After that night in the Hall of Fire, Caran stayed mostly to herself. She very carefully avoided confrontation with anyone, even the hobbits, though she did mean to speak with them at some point. Besides a single meeting with Elrond and Gandalf, in which she told everything of the enemy she could think to share, she had spent most of the time in the forest surrounding Rivendell. It felt weird for her to be stationary. The majority of her life, save for her early youth, and a time she lingered in Lothlorien, she had always been on the move.

The feeling was nice at first, however, the more time they spent in Rivendell, the more restless she became. She could not explain the feeling, though she did not linger on it. No, her thoughts brought her elsewhere. To the long journey that stood before the elf and her companions. She knew not what would become of them, though she suspected what her fate would be. Though, this was something she tried not to dwell on. What would be, would be. There was no use thinking of something that had not yet come to pass, and that was in no way certain.

About a month and a half had passed since the elf had arrived in Rivendell, and it was on this day that Caran was deep in thought, and deeply relieved. She had encountered Gandalf in one of the many hallways, and he had shared the news that they would be departing in a week. She was beyond excited and found herself wondering aimlessly through Rivendell, a smile on her face.

It was actually rather early in the morning when Caran found herself walking through a quaint garden, filled with pretty little elvish flowers and plants, that her peace and quiet was assaulted by the loud conversing of four voices. She knew exactly who they belonged to and found herself being pulled in there direction. They were interesting beings, hobbits, and she very much wished to get to know them. Given her present good mood, she did not think the nature of her impending conversation with the Halflings would ruin her mood too much.

"Why hello there little ones," she said softly, the hobbits jumping as she all but snuck up on them. "I apologize. I did not wish to startle you."

"Caran!" Merry and Pippin shouted simultaneously, once they got over their shock of being startled.

"It's lovely to see you. We had actually just been speaking about searching you out. You owe us a story," Merry said, quite boldly. This brought a smile to her face. A stout hard he had indeed.

"Yes, I believe I do. What would you like to know? It is a long, and devastating story for me. I would appreciate the briefness."Out of the corner of her eye, to the left, Caran caught a glimpse of black. She was worried at first, however, on closer inspection she discovered they had eavesdroppers. She let it slide for now, but made a point to keep a guard on what she said. She did not want to give too many of her secrets away, not yet anyways. She would need to acquaint herself with her fellowship first. She assumed that she could trust them because Lord Elrond had let them enter Rivendell, however, she had not gotten by the many years of her life by someone else's word. She trusted Elrond with her life, but there are some things you need to find out on your own, and this was one of them. Caran was very aware of how skeptical an elf she was, but she could not help it. It was not likely to change either, so long as evil plagued middle earth.

"So… Gil-galad was your father?" Sam asked hesitantly, surprising her. She had not expected him to be the first to pose a question. He seemed shy, reserved. But then again he was a hobbit, and they seemed to have an insatiable curiosity when it came to stories.

"Indeed, he was."

"I've heard stories since the night in the Hall of Fire. There are no records of Gil-Galad fathering a child. Why were you kept secret?" Frodo asked curiously, looking at the elf before him.

"It was for my safety, really, and the safety of my mother. Though it has been long since forgiven and forgotten, my grandfather had promised my mother's hand in marriage to a wood elf. My mother fell in love with my father, however, and fled the realm of Mirkwood to live with him, in secrecy of course. Evidently, my grandfather scoured the lands looking for her and when he found her she was with child. Her intended called off their proposal, not wanting a tainted wife. Neither her intended, nor my grandfather ever discovered it was Gil-galad who had, as her father said, stolen the bride.

"Who was her intended?" Pippin asked her, very curious, although he was sure he would not recognize the name. "That information I shall not divulge at this time. It has been a long kept secret that I do not wish to bring to light. However, if it had not happened, a very prominent figure in the land of Mirkwood would not be here today, nor would I, and so I am most happy and relieved she fell for my father." Caran said, firm in her belief.

"My birth was not hidden, little hobbits, merely altered, you could say. To say that Gil-galad was my father may have caused a problem. They feared it would have prompted Mirkwood to wage a war against my father. So instead they said she was with a lower guard elf, and under the protection of Gil-galad. My grandfather never spoke to her again. He has sailed to the Havens now. As for her prior intended, he fell in love with another and had a child with that elf. It really was for the best, although it tormented my mother to not speak to her father.""What happened to your mother?" Merry asked quietly, fearing the answer.

"She died."

"How?" Sam asked gently, not wanting to push her too much.

"She died of a broken heart, mostly from the death of her beloved, but also the failed reconciliation with her father. A few weeks after my father passed, my mother caught wind that her father was sailing to the Havens, and so she and I rode like the wind to speak with him. She begged for not his forgiveness, for she had been happy with her life, but for him to look at her, to speak to her. He did not. He simply turned to me, told me he loathed me and boarded his ship. My mother succumbed to death a few weeks after the last encounter with her father."

A heavy silence lingered in the air as Caran finished her story. The hobbits had not had to deal with much strife in their relatively happy lives, and they did not quite know what to say. Even Frodo, whom had lost both his parents at a young age, was at a loss.

"I spent some years in Lothlorien, and since then I have devoted my life to tracking and hunting the enemy, as well as studying their movements and strategies. I like to say I know a lot, but in retrospect, I do not. It was through studying the enemy I gathered the ring had been found, and I raced to Rivendell to see what help I could provide," she said, bringing her story to a close. She had told enough of her tale for the present.

"And with that, I take my leave. I have said more than I am comfortable with." Caran stood and left, leaving the young Halflings deep in thought with many questions still.

The remainder of their stay in Rivendell passed far too slowly for Caran's liking. She hated being idol. She was a creature of adventure, always on the move. While the safety of Rivendell was indeed a nice comfort, she was anxious for the quest to begin.