Wild Monster

by Matthew Harrington

  "I am afraid that you have no choice in the matter children, we are in dire need of your aid." The sisters remained quiet and Varda lowered her hand resuming her message to them. "Listen carefully, please." She stepped closer to them. "This task will not be easy for you, you will struggle greatly, but I have faith in you three sisters. Know that you were not chosen solely for the knowledge you have of our world... you were chosen because of yourselves. Because of your strength as individuals and as sisters. Because of the great power of three you hold. Because of the great power you have displayed in your past lives. Together, you must keep the darkness at bay and stop the ring from finding its master. You must help destroy it." Varda ordered forcefully, her voice taking on a darker commanding tone near the end of her tirade.

  "The dangers you will face will be great," Manwë stepped forward and stood beside his wife, his goldleaf eyes on the girls. "We have armed you with gifts, gifts that will surely assist you on your quest. Each have unique and strong properties, but only you can bring them to their full power and intensity. It is up to you to wield them."

  Varda was next to speak, her words shocking them into a stupor. "You have been given new bodies, so that you may blend with the inhabitants of Middle-Earth." The girls turned to each other and when their eyes met they exchanged gasps, a shocked silence followed.

  Kendra, being the first to recover from Varda's words was the first to notice just what she had been talking about. Her eyes darted to Elaine in the middle first. Elaine was no longer a girl, but a fully grown woman... or rather, a grown elf! Kendra felt her jaw drop, her sister was an elf! A delicately beautiful elleth with delicate features and cream blond hair flowing freely down to her waist. A loose white gown framed her wispy, athletic figure, and exquisite sky blue eyes glistened as vibrantly as freshly polished aquamarine gems.

  On the other side of Elaine, Kendra's eyes were drawn to Maia, her jaw dropping at the sight of her sister. She definitely did not look like the Maia she knew. Instead of the short chestnut hair she'd grown used to, there was liquid honey caressing her waist, and her chocolate eyes were now a beautiful shade of olive green. Kendra's eyes looked over her sister and found that she too had a pair of pointed ears and her limbs were the long lithe willowy limbs you'd expect to see on the fairer folk.

  "You- You're-" Kendra was at a loss for words. She stepped back to fully take in both of them, only to stop when they both raised their hands to point at her, their eyes wide with shock.

  "You're an elf!" They cried out, their hands still pointing. Shaking her head vehemently Kendra touched a hand to her ears and felt the pointed elfin shape, she reached to her hair and pulled thick strands of liquid gold, silken to the touch, in front of her to see. She was blonde! Running a shocked hand down her face and body Kendra, like her sisters, also had womanly features. High cheekbones and full lips adorned her fair face, and upon asking her sisters, she was told that her eyes were now an intense shade of amber, almost golden in color.

  Still staring, the girls all reached out to touch each other's arms, as if they were checking to see if this truly was happening and wasn't just a dream. Gently, the Valar chose now to interrupt the shocked women.

  "Do you understand what it is you need to accomplish, children?" Varda spoke suddenly and the girls jumped, they turned to face the Valar once again their eyes wide with awe. It took them a moment but they all nodded slowly, though their minds were still yet to fully comprehend what was happening to them.

  "Good… You have new bodies and powers, and now in the spirit of new beginnings you shall receive new names. Kneel." The women did as they were bid and knelt, bowing their head slightly as Manwë came forward. He came first to stand before Maia. "Maia of Earth, I now name you Maethien, the Warrior. I bless you on your quest and may you, with your sisters, serve loyally and bravely." Manwë touched her forehead then moved toward Kendra on the other end.

  "Kendra of Earth, I now name you Saeleth, the Mage. I bless you on your quest and may you, with your sisters, serve loyally and bravely." A warm hand touched her head and Manwë moved finally to Elaine. Kendra -no, Saeleth's- heart still hammering in her chest.

  "Elaine of Earth, I now name you Anoreth, the Healer. I bless you on your quest and may you, with you sisters, serve loyally and bravely." He touched her head softly the stepped back to stand by his wife. Leaving the sisters kneeling on the cool ground below them.

  "Rise children," The girls stood and met the eyes of the Valar once more, their hands joining again. Somehow managing to feel just as comforting as it had in their other bodies, though the hands felt different. "Trust in one another and in yourselves, you will not be alone on this quest. Head first to Rivendell and meet with the Council, you will know what to do from there, but be wary, for the dark forces you are against will try to stop you by any means. Now go. And good fortune be upon you. If you are ever in need of our guidance simply look to the stars."

  The last thing the girls saw was Manwe and Varda stepping away from them and into the light blooming behind them where multiple other regal silhouettes waited for them, their features hidden in the brilliant light that caressed them.

  Saeleth was the first to awake, being an elf made her quite sensitive to sound, so when she heard the sound of a neighing horse she bolted up straight and, without even thinking, drew back an arrow. Standing before her three horses stared at her as they nibbled on the grass below. Surprised, Saeleth stared at the lethal weapon in her hands, when had she taken it out? When the hell had she gotten a bow and arrow?!

  Wait-

  Saeleth's hand flew to the side of her head and touched the pointed end of her elfin ear.

  "That wasn't a dream." She realized, though the horses and endless grassland around her should have given it away, it wasn't until she touched her ears that she really realized that she had not been dreaming at all. She was really in Middle Earth! She was really an elf! She had really just spoken to the Valar!

  Suddenly Maethien gasped and sat up straight beside her, looking around wildly she met eyes with Saeleth and blinked twice in confusion before realization hit and then was replaced by a look of utter amazement.

  "That wasn't a dream, was it?" She asked, smiling softly Saeleth shook her head and giggled as she rose from the ground. Maethien looked at her sister, really looked at her, and drew in a breath, her eyes wide once again. The girls both realized at the same moment that they both had markings on heir foreheads. They were almost like tattoos in gold, curling and swirling intricately above their eyes. Both were similar in design.

  This is most definitely not a dream.

  "What are they?" Maethien asked as she reached up to her own forehead, she couldn't feel the marking on her fingertips but she knew it was there.

  "Well, I suppose Valar gave them to us." Damn, that felt weird to say. "They're the only ones who could and remember that Manwë touched our heads there." Saeleth said to her sister, she had a feeling she was right. It was pretty obvious either way, they had just been with the Valar, they were the only ones who could have done a thing like this.

  "Yeah, you're probably right." Maethien nodded and sighed, she then smiled when she noticed Saeleth's outfit. She was wearing dark breeches and a riding gown in midnight blue that stopped about her knees, leather armor was strapped tight around her torso, it was similar to the one they'd seen Arwen wearing in the film.

  "Whoa." Maethien said and nodded approvingly at the clothes. Saeleth, who was very fond of her outfit, looked at Maethien and saw that she too was sporting a very Lord of the Rings type outfit. She wore breeches and a long deep green tunic with long sleeves and leather wrist gauntlets. Leather armor, similar to Saeleth's , hugged and protected her chest, her tunic flowed past the armor and swung freely about her thighs.

  "Wow, indeed." Saeleth said and gave her sister two thumbs up. Maethien looked down at herself, when she saw her own attire her jaw dropped and she looked at her sister with a huge smile.

  "I always did like the fash
ion here." She said and touched the smooth silky fabric of her tunic.

  "As did I." Saeleth sighed dreamily. A neigh resonated from behind her and Saeleth turned to look at the horses again. All three were mares and all three seemed to be quite comfortable with the girls near them. One was pure white the other entirely pitch black and the last a soft grey with white dappled all over her, it reminded the girls of falling snow. Saeleth looked at the white mare and slowly began to approach her, making a low clicking sound with her tongue to gain her attention.

  "Hello, there." She said softly. Maethorien looked on as the white mare looked at her sister. Lifting her hand in front of her, Saeleth stepped closer to the mare slowly, seeing the chance to be petted the mare quickly stepped forward and pressed her nose on to Saeleth's palm. Maethien smiled at the look of childish excitement on her sisters face at the horses reaction. Suddenly remembering her other sister, Maethien bolted to her feet.

  "Where is Elai- I mean, Anoreth?" Maethorien asked, Saeleth looked down and zeroed in on their sleeping sister sprawled on the grass. Maethien followed her gaze then grinned at the sight. Like them, she too wore breeches but she wore a a deep purple riding gown that flowed down to her knees, long angel wing sleeves flaring from her elbows. Glistening above her eyes, they could see the golden mark twirling beautifully.

  Maethien smiled mischievously and gave her sister a good kick on the leg, "Hey! Wake up!"

  "Ah! What?!" Anoreth squeaked, the sisters couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. She woke with a start, her eyes darting everywhere wildly. It took her a moment but then Anoreth looked up at her sisters with eyes filled with wonder and asked the same thing that they had before her. "That wasn't a dream? We're really here?"

  "Yes, we are." Maethien said, her hands on her hips and a smile on her face. It was still very... new and unbelievable but... they were in a clearing! With horses! And armor and weapons!

  "Oh. My. God! We're here!" Jumping to her feet, Anoreth laughed and danced in place. "This is amazing!" Saeleth and Maethien shared an amused look, well it seemed that she was taking this very well.

  After a few minutes of laughing and dancing with excitement, Anoreth finally calmed down enough to really look at her sisters. Though she didn't miss the golden tattoo on her sisters head's, her attention quickly went to their clothes.

  "Whoa, I am loving that riding dress Ke- I mean, Saeleth." Thinking that calling her Saeleth was going to take some getting used to, Anoreth looked down at her own dress and smiled wide. She could not resist the urge to do a few twirls, the skirt of the dress rising and flowing around her as she spun continuously. She loved it! If there was one thing that all three of the girls absolutely loved about the Lord of the Rings films, it was the fashion. Well, that and everything else.

  "Figures that you'd notice the clothes first." Saeleth said comically. Smiling, Anoreth shrugged and stopped spinning to look over at where was petting a huge white horse, and the horse seemed to be loving the attention. Meanwhile Maethien was being sniffed at by the black, laughing she turned to stroke her long dark mane. Anoreth looked at the last horse and found herself being watched by a beautiful dappled grey horse, she was just as huge as the other two, so much so that it slightly intimidated her.

  "Well, hello, aren't you a big pretty girl." Anoreth crooned as she neared the mare, it didn't take long for her to fall in love with the giant horse. She was just so sweet and big and friendly.

  "Come on," looking up, Anoreth saw that her sisters were already mounting their horses. "We need to get going." Maethien said from atop her mare, whom she had decided to name Artanis. Ha... she had a horse...

  "We don't know exactly where the Hobbits or Aragorn are, Frodo could already be hurt." Saeleth added as she stroked Gadriel's silky white mane from where she sat. Looking at her own horse, whom she had decided to name Lossen, Anoreth couldn't help but feel nervous as she walked to her side and readied herself to mount. She's really quite big, Anoreth noted with wide eyes. Beside her, Maethien smiled softly as she watched her sister take a deep breath

  "Ok. I can do this. 1,2...3." Pulling herself up Anoreth swung her leg over Lossen's back and landed as gently as she could, surprised that it had not been as hard as she had first thought.

  "Oh! Wow. Were pretty high off the ground." The sisters laughed and rode forward, their eyes still bright with amazement. How was it possible that they were simple mortals not too long ago... and now they were elves rising through a world they'd believed to be fictional!

  "Do we have an idea where we are?" Anoreth asked, her eyes were closed and she seemed to be enjoying the light breeze in the air.

  "No, but the they seem to." Maethien said and patted her mares head gently, she had a feeling that they would take them exactly where they needed to go.

  "We were told to head to Rivendell, perhaps that's where they are taking us." Saeleth added. Maethien and Anoreth nodded and looked ahead, the three of them noticing that everything around them looked stunningly beautiful, the armies of huge trees and the miles and miles of grasslands were something they would never have seen in the city.

  "What will we tell the Council once we arrive?" Maethien asked suddenly, looking at her sisters, they had to have their stories well prepared before they arrived to Rivendell.

  "Well, we can say that we felt the darkness of the One Ring return, so we came to investigate," Saeleth spoke. "When the time comes we can offer our services and join the quest to destroy the ring. We would simply be elves from," Saeleth paused for a moment to think, then nodded her head. "The Havens, who wish to assist in protecting our world."

  "That sounds believable... I think." Maethien nodded her agreement hesitantly, and glanced at Anoreth. "Ann? What do you think?"

  "Ooh, Ann... I like it. Anyway, I suppose that sounds believable but what if they ask about these?" Ann pointed at her forehead.

  "Well," Saeleth thought for a moment before sighing and lifting her shoulders in a shrug. "We are going to have cross that bridge when it comes. It'll be hard enough to gain their trust by being strangers... I'm willing to bet that they'll be twice as hesitant about letting strangers from another world entirely to help in this quest."

  Maethien grimaced softly as her sister's words truly got through to her... She was right. They were going to have enough trouble attempting to gain their confidence as it were, perhaps telling them that they were powerful elleth's sent by the Valar from another world to help them in their dangerous quest was not the best thing to start their conversation with...

  "You know, seeing as you gave me a nickname. " Ann suddenly voiced in an attempt to lighten the mood. "What would be yours? I mean, I love our new names but sometimes a nickname is just what we need." She said with an amused smile and turned to look at Maethien. "For example, I could occasionally call you Mae instead of calling out Maethien all the time." Anoreth nodded to herself proudly.

  Saeleth raised a brow at her little sister. "That sounds good and all but you know that nicknames aren't often used among the elves." Her sister laughed and shrugged, tossing her a bright smile.

  "So? We could be the first ever to use them." Saeleth rolled her eyes but smiled. Though she did really like her full name, she wasn't really opposed to a nickname. And they would be the first to ever to use them. Finally, Saeleth shrugged and laughed.

  "Why not." Ann grinned then narrowed her eyes at Saeleth. "Okay. Let's see, what's a good nickname for Saeleth... Hmmm."

  "How about Eleth?" Mae suggested.

  "Doesn't that mean elf-maiden?"

  "So? She is an elf-maiden, isn't she?"

  "Good point. Oh! What about Elle?!"

  "Oh, I like that one." Mae smiled and nodded.

  "We have a winner! Saeleth?" Finally satisfied, Ann turned to Saeleth and waited for approval. Saeleth, who had been quiet during their entire debate, finally sighed and smiled.

  "Elle it is."

  "Yes!"

  Maethien looked away from her sisters and suddenly realized
that it was getting dark. "Alright, enough fun, we need to find the Hobbits and Aragorn." Damn, she wondered if she would ever get used to saying stuff like that.

  "What if Frodo really is already hurt?" Anoreth asked, worry in her tone.

  "I have a feeling that we'll be able to help, but we need to find them first." Maethien said and looked at her sisters solemnly, Saeleth nodded and looked ahead of them with her heightened elvish sight.

  As she searched, Saeleth saw something very familiar in the distance. "Its Bilbo's trolls!" Without another word she shot forward, Mae and Ann right behind her. Stopping by the huge trolls the sisters looked at each other then looked at the sky above. Maethien wasn't sure how but she knew that the Hobbits would be arriving soon. Probably the Valar trying to aid them in their quest, they were new to this world. They would need their help as much as possible.

  "The Nazgûl will be close," Maethien told her sisters, her hand on the hilt of her sword. "We need to be careful. Come on." Taking charge, like a fierce leader should, Maethien found a protected spot among the trees where they could watch their surrounding but keep well hidden in the shadows.

  Time passed and the darkness of night surrounded them, the silvery glow of the moon became their only source of light. Maethien heard a group of people coming. More like running.

  "Do you think its them?" Elle asked, having heard them as well.

  "I'm not sure." Maethien mounted Artanis once again and drew out the long curved sword from its sheath. "I'll take a look. Stay hidden." Ann and Elle nodded and stayed close to each other as Maethien rode off into the dark forest.

  Do I even know how to use a sword? Deciding to put her faith in the Valar's gifts, Mae continued to explore the forests quietly. It was not long before she heard the sound of a party of five coming fast through the forest. Not far behind that party she could hear the eerie screams of the Nazgûl. When she heard the sound of two more people on horses she knew right away that her sisters had found them as well.