Author's Note: Okay, to be honest I have had this chapter ready for some time before posting this now. My reasons/excuses are that I have had my attention elsewhere not to mention going through the loss of the death of one of my pets which I was in an emotional dump over for a bit. Also, a severe burn due to a careless coffee spill, and an eardrum infection and also just generally getting sidetracked by various things. But here is chapter 7 finally, so sorry for the long wait. Rachel finally meets the two elven twins in this chapter, let's see how she reacts….

On a side note: The first part of this is in Rachel's POV, the second in Elladan's.

Chapter 7-Found

Rachel ran for the nearest group of trees in her complete state of fear. Ignoring the various cuts and scrapes that she was getting from the surrounding undergrowth, she ran further and further as fast as her legs would allow. Just as she neared the closest copse of trees, a hand reached out and grasped her wrist firmly, preventing her from going any farther.

"Let me go!" she shrieked hysterically, while trying to yank her wrist away from whoever was holding onto it.

Her attempts were unsuccessful, so she started flailing about and yelling at the top of her lungs. A second hand clapped itself over her mouth, muffling her screams. Rachel then heard a most melodic-sounding voice speaking. She guessed whoever it belonged to was trying to calm her down. She stopped struggling for a moment, and risked a glance up at her captor.

At first, she thought she was seeing double so she blinked, trying to clear her vision. No, I'm not seeing double. Standing right in front of her were two of the most beautiful beings she had ever seen. They both had very pale and flawless skin, that seemed to emit a glow. Their eyes were deep grey that mirrored stormy seas. Long dark hair, almost black, tumbled down their shoulders. They had the most exquisite features, the likes of which Rachel had never seen before. To say they were stunning didn't do them justice at all. Not by a long shot.

For a few seconds she just stared in awe at them, eyes wide with astonishment. They looked back at her with worried expressions on their faces. One of them Rachel realized, was saying something to her, but Rachel didn't understand the words. She shook her head, uncomprehending. He repeated what he had said. Rachel in her distraught state, just screamed at them. "I don't understand anything you're saying!"

The worried looks on the two males then turned to confusion. The other one then spoke, but it was just as confusing to Rachel as what the first one said. Shaking her head vehemently, Rachel indicated she still didn't understand. The expressions grew more and more puzzled and they looked at one another briefly, before they turned their attention back to her.

It was then that Rachel noticed their ears. They were POINTED! Of all the crazy things…. "What the…." she started to say, backing away. Or tried to anyway. One of them still had her wrist in his grip. "What the HELL are you?" she shouted, eyes becoming even more frightened. Rachel felt she had totally lost it. She had finally cracked. Gorgeous god-like creatures with pointy ears! This wasn't real. None of it. I must be dead. Or hallucinating. Or something. This wasn't real. There's no way it could be.

Her gaze then strayed to the weapons they carried, the knives at their sides and what looked to be bows strung across their backs. Okay, it's official. I've completely cracked and am in some loony hallucinatory state or some alternate reality where nothing ever made any sense.

They must have seen her fear at the sight of their weapons, for they laid them down on the ground, putting up their hands in a peace gesture. Rachel's world was spinning, like some crazy merry-go-round on steroids. She no longer could see straight and her face had gone chalk-white. All the terror, helplessness and exhaustion from the past several days finally caught up with her then, hitting with such extreme force, Rachel did the only thing she could. She fainted.

Rachel wasn't even aware that instead of hitting the hard earth beneath, she fell into something warm and soft. If she were conscious enough, it would have suspiciously felt like a pair of arms. Once again, Rachel knew only darkness for a time.

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(Elladan's POV)

After he and his brother Elrohir had slain a fairly small group of orcs, they had come across a young woman trapped by two large spiders. After dispatching the vermin, the woman had run off into the woods as she had looked absolutely terrified out of her mind. Both he and Elrohir chased after her. After Elladan had grabbed her wrist to keep her from running any further, the two brothers noticed her strange garb. They had never seen anything like it, much less a woman wearing what appeared to be men's clothing.

The mortal, for Elladan had noticed her rounded ears, had screamed something at him in a strange tongue, trying to break free of his hold. Elladan then became worried. He knew his twin was thinking the same thing as he. What was a strange young woman doing out here all alone, without any escorts and unarmed? Even more, what were these odd words she was speaking?

He tried to soothe her obvious fears by telling her they meant no harm, but without success. The woman just shook her head, indicating she did not understand him. He tried again, but with the same results. Once again, she yelled in that strange language as before. The fact that she could not understand the Westron he was using, completely baffled him. What human did not know Westron? he wondered.

Elrohir then spoke up, attempting to talk to her. "Do you not speak Westron?" All they got in response was more head shaking. The human woman did not know what they were saying.

Elladan became more bewildered by the second. He could tell so was Elrohir, by the look on his face. The mortal then screeched at them after noticing their ears. Obviously, she had never seen one of their kind before. She muttered something under her breath and then tried to back away, but Elladan didn't let her, fearful that she'd run off again into impending dangers she could not possibly face on her own.

The woman continued to screech at them and it was beginning to hurt their ears. He could clearly see the fear in her eyes which only increased as she spied their weapons. In an attempt to reassure her that they meant no harm, they tried a more universal approach. Carefully putting down their weapons, they held up their hands in what they hoped conveyed a gesture of peace.

However, the woman had gone completely pale and looked about ready to collapse. Elladan caught her as she did just that, before she could slump to the ground. The two just looked at each other for a moment. Now what? The unspoken question hung in the air between them as though both had simultaneously thought that very same thing.

A moment passed; Elladan and Elrohir staring at the strange female in Elladan's arms.

Finally, Elrohir spoke. "What do you think she was doing here all by herself?

"I know not, but we must make haste back to Imladris. Father will want to hear of this. We will take her with us."

Elrohir nodded in agreement. Gathering up their weapons from the ground, the brothers made their way back to their horses, who were grazing in the meantime. As Elladan got back on his horse and Elrohir on his, the former positioned the mysterious young woman in front of him, holding her around the waist so she would not fall. Both prompted their mounts to continue back the way they came.

They rode along, neither saying much due to the thoughts that plagued both of their minds. Not for the first time, Elladan wondered what she was doing out there all by herself, in strange clothing, and unarmed no less. Not speaking the common tongue was probably the strangest of them all. When he had put her on the horse in front of him, he immediately realized she smelled. Badly. It left him to ponder once more how long she had been out here, all alone in the wilderness, especially when there were orcs, Uruk-hai, spiders, and other dangers afoot. The woman had been lucky thus far, and even more so that he and his brother had come along when they did. Neither wanted to think about what would have happened had the alternative occurred.

So they rode in relative silence, Elladan's gaze occasionally drifting to the mortal woman he held. He wondered about her story, why she was where they found her. Anyone smart enough knew these areas were dangerous and stayed clear of them. Those who did not have sufficient fighting and survival skills, knew well enough to stay away, or at the very least, travel with a group who could. Perhaps their Father could provide the answers where they could not.

He had to admit, he was very curious about her-after all, it wasn't every day one comes across a foreign woman in the middle of nowhere, far away from any civilization. And she was indeed foreign, if her attire and words she spoke were any indication. Elrohir had glanced over at her once or twice, no doubt curious as well. This woman was rather filthy, so much so he could not really make out her features that well. Various cuts, scratches, and bruises marred her skin, along with one really colorful bruise of black and blue on her right arm. Briefly he wondered if she had any serious injuries he wasn't aware of. It was best to ride as fast to their home as possible and let their Father see to her.

With that in mind both twins hastened their speed, both wearing grim and worried expressions. The journey took them almost three days. They stopped a few times to rest the horses and allow them to graze, then they continued onward. During this time, the young woman stayed unconscious, except for some incoherent mumbling, accompanied by subtle moans. The fact that there was only wilderness all around for miles, and that the nearest settlement was Imladris, further increased their worry. The woman must have been out here for a few days at any rate, even longer since she was on foot. Add to that her lack of any weapon on her person and no supplies either that they could find, left him to wonder how on Arda she could have possibly survived for that long. It was very odd.

The woman's age, from what he could gather, assumed her to be somewhere around her second decade, past twenty-some-odd summers. It was difficult to say though, as trying to guess a mortal's age was not exactly a strong point of his. Holding her against him, he noticed her starting to shiver, making it that much more vital that they hurry with all due speed. Humans he knew, were susceptible to catching colds and other various illnesses from overexposure to the elements, unlike the elves who did not need to worry about such things.

Finally, much to both elves' relief, they arrived at their intended destination. Leaping down carefully from the horse's back, the human female in his arms, Elladan looked down at her for a second. He saw that her skin was deathly pale, white even, her lips blue. That wasn't a good sign. It was most fortunate they were here now, for the elf feared any longer and she may not have lasted. After she recovered, they would hopefully receive the answers they sought.

But only after….

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Author's Note: Again, I apologize for the long wait. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one should be out hopefully soon.