(A/N: Okay, so I'm really sorry I published this so late ;-; but I had an audtion today so I hope that's a good enough reason...so to answer the questions, I would like to clear up this small fact, Rune is not a dwarf, however she is just below average height for a girl. She is roughly a foot taller than Pippin making her around 5'5ft. To clear up any confusion Pippin is 4'5ft according to the LOTR wiki, the shortest height for a dwarf is 4'6ft and the tallest is 5'ft (my height ^.^) and also female dwarves have beards, in which Rune does not. I hope this clears up any more inquires about Rune's species.)
"Em…I have got a name, yes, a name, a name that people call me by…."
"Her name is Rune," Merry chimed in, saving her from further embarrassment. Legolas turned to Merry and Pippin who stood proudly next to Rune, both looking confidently at Legolas.
"Rune?" He turned back to her, watching as she played with her honey coloured hair, a habit she had picked up as when she was a small child.
"Yes, my name is Rune, daughter of Canna, at your service." She bowed slightly, her hair falling forward so that it tumbled to her front in gentle waves. Merry and Pippin looked at her before quickly copying her, both bowing low.
"I am in no need of your service Miss Rune, however, I believe you are in the need of some help?" He questioned Rune. She nodded her head before realising that she was being rude.
"Yes, I – we need directions, we are looking for a hobbit, he is a friend of these two." She gestured to Merry and Pippin who looked up at both Rune and Legolas. Legolas turned to the hobbits also, studying them with vague interest.
"Yes! We are looking for our friend you see, his name is Frodo Baggins!" Pippin began, turning to Merry to continue for him.
"We are wondering do you know an Elf that can show us," he gestured to the three of them, "to his current location. We got lost you see." Legolas mused over this for a moment before turning to a dark haired Elf to his right. He spoke in Elvish, Rune couldn't quite understand it, however she was sure she had caught a name somewhere within his words.
"Urúvion is an excellent Elf and I trust in him, he will show you where your friend is." Rune smiled and thanked him, she began to walk away, following into step behind Urúvion. Legolas quickly grabbed hold of her wrist, looking deep into her eyes. Rune jumped at the unexpected contact and looked down at her wrist. His hands were large and she could feel the heat radiating off of them, in an almost comforting way. "Will I see you at the feast today?" He asked her softly, to which she nodded kindly.
"Yes, you will be, Legolas." She spoke his name softly, it sounded foreign to her ears, yet right all in one.
"I shall see you there then, Lady Rune." Legolas dipped down and kissed the back of her hand gently. Rune quickly looked away, hurrying along after the two hobbits and the Elf, grasping her hand as she did so.
Xxx
Rune stood outside the room, leaving Merry and Pippin to join their friends in a little celebration. She had no part of their company and shouldn't feel any need to join them, yet she was over joyed that the little hobbit had been alright. Although she hadn't met him, she had met three of his companions, Merry and Pippin, whom she had grown rather found of, and Samwise, who had at first felt the need to tell her that she could just call him Sam, and that he had also mistaken her for an Elf. Standing outside the door she could hear it all, the cries that were classed as greetings and the happiness in each of their tiny voices. Rune felt uncomfortable standing there, awkwardly shifting her weight from foot to foot, not sure what to do with herself. A man gracefully walked around her, opening the door and stepping inside, she barely caught a good view of him, a part from his shoulder length dark hair, curiosity filled her. He was no hobbit, perhaps he was the strider the hobbits had spoken of? Another minute ticked by and yet she still stood there, still unsure whether she should leave or not. She thought of Gondor as she stood, the large grey stones that made the walls of her room, the cold floor she walked across every morning. She was a servant, true, but she had it better than most. Her mind drifted to Faramir, she thought back to how he would care for her, and make sure that she wasn't having in trouble, he would bring her nice clothes so she could feel like the woman her bloodline entitled. 'Your mother was an amazing woman, at least that is what I heard, she was highly respected, Rune, just as you should be.' Thinking of Faramir hurt, they had just left him, he was so kind, so caring and yet they had both, Boromir and Rune, up and left them with their father. The door creaked open and the Hobbits tumbled out, grinning and laughing, arms slung over one and others shoulders as they congratulated a little dark haired one with curling hair. The man exited next, he was rather handsome, yet some years older than herself. He spared her a glance, his eyes a startling grey, but they did not rest on her long. Next came an elderly man, his beard long, and his eyes a shining blue, his wooden stick echoed against the floors. He looked at her from under his grey, bushy brows. He chuckled as he smiled.
"So you are the young lady the hobbits were talking about?" He spoke in a joyful voice, one she seemed to recognise somehow, he seemed to be waiting for her response but all she could do was look at him, take in how he looked. He was older, far older than she imagined any man to be, he leaned heavily on his walking stick, and yet she was sure that was not its only purpose. After she realised she had kept him waiting far too long, she nodded her head.
"I think I am, although I hope they have not spoken too badly of me." She responded, only causing the elder to smile wider.
"Not in the slightest, Miss Rune was it? Yes, Rune, perfect name for someone from Gondor, I owe you for taking care of those two for me, they are useless sometimes, I must admit, foolish at times." He grumbled, his brows creasing slightly.
"I believe it is just because they are young, and unused to such an adventure." She smiled as she watched the hobbits jump and skip down the corridor, laughing as they went.
"Ahh, yes, you should know all about it then?" He asked her, Rune smiled softly.
"I am not too young, but I do know the joy of one's first great adventure, they will miss it I assume, when they return, miss this beauty." She gazed out of an open window as she said so, staring out into the sparkling blue water.
"I hope that will not be the case, they shall remember it yes, but I hope they never feel the need to leave their home land again after this adventure." The old man mused, as he too watched the hobbits, Rune glanced at him and shook her head.
"They shall miss it, even I will admit once I return to Gondor I will miss this place dearly. I would wish to come back one day." She whispered softly, looking down as the plants swayed in the trees.
"Then why do you not?" He asked her softly, turning to her, she smiled.
"It is a long story." She replied back, her hand now tracing the carvings on the wall.
"And I have a very long time left to live, even if I do not look it. Now, would you care to begin your tale as we walk to lunch?" He offered her his arm, in which she took graciously.
"I will need something in turn, before I tell you my story." Rune told him, as they walked down the corridor
"And what is that my dear?" He asked her, looking down at her.
"What is your name?" She questioned, to which his reply was swift, as though he expected it be this exact question.
"My name is Gandalf, Gandalf the Grey."
Xxx
The sweet smell of the food was enough to stop Rune from explaining to Gandalf how she had ended up a servant, she had never smelt such a sweet scent.
"Elves," Gandalf began as he smiled down at her, "are exceptional cooks; even I cannot deny such beautiful foods." He chuckled as they walked into the large room. Rune's eyes widened, the room was filled from Elf, to Dwarf, to Man and even the little hobbits had their places at the table. The table itself was long and wooden, laden with all sorts of food, some she recognised and others she didn't. She wanted to rush to the table, and eat the sweet foods, but knew her manners and found that she and an elf were the only women in the room. The Elf was a dazzling woman, her long brown hair, expertly braided, her silver crown was like silver leaves, wrapped beautifully around her head. Her gown flowed from in beautiful white silk, the top part fitting her perfectly. She looked up, catching Rune staring at her, and smiled kindly at her. Rune smiled back but still found it hard to draw her eyes away from her. She felt Gandalf remove his arm from hers.
"If you will excuse me, I must go join Lord Elrond at the table, it was a pleasure speaking with you." Gandalf smiled kindly at Rune as he left to go join the table, close to Elronds side. She could feel the feeling of awkwardness as she stood at the front of the hall, looking around for Boromir, spotting him; she shifted towards him, walking past the hobbits and some elves, dwarves sitting on the opposite side of them. Sitting down next to her brother carefully, Rune began to bring the food towards her, getting strange looks from the people around her. That was when she realised that the beautiful Elf had not exactly been sitting at the table, and she was the only female there, sitting between a man and an Elf she had not met.
"Where have you been?" Boromir asked in an urgent whisper, studying his sister carefully, she began to place food on her plate, filling it with many different vegetables and meats, filling it until she had far more on her plate than Boromir.
"Exploring," she answered, as she began to shovel food into her mouth, wanting to ignore all conversation with her brother at the moment. She was still feeling guilty about leaving Faramir behind, and felt no need to talk with any member of her family, she concentrated on her food, each bite she took exploding in her mouth in a variety of tastes, even food she had eaten in Gondor tasted fabulous here.
"I suppose I cannot blame you for that, it is amazing here." Boromir commented as he eat his food in a far slower manner than his sister, who continued to shovel forkfuls into her mouth, and sipped at her wine. She never truly cared for the taste of wine, finding it too bitter for her liking and knowing if she tried to much it would make her head foggy, as she remembered helping both her brothers home from a tavern one night after drinking too much, she shuddered at the memory.
"It is not that that caused me to want to explore, it was the idea of being trapped in Gondor once again, and never getting to experience this again." She whispered softly, after clearing her plate she began to place more on.
"Quite the appetite you have there, missus!" A dwarf chortled from the other side of the table, clearly seeing the amount in which Rune had eat. She swallowed her mouthful and smiled at the dwarf from over the table.
"We do not have such lovely food in Gondor, this is spectacular and I intend to eat as much as I can before I return home!" She called back, she could feel Boromir glare at her, but it caused her no mind. It had felt as though her conversation with Gandalf had made her feel more confident, and cheerful. Even though she would have to go back to Gondor, she could still enjoy Rivendell while she was here.
"And too right!" The dwarf called, taking a massive bite from the meat he was eating. Looking around the table, she found that only the Elves, Gandalf, the man that had been with the hobbits and Boromir had laden their plates with a considerable amount of food, and not overdoing it such as everyone else.
Finally, Rune pushed back her plate and took a look at the room around her, the dwarves spoke among themselves, and the elves did the same, ignoring those around them. It wasn't until a tap on her shoulder that she finally remembered that the hobbits had been in the same room as them. It was Merry, blushing away to himself.
"The elves have begun singing," he started, looking down at his feet shyly. "I was wondering, well, some of the elves had begun to dance, and I really like this tune, will you dance with me?" He offered her a hand, in which she took, smiling.
"I would be glad to dance with you, Mr Mariadoc," without a single warning to Boromir, she pushed away her chair and stood up, she followed Merry to the floor, dancing with him amongst the elves that had not sat and eat lunch with him, after a short while, Pippin and Sam joined them, leaving Frodo at the table, who sat with Bilbo, watching his three companions and Rune dance.
"She is a mighty woman there!" The same dwarf who had spoken to Rune beforehand, called to Boromir who looked at his sister in wonder, wondering where she had learned to dance so perfectly.
"She is full of surprises." He called back, watching as the Pippin looped on arm with Runes and danced in a circle, passing her on to Merry and then to Sam. He also watched as she lifted the skirt of her dress up slightly to reveal her feet, showing the hobbits some foot work. It wasn't long before even some of the elves had slowly began to copy her.
Around an hour later, Elrond called the attention to all his guests by standing and halting the music.
"Thank you for all coming, both friends and strangers. I would also like to thank you the little ones and their lovely lady for such graceful and beautiful dancing, it is nice for these old eyes to see something new." He smiled kindly at them, Merry and Pippin bowed twice while Sam and Rune stood there, looking incredibly bashful. "However, although these festivities have been most enjoyable, we have more important matters to address, the fate of Middle-Earth rests upon us. Whether by chance or invite you have arrived here it does not matter, you are each here, Dwarves who run the mines, Man with their courage, the Elves with their music and the hobbits with their peace and innocence. Today is the day we decide a fate beyond all that we have ever decided, the shadows are rising, Mordor is gaining its power, it is time for the people of Middle Earth to fight back!"
