Chapter 13 - Hitchcock Would Be Proud

The evening passed easily enough. Penny felt a strange mixture of relief and anxiety throughout it, though. She kept catching Lindir looking at her oddly, though if he realised it, his face would always break into a reassuring smile. It was clearly a lot for him to take on board and would take time for him to get used to.

Penny did not stay long at the impromptu festivities. Meaning she left before the early hours and the rest probably got little or no rest at all. But then elves do not need rest the way humans do.

Penny felt bad about leaving early since Eleniel and Mireth insisted on accompanying her.

"No, you stay. Enjoy yourselves. I'm just tired, that's all."

And not just with the travelling. The little scene in the glade with Galadriel and Celeborn had left her feeling drained. After two cups of wine she felt like she was about to zonk out there and then.

"You cannot go to sleep all by yourself," they protested.

"Well, then promise me you will go back after I have collapsed. Really, I can cope by myself… Honest, I can!"

They would not accept 'no' for an answer.

"So, you met the Lady of the Wood at last," Mireth was saying excitedly as Penny had a quick wash and then combed out her hair. "Oh, how wonderful!"

"Yes. A great honour." Penny's tone was thoughtful. "She… she was a great help to me. Lord Celeborn also."

"They have told you something of your past?" Eleniel asked.

"Not exactly."

Penny put down the comb and looked at the pair of them, sitting on the cot next to hers.

"They advised me to be more open with those who do not know my story. I… Well…" She floundered suddenly.

Eleniel smiled.

"We realised long ago there was more to you than perhaps we were told. It is not every day we have strangers such as you in Imladris, and the fact that you were taken under the wing of both Erestor and Lindir at Lord Elrond's insistence…"

"Your long talks with Elrond," Mireth added.

"As well as those with Mithrandir," Eleniel continued.

"Oh." Penny blinked.

"Do not look so alarmed," Mireth laughed. "And we do not blame you for not speaking sooner. You had your reasons and were no doubt acting under the guidance of those far wiser than all of us sitting here put together." She reached out for Penny's hand, laying hers on top. "We are your friends, Pen-ii. We understand some of what the situation may be."

Best to come straight out with it, then.

"I had foresight. The War, the Nine Walkers… Sauron's fall. In some detail."

"Ah." Eleniel nodded. "I thought it might be something like that."

"You were not the only one." Mireth smiled. "You could have said something. Many of us knew of Estel's history and felt his time was come."

"Arwen for one."

"Well, exactly."

"I know I could have spoken, perhaps should have," Penny replied. "But… Elrond advised that as few people know as possible. Since the War finished I have wondered if I should speak and, if so, then when… I did not know if-"

"Lady Galadriel has now advised you do so?" Eleniel interrupted.

"It was Lord Celeborn, actually, but Lady Galadriel hinted at it also."

Mireth's face broke into a wide grin. "Well, there you are, then. So now we know and you do not have to worry, and everything is fine!"

"Well, yes… I suppose…" Penny had not expected this to all go quite as smoothly. She berated herself a little for having waited so long to say anything.

"When you say 'in some detail'…?" Eleniel suddenly looked serious.

Penny looked at her. "I knew about some of those who would fall. I knew much of what they might face on their journey: Moria, Mordor… the actions of Saruman…"

Mireth's expression suddenly matched Eleniel's. "Poor Pen-ii. Now I understand why you were so very quiet and withdrawn after they left."

Eleniel said nothing but came to sit beside Penny, wrapping her arms around her.

Mireth sighed. "I take it Arwen knew? At least she was able to comfort you a little."

Penny nodded as Eleniel pulled back from her. "Yes, though it was difficult given much of what I knew concerned Estel. I did not feel I could talk about it too often or in too much detail."

"Well, it is over now, yes?"

Penny did not answer. Mireth and Eleniel exchanged the briefest of glances.

"Oh, Pen-ii…" Eleniel whispered. "Is it very bad?"

"No. Serious, but not… It does not concern the elves."

"Well, we shall have to try and take your mind off it," Mireth said brightly. "We shall keep you busy and entertained as best we can."

"Well, yes, you have your little outing with Rhimlath to look forward to tomorrow, for a start." Eleniel smirked.

"Oh, don't!" Penny groaned.

They laughed.

"Actually, if truth be told I am really looking forward to it. I have heard and know so much about Lothlorien that it will be wonderful to see it. … Even if I do have Rhimlath droning on at me all the while."

"Yes, but you managed to drag Lindir into the trap of his own making. That should compensate somewhat."

"I notice you managed to avoid being invited." Mireth raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"I was engaged in conversation." Eleniel looked straight faced but there was a twinkle in her eye that belied it. "I did not know what was going on until too late… Fortunately. You both know I would have been delighted to join you, Pen-ii."

The three exchanged a glance for a moment and then fell about giggling.

As it happened, Rhimlath's guided tour did not begin straight away. First there was washing to be done. Early, straight after breakfast, Penny, Mireth and Eleniel along with several other ellith gathered themselves and their journey-stained clothes together and wandered through the trees to where a stream ran downhill. Given their numbers the visitors could not all do this at once. Rather a steady trickle of ellith would come here throughout the day and the ellyn would repeat the procedure tomorrow. Much like in Bree, slabs had been set into the bank to act as steps, seats and a platform to bash cloth against.

They got stuck in.

Once you got used to the sheer physical energy needed to handwash clothes like this, it was quite enjoyable. It was good exercise, that was for certain. Penny was that much fitter and stronger than when she had first arrived thanks to doing this on a regular basis, more than the gardening. It was also quite a sociable affair since you were never alone. Someone would start up a tune and everyone would join in. Gossiping was a large part of washing clothes, too. Penny grinned and joined in the laughter as the ellith related tales or calamities and embarrassments that had befallen various inhabitants of Lothlorien. The few locals that had joined them added or corrected various bits and then told tales of their own.

It helped to make an otherwise laborious and tedious job pass all the quicker. It was barely mid-morning when Penny, a basket of damp clothes under her arm, tramped back to the camp, arm-in-arm with Eleniel and with Mireth singing a tune that even Penny now knew the words to and could join in on for the chorus.

The tents for the males were on the other side of the clearing to those for the ellith, and so anything that was placed behind their respective groups of tents and awnings would not be visible to the others. Lines were run from the ellith's tents to the nearby trees for wet clothes. In this way undershifts and leggings could be dried in the open air without too much embarrassment and comment. Penny presumed, correctly, a similar arrangement had been made for the ellyn.

Their clothes hung out, Eleniel wondered out loud if they should bathe now or later.

"We need time for our hair to dry," Mireth pointed out. "Added to which the nearer to this evening's festivities, the busier it will be."

'It?' Penny was alarmed. 'Please don't let it be yet more communal bathing. PLEASE!'

Much to her relief, it was not.

In fact 'it' turned out to be a dedicated bathing house. Indeed there were several of them dotted throughout the city. Needs must since most lived up in the branches. Trying to get water pumped up into the trees would have been possible, perhaps, but ridiculously unnecessary and very difficult given the height the water would have to reach. Why bother when you could just have buildings for the purpose of bathing on the ground? Far more practical.

In each of the bath houses, water was diverted from some of the streams and tributaries that ran through the city to a tap positioned directly over large 'boilers' not dissimilar to the ones in Imladris. These were positioned at one end of a long, low building that contained cubicles with tubs in them. Another tap was available for cold water, as well as a permanently stocked supply of buckets, jugs, towels, soaps, shampoos, scented oils and various other herbal necessities kept in glass, stoppered jars.

Of course, when Mireth, Eleniel and Penny got to the one nearest to their camp they realised everyone else had had the same idea about going early to beat the rush. There was already a group of ellith outside waiting for a second load of water to heat and for the first group already washing to vacate the tubs.

They decided to grab the nearest passing Galadhrim and ask to be shown where another female bathing house was.

It turned out to be a bit of a walk.

"Well, we're getting to see something of Lothlorien, at least," Mireth commented.

Every time Penny passed by a set of stairs winding up a tree from the ground, or else a ladder leaning up against a trunk, she had to resist the urge to go exploring.

"Is it not wonderful?" Eleniel beamed.

Their guide finally directed them to a similarly built long, low building to the one they had left. Here too they had been beaten to it by others with the same idea, but they were fewer in number so at least there would not be so long to wait. They joined the others and chattered quietly.

As the little cubicles (they could not strictly be termed 'rooms' since the dividers between them did not reach the ceiling) became free one by one, those waiting helped fill a tub for one of their number. The Briton in Penny raised a mental eyebrow at the haphazardness of the queuing system (in that it did not exist at all) but she said nothing.

Penny helped Mireth fill her tub and then insisted Eleniel take the next one that came free. Much as she was desperate to have a good scrub, she knew how much more this meant to them than it ever could to her, being elves and thus obsessed with cleanliness. As it happened the tub that became free next was between the two of them, so as they soaked and washed, the three chatted or listen to the gossip floating over the dividing screens.

It was communal without the 'communal bathing' element. Penny liked it.

As Penny lay back in the warm water, she smiled, letting a gossipy story wash over her head of some elleth from long ago who had somehow managed to get herself dangling near enough naked from a talan by one ankle only to then be rescued by an over-enthusiastic ellon who had heard her shrieks of alarm (much to her eternal embarrassment, though he - unsurprisingly, perhaps - became her betrothed not long afterwards).

Ah, this was the life.

"Much better than a freezing cold river, eh, Pen-ii?" said a voice drifting over the top of the screen to her right.

"You read my thoughts precisely, Eleniel."

They wandered back to camp at a leisurely pace in a group of eight or so. Penny suddenly felt very much 'one of the girls,' which was quite a nice feeling. The proceedings of the night before had to some extent lifted a weight from her that she had not really realised she was carrying. She wondered if this was what Galadriel had meant about 'feeling freer than she had done up till now.' Very probably, Penny suspected.

They found Lindir and Rhimlath waiting for them. Rhimlath had clearly been giving Lindir chapter and verse already since Lindir had a faintly frazzled look about him and seemed inordinately pleased to see them all.

"Oh, there you are! At last! Thank Elbereth!"

"I was just telling Lindir about our itinerary for the day,LadyPen-ii," Rhimlath explained.

There was faint giggling from some of the group as Lindir quite clearly winced.

"It is a shame we have lost most of the morning already," he continued, "But no matter."

"It is getting near to lunch, Rhimlath," Lindir pointed out. "Could we not-"

"There is a good while yet before then, Lindir. I was thinking we might collect a few edibles and take them with us. That way we can eat elsewhere as we wander round the city rather than have to come all the way back here. Besides which, I am sure Lady Pen-ii would wish to get started straight away. There is a lot to see. What do you say, Lady Pen-ii?"

"Well, um, I, er," spluttered Penny.

"Good, good. Right, well, let us get going, then." Rhimlath was all breeziness and cheery smiles.

"I will take these and put them away for you if you like," Eleniel murmured. She could barely contain her smirk as she collected Penny's things from her arms before Penny could stop her.

"You could always join us," Penny replied, her eyes narrowing and her smile slightly forced.

"Oh, yes, please do, Eleniel!" Rhimlath beamed.

"Ah, I have something to do. Urgent. Cannot wait..."

Eleniel mumbled something indistinct even as she headed, as fast as she decently could, towards the tents. The other elleth followed her before Rhimlath could invite them also.

Lindir may have been bored to tears but Penny actually thoroughly enjoyed Rhimlath's tour. He led them through glades and past fountains, explained gardening schemes and building techniques, lectured on histories and significances, the artistic merits or otherwise of everything they saw. There were many buildings on ground level, mostly for practical purposes, but some were living quarters also. As in Imladris, there were areas for smithing, for crafts and artistry, archery practice and stables, and much more besides.

Rhimlath was clearly trying to cram in as much as possible.

"May I remind you that there is an evening of festivities tonight, Rhimlath. We do not want to exhaust Pen-ii too much by going too far." Lindir was trying to find any excuse to call a halt to it all.

"Ah, yes, you are right. We perhaps will have to cut it short and continue tomorrow."

"Continue… What?!"

"Oh, yes, please!" Penny practically bounced.

"You are enjoying this far too much, you know," Lindir hissed at her.

"Yes, but… it is Lothlorien, Lindir!" She grinned at him. He could see the pure joy and wonder in her face and could not help but return her smile. "After last night I thought you might better understand what this means to me: to be here, to see it all…"

The place itself had a kind of euphoric affect, Penny had to admit. Added to that was the sheer thrill and exhilaration of being where she was and surrounded by elves being very, very elvish indeed. It was wondrous.

"Ah, I feel like I am a child again. I just want to run!"

She darted off at speed, the bright green grass under her feet, her arms outstretched, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"Wheeeeeeeee!"

She ran up to the nearest mallorn and hugged it.

Well, stretched her arms out flat against it, which was the nearest you could get to 'hugging' it, given the width of the thing. She laid her cheek against the trunk, her eyes closed and a beam on her face. She breathed a happy sigh.

Lindir was shaking his head and laughing. Rhimlath seemed torn between bemusement and clear frustration that this was now holding up his tour.

"Yes, just like a child. I can see it now, Pen-ii," Lindir sniggered.

"Yes, but in some respects she is and always will be a child, of course."

Penny peeled herself off the mallorn and looked at Rhimlath.

"Meaning?"

"Well, the Secondborn are like children to us. Not only that you are… what? Eighteen? Twenty-five? Thirty-three?" He sighed as Penny's eyebrows shot up higher and higher at each completely random guess at her age. "Well, under fifty anyway. I always find it impossible to tell with the Secondborn."

"Oh, I see!" Penny retorted, hands on hips. "We all look the same to you, is that it?"

"Well," Rhimlath said slowly. "I would not put it quite like that."

"Except that he would." Lindir smirked at Penny, who laughed.

"Ah, but Rhimlath, we cannot all be as old as the Ages, you know. Where would be the fun in that?" Penny grinned. "Now, while this is has all been very interesting so far, when am I going to go upwards, hmm?" She pointed vaguely at the treetops.

"Oh, well, I had not planned just yet-"

"But we will have to go back soon. Lindir's right about tonight, and I do not want to be too tired to enjoy it all. I am so looking forward to it. We can continue tomorrow, but please, can I go up one tree today? Please?"

"You know, I would swear you are regressing back to your childhood with all this kind of behaviour."

She stuck her tongue out at Lindir. "Shush, you!"

Rhimlath raised an eyebrow. He was still not used to one of the Firstborn being spoken to like that.

"Please, Rhimlath?"

"Well, yes, I suppose-"

"Oh, fantastic! Thank you!"

"It will be a long climb…"

"I do not mind."

"A very long climb…"

"It does not matter."

"And we will go very high," Lindir warned.

"I do not care."

Of course, it did matter and she did both mind and care in the end, but she could not say they had not warned her.

The tree Rhimlath took them to had a staircase that wound anticlockwise round the outside of the trunk like a snake coiled round a prey. It was narrow but two people could pass by each other easily enough on its width. Rhimlath led the way and Lindir took up the rear.

Round and round they wound till Penny began to feel faintly dizzy at perpetually going round in circles like that. She stopped to catch her breath. She had no idea how long they had been climbing for. It was still vaguely disorientating for her at times to have no access to a watch or clocks, but most days ambled away without it bothering. She could have been climbing for no more than ten minutes. It felt like an hour, though she felt certain it could not have been anything like that.

"Is it much further?"

Lindir snickered. "We did warn you."

"I am not complaining, only asking, Lindir."

Rhimlath, realising they had stopped stepped back down a few treads. "Not much further now, Lady Pen-ii. We are very high up already. Look."

He gestured about himself.

Penny had not really focused much beyond the steps in front of her as she climbed. She had been aware of leaves crowding in on occasion to her right and the odd branch above her, but not much more. Now she stopped to take it in, she could see they were indeed up in the canopy. In the distance she could make out platforms and figures climbing or descending staircases or ladders in trees nearby. There was, above, one or two walkways just visible through the trees. She clasped the rail, craning her neck upwards to see them. Some were not too far above her at all.

Penny had never suffered from vertigo so she did not think twice about looking downwards, trying to gauge how far they had climbed already. The grass was far distant, but it was hard to determine exactly how far. There was nothing to provide any sense of scale.

Until someone walked across her field of view that was.

Penny's eyes opened wide. Wow. Okay. Yes. They were high up, weren't they?

"Pen-ii?"

She didn't reply. She was fixing her gaze down into the depths below, suddenly aware that the only thing keeping her up this high was a few planks nailed onto a tree.

You see, standing on the roof of a concrete high rise building, or even on the platform of the Eiffel Tower was one thing, but this staircase stuck out from the trunk, supported by A-frames underneath along its length. It was of course, perfectly solid and safe, but Penny's brain was now in overdrive. Below her feet, her brain was telling her, was just one plank of wood and then nothing else except air. A couple of hundred feet of air at least. Followed by hard, solid earth. What if the plank splintered? What if a nail came loose? What if something was rotten or old or had come unstuck or she was too heavy or stepped on just the wrong bit or…?

Lindir and Rhimlath exchanged a glance as they both realised her breathing had quickened. Her grip on the side of the barrier was so tight her knuckles were white.

"Shall we carry on, Lady Pen-ii?" Rhimlath tried to sound cheery.

Still no response.

"Pen-ii, are you feeling well?" Lindir asked gently.

Penny shook her head.

"Do you want to go back down again?" Lindir suggested.

She nodded. Very, very vigorously too.

Again a shared, knowing glance between Lindir and Rhimlath.

"Well, you will need to let go of the rail first," Lindir quietly pointed out, smiling.

She did not move.

He came over to her and forcibly prised her fingers free. He could feel she was practically rigid with fright. The moment she was free from holding on to the barrier she stepped backwards till she was pressed flat up against the trunk.

"I am sorry, Lady Pen-ii." Rhimlath was genuinely apologetic in tone. "It is very high and if you are not used to such things…"

"It is not the height," Penny managed to croak out. "It is…"

She could not even try and explain because that would mean thinking about it even more. She tried to press herself even further back against the trunk, if that were possible, and whimpered slightly. She needed to get off this damn thing and fast. She could feel herself beginning to completely freak out.

Rhimlath noticed her reaction.

"The staircase is perfectly safe."

He jumped up and down a few times to prove his point. The stairs vibrated very gently, as if a breeze had shaken a branch and no more. It was enough to make Penny nearly hysterical, though.

"Do not do that! Please! Stop! No! I need to get off! I need to get down! Right now! I cannot… I…"

She was shaking her head, apologising, trying to stop herself from breaking into hysterical sobs because she knew she was being a complete idiot and yet so overcome with fear that she could not do anything else.

She started down the stairs at a run. The quicker she got off them, or down to a lower level at least, the less far she would fall if the thing collapsed, so she reasoned.

Lindir and Rhimlath started after her, calling her name and telling her to stop or slow down before she tripped and fell down the rest of the flight.

"You will break your neck at that speed, Lady Pen-ii!" Rhimlath was shouting.

"Oh, very helpful!" Lindir snapped at him. "That is all she needs to hear!"

"What? It is true!"

"That is hardly the point! Oh, forget it! PEN-II! STOP!"

She did not stop, though. Not until she was back on solid ground, her heart racing and breathing hard, as much from the run as from the fear. She knew she had been a fool, but at the same time vertigo was vertigo and she did not berate herself too hard. She had not had much control over her reaction, nor expected it to occur.

The two ellyn were right behind her. That they were barely breaking a sweat spoke volumes: that was fit warrior elves for you.

"Right. Can we get an explanation, please?" Lindir shook his head. "We did warn you it was high up, but oh, no, you know better, as usual."

"It was not the height. I have been high up before."

Rhimlath look puzzled and interested but Penny ploughed on before he was able to ask.

"It was the staircase. It is not solid. It sticks out. It…"

She trailed off as two pairs of eyebrows arched at her.

"Are you saying that is poor workmanship?"

"Are you suggesting I would take you onto something that was potentially dangerous?"

"N-no," Penny stammered. "I… It was… I…"

"I'll have you know that staircase is very old. It has stood the test of time. Centuries at least."

"What! And that is meant to reassure me? The older things are the weaker they are and more likely to fall apart!"

"I beg your pardon!" Lindir and Rhimlath looked outraged.

"Ah, now, wait!" Penny replied hurriedly. "That did not come out right. I meant… You see…"

Lindir could not help but laugh. "Ai, Pen-ii. What shall we do with you, hmm? If it is not one thing it is something else with you. Well, we have had some good exercise in that little adventure if nothing else."

"I am sorry. Truly. I had no idea that would happen to me. I have no idea how it happened. I could not help it."

"Do not worry yourself," Rhimlath replied. "It is not uncommon for those unused to such things to find them a little overwhelming." He smiled condescendingly.

"Now, look here, Rhimlath." Penny rounded on him hotly. "This has nothing to do with my being mortal."

"Er, Pen-ii?" Lindir's tone was a warning one.

"Well, it is not."

"Indeed, but no elf would have behaved like that," Rhimlath explained.

"Only because you are used to such things."

"We also have more faith in elvish workmanship," Lindir pointed out. "That staircase has stood for a long time, as Rhimlath just told you. It is as solid as the tree itself."

"I know. I do know that. My brain had other ideas, that was all. I am determined to try again."

"What? Not with me, you will not! I am not going through that again!" Lindir laughed.

"Fine. I will ask Mireth or Eleniel."

"We can try again tomorrow if you like," Rhimlath said kindly. "After all we did agree we would continue the tour, did we not?"

"Oh, yes, so we did." Penny beamed.

"We did?"

"Yes, Lindir, we did."

"I could have sworn we never reached an agreement on that, actually."

"No, no, we said we would do this all again tomorrow," Rhimlath said breezily. "Now, if we are to make it back in time to prepare ourselves for this evening, we had better head off. In fact… Lindir you know the way from here, do you not? I may head back to my talan, if it is all the same to you. I shall see you later."

"Of course, Rhimlath."

"Thank you!" Penny smiled. "And I really do apologise about just now. I feel dreadfully silly."

"No need. We shall make another try tomorrow. Till this evening."

They watched him disappear into the trees then turned and headed towards the camp.

"I am not coming with you tomorrow, by the way."

"But you have to!"

"I most certainly do not! You arranged it, you agreed to it. You can do it all by yourself."

"That is very unfriendly of you."

"No, it is called self-preservation. I would prefer to leave Lothlorien with my sanity intact, if it is all the same to you."

"I thought he was a friend of yours?"

"He is. A very dear and old friend. That does not mean I will put up with his history lessons for two whole days, Pen-ii. Be reasonable."

Lindir did have a point, Penny had to admit.

"Anyway, enough of that. Are you looking forward to tonight? It should be entertaining."

"Yes, very much. Will most of Lothlorien be there?"

"Oh, I expect so. Why?"

"It is just… well… Do you know an ellon called Haldir?"

Lindir looked at her. "I do not think so. Why?"

"He was the one that met the Walkers when they entered Lothlorien. He and his brothers, Rumil and Orophin. I would like to meet them or at least have them pointed out to me."

"Ah, I see. Well, I know an Orophin, and there can only be one. I think I met his brothers once. Yes, yes, I am sure I did now I think of it. Only very briefly, though."

He looked at her for a moment.

"This is all very strange, you know. Very, very strange."

"I realise. I am sorry."

"Do not apologise. Hardly your fault." He smiled. "I am happy if I can help in any small way. If I see Orophin there I will point him out or introduce you."

Penny grinned. She had already been looking forward to this evening, but now… 'Ah, if only the Mary-Sues could see me now,' she thought, a huge smirk plastered all over her face.

Yes, this evening was going to be very interesting indeed.

The vertigo reaction was based entirely on my own experience in the Duomo in Florence. A solid base on which to stand is no problem for me, but the gallery round the inside of the dome of the Duomo is a platform sticking out from the wall. I was paralysed with fear, despite having been to great heights before (and since, might I add), and had to go back down again.