The time finally came when the woman was once again able to move her body to her will and vacate the position she had held for the past few minutes on the floor. Katelynn was still dissatisfied by her current situation. If she could find another change of clothes while she sort out the hobbits then her day may just get better. Once firmly on her feet, and by her standards that meant barely staying on her feet and swaying but not needing any support to stay upright, Katelynn then ventured through the passages of Rivendell. The woman was out of place in this elvish dwelling by not only her race but more noticeably her demeanour. The elves that Katelynn encountered were in no hurry and had no problems while the injured woman was clearly neither.

With the curious and sometimes borderline disgusted looks she was receiving from the inhabitants of this city Katelynn continued to make her way through passages, taking numerous corners and turns and maybe even completing circles. She didn't mind. Besides the unwanted attention and glances she didn't mind wandering around and taking in the new scenery, it was truly beautiful and peaceful. This helped to calm her heart of the desperation she held to find the hobbits. Once she knew they were alright, more importantly alive and smiling, she would allow herself a tiny bit of rest before possibly escorting them back to the Shire. She doubted hobbits had any business further than Rivendell. She was surprised they even had business enough to come as far as they had, Bilbo was the only hobbit she could think of who had ever ventured past Bree let alone come to Rivendell.

Speaking of Bilbo.

"Katelynn! My dear!"

Said girl was walking down a passageway that looked much the same as the multitude of others she had walked through the past couple of hours. It had been a tedious and frankly painful time since she had woken and left the room she began in. The welcome sight of Bilbo dispelled much of this.

"Bilbo!"

The pain was indeed forgotten for a short time, just enough for Katelynn to run over to her dear friend and embrace him with her smile never wavering.

"Katelynn! Oh, how long has it been?"

"Too long!"
They continued to embrace for a little while longer as they laughed happily at being in each other's company once again. Once they were released from the comforting hold they were then able to analyse the face of the other and begin a very long conversation of how things had been since their last meeting, which felt like an eternity ago.

"When was the last time I saw you? I know that scar near your neck was not there last time. I'm I correct in saying there is an interesting story, and dare I say adventure, behind that mark? I bet it's the reason you haven't been around in a while,"

Katelynn's sudden expression was best described as amusement crossed with a little bit of mischievousness.

"Maybe,"

She wasn't going to give up her story that easily. She planned on telling all of the hobbits at once anyway otherwise she would have to repeat it numerous times and answer the same questions millions of times more. Bilbo and she would have plenty of other things to talk about anyway.

Katelynn became acquainted with Gandalf after Bilbo left the Shire and so she only had brief contact with the elderly hobbit when she occasionally visited Rivendell with Gandalf. The reason why few of the elves here knew about her was because she still tended to remain stealthy and preferred to be a ghost rather than interact with others. The only other one here who knew about her was Elrond but she had a feeling she would have to introduce herself to more people later on. But that was later. Now she could spend time with Bilbo. She truly loved his stories. Frodo told her a couple when she would visit the Shire with Gandalf, and even the couple of times she went by herself for some relaxation and rare peace, but they were never the same as when told by Bilbo himself. Either way hobbits were amazing company.

"Okay, okay, if you don't want to tell me now then don't but I expect the full story and every detail later!"

"Fair enough,"

"Anyway. Another question. What are you doing here dear?"

"Gandalf,"

Complete deadpan. This was Katelynn as she gave her answer. Bilbo knew better than anyone else how much trouble the old wizard could cause to those he encountered. He knew extremely well. Someone usually didn't cross paths with an angry dragon by accident but Gandalf still insists that he only gave the poor hobbit a nudge out the door.

Well it was all in the past now.

After Bilbo's little chuckle at the mention of Gandalf Katelynn proceeded to inform her hobbit companion of the details of her journey and the reason for being in the elven city of Rivendell. It turned out that Bilbo knew a thing or two about what was going on. Maybe even a bit more. Whenever Katelynn made a subtle, or not so subtle, suggestion as to wondering what the reason could be for Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin coming all this way in the first place Bilbo would do a nervous laugh and advert his gaze from the watchful woman. She didn't know what Bilbo and Gandalf were up to but whatever it was it was dangerous and putting the four other hobbits at terrible risk.

It was strange that Katelynn didn't know what was going on. Gandalf usually had the curtesy to at least inform her of the trouble he had planned before he pushed her into it but now she seemed to be the only one without a single clue as to what was going on. Saying that, she couldn't be entirely angry at the wizard. He was only able to send her a brief message telling her about a danger to the hobbits and to go to Bree as soon as possible to help them if they needed it. He may have not had any time to write more. The most important thing was that she was able to get to the hobbits in time to help them, they most certainly needed all they could get with the Nazgul after them.

They brought the conversation to a more pleasant topic with Bilbo enlightening Katelynn as to the things he had been doing since her last visit, he even recited a few of the songs he had come up with in this time. It was all going well and a surprising amount of time had gone by but it was all interrupted by a certain ellon who was not happy with what was going on.

"Katelynn,"

It was a stern, clear voice that was devoid of most emotion and came from the entrance that Katelynn had somehow found during her stumbling travels around Rivendell. It could only be one person. She didn't even have to turn around.

"Good morning Elrond,"

"It's the afternoon,"

"Good afternoon Elrond,"

"Katelynn,"

"What? Didn't you want a proper greeting?"

"Then it would be Lord Elrond,"

"Salutations elf,"

"Katelynn,"

"What? Is there anything wrong with it?"

"How are your wounds?"

This time Katelynn did look around and discovered that Elrond had continued approaching during their strange conversation to now be standing directly behind the poor girl.

"Uh oh,"

Before she could escape the ellon had a firm grip on the back of her borrowed dress and may have purposefully grabbed a bit of her hair as well to ensure she wouldn't get away.

"How are your wounds?"

"I'm fine,"
"How are your wounds?"

"Only hurt when you touch them,"

"How are your wounds?"

"Let go of me,"

"How are your wounds?"

"Please?"

Bilbo watched on in confusion and fascination at the weird relationship that seemed to connect these two. It took a certain type of person to put up with the stubbornness of Katelynn let alone be able to deal with it. From what Bilbo knew of the girl she should be kicking and screaming to break free so that she didn't have to deal with someone trying to look after her. She didn't like to be considered weak. She would rather die than have someone tend to her wounds, she believed she was more than capable of looking after herself and tending to her own injuries.

Long story short Bilbo had to convince Katelynn to go with Elrond quietly. Her smart attitude and Elrond's own stubbornness meant that a fight was closely approaching if one of them didn't give in shortly.

"Katelynn, I need to check on your wounds. They were made by a Morgul blade,"

"I'm fine!"

"Katelynn!"

"I've had the wound on my leg for a couple of weeks. If it was going to kill me it would have done so already,"

"It won't kill you it will turn you into a servant of the Nazgul,"

"I'll never be anyone's servant! Never!"

By this point Elrond was most definitely pulling her hair and was almost pulling her backwards off the bench she was sharing with Bilbo, who still looked on the encounter in wonder and fascination. He had never seen anyone talk to Elrond like this, let alone elicit such a reaction from the wise elf lord.

"Katelynn,"

The old hobbit had almost been forgotten by the woman and ellon as they fought each other's stubbornness. Now he was their focus. Once he spoke up they did stop fighting but now he just had to ensure they wouldn't start again and, more importantly, that he wouldn't make the situation any worse.

"Katelynn, dear. Let's go for a walk with Elrond. He can look at your back a little as we walk, just to see if it does need a bit more tending to, and I can tell you a couple more stories. Would you like me to tell you the one about the incident in Mirkwood the dwarves and I had? That one always makes you laugh, doesn't it?"

"Okay. But only because you asked,"

The situation was defused for now. If Elrond wanted to take a closer look at her back then there could be another problem there that Bilbo would not be able to so easily solve. For now there was a little peace between the two. That was what mattered.

Bilbo did indeed give another recount of his adventure through Mirkwood, focusing on the antics of the dwarves while under the hallucination of the forest. There was also the amusing encounter with the elves of Mirkwood, as neither the elves or dwarves liked the other party and the banter was very entertaining to an observer. While Bilbo talked and Katelynn listened Elrond did inspect the part of her back he could see without removing some of her dress. The dress she was wearing had a low back so that Elrond could get to her wounds easily without disturbing the woman too much.

Just as Bilbo got to the part of his tale about how himself and the 13 dwarves were able to escape from the elven dwelling in Mirkwood he was interrupted.

"Katelynn!"

It used to be that her name was rarely known and normally only with Gandalf or in the Shire was it spoken often, now it was ringing off every wall of Rivendell.

It was two particular hobbits that had called out her name this time. The woman had almost forgotten what her true purpose for venturing outside her room was. This call of her name however was a late warning as she was tackled to the ground almost as soon as she had registered her own name.

"Merry! Pip!"

"Katelynn! We were getting worried. You slept for ages,"

"Yeah! How is your back? Are you alright? Did we just hurt you? I'm sorry!"

"Pippin! … I'm fine,"

Elrond had recovered from the sudden appearance of the energetic hobbits and at this last comment by Katelynn gave her a disapproving stare. It wasn't a lie if she believed she was telling the truth. Katelynn had to be quick though to ensure Elrond didn't make his point verbally in front of the concerned hobbits, all three of them.

"More importantly, how are the two of you? And what about the others?"

"Oh, we're good. Sam is keeping an eye on Frodo, he still hasn't woken up but we were told he's good too, and Gandalf's with him as well,"

"Yeah, as Merry said, everyone's fine, basically, yeah,"

"Thank you for clearing that up Pip,"

Pippin was sweet when he tried to help like this. Katelynn couldn't resist rubbing his curly hair. He was truly a sweet hobbit, this trait amongst hobbits was one of the reasons she loved them so much. They weren't greedy or stubborn like dwarves, self-centred or disgusting like men or distant or mighty like elves. Hobbits were simple and sweet. They cared without expecting anything in return. It wasn't that she didn't like the company of dwarves or elves, even though she still detested the thought of being in the mere presence of men, it was just that it was always peaceful and calming to be around the hobbits. Hobbits just didn't seem to know about violence and darkness and pain.

"Let's go see if we can find the others. How does that sound?"

There was a chorus of agreement from the three hobbits, as Bilbo had finally spoken up after the appearance of the two younger hobbits. Then Elrond spoke up. Very displeased at Katelynn's attempt at avoiding him.

"We need to look at your back again first,"

"No!"

"You said your back was fine!"

"It is!"

Katelynn didn't mean to yell at Merry but Elrond was testing her patience. If she could stand she was fine! That was how it worked in her world and she had survived thus far! No stuck up elf was going to change that! No matter how nice he may be at times! And how understanding and accommodating he was…!

That wasn't the point!

The rant in her head was getting just a little bit off topic.

When Merry and Pippin had stumbled across the multi race trio they were walking through a passageway that opened up into another small courtyard, like the one that Katelynn had originally found Bilbo in. The now larger group was sheltered from the light breeze while they mingled in the hallway. The hobbit duo must have been in the courtyard. Knowing those two they would have done quite a bit of exploring since coming to the city of Rivendell.

"Elrond,"

Katelynn turned to full face the elf lord who had been constantly pestering her since he discovered her talking to Bilbo earlier. Since waking and finding herself in a dress there was only one thing that Katelynn was grateful for and that was the fact that her hair was still tied up. It had been retied when she was unconscious but being up meant there was one less inconvenience she had to deal with right now. It also meant that when she turned to fully face Elrond it didn't go everywhere from the sudden head movement.

She was going to have to get through to Elrond if she didn't want to continue fighting with him for the rest of the day or even the week depending on how long the hobbits stayed. A deal or a compromise wasn't out of the question, especially if Katelynn came out as being the better person.

Her response from the ellon was merely a stare but she wasn't about to let his indifference and borderline rudeness stop her from attempting to be responsible for once in her life.

"Can I have my clothes back if I let you check my back quickly?"
"Sure, you can have them back in a couple of once I'm sure your back is completely healed,"

"That's not the deal! I want to get out of this hideous, annoying dress! Now!"

So much for mature.

Elrond was not impressed either.

"Why do I have to wait so long anyway?"

"Because I know you won't leave without your clothes and you may runaway otherwise before your wounds are completely healed,"

"No I won't,"

"Really?"

Damn. Katelynn had to think about this for a bit but once she got her idea her expression was victorious. With one hand on her waist and the other pointing her index finger at Elrond she then proceeded to give him a valid reason why he should trust her.

"I'm not leaving until the hobbits leave so I can escort them back to the Shire safely and if my wounds still need tending to then so will Frodo's, meaning they won't be leaving for a few more days at least. There,"

"You seem quite proud of that,"

It was bad enough that Elrond didn't trust Katelynn's word but now he was just making fun of her. Before the woman could protest and give voice to her thoughts using unsavoury words the elf continued with his own point in the argument.

"Even if you do remain here it doesn't mean that you will allow me to inspect your back again before you do eventually leave,"

"True,"

Katelynn did have to give him that one. It didn't mean she was about to give up though. Someone else had a different opinion.

"Katelynn. I don't know how many times I have to tell you not to irritate Lord Elrond. Poor ellon usually doesn't have to deal with your calibre of stubbornness. Most lucky souls don't,"

Gandalf the Grey certainly had a way with words. Whether Katelynn was offended or not she knew she was never going to win against him, and she valued him too much as a friend to do anything about it anyway.

"Good morning Gandalf,"

"It's the afternoon,"

"I know,"

The woman had yet to turn around to take in the sight of the wizard but she knew he would have been smiling, much like what she was now at both of their strange and childish antics. With this Katelynn turned to look at the wizard and took the few steps necessary to become close enough to embrace her old and dear friend and often travelling companion.

"It's good to know you're alright,"

"I know my dear. I know,"

It was an almost silent exchange of words with the elf being polite enough to give them some privacy and ignore their brief conversation. Then the pair withdrew from the embrace and Gandalf addressed his next words to everyone present.

"Shall we go pay a visit to the young Mr Baggins? He may still be unconscious but I think Mr Gamgee wouldn't say no to a bit of awake company,"

The hobbits were the only ones to give verbal confirmation and Lord Elrond proceeded to walk forward, intending to lead the way to the room Frodo was currently recovering in. Katelynn had other ideas.

"I want my clothes back!"

"No,"

Gandalf didn't hesitate or even blink but turned to follow after Elrond with the wary and confused hobbits following while throwing glances over their shoulders at the infuriated woman.

"But Gandalf!"

"No buts. We'll discuss it later,"

"I don't want to discuss it later,"

"What was that dear?"
"Nothing!"

Katelynn had intended to mumble that retort but obviously didn't succeed. Her attitude was getting out of control and all she needed was someone one to realise that it would get infinitely better if she was allowed to have her clothes back. Pants! Dark colours! Why did she have to wear this stupid dress?! At least the hobbits and ellon had sense not to make any comments about it. They knew it would only set her off and make her dangerous. Not that she couldn't be dangerous anyway. There was just no sense in having her try to kill everyone if it could be avoided. Especially since Rivendell was so peaceful. At the moment.


"Katelynn! How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling a lot better now. Thanks Sam. But I think we should keep it quiet for now. Frodo's still sleeping,"

This last bit was whispered and caused a certain Samwise Gamgee to suddenly slam both of his hands over his mouth to ensure silence. Everyone giggled or chuckled at this action but, either consciously or subconsciously, kept it to a relatively low volume. After this they sat on chairs out on the adjoining balcony to Frodo's room. They talked a bit about the adventures of the hobbits and then about random memories and joyous moments past.

It was nice. Truly peaceful. Most that were present in the small group forgot their worries.

"Hey Sam. How do you feel after finally meeting elves?"

Said hobbit blushed and started stammering incoherently as the elf lord was still present in the group. Merry seemed quite pleased with himself at causing such a reaction and received a subtle congratulation from Pippin. Elrond didn't help much with his silence that seemed to put poor Sam even more on edge. Gandalf and Katelynn decided not to assist the hobbit either with silence and snickering as their weapons respectively.

"Well- Um… It's a little different- but… it's better than I imagined. But-but- Katelynn looks a bit like them- I didn't realise they would look so similar- I mean… I don't know… I'll stop now…"

The others all laughed to differing degrees in their own ways. Except for Katelynn. She knew Sam meant well but she took a bit of insult to it.

"How exactly do I look like an elf?"

There was no saving Sam now and he most likely realised this as the stammering became a severe form of stuttering and his words were barely decipherable. Which may have been a good thing.

"W-w-w-wel-l-ll y-you lo-lo-look pr-pre- … th-the dr-dre-dress… …"

"What about the dress?!"

Katelynn suddenly found herself on her feet glaring down at the frozen and frightened hobbit. She never wanted to scare or yell at the poor, kind and dear hobbits but there were some subjects that when breached there was no retreating from the unleashed, uncontrollable and unreasonable demon.

"Calm down child. Remember Frodo is still resting. Keep your voice down,"
"No!"

"Dea-"

"No! No! No!"

"Child!"
Gandalf stood to his full height. He was not going to spread shadows in Rivendell but that did little to decrease his intimidation factor.

However.

Katelynn stopped being intimidated years ago.

"No! All I want are my own clothes and for everyone to stop fussing! It's not that much to ask! Why are you like this anyway?!"
"Katelynn,"

The woman turned quickly away from the wizard to face the elf who had spoken. This movement caused the dress she was being forced to wear flow around her feet, enraging her even more. Before she could utter another loud and snappy remark Elrond continued with what he intended to say to the girl.

"Arwen should have returned your clothes to your room by now,"

This took Katelynn off guard as well as made her voice a lot quieter with uncertainty.

"What?"

Elrond only smiled before slowly getting to his feet and placing a hand gentle on her shoulder.

"The elleth you assisted along with Frodo is my daughter, Arwen. As thanks she decided to fix your clothes, they had a few tears and holes in them from your travels,"

"Oh…"

"It also wouldn't hurt for you to wear a dress and act like a lady every once in a while,"

"No!"

The prospect of being back in her own clothes and the security that came along with the familiarity put her in a much better mood. To everyone else's relief.

A deal was then struck between the woman and elf for Elrond to escort Katelynn back to her temporary accommodation if she didn't make too much of a fuss and agreed to patiently wait for the discussion to finish. When sundown neared Katelynn would be able to change her attire before joining everyone else for the afternoon meal. Where she was also expected to behave.

Hopefully Frodo would wake up soon.