Most people believed that the valley of Imladris never had "bad weather". That wasn't entirely true however, but it never got as bad as the weather above the valley. If it did snow, it usually only lasted for a week or two at most, and it was never more than a dusting. It rained for about a month straight each year. Just after the crisp of winter would be dying and spring coming with its sweet warmth, the skies would open and not close for weeks. It was a gentle rain, coming down straight and soft, never blowing sideways. The wind couldn't blow like that in the valley.

It was during this rainy month that Tessaring found herself back in the Last Homely House. Her quest was finished, and she was waiting for another. She had tried very hard to sleep that night but was unable to quiet her mind, so she decided to wander through the many paths of her second home-although she didn't really know what was her first.

Home was never an option for her, not after her sentencing. She could always go back there, no doubt about it, but it wasn't really the place that she didn't want to go back to, it was the people. They most likely would look at her like she was nothing but dark light. As much as she hated admitting it, she knew that was what she didn't want to see, the disappointment of what she had become and did. She hoped that they had forgotten her and the pain she had caused them…the pain she somehow managed to cause everyone. She found it easier to push people away then to let them in. If they came close, the only thing she could promise was more pain for them.

Her thoughts had wandered like this till she found herself at one of the highest peaks in the valley. It was an area usually no one went to and even Tessaring had only been there once or twice. But she found herself her once again. It looked like a giant white gazebo with a small stream wrapped around it. There was a stone table and chairs in the middle, a darker color due to the steady rain. The rain seemed to be a little more abusive from up here, but it didn't really matter, Tessaring's cloak was already soaked.

Either she woke up later then she guessed or had been wandering for far longer than she expected, she could see the sun peaking up from its bed of hills. It was coming between the tops of the valley and the bottom of the clouds and would disappear as soon as it came. The light that it made created a new type of beauty though; a golden light reflecting off of grey clouds and bouncing off of brown grass, a sight only to be seen in Rivendell.

Tessaring walked to the edge of the gazebo where there was a small ledge sticking farther out. She stood there and watched as the sun came up and began to disappear. Relaxing in the beauty of the light, her mind stopped its chase and let her just stand and relax. But the moment didn't last as long as she hoped.

"You never cease to amaze me," a voice from behind said, "always finding yourself in places you need not be."

Tessaring didn't turn to face the voice that was speaking, but instead continued facing forward out towards the sun's rising. "If you did not want me in here perhaps you should have put a guard on the path. No one stopped me."

"Perhaps I will." The owner of the voice, Lord Elrond, now stood next to her.

"Do you have a task for me yet?" Tessaring asked, intentionally leaving out the 'my lord' part in their conversation and Elrond did not miss it when she did. He turned to face her for a minute, slightly glaring to see if she merely forgot, but when she didn't correct herself he turned back to the now disappearing sun.

"No, I don't. Not yet." He replied.

"Surprising. Thought you would have me booked for the next Age."

He laughed, "As did I, but many things that I had tasked for you worked themselves out before you could get to them. I suppose there are many small things that you could do," he could hear her gritting her teeth at this remark. "But I know how you hate when your talents are 'wasted'."

She sighed as the sun finally left going up into the clouds, making the valley dark and grey again. She decided that if he had nothing for her and if she wasn't supposed to be here that she mine-as-well leave now.

As she turned on her heels to go, Elrond reached out and grabbed her arm, "You could always go home you know." He said in a whisper.

"Yes. I'm sure I could." She coldly responded, not meeting his gaze.

"Why do you refuse to go back? You obviously want to and you know you can, so what is it that holds you here?" She did not respond though so he continued, "Maybe it's the guilt of what drove you from it in the first place, or the shame of what it lead to in the end?" Still, no response, only an icy glare away from him, "Is it the halfling?"

With that she pulled her arm out of his grip with a hard jerk and began walking away. A thought she had finally calmed being revisited was not greatly welcomed. She continued walking, but he walked after her.

"The birds and trees speak of her often. They say she goes into the woods regularly now, preferring the company of nature over the company of her folk."

"She is old enough to make her own choices of how she spends her time I believe." She called back, still walking at a brisk pace.

"She speaks little to her people and more to the animals." Elrond tried to say.

"As do I, and you don't make a fuss over me." She replied shortly. She wasn't quite sure how he did it, but he managed to match her pace and grab her arm again, stopping her in her tracks, pulling her so that she would have to face him.

"They say she speaks of leaving the Shire." He said quietly.

Tessaring did not have a reply right away like she usually did, instead she thought about her answer for a minute before replying. "What I told her when I last saw her was a warning. A warning to what going off to see the world would lead to. But a warning can be ignored by choice. So if she goes off on an adventure, then it is her dealings…a dealing I will not concern myself with." Again she twisted her arm out of Elronds grip, slightly more gently this time.

She began walking away again when he called to her again, "Trastad!" she stopped, but did not turn. "I hope you do know that I do worry for you."

No reply was heard except the sound of the rain hitting the hard stone, along with Tessaring's boots walking away.

…..

I have been planning this next story for a long time now, coming at it from all different angles, but this one was the one I liked best. Got the nice shroud of unanswered questions enough to make you come back I hope…? Maybe? I hope. This is the sequel to the first story of the two main characters. If you would like to read that first you can find it on this page. But if you have already read that, maybe you could check out the first, unedited version I created on my personal page called MouseTalk. (Be warned that even the updated version has wrong facts. It was my first fic so it was bound to have slips.) R&R please.

BIYE,

Mouse.