I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter! (I can't believe we're on Chapter 7 already!) This chapter is probably one of the longest, and it's set at (eek!) Rivendell! I always loved Rivendell the most when I read the books, so it was pretty fun to write this chapter. Did I race through some of their adventures at the beginning to get the characters to Rivendell faster? Maybe... ;)
"Let's camp here tonight," Thorin said, after they had been riding through the forest for at least seven hours. Mei had fallen asleep at one point, and had woken up to find that her head had been leaning on Kili's shoulder and, someone (she guessed it had been Kili) has draped a traveling cloak over her.
"Umm," Mei said, remembering how the dwarves had encountered the trolls (and almost died!) when they had camped in this part of the forest.
"What?" Thorin asked, looking at her.
"There are trolls around here-it's not safe," Mei replied, hoping Thorin would believe her.
"Really?" Thorin asked, looking skeptical. "There haven't been trolls in these parts for years."
"No, trust me," Mei said. "There's three trolls just beyond these trees that are going to steal your ponies and… yeah, just don't camp here. Please."
"Alright," Thorin said, turning back to the reins of his horse. "We'll find somewhere else to camp for the night."
Wow, Mei thought. If I can prevent them from running into the trolls, maybe I can protect them from running into all of the other dangers too.
The company headed further into the forest. After they had been riding for an additional hour or so, Thorin turned back to look at Mei, as if to ask, is this area safe?
Mei nodded at him. She was pretty sure the trolls wouldn't come this far from their campsite in one night.
The dwarves dismounted from their horses for the first time in hours. When Mei slid off of her and Kili's horse, her knees wobbled and nearly gave out under her. Not walking for seven hours straight and then suddenly trying to stand is pretty difficult.
Kili caught her hand to steady her, as he too dismounted.
"Thanks," she said, finding her balance.
The company began setting up camp. Bofur and Bifur were getting a fire going, while Bombur selected which foods to cook that night. Thorin was ordering Dwalin, Fili and Kili to take the night's first watch.
And so, it was in this rhythm that the company continued for several days. Mei would direct them to certain areas and away from others. She led them to the troll cave, because she knew it was essential for Bilbo to find the Elvish sword, Sting, and for Thorin to find Orcrist, the "goblin-cleaver."
But she said nothing when Gandalf began leading them towards Rivendell. She knew Thorin would be upset, but she longed to see the beauty of Rivendell for herself. After reading about it's glory and serenity for years, she couldn't pass up the opportunity to see it for herself.
Rivendell did not disappoint.
As soon as Mei saw the glorious kingdom, she felt as if New York City, London and Paris were like nothing compared to this.
Sparkling waters lay below an arching bridge. Elvish architecture was definitely something Mei had never seen the likes of before. Towering turrets loomed above her, gorgeous archways beckoned her to walk further into the kingdom, and peaceful gazebos could be seen just beyond vast, well-tended gardens.
Thorin turned to Mei, a betrayed look on his face.
"Did you know the wizard was leading us here?" he hissed venomously.
"Umm… er… no?" Mei stammered. "I kind of forgot about this part in the book," she lied.
Thorin turned away from her, looking disgusted.
"Calm yourself, Thorin," Gandalf said, looking amused. "We have been in the wilderness for nearly a week now-would you not like to be treated to warm baths, fresh food and soft beds? Your company is weary, and they need to rest."
Thorin grumbled, but said nothing.
Once the company had been greeted by Elrond, several elves appeared to lead the various members of the company to their rooms.
A pretty, brown-haired elf escorted Mei to her room. The elf was much taller than Mei, although Mei supposed that all elves would be taller than her. Ever since arriving in Middle Earth, her regular height seemed to have diminished. She was now even shorter than some of the dwarves.
When Mei entered her room, she found herself turning in place to get a full view of the beautifully decorated suite. The furniture and decor was so pristine that it seemed to glow. The duvet on the bed looked irresistibly soft and fluffy, as did the white feather pillows.
"You'll find that your bath has already been prepared, Miss…" the elf trailed off, obviously unsure of what to call Mei.
"Oh, my name's Mei," Mei filled in.
"Ah," the elf said, smiling. "I'll be back to help you get ready for Lord Elrond's grand dinner later this afternoon, Miss Mei." She left, closing the door softly behind her.
Mei finally noticed the large marble bathing tub in the corner of the room. An array of pastel-colored soaps were arranged on a small pine table next to the tub, along with a bottle of what looked like the Elven version of shampoo.
"Awesome…" she breathed.
After Mei had bathed, the elf returned, carrying a pastel pink dress, along with several silver accessories.
"That bath was so great," Mei said. Once out of the bathing tub, she had found her skin to be baby-soft, and her hair to be shinier than it had ever been in her entire life. "I wish we had that kind of shampoo on Earth."
The elf looked slightly confused at Mei's mention of Earth, but quickly recovered. "Would you allow me to help you into your dress, Miss Mei?" she asked.
"Sure," Mei said. "But why do I have to wear a dress?"
"It is customary for guests of Lord Elrond to dress up in finery for their first dinner here in Rivendell," the elf told her, sliding the dress over her head.
The peach-colored fabric of the dress was smooth and shiny, just like silk. It hugged her body, but not in a way that made her feel self-conscious or uncomfortable. In fact, the way that the dress highlighted her curves made her feel more confident in herself than any piece of clothing had ever made her feel. The dress was like those worn by Asian royalty, floor-length and trim to body of the wearer.
"This dress is gorgeous," Mei said, looking at herself in the floor-length mirror they stood in front of.
"Time for your hair," the elf said, gently guiding Mei into a cushioned chair stationed in front of a mirrored vanity.
As the elf brushed, curled and arranged Mei's usually tangled strands of pitch-black hair, Mei found herself noticing things about herself that she'd never seen before. That scratch on her cheek. A branch had whipped by her cheek while riding through the forest, and given her a tiny cut. It didn't hurt, but Mei thought it made her look tougher, and she found herself smiling at her reflection.
"All done," the elf said after a long while, pinning a tiny silver crown onto the front of Mei's updo.
"Woah," Mei was startled to see her finished look in the mirror. The elf had drawn most of her hair back into an elaborate bun of braids. Two loose, curled strands of hair framed her face, and various silver ornaments had been pinned in throughout.
"You look beautiful, Miss Mei," the elf said, smiling.
"Thank you…" Mei said. She turned to the elf. "What is your name?"
"Celebreneth, Miss Mei," the elf said, bowing.
"Well, Celebreneth," Mei said, looking at her reflection one more time. "You did a pretty epic job. If the girls at my high school could see what you could do, they'd all come clambering to you to style their hair for prom."
"Prom?" Celebreneth asked curiously.
"Sorry, never mind," Mei said, dismissing the conversation. Her stomach gurgled. "You said we were having dinner with Lord Elrond?" she asked. "I could do with some food right now."
"You'll find the dining hall just down this corridor," Celebreneth informed.
"Thanks again," Mei said, and hurried out the door. She was really hungry.
Just as she was about halfway down the hallway to the dining hall, someone bumped into her.
"Ouch!" she cried. The person had stepped on her foot, which she now could feel throbbing slightly inside the silver slippers she wore.
"I'm very sorry, miss," a familiar voice said. "Please forgive me for my clumsiness."
"Kili!" she exclaimed, turning to face her friend. "I was wondering where all you dwarves got off to!"
"Mei?!" Kili breathed, taking in her appearance. "Wow… umm, err, you look… wow…" For the first time since they had met, Kili was the one scrambling for words and blushing furiously instead of Mei.
"Yeah, these elves have got some pretty cool clothes," Mei said, trying to save the awkward situation.
"They gave me this idiotic button-down jacket," Kili argued, gesturing to his white outfit. Despite Kili's complaints, Mei thought that he looked absolutely adorable in his white suit and with his neatly combed hair, and couldn't stop her heart from beating about ten times faster.
"Well, you certainly look handsome, Kili," Mei blurted before she could stop herself.
Kili smirked. "I'm glad at least something good came from wearing this uncomfortable joke of a jacket," he said, bowing to her with an air of mock formality. "I have earned a compliment from the stunning Miss Mei," he held out his arm for her to take. "Might I add, you look gorgeous tonight, my dear," he said, with a huge grin.
Mei was quite sure her heart had just stopped. She knew that what Kili had been saying was just an act, a joke, of sorts, but she couldn't help but believe him.
She took his arm with a smile, and they walked, hand in hand, towards the dining hall.
This was probably one of my favorite chapters to write so far. I know that basically all romantic Hobbit fanfictions with a girl main character use Rivendell as the budding for the romance, and that the girl will walk out in some fancy dress and the boy will be like, "woah!" and there begins their serious romance. But I just couldn't resist doing the same-sorry! Haha! But I tried to redirect the attention to Mei's dress more towards her feeling confident and good about herself in it, rather than her just feeling beautiful (hope that made sense, haha).
Anyways, I'd love it if you could review, favorite or follow! All follows, favorites and reviews mean the world to me!