CHAPTER ONE
"Elvish Language"

"Elves!" Thorin Oakenshield spat, throwing the arrow aside. Thorin's eyes met Gandalf's, but before he could question the wizard on what they were to do now, Dwalin's voice rang through the small tunnel;
"I cannot see where the pathway leads, do we follow it or no?"
Bofur called out before Thorin had the chance, "Follow it of course," all of the dwarves moved, eagerly following the narrow walk way, missing the wizard's mutter of, "I think that would be wise."

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The bottom of Thorin's battleaxe hit the ground with a thud. The dazed faces of awe upon his company angering him further. Before he could comment, Gandalf's voice broke the silence.
"The Valley of Imladris. In common tongue it is known by another name-"
"Rivendell," the hobbit murmured, still in awe of the elven realm.
"Here lies the last homely house East of the Sea," the wizard continued, before Thorin made his way over to Gandalf.
"This was your plan all along," he glared up at the wizard, "To seek refuge with our enemy."
The wizard glared back, "You have no enemies here Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will you will find is this valley is that of which you bestow upon yourself."
"You think the elves will give our quest their blessing?" the dwarf King asked, "They will try to stop us."
"Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered." The wizard retorted and the dwarf sighed in defeat, however Gandalf continued, "If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me." Then, the decent into the valley began.

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When the company arrived in the courtyard they were greeted by a tall, dark haired ellon.
"Mithrandir," he called in greeting to Gandalf.
"Ah. Lindir," Gandalf replied and the elf held a hand to his chest and slightly bowed in response.
"We had heard that you had crossed into the valley," Lindir queried in elvish. Gandalf however, responded in the common tongue.
"I must speak with Lord Elrond." Lindir's lips thinned.
"My Lord Elrond is not hear."
"Not here? Where is he?" Gandalf asked in curiosity. Before the elf could answer, an elvish horn echoed through the valley and a stampede of horses circled the dwarves.
"Gandalf," Lord Elrond greeted.
"Lord Elrond," he replied, "My friend. Where have you been?"
"We've been hunting a pack of Orcs that came up from the South," replied the elf Lord, before dismounting his horse, "We slew a number near the Hidden Pass" He then embraced Gandalf and continued in the common tongue, "Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something or someone has drawn them near."
"Ah. That may have been us," Gandalf confessed, glancing towards the group of dwarves. Both he and Lord Elrond turned as Thorin walked forward.
"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain," Lord Elrond greeted.
"I do not believe we have met," Thorin replied, the demand to know who the elf was underlying his tone.
"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain."
"Indeed. He made no mention of you," Thorin shot back rudely. Lord Elrond replied in silence, staring at the would-be King under the Mountain before speaking in elvish.
"Come, prepare the food, let us feast with our guests." One of the dwarves, Master Gloin, spoke up after hearing the elf speaking in a language that he did not understand.
"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?" he spoke, stepping forward and raising his axe in a threatening manner. The rest of the dwarves murmured in agreement, bristling toward the elves. Gandalf intervened before things got out of hand.
"No Master Gloin, he is offering you food." The dwarves contemplated this, then turned and created a circle, muttering between them, deciding whether or not to take the offer of food. They all then turned and Gloin spoke once again.
"Ah! When in that case, lead on." The dwarves again, murmured in agreement and made a move to follow the elves, however, the loud neigh of a horse and the clapping of hooves on stone interrupted any further movement.

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Two horses galloped towards them, one, a pure white mare and the other, a charcoal black stallion, both riders having hoods drawn over their heads. The rider on the black stead spoke first after the second rider, who was noticeably less bulky that the previous threw an Orc sword at the elvish Lord's feet.
"All bar one warg and it's scum rider escaped. We managed to slay the rest." Both riders then placed their hands over their hearts, just as Lindir had, and bowed slightly before the second rider spoke in common tongue, the voice being obviously female, beautiful and soft. The majority of the males present unknowingly agreed that it sounded like pure light.
"Forgive us."
"It is fine, young ones. Even one such as I could not have slain an entire pack of Wargs and their Orcs. Are you wounded?"
The female replied, "Aye, Caldin has a small wound on his side with a Orc sword, protecting me as always. I have but a scratch, nothing to worry over." Both the elvish Lord and female looked to the male rider of the duo and watched as he winced while dismounting, the female quickly following. While they were now on the ground, their size was blatantly different to the elves. The male stood an inch or two taller than Dwalin, also with a similar stocky build, uncommon in elves. The female was only the size of the hobbit, maybe even a tad smaller, her body, although hardly seen under the cloak, was a fine woman's figure, thin with curves in the right places.
"Brother, come, I will deal with your wounds," the nameless female stated handing both their horses' reigns to an unknown elf, she had grabbed them quickly after her dismount. Her obvious worry over her brother showing in her voice.
"Please Caldin, come, I need to see if the blade was poisoned." Her worries were not shared with the male, Caldin.
"It is fine, sister. If the blade was poisoned, I would not be standing now." Lord Elrond agreed with the male.
"It is true, Valadhiel, the poison would have spread quickly, you know this."
The girl sighed, she reached up and pushed her hood back, drawing startled gasps from most of the dwarves present. She was magnificent. Her face, the soft yet pointed sharp features, her long auburn hair falling in beautiful ringlets down to her waist. But what caught the attention of the dwarves, especially the older dwarves, was her eyes. Sparkling emerald eyes, Balin thought to himself, where have I seen those before?
The male also pushed back his hood, drawing the eyes of most of the company, most of them instantly noticing his familiar build and facial structure, his hazel eyes and his reddish-brown hair that while falling to just below his shoulders, was pulled back with a single leather cord.

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Caldin rolled his eyes and sighed at his twin's worry, it was not a serious wound, only a nick of the blade.
"Honestly Val, it is fine. I feel fine." Any further objections from his sisters mouth were cut short when their names were spoken.
"Valadhiel? Caldin? My how you have grown." Both turned to look at the wizard that spoke, instantly both of their faces lit up, seeing their grandfather figure standing a few feet away. Valadhiel rushed into his open arms, her lithe limbs unable to wrap completely around the Istari's waist. A smile warmed Caldin's face at seeing his twin, his other half so happy. Her happiness was his. They were all each other had in this world; they were two halves of one whole.
"Gandalf!" Vala exhaled, hugging the wizard around the waist.
"My dear, you have grown since I last saw you. So beautiful, your beauty may rival the Lady of Light's, just like your mother." Although her smile widened and she blushed at his compliment, it lessened at his last comment.
"Yes, she was beautiful, wasn't she?" she murmured absentmindedly. Caldin, quickly sensing his sister's discomfort, came up behind her, placing a hand on the small of her back and changed the subject.
"Gandalf, not that we are joyed to see you, what are you doing in the valley?" he queried. It was then that the twins noticed the odd company standing behind him. Caldin immediately pushed Vala behind him and drew one of his battle-axes, the company of dwarves followed, tensing and shifting into defensive positions.
"Caldin," Lord Elrond warned, as he noticed that the elven sentries of the courtyard had their hands on their hilts, not wanting any harm to become to their resident young twins.
"Dwarves! Why would you allow them refuge here? How could you allow them to even step one foot into the city?"
Lord Elrond, not appreciating his tone replied in the common tongue.
"Caldin, that is enough. These are our guests. Show some respect, I know that you were raised with better manners than this." Sensing that the Lord's voice was stern and completely serious, Valadhiel stepped closer to her brother's back, placing a hand in between his shoulder blades. Everyone noticed how his body immediately relaxed at his sister's touch.
"Caldin, come." The pleading tone clear in her voice. The young male turned, placed a gentle hand on her shoulder before walking past her and the company present, letting his hand slowly slide from her shoulder. He could deny her nothing. After watching her brother leave and not want to be parted from his for long, she quickly apologized to everyone in the courtyard.
"I do apologize for my twin's behaviour," some eyebrows going up at the revelation of the relation between the two, "He does hold some aversion to dwarves, as I am sure you will all understand with your obvious hatred for elves. I do apologize for him in advance though, I fear that his mood will not likely change before supper, he is known to hold a grudge." She stated, while giving both Gandalf and Lord Elrond a look before continuing, "Please excuse me now, I need to go make sure he doesn't get into any more trouble."
She then quickly walked past them all, following in the direction her brother went, the entire company watching her leave. As she walked past though, her green eyes catching the blue eyes of the young blonde dwarf, and true to her kind nature she gifted him a small, meek smile before continuing on after her twin.
"Ah, now that that is over, supper anyone?" Gandalf said, before leaving after Lord Elrond, the dwarves keeping a steady pace behind them, while most were wondering why the two younglings seemed so familiar.

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Valadhiel found her brother standing and facing a large wooden door, a couple of wings away front their own chambers. She calmly walked over to him, stood next to him while wrapping her hands around his muscular upper arm. Both just stood there staring at the door, contemplating whether or not they should enter.
"Are you sure you want to go in there?" Vala asked her brother quietly, wanting to enter but not knowing whether it was worth the pain.
"We haven't visited in a while, I just thought that we should see, I heard that she was making progress." He murmured quietly back to her. Both knew that his words were lies and just hopeful thinking. Vala sighed, before tugging her brother to the side, away from the door.
"Come, tonight we have guests, and no matter how uncomfortable there race may be to use, they are our guests none the less. We will dine with her for break fast in the morning. Come Caldin." Vala called softly, her brother giving in and strolling with her down the hall. He could deny her nothing.
They walked in a peaceful silence, Caldin with thoughts of dwarves flying through his head while Vala was wishing for her brother to remain calm for the usual supper that was approaching.
When they reached the door to Vala's chamber the paused, Vala looking up at her brother. The thoughtful look on his face vanished when he felt her hand upon his cheek. He snapped his eyes down to meet hers before she spoke,
"Please brother, please don't start a scene at supper?" she asked, maintaining eye contact. Caldin held her gaze for a few moments before sighing and nodding.
"I will try, but if one of them even looks at us the wrong way, there is no guaranteeing I can keep calm. But I will try for you."
She closed her eyes and nodded, "I am guessing that is the best I will get then?" He guiltily looked away.
"Very well, escort me to supper?" He leaned turned his head to gently kiss the palm that was still residing on her face.
"Of course," she then pulled away and slipped into her room. Caldin receded back into his thoughts as he turned towards his own room.