A/N: Thank you all very much for your reviews! If you have any ideas, just tell me! Don't hold back! Sorry, no long A/N this time, I think the chapter is already long enough. Enjoy!
Hi! This is Lindewen, the translator of this fine story, speaking. I want to apologise to all of our loyal readers that it took so long to update. The thing is, I only recently got the new password to our computer and after that, I went on my holiday. I'm very sorry, and I'll shut up so you can read the long awaited chapter. Enjoy! And don't kill me. Coz if you do, there won't be any more chapter coz I am the Translator. Mwuhahaha! (Sorry, forgot to take my pills)
Chapter 8. Rivendell.
Sheila and Gwaihir were on their way to Rivendell. They had been for a while, but they have not spoken since they left to head for Rivendell. They both had to think about what happened the past few days.
"Tell me, my friend, how far until Rivendell? I hope I am not too late, for I wish to see Gandalf and the Ringbearer….." Sheila suddenly spoke up.
"I think it is a one more day, flying that is. I shall drop you off at the Loudwaterriver, for I cannot enter Rivendell", the King of Eagles answered.
"I know, my friend", Sheila said.
"It is a two day walk from there until you reach Rivendell", Gwaihir said.
"Two days?", Sheila said, a little louder than she normally spoke.
"I am sorry, there is no other way", Gwaihir said.
"No, I am sorry. I should not have said it like I did. It is just…..I want to be there as soon as possible", Sheila said with a sad face.
Gwaihir did not respond.
Sheila put her head down onto Gwaihir's soft feathers and said: "Do you know what I miss most of all?" she said softly.
"What is that?" Gwaihir said.
"This", she responded. "The warmth you feel inside when you are happy, safety. Do you understand, my friend?"
Gwaihir nodded.
"I hope I can stay long enough in Rivendell to get that feeling again", Sheila said.
"I do not question that you will", Gwaihir said.
"Do you not? I hope you are right", Sheila responded before she fell asleep.
~ In the mean time at Rivendell~
"It is time to leave", Gandalf said to Elrond. "We cannot afford to wait any longer for Sheila to arrive. Sauron's forces are already moving".
Elrond nodded and said: "Do not worry, Mithrandir, my old friend. She shall be welcomed here when she arrives".
Gandalf nodded, but for a moment, he could not speak.
"I will prepare the others for the journey", Elrond said and left the room, for he wanted to give Gandalf a moment alone to think.
Gandalf thought back about the conversation he had with Sheila while he was flying on Gwaihir's back to Rivendell.
"She knew it the whole time", he mumbled to himself. He repeated her words: Redde Frodo sunt caesaris (give Frodo what he earns).
Since he had become tired of pacing back and forth, Gandalf decided to sit down on one of Elrond's chairs.
He did not know how long he had sat there to think, but he was not alone.
"Redde Frodo sunt caesaris", he said again.
"What does it mean? It is neither Elvish nor Westron", a man's voice spoke.
Gandalf looked up and saw Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Northern Mirkwood and companion of the Fellowship, standing in the doorway.
With a smile, Gandalf walked to stand before the Elf, and looked him straight in the eye.
This made Legolas feel a little nervous, therefore he spoke: "Lord Elrond told me to tell you that we are ready for the journey".
Gandalf shook his head and retrieved the Cor from under his robes and looked at it. He was satisfied to see that a red colour began to show itself.
Legolas looked at it with amazing. He suddenly felt warm inside, and yet, he also felt pain and loneliness.
"What is that?" He asked.
"This is a Cor. It means 'heart' in the language of the Montsegur. With this stone, I can feel in which direction Sheila is heading. The colour of the stone represents her wellbeing", Gandalf told the Elf.
Satisfied with the colour the Stone showed him, Gandalf tucked it safely under his robes again.
"But as in answer of your question; I was thinking about a conversation I had with Sheila. She told me to give Frodo what he earns. That is what 'redde Frodo sunt caesaris' means in Westron".
Legolas nodded and said: "But what does she mean with that? It is impossible for her to know then that Frodo would be the Ringbearer."
"Ah, but she DID know. How, I do not know but she knew what Frodo's role would be in this quest. But let us join with the others now. They will be wondering what is taking us and we cannot afford to stay here any longer", Gandalf said.
After a long day journey without resting, Gwaihir and Sheila finally reached the Loudwaterriver. Gwaihir had not encountered any problems travelling, but Sheila did. She was exhausted and her wound started to hurt. She got off Gwaihir's back and swayed a little, until her legs were used at her weight again.
"Thank you, my friend, for going through all these problems to help me", Sheila said and bowed to the Eagle.
"Do not lower your eyes for me, my daughter, for I am the one who should bow for you", Gwaihir responded.
"No my friend, you do not", Sheila said.
"Please, allow me to bow for the most powerful and wisest people on Middle-Earth", Gwaihir said and he bowed.
"Thank you for the compliment, my friend, but we are, I am, not the wisest of most powerful people on Middle-Earth. Those are the Elf's." Sheila said.
"Everyone is powerful or wise at their own way", Gwaihir told her.
"Aye, you are right as always, my friend", Sheila said. And with her answer, Gwaihir bowed his mighty head and closed his many yellow eyes.
Sheila lifted his head up and puts her arms around him.
"I will miss you, my friend", she said.
"I will miss you to, my daughter. If we are ever close and you need help, then think about me" Gwaihir said.
"No, my friend. You have already done more than enough", Sheila said, before she turned and walked away, without looking back.
Gwaihir watched her for a while. Then, he also turned and flew away.
The second day of her journey, Sheila saw the great Loudwaterriver and thus, Rivendell. She decided to take a short break before she would enter the Land of the Elves.
She knelt down before the river, formed a bowl with her hands and washed her face with it, and doing so; she rinsed the dirt and dried blood off her face.
After that, she sat with her back against a tree. She retrieved a bottle of Mair from her rucksack and drank some of it. As soon as she drank it, she felt warmth spreading from her stomach and her thoughts wandered to her homeland, and how long it would take for her to see her people again.
After resting there for a while, she decided to resume walking. She did not walk at her fastest, for she knew that Gandalf had already left.
It made her feel both happy and sad. Happy for he had listened to her and went on without her and yet sad, for she longed to see him again, and to finally meet Frodo.
She did not waste too much time thinking about Gandalf, for she worried more about the conversation with the Lord of Rivendell, who surely would want to know what had passed since Gandalf and she had parted at Isengard.
She also feared the way the Elves would react on her. She had never met Elves before, nor did they see her or one of the Montsegur. She only heard about them. And now it was time to meet them, and it made her nervous.
At first, she ran through the forest, but after a while, she slowed down and started walking. Now she had enough time to look at her environment.
The forest's beauty amazed her deeply. It was and quiet. The wind blew gently through the leaves of the trees, and at her face. It felt soft and smelled sweet (A/n: you know, like grass that has just been hayed/cut (dunno if that's the right word for it, you take a pick, OK, I know I'm crazy).
"I could feel very much at home here", she said with a smile. She was so wrapped up with her surrounding that she did not notice that two Elves were watching her (A/N: you know of whom I speak, heheh).
"This forest looks a lot like…….the forest at home", she said and her smile disappeared. She wondered why everything reminded her of her home.
Suddenly, she became aware of someone's presence, two someone's presence to be exact. She walked ahead to make them think she did not know they were there.
In the mean while, she thought about what she was going to say to them. She decided she would act as normal a possible, so she turned around and called: "I know you are there, so you may as well come out!"
The two Elves looked at each other with a how-could-she-know-we-were-there face.
Sheila was very nervous, but kept staring ahead to see if she could see any movement.
Suddenly, two Elves appeared in front of her. They looked very much alike.
Sheila did not think that Elves could be that long. She also did not expect them to have dark hair, for she had heard that all Elves were blond, but she decided not to ask them, for she wanted them to speak first.
The two Elves looked down at her amazed. She was small, but yet to long to be a Hobbit. She also did not have the big feet Hobbits were famous for. This person had to be Sheila from the Montsegur.
One of them spoke up: "Welcome, Sheila of the Montsegur" and they both bowed for her.
Sheila looked at them amazed; she did not expect the Elves to bow for her. It made her feel uncomfortable. No one had ever treated her like an important person, only Gwaihir made her feel like one when he bowed for her. This felt the same, but only a lot stronger. It felt not right to have them bowed for her, these were Elves. Her people had always respected them, and the Hobbits because they looked a lot alike. And now, there were two Elves bowing for her, why?
The two Elves looked up and saw her shocked face. They wondered what they had done wrong. Perhaps this was not a custom with the Montsegur. They wanted to ask her, but Sheila was quicker.
"I am Sheila from the Montsegur. May I ask what you names are?"
The Elves stood up again and the tallest Elf spoke: "This is my brother Elladan", he pointed at him, "and I am Elrohir. We are the sons Elrond, Lord of Rivendell."
Sheila decided to switch to Elvish; it would be a lot easier for the Elves. So she said:"Saes mentie lle" (it is a pleasure meeting you), and bowed with a smile.
"You know how to speak Elvish?" Elrohir asked in Westron.
"Aye, a little", Sheila answered, wondering why they did not answer in the language of the Elves. But then, she realized that they were the sons of Elrond, and Elrond was the one she needed to speak with.
"Can you bring me to your father, please? I have very important news for him. And I assume that Gandalf has already left Rivendell?" Sheila asked.
"The Fellowship has set off three days ago, milady Sheila", Elladan answered.
"The Fellowship?" Sheila said. Gandalf had not spoken about it before.
"As an answer to the threat from the East and the betrayal of Saruman, a Council has been held and a Fellowship of nine persons has been formed to set out to destroy the Ring", Elrohir said. He told her everything that had happened.
The two Elves lead her through the woods of Rivendell to the House of Elrond. They spoke Elvish with each other. Although Sheila could not understand the most of it, she knew that much Elvish to know that Elladan and Elrohir spoke about her. She did not care, for she was occupied with looking at the nature they were walking through.
As the neared Elrond's House, more Elves there were to see. Most of them greeted her. It made her feel shy, for she did not feel important and she still did not know why they seemed to think that she was.
'If they only knew what the destruction of the Ring will mean for me, than they surely would greet me and say their farewells to me the same time', Sheila thought. 'But no, it is better this way.'
She smiled and greeted the Elves back. She felt her wound burning, which had not healed completely yet and it hurt sometimes.
She stopped walking, lowered her rucksack and grabbed her shoulder.
Elrohir and Elladan continued walking, for at first they did not notice that Sheila stopped. But after a while, they did not hear her walking anymore. They stopped and turned around, to see Sheila grabbing her shoulder.
Sheila swayed on her legs out of pain and exhaustion. While she as walking, and speaking with the two Elves, she forgot about her pain and weariness. But now that she had stopped walking, it came back to her at full strength. She saw Elrohir walking towards her and she felt him grab her before she hit the ground.
Elrohir gently lowered her onto the grass, and he and Elladan waited to see if she would regain consciousness.
After a while, she did, and she sat up. The two Elves looked at her with startled faces, as if they wanted to hear an explanation (which they did).
"It is nothing, it is merely an old wound that has not yet healed completely", Sheila said. Then, she felt something warm and fluid.
'No, please not now', she thought. She took of her cloak and pushed her shirt aside far enough to be able to just see the wound. It was not closed yet, and now that it became infected, the healing process would even go slower.
Elrohir knelt down with her. She looked in his eyes and allowed him to examine her wound.
"Let me take you to my father. He will heal your wound", he said (L/N (Lindewen's note, as I am translating this story):Aww, such a cute and worried Elf).
Sheila nodded and wanted to get up, but Elrohir would not let, for he knew she was in no condition to do so (L/N: Like I said, he is such a cute and worried Elf!). Sheila tried to protest, but she did not find the strength to do so.
Elrohir lifted her up and walked on with his brother. Sheila noticed nothing during their trip to Elrond's House, for she had fallen asleep.
In the distance, she could her voices. They seemed to get closer. She could feel that her body was warm and that there was something could on top of her head, which smelled very sweet. She wanted to grab it.
"No, leave it lying there", a soft and gentle voice said.
Sheila opened her eyes. She saw an Elf sitting in a chair beside her bed. He had dark hair and grey eyes. He looked like the two Elves she walked through the forest with, only he looked older and wiser.
"Where am I?", Sheila asked.
"You are in the House of Healing", the Elf said. "I am Elrond, the…"
"Lord of Rivendell", Sheila finished. She wanted to sit up to great him, but Elrond gave her a sign to stay down.
"I am sorry that I cannot great you like I should, Lord Elrond", she said.
Elrond smiled and said: "Gandalf has told me a lot about you during his stay here. I am glad to see that he was right about you. I am honoured to have a guest from the Montsegur staying in my House. You are very welcome here in Rivendell."
"I thank you for your hospitality, Lord Elrond, but I think I shall not stay as long as you seem to expect me to", Sheila responded the noble Elven Lord. "As soon as I am well, I will go to seek the Fellowship".
"I understand, but until that time has arrived………………………………..at Rivendell". This was all Sheila heard before she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
Celine foot tapping on the floor: "Lindewen!"
Lindewen sounding far, far away and way too innocent: "Yes, Celine?"
Celine: "What have you done with my chapter??"
Lindewen: "Uhm, I translated it?"
Celine: "Yes, and what else?"
Lindewen: "I have no idea what you're talking about!"
Celine: "Ok, well, here's a little hint: L/N!"
Lindewen: "Oooohh, my notes!"
Celine: "Yes, your notes! You messed with MY story!"
Lindewen: "I did not!"
Celine: "Yes you did. How else would you call it?"
Lindewen: "I only emphacized the truth to our dear readers. I mean, come one, Elrohir WAS cute and worried, wasn't he?"
Celine: "True, but you could have asked me first."
Lindewen mutters: "What's the fun with that?"
Celine glares dangerously: "Did you say something, Lindewen?"
Lindewen startled: "Who, me? Nope!"
Celine: "Next time you want to add a note, ask me first! You could have ruined my whole story. Do this again, and I will make your inside your out outside, understood?"
Lindewen: "Uh-uh. Lots of pain and torture."
Celine: "Good. We're sorry about the notes ppl!"
Lindewen: "You're sorry! I don't regret it!"
Celine smacks Lindewen on the back of her head: "Remember the pain and torture, Lindewen!"
Lindewen: "K, I'll be quiet."
Celine sighs: "Finally."
