Disclaimer: I own nothing of Tolkien's work. This is only my poor attempt to pay tribute to his brilliance.

Title: With Silent Charm

Rating: K+ - T

Summary: Elrond and Estel know nothing of the mute girl that is brought to them one quiet day. She is mute, badly wounded, and can recall nothing of her past. Yet neither can imagine what her arrival will continue into...and how it will end. Pre-War of the Ring.

Note: Words said like this: 'blah blah' are said in Sindarin unless otherwise noted.

Chapter Quote: "We found her wandering. She could tell us nothing. She could not speak."

Chapter One

Coming

The Ent swayed as it moved with a slow stride out from the depths of Fangorn. His blood coursed hotly through his leafy veins, one of the Eldar were near, an Elf. He recollected fondly his first rumbling words, the new feeling of life after they had woken him up. The Elf had looked on upon him, smiling with pleasure. He could feelan Elf's presence now, he looked down at the sleeping form huddled unconsciously in his hand. She did not stir as the Ent walked on, the leaves and earth shifting under his weight. As he had expected, the Elf had been waiting for him at the edge of the forest.

"I did not summon you." The Elf said after they had greeted one another. "I felt you in the forest."

The Ent smiled, so his approach had not gone unfelt. That was good. The Elves still remembered the old days, when they had been the teachers and the Ents, the students. It was all so long ago... "It is good ---that you have come."

"But why have you come?" Asked the Elf. His long hair shone a golden color in the moonlight, the braids marked him as a warrior, a common occupation during these times of danger. This question was a polite way to state the obvious, the Ents had long since given up in meddling in the affairs of Elves and Men. Long ago they had retreated into their forests, it was strange that the Ent had come at all...feeling or no feeling that the Elf has been near.

"I ---found this." The Ent lowered his gnarled hand, stretching out his thin fingers to reveal the form of a girl.

"Who is she?" The Elf asked, his keen eyes running over the wounds on her body and the steady rise and fall of her chest, marking sleep. The Elf dismounted and upon taking the girl from the Ent's hand, he laid her gently on the ground. Her figure, still youthful, was curiously light and decorated with many abrasions.

"We found her ---wandering. She ---could tell us nothing. She ---could not speak."

The Elf nodded.

"We ---cannot care for her properly here. She needs ---elvish care."

"I will take her." The Elf replied, gathering up the girl into his arms, swinging her up onto his horse and then mounting behind her. "Do you know her name?" The Elf asked as he looked up at the Ent.

The Ent shook his head. "She gave none." He paused, "Thank you. Ba rum rum." The Ent said slowly, a deep rumbling following his words.

They said farewell, then the Ent turned back to his forest and the Elf to the road. They would not meet again for a long, long while...most like they would never set eyes on each other again. The Elf spurred his horse on, urging the animal with soft whispers of encouragement.

It was a long road home.

The girl did not waken during the rest of the ride home. The Elf could once and a while feel her move slowly, her mouth would twist in a grimace and she would issue silent whimpers.

'Sleep child. All shall be well.' He said gently, tears were streaming down her cheeks. He did not know if she could understand his words or not, but almost instantly her tears stopped and she slipping once again into an oblivious silence. Her forehead was drenched in sweat, a sign revealing her feverish state.

'Fear not.' He whispered. 'We shall reach Imladris soon.'

His words were true. After a fortnight they rode through the gates into the valley. The Elf's billowing cape was wrapped carefully around her body as he dismounted.

'My Lord Glorfindel?'

The Elf looked up, saw another approaching. 'Send for Lord Elrond.' He gestured to the girl in his arms. 'This child needs assistance.'

The other Elf nodded, glancing curiously at the girl in Glorfindel's arms with wide eyes. He hurried off to do Glorfindel's bidding while Glorfindel himself started up the many stairs to the healing houses.

The girl was pale, her skin clung to her starved body, every bone visible. She had long, brown locks, matted with blood and grime. Her clothes resembled nothing more then rags, though Glorfindel could see that once they had looked something like finery. She was barely breathing as he laid her on a bed in one of Imladris' many healing rooms. Soon after, the door to the room opened. It was Estel, Elrond's human adoptive son. 'Where is Elrond?' Glorfindel asked. It was a pointless question, though not yet twenty, Estel was nearly as skilled in the art of healing as the Elven Lord himself.

'He is occupied and will come shortly.' Estel pushed his brown hair away from his face as his brows set in concentration while he studied the girl. He moved closer to the bed, his hand reaching out and resting on her forehead. His mind judging her condition with the skill of a healer. 'Where did she come from?'

'I do not know. I was on the return journey from Mirkwood, one of the Ents summoned me and asked if I would take of her. He did not know her name, I daresay if he knew anything about her at all.'

Estel was now peeling the bloodied cloth away from her left shoulder, examining the wound as he did so. He frowned.

'What is it?' Asked Glorfindel.

'This wound...I have not seen one of its like before.'

Glorfindel moved so he stood just behind the human. The wound was indeed unusual, it was deep, imprinted into her leftshoulder. It almost looked like...a type of brand...it looked like...a rose. Burned right to the bone...only...not burned...carved and it bled profusely. Both heard the door open and heturned, greeting Elrond asthe elven lordentered. The girl did not waken as Glorfindel told him what little they knew of her. Elrond frowned when he toosaw the rose.

'We can examine it further later, right now the blood flow must be stemmed. Have you checked for other injuries?'

'Not as of yet.' Estel replied.

Elrond handed Estel a clean cloth and the young man held it to the girl's shoulder while Elrond prodded the girl for any other wounds. When he reached her chest, she awoke with a jerk and a gasp of pain. All three froze, for what seemed like a half a second, her eyes danced with an image of somewhere...far away...but as suddenly as it had appeared, and they faded back into their original deep brown.

'Do not fear.' Elrond told her gently in Sindarin as she eyed them with growing fear. 'You are safe, we are going to help you.'

She stared at the elven lord with her eyes wide as saucers. She blinked, but stilled and he took her silence as acceptance and pulled up the ragged remains of her tunic. Her skin was stretched tightly over her shrunken stomach and her ribs. Three of which were misshapen, leaving the skin discolored. When Elrond ran her hand over her chest again, she shuddered, her eyes widening once more and her starved-form squirming under his touch. Elrond turned to tell Glorfindel and Estel to hold her down. Yet even as he opened his mouth to speak the words, Estel's hand snaked out and took the young girl's. She looked at him, tears beginning to flow down her dirt-streaked cheeks.

"You will be all right." Estel said, lapsing in the common tongue and smiling at her. She stared, her wide eyes looking up at him and then glancing at his large hand which was wrapped tightly around her own slender one. Her eyes met his, the brown searching the grey. A shadow of a smile passed over her face, and then she tightened her grip on his hand. Her face, still wild with fever and pain, eased slightly into relaxation and she sighed.

'I think she'll be all right now.' He said, not taking her eyes off of her as he spoke to Elrond. Her body stiffened, bracing herself for whatever was to come. Not needing a further cue, Elrond finished attending to her wounds and then coaxed her to drink a steaming cup of tea. She was almost immediately drifting on the borders of sleep, her hand entwined with Estel's.

Elrond moved to the door, calling for a maid and then returning to the two standing near the bed. Elrond and Glorfindel moved off aways- speaking in low tones about the recent trip to Mirkwood and the finding of the child.

'Where exactly did the Ent find here?'

'He did not say.' Replied Glorfindel.

Soon Estel was watching only the girl, she looked young...not more then eleven or twelve in mortal years. Her face still bore an innocent, child-like quality that was still visible through the bruises and scars, mud and grime. Before her eyes finally closed, he thought he heard a 'thank you'. The words, though soft and clear, startled him briefly, for he had not seen her lips move. Estel quietly brushed it aside and stood as the maid entered.

The maid, Nengel, was soft-spoken. But she ushered the three out with a stern look and one word, 'Go.' They stood outside in the hall as she cleaned the child up and exchanged her soiled garments for a nightgown.

'She will stay here...until we find out where she comes from.' Elrond said.

'What if she does not come from anywhere, father?' Asked Estel softly, she had let go of his hand as she drifted off to sleep. But even as he stood outside the room he felt a strange affection for her.

'What do you mean Estel?' Elrond replied, placing his hand on his youngest son's shoulder.

'I did not come from anywhere.' He said. 'We are alike.'

'Estel...?' Elrond asked again in surprise.

After a pause, Estel turned to him, smiling and shaking his head. 'Do not listen to me father. I speak foolishness...it was just a thought.'

Nengel came out some time later, looking pleased as she opened the door, granting the men permission to enter once more.

The girl's chest was rising and falling lightly in sleep. Though her face was still flushed with fever, her tears had stopped and the grime had been washed from her body.

'Do you mind if I stay with her tonight?' Estel asked, meeting his father's gaze with uncertainty.

'Yes...of course. I shall have food brought to you.' Elrond and Glorfindel left shortly after, closing the door quietly behind them. Estel did not know what exactly it was...he only knew that the girl needed his help...his protection. He did not even know her name, or who she was...or where she was from for that matter. Yet it strangely did not matter at all. He imagined she had quite the tale to tell when she awoke. And with quiet thoughts of reassurance revolving in his mind, he sank into the chair beside her bed and was soon lost in a peaceful sleep.

A/N: All right, this is officially my third time trying to get this story just the way I like it. Originally it was going to be a tenth walker story (and I blessedly decided against that), then I changed it so it would be a WOR (War of the Ring)continuation. But I've finally decided on this story-line in the end. Pre- LotR and focusing more on this girl and Estel (aka Aragorn). Just so I make this clear, this is NOT a romance between my oc and Aragorn. I am in full support of Aragorn and Arwen and would not change it in any other way. Tolkien's magic is pure and perfect..end of story. Now that's cleared up. :) I will be updating this story every once in a while, and I believe I will be using one OC from one of my most faithful reviewers: Eregriel Gloswen, in With Silent Charm some point in the later story line. -

Hopefully I'll be able to work through all the kinks to complete this story as it was the first fanfiction I ever wrote, one I started when I was eleven. So it means a lot to me and hopefully I'll get it right this time around. :)

TO BE CONTINUED...