, if you liked Legede and Legolia, be ready to see them again in that story (yes, both Aragorn and Thranduil will be present as well). My main problem for writing Barbossa's Revenge has been trying to keep to my original storyline without delving into anything actually dealing with "Dead Man's Chest" (since I started this story like a couple days BEFORE the first POTC even came out... thanks to the wonderful reading of children's movie novels). My idea of Will and Bootstrap's relationship is completely different than the one which Rossio and Elliot came up with for DMC, so I'm trying to stick to my original idea. I actually patterened their relationship off of the relationship between Allen Schezar and his father from the anime, Tenkuu no Escaflowne (Vision of Escaflowne). Strangely enough, in the last few days I've learned that Balthier Bunansa (from the game Final Fantasy XII) and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (from the tv series LOST) both have similar father/son issues with their dads. Anyway, I'll try to start updating more often... just for you guys! I'll get up that short one-shot of LOTR "Secrets or... the Wisdom of a Six Year Old" (I think that was the title) as soon as I get a chance to at home.

Thanks for your continued support, and I'll see you all in the next installment!

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Disclaimer:
Refer to Chapter 1 for this.

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Review Responses:

Merry: So, this is more often than 6 months this time. You only had to wait like 2 and a half... But... Yeah, I'm totally pshyced for Spring Break, mellon nin! I can't wait for the Josh Groban concert. I'm glad to be going with someone who doesn't mind camping out to try and meet him. I wanted to last time, but I went with my mom and well... yeah... she didn't want to stick around and wait that long.

childoftheking: Yeah, it was a massive screenplay, but I made an A+ in the class! Woot! This semester I'm working on an adaption of the Yuu Watase Fushigi Yuugi novel, Shouryuuden (which is the Chichiri novel). It should be an equally long screenplay once more. We have 2 different semesters of Shakespeare, and I'm pretty sure that for an English major, we have to take both. The class is okay, but it's more for Theater majors than for English ones. We're doing a lot with stuff that has to do with performance rather than writing.

Update: You'll see more of the Hobbits side with the beginning of the next story. Merry and both Frodo and Sam will be the main focus for a bit. I've got a large portion of this story already planned out... I just have to start writing it. But with my ability to work on my stories at work, you should be seeing more updates more often.

Satiana: An Orc pulled her hair? I don't remember that... then again... I don't remember what I ate for breakfast the other day... I have a horrid memory (and the attention span of a goldfish). Legolas and Nil will eventually get the time to actually talk about what happened, but it won't be for a while (at least, I don't think it will be). Their relationship however has a lot to do with the third story (even more than in the first 2).

Reiko x 3: I pride myself on cliffhangers. I figure, other LOTR writers make me hang on cliffhangers... I should return the favour! But no worries, there are times when I'm in a bad mood and I write a chapter and you can actually see my bad mood appearing in the writing itself.

LOTR's lover-101: I'm glad you're enjoying it. Please, by all means, continue to read and review. Read some of my other works as well! You might like them (though they're not Mary-Sue-esque).

alfalfa: As I've previously stated, I'll always finish a story... it just may take a REALLY long time. I think the only stories that I'm debating stopping the updates of are "Fate", "In Pace Requiescate", and "The Fall of the Cards". Right now, those are the only stories I have that I've got absolutely NO inspiration to write. There's a few others too, but I haven't made any final decisions (except that "Fate" is now a one shot). I posted up a new one shot for "Haven" a while back, and I've got a Dragonlance story that I'm working on from time to time. You could read those if you're interested. There are no new LOTR stories (but I do have a one-shot called "Secrets" which I used for the Teitho Fanfic Contest that I'll be posting up soon on fanfic dot net).

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Muse Moments:

Nil sighs as she's sitting at the PC in one of the campus computer labs.
Work is, as usual, quite dull and boring on an early Sunday afternoon...
"Nil, what are you doing?"
She tilts backwards in her chair, her head going back to look up at the person behind her.
"Oh... hey Paris."
"What are you doing?"
The woman sighs, "I'm watching this computer screen..."
"Why?"
"Because I'm bored. I can't listen to music and..."
Paris gasps in shock, "But music... you are always listening to something."
"Yeah, I know... I like constant sound..."
"Unless your asleep."
Nil blushes slightly, "I forgot that you used to sleep on the chaise in my room... Anywho! I've no homework to do at the moment... I'm just bored."
"Ah... so you have begun to write story updates."
She nods, "Only for this story though. It's over... I get to start part III now."
Paris smirks, "Then I hate to inform you, Ashley... but... Legolas and Estel BOTH went to Juarez again."
The woman glares up at him, "Again? Why?"
"To celebrate you being gone over spring break."
She humphs, "And to think that I was going to let them run the house... Those little bastards..."
Paris laughs, "Oh come now, at least Thranduil is far away."
Nil pales, "Thranduil is with Merry... I'm going to see Merry over spring break..." she grows even paler. "He's going to kill me..."
"I do suppose he is still angry over your rescue of me before... which I still thank you for." Paris replies with a nod.
But Nil just stares blankly at the computer, shaking her head. "I... am so... dead..."

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Preview:

As Nil tries to figure out just how to return to Middle-earth, Vidlothiel and company find themselves in the midst of a very long trek to Mordor. Meanwhile, Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli begin their run across Rohan in search of the stolen Hobbits... and of Nileregwen herself. Thinking that the Orcs have taken Ashley with them, Legolas finds himself forced to examine his feelings for the woman, in the wake of Boromir's death and Nil's capture. Long sleepless nights await the prince... but there is evil stirring in Orthanc and in the depths of Barad-Dur itself. Can Ashley and Danielle change the fate of Middle-earth, or will the world of Elves and Men fall to the might of Sauron? If so, then Earth shall be forever changed as Sauron's might floods the world we know...

Taking place between the ending of "The Fellowship of the Ring" and through most of "The Two Towers", the Fate Series continues on it's way to deciding the outcome of two intertwined worlds...

The third story in this Fate Series is entitled,

"Moira Revealed"