So, she is in Imladris, why you might say? Well, someone is in need of help, in more ways than you might think. Enter Glorfindel by the way. This story has turned out to be a bit like one of our neigbor's palomino gelding, if you don't keep a tight grip on the reins it takes off and you'll end up not where you wanted to go but where he wants to go. Darn, I had a clear plan in my head when I started writing and now it sort of grows, the plot that is. This chapter contains some silly stuff, some rather nasty stuff and something in between. It is definitely M/adult/R in nature due to some very disturbing parts involving torture. Be warned, and the twins get an idea for some new pranks and that's even worse.
Chapter three: Blessings from above
Tell me then, what is the truth?
Can it be changed by perception alone?
Can it be distorted and changed our will?
If we shape our own reality
Do we then shape our fate?
Adelyn was carefully lifted back into the bed by two of the healers and she felt embarrassed and bothered. Luckily the bed was made in such a way that the top of it could be raised a bit so she could sit upright with the help of some huge pillows. Elrond sat down on one side of the bed and the twins on the other and she felt a little trapped. Elrond grasped her wrist, counted her heartbeat and checked her temperature and she just sat there blushing. Elladan looked at her with questions awaiting within his gaze and she sighed and turned towards him. "Yes?"
Elladan made a grimace. "Back where you are from, how did you get around? Did someone carry you? Or did you perhaps ride a horse?"
Adelyn shook her head. "Heavens no, I had a wheelchair."
The elves looked puzzled. "A what?"
Adelyn shrugged. "A chair, with wheels on it, two large in the back and two smaller ones in front that could be turned around so you could turn the thing, and you propelled yourself forward by using your hands on the wheels."
She made a gesture as if she was using her ordinary wheelchair and Elrond tilted his head and his eyes got narrow. "I see, that is rather smart"
Adelyn nodded. "Don't you ever have peoples with disabilities here?"
Elrohir grinned. "No, elves don't get sick, and we don't get old and die either. We can die from heartbreak or from physical injuries but we are quick to heal and if the damage is too great we can chose to sail into the west, to Valinor where all hurts are healed."
Adelyn just gasped. "No kidding? You don't get older? That is…wow!"
The twins looked a bit confused by her last phrase but Elrond was very calm, he understood that she came from a culture that had to be extremely different from his own. He smiled when two servants came carrying trays of food and he helped them place one on the bed. Adelyn felt the smell of warm bread, tea of some kind and roast chicken? She opened the lids of the different containers and yes, it was fresh bread, honey, tea and two rather large chicken legs rolled in some sort of herbal spice. It smelled heavenly and she felt her mouth starting to water.
The bread had been sliced and a small knife was placed with it so she could get the honey onto it and she could smell that the tea was very strong but also sweet. She tried as hard as she could to eat as a lady would, with style and etiquette but it was hard, she wanted to rip the food into pieces with her hands and just stuff her face. The three elves had gotten a tray of their own with bread and jam and they too ate with obvious appetite. Adelyn just loved the tea and she feared that if all the food they had there was this good she would gain weight fast.
Elrond wiped off his fingers with a napkin and smiled at her. "So lady Adelyn, what did you do for a living? Are everybody like you where you are from?"
She hadn't really thought about it, her differentness. It made her cringe again but she tried to keep her voice steady and calm. "No, I am…a freak I guess, I don't look like other humans. And as for my work, I am a student, I study to become an art historian."
Elrond frowned. "Art historian?"
She nodded. "Yes, someone who knows how different styles within the art of different cultures has evolved over time."
The peredhel smiled. "Let's say historian then, it is easier to understand. Does everybody study on this earth place?"
Adelyn took a sip of tea, God it was delicious. "No, not everybody can afford it, and there are many different places to go to also, some less expensive than the others. But I got lucky since I am handicapped, some schools have scholarships for such people as me, to encourage education. Even if my legs are fucked up my brain aren't."
The elves looked even more shocked by that last statement but Elrond hawked and tried to keep his cools. "Talking about your legs, you have been examined by skilled doctors I am sure. Tell me, did you have any feeling in your legs at all, or where they completely dead?"
Adelyn wiped some bread crumbs away from her mouth, it felt like heaven to have something decent to eat again. "I could feel touch, but not all that well, and heat or cold. But I couldn't move them at all, the nerves controlling my muscles were snapped. "
Elrond looked fascinated. "Your healers couldn't fix that?"
She shrugged. "Nope, they are good but not that good. It was a huge injury."
His eyes got narrow again. "Yes, I did notice a weird shape in your lower spine when my sons brought you in yesterday."
Adelyn blushed, shit, he had of course seen it all, but he was a doctor wasn't he? It felt worse knowing that those two drop dead gorgeous sons of his had seen her buck naked. "Yeah, several vertebrae were out of alignment. It was quite a crash."
Elrond didn't understand that part, but he got out of his chair and placed a hand on her knee, very gently. "Do you feel this?"
She nodded. "Yes, very well actually, better than before?"
Elrond bit his lower lip. "Tell me, are there other changes you have noticed?"
Adelyn was a bit confused. "Yes? I had some scars, but they are gone?"
Elrond nodded slowly, his eyes distant. "Adelyn? I think you may have been healed completely when you ended up here, I do not know what it was that happened to you, if you died or if the Gods decided to intervene but I think that the only thing stopping you from being able to walk is that you still think you are paralyzed."
Adelyn made a grimace. "Yeah right, and I am sure that the moon is made from cheese. Stop kidding me, I have been paralyzed for years, I know my own body damn it."
Elrohir looked stunned. "Cheese?"
Adelyn sighed. "It is just a phrase alright? I was ironical."
The elf grinned. "Oh, I see."
Elrond looked at her and his eyes were a bit stern, there was power in his gaze. "You have very poor muscle tone but that will change, you just haven't used those muscles for a long time."
Adelyn sighed. "Listen, it is not that I don't appreciate the attempts you are making but how can I possibly believe you? I have been tossed into a world that to me seems to be lagging behind my own when it comes to development in almost every way. I bet you still ride horses and fight with swords and stuff. Where I am from we have electricity, radio, TV and so on and so forth. "
Elrond didn't recognize those words and he didn't care either. He had grasped a flower from one of the jars placed on an adjacent table and hid it in his hand. He moved down towards her feet. "I can see that you haven't moved for a while, you soles are so soft. "
She shrugged. "Yes, and we do almost never walk without shoes on, most people have soft soles."
Elrond pulled the blanket away from her feet and leaned forward, pretended to be studying them. "You have very lovely feet Lady Adelyn, I am most certain that you are no human, but you are definitely not an ordinary elf neither, I am most puzzled. "
He suddenly stroked the flower along the bottom of her right foot, and Adelyn gasped, let out a small shriek and pulled her leg to her. He gave her a wolfish grin. "And I was right, you can move!"
Adelyn stared at her leg and her eyes were suddenly huge, if the room had been filled with fluffy pink elephants it would have seemed much more believable. She bit her lower lip and slowly, very slowly she also pulled her left leg up, she whimpered and then she hid her face in her hands and started sobbing. Elrond smiled and his eyes were gentle once more. "Relax Lady Adelyn, you will soon enough learn how to use your legs again. I know this must be a shock to you."
She whimpered. "Oh God, you have no idea. I can dance again, and run and…"
Elladan smiled. "You like dancing? "
She grinned but tears were streaming down her face. "Yes, I was dancing a lot before…it happened, and I was learning how to fight too, and I loved to just run and swim and everything."
Elrohir looked interested. "Fighting? Is it normal that females fight where you come from?"
Adelyn shrugged. "Yes and no, my foster father thought that it was smart of a girl to learn self-defense and so I trained for a few years."
Elladan too became intrigued by this piece of information. "What type of training did you receive?"
Adelyn felt so weird, it all was so unreal. She could move her legs again, she tried to wriggle her toes and they moved, they really did move. She wasn't aware of it but her eyes were shining like bright jewels in sunlight and she was smiling and crying at the same time. "Ah, it was several forms of martial arts, you fight using your body as a weapon you might say."
The two warriors looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "That sounds dangerous, I don't think that would do any good in a fight against orcs."
Adelyn frowned. "Orcs?"
Elladan nodded eagerly. "Yes, terrible creatures created by darkness and evil itself, twisted mutilated monsters."
She hissed and bared her teeth. "That doesn't sound good at all, is there a lot of those things about?"
Elrohir sighed. "Yes, I am afraid so, too many. And they are getting stronger and more ferocious by the year, and their numbers are increasing as well. "
Elrond intervened. "My sons, you are tiring her, the lady needs to rest. "
Adelyn shook her head. "I feel fine actually, strong. "
Elrond smiled and patted her hand compassionately. "I do not doubt that my lady but you have been through quite a lot, I recommend that you spend this day in bed, tomorrow I will make preparations for your first attempts at walking. And I will get you some clothes too."
Adelyn blushed again. "That would be very nice yes, thank you."
So they had found her buck naked too, wonderful! They had seen her pathetic body and the female healers had looked like super models. She was probably going to be known as the ugly duckling rather fast, but she doubted that she'd ever emerge as a swan.
Elrond sent his sons a stern glance and they got up and bowed before her before they left the room chatting away in a language that sounded very beautiful but she didn't understand a single syllable. Elrond cocked his head, he was so very handsome and yet there was sadness in his eyes, she somehow knew that he had suffered loss, and seen a lot. She pulled her blanket tighter around herself. "So, you have two sons, are they your only family?"
She feared that she was a bit too forward, perhaps even impolite but she felt that she had to say something to break the silence. Elrond smiled and leaned back into his chair. "No, I have a daughter too, she is my youngest one and she is currently visiting her grandmother who is the leader of another realm."
Adelyn noticed the pride but also the worry in his voice. "Ah, do you have a wife? I mean, I don't know anything about you elves, do you at all marry?"
Elrond smiled but the smile was sad. "Yes, we do marry. My wife was attacked by orcs and so severely traumatized she had to sail to avoid fading. It was for the better but I do of course miss her, as do we all."
Adelyn looked down. "I am very sad to hear that."
Elrond sighed. "You couldn't have known now could you? But please, I am very curious, tell me more about yourself? You are an orphan?"
Adelyn took a deep breath and then she started telling him her entire life story, she didn't try to hide anything and Elrond sat there staring with narrow eyes. He did understand that she had suffered a lot and that she had lived a hard life but he did also see something strange in her, a sort of strength that was most unusual. Some of the things she told him shocked him to the core, her world had to be a very heartless one, he knew of nobody who would be able to leave their own child like that? It seemed that life was much easier but at the same time tougher in many areas. Adelyn sighed. "And so the plane I was on crashed and somehow I must have been tossed out of it, weird though that I was naked when I was found."
Elrond pressed his fingers together, stared straight forward with a distant gaze. "Adelyn, I think you have been brought here for some reason, what I do not know but the gods will never intervene in the lives of mortals and immortals unless there is something really important at stake."
Adelyn shrugged. "Well, if that is the explanation I am to buy I have a hard time believing that I can do anything. I will need weeks just to be able to walk again. I am good for nothing I fear."
Elrond smiled again and his gaze was still somewhat distant. "Do not say that, I believe that Eru himself may have placed you here, if that is the case then things may happen differently then we all are able to anticipate."
She made a grimace, moved her feet a bit. "Maybe, it feels a bit as though I have been remade somehow, tell me, am I still odd-eyed?"
Elrond smiled. "Yes, and most lovely too, but I think that those piercings will cause some shocks before the others here learn who you are."
She gave him a wry smile. "Guess so, I got them to shock others, some believed that I was some sort of vegetable since I was in a wheelchair, that I didn't have a personality. I guess I tried to prove everybody wrong."
Elrond looked very confused. "Vegetable?!"
Adelyn giggled. "Oh, not literally, it is a phrase used about people with huge disabilities, usually brain damage of the severe kind, they are usually almost brain dead to be called that."
Elrond looked a bit disgusted. "And people are making fun of such unfortunate individuals?"
Adelyn nodded. "Yeah, it is cruel, I know. But that is just the way it is. A friend of mine was a bit overweight, she was teased so much she starved herself, got sick and at the end she died from heart failure. In my world there is little room for those who stand out in the crowd."
Elrond stared at her, his eyes rather dark. "Then you are brave for wanting to do just that."
She made a strange sound. "More desperate I think, I wanted to show everybody that I still was me, in spite of everything."
Elrond was about to say something when there was a knock on the door and a tall slender elf with very long black hair entered, he was wearing a robe in dark green velvet and he wore a narrow silver circlet. His eyes were brown and he looked kind but also smart. Right behind came another elf that made Adelyn stare with her mouth wide open. First of all he was tall as hell with wide shoulders and an amazing physique and piercing blue eyes but he did also wear an impressive armor that clearly showed that he was a warrior and it looked worn. He wore a huge sword across his back and Adelyn felt a jolt of sheer nervousness when looking at him. He looked extremely intimidating and she knew that this was one violent being. She almost whimpered and pushed herself back into the pillows.
The dark haired elf bowed and he looked at Elrond with an expression of worry. "My lord, two of our scouts returned, they think they have found some trace of the orcs that may have been responsible for the prince's disappearance."
Elrond got up. "Really Erestor, that is great news if we can use it in any way."
Erestor nodded but he looked worried still and the huge blonde made a grimace. "The orcs were many and judging from the tracks they were well equipped. They were heading towards the mountains and had moved fast."
Elrond closed his eyes, he appeared to be swearing. "Where they can hide almost everywhere. Morgoths rotten breath. Glorfindel, please tell me they left some proof of having the prince."
Glorfindel sighed. "One of the scouts found this at one of their campsites."
He reached into a pocket and pulled out a very dirty piece of cloth, barely the size of a palm. Elrond grasped it and examined it. "It is the cloth of the Mirkwood guards, it could be from his tunic but it could also belong to someone else."
Glorfindel stared at Elrond, his eyes ablaze. "May we get your permission to go in pursuit?"
Elrond shook his head. "No, not until we know for sure that they have the prince, we cannot waste time and manpower going on a wild goose chase. The Mirkwood elves are already searching and I think they have a very good chance of finding the right tracks. They are specialists in tracking, remember that."
Glorfindel was making a grimace and looked disappointed and then he suddenly noticed that they weren't alone, that there were someone else to in the room and he stared at Adelyn with big eyes. Erestor blinked a few times and looked stunned and Adelyn pulled her blanket up underneath her chin and stared back, quite flabbergasted. "Elrond, is this the lady the twins pulled out of the river?!"
Erestor was a bit hoarse and Elrond sighed and made a gesture as if to present someone to each other. "Lady Adelyn, this is my Seneschal Erestor, an old friend of mine and Lord Glorfindel of the house of the Golden flower out of Gondolin, a very well renowned warrior."
Adelyn saw that the tall blonde was staring at her with a strange expression within his eyes, and he was blushing a bit. He went over to the bed, kneeled down and took her hand, kissed it without letting his eyes drift away from hers. "My lady, never have I laid eyes upon a gem such as thy, have a Vala decided to grace us with her beauty?"
Adelyn just stared at Elrond with a helpless expression in her eyes, Vala? Elrond hawked. "Lord Glorfindel, do not make our guest upset. She is still a bit shaken, she probably died and was thrown from her own world into this."
Glorfindel gasped and for a moment the handsome face looked almost silly, then he grasped her hand again, something that looked like awe appeared in his eyes and he bowed his head to her. "Oh lady, I too was returned from the realm of the dead, the Valar never let anyone return unless there is some great task for them to complete. If I in any way can be of service to you please let me know, my sword is yours my lady."
Adelyn had to giggle, did everyone really talk like that there? And were all the males so into chivalry? "I thank you deeply for thy kind offer my lord, it is much appreciated."
She had been in school plays and knew a little about how to express herself in a very shakespearian way. Glorfindel was suddenly blushing like crazy and he didn't appear to be able to take his gaze away from her. Elrond rolled his eyes and moaned and Erestor hid a smirk and shook his head in disbelief. Glorfindel was usually as cool as ice when around females, he didn't have to put up any effort to get whoever he wanted, female or male, but this one elleth had apparently turned him into a love sick elfling in shorter time than it would take to walk from one end of the room to the next.
Elrond hawked again and Glorfindel got back on his feet, Adelyn had to stare at him. Damn, he had to be close to two meters tall?! She didn't doubt that he was capable of causing some serious damage with that sword of his. Elronds eyes were rather narrow. "I think that the lady has had enough attention for today, but I am rather sure that she will appreciate some help later on."
His voice was very dry but Glorfindel didn't notice that, he only noticed that absolutely stunning face with the most incredible eyes he had ever seen. He had to look away, he was losing his heart and that in record speed. He had to be careful, she was so amazing, so different and yet so exquisite. She would probably never be interested in him, why should she? She looked like a queen, a goddess. Erestor patted him on his back when they exited the room. "Fin, don't tell me you are falling in love? I mean, she is drop dead gorgeous but by Sauron Fin, we don't know anything about her, anything at all."
Glorfindel just sighed, he couldn't get those eyes out of his head. "I know but I feel as though…as though I have been struck by lightning."
Erestor just shook his head. The idea of a love sick Glorfindel trying to woo someone was terrifying. He was perhaps one of the greatest warriors of all time but sometimes his social intelligence could be a bit lacking to say the least.
Adelyn didn't speak until the two were out of hearing range. Then she turned her head towards Elrond and she knew that he already had figured out what her inevitable question was. Elrond sighed and made a narrow smile. "Lord Glorfindel did die a long time ago, in a terrible fight against a demon, a Balrog. He tried to protect his city that was under attack and he did manage to slay the beast but he was mortally wounded. The valar did return him though, so that he could aid us in the fights that were to follow."
Adelyn sighed and tilted her head. "I haven't got a clue of what a Vala is, nor a Balrog and can people be sent back from the dead here?"
Elrond patted her hand and waved at a servant, asked the elleth to go get something to drink. "To explain that I will have to explain our entire history and so I think I will have to stay here for a long time, that is if you are in for a very long history lesson?"
Adelyn rested her chin on top of her knees and Elrond was struck by how young she looked right there and then. That incredibly long black hair looked like a soft cloud around her face and he did understand Glorfindel too darn well. Even with his wife's face in mind falling for Adelyn would be extremely easy. Too easy in fact. He swallowed and forced such thoughts away from his mind, she wasn't for him, she would never be for him. He just knew it, Glorfindel on the other hand? It wasn't like him to react like that to an elleth, not even one as heartbreakingly beautiful as Adelyn, the healer started to believe that there was some sort of connection there, one he of yet was unable to see. Adelyn nodded and Elrond took a sip of the glass of wine he had been offered by the servant and began telling her the long story of the making of Arda and Aman, the awakening of the elves, the evil of Melkor and the other things that followed.
The darkness was almost absolute, he could barely see a small flickering glimpse of light far away in the distance and he thought it would be less cruel if he had seen nothing at all. Darkness can be comforting, like a veil hiding the truth. The small flickering flame reminded him of where he was. He was barely able to keep his eyes open, they were swollen because of the frequent beatings and there wasn't a piece of his body that didn't ache. His back felt raw, like he had been skinned and he knew that they had whipped him for hours, or so it seemed. At first he had been confused, the attack had been so well organized, so perfectly executed. Orcs aren't that smart, they just kill until there is nobody left alive but these orcs had just killed a few of the other guards, when they had gotten their hands on him they just fled and let the rest of the elves live and when he finally realized why they had used that strange tactic it had felt like steel claws wrapped around his heart. One orc had shot him with a blowpipe, a small arrow he didn't even notice at first, but then his vision had become blurred and his limbs refused to follow orders and when he realized that something was wrong it was too late.
He had awakened in the woods, not severely hurt just yet but tied up like a ham, unable to move even his toes. The orcs had been eerily quiet and they hadn't been making their usual noisy stops. Instead they kept marching on and one in particularly nasty one with a terrible scar straight across his lower face had forced him to drink some disgusting goo that made him fall asleep again whenever he woke up. He had no idea of where they were taking him or how long he had been unconscious and he slowly understood the meaning of this. They had been sent just to kidnap him, to bring him somewhere where nobody would be able to find him. They had let the other elves live just so that they could tell everybody of the kidnapping. He had tried to wriggle himself free, to escape but he was helpless. They didn't stop to have fun, they were too determined or too scared to dare to disobey whatever orders they had been given and that alone was terrifying. He knew that they didn't want to kill him, if that had been their goal he would have been long dead, no, they wanted to keep him alive. But alive did not necessarily mean well and he felt his body getting weaker by the hour.
He had tried to be brave, defiant. He had been mocking them, tempting them to kill him but they hadn't. These were not usual orcs, these were under the whip of someone far more powerful and cunning than just the ordinary orc leaders. He knew why they tortured him, why they kept him alive but in constant agony. It wasn't because of him, it was because of his father. He would rather die a thousand times than see his father brought down by this horrible terror tactics but he was helpless to avoid it. He knew that his father would sense his pain and despair through their bond and be equally tormented by the knowledge of the things that were done to his beloved son. They wanted to break the king, to turn him into someone unable to resist the forces of darkness. If he had gotten the opportunity he would have ended his own life, then his father would at least know that his soul was safe in the Halls of Mandos and that his torment was over. But as long as he lived Thranduil would be too distraught and afraid to be able to do anything really efficient to dam up for the tide of darkness spreading across the lands. The dark lord wished to cripple them all, use the things they feared the most against them. It was such an irony but ingenious in its evil intent.
They had started by just chaining him to the rock wall, he was in some sort of corridor and he felt that he was far underground, far from the sun and the stars and he had to think of the poor victims of the dark forces imprisoned in the fortresses of old. He knew that the leaders were smart creatures, some of them had probably served the dark lord for ages. They knew how to break just about anyone and started slowly. First they had just told him of how they would break his fathers will through him, then they had gotten physical. Beatings at first, then they had cut him and poured salt and other substances that did sting or burn in the wounds. They were slow, meticulous, they didn't progress too fast, they allowed him to really feel everything. Too much pain numbs you, leaves you stunned, unable to respond. They wanted his screams, his despair. They thrived upon it, desired it. He had denied them that joy for as long as he could but at the end they had found that one way to break through his defenses, crush his spirit and strength. At first he had been wondering what they were up to when they hooked him down off the wall and dragged him off, did they have some room ready perhaps? Filled with instruments of new and inventive torture? He brazed himself but he hadn't been able to prepare himself for the thing they had in store for him. It was a very small room, and the only thing in it was a sort of stone bench with rings attached to the sides of it. They had thrown him upon it, face down and tied him down. He had believed that they were to whip him again, or perhaps cut him or hit him some more. They had cut the last remnants of clothing off him and when he realized what they were about to do he had almost lost it.
He had managed to hide his fear and shock but not for long, only until the first orc grasped him by his hips and thrust into him, violently and with obvious glee. He had tried not to scream, not to show any reaction but the sheer humiliation had been his undoing. The feeling of that disgusting creature touching him, enjoying it while it spilled its vile seed into him sent him over the edge. He had been screaming curses, then he was just screaming and they were laughing and mocking him. The agony was almost unbearable but he became insensitive, like his body was already dead. They spilled in him, over him, left him writhing in disgust and terror, and it never seemed to stop. They went at it again and again and he feared that this nightmare would continue for eternity. He passed out and when he woke up he felt as though he was half dead. He was back in the room where he had been hanging for the Valar knew how long and only when he was sure he was alone had he let his tears tell the world of his pain and sorrow. He wept without a sound but he didn't weep as much for himself as for his father and his friends. He could only pray that his father would remain strong, unbroken. It was his only hope, for he had no strength left. He only wanted to let go, to let his fêa release its hold of the body. There was no point in living, he would never be able to overcome the horror of what they had done to him.
But he lived, he was too strong, his blood too fierce. They had discovered how to torture him now, whipping and cutting wasn't doing them any good, but rape did break him. They would untie him, force him to defend himself and he was too weak, to injured to resist them for very long. They would make fun of his weakness, tell him how they would make sure that his father knew of it all. And when he was scared enough, broken enough they would charge at him, like one being, bring him down and ravish him again and again. He had started praying for death now, every time he closed his eyes he would wish that he never would open them again.
The worst thing was that he had felt his father searching for him, Thranduil was very powerful, he was able to use the bond between them as a beacon and tried to find him with the help of it. He had tried to make the connection stronger at first, tried to find clues to where he was. But now he tried to desperately break the bond, hinder his father from discovering the things that were done to him. He could feel his father's fêa searching for his own, desperately and relentless and every time he shut him out, built a shield around his own mind where nobody would be able to enter. "Forgive me Ada, but this…this we cannot share!"
The small flickering light was a reminder of the light of his own life, the good days, the good memories and it made him want to fight to stay alive. And therefore he tried not to look at it, because hope was a dead word in this tomb of stones and despair. Nobody would ever be able to find him, he was truly lost. He didn't cry for he had no more tears left, and his heart felt like a cold hard lump in his chest. The prince of Mirkwood was on the way of becoming truly and utterly broken and somewhere the dark lord was chuckling with delight. His plan was slowly coming together, he would win this time. Not through huge battles but through patience, drop by drop they would all break over time. Slow torture is always the most efficient one.
Adelyn had been sitting there listening to Elrond most of the day, he had postponed some of his usual duties just to sit there and tell her of the history of middle earth and she did appreciate it very much. He was spending precious time with her and she tried to remember as much as she could. It was exciting, some of the things he told her left her shocked while other things made her want to weep but she understood that this world had a history just as rich and filled with adventure, action and drama as that of her own world. Perhaps this place in some ways were better than her own world, she was starting to think so. Elrond had to leave in the afternoon and Adelyn immediately felt a bit alone. She tried to smile to the servants and they smiled back and appeared to be very friendly but also a bit in awe of her and it made her feel awkward and weird. A servant brought her a tray with dinner and she discovered a huge bowl of salad, a jar of some sort of juice and some roasted roots of some sort and a piece of what had to be venison. The food was excellent and she also suspected very healthy, no wonder they all looked so freaking perfect.
When she had eaten she felt stuffed and laid back in the bed, it was weird, she felt the blanket touching the skin of her legs and hips now, she felt everything really and started to realize that this meant more than just being able to walk again.
It was a funny thought, she let her hands slide across her skin, touching her hips and thighs and earlier she would barely have felt it at all. Now it made her skin tingle and she blushed and had to bite her lip to prevent herself from giggling. She had been able to use the bathroom on her own, she did feel when she had to go but just barely. Her lower regions were rather insensitive but what about her current situation? She had to test it out, she had never been like other teens when it came to such matters, there had been no point in even trying. And that was one of the reasons why she hadn't been that interested in the blokes Monica tried to hook her up with. She made sure that she was alone before she slowly tried to touch herself and stopped right away swallowing a small squeal. Was she supposed to be that sensitive?! Damn, if that was normal then by everything holy, she had really been missing out on certain things. She giggled to herself and slid deeper into the pillows, she had a feeling that life from now on would be very interesting indeed!
She was slumbering when there was a knock on the door and the twins entered, they both grinned and sat down by her bed. One of them had a few pieces of parchment and some charcoal and the other a book of some kind. Elladan was the one with the parchment and he gave it to her. "Here, you spoke of so many strange things so I thought that you maybe would like to draw them? To make it all more understandable if you see what I mean?"
Adelyn nodded, she was fond of drawing and one of the servant brought a food tray she could use as a platform for her work. The book Elrohir had brought was one with stories of old and he had a pen and some ink, he wanted to hear some stories from her world so that he could write them down and she eagerly obeyed. The two twins were funny and so youthful and charming but she didn't doubt that they could be dead serious too if they needed to be. She first drew a car, then a plane and the house of her foster parents. Then she made a world map that was at least almost correct and a map of the state she was from. The elves were staring with interest glowing in their eyes and they asked questions and she answered them as well as she could. Soon she was telling them all sorts of silly stories and they were laughing and having a really great time. She hadn't felt that at ease with anyone of the opposite sex ever.
Elrohir told her of a couple of pranks they had pulled on different members of the household and also of the one time when they had poured green dye into the soap Glorfindel used to wash his hair and the renowned warrior had walked around looking like a green apple for weeks. Needless to say he had given them some very hard and tough sessions on the sparring arena as a thank you very much for that favor. Elladan had problems even speaking because he was laughing so hard. Adelyn told the elves of a prank she and some friends had pulled on a guy at a party she had visited, he was a bit too cocky and pushy and nobody liked him so when he passed out on the couch, dead drunk, they had filled a bowl with warm water and dropped his hand into it. The water had been lukewarm and so he had peed himself. That piece of information made both ellyn stare at her as if they both had had an epiphany and Adelyn realized that she had given them a new idea for entertaining new pranks. Oh crap, that was not what she had meant to do at all. Elrohir was grinning so widely she saw all of his teeth. "So when you drop a sleeping persons hand into water like that they pee?"
Adelyn nodded. "People mind you, I am not so sure that it would work on an elf."
Elladan smirked. "Oh, I bet it does, Erestor usually takes a nap before dinner every day, he sleeps like a darn log too. I wonder….?"
Elrohir was grinning like a wolf. "Oh yes brother, tomorrow we'll find out!"
Adelyn rolled her eyes. Poor Erestor, he had looked like a very dignified and well behaved elf, not the type to enjoy such pranks at all.
Elladan almost scowled, there was a hint of mirth in his eyes. "So, I hear from the servants that you did meet our famous balrog slayer today, and that you made quite an impression? He has supposedly walked around the entire day looking like he is sleepwalking or something. One of our lieutenants almost, almost managed to hit him when they were sparring today, that is a first!"
Adelyn tried to look as casual as possible. "Oh, is he that good with a sword?"
Elrohir whistled. "That good? Damn it, he is the best! To be able to almost nick him is incredible, he cannot be himself at all."
Adelyn frowned. "I barely spoke to him, I am sure there is something else bothering him, it surely cannot be me."
Elladan sent her a wry smile. "Oh? Sure about that? I have never seen anything that has been able to shake him in any way. He is as cool as ice! But he sees you and then he starts acting weird? That is telling me something my lady"
Adelyn looked puzzled. "Oh? What?"
Elrohir nodded his head. "That our golden balrog slayer has taken an interest in you, and not just for a quick tumble between the sheets if you know what I mean. He is popular, he can practically have anyone he wants. I think he may be falling in love."
Adelyn coughed. "Ah crap, uh, really? Oh darn, that is…unfortunate, ah…I don't know what to say to that!"
Elladan cocked his head. "Why is that unfortunate? Don't you like him?"
Adelyn rolled her eyes. "Well, I have spoken to him once, I do not know him at all, and I am not that kind of a girl"
Elrohir looked confused. "That kind of a girl? What do you mean?"
Adelyn sighed and took a deep breath. "Look, I have no idea of what kind of moral you have here, I have understood that you only marry once and have one really great true love but otherwise from that I am really ignorant as to your customs and social codes. What I meant was that I don't just jump into bed with everyone who is interested, heck, I haven't even… "
The twins looked stunned. "You haven't? Oh by the Valar, are you a virgin?! But you are an adult?!"
Adelyn felt how her cheeks burned red. "Yes, but remember, I was paralyzed! A wheelchair is not exactly seen as very attractive by most guys."
Elladan looked a bit shocked. "Adelyn, I can assure you, if Glorfindel really has fallen in love with you he will most certainly treat you with the greatest possible respect and gentleness. He is really a gentleelf if he wants to, he was after all raised in a time when things were very different than they are now. You could risk getting whipped for just touching an elleths hair without her permission."
Adelyn raised an eyebrow. "Darn, he did seem a bit old fashioned. But does what you just say mean that he is a bit…promiscuous normally?"
The twins just stared at her. "That word is unfamiliar?"
Adelyn sighed. "Right, is he sleeping around, being easy, a slut"
Elladan blushed and coughed and Elrohir was staring at the ceiling as if to unravel some huge mystery up there. "Ah well, like I said, he is popular and…"
Elladan finished Elrohir's sentence. "And he has needs like everybody, I wouldn't say that he never sleeps alone but damn it, to be honest? He is shall I say very experienced? The ellith do appreciate him very much from what I have heard."
Elrohir giggled. "They claim he's got quite a lot of endurance, and that he really knows all there is to know about the female body."
Adelyn just sighed. So the huge guy was probably not exactly the ideal candidate for a long term relationship. Guys used to sleeping around usually continued doing just that, no matter how committed they appeared to be. "Alright, thanks for telling me."
Elladan frowned. "Adelyn, you don't really know that much about us yet but I have to warn you, if he really falls for you it is a bit more serious than if he was a human being. Real feelings we do hold very sacred and please don't toy with him, that would break his heart Adelyn. And elves can die from a broken heart."
She stared at him, eyes wide open. "Seriously?"
He nodded, his eyes sad. "Seriously! So if you don't like him, or can't see yourself being with him in any way then just tell him that, before he starts to develop real feelings towards you."
She swallowed hard. "Thanks for the warning."
Elrohir had a peculiar expression on his face. "But by the Valar, we would really love to see him trying to court someone properly, imagine Glorfindel trying to sing a ballad?"
Elladan scoffed and his face turned red. "Ro, that is one horrible mental image! I have never heard Glorfindel sing, ever. And I don't think that I would like to, ever!"
Adelyn had to grin, these two made everything seem so funny. "You elves like music?"
Both twins nodded, it looked a bit weird since they were so much alike. "We do, most are good at singing and playing instruments. Did you play any instruments?"
Adelyn nodded eagerly. "I did play the piano, and I wasn't too bad with a flute either."
Elladan raised an eyebrow. "What's a piano?"
Adelyn grasped the parchment and the coal and drew a piano very fast, they stared at it with narrow eyes. "And that thing makes sound?"
Adelyn nodded. "Yes, there is strings inside of it and when you touch those black or white areas on it they in turn tap on the strings. Too bad you don't have any here, I was really good for a while."
Elrohir beamed. "But we do have flutes, can you play something from your world if we get you one?"
Adelyn made a grimace, she wasn't so sure that the flutes they used here would fit her style but why not try? "If your flutes are similar to ours then I would at least try."
Elrohir almost jumped in his chair out of sheer excitement. "Then we'll go ask the musicians if they can lend us a flute, I am sure they will let you have one."
Adelyn just sent him a somewhat shivering grin, what type of music should she try to play? She tried to think something else to think about. "I heard your father and Erestor and Glorfindel discuss someone who had gone missing? And orcs?"
Elladan swallowed, his face a bit pale. "Yes, the son of the leader of one of the other elven realms has probably been kidnapped by orcs. We would very much like to go looking for him but we cannot, father has forbidden it. They need to gather better information first."
Adelyn saw that this affected the twins rather much and she tilted her head. "You know this guy?"
Elladan nodded, eyes turned down and he was still rather pale. "Yes, he is a friend, a very dear friend. He has visited here a few times with his father and he is such an amazing fighter."
Adelyn pulled her knees up and rested her chin upon them, darn, to be able to do just that felt amazing. "He is a prince?"
Elrohir made a grimace. "Technically yes, since his father Thranduil is the king of the woodland elves. But there is no chance that he will ever abdicate and I don't think Legolas would be fitting as a king. He is too impatient and reckless."
Elladan made a somewhat sad grin. "He is like us."
Elrohir nodded slowly. "Aye Dan, he is pretty much like us."
She felt a strange feeling in her chest, as if something cold had touched her. "So he is in danger?"
Elladan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "In grave danger, and it feels so darn terrible to be sitting here in safety while our friend probably is being tortured by those…Yrch!"
Adelyn could understand that, she would have been very upset too if someone had kidnapped any of her friends and were hurting them. "Will they kill him?"
Her voice was a mere whisper and Elladan saw how distraught this had made her. He patted her hand. "Probably not, they are using him to torment his father, to make him too weak and scared to be able to fight for real."
Adelyn almost growled. "So this dark lord who rules the orcs are using peoples families against them?"
Elrohir sighed and nodded. "Yes, he sent his orc's to attack our mother, to break the will of adar and our grandmother. But he didn't succeed though, she survived and sailed. She is safe."
Adelyn didn't know it but her eyes were suddenly almost aglow and Elladan felt a sting of something almost akin to fear when looking at them. "Adelyn, your eyes are glowing!"
She scoffed. "Yeah right, glowing eyes?"
Elrohir grasped a shiny bowl from a table and held it up. "Check it out for yourself!"
Adelyn grasped the bowl and even though the surface distorted the reflection she could see that yes, her eyes did glow. She dropped the bowl with a yelp and Elrohir grasped it before it could hit the floor. "Oh dear God!"
Elladan bit his lower lip. "Ada think that you were brought here for a reason. I begin to believe him."
Adelyn sighed and closed her eyes. "Maybe, but what use can anyone have of me? I am really nobody."
Elrohir grasped her hand and squeezed it. "Nobody is ever just that, nobody. Everybody has got something rather special."
Adelyn felt sad somehow, and tired. She yawned. "Right, and now I feel as though I could fall asleep in this very moment. "
The twins got up and smiled. "We have exhausted you Lady Adelyn, please do accept our most sincere apologies."
She had to giggle. "Apology accepted and please come by tomorrow, I really enjoy talking to you guys."
Both blushed and kissed her hand politely before they exited the room. Adelyn was leaning back into the soft pillow and closed her eyes. It was dark outside and she felt like she had been awake for a whole year. So, a nap would be wonderful and tomorrow is yet another day. She was getting a bit nervous due to the glowing eyes incident but she was looking forward to seeing the twins again, and perhaps even Glorfindel? She didn't know why but she had noticed a strange sadness in those amazing blue eyes and it was in a way haunting her mind. What could have caused it? She really wanted to find out. She went to sleep and the servants lit the hearth to keep the room warm, then they left to allow her to sleep in peace. Neither did know that the morning would change everything and that in a flash.
