Love Across the Ages

Translations of Sindarin:
Melathamin = "My Love"
Meleth - "Love"
Melethrilamin - "My Lover"
hervess nin - "My Wife"

Chapter 2

They travelled for a day, yet it seemed shorter, Joanna felt peace and happiness, how could one not when one is surrounded by elves, whose light and laughter were the very essence of joy? The darkness of all time was dispelled by such a race. In Joanna's own time such light was gone. Her thoughts turned bitter, it was a sad day when the elves departed to the West.

"And Glorfindel would, or rather will be one of them." She did not know where that thought came from, but it saddened her. Why it saddened her, she didn't know.

They approached massive walls, and Joanna sucked in her breath at the beauty of the carvings upon it, Rivendell. Again, Tolkien had not done it justice, she doubted anyone could with words. The sheer magnificence stopped her breath, and then the gates opened and they walked through.

It was heaven; it was like no place on earth. Joanna felt tears block her throat, and form hard behind her eyes. Oh why had none of this existed in her world, to remind men of what was beautiful in life?

She could not contain a sniffle and reached up surreptitiously, to wipe her nose, wishing for a tissue.

Glorfindel, next to her, looked at her curiously and with a gentle insight handed her a handkerchief. She held it to her nose and looked at him. He smiled at her, and the very beauty of his smile, and the understanding in his gaze, undid her, as nothing else would have. She choked.

"God Glorfindel, it's so... oh god it's so beautiful. What have we lost?"

She blew her nose regretting that she had to soil the beautiful linen of the handkerchief. She balled it in her fist and steeled herself. She would not show weakness, she would not appear before the Master of Rivendell with a red nose and swollen eyes.

The city was in eternal autumn, leaves fell softly to the ground, and the scent of flowers perfumed the air. There was an air of tranquillity, peace and joy, but also a peculiar regret. It filled her, and she was loathe to keep hold of her resentment, feeling it drain from her.

Then a tall man in a purple robe approached, his dark hair held back by a simple band. He moved with authority and grace, his face chiselled, yet calm. His eyes were wise, and ancient. Joanna had no choice but to drop her gaze before that of Elrond, Master of Rivendell, for he could be none other.

"Jehanna, you are welcome to Rivendell. We have much to speak of, do we not Mithrandir?"

Joanna lifted her head and turned her gaze to a tall man beside Elrond. Impossibly tall, but his face reassured her, it was old, craggy, but it had wisdom stamped on it. It had to be Mithrandir or as was more commonly used, Gandalf.

"This is indeed an interesting turn of events Elrond. I must take Joanna aside and talk to her. It is unheard of, it is… amazing." The wizard said, his eyes alight with interest and curiosity.

Elrond nodded and then turned to Glorfindel. "We must talk warden." His eyes were troubled.

Glorfindel nodded and turned to Joanna. "Go with Mithrandir, for he is the one you need to speak too. I shall come to you later."

Joanna nodded, looking at the elf before her. His gaze was disturbed and he seemed preoccupied. Something had passed between Elrond and he. Joanna stilled her curiosity and turned to Mithrandir, who held out a weathered hand toward her.

"Come Joanna. We need to talk."

She wondered how the wizard knew to say her name as she did, and not as the elves pronounced it. Damn she hoped he would have answers, for the elves seemed completely at a loss.

The wizard led her to a stone bench and sat her down. She stared at him as he pulled a pipe, filling it thoughtfully and then sat next to her, sucking on the long stem with a distant gaze.

"Well now, this is a turn of events my girl. I had never thought to see it happen again."

"Again?" Joanna was startled

"Yes, the last time we had a visitor from the far future was a good few years ago now.

Joanna looked at him in wonder. "Tolkien?"

"Aye indeed. Tolkien." The wizard puffed thoughtfully, then looked at her from beneath beetled brows. "How did you end up here?"

"I don’t know. I… one minute I was sparring and the b… ahh the man I was sparring with was giving me a hiding." She touched her head and winced, though it no longer hurt. His gaze studied her but he stayed silent, listening. "And the next minute I am waking up at Glorfindel's camp site."

"Interesting. Tell me about your parents, your family."

"What has that to do with anything?" Joanna asked sharply.

"It has much to do with everything."

"I don’t know about them. I was adopted." She said it shortly. "Obviously I was not wanted, so I never bothered to find out about them."

"I see." Suddenly he leaned forward and peered into her eyes, then reaching up to take her hand, studied it minutely. She frowned and would have pulled away, but he held her with a stronger grip then expected. Finally, he sat back and his eyes were speculative as he looked at her.

"You carry the trace of them."

"What?" She asked blankly.

"You carry elvish blood Joanna." And he began to point out tiny similarities, the length of her fingers, the way her ears turned up with the barest hint of points. She blushed, she had always hated her ears. He pointed out her fine features and arched eyebrows that she had never had to pluck.

"And finally, you have rarely tripped or fallen have you Joanna? And are you not proficient at hand eye coordination activities?"

"Yes. But that hardly means…"

"And have you always had the feeling that there is something more? Do you love the land and nature? Do you sometimes fancy you can feel it?"

Joanna stopped and stared at him. Then she burst out. "But this world is not my world!"

"But it is Joanna. It is."

She felt dizzy and clutched the bench. "No, it would be in our history. Nothing in the books tell of elves, it is all fantasy and myth. I mean I sort of suspected, and I had read that some theorised it is, oh I don’t know."

"What do you think history is?" The wizard's eyes were amused as he regarded her over his pipe. He removed it from his mouth and continued. "Tolkien came to this world Joanna. He was a regular visitor, and he moved through time. Yes he saw events unfold, both now, in the future and the past. It is complicated and I do not fully understand it myself. Only one with foresight can have any inkling of how this might be, and mine is negligible at best. I also suspect that he was of Istari descent. Not all the elves will go west, and some peredhel will chose a mortal life. I cannot say more, I do not know more, but I am certain you are one of the descendants of those whom stayed. Your blood has been diluted, but it is there nevertheless.

"I am nothing like these beautiful beings!" Joanna's voice was trembling.

"You have rarely been ill have you Joanna? Growing up, you seemed resistant to many of the diseases other children had? You did not injure yourself when you fell? How old are you?"

"Twenty nine."

"And yet you look twenty."

"That is different, lots of people look younger than their age. It's called moisturiser and cosmetics and face-lifts. I am fit, I …."

"It is the elvish magic in your blood that opened the gate to this world, that called to your distant kindred in a time of need. It pulled you here, though only the Valar know why." He shook his head gently. "Now, our main concern is to get you back. For you have arrived in dangerous times, and to be frank, I cannot devote the time to your safety. I have other obligations away from Rivendell. We must find a way immediately to send you back, failing that, you must stay here until we find a resolution."

"I don’t need to be babysat." Joanna snapped. "And…" She hesitated not sure how to say she was not sure if she wanted to go back. Her thoughts turned to the beautiful blond elf that even now was in council with Elrond and confusion again reigned. She did not think she wanted to leave just yet. She wanted to know more, she wanted to see, and she wanted… she stopped unable to finish that thought.

"I am sorry, but you cannot stay here Joanna." Joanna started and looked at the two approaching elves. Elrond was the one who spoke, with a peculiar regret. "You must return. Danger walks close, and soon there will be companions arriving." She sat up straight and looked at the Master of Rivendell and beside him stood Glorfindel, looking solemn and grim. Her eyes fixed on the golden lord's features and she felt a sharp stab of pain. His own eyes were without expression, she could tell nothing of his thoughts, yet she fancied she saw a hint of pain, fiercely hidden.

Then as suddenly his head lifted up, and Glorfindel gasped, his gaze wide and unseeing. "I must go."

Elrond nodded his face too filled with consternation. "Go now, he cannot fall into their hands. IT must not!"

And then Glorfindel was gone. She heard the beating of hooves and saw a flash of white arrow out the gates.

"Where is he going?" She felt a sharp stab of fear for the elf, her heart leaping hard in her chest.

"He goes to save the Ringbearer." Elrond nodded to her and turned, walking away as if deep in thought.

Joanna's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to exclaim but Mithrandir's hand fell on her arm. "You must say nothing." He said softly. "You can say nothing. You must allow events to follow their path."

"I… " Joanna bit her lip and stared at the wizard.

"So now you see why you must return Joanna. You cannot stay here, it is too dangerous for everyone." Mithrandir repeated.

"Then how?" She whispered in defeat, feeling a sudden loss. She was not sure if it was that she had to leave this beautiful place to return to her own, mundane existence, or the fact that she would no longer look on the beautiful, arrogant, insufferable golden being that had come to her aid.

She was worse than a little girl with a crush. She bit her lip. "What must I do?"

"We will need Glorfindel's aid, and that of the elves. I believe fear and panic ignited your magical response to escape, but I do not think we can recreate that. We need someone with powerful magic, and the Lord of the House of the Golden Flower will be enough, for he was there, mayhap his presence also enabled you to gate, for where he moves, power truly does gather."

Joanna nodded and swallowed. "Will I be returned back to the point at which I left?"

Mithrandir nodded.

"Great, so I will continue to have my ass kicked by that bas… by Richard."

"We will see what we can do about that." His eyes twinkled.

Joanna couldn't suppress a grin. "Imagine his face if Glorfindel appears beside me and gives him a walloping?"

"I do not think that Glorfindel would be averse to doing that somehow Joanna. But it may not be in the way you expect."

She looked at him sharply and her heart leapt into her throat. But he was gazing out at the distance with a small frown on his brow. "I don’t think he would mind doing that at all."

Joanna swallowed, her heart in her throat and her pulse raced. She turned her eyes toward the direction she saw the elf leave, and wondered. She knew what was to happen, but it did not stop her fearing that perhaps Tolkien had taken liberty with events. The nine were formidable and they had all the power of the dark behind them. Glorfindel, though powerful, was just a lone elf.

She gnawed her lip, feeling overwhelmed and helpless. The wizard was right, what could she do here, besides distract them all from their task? Or let slip her knowledge of events and then, somehow with such a slip, change the outcome? Perhaps even change something so subtle, but enough that Sauron would win? With a heavy heart she turned to the wizard who watched her with an understanding and sympathetic gaze.

"Very well. I guess we had better go as soon as is possible."

"Yes, if all things go well, a council will be held, they cannot be diverted from the task at hand. So you see, it has to be this way Joanna. But still, you will have some days to rest here. I should imagine it will take time for Glorfindel to find Frodo and his companions." The wizard's face was worried. Joanna bit her tongue on the verge of saying something. She knew how long. Nine days. And then, that would be it. Unless there were delays. Then a thought occurred to her.

"But doesn't Glorfindel sit in council meetings? You said we will need him." A few more days then. She thought. But how could she be so confused over a man, who was not even a man? Hell, he wasn't human. And, she had only met him a few days ago. Yet now, she longed to see him. And also, she would now have to bear the brunt of knowing how much beauty there could be, or had been in her world, and yet return to her mundane existence, as if nothing had ever happened to change her life.

"It shall not be for some days yet Joanna. I do not know when Glorfindel will return, or in what manner."

Joanna sighed and nodded. Her stomach rumbled. And she pressed her hands against her stomach. It seemed paltry, but other urgent needs arose.

"Ahh… Mithrandir? Where do I go if I need to go to the loo?"

"The what?" The wizard looked perplexed.

'The.. ahh…" Joanna searched her mind for an archaic word. "The privy?"

"Oh! Ahh yes." He cleared his throat and showed her where to go, his face slightly pink. When she had returned he said. "They will be serving dinner soon Joanna. I believe they have a room for you, I will take you there so that you might wash and freshen up."

"Thanks. I need it."

Mithrandir gave a slight smile and guided her towards a distant building that was as stunningly worked and carved as the rest of the city.

She discovered another dress laid upon the bed. It was worked even more elaborately and she realised it was more a court dress, rather than the travelling dress she now wore. She sat on the bed and fingered the material wonderingly, then bit her lip in regret. She wanted Glorfindel to see her in this new finery, but he would not. The elf was out there in the wilds, possibly facing nine black riders and death, no matter what the professor wrote, and well, she did not know why she should feel like this, or why the mere thought of that elf should make her pulse jump hard against her skin.

She let the fabric fall to her lap and stared out at the beautiful landscape, not really seeing it, but only a handsome face that tugged unfamiliar chords of feeling within her.

She shrugged then. Why was she so worried? Goodness, she was in a world most people dreamed of, with an adventure that no one would believe, and she was worried by the fact that a pretty elf was not able to see her in a dress?

"Way to go Joanna, for shallowness and stupidity."

She shrugged and stood up looking around for where she might bathe. There was the sound of water in the next room and she went toward the sound curiously. She gave a deep sigh of bliss when she saw a living pool of water, fed by underground springs. She stripped dreamily and stepped in sighing at the feel of silken water flowing over her skin with a slinky caress. She lay back and smiled, enjoying the rare opportunity to relax.

Then she opened her eyes in sudden surprise. Why was she not feeling the temperature? She brought her hand up to her forehead, it was dry, no sweat. But she could see the steam rising from the surface of the pool. By all rights she should be sweating. She swallowed, feeling trepidation rise.

Oh god, what if Mithrandir was right? Bloody hell, this was surely not happening, it couldn't possibly be true. This was way too weird.

She climbed out hurriedly, looking back at the pool as if it were something dangerous and then donned the finery. Standing still a moment she looked around then found a brush. Undoing her hair, she combed it out, letting it fall straight to her shoulders. She would have liked to braid it the way she had seen several elves do, but it was beyond her skill. She had never been one to play with her hair in styles, and she had no sisters to do it for her.

She sighed and then put the brush down, deciding to leave her hair as is. She sat back down on the bed, at a loss as to what to do next.

The polite knocking on her door saved her however. She called permission to enter and stared at the two, identical dark haired elves who entered. They were smiling, and their eyes were alike in warmth and humour. By the stamp of the Master of Rivendell's features on their face, she surmised they were the twin sons of Elrond.

"Greetings Jehanna. Father asked us to meet you and escort you to dinner."

She could not help staring, then wenched her eyes away, unable to escape the sudden familiarity of them. Especially the one on the right, who was also wearing the traces of a puzzled frown as he cocked his head and looked at her.

The other bowed. "I am Elrohir, and this is my brother Elladan. We are the sons of Elrond. It is a pleasure to meet you Jehanna, and I have to admit, you are of great curiosity to us."

"Thanks, I think." She said and smiled, aware of how flat her vowels and speech sounded. Then she blushed, as her stomach growled loudly.

"You have a strange accent, but it is interesting." Elladan said. He smiled and bowed too, a mirror image of his brother. "Come, we will take you to dinner Jehanna."

"Thank you." She stood up and moved forward, liking the way the fabric of her dress swirled around her ankles, yet was not too heavy that it felt cumbersome on her frame.

Then she stopped as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, her eyes widened. "Is that me?" She blurted, then flushed, feeling foolish, but unable to tear her eyes away from what she saw.

She looked so different. Her eyes appeared larger, and against the elegant lines of the dress, her skin looked so much paler, and her hair, it seemed richer somehow, and it fell softly to her shoulder blades. She raised her hands to the planes of her face, was it slimmer? Her cheekbones more pronounced? Had her eyes always been that rich brown? Hardly Elvish, but she reached up and tucked her hair behind her ears. Here, in this dress, in this place, she looked at her ears. They did have the suggestion of tips. Her hands caught her gaze, she did have long fingers, and they did move with a certain grace that she had never noticed before. Somehow being here made her acutely conscious of all her body movements. She was tall too, the dress only enhanced her height.

She let her hand fall again and turned to the two brothers, her eyes wide. They stood watching her in surprise and curiosity at her behaviour.

"Is something wrong Jehanna?" Elrohir asked.

"No. I…" She could not put her feelings into words.

"You are truly beautiful Jehanna." Elladan smiled at her, and she could not help but smile back at his unspoken understanding. She liked him. He held out his arm. She took it bemusedly and they escorted her from the room.

********************************

When Joanna had read Frodo's and Bilbo's accounts of supping at Rivendell, she had visualised it, she had heard the music in her mind, the joyous laughter that a room full of elves could produce, but she could have never described the reality of such an event. It was like one of those dreams, where one floated through a fairyland of light. It ached her heart to think that such as this would eventually disappear, and the earth would be poorer for it. Perhaps if the elves had stayed, then humanity would have been less inclined to fall to the dark ages. Perhaps humanity would have been less inclined to war and famine, perhaps the elves would have reminded humans of what was good, but then again, perhaps they would have been slaughtered out of envy, greed and blind ignorance by those they would be trying to serve.

The building where they ate was light and airy, a cool breeze fluttered through the pillars, the water was sweet and clear, flowing down one's throat with refreshing lightness and warmth. With every sip of the brew she felt refreshed, warmed and tranquil. The food was of fruit, small skewers of flavoursome meat and all manner of roots, yet it filled her as few meals had, but without the bloated feel one would have gained from a large plate. And then, as they sat upon soft pillows, she felt tiredness overwhelm her as music played and soft Elvish voices lifted up in both joyous and poignant ballads. Sindarin flowed through her, wrapping her mind with teasing familiarity, she felt that if she listened hard enough, she could almost understand what the words meant. Elladan and Elrohir sat beside her, and Elladan was translating the words softly, in a singing voice that lulled her as much as the musicians.

Then his voice stopped and she opened her eyes suddenly as another presence sat down beside them.

"My Lord Elrond!" She stuttered and sat up straight with wide eyes. But he was genial, and smiled at her gently, his face seemed less stern, though the signs of worry were still evident.

"Hello Jehanna. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"I have no words to describe how wonderful it is here. If only we had such in my time, your people are a race that could even now teach us much, the earth was darker, when you le…" She stopped.

"When we left. Yes." Elrond said softly, a note of regret in his voice. "But we know that the time of men is coming, even now our power wanes. In the height of our age, this place would be an eternal summer, yet now it is eternal autumn. But all things must pass, even elves."

"But not all will leave." She said softly and looked at him.

"No. Not all will leave." Elrond's voice was sad and Jehanna bit her lip, remembering that his daughter would stay, as would his sons beside her. She held her tongue, on the verge of saying such. He looked at her though, and she saw the knowledge in his eyes.

"Yes, some will stay and some will marry mortals, which is where you come in Jehanna. There is no doubt you carry our blood within you."

"I… " Jehanna swallowed and slid her eyes to the twins who were listening intently, but seemed to show no surprise.

"I know Mithrandir said so…"

"You do. And if you will permit, I would like to test you, and perform a small form of magic so that we may ascertain from whom your lineage descends."

Joanna swallowed and her eyes widened. "You can do that without DNA Testing?"

"DNA testing?" Elrond's brow frowned in puzzlement.

"It's a form of testing now done in my world, where blood is taken and studied, the make up of it, of us all are by genes in a chained molecule. The structure of such chains, which can be examined with the aid of a lens that focuses and magnifies the tiniest particle a thousand and more times, can be compared to another's blood and if they match, then paternity or maternity is determined."

"It sounds wondrous magic."

"It is not magic, it is science. The science of machinery and tools."

"To us, to those of this world it would appear as magic, as much as our ways would appear magical to you Jehanna. But, the test is of similar principle to an extent, yet we do not draw blood. We study the particles that make us as we are, melding it with spirit and the memory of our deepest consciousness.

"Oh." Joanna didn’t wish to reveal her ignorance and admit that she had no idea what he meant, but suddenly she felt the desire to know. She looked at Elrond who was watching her. "I will take the test."

The Lord of Rivendell smiled then and nodded. "You should rest soon, it has been a long day. We shall do such things in the morning."

Joanna nodded and swallowed suddenly nervous, but then a hand squeezed hers and she looked at Elladan gratefully. The elf's eyes were warm. "It does not hurt Jehanna."

"I did not think it would Elladan." She replied.

He nodded, squeezed her hand again lightly and stood. "Do you wish to retire now?"

Joanna fought a yawn but nodded. He smiled and escorted her back to her quarters, leaving Elrohir deep in discussion with his father.

"Goodnight Jehanna, may the Valar watch over you."

"Thank you." Joanna smiled at Elladan and entered her room, closing the door behind her. She stumbled to the bed, amazed at the exhaustion that enveloped her. She barely managed to slide the dress off before she fell onto the soft divan, sinking into a deep sleep.

The next morning, it was the sweet sound of birds, and the musical flow of Sindarin, that heralded Joanna's walking. Yet she was awake, suddenly completely, but without that sudden alarm that usually accompanied abrupt awakenings. It was a beautiful feeling and she smiled, feeling at peace as a pleasant lassitude and sense of wellness permeated her.

She turned her head and her eyes widened. Elrond sat beside her bed, and his face was pensive as he studied her, with a certain sadness, and yet a peculiar contentment.

She sat up and stretched, looking at him. He merely said. "It is time, if you feel ready?"

"I do." She smiled, truly believing that and swung her legs off the edge of the bed. Elrond stood. "You have some day clothes besides you on that chair, please meet me in the library, and my study."

"I will." Joanna said and smiled. Not that she knew where the library was.