CHAPTER THREE: THE MYSTERY GIRL (January 3, 1976 – T.A.)

She opened her eyes slowly, waking to the harsh sound of rain pattering against the window. As she rubbed her eyes, she heard raspy voices whispering over her.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Should we let anyone know?"

"I do not think that is wise."

"But she is alive!"

"And does not remember anything!"

"Groin said he was sure!"

"She is still in danger!"

"What of her memories then?"

"It would seem she will never regain anything of her past… I have seen cases like hers before, but never as severe. I am impartial if it is from the concussion she endured or whatever whoever did to transform her."

"But she will be alright?"

"She will… given that no one discovers her, but the road to recovery will be challenging."

The young girl glanced around as her vision finally came into focus. She was in a grand vaulted room, wall to wall with precious gems fitted in blocked masonry. Her bed was tiny, but the frame was thick with geometric carvings on the bedposts. She went to lift herself up as best as she could, her body feeling heavy and lethargic, until a strong, rough hand was placed on her tiny shoulder - halting her.

"Please stay where you are, young one." A dwarf directly above her advised, in a rugged slightly accented voice. She had to strain her ears to hear him, which she thought was odd, but could not understand why.

"You are still recovering." A gruff and gravely voice came from her right. She gave a confused expression to the dwarf who appeared somewhat familiar to her.

"I…I do not understand," she said meekly. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You are in the Lonely Mountains, my lady, for nearly four days." The six dwarfs around the small one who spoke, all dispensed a certain 'shut-up' expression. The older one next to him elbowed him hard in the rib cage and gave off a decent fellow impression, he seemed to act like the father of the group, which made her feel as if she knew him from somewhere.

"I brought you here." Fundin spoke once more, as he stepped closer to the girl till he was right next to her. She fixated on him, thinking how strong and loyal he appeared. He was dressed in a brown, long leather vest that was imprinted with geometric shapes, while his shoulders were covered with fur. Wrapped around his brawny shoulder blades was a dark, brown leather sling that came together in the middle of his chest, attaching to a circle. 'A crest.' She eyed it for a few moments, knowing she should know what House it came from, but she couldn't figure it out.

"How are you feeling?" Compassion filled his caramel eyes as he observed her. She gazed right back at the dwarf who saved her life and emitted a weak smile.

"I am well. And you?" She spoke and Fundin delivered a barreling laugh of delight at the girl in front of him. 'Despite everything she's been through in such a short time and her amnesia, she still holds a regal presence and upbringing.' He thought to himself, amazed.

"I am good, thank you." He paused for a moment as he cleared his throat. "I suppose you are probably wondering how you got here." The girl nodded slowly, and Fundin moved to sit on the bed beside her. "Some of my fellow kin and I found you on the ground. You… weren't moving." He pointed to Borin and Fror standing behind him, who both gave a small, yet reassuring wave. He paused for a long moment as the girl took it all in. She peeped up, examining the dwarf more closely, his honey eyes swirled with emotion: concern, fear, hope and a small amount of what appeared to be pleading. 'Pleading for what?' She had no idea.

"I remember waking for a moment… and seeing a dwarf looking down at me…" Her delicate, long fingers went to touch her forehead, rubbing it as if it hurt to remember.

"Yes. That was me," Fundin confirmed. "When you woke, you said you couldn't remember how you got there, or where your family was." She nodded as Fundin studied her with a sad expression. "What about now?" She fixated on her hands as she searched her thoughts for the answer.

'Home… love… family…'

She searched everywhere but her mind was empty. Her memories were lost in a desolate void, filled with nothing but cobwebs. She met Fundin's eyes with fear, frustration, and sadness.

"I cannot remember… I'm sorry… I can't…" she stammered as she began to choke up. Fundin instinctively held her tiny hand as she buried herself in his brawny chest.

"Shh… it's okay. What about your name?" The fragile and startled girl enveloped in his arms was much different than the royal version he saw only once at the celebration in Rivendell all those years ago, who used to emanate such power and tenderness. She locked eyes with him, as her kaleidoscope eyes began watering like an ocean right before a tsunami, Fundin quickly tried a different approach. "When you woke for that briefest of moments on the way here, I heard you say something. You said Lorien." She analyzed her hands once more, wrinkling her nose as she thought back to that moment. When the dwarf asked her about her name, she could hear something faintly in the back of her mind: voices, calling to her in a whisper, blurring the name together. Was it her name? She couldn't be sure. Why couldn't she remember? Frustrated, she buried her face in her slender hands. Fundin let her go gently.

"It's alright," he said as he turned his gaze towards Groin and Thrain, who appeared to look a little nervous at having a crying female in front of them. "What's to be done with her?" King Thrain examined Fundin, a solemn expression on his wrinkled face.

"We will keep her here for the meantime, so she can rest and recuperate. But she can not stay here forever. I will see if Theodmer can take her." The young girl eyeballed Thrain in confusion, as she could not understand the new language he was speaking in, for it was no longer the Common Tongue. Her mind scrabbled, telling her she should know the language, causing a panging headache to arise.

"My name is Fundin." The dwarf to her right spoke once more. He smiled warmly, speaking in her language once more and extended his hand towards her, causing her attention to shift back to her savior.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." She beamed brightly and shook his hand with a firm grasp.

"Believe me, the pleasure is all mine, your high-" Fundin stopped quickly before he blurted out too much information. He gave a deep clearing of his throat before he started again.

"We shall name you Evelyn." Balin stated rushing to sit alongside her, he was the closest to her deceased family, and he alone knew her true name – the granddaughter of the Valar, although she could not be known by the name the Adar gave her any longer, so he would bestow on her a name in the Common Tongue with the same meaning. Balin had hoped that his thinking would allow someone to easily find or identify her. "Do you like it?" He asked in a fatherly voice, his hand stoking hers reassuringly. Something in her mind grew brightly as the sun and for some reason, one she could not understand, she had a sense of recognition at the Heavenly name. She nodded shyly at the older dwarf, as Fundin reached into the pocket of his coat.

"Before I forget, I have something I've been meaning to give you." He pulled out the small necklace. "You were wearing this when I found you."

He deposited the necklace into Evelyn's soft hands and she eyed at it questioningly. She was astonished by how beautiful it was, especially the way the gold shimmered against the white gems encrusted into it. It almost appeared to be crafted from starlight and golden dust. She turned the pendant over and read out loud the two words engraved in it.

"Yomenie Tirion" She observed the ginger dwarf who had quickly sat down next to her on the left from the corner of her eyes. He seemed to move closer to her. There was a smoldering fire in his dark amber eyes that caused him to look familiar. She stared at him for a beat before turning her attention back to Fundin. "What does it mean, Fundin?"

"I do not know myself," He told her, he hated lying to her but he had no choice – they had all agreed this was better for her, less painful. He searched her golden blue eyes for any sign of recognition, trying to will her to remember.

"You should not have given -" Evelyn heard one of them hiss harshly for a moment, before her eyes clouded over. The company of dwarves around her began arguing over something that had to due with the pendant, but she couldn't make anything out. Her mind was trying to stretch too far, reaching for something that was inaccessible. She felt as if the fibers in her brain were being ripped apart as short fuzzy images flickered inside the crystals in front of her. Flashes of fire and echo's of screams caused her to screech out in agony. She dropped the necklace as if it had burnt her and her cold hands flew to her head holding it in place, trying to make the voices stop. The misery radiated from her, causing the dwarves to step back like a poisoned arrow had pierced their chests and was twisting its way deeper inside their scabrous skin.

"What's happening?" Farin shouted as Groin turned around to the table and cabinets behind him.

"Her brain is frying itself against the memories! It must be a defense mechanism from whoever shifted her, so she could never remember again!" Groin yelped rummaging through as he knocked bottles and herbs to the floor with a smash, searching for something to relieve the suffering child.

"Groin!" Farin hollered as he tried to hold her still, as she forcefully squirmed in Fundin's arms. Groin hastily threw a green powder over her head; it floated down upon her skin like feathers falling from the sky. She instantly went limp in Fundin's arms, as the company took a deep breath feeling the torment leave their bodies.

"Poor child. She will sleep for now." Groin breathed out heavily, leaning against the table for support.

"She can not stay here. It is not safe for her." Thrain's commanding voice barreled off the walls, as he began to pace the drafty bedchamber. His kin laid their eyes upon their new ruler with various expressions. Thrain spoke to himself in a hushed tone, trying to figure out what he should do in this desperate situation.

"The elves… We could use her as an advantage against them… But then again, she's a mere child and has been through so much already… We cannot take care of a human… If Sauron ever found her…" He shuddered against the thought, "No one must know she has lived…"

Fundin couldn't stop himself from interrupting, "She is the Princess, the pendant proves everything! She must be returned to her people! The Valar will be looking for her, surely!" Fror's ragged hand came to his friend's upper arm, gripping him tightly, beckoning him to stay calm. The moment they had found her, the situation was out of their hands and it was not their place to decide the fate of the tiny elven… human Princess.

"Her people are dead! She is human now! You do not think if we hand her over to the elves, they will assume we did something to her! What if Sauron gets ahold of the information while we are smuggling her back to her kin! Our people will perish either way!" Thrain snarled to his brave warrior, they could not lose any more people. 'Why help the elves when they never helped them? They had refused to assist them when the dragon came. They were responsible for his family's death after all.' His angry expression softened quickly after the thought, as he saw his kin look upon the sleeping girl in hope and awe. "She is not our responsibility." He whispered tiredly.

'How sad it is...' He thought glancing at the young girl once more who lay peacefully in bed with her brunette hiar sprawled elegantly around her, 'She was so close to having gotten to her kin in Mirkwood…' He took the pendant from her closed palm and grasped it tightly. 'I know a pretty Prince and Elf Lord who will pay a pretty price for this… Let them feel a loss like I have…'