Disclaimer: I don’t own them, and I’ll put them back safely when I’m done.

Author’s Note: I probably ought to be shot for this chapter. In fact, if Tolkien were alive, that’s probably what he would do, but this just felt “Arwenish” to me. I would like to thank a wonderful little girl commonly known as Elf Child for the idea that is to follow. I was hopelessly stuck on Arwen’s challenge, and she casually said to me, “Well, you could always use ‘Alice in Wonderland’.” So, I must credit the idea to her. Thank you, Elf Child!

Chapter Sixteen: Queen Arwen’s Challenge

   The meeting with Queen Arwen was scheduled for mid-morning. Accordingly, a small delegation of Elves, led by the Sons of Elrond, and the by now infamous Fellowship of the Green Dragon met in front of the doors to the Great Hall. The teams greeted each other politely, and Legolas and Elrond’s sons shared a nervous glance. They had all known Arwen for far too long to be entirely at ease with her being in charge of the next challenge. While Aragorn and Gimli’s challenges had been straight to the point, Arwen was entirely too clever for her own good.

   They only had to wait a few moments before the doors to the great hall were opened, and Prince Faramir ushered them all in. He had a very peculiar expression on his face, Eldarion thought, like he was trying to be stern when he really wanted to laugh very hard. The teams, staying in their customary lines, walked towards the throne and stopped before the Queen and King.

    “You are here today to find out what my challenge is,” Arwen began, without preamble. “First, let it be known that you are going to be competing tomorrow, starting at eight o’clock in the morning. Now, I have a question. Do any of you know the tale of Oranra and the Land of Unusual Creatures?”

     Several of the Elves groaned and raised their hands, as did Eldarion, Theodwyn and Rowan. The rest of the group looked confused, as did Prince Faramir and Eomer. Eowyn, Diamond, Pippin, Estella and Thranduil looked amused, and chagrin was written all over the face of the King Elessar. Arwen smiled at them all, looking wickedly satisfied with herself.

    “Tomorrow, you will find yourselves within the story. You must crawl through the goblin tunnel, and then find a pipe in the hobbit hole. After that, you will speak with one of the cursed Queen Beruthiel’s cats, which will ask you several riddles before he lets you pass. Once you are past him, you will find yourselves at a mad dwarvish tea party, where you will be asked to sing a song until they hear one that pleases them all. That alone will be a difficult feat. After this, you will find yourselves in the garden of Beruthiel herself. Do not pick her flowers, for if you do, she will have you beheaded. Your task here is to save the hapless maiden”-here the ladies snickered softly, and Aragorn rolled his eyes-“from certain death, as she was caught picking the roses. Once you have her, you must escape the gardens and return to Minas Tirith the way you came. Whichever team succeeds is the winner. Are there any questions?”

     Complete silence was her answer. The contestants looked bemused or excited, and Legolas, Elladan and Elrohir more than a little rueful. She spoke again.

   “To make it clear which team you are on, I have had these tabards made. Yes, they are designed to look like playing cards, and I’m sure that those of you who know the story will enlighten your comrades later. The Fellowship of the Green Dragon shall wear the red tabards; the Elves shall wear the black. Faramir Took and Prince Legolas shall wear these.”

     Arwen held up an elf-sized tabard that was white with a target sewn onto the front in midnight blue. A bull’s eye rested right in the center of the chest. Faramir and Legolas exchanged startled glances. Arwen smiled at them.

    “You will learn what these are for tomorrow. Now, I suggest that you rest and gather your strength, and that you go over all of the songs and riddles you know. We meet on the Field of the Pelennor tomorrow. For now, namarie,” the Queen told them, and, followed by the ladies, swept from the throne room.

    “Well,” said Aragorn. “There we have it.”

*****

   It was a slightly panicked group of children who gathered in the nursery after the council with Queen Arwen. Eldarion ran for his bookshelf and came back with a green leather-bound book of children’s tales, which had been his nanas when she was a child. He flipped through the parchment pages until he found what he was looking for.

   “Here it is! The story of Oranra and the Land of Unusual Creatures,” he said, holding the book up for them to see.

    Theodwyn took it from him and began to read it aloud to them. It seemed that sometime in the early Third Age, a young elf maiden had followed a small rabbit down what she supposed to be a rabbit hole. It was really a tunnel created by goblins that led into an unknown land filled with unusual creatures. She found herself in a small house built into a hillside, which was almost too small for her to enter (“That would be the hobbit hole,” Elfwine said), and was only able to escape after she found a strange clay pipe that made her very small. After leaving the house, she met one of Queen Beruthiel’s cats, and answered riddles until she thought that her head would burst. After finally managing to escape the cat, she found herself at a tea party with a group of Dwarves, who insisted upon her singing every song she knew, until she was able to sneak off when they were arguing about which song was best. The worst part was when she was in the garden of Queen Beruthiel herself, and in constant danger of losing her head. The whole time, a deck of enchanted human playing cards, which wanted to turn her into the Ace of Spades, pursued her. She was able to save another elf maiden who had offended the queen, and together they escaped back to the woods of Middle Earth. They all lived happily ever after. The end.

     Theodwyn put the book down and looked around at her friends. Elfwine was the first to speak.

     “We are in a lot of trouble,” he said glumly. 

*****

      “I can’t believe her! Of all the things that she could possibly think of, this is the worst!”

     Elladan grinned weakly at his brother. The Elves were seated in the parlor given to them for their use, talking amongst themselves about the morrow’s contest. The Sons of Elrond were not amused with Arwen’s plot at all. The story had been concocted by Celeborn nearly a millennia ago, when Arwen, after having been climbing on the roof, was laid up with a broken leg. It had been one of Arwen’s favorite tales ever since, and she had doubtless passed it on to her child and his friends.

    “Really, El, we shouldn’t be surprised,” Elladan said. “You know what Arwen is like. The whole contest tomorrow will be geared so that the children won’t be injured.”

    Here, Haldir, who had been listening nearby, broke into the conversation. “Forgive me, my lords, but I am not so sure that just because this contest involves children, it will be easy. These children all come from the stoutest families in Arda, and it is highly unlikely that Queen Arwen has overlooked that fact.”

    The lords of Imladris had to concede to this point. Arwen was, after all, their sister. They had taught her well. The queen could read mortals like an open book, and doubtless she knew what the children were capable of. With twin sighs of defeat, they turned their attention to choosing who would assist them through the challenge. Arwen had given each team six tabards, five for the contestants and one for the captive. Each one would have to be filled.

   In the end, they chose themselves, Haldir, Lindir, and Elrohir’s wife, Immeren. These three were chosen for their intelligence, bravery, and skills in songs and riddles. The fact that the other elves had absolutely no intention of getting into a riddle contest with a talking cat was steadfastly ignored. When the players had been chosen and the tabards handed out, Elladan surveyed the group with a weak grin.

    “If nothing else, we must always remember that we have brought this upon ourselves,” he said. “Ah, well. Bring on tomorrow.”

TBC.