Disclaimer: Still not mine. *sighs*

She lives! *throws confetti* Sorry for such a long wait. You've all been so patient with me. *bows deeply* That means a lot. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's not beta'd, so any mistakes in here are my own. I tried to make sure the grammar was all right, but things might have slipped by me (you know how that goes).

Just a side note. It's probably safe to say updates on this story will be far and in-between (as I'm focusing on my own novel right now).

Lord Elrond came to see Mary later in the week. His fair face was solemn, unreadable, as he approached her. The golden leaves that fell about him seemed to give him an even more regal appearance. He almost appeared wary of talking with her, his footsteps slow and measured. All too soon though, he was beside her, grey eyes gazing down at her in soft questioning.

Well, I haven't been exactly cordial with them, have I? Mary frowned at the thought her conscience sent her. And why should I be? Half of them think I murdered their companions!

Didn't I though? The niggling seed of doubt had planted itself in her soon after Elladan's silent accusation. Had she murdered those elvish scouts? She'd tried hard to remember any passage about the attack from the books she'd read at home, but nothing stood out.

But am I just suppressing it to protect myself?

"My lady, stop," Lord Elrond said, his voice a soothing calm in the vast storm of her guilt.

What do you…Oh! Her eyes widened. "How did you know?" Did he foresee it?

"Your spirit wavers, my lady." Lord Elrond stepped closer, his hands clasped before him.

"Oh." He can sense other peoples' spirits? Is it the power that Vilya gives him, or something he's always had?

"May I join you?"

His question jerked her attention back to the present and Mary glanced down at the white-marble bench she sat on for a moment before returning her eyes to the elven lord. "Of course, my lord."

He sat down with the grace that only an elf could produce. She envied that poise slightly, feeling clumsy and heavy around the nimble footed residents of Imladris. It was at times like this that she somewhat wished she'd taken the Valar up on their hint to make her an elf. Surely, it would've made her acceptance that much easier.

Lord Elrond said nothing for a while. Mary reveled in the silence. While she liked Durian, the man always seemed to want to talk, now that he'd opened up to her and become more at ease. He never gave a moments rest. It made her mind swim after a while and she found herself hiding from him on the days where her thoughts troubled her the most, like today.

At last, Lord Elrond turned to her. "It is hard for you, is it not, my lady?"

"Yes." He didn't need to expound on his statement. She knew what he spoke of. She raised tentative eyes to him and took a chance. "But you would know of that, wouldn't you, my lord."

His eyebrows lowered a bit and his lips thinned into a line. "So you do know of my gifts."

Is that tension in his tone? "Yes."

His brow creased, emotion showing for the first time in his eyes. "All of them?"

He has to mean Vilya. She glanced pointedly at the ring on his finger. "Yes, my lord."

She waited for him to speak, but he did not. Instead, he gazed out into the view of the forests before them. What will he do with me, now that he knows I know? Mary felt her anxiety grow with the passing moments. She wished he would tell her his thoughts. That struck her as oddly funny. A mere second ago she had loved the silence of Lord Elrond, and now she hated it.

I'm such a fickle person, aren't I?

Lord Elrond straightened and focused to her again. Mary tensed without meaning to. The elvish lord's gaze softened. "I do not mean to frighten you, my lady."

He sighed. "These are unsettling times."

"Indeed, my lord."

"Many would seek to use your gift from the Valar for their own gain."

Mary could only nod, images of the Dram and Sauron filling her mind. She shivered at them. She'd come so close to spending the rest of her days in Mordor, tortured until she broke. Lord Elrond's hand touching hers made her start. She stared at the elvish lord in surprise. The elves, while open about their feelings and actions, did not initiate physical contact unless towards family members or patients.

My fears must be more visible than I thought. "My lord?"

"I would help you." He pulled something from his robes pocket.

OoOoOoOo

Elrond watched as the woman's hazel eyes narrowed in confusion. Her thin hand twitched toward the ring in his hand, but then withdrew. So, its power does call to her…good. It confirmed what he'd already suspected; Araegisess sought to protect her. "Take it, Lady Sybil."

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Mary."

"Pardon?" he asked, though suspicion of what she'd meant tickled his mind.

"My name is Mary, not Sybil." She looked down, her thin hands clenching together. "I should never have lied about it, but…it was all so sudden, my being sent here, being told no one could know anything, and then the Dram came, and I…they would've…I never meant any offense, my lord."

"You sought to protect yourself by hiding your real identity."

She nodded. "Yes."

Her hands rose to her face in an attempt to hide the tears that flowed down her cheeks now. Her shoulders shook with suppressed sobs. Too much. Too much had been asked already from this young woman and yet, he felt that she still had a role to play. Elrond laid a gentle hand on her left shoulder. Such a heavy burden on one so young.

He shook his head, eyes rising to the sky for a moment. Why? Why give such powerful knowledge to this woman? She's still a child, if not in body than in spirit.

For several minutes, the only sound came from Lady Sib – Mary. He knew not what to say that might comfort her, so he offered the only thing he could. A silent support. Someone who would not judge her for baring her sorrow so openly. Even the trees seemed to lean closer to shelter her from prying eyes.

His hand gave her shoulder a kind squeeze as her sobs quieted and she glanced over at him, eyes red rimmed. He let his worry show through; she needed to know he would aid her in this. She needed a friend who understood the burden of knowing the future and while he might not have her exact gift, his was close enough for him to sympathize. Her eyes widened as his meaning became clear to her. A smile flashed across her lips.

"Thank you, my lord."

He nodded, hand going back to his lap to take the ring that sat on it. "This will hide your spirit from the Dark One, now that he knows of your existence."

"He won't be able to find me?" Such hope burned in those words. Her hand took the ring with barely restrained eagerness.

His heart yearned to say 'yes', yet he could only shake his head. "It will not hide you wholly, but enough that you should be safe here."

"So, he can still find me?" Her lips quivered and her eyes filled again. She was beginning to see her plight now. She would never be safe again. Not as long as the Dark One knew she lived.

"He can only find you if he already knows you're here and even then, the ring will tell you if one of his agents is near."

"How?"

"It will tighten."

She nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it go slowly. "What's its name?"

"Araegisess."

"What does it mean?"

"Great Protector."

She chuckled under her breath. "Not quite the imaginative name I was picturing."

"True." He smiled.

The woman took a deep breath and gazed down at the silver ring. "Thank you, my lord, I…this means a great deal to me."

I can imagine. Elrond remembered the first time the Lady Galadriel had shown him how to protect himself and Vilya from the Dark One's gaze. The relief it brought was indescribable. He stood slowly. "I shall leave you then, Lady Mary."

OoOoOoOo

Mary watched him leave, then turned her attention to the small, silver ring in her palm. Such a tiny thing, something she wouldn't have expected to protect her. That's what you get for watching Hollywood movies. You expect something grand and big. Neon signs are even better.

She chuckled softly, fiddling with the ring. Protected. It felt like such a long time since last she'd been protected. Ever since being here, Mary'd had to look out for herself, hide her true identity, trust no one. It'd been a heavy burden to bear, but she'd done it, knowing it was right. Yet now…now she didn't have to anymore.

This ring, these elves, they'd look out for her from this moment on. And ask for nothing in return…least Elrond won't.

She slipped the ring on, holding her breath. Nothing happened. Birds chirped and leaves danced in the autumn breeze. The ring felt cold against her skin, normal. She chuckled again. Thanks Hollywood.

She twisted it around her finger. Such a small thing… Mary shook her head and stood. She needed to think and knew of only one place here that had always offered her peace of mind. She started down the white-stone path towards the direction of the waterfalls. A little bur-marigold flowerbed near the falls had become her sanctuary early on in her stay here.

She caught a glimpse of Durian, the big man laughing with some elves, but avoided asking him to join her. She needed quiet right now, a chance to catch her breath, something she couldn't do with Durian around. The man meant well, and she truly liked him, but sometimes he was a little too much.

Sorry, Durian, maybe later. She hurried down the stone paths of Imladris until she got to the dirt trail that led to the waterfalls. She glanced about and then knelt to take off her leather moccasins. Instant relief! She giggled softly as she toed the dirt. She hated shoes, even moccasins, always had, even on Earth. Whenever she got the chance, Mary walked around barefooted, except in winter, but only when the air became too cold.

She gathered her skirts and stepped gingerly down the path, uncaring if any elves might see her open disregard for shoes. The breeze seemed to sense her presence, for it played with her loose hair and tickled her nose with its touch. She let lose a sigh, glad to be free of company for the moment. She paused in her journey when a buck passed in front of her.

The massive animal stopped to study her and she held her breath, afraid to frighten the deer. He had a twelve pint rack, something she knew her hunter friend back home would appreciate. For several moments the two of them gazed at each other. Then, with a snort and shake of his head, the buck jumped away.

She watched him disappear into the thickets before continuing on. She treasured these rare glimpses of nature so unbridled. Being raised in the city as she was, Mary had only ever seen animals in the zoo and a deer once when she'd visited her friend's home last autumn.

At last, the roar of the waterfalls reached her ears. Mary ran faster, eager to arrive at her refuge. She turned a corner and stopped, taking in the view. Two large waterfalls cascaded down a tall rock. A tiny, almost invisible, rainbow shimmered in the middles of one.

On either side of the waterfalls stood trees with red leaves. Birds flew by and small animals scurried about. She ducked under a fallen oak and arrived at the small, moss covered garden. The yellow bur-marigolds bloomed around the edges of the rocks and trees that hovered overhead. The small floras reminded Mary of Sunflowers.

Mary smiled. This was why she loved this place. Time seemed to mean nothing here, as if a spell had been cast over the place, forever freezing it.

Perhaps Elrond did put a spell on the place. Mary shrugged. It might explain why the spring flowers still grew, but she wouldn't know for sure until winter came.

She slithered down the grassy hill and sat down on the flat stone in the middle of the place, pulling her knees up to her chest. She closed her eyes and let the sounds of nature take over. Just let it all go. You're safe now. Tears burned at the edges of her eyes and threatened to spill over again. She forced them back, burying her face in her knees as she took deep breathes. Come on, calm down, Mary. In, out. In, out. There's no need to cry a second time. You're safe.

"My lady?" a refined voice asked.

Mary stiffened. She'd thought herself alone. She wasn't prepared to entertain someone, her contented mask not yet covering her face. Taking a few moments, she mentally slipped her sorrow to the back of her mind. She raised her head then and searched for the owner of the voice. She found the ellon a few feet to her left, near the entrance of the garden.

Elladan.

The dark haired ellon moved nearer to her. "Are you well, my lady?"

Try as she might, Mary couldn't stop of glare that rose to her face. Why would he care about her health? He'd made it clear what his stance on her was from the beginning. The only reason she could find for his concern was an attempt to get closer to her and have her accidently spill her secrets to him. Her response felt like frost. "Fine, my lord. You need not concern yourself."

He frowned a little before sighing. "I suppose I deserve such censure from you."

Duh. Mary kept that inner sarcasm to herself, curious as to what he might say next.

"One of my friends said he saw you here and I came to apologize for my behavior so far with you."

He looked a bit expectant after those words, but Mary only smoothed her dress. She wasn't letting him get off that easy. If you want forgiveness, you're going to actually have to do better than that rehearsed speech.

Elladan tilted his head as he considered her. "What must I do to assure you of my good intent?"

"May I be forthright, my lord?"

"I would prefer it."

"I neither trust nor like you, my lord. You've done nothing to endear yourself to me. From the beginning you showed open hostility to me, refusing to accept my answers as truth. And just a few weeks ago, you assigned the blame of an orcish raid on me." She looked away. "I didn't want those elves to be harmed. I dislike seeing anyone hurt."

"I know that now," Elladan said softly.

She glared at him. "You should've known from the beginning. That you did not says that somehow you viewed my actions and words as evil. Answer me truthfully, was it only because of my vow to the Valar that you thought so? Or did I in some way merit this animosity?"

Where these rash words came from, Mary couldn't say. She'd never been one to speak so to another, always keeping such anger to herself. It had boiled over one time when her brother had teased her too roughly, but the consequences of her quick retaliation had ensured she never let it get that far again. True, he'd given himself the sprained ankle by landing wrong, but she'd been the one to jump him in the first place.

Elladan's grey eyes exuded sadness. "You did nothing, my lady. It is true, your vow started my mistrust, but I let my prejudice against humans continue it."

"But…" Mary tried again. "Your own brother, Aragorn, is human."

"And therein lays my inconstancy." He faltered. "I see now that I was wrong to come here. I apologize for interrupting you, my lady."

The keen anguish in her refusal to forgive him was obvious in the way his shoulders hunched a little and his steps hurried away. It pulled at Mary's heart and, against her better judgment, she called out to him.

"Wait!"

He paused, glancing back at her. "My lady?"

Now that she had his attention, Mary didn't know what to do. She hadn't forgiven him, not fully at least, but she couldn't just let him believe that pardon would never be coming. "I don't know what you might do to make me believe you, my lord."

Well, that was just a great start. Why not rub some acid into his wound as well?

To her surprise, Elladan's countenance lightened. "Perhaps, time, my lady?"

"Yes," she smiled a little. "Perhaps, time."

There you go, the end of my latest chapter. I was going to have Mary give Elladan a much harder time, but as I wrote it out I couldn't bring myself to do it. Stupid elvish puppy dog eyes. They get me every time.

Please, review and tell me what you think.