Alice began to stir in the arms of whomever was cradling her. A hard, cold chest, that felt like steel was pressed against her cheek, gloved hands wrapped around her waist, a soft cloak was draped over her shoulder, the air smelled fresh, and was comfortably cool against her face. The combination alone could have gotten rid of her headache only if it wasn't for the consistent jolts she felt underneath her. Alice let out a small groan as a bright light began to seep past her eyelids. "Shh… You will be alright, little one…" That voice... So, peaceful… Darkness took over her once more as she was lulled to sleep by the gentle hum of a heartbeat.
Alice moved around as light began once again seeping past her eyelids. She swung her arm across her eyes and let out a quiet groan, "Someone turn off the sun, please…" A light chuckle sounded at the opposite end of the room. Alice quickly removed her arm and sat up just as fast. As her eyes adjusted to the abnormally bright light, she noticed a very blurry figure. Frightened, she started to frantically look around for her glasses, the man seemed to know what she was looking for and went over to the bedside table to hand her the frames. Alice gave a small thank you when her eyes made contact with seemingly ancient grey eyes of a man with long straight dark hair and a strand coming from either side of his ears. He wore silver robes, and he seemed to have seen more than everyone on the Earth combined; however, nothing about his overall appearance seemed old or young. He made his way over to a chair and sat beside her bed.
"Please, do not be frightened, child. I am only here to ask of your name, where you're from, and why you were around our gates." Alice sat up and gave this man a once over, and this time, getting a really good look at his ears. Her eyes went wide. Okay, that's either some seriously good esthetics or they're real… Or this is just totally some wacky dream. Alice blinked a few times before finding her voice to speak.
"How about you tell me your name first, why you have 'elf' ears, and where I am, then I will tell you mine. I need to know I can actually trust you first, don't you think?" Elaborate dream, elaborate demand, right? Alice crossed her arms over her chest. I swear to it all, if those science wierdos kidnapped me and put me in some weird medieval cult convention mindset... when I wake up from this they are sooo dead. The man gave her a small smile and a nod, already finding the strange human amusing.
"Very well, I could see how that would fair... You are in Imladris, or Rivendell. I am the Lord of this realm, Lord Elrond. This realm is home to my kin, and we are, in fact, elves, my dear." Alice gave him an incredulous look causing him to speak up once more. "If you do not believe where you are, go take a look outside." Alice looked at the "Elf" with not much interest and kicked off the covers and walked out to the balcony only to stop in awe. She had never seen such a beautiful place. It was unreal. This is something that only computers could create for movies. Definitely a dream…There was no way that a place such as this actually existed.
"This can't be Earth…" Alice stood at the balcony's edge, a look of surprising peace washed over her face. The comfortable breeze blew around her, ruffling her sweater and long hair that was free of it's ponytail. The sound of waterfalls filled her ear and her mind. This breeze fills familiar… I could get used to this…
"I told you, so I think it wise for you to tell me about you now." Alice looked to Lord Elrond then looked back at the view and sighed.
"My name is Alice Mueller, but you can call me Alice. I am from a country called America. It's made up of 50 different states and the one that I lived in was Oklahoma. Well, Tulsa, Oklahoma—Tulsa is a city in Oklahoma… Anyway, you also wanted to know how I got here…" Lord Elrond gave her a nod to continue. Alice took a deep breath, trying to remember. "Well, I was in my last class for the day—I go to a University—and it was very late… I ended up falling asleep in class after my presentation... My professor woke me up and told me that I had to wipe down all the tables and cabinets since I slept through most of my classmates' presentations… Well, once I was done, all the lights were turned off in the science building, so I used my phone to look where I was 's when I heard a noise in the hall I was in and saw a little white rabbit, but it was a different rabbit from the one I saw in that same classroom the night before."
"So, you had already encountered something similar the night before?"
"Well, yes," Alice answered a bit snappy. "But... the bunny from the night before had a blue eye and green eye-"
"Like your own?" Alice snapped her head in the direction of the elf.
"W-what are you talking about? My eyes are green." Lord Elrond gave her a quizzical look.
"Child, your eyes are not. Your left eye is a bright shade of blue." Lies! Alice ran back into the room to the vanity that was adjacent to the bed. Mind… Wake up! Sure enough, her left eye was an odd shade of blue that matched with the rabbit from the lab. Lord Elrond came back into the room. Alice couldn't really tell what he was thinking.
"Can you continue your story for me?" Alice nodded her head and sat back down on the bed…
"Anyway… I followed the new bunny inside of the room then behind a black curtain. The rabbit was trying to climb some sort of steel chest… I don't know what compelled me to do so, but I moved it aside. Underneath it was a hole, large enough for me to fall through. And that's what happened. I tried grabbing the rabbit when it jumped inside of it, but I ended up falling inside myself." Alice gave a small laugh. "It's funny, really. There's a story where I'm from, where a very similar thing happened to a girl with the same name as I…" Alice stood off the bed and went back out to the balcony and folded her arms on the ledge and laid her head on top of them. Lord Elrond gave her a look of pity and a bit of wonder. For someone being snatched out of her home, she seemed rather calm about what had happened to her. Either being very accepting or just thinking this were a dream. Of course, he could feel the curious and adventurous nature of the girl's soul oozing from her very being as she gazed off in the distance, which might have something to do with way she wasn't as distraught as he thought she should have been. And yet, there was something else. Something that he couldn't place about the girl. Something that made him very sad and frightened for the young human.
"I see that our guest has awaken." Alice's ears perked at the familiar voice. A voice that she seemed to have heard in a dream. Turning around, she saw a very beautiful man, or rather Elf, she assumed. He had long golden hair that reflected the sun's rays, he was tall and lean, and his eyes were full of mirth that shone bright in the light. Alice could tell that this Elf, not only had seen the world and its hell, but also learnt how to enjoy it and revel in the good that it can hold.
"Ah, Glorfindel. Alice, this is the ellon who found you unconscious outside of our walls. He has been very eager to meet you… I will leave you two to talk while I go see if I can find any answers on how you managed to get here. Farewell…" Alice managed to wave goodbye to Lord Elrond before awkwardly turning to Glorfindel, who then made his way over to Alice with a smile, bowing to her. Even if this was a dream, Alice still felt the warmth of a blush burn on her cheeks.
"I am very happy to see that the lady, Alice, is doing well. A very unique name, it's not Westron is it?" Alice cocked her head to the side at the handsome Elf before turning back to the balcony and leaning against it like she was before.
"No, it's English... What is Westron?" Alice turned her hand on her arms and looked at the Elf, a look of curiousity shining in her eyes. Mainly because she was amazed at her own mind for coming up with something as intricate as this. Glorfindel took a step to the ledge and placed his hands on top as well, a light smile gracing his lips as a deep laugh escaped.
"You are speaking it, little one." Alice raised a thick, dark eyebrow at him that could be seen as the breeze ruffled her bangs.
"Well, where I'm from it's called 'English.'"
"And where is this place that you are from where a human can look like an Elleth." Alice raised her eyebrows at him again, standing completely up and leaning on the ledge. "Well, maybe not quite have the height of an Elleth…" Alice looked at him and smiled before rolling her eyes and telling him where she was from.
"America? I've never heard of such a realm in Middle Earth, and I've been around since the First Age." Alice didn't even want to know how old he was after he said that. Before she could say anything else, something he said struck her. Middle Earth? When I wake up, I'm definitely going to have to write this all down.
"Middle Earth? Why do you call it 'Middle Earth' and not just 'Earth?'" Glorfindel looked at her confused.
"Because it's called 'Middle Earth' not just 'Earth.' Our world is known as Arda. Middle Earth is the land mass we are currently on." Alice looked bewildered. This is all so confusing. Well, I'm sure if I explained where I was from even further, he would be just as confused as I was-Wait, what am I thinking, This is my dream. A knock sounded on the door inside and a young Elf maid entered the room.
"My lady—OH, My lord Glorfindel!" The young elf turned her head as if she just walked in on something she shouldn't have. Glorfindel led Alice back into her room to meet with the maid. "I am very sorry for intruding, my lady… My lord... My Lord Elrond has asked me to start a bath for the young mistress and to have her dressed in proper clothing. He would like for her to see her new home, and to join him, his family, and you for the evening meal." Alice looked to Glorfindel as he bid her farewell and left the room after telling her to meet him in the courtyard as soon as she was ready. Alice snapped her attention back to the young elf.
"Is 'elleth' female, and 'ellon' male." Alice asked, intrigued as ever.
"Oh, yes, it is! Now, My lady, I would like to brush your hair out for you before you enter your bath. Being in bed for 2 days can cause great damage to anyone's' hair... Including ours!" Wait, 2 days?!
"Oh, sure! Not a problem! By the way, what is your name? And there is no need to call me 'my lady,' Alice will do."
"Miluiel, my la-Alice!" The two girls laughed as the young elleth gave her a warm smile and shuffled Alice over to the Vanity in the room, then started to brush out her blonde hair, only to let out a little gasp a while later.
"Is something wrong?" Alice asked with a worried tone.
"No… I just figured you were an Elleth. I had no idea you were human... Other than your height, you could easily be mistaken as one of our kin. Excuse me, but humans aren't always as clean and well kept as you are, or pretty, if you don't mind me saying." And here she was thinking that she could never compare to the elleth who was brushing her hair. Her long warm brown hair, and deep blue eyes were enough to make anyone envious. Her skin looked like one of the porcelain dolls her sister collected when they were younger, and she was tall and lean; much more beautiful than any model back home. Home… "I guess that explains why Lord Elrond gave me this vile for your eyes. He said you wore glass in front of your eyes in order to see. I could see that he wasn't joking!"
"What is it supposed to do to my eyes?" Alice asked, looking up to Miluiel.
"If it's made properly, which I know it is, it should heal your sight- Oh, my! Your eyes! They are very unique. In all my 400 years, I have never seen anyone with different colored eyes! It's quite lovely." Lovely? Hah! Right now I find them far from it actually it's more creepy then anything- "Oh my holy biscuit! Did you just say you were 400 years o-" The elleth let out a laugh that sounded nothing short of music.
"Yes, I did. How old are you, Miss Alice? You seem like a rather young human. I'm rather young as well. Before that, tell me, would you like rose or lavender oil in your bath?" Alice blinked her eyes, coming out of her thoughts.
"Rose. Oh, and I'm 21... Now I understand why Lord Elrond and Glorfindel were calling me 'young one' and 'child.'"
"Oh, I have truly out done myself. You do look very beautiful. The hair across your forehead is rather pretty, what did you say it was called again?"
"Bangs, or fringe. It's really whatever you prefer!" Alice gave her new friend a smile. The two girls had already managed to get along amazingly within the few hours they were together. Alice figured since it was a dream, why not "live it up." Miluiel had already hemmed a dress for Alice seeing that she was nearly a foot shorter than the elleths of Rivendell. Standing at a whopping 5ft 1in. Nevertheless, the dress was beautiful on her: a light silky blue fabric with beading around the waist line that hugged her petite figure perfectly with a deeply swooped neckline, trumpet sleeves, and a full skirt that had a small train behind it. Her cool blonde hair was dried and straight down her back and her bangs were perfectly nestled on her forehead with bits of hair that reached barely below her ears framing her face rather nicely despite the fact that she still had her tortoise and gold rimmed glasses still over her eyes.
"Glorfindel better watch himself or another ellon will swoop in before him!" Alice turned to the elf with wide eyes.
"No way, girl! I just met the guy! Besides, I'd much rather explore rather than being courted by an ellon." Oh yes, Milueil told little Alice allabout elvish courting. "Now how do I get to the courtyard?"
Glorfindel sat on a bench waiting for the human girl. Maybe I should have met her at her chamber, so she wouldn't get lost. "Ahem… Glorfindel?" The great warrior looked up and was met with the sight of the most beautiful being he had ever seen. Regaining composure, he stood up and held out his arm for the small woman. Alice linked her arm with his as he began to escort her down a flight of stairs.
"I must say, my lady, Imladris looks rather true on you. As if you were meant to be a short elleth your whole life." Alice lightly laughed at his playful banter before finally looking around at the breathtaking view that surrounded her; however, Glorfindel was much more focused on the eyes of a few ellons who lingered to long on the human girl he would soon grow protective of.