Lord of the Rings 1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Everything was Dark. There was nothing but Darkness, yet it did not disturb her; her heart was Light, her soul content and at peace. Everything was how it should be.  
But then a voice called out to her.

_"__Edraithel." _

Powerful pulses of energy woke something in her. The deep, pleasant voice boomed again.

_"__Edraithel, your time has come. " _

She became vaguely aware of herself. The pulses became even stronger and started making their way through her head.  
Her mind seemed to wake up again, enabling her to think clearly. Edraithel - was that her name? She did not remember.

_"__Edraithel, listen well to what I have to tell you."_

She supposed the voice meant her, so she listened.

_"__Times will change. You will be needed, as insignificant as you may seem. Yet you must remember not all is what it seems to be. Prepare yourself for darkening times and find the hidden part within you. Cherish and develop it, but do not let anyone know about it. Stay true to yourself and everything you stand for. The defense of Arda is in your hands."_

_"__For now, wake up and rejoice a new life. Heed my words."_

As the echo of the deep voice slowly died down, the Darkness started to fade away. The pulses of energy made their way down, causing a tingling feeling in her limbs. Wait – could she feel her limbs? Light came seeping through from different corners, until all was eventually light.

A single word was spoken with an explosive amount of power:

_"__Now."_

And Edraithel opened her eyes.


	2. 1: Disoriented

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Disoriented **

After blinking a couple of times, Edraithel's surroundings slowly began to take form. She saw dark green objects with a pale blue background. It was only after a long moment that she finally understood what they were – she was looking up at the sky and the treetops around her. She groggily sat up and took in her surroundings. She seemed to be in a forest clearing and was lying on soft, deep green grass. Rays of sunlight shone down upon her and all around her birds sang their musical songs. Much to her surprise, her limbs did not ache at all once the grogginess had gone away. She had absolutely no idea how she got to the clearing, how long she had been there before she woke up, and where she had come from. Trying to calm down her overactive and enormously confused mind, she simply sat there for a time, listening to the harmonious sounds around her and taking in every little detail.

It was only after some time that she looked down to her own body in wonder. She was wearing a beautiful light green dress of soft fabric with a round neckline, and beside her lay a light grey cloak of thick material.  
Her gaze then moved over to the locks of hair draped over her arms. The hair was of a unique, soft black colour, not quite jet-black but not dark brown either. If Edraithel would stand up, the long softly curled locks would undoubtedly reach the small of her back.  
Her skin was very pale, porcelain-toned, and almost seemed to glow, without any blemishes she could see. She touched her arm very lightly - the skin felt nearly impossibly smooth.

After taking some more time to get her mind fully focused, it dawned on her that she was alone in an unfamiliar area, with no idea where to go. She started panicking, but then sternly thought to herself _You're not getting anywhere in this state of mind Edraithel – calm yourself_, and the storm in her mind subsided a little_.  
Okay. I need a plan. I have no idea how to survive in the wild, so what do I need to do? Walking in circles in search of food to pick up is no option. Staying by myself until I die of hunger is not an option either, so what is left to do… _And then she knew the answer to her question.  
_People!_  
Of course, there were also other people in the world – were there? She didn't know for sure, since she could not remember ever having seen anyone. Yet she felt as if this reasoning was unfounded – how, she did not know. It seemed as if crucial answers just popped up into her mind without any background knowledge.  
_Okay, people it is then. _

She got to her feet, grabbed her cloak and decided she needed to walk in a straight line – she didn't want to get even more lost than she already was. As she took the first few steps she felt as if she was walking on pillows. Her feet did not make any sound whatsoever, and her whole body felt as light as a feather. She got used to it fast enough however, and soon reached the first trees on the border of the clearing.  
Inhaling the forest-scented air, Edraithel set course to the line where the trees seemed to end. Apparently, she was quite close to the edge of the woods.

After walking past the last tree in the forest, she stood still to look at her surroundings. She was standing on top of a steep slope. At the foot of the slope ran a narrow river, and beyond that Edraithel could see more steep hills covered with tall trees made up of dark green needle-like leaves. Even further away, she could see the outline of shapes reaching up in the air – mountains. The air was alive with the chirping of birds, the buzzing of bees and the rushing of the water in the river.

_Well, where to go now?_

She stood still for another few minutes, trying to figure out which direction she should go. Then, another surprising idea popped up. _The river. People need water, so following the river should eventually lead you to civilization._ Again she had no idea where that came from, but she figured following the river would be better than wasting time standing still. She climbed down and started walking along the river's bank to follow it downstream. Even though she was only wearing thin slippers, the pebbles which lay scattered along the riverbanks did not hurt her feet in any way.

As the time passed by and the sun sunk lower into the sky, Edraithel mulled over the strange dream she had before she woke up in the forest. Actually, she did not even know for sure it was a dream. It felt so real, and the words the voice spoke just kept echoing through her head. She had been told the defense of Arda was in her hands, but how could she have control over something if she did not even know what Arda was? And all that rambling about a hidden part of her… well, she would see about that. Right then she did not feel as if anything was concealed from her.  
Or did she?  
She tried to remember what she had been doing before the time she probably fell asleep in the clearing, but her mind seemed to hit a large wall somewhere in the darkness. She kept trying to remember, despair slowly creeping in, but it was all in vain. She could not remember anything before waking up.  
Frustrated, she gave a huff and sat down. This was not going anywhere. Dusk was falling, and she had not seen or heard anything that belonged to other people. It was just her, the animals of the forest, and the river.  
She was thirsty, but did not really know how to quench that thirst. Another thing she was clueless about. Now she was sure that she was not going to last long in the wilderness.  
Just as she was about to stand up, a soft whisper caressed her mind.  
'_River…'  
_Edraithel was starting to get a little agitated. What was the matter with the river now?_  
'… drink from the river.'_  
What? Oh well, she could at least try. She slowly dipped her hands in the water, but nothing happened. Suddenly, she figured she should probably cup her hands and take the water to a specific spot on her body. Then she became aware that she actually had lips. She cupped her hands and brought the water to her lips. It slowly made its way through her mouth and she kept drinking until she had enough. While she was drinking, it felt as if she had already done such a thing before and was just repeating a movement she was already familiar with, yet had forgotten somehow. _How strange,_ she thought, _this is obviously the first time I do this since I woke up…_ Nevertheless, she put the thought apart to think about later and started walking again, this time trying not to worry about her forgetful mind.

Hours passed, and the darkening sky had changed into a black area, spotted with shining objects. Edraithel kept walking on until her body began to tire. She still had not spotted a single thing which could lead her to civilization, and her surroundings had not changed all that much. However, she did not want to give in to her exhaustion and forced herself to walk on. She had seen that the river made a sharp turn further downstream, and she was curious what she would see once she was around the corner. _Probably the same I have seen all day long – more forest and river. _Disregarding that thought, she had promised herself she would lay down if it turned out to be what she expected – if it was not the same, she would walk on. By that time her stomach had begun to feel scarily empty, and she felt herself slightly growing weaker with every few steps she took.

After what seemed like an eternity, she reached the corner. Eager about what she would see, she sprinted around the corner with her remaining strength – and saw a dark construction looming over the river. Eyes widening with curiosity, she slowly walked to the construction. It only did not seem to get any closer. Was it still that far away? It was difficult to see in the bleak light coming off the strange spots in the sky. Her hope to reach the construction soon enough faded away together with her last remaining strength. She let herself fall down onto the uncomfortable river bank and exhaustion took over, sending her into a deep slumber.

* * *

_Arrows soared through the sky. The air was full of agonizing screams, making her tremble. She looked down and saw a deep cut in her right arm, warm thick liquid oozing out of it. She felt sick.  
Suddenly, the screams stopped and an eerie silence stretched over the area. She sighed with relief: she was safe. She stood up and was just about to peer around the corner of the wall she had been sitting against, when she heard it.  
_Thump, thump, thump  
_Footsteps. She was not alone. Terrified, she crouched down as low as possible. The sound was coming closer.  
_Thump, thump, thump. Thump, thump, thump.  
_They stopped. A cold gust of wind blew past her face, and she saw something standing in the darkness outside the small alley she was in. 'Please don't kill me… please don't kill me…'  
Another step, and this time she saw two booted feet in front of her.  
A deep, threatening voice spoke._ 'Your time has come, wench. Die now!'  
_A silver object flashed in front of her. The man moved, and she heard a terrifying, disgusting sound coming from below. She looked down in shock, and saw a blade protruding from her chest. A small gasp escaped her lips, and the last thing she saw were two glittering eyes from beneath a hood._

* * *

"AAAAHHH!"

Edraithel's own scream woke her from her dream. As she lay on the riverbank, panting and calming down, she observed that the sky was less dark than it had been before; dawn was well on its way.  
Then, her thoughts returned to the horrible nightmare she had had. It seemed so real, she still felt the terror which lingered in her heart.  
Trying to shake off the dark thoughts, she heaved herself up, drank some water and went on her way again. She felt quite well in comparison to the night before, so she would surely make it to the bridge soon. Full of new hope, and some fear lingering in the background, she briskly walked on.

Further into the forest, a pair of eyes followed the strange elf walking along the riverbank. The terrifying scream had caught his attention and he had made his way to where the sound came from as quick as possible. Now, he had found the voice's source – a very interesting source.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read this first chapter! I'd love to know what you think about it, and any tips on how I can improve it would be more than welcome! ****  
More will be up soon. **  
_**Please review! **_

**\- L**


	3. 2: Meetings

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that belongs to Tolkien. Nor will I ever. This applies to all the chapters of this story.**

**A/N: To clear a few things up: Edraithel basically doesn't remember anything at all of the time before she woke up. This includes very normal habits like eating, drinking and so on. So to say, she just needs to learn everything again. What I'm trying to do is to tell the story as if she would be telling this afterwards. Does that make any sense? I hope so.  
Enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Meetings**

Edraithel had almost reached the bridge when she felt it. A growing unease had been lingering at the back of her mind for some time, yet it suddenly reached a whole new level. Shoulders tensed, she looked around. Nothing was in front of her, nothing behind her, nothing around her. Odd. Convincing herself she was simply imagining things, she forced herself to walk on. Somehow it did not seem to be going very well, because after a few steps a new wave of tension and unease hit her. Then she knew what was causing this feeling: she felt as if she was being watched. Yet even though her heart felt it her mind protested; such a thing was simply not possible. If she was being watched she would see the one watching her as well, right? And the forest felt so peaceful… it was probably just a deer watching her pass by.

Turning back to face the bridge once more, she bumped into something. A shriek escaped her lips and she looked up to whatever she had walked into. What she saw right then, was probably the best and most shocking part of the whole trip up to that point.

A face of spotless clear skin, lined with long, deep brown braided hair. Prominent high cheekbones, an angular yet softly rounded jawline, and a straight nose. One word; perfection. She could not remember ever seeing something breathtaking as this creature. Not that she could remember a lot anyway. Her intuition told her it was a male, and since she had nothing to compare his looks to she decided to simply believe it was right. So, _his _lean body, clothed in a simply tunic and leggings in green and brownish colours, even seemed to glow a bit. However, the most stunning part of this creature's appearance were the bright green eyes she looked up at. She felt as if she could drown in those eyes… But then she realized her mouth was slightly agape. She hid her embarrassment a bit by smiling shyly, but the creature was eyeing her warily.  
They continued to look at each other for some more time, Edraithel still admiring his features but getting a little anxious, the other one taking in her own features with wariness that never wavered.

His mouth started to move and a sound reached her ears. She remembered what it was - he was speaking. However, what he was actually saying did not get clear. It sounded like nothing she could make any sense of, really. Just gibberish.  
He must have seen the confused look in her eyes, because he stopped speaking for a while before he said something strange again. Edraithel shrugged, not understanding anything. What was he trying to do? His voice reached her ears again, but this time the gibberish sounded slightly different. Still, she could not make sense of it in the slightest. She did not react. He seemed to get the idea and said something else, something that sounded less melodious. She felt as if she had heard the language before, but could not place any of the words he spoke. She shrugged again. His eyes suddenly flared and he put a hand on his forehead. It looked as if he was trying to calm himself. Or was he thinking, maybe?

After some time in which Edraithel slowly shuffled away from him, being a bit scared by his odd behaviour and the fact she didn't understand anything he said, he sighed and pointed one finger at his chest.

"Thannor", he said.  
At first, she still did not understand what he meant, but after his second try she figured he was telling her his name. Not sure of her own reasoning, she pointed a finger at him.  
"ThanNOR?" The word sounded strange, coming from her own tongue. She had tried to say it the same way the other one did, but her version wasn't completely alike despite the flowing way it rolled off her tongue.  
He shook his head. "THANnor."  
She printed the way he pronounced it in her head. Another try. "THANnor?"  
A small smile played at his lips and he nodded.

Then, he pointed a finger at her. She guessed it was her turn now to say her name, so she pointed a finger at herself while forcing out "Edraithel."  
Thannor's lips formed into a thin line and a strange look, something she could not interpret, appeared on his face.

His expression changed again as fast as it had formed though, as he handed her a piece of something hard. What was she supposed to do with this? She wanted to ask, but somehow she could not find the words to say it out loud. What was wrong with her?  
Thannor gave her an odd look, but he seemed to know what she wanted to ask though. He said "lembas" and brought his own piece of solid to his mouth, where it disappeared between small white objects. That movement was vaguely familiar… She nodded, and copied his movement. She put the lembas in her mouth and started crunching it with the same white objects she assumed to have in her mouth. That movement brought up some more words - she remembered the name for this repeated movement: chewing. She was chewing her food – she was eating the lembas!

Happy to have found out what she was actually doing, she followed Thannor's finger as he pointed it at a couple of trees behind her. Not seeing anything, she looked up to him just as he made a loud, high-pitched sound with his mouth and fingers. Whistling.  
She heard movement within the forest and turned to look at the bushes again, only to see a strange but beautiful creature walking towards them. It stood on four legs and had a large wisp of dark hair sticking out at the back, the word tail popping up in Edraithel's mind. It had more dark hair on the top of the head, and a pair of brown eyes were embedded on a dark, almost black coloured skin. _A horse_, Edraithel thought happily. She didn't know why that sight made her so happy, but she didn't complain at all. As if it was a completely natural thing to do, she slowly stepped up and placed her hand on the horses' body. The horse didn't seem to mind the new person and placed its muzzle in her other hand.

Thannor moved to stand beside her, a slightly surprised look crossing his features. "Arthiel", he said. He lovingly patted her nose and then pointed at her back while looking at Edraithel with a question in his eyes. Not exactly knowing what he might mean, Edraithel just nodded out of shyness. What she did not expect at all, was for Thannor to gently grab her by the waist and place her sideways on the horse's back as if she were as light as a feather. Shocked, she sat still when Thannor himself moved up behind her and placed one hand around her waist again, the other holding the leather straps Edraithel's subconscious recognized as reins. He spoke some more gibberish and suddenly the horse was trotting through the forest.

* * *

After what seemed like riding for an eternity, they finally slowed their pace. Thannor had not said a single thing to her and Edraithel did not like the situation. She did not even know where they were going… She had not even thought about distrusting Thannor when they met, but now she started to doubt herself. Maybe he was not the person he said he was…  
All the time they sat on Arthiel's back while she was galloping through forests. She did not mind at first, but due to Thannor's reserved behaviour she had begun to feel a bit like a captive, as if he would not let her leave when she wanted to.

Just as she decided it was time for her to try to make clear she did not have any intentions whatsoever, Thannor murmured something in the way of speaking she had labeled 'regal-gibberish' and Arthiel stood still. He then made a strange noise, something like a sound a bird would make.

Cloaked figures stepped out of the shadows. Their feet made no sound at all when they moved through the leaves and grass, and they had long bags on their backs with pointy objects sticking out of them. They formed a small semi-circle in front of Arthiel, their hooded faces turning towards the two on the horse's back. The one in the middle held a shiny silver object in his hands. Upon realizing it was the same sort of object as in the bad dream she had had, a shriek escaped her lips. Thannor's grip on her waist tightened and Edraithel grew a little panicky. All sorts of different scenes of how she was going to die right there and then were already flashing through her mind when Thannor and the hooded figures finished talking to each other in that regal-gibberish of theirs, all the while glancing over at her every now and then. After they had finished speaking the figure in the middle took off his hood, causing Edraithel's eyes to widen in surprise. The shape of his face, the braided golden hair, glowing skin and piercing abnormally beautiful eyes reminded her of her captor.

He introduced himself as "Glorfindel." The second one to remove his hood had raven black hair, the same glowing skin, and light-grey eyes. He took a step forward and, smiling softly, called himself "Túon." The last one to reveal his face was "Amathon", with a soft-brown hair colour and stormy grey eyes. During this introduction, Edraithel shockingly realized they were all the same sort of creatures. She looked at Thannor, then back at the others, once again, and one other time just to be sure. The one who called himself Glorfindel seemed to notice her astonishment and gave her a strange look before saying "edhil", vaguely waving his gloved hand in the direction of the other males.

After shyly saying her own name and making sure she was correct by pointing at everyone, saying their names and then _edhil_, Edraithel was pretty sure they all belonged to a species called _edhil_. The day just could not get any more surprising – or she thought so.

Before she knew what was happening, the others had mounted their horses which had silently moved up beside them and they were riding again. She felt a little bit better knowing there were at least more of the kind of Thannor, yet she was still a bit scared as to what would be waiting for her.

* * *

After hours of uncomfortable riding on Thannor's horse and listening to the others' occasional talk, they descended into a narrow valley as the sky began to turn dark again.  
The sound of rushing water reached her ears, and as they followed the path winding deeper into the valley, she beheld a sight such as she had never seen before: a waterfall and rushing river were what lay between them and all sorts of twinkling lights. As they came closer Edraithel could make out elegantly shaped buildings and the sound of melodious voices. Thannor indicated the group of buildings and called it 'Imladris'.  
They rode through the gates and entered a large courtyard surrounded by even more elegantly shaped buildings.

Looking around in amazement, Edraithel did not notice the others had dismounted until strong hands gripped her waist and gently set her on the ground. Thannor again. She tried to give him a questioning look, but he simply inclined his head and gently pushed her into a certain direction.

Glorfindel, Túon and Amathon also walked with them through countless corridors of a complex which was certainly easy to lose your way in, until they halted in front of large doors decorated with intricate designs. Glorfindel said something and a muffled reply came from behind the large doors. They swooped open and the group went inside, Edraithel still being pushed gently by Thannor.

The room they walked into was large and open, with huge open windows exposing the beautiful surroundings of the place called Imladris. In the middle of the room was a large wooden desk, and behind it sat yet another one of those _edhil_. Edraithel could not help but gasp at what she saw right then: this one had pointed ears sticking out of his brown hair! She had never seen anything like it. Thannor followed her gaze and shook his head as he saw what she was looking at.

The unknown male walked up to them and clasped arms with Glorfindel, thereafter inclining his head at the other males before shortly conversing with them. Edraithel presumed they were talking about her again as she noted the occasional glance going her way.

Once the conversation was over the male stopped in front of Edraithel, his grey eyes boring into hers. His gaze was reserved yet a little soft as he noticed the anxious way she was fidgeting with her fingers. He introduced himself as 'Elrond' after she softly told him her name. His gaze never wavered, and for a few uncomfortable minutes they just stood there in silence, Edraithel avoiding meeting his gaze as best as she could. She felt so lost and shy, how would she know what to do? She did not even know what this was all about.

Thannor then muttered something and Elrond turned to look at him.  
She saw the eyes of everyone widen as Elrond then told them something and turned back to her, a knowing look in his eyes.


	4. 3: Revelations, doubts and plans

The Lord of Rivendell moved his hand up to his pointy ear, then grabbed her hand and moved it up to the place where she assumed her own ears were.  
What she had never expected, was that hers felt exactly the same as what Elrond's looked like. She squeaked as she felt the strange pointy tip on her ear and it dawned on her that she was of the same sort as Elrond and the others. For a time she simply stood there, trembling slightly, not knowing what to do.

Elrond made use of the circumstances by giving her a curt nod, waving his hand while saying something, and suddenly Thannor and Glorfindel were ushering her through even more corridors before stopping in front of a doorway showing the room behind it. Edraithel barely noticed though, she was still somewhat in shock of the revelation.

Once the three of them had stepped into the room, Thannor halted and took Edraithel's hand in his. He gently waved her hand through the air and then pointed her own finger at herself, saying "_le_."  
This forced her out of her mind-numbness, after which it took her only the slightest of moments after Thannor's second try to understand this was to be her room. Tall braziers illuminated a spacious room with large open doors leading out onto a balcony. The room itself was divided into a sitting area and an area used to sleep, which consisted of a huge four-poster bed. The sitting area was on the opposite side of the room and was made up of a low, intricately carved wooden table with a matching pillow-filled couch. The whole room emanated a sense of tranquillity she had not sensed since she woke up.

Once she turned back to the two males she noticed a small smile playing on Thannor's lips, while Glorfindel was looking at her with a thoughtful look in his eyes. That combination made her somewhat uncomfortable… Was she doing something strange? Before she had had more time to consider it, Glorfindel muttered something, gave her a curt nod, and strode out of the room. Thannor followed him almost instantly in the same fashion, but before he closed the door he looked back at her and gave her a small smile. Then the door closed swift and soundless, and Edraithel was all alone.

Suddenly feeling quite lost, she sat down on the couch and looked around once again. Only then did she feel the hollow feeling in her stomach and the strange feeling in her head. Luckily she found some food in the table right in front of her, and nibbling the tasty bread she had time to process everything that happened.

So she was one of the _edhil_ as well… Frankly, she did not feel like one of them at all. She did not even feel anything, really. She just felt so numb, dumb and confused. How could it be she could not remember a single thing before the forest? Did she belong here? Perhaps Thannor, Glorfindel, Túon and Amathon already knew her and just brought her back… Or maybe she was a stranger to them as she was to herself. But if she did not come from here, where **did** she come from? Surely she would recognize it at least faintly if she had been familiar with the surroundings… Or maybe not. She just had no clue where to begin solving the mystery. It was all pointless. She tried her hardest to get to know more about herself again, but everything was and stayed covered in the darkness of nothingness. She was starting to get a little frustrated now.

She slowly calmed down, knowing it would lead to nowhere. She would simply have to make the best of it, she knew that, but it still felt so strange that she could hardly believe all of this was real. She felt enormously lonely and out of place there in what the other edhil had called Imladris. Perhaps she should go away and be done with this craziness. But where would that lead her? She did not even know where to go… Still, it felt better than the idea of staying here.

Deciding she could always go back, she gave in to her urge to flee and walked to the door. She figured she would have time enough to think of a plan while she would be trying to find her way through the maze of corridors.

She opened the door as slowly as she could and peeked around a corner. People with long pointy sticks were standing in the hallway on both sides of her door. She had seen those sort of people when they entered Imladris – they probably took care of the building or something alike. So Edraithel walked out of the doors, and gave a small smile and nod to the one she passed, such as she had seen Glorfindel and Thannor doing. He did not return it though, and something in his eyes made her uncomfortable. She swiftly walked on but almost jumped when he grabbed her elbow and turned her back to him. Their gazes locked – hers wide and slightly frightened, his icy and threatening. He slowly shook his head, then opened the door and pushed her inside before closing it again. As she stood looking at the entrance, she decided she definitely did not like that one.

If her reasoning was correct, she then knew they did not want her to leave. Strange… She had not seen anyone else being treated like this here. At least, not yet. So they must have had a reason to keep her locked up in a room.  
A terrifying thought entered her mind. What if she was someone who bore the edhil ill will? But then they would not have behaved the way they did that day, so that did not match…

It was all just so odd, unknown and terrifying to her. What was she supposed to do? She did not know anything, not even about herself… She put her head in her hands and sobbed softly. She felt so alone and useless.

She did not know how long she sat like that, but after what felt like ages she rose from the couch and walked over to her bed where she laid down on soft fabric, her head resting on one of the many soft pillows. She had nothing else to do than sleep, after all.

It was this way she fell asleep, her head filled with sad and confused thoughts.

* * *

"What do you think of her, Lord Elrond?"

The lord of Imladris stirred in his seat, so lost in his thoughts he had not acknowledged the presence of the other at all. He took his time to find an answer he was content with, which was a difficult thing to do concerning the odd elleth.

At last, he spoke up. "I believe she means us no harm. Not directly, anyway. Yet we should remain somewhat wary of her; there is something about her that I cannot put my finger on. For now, I think it would be best if we give her some time to rest. She seemed to be quite distressed when you led her into the room, Glorfindel. Has something happened on the way here that might have caused her to be in that state?"

Glorfindel considered it for a time, before shaking his head. "No, the journey was nothing out of the ordinary. At least, for the patrol. I do not know what is wrong with her, but it is certain something is. I mean, the way she admired her room was very odd, as if she had never seen a bedroom and furniture in her life. It is true we have a certain style of decorating, but normally our guest rooms do not cause people to react that badly - least of all other elves."

Elrond nodded. "I agree with you on that. But you do think she is trustworthy?"  
"Well, not fully, but for now I guess it would be safe to keep her here. She looked very innocent and lost, after all."

Amathon emerged out of the shadows of the room. "I quite liked her, to be honest. Especially for someone who does not speak a single word of Sindarin." Túon stepped up next to him, shrugging. "Yes, she seems to be alright. Even though I did not actually speak with her…"

"I believe she is either extremely lost, or mad. Evil beings connected to Sauron could never be like her." Everyone looked over at Thannor, who had decided to join the conversation as well.

"Yes, but one can never be too careful", Glorfindel countered.

"That may be true, but I was the one who found her wandering the wilds. On the way to our encampment she could have killed me at least a dozen times if she had wanted to, yet she did not. She was slightly trembling the whole journey long. I have a feeling she is just anxious."

Everyone considered that for a time, before Elrond was the first to nod. "Then it is decided. It is safe enough to keep her here for some time. I do wish for the guards at her door to stay, though. At least until she is able to tell us who she exactly is, where she hails from and what she was doing in the wild. Which seems to be the next obstacle, considering she does not speak a single language…"

"Then we should teach her a language", Túon suggested.  
Glorfindel spoke up again. "Yes, I think that would be a wise idea."

Elrond rose from his chair. "A good suggestion. I shall speak to Erestor immediately. I thank you for gathering here. Please rest, we shall speak again on the morrow."  
The others nodded and left Elrond's study, followed by the Elf-lord himself not long after.

He made his way through the winding corridors of Rivendell to the quarters of his Chief Counsellor, where he stopped to knock softly on the door. Erestor's keen elven ears easily noticed the sound, and Elrond heard a muffled "Come in" from the other side of the door before he stepped inside.

Erestor was seated behind his desk, reading a book by candlelight. "Mae g'ovannen, Lord Elrond. What brings you here at such a late hour?"

"I was hoping you could be of some help to me. You see, a rather curious incident has taken place earlier this night."

Erestor raised an eyebrow. "What do you speak of?"

"Glorfindel and his patrol have returned with a peculiar elleth, who has the looks of one of our kin but cannot speak Sindarin, nor any other language for that matter. We cannot properly communicate with her, and I think it is necessary to question her about her identity and intentions – one can never be too careful."

"That is most odd indeed. Am I right in thinking you hope I am willing to teach this elleth a language?"

Elrond chuckled. "You know me too well!" Then he turned more serious again. "But you do agree with this?"

"Of course! I would not let this chance pass by without taking it. You know that."

"Well, it is good to see you still like to show off your skills, mellon nîn**." They both chuckled heartily at that, remembering some events of the past which illustrated exactly that.  
"I shall send someone to take her to your study tomorrow after breakfast. Thank you, Erestor. Good night!"

And with that Elrond strode out of the room, leaving a curious Erestor behind. Not only had Elrond's description evoked a strange impression of the elleth, it also made him wonder how he was going to teach an adult elf a language without having another language to converse in. Even in his long years, he had never dealt with such a thing, except for teaching young children of course.

And he was not the only one to ponder about the new 'guest'. Meanwhile, Lord Elrond was back in his study thinking of a way to handle the situation, Glorfindel was thinking about all the oddities of the girl, and even the warriors spared a thought about her.

It seemed as if Edraithel left everyone she met in a curious state, the number of elves involved growing. Soon, this would apply to the whole of Rivendell.

* * *

**_* Mae g'ovannen = well met  
** mellon nîn = my friend_**


	5. 4: A new start

**Chapter 4: A new start**

_A silver object flashed in front of her. The man moved, and she heard a terrifying, disgusting sound coming from below. She looked down in shock, and saw a blade protruding from her chest. A small gasp escaped her lips, and the last thing she saw were two glittering eyes from beneath a hood. _

"Echuia! Echuia!" (Wake up, wake up!)

Edraithel felt someone softly shaking her and saw a silhouette hovering over her. She focused her eyes and saw it was a female elf trying to get her to wake up. There was a slightly concerned look in her grey eyes. She tried to give the elf a smile, but it must have been a weak one since the elf only eyed her more concerned.

The reason why was no mystery to her. The nightmare had been plaguing her again, the very same nightmare as the night before. If that would be routine from now on, Edraithel was definitely not going to have peaceful nights. She had been tossing and turning in the middle of the night, feeling rested and wide awake after what had seemed to be a very short time of actual sleep. As the first light of the day slowly crept into her room she had fallen asleep again, only to have the same terrifying dream. Her room was now full of sunlight shining through the open doors, so it was a bit later in the day than when she woke up in the wilds.

The elleth had seemingly decided she was alright again and smiled at her. She had long, dark, intricately braided hair and was wearing a simple but beautiful blue dress. She pointed at herself and said "Arassel" before she pointed at the other and said "Edraithel." The whole introduction business was already well on its way to being easily recognizable and understandable for Edraithel, so she smiled and said Arassel's name to show her she understood.

With the introduction out of the way, Arassel stood up from the side of the bed she had been sitting on and pulled on the soft fabric Edraithel had been laying on that night. To her surprise, it was only tucked under the pillows and not fixed in place as she had thought. Arassel then lowered the fabric and laid it over Edraithel's body. Apparently, the fabric was called a blanket.  
_And so another long day full of learning words begins_, she thought. _If only I could remember everything they say as easily as hearing it…_

She rose from the bed and went to stand beside it as Arassel motioned for her to do so. Before long, the bed was as neat as it had been the night before. Edraithel had been curiously watching what Arassel was doing to make the bed like that, but was broken out of her trance when Arassel led her by the elbow to a corner of her room which was separated by screens. Peeking around the corner of those screens, Edraithel saw a large tub filled with steaming water. Petals of flowers she had seen in the woods earlier floated on the surface, and a sweet floral smell reached her nose. Arassel looked back at her, saying "le" and pointing to the bath. Alright, so she was supposed to do something with the tub? She did not really understand it. Arassel must have seen that, since she pushed Edraithel further on to the tub and began to unlace the nightgown she had changed in. That made Edraithel feel a little uneasy, but she figured Arassel most likely knew better than her what to do with this tub.

A short time later, Edraithel was sitting in the tub and being scrubbed by Arassel. It turned out to be an object she could wash the grime of her skin and lay down in the fragranced water. She did not really know why, but she felt a little exposed without any clothes on. Arassel did not seem to mind though, she just scrubbed on like it was the most normal thing on the planet – all the while pointing at things around them and telling Edraithel what they were called.

After the bath, Edraithel changed into the clothes laid out for her near the bath; a simple green dress and soft white slippers. Arassel had already combed and braided her hair in the bathtub, so she was all done by the time someone softly knocked on the door. Both females being elves they heard it loud enough and Arassel opened the door, revealing one of the male elves who had brought her to Rivendell. If she recalled correctly, the raven black hair belonged to… Túon? She wasn't sure, which is why she waved sheepishly at him from behind Arassel and said "Túon?". He gave her a kind smile and nodded. "Edraithel, aphado nin!" (Edraithel, follow me!)

Before she understood what he meant, which would have been close to never if not for Arassel who pushed her to the door, he turned around and started striding back through the corridor. Nervously glancing back at Arassel she hoped to find some sort of explanation, but Arassel simply smiled at her and pointed at the now tiny figure at the end of the corridor. "Aphado Túon, Edraithel."

One last push and Edraithel was out in the corridor, hurrying towards the door where Túon had disappeared. She would need to catch up with him quickly if she did not want to get lost… By day, the corridors looked different than they had done so the night before.  
She hurried around a corner, only to bump into something slightly softer than a wall. Something with long black hair. So he had decided to wait for her, after all.  
She quickly took a step back and looked at him. He was chuckling softly, looking at her with amusement in his eyes. This did not improve her mood. If only she could already express her current mood… The most she could do now was to glare at him. However this had the complete opposite effect of what she had expected; he had started laughing out loud.

He composed himself quickly though, and offered her his arm before he started walking. Not knowing what to think of that gesture, Edraithel shrugged. "Ai" was the only thing he said before he took her by the hand and placed her arm in his. She tried to remember that for later on – maybe knowing what she needed to do in such a situation would come in handy later.

They walked through countless corridors and halls for some time, in which they occasionally passed some other elves. Still not entirely used to the sight, Edraithel could only stare at them while Túon greeted each and every one of them. The action was returned as well, though. Many elves they passed could not resist looking at her curiously after greeting Túon. She guessed they probably knew everyone here, but maybe not her. If that was so, she could not be from around here. But those thoughts could be saved for later, she did not want to think about that yet.

At last they entered a large hall which was already filled with many elves. The hall, again beautifully crafted, was filled with elegant long tables full of things Edraithel recognized as food.  
Talk in fluent Sindarin reached her ears, but she could not understand anything they said. Not that it mattered, she did not know them anyways. Túon and she still walked arm in arm and gracefully passed many long tables before stopping before a table placed on a low platform which made it stand just a little higher than the other tables. Sitting at that table, she recognized Lord Elrond to be one of them. Well, at least she knew one of them then. She did not have the slightest idea who the others could be.

Upon seeing Túon and her, Lord Elrond rose from his chair and waved to them. "Edraithel, tolo hi." (Edraithel, come here.) He then used the same motion as Arassel had that morning when she wanted Edraithel to come to her, so she shyly smiled back at Túon who let get go of her arm and walked over to Elrond. Once she got there, he pointed at a seat next to him and sat down again. She sat down too, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She did not really know what he expected her to do, so she simply did nothing.

She did not have to worry however, because Elrond grabbed a plate from the middle of the table and placed it in front of her, flashing her a kind smile. "Mado." (Eat.)  
He then turned back to his own plate of food and started eating. Following his example, Edraithel took a bite of something on her plate as well. She did not know its name, but it tasted incredible – much better than the lembas Thannor had given her. Not wanting to rush the experience, she slowly ate all the food on her plate and finished with the liquid Elrond had pointed out to her. It did not taste like water, but she liked it.

Throughout the meal Elrond regularly looked back at her and gave her small smiles. Her guess was that he was trying to make her feel more at ease. It was a kind gesture of him, but it only helped a little. All the other elves at the table had glanced at her several times, but no one paid any more attention to her than that. All around her she heard the language of the elves, and knowing she could not say more than just a few random words made her feel very out of place.  
Slowly more and more elves finished their food and left the hall, until only a few of them remained at the table. Edraithel did not know what she was supposed to do. She had seen Túon leave a little earlier and did not recognize anyone else she had seen, so staying here until she could 'ask' Lord Elrond what she was supposed to do seemed like the best option. She still felt slightly uncomfortable though. The Lord of Imladris had been talking to the person on his left throughout the meal, but since she had arrived from the other side of the table she had not had the opportunity to see who it actually was.

That was, until Lord Elrond finally stopped talking and turned back to her once again. He smiled at her and rose from his chair, finally revealing the one he had been talking to the entire time. An elven lady with long silver-blonde locks looked back at her, smiling kindly as well. Her eyes were of a piercing blue colour, and a beautiful silver circlet in the shape of flowers adorned her forehead. Elrond did the introduction ritual again and so Edraithel found out the lady was called Celebrían. She returned the smile, hoping that would do.

Luckily, she was saved by Elrond calling 'Erestor!' before the situation could get awkward. Elrond motioned for Edraithel to stand up as well, and once she had done that another elf had joined their company. This one had dark hair much like Elrond's, but his eyes were a deeper grey. He kindly smiled at her when Elrond introduced them, and then held out his arm to her. Elrond looked at Edraithel and nodded, so she put her arm around Erestor's offered one.

Having only just met the elf, Edraithel experienced the walk to his study as being quite awkward. When Erestor finally opened a door revealing a smaller study than Elrond's, she was glad to break away from his arm and walk into the room. He held out a chair for her and motioned for her to sit down, after which he sat down in his own chair on the opposite side of the desk. Edraithel was feeling more uncomfortable with every second that passed, especially when Erestor made no move to do anything at all. He just sat there for what felt like ages, looking at her with a thoughtful look in his eyes, occasionally tucking a loose strand of long dark hair behind his ear but nothing more than that. She tried to meet his eyes every once in a while, but his gaze was so strong that she gave in to the urge to look away not long after.

All the while, Erestor was trying to get the hang of this strange elf. There was something about her, he could see that, but he just couldn't figure out what. When she looked away from him for what must have been the millionth time, to his amusement, he decided to start doing what they were supposed to do. He would have plenty of time later.  
He walked to one of his many bookshelves, thought of one of the language courses and immediately grabbed the correct book. How jealous Elrond would be if he would have seen that – he had been trying to memorize every book and scroll stored within the walls of his house, but nobody could beat Erestor's almost frightening librarian-senses.  
'Sindarin for Toddlers.' He supposed that would do for now. After all, her Sindarin was even worse than that of an elven toddler. He turned around and walked back to his desk, from where Edraithel was eyeing the book curiously. Ever careful around books, he gently laid it down and motioned for Edraithel to make a move and open the book. She however, continued looking at the book with puzzlement showing on her features, then up to him, and then she shrugged.  
_Wait a second, she does not even know what to do with a book? Poor child… _Needless to say, the scholar in him winced.  
Deciding against using the book in these first few lessons, Erestor closed it again and went into teacher mode.

"This Edraithel, is a book." He pointed at it to clarify his meaning. "Book."  
He could see she understood what he had pointed out and continued with his Plan B.

-xxx-

'Sun', 'desk', 'chair', 'air', 'wall', and 'floor' were only a few of the many words that almost literally rained down on Edraithel, since Erestor kept going on teaching her the basics of Sindarin for the entire day. It was not until the sky outside his windows was turning dark that he realized he had been lecturing the poor girl from mid-morning to dusk – without a break. He was surprised her head had not exploded of all his constant rattling. He wrapped up his third round of making her name the things he pointed at, then stood up and smiled. He had long ago discovered that foreigners learnt the language faster if they heard it all day long, so he stuck to that reasoning once more. "Very good, Edraithel. I have kept you locked up here all day, so I think going back to the hall for dinner would not be a problem at all, yes?"

She blinked, not understanding the majority of what he had said, but took his offered arm anyway.

The walk back to the dining hall was uneventful and, much to Edraithel's relieve, without any awkward moments.  
She could hear the music in the hall from far away, getting louder with every step they took until they stepped through the last doors right into the crowded hall. There was just so much to take in, she had not even noticed Erestor had led her to the front table again, where Elrond, Celebrían and several others were seated. This time though, Glorfindel had joined them as well. He smiled warmly at her when he noticed the pair of them arriving, and patted the chair next to him as an invitation to sit next to him. Erestor let go of her and sat down on her other side.

"Mae g'ovannen, Glorfindel." (Well met, Glorfindel). She hoped she had pronounced that right.

He chuckled and inclined his head towards her. "Mae g'ovannen Edraithel, Erestor." (Well met Edraithel, Erestor.)  
They started eating the food that had been brought to the table. It was yet another dish she had never seen before, but it was amazingly delicious nevertheless. Erestor and Glorfindel started a conversation, but as she could not understand anything she simply tuned it out and took a good look at her surroundings. She had had enough words thrown at her head for the day. The hall she was in was lit with beautiful elvish candelabras and torches on the walls, and the air was alive with all the voices of elves talking to each other and soft music being played in the back. The whole atmosphere was one of merrymaking and fun times, but she still felt uncomfortable and out of place.

She jumped out of her bemusement when Glorfindel patted her shoulder, obviously wanting her attention for whatever thing he had in mind. He said something in elvish gibberish that was still way too difficult for her to understand, glanced over her head at Erestor and then simply indicated the table with a questioning look in his eyes. Ah, now she understood; he wanted to see if she could already name it. She thought for a while, trying to recall what Erestor had called the table in his study. She remembered the name for the desk, but the name for table was harder to recall – until it popped up.

She made the same gesture as Glorfindel had done earlier and smiled proudly. "Talfin."  
He chuckled and clapped his hands. "Maer!" (Good!)  
He then kept asking the names of objects for a while, but stopped soon after it became clear to him that Edraithel got overwhelmed and mixed up everything. She was left to her own thoughts for the remainder of the evening, excluded of all the activities going on around her. It did not matter to her though, it was not as if she had nothing on her mind. On the contrary; she did not even know where to begin. Where were her memories?

-xxx-

The evening was already coming to an end when Erestor and Glorfindel went up to Lord Elrond to suggest she be taken back to her room since she had been looking quite unhappy all evening. Elrond looked over at her and noticed the miserable expression showing on her face.  
"It looks like she is very uncomfortable. We should let her get used to life here, perhaps it will change once she has adjusted. After all, I think it is going to take quite a while before we can question her. What do you think, Erestor? How has the lesson been?"

"I have been teaching her random names of objects and some basics practically all day, but she seemed to take it in well enough. I do not expect her to remember it all tomorrow, though. It is probably going to take at least a few weeks before she can communicate a bit, and even then she would not be able to answer your questions properly."

Glorfindel grinned. "Maybe that is why elves are immortal. You know, Sindarin takes forever to learn…"

Erestor looked slightly annoyed by that statement. "Or maybe languages are just one thing you are not capable of performing perfectly, Glorfindel."

"That is not strange when one bears in mind that elves like you keep adding new words to it every other day, thank you very much."

Elrond sighed. "My friends, enough of this. We were talking about Edraithel. You can both escort her to her room and continue bickering as you walk."  
The other two objected immediately and went to leave after giving a final nod, Erestor looking slightly annoyed and Glorfindel chuckling softly.

The two Elf lords found the strange elleth sitting on the same chair they had left her in earlier that evening, as if she was frozen in time. Her pale face was devoid of emotion and her eyes were downcast. Glorfindel and Erestor glanced at each other, then back at the girl. They knew exactly what was going on here; it was the facial expression of a sad person hiding their feelings. Normally they would talk to the person and guide them back step by step, but they both barely knew Edraithel. Not to mention the lack of proper communication, which made it almost impossible to talk to her, let alone help her with her problems.  
Though he was somewhat at a loss for words, Glorfindel stepped forward. "Please Edraithel, do not be sad. Know that we are here to help."  
She looked up at him, her blue eyes wide and filled with tears. Of course she had not understood anything at all. Clueless of how to handle the situation correctly, the Elf lords simply offered their arms and within a minute they were walking back to Edraithel's room with the elleth in their midst. The two male elves talked about trivial things, occasionally pointing stuff out at Edraithel and at times gently squeezing her arm as a gesture of comfort. They would have a long way to go before she would be able to join them in their conversation, that was for sure.


End file.
