Hope you like my interpretation of how Frodo's healing took place. Cheers!
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Nicole closed her eyes and listened to Elrond's voice. She allowed his words to focus her mind and pushed her awareness forward to where her hands touched the unnaturally cool halfling. When she opened her eyes again she was surrounded by darkness. She shivered as her mind adjusted to the chilly temperatures. A warm glow surrounded her and pushed a few feet into the gloom. From what she could see, the setting was like a creepy forest from a nightmare. She could feel something watching, a malevolent presence that was pressing down on Frodo's mind. Every movement took more effort as if gravity here was more intense. Around her she noted shadowed, slimy, moss covered trees, with branches like reaching claws. "Cheerful." She muttered to herself. The elleth moved forward, undaunted, until she saw the familiar, near blinding light of Elrond shining from between the trees. In the waking world he always had a subtle glow about him, but in this place he looked like a LED lamp on steroids. One could not make out his exact features because of the brilliance of his light. There was no doubt who he was though. After months of training with him and his sons she would recognize their auras anywhere. She didn't look directly at him as she neared, wanting to preserve her night vision. Where his light touched, the landscape looked like a normal forest.
"Where is he?" she questioned quietly.
A light nearly as bright as Elrond stepped up on her other side. "Let's separate and keep looking," said Elrohir.
"Very well" Elrond responded. Nicole felt a brush against her mind. "Remember what I told you," Elrohir cautioned. Nicole nodded seriously. They each picked a separate direction and moved into the gloom.
"Frodo" she called out, as she moved. She didn't know the hobbit personally and felt a little silly yelling for him. "Frodo Baggins! Don't give up. Sam is waiting for you. You have to come back with us." After what felt like forever walking and calling for the frightened hobbit's spirit, Nicole sighed impatiently. Even though she was here, she could still sense her body, and her stomach rumbled. She'd try another tactic. It would sooth her raw nerves and hopefully get the reaction she wanted from her patient. She cleared her throat and began to sing.
"Feeling my way through the darkness
Guided by a beating heart
I can't tell where the journey will end,
But I know where to start
They tell me I'm too young to understand
They say I'm caught up in a dream
Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes
Well that's fine by me"
This song was surprisingly fitting to the situation Frodo was in. She hoped the sound of her voice would coax him out of wherever he was hiding. As she sang she stepped over brambles and noted that the ground was steadily climbing up and becoming rockier. The trees were thinning.
"So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself, and I
I didn't know I was lost."
A pale ghostly figure approached. In surprise she stifled a surprised "Erk!" and jumped behind a large rock. A figure of a man in a crown strode by. She eyed him. His hands looked almost skeletal. His robes were old and torn and floated about him like wisps of cobweb. The sword he clutched was not in much better shape. It was uneven and rusted. A piece was missing from the tip.
'Ok, this was different than the other times she'd done this.' Elrond had mentioned that when an evil essence was the source it often came to a confrontation. "He's only a shadow" She murmured to herself as a confidence booster. She took a few breaths and then crept from behind the rock to follow silently. Compared to Elrond her aura was more like bright colorful Christmas lights. It was unique, but not nearly as powerful. Her relatively low wattage was probably the reason the wraith didn't notice her, a fact for which she was extremely grateful.
A muffled sob reached her sensitive hearing and she slowed her pursuit of the ghost to search for her real goal. "Frodo?" she whispered. She moved towards where she'd last heard the sound. "Frodo, My name is Nicole. I'm here to help you." She felt along an uneven ledge of rock and dirt. Exposed Tree roots brushed against her hands. The soft glow of her light revealed a small opening in the side of the ledge. A scraggly gorse bush grew to one side of it, partially obscuring the opening. Nicole crouched on the other side and pushed at the twiggy poking branches. She squinted into the gloom. "Come on out."
"I can't" came the pained voice. The countenance of the hobbit on the exam table appeared in the glow of her light as he shielded his eyes from her. He was pale and shivering, but he wasn't a disembodied spirit yet. "Thank Eru" she said with a small smile. The praise seemed right when she said it and it appeared to give Frodo courage.
"Who are you?" he questioned, moving closer to squint at her. "You are so bright I can't see your face."
"I'm an elf… and I'm not that bright" said Nicole bashfully. She leaned back to look over her shoulder. The wraith had passed and was nowhere in sight. She shivered. This was taking too long. She might have to go in there and pull him out. Nicole wasn't claustrophobic per say, but that looked like a really tight squeeze. "Come on Frodo." She coaxed. "Lord Elrond is here looking for you too."
"Elrond… that is what Gandalf told me.," he repeated slowly as if just remembering.
"Yes come on, we need to go to him." She pushed some of her awareness back into her body so she'd be less bright and waved him forward. Frodo blinked up at her then, and scooted forward. Once his hand was close enough she took ahold of it and tugged him the rest of the way out. It wasn't as easy as she thought it was going to be. "Damn Frodo, what do hobbits eat for breakfast? Rocks?" The little hobbit couldn't be more than 80 pounds, yet it felt like she was hefting around a full grown man.
"You're a strange elf" he commented.
"Yes, Yes I know" she whispered impatiently. "Come on, we have to move." She pulled at his hand. The little guy was a trooper that was for sure, but his little legs were not moving fast enough and it was giving Nicole a significant amount of anxiety. Elrohir had told her specifically to not engage the darkness in her patient's mind unless it was unavoidable. He said her short time of training wasn't enough for combating that sort of evil. She hoped she could steer clear of it until she reunited with her teachers. The hair on her neck prickled constantly, and the aforementioned neck was cramping from trying to look everywhere at once. Every little sound and snapping twig made her breath hitch. "Can't you go faster?" she whispered to her small companion.
"I'm so tired," said Frodo pathetically, "I've been running in the dark for such a long time. I just want to rest."
Instantly she felt guilty for her impatience. "Just do your best, that's all I'm asking. There's a soft warm bed with your name on it when we make it back."
"Nicole" he said fearfully. "It's coming back"
She didn't ask how he knew, they were in his mind after all. She scooped him up with a grunt of effort and ran as fast as she could. But he was so heavy. Elrohir didn't mention that about hobbits in his teachings. She was nearly in a panic. In desperation she pulled more of herself to this plane than she'd ever done before. She could barely feel her body now. The light of her soul blazed outward. A rasping exhale of chilled air behind her made her shiver. She stopped dead and turned around slowly. The bright halo of her colors fanning the darkness revealed the wraith standing maybe twelve feet from her. It crouched just outside her light with its gaunt face pulled into a snarl. Its sword sure looked a hell of a lot sharper than the first time she'd seen it.
"ELROND!" she yelled, backing away, her heart pounding in her chest. "ELROHIR! Now would be a good time to get here…like NOW!"
The wraith took a step forward with each step she took back. There was no way she was going to turn her back to this thing. She would have worn a mask on the back of her head like they did in the jungle to ward of tigers if she'd thought it would work.
Time passed slowly as she moved backwards. She was getting tired. She couldn't keep her aura this bright for long. That was the only thing that kept it from getting close enough to skewer her.
She slipped on some loose gravel, stumbled, and sank to one knee. She glanced behind her quickly.
"Frodo?"
"Yes" came his muffled answer, where he hid his face against her shoulder.
"What's at the bottom of this ledge?" Nicole couldn't see how steep it was behind her or what the bottom looked like. The loose rocks set free by her fumbling steps fell away into darkness outside of her light.
The exhausted hobbit peered over her shoulder. "It looks like…like the hill outside my home from before I came to live with Uncle. There's a stream at the bottom."
"Good" said Nicole. She jumped.
She curled herself around Frodo and tucked into a ball. 'Shit!' she swore mentally as she tumbled gracelessly down the supposed hill. Obviously, Frodo's definition of a hill was different from hers.
She finally slid to a stop sprawled on her back with one foot in the freezing cold stream Frodo had mentioned. The water whispered by dark and forbidding. It looked a hell of a lot deeper and wider than just a stream. Warily, she cradled Frodo with one arm and pushed against the springy soil with the other. At least they'd had a soft landing. If one ignored the rocks she'd encountered on the way down. Nicole rubbed a sore spot on her back. She looked up just in time to see the wraith taking the last few sprinting steps to where they sat, its sword raised overhead to strike. During her tumble her aura had faded down to its normal brilliance, so there was nothing to keep it back now. She threw up an arm in surprise. The blow connected with her upraised arm. There was a clang and a burst of light. The force of the attack rolled her and Frodo heels-over-head backwards into the stream. She ended up sitting between two boulders with her legs braced against the rocks at the edge. 'Damn!' If the environment here was cold, then the water was frigid. The swift flowing black water instantly soaked her from the waist down. At this temperature there should've been ice floating on it. Nicole lifted her arm. She expected at least some blood, judging by the amount of pain she felt there. To her surprise, there was a shining silver bracer covering her forearm, just like the ones Legolas had. There was no time to ponder this development.
"Frodo we have to swim." She gasped out as she kicked away from the edge with all her might.
The next strike crashed sideways into the boulder near where Nicole's neck had been just a split second before. The sound of metal scraping against rock accompanied a spray of red sparks that flew outward over the water.
Nicole sucked air in through her teeth in a hiss of displeasure as the frigid water enveloped them up to their necks. Frodo was surprisingly silent and clung to her like a monkey. She'd have screamed if she didn't think it would frighten him. The current was pushing them downstream now. She noted with some relief that the cold had numbed her pain almost immediately, but she was also pretty tired. As her eyes drooped she lost track of the wraith at the water's edge.
A flare of light burned suddenly in the darkness. The creature let out an angry shriek somewhere to her far right. She heard words, but her mind couldn't make sense of them. She clung to Frodo tighter. Her eyes were closed now. She'd just drift… see where the cold would take her.
A hand grabbed her roughly by the back of her tunic, shocking her out of her stupor. She felt herself being dragged out of the water like a half-drowned cat.
"Nicole!" a voice spoke loudly in urgent tones. A hand that felt blazing hot pressed against her cheek. She opened her eyes. "Elrohir" she said weakly from where she and her captive hobbit laid boneless at his side. "There you are. Now we can start the party."
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Legolas paced back and forth in front of Elrond and Gandalf.
"What do you mean you summoned her?" If she is so young, why bring her here into this dangerous place? I have spoken with her. She was happy where she was… even if it wouldn't have lasted," he finished sadly. He wished now… really wished that his friend hadn't fallen in love with a human. He already would have to watch Estel and Arwen suffer such a fate. Thinking of Nicole dying of a broken heart disturbed him. He chewed on his lower lip in distraction, a habit he hadn't indulged in since he was less than a century old.
Elrond interrupted his thoughts. "It is necessary. You may accompany her if you wish."
A disgruntled huff escaped him. "Yes that is what you told me last time. I have already agreed to do that." He agitatedly ran a hand through his hair and paced one more lap before stopping in front of Elrond with his jaw set in defiance.
"What say do you have in her fate? Who are you to her?" he demanded. "I am the one who found her. I should be the one to decide."
"Who am I?" Elrond stood and towered behind his desk. "Who are you? Do you realize the entire fate of middle earth has been my biggest concern for thousands of years? I cannot think of only one person when I make a decision."
"She nearly died!" he yelled back. "When I saw her laid out beside the Halfling I thought… " he didn't finish and shook his head to rid it of the image. He glared back up at the healer. "Would you send your own daughter into such danger?" he said quietly.
He knew he'd touched on a sore subject when the normally placid healer yelled back "Don't you dare speak of Arwen to me. She has chosen her fate!"
Gandalf spoke then, "Relax gentlemen."
The two stopped glaring at each other and sent their piercing stares to the wizard instead. He seemed unconcerned and puffed on his pipe, but his words contained a gravity that silenced the other two.
"Each side has chosen its players. Sauron has called his followers to him. Saruman's mind…unfortunately has been poisoned. What Saruman knows, Sauron may know as well, thanks to his dabbling with one of the lost stones of Arnor." He looked up at Elrond. He knew we planned to bring someone here…someone with qualities and knowledge to tip the scales in our favor." He looked to Legolas. "He knows that person is here."
The prince paled. "How?"
Gandalf looked abashed, "When we researched the way that would summon her, Saruman's knowledge was needed."
"Then, Nicole…" he couldn't say the words.
"Yes… She will not be safe here for much longer."
Legolas sat numbly in a chair and stared ahead.
Gandalf smiled ruefully. "At least in his current state Curunir will not suspect someone like her. He would doubtless expect someone with extensive knowledge of powerful weapons and how to create them."
"That is not much comfort" muttered the prince to his feet. He moaned and covered his face with his hands. "This news will be difficult to break to her."
"We will do that if you cannot" said Gandalf. Noting the sigh of relief that escaped the young elf.
After a brief moment of silence he looked at the wizard tiredly. "How will you convince her? You can't force her to go"
Elrond spoke, "She will agree."
"How can you be sure?" Legolas questioned.
"She cares too much," he said simply. "She must be made to see the truth that she must go."
"And what is it she is supposed to do that is so important?" questioned the black haired elf, irritation rising up again. 'Elbereth! He's right,' he thought grudgingly. 'She already half agreed when we spoke in the clearing.'
"Even if I knew the answer to that question I would not tell you. It is not for you to know."
Fury froze over in Legolas' eyes. Afraid of what he might do if he stayed, He pushed himself abruptly from the chair and turned to leave.
"There is more to discuss," Elrond said calmly.
"Later. I need to clear my thoughts." Normally Legolas would never have even considered speaking so disrespectfully to his elders, but the force of his anger was alarming, and he needed time alone to think.
"Do not leave this conversation for long," cautioned Gandalf.
Legolas managed a curt nod with a clenched jaw. He opened the door with a white knuckled grip and was gone.
Elrond and Gandalf shared a look.
Legolas' long stride carried him quickly away from the Peredhel's office. He'd stayed by Nicole for hours once he'd found out that she was a patient in the healer's ward. He'd promised to protect her and already he had failed in his task. He'd go check on her quickly to ease his mind about her condition, and then find somewhere to go and think.
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Nicole heard whispering voices and pattering feet. Weakly she rolled onto her side and realized she was starving. Groggily she pushed herself up and looked around in confusion. 'The healing houses? …Oh right.' She recalled the mad dash for Frodo's spirit with a tired sigh. 'That could've gone better.' She looked down at her hands and rubbed at the forearm the wraith's shadow had struck. As her mind drifted over the event she remembered seeing the armor covering her arm. 'A bracer or something.'
The whispering started again and Nicole looked up at the entrance to see a couple of sets of eyes peering at her from the door, which had been cracked open just enough for them to peek inside.
"Hello" she called out in amusement. 'Hobbits,' she thought. She didn't fight the smile that came to her face. 'The closest thing to children in this place, besides myself that is.' They gave one another guilty looks as they shuffled inside. "Sorry miss, we didn't mean to wake you. We were just checking on our cousin before breakfast."
"I've had enough sleep." She smiled encouragingly at them as she swung her legs around so they dangled off the edge of her bed. "So…Merry and Pippin?" She questioned.
"Yes." They blinked in awe up at her. "How'd you know our names?"
"Oh, that's not important." She flapped a hand. "I'm Nicole."
The younger looking hobbit spoke. "That's a weird name for a—oof!" His friend elbowed him in the ribs.
"Sorry miss" he apologized with a slight bow. "Pippin here doesn't know how to speak proper to ladies."
"Oh that's alright…" Nicole stood and stepped around her bed. She reached for the curtain separating Frodo's bed from the rest of the room. "I don't either," she finished. She pulled the curtain back slightly to see Frodo laid out on the bed looking much better than he had the last time she set eyes on him. Someone had changed his bandages. A blond hobbit was slumped forward in a chair near the head of the bed with his upper half resting on the edge of the mattress. He was snoring lightly. With her sensitive hearing it was a wonder the sound hadn't woken her sooner. She smiled at the scene. She turned back to the hobbits who had begun roughhousing and making a fair bit of noise while arguing. She shushed them with a finger to her lips. They instantly stopped and she nearly laughed at their shame-faced expressions. She crept forward to a closet and pulled out a spare blanket. Then she tip-toed around the curtain and draped it over Samwise. (because that was the only hobbit it could be) When she came back around the curtain she shooed the other two out the door with an impatient motion of her hand. Once they were all outside she closed it gently behind her. "They're sleeping." she said by way of explanation.
"Oh," Said Pippin, blinking large brown eyes up at her. "Well see you later." He turned away and started to walk, but his cousin grabbed ahold of his collar. "Don't be rude" admonished Merry. He turned to Nicole, "Would you like to join us for breakfast."
"Why yes. I thought you would never ask," She laughed lightly. "Do you know where the dining hall is?"
"Yeah, we've been here since last night," said Pippin.
"Oh…" Nicole looked back at the door she'd just closed in confusion. "Then you arrived just after Frodo?"
"No, Miss," Supplied Merry helpfully, "Mr. Glorfindel came here a day ahead of us. His horse must be very fast."
"So…So I've been asleep for over 24 hours?" she shook her head. "What day is it?"
"The twenty-second." They answered in unison.
"No wonder I'm so hungry" she muttered.
"Yeah me too. It's been 4 hours since I had my first breakfast." Said Pippin.
She turned amused kaleidoscope eyes down to the hobbit. "Seriously? Well we'd better hurry then. You are looking a bit thin."
"Are you going in your nightgown?—Ak!" Merry grabbed his cousin's ear. "What's wrong with you Took? You can't ask a girl that!"
Nicole looked down at herself. Indeed she was dressed in the generic shift of a patient in the healing houses. "Hmm" she tried not to think about who'd changed her. There were plenty of female healers to do the job, but it was disconcerting nonetheless.
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Not much later she sat at breakfast (fully dressed) with her two newest friends. They regaled her with tales of their mad dash towards the Bruinen. Nicole didn't doubt that the feats of bravery the hobbits described themselves performing were grossly exaggerated if not made up entirely. She laughed and acted suitably impressed anyway. Near the finish of their meal Legolas appeared in the doorway, just as Nicole was recovering from yet another humorous tale from the two hobbits. In her mirth, she didn't see him enter. When her two boisterous companions fell silent and looked over her shoulder with mouths slightly agape, she turned to see who it was. There he loomed, like a stormy cloud over the ocean. His dark expression was not lost on her and her voice came out a bit squeaky in surprise. "Uh, Hi Legolas" she gestured weakly to Merry and Pippin who were watching her friend with awe. "Have you come to…to join us?"
"Nicole. What are you doing out of bed?"
"Ah…" she hedged. Looking helplessly over at the hobbits "I was hungry?"
"You promised me you wouldn't make my task difficult." He accused, his eyes flashing.
"I'm sorry?" she responded half in apology and half in confusion.
"Someone's in trouble," said Pippin in a stage whisper to Merry, who nodded in agreement.
"Guys" she aimed a deadpan look over at the hobbits. "Not helpful." She looked back over her shoulder at the irate prince, before glancing down at her food. 'Damn!, she'd lost her appetite.'
"Legolas" she pushed her plate away in frustration. "What are you talking about?"
He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "You should not have involved yourself in healing Frodo. Lord Elrond and Lord Elrohir could have done well enough on their own."
"That is what this is about!" She threw her hands up and turned away with a toss of her dirty blond hair. "Stop being so dramatic!" she huffed. "I promised I wouldn't do anything unnecessary. Saving Frodo's life is entirely necessary."
"Not when there are others who could do it with less danger to themselves," he countered, placing a palm on the table beside her. He leaned forward just as Nicole slung one leg over the bench to face him fully. She leaned back and felt a thrill of awareness ripple through her when she saw his face was closer than she'd expected. She swallowed.
The hobbits were watching the display with identical looks of fascination on their faces. Both continued to eat slowly, placing food in their mouths without looking at their plates.
Once she regained her train of thought she raised her eyebrows in challenge. "Lord Elrond allowed it."
"He does not have your best interests in mind. I do!"
Not liking the position of dominance he presented, she stood. He straightened and continued to tower over her. She nearly growled at him and wished she was taller so he'd stop doing that. For a split second she thought about standing on the bench, but that would just look stupid.
"When you offered to protect me, I meant in battle." She gestured wildly with her hands. "I don't need a baby-sitter."
"Apparently you do" he hissed quietly. She felt his warm breath on her face.
Her nostrils flared. "Ha!" A laugh of surprise and anger escaped her lips. She pushed at his chest angrily in an attempt to make him move back. Not only did it fail miserably, but it drew her attention unwillingly to how his chest felt beneath her fingers. A deep flush rose up her neck, "I can't believe you just said that!" She hissed as she stepped around him, deliberately bumping him with her shoulder as she passed. She stormed out the door.
"…" the hobbits mouths hung open.
Legolas stood there fuming for a moment with his fists clenched. "Infuriating elleth!" He flickered his gaze over the two hobbits like a flash of blue lightning.
Merry and Pippin were suddenly very interested in their food again. Most of the conversation had been held in Sindarin, but that had not diminished the entertainment factor much for the young hobbits.
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The second time that morning, Legolas' footsteps brought him to Elrond's door. He knocked once, entered, and stalked through the small library to the second door.
"Come in, Young Prince" said Gandalf, right before Legolas stormed in. It ruined the dramatic entrance a bit, but he was in no state to notice. Elrond and Aragorn stood pouring over maps. The wizard sat nearby with his hands folded in his lap. His hat was stashed on a stand at the entrance. A half-eaten plate of food sat forgotten beside the ranger as he looked at something Elrond pointed at. He glanced up curiously at his friend's abrupt entrance and continued to stare when he saw the elf's expression. Legolas reigned in his emotions and nodded briefly to Aragorn. He stared down at Gandalf, his eyes were hard ice.
"I will have it." He demanded.
Gandalf could see his father in him at that moment.
"Your meaning?" said Gandalf with raised brows. He knew very well what the normally gentle prince meant, but he needed to say the words.
"I want responsibility for Nicole."
"Alright." Said Gandalf easily.
"What?" the prince looked floored. Obviously he'd expected some sort of argument.
"Under one condition" said Elrond. He gestured to an open chair. "and you will sit and hear us out entirely this time. There are more details you haven't yet heard about your young friend."
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Nicole was still fuming when she reached her room. "How dare He!" she pounded a dent into an unsuspecting pillow on her bed. Her mind replayed their argument. She hadn't seen this side of her friend before. She didn't know what to think. Up till now he'd been so…so gentle and polite. Apparently that was conditional based on her compliance. Over the past months Nicole started becoming surer of herself and her improving abilities. She appreciated his wanting to protect her, but 'god damn' did he have to be so infuriating about it. She didn't need his permission to do what was necessary. If he kept this up it was likely that she'd start treating him like she did Josh. She'd say yes to his every rule and then do whatever the hell she wanted. She firmly pushed away the fact that washing laundry in hot water instead of cold was entirely different than risking one's life. Her thoughts continued like this for a while. Defiance at being told what to do warred with her sense of reason and dislike of confrontation in general.
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"-and because of these two reasons there is no going back" said Gandalf evenly. He watched the prince, whose expression was one of denial.
"You are telling me that where she comes from we are not even legend to her, just a story book meant to entertain." Legolas repeated back to the wizard.
Gandalf nodded.
"Impossible" he whispered, staring forward as if searching his memories for proof. "She knew me."
"She knew of you, from reading what she thought was just a story." Elrond supplied, leaning over the map, but not really looking at it. "Just as she knows many other facts about us that the enemy would find invaluable."
"I…I...need some time…to think." He glanced back. "Don't tell her...not yet."
Elrond stood up straight and fixed the prince with a narrowed gaze.
"Please." Legolas entreated. "It would devastate her…let me just" He ran a hand through his hair in anxiety.
"Legolas" said Aragorn gently, feeling sorry for his friend. "Did not Gandalf and Lord Elrond say you can have guardianship of Lady Nicole?" The dark haired ranger looked at his foster father in interest. "What was the condition you mentioned?" asked the Ranger curiously.
"We will not interfere with what information you wish her to know" said Elrond evenly to Legolas. "But she must be seen by all as your responsibility, a public acknowledgement."
"Alright." Legolas' eyebrows pushed together. "I accept." He took a breath, "I don't see why—"
Aragorn interjected. "I have not met her, but I foresee a problem with proclaiming such a guardianship to… everyone."
"Yes we thought so too," said Elrond wryly. "But it must be done." He waved a hand at his foster son for him to continue. Legolas watched his friend in confusion. What was he missing?
He met Legolas' eyes briefly before glancing around the room's other occupants. "If she looks like an adult," he said, "and she has no family here to speak for her… then she speaks for herself." He shrugged, "and it wouldn't do to discredit the story she's been telling everyone, that she's been independent and traveling alone for years."
"Unacceptable" said the prince leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "She is only thirty years old. She would be little more than an infant if she had been born here as an elf."
"We agree she needs guidance Legolas," said Aragorn in discomfort, "It just limits your options as to the nature of your guardianship."
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Two days later, Nicole found herself back in her old routine. Except for the fact that she was avoiding everybody but Glorfindel, Elrohir, and Elrond. They were the only elves that didn't seem interested in the embarrassing display that had occurred in the dining hall two days ago.
Today Nicole practiced the most difficult and physically demanding exercises Glorfindel had taught her. She stayed long past the normal amount of time they trained together. Her teacher had left hours ago. With each slash she tried to exhaust her frustration with herself. She wanted nothing more than to beg her friend to forgive her so she could discard the stones she felt in the pit of her stomach. But if she did that, he'd think it was alright to just order her around.
"Do all maidens of Rivendell learn the sword so beautifully as you, so that it looks like a dance?"
Nicole nearly dropped her sword in surprise. She'd let her thoughts distract her from being aware of her environment. Glorfindel would be frowning if he was here. She turned slowly to the voice, wondering why it sounded odd to her ears. The sight that greeted her had her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. A man was sitting calmly in the viewing area. It was he who had spoken.
'Josh?!'
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Yay for cliffhangers!... and I don't mean boogers that are halfway out your nose.
