DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything of Tolkien's. Italics are Elvish, bold is Westron (will discontinue bold as she learns Westron).

Warmth…a soft bed…hushed voices…the sound of the waterfall…pain. Ella slowly opened her eyes, and suppressed a groan when she saw the two people standing in the room with her. One of them was the man from the woods and the other she hadn't seen before, but he looked similar to the first. The new person looked older, and wore clothes that looked like they were made of expensive cloth. His dark hair was pulled back tightly into an intricate braid and that's when she noticed the ears. Instead of rounding off at the top they were pointed; she couldn't help staring at them. They had stopped talking and the older man, if he was a man, looked over at her.

When he saw that she was awake he moved closer to the edge of her bed. He slowly began to speak to her, and Ella shook her head,

"I'm sorry, but I can't understand you." She said, "Do you know someone who speaks English?"

His brows furrowed and he looked over to the younger man and began speaking rapidly to him in the babbling tongue.

"She truly does not understand us; her tongue is not one I have ever heard before."

"What should be done with her? The world is growing darker; could she be an enemy?"

The older man looked back down at her, and Ella felt as though he wasn't looking so much at her but through her.

"She is no threat, and holds no deceit in her eyes. We won't be able to know anything more about her as she does not seem to understand the Common tongue or Elvish. The girl will remain here until she learns enough of the Common tongue to tell us what happened to her and where she came from. Then we will be able to return her to her homeland and her family."

The man turned away from her and spoke to a woman who was standing near the door. Ella hadn't seen her there before and didn't get a chance to see her face before the woman left the room. He then spoke to the younger man and he too nodded and left the room swiftly. The older man turned back towards Ella, and in an instant panic spread across her face as she realized her situation.

Throwing back the covers, Ella moved to get off the bed. She didn't get too far, as she had forgotten about her sprained left ankle and she crumpled to the floor. Ella pulled herself up using the bedside table and held out her hand as the man moved to where she was.

"Don't come near me!" she warned, "I don't know where I am or who you are but I don't care. Stay where you are! Stay away from me! Let me go! I want to go home!"

As he moved closer her voice rose in pitch until she was shouting at him.

"You cannot understand me but I'm not going to harm you. I'm trying to help you. Please sit back down." He said calmly.

"I don't understand you!" Ella was near tears at this point, and she still tried to hobble away from him to put as much distance between them as possible. She was desperate at this point, looking for any other way out or anything to use to defend herself. Her already weakened state was not helping her situation any, and the room began to spin and sway.

The door opened again and the Elven woman entered carrying a tray with a steaming bowl on it.

"Please help me calm her, Athwenyë." The man spoke to the woman, who quickly set the tray down on the table to the left of the door and moved towards the girl.

"We mean you no harm. Please come and sit." The woman spoke in a soft voice.

Ella's eyes moved back and forth between the pair, but as the woman stepped closer she didn't back away.

"Come, sit. I've brought you some soup. You look as though you haven't eaten for quite some time." She continued. Ella could only stare at her, all protests from her stopped.

Her voice was strange, Ella couldn't explain it. It was soothing, almost lyrical, and it calmed her. The effect was strong enough that the woman was able to take Ella's arm and she guided her to sit in a chair at the table. Ella visibly relaxed into the chair and looked down at the bowl in front of her. She could see vegetables floating in the broth and various flecks of spices; it smelled delicious and her mouth began to water. The woman smiled and pushed a spoon towards her, indicating that it was hers to eat.

All manners forgotten, Ella grabbed the spoon and began to swallow the soup quickly. The hot broth burned her tongue and throat but she was beyond the point of caring; it was delectable. A hand on her arm caused her to pause and she looked up to see the woman smile at her,

"Slow down, you could make yourself ill." And she moved her hands to mime what she was saying. Ella nodded and gave her a weak, sheepish smile.

As she worked on her soup, the door opened again. This time the man from the woods came in carrying a scroll. He handed it to the other man, and assumed his position by the door. The older man unrolled the parchment and moved towards the table. He set the parchment on the table in front of Ella; it was a map. A map Ella had seen far too many times to count. A map that made her feel queasy all of a sudden. Her face paled as he pointed to a small dot on the western side of the map,

"Rivendell" he said, and then pointed to himself, "Elrond."

He gestured across the map and then to Ella who pointed to herself,

"Ella." And then gestured across the map and shook her head. "I'm not from here."

Elrond's brow furrowed and he gestured to the map again. Ella shook her head again and repeated herself. The Elven lord now frowned deeply and turned to the other man, and spoke in, what Ella assumed was, Elvish. The man left again and Ella looked back and forth between Lord Elrond and the other woman. The lady smiled at her and pointed to herself,

"Athwenyë." She stated. Ella repeated her slowly, wanting to make sure she had pronounced it correctly. Athwenyë nodded and gestured for her to finish off the last of her soup, which Ella did. Picking up the bowl and raising it to her lips, she drained the remains down her throat. She placed the bowl back on the tray and Athwenyë moved to pick it up,

"Will you need anything else, Lord Elrond?" She asked.

"I do not know as of yet, but please return as soon as you are able." He answered, and Athwenyë gave a slight bow and left to take the tray back to the kitchens.

No sooner had the elf maiden left did the door open again; the elf from the woods had returned with an armload of scrolls. One after the other they were unrolled before Ella, and she shook her head at each one. After the last map had been rolled back up the younger elf spoke,

"Ada, do you think she may have forgotten? Perhaps when she was struck unconscious earlier she lost it then? It could also explain her strange manner of speech."

"Highly unlikely, Elrohir, yet there is a very small chance. We will not know for sure until we can teach her enough of the Common Tongue for her to communicate where she is from and how she came here." Elrond replied.

Ella listened to the new language but slowly a sharp pain grew in her stomach. It wasn't long before her face contorted into a grimace, and she brought a hand in a vain attempt to massage the pain away. The two elves stopped speaking and Elrond bent down next to her,

"She ate more than her stomach could handle." He muttered to himself.

Gently pulling at her arm, he helped her stand up and led her back into her bed. Elrond carefully made sure she laid on her right side; her right arm was stretched up above her head and her left leg was bent down in front of her right knee to keep her from lying on her stomach. This way her stomach could have a chance to drain some of its contents into her body at a slightly faster rate. When Ella tried to roll onto her other side to get comfortable he stopped her and tried to convey with his hands that she was supposed to stay on her right side. After a few moments of getting adjusted, Ella discovered it was quite comfortable and the pain in her stomach lessened slightly, though she continued to massage her stomach.

The door opened and Ella craned her neck back to see who was there. Elrohir had left and Athwenyë had taken his place. She moved towards the bed and brought a chair with her,

"Athwenyë, please watch over her in my absence. She is feeling pain in her stomach, I believe, from eating too much. Her body needs to adjust itself to food again. Keep her on her right side, as the pain subsides she should sleep again" Elrond gave his instructions and then left the room.

Athwenyë sat down and took Ella's hand, and shook her head,

"It won't help much." She murmured, Ella groaned and closed her eyes. The Elf reached out and gently rested her hand on the girl's forehead, and, with her thumb, gently rubbed between her brows. Ella's breathing grew deeper and heavier as she drifted off to sleep.

There was fire, a great fire that seemed to be trying to burn the sky as well as the earth. Sirens were wailing loudly from every direction, and from far away loud thuds rocked the ground. Running was the only option, in any direction that would take Ella away from Hell on earth. She saw a large truck being loaded up with people,

"Wait!" she cried out in desperation, "Wait! Help me! Please!"

The men loading the truck turned towards her, and beckoned for her to hurry. When she reached them she was hauled in, and the vehicle soon roared away. She looked at the people with her, and all had terror written on their faces. A woman in the far corner was crying as she held her baby. Her cries grew as she gazed upon her child, looking horrified. A neighboring woman snatched the child away from her and moved to the back of the truck. The mother followed her, snatching at her clothes to stop her,

"He's not infected! I swear as his mother, it's only a birthmark!" she shrieked. The woman held the baby up; his face was covered with pock-like bumps,

"You think this is a birthmark? Can't you see his face? You could have killed us all by bringing him!" she countered, and with that she threw the baby out the back of the truck. The mother screamed and threw herself after her son, and the truck rolled on.

Please review, constructive criticism is welcome.