𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐀𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐭

Chapter 36

'You know it to be impossible...'

His voice had all the strength and weight of thunder, and I struggled not to tremble at every word that he uttered, though he did not raised his voice. "I do..." I told him. I had lowered myself to my knees, there was no floor, but under my feet I could still feel ice-cold, and I could feel the chill in my naked body.

'And yet still you come...'

"I had to." I said softly. "There was no other option. I have nowhere to go."

'You don't want to wake up. It is different, young lady...'

I looked down, I knew that, but I didn't want to accept it. "Yes..." I said. My memories still so vivid, losing consciousness and then appearing here, in front of Eru Ilúvatar and the Valar. Although I couldn't see them very well, they're presence is blurred by the stars, I knew it was them by the amount of power they emanated.

'Her lovers have been massacred by the desire of blood... She deserves respect...' One of the Queens said, but I interrupted her. "No please... He is right, I have the right to place my mind in reality..."

'Some would call you impetuous, as though their life is more valuable than all the rest. Or arrogant, to think that you could change the fate that has been assigned to them.'

I believed it was Aulë who spoke to me in such a strong demeanor. "I do not ask for you to bring them back." The Kings and Queens remained silence, and I kept talking. "I guess I was just... Looking for comfort... Forgive me."

The Queen Estë's great form approached me, and what I though would be a detached, distant air, it turned into something more warm. My gaze lowered, staring at the flecks of gold running through the non-existing floor, and I wondered how she viewed me with such ancient eyes. 'My Queen Estë, she is not ready. Watch what you are gonna do.'

Ready? Ready for what? 

'She may not be ready in terms of power.' I knew I was too pale, there was dirt on my cheeks, and my right side was sticky with blood, stab wounds still present in my skin. 'But I won't let her pure heart be lost by grief and darkness.'

'Her soul is growing with each passing hour.' I raised my head to stare at the Kings that approached to my small form, Manwë and Aulë. 'Our respects to Vána and Nienna for creating your world.'

'And protecting ours like if it was you own.' Both Lórien and Yavanna said as their forms came near mine. "My apologies... But I don't understand..." Some of the Valar chuckled at my reply, I really didn't understand what they were talking about. 'There's a lot of secrets that you in time will know.'  Queen Varda said to me with a sweet voice, but I was still confused. Why am I here?

'There are many here who were cut down before their time. Many of my children who lost their lives in battle.' Aulë told me, sensing sadness in his voice, I could feel the weight of his anger and lament on my spine, as though it was a physical thing. "I'm so sorry, my Lord." He nodded at me, feeling his sympathy as well as mine.

'You say you are not here for a petition.' Once again the voice of Ilúvatar erupted through the empty area. The answer slipped easily from my lips. "Everything I did..." I said. "I did for them."

There was a pause.

"Maybe Gandalf was right, he said that I would not be the same if I took this chance to go to Middle Earth. And in the end... I lost them... I would walk in a starless night for the rest of my life if it meant they drew breath again for but a day." I dared to raise my chin a little. "I will walk tall... But I do not promise I will be the same, for the stars have not yet taken my tears away."