Hello and how are you? I have finally gotten around to posting this next chapter. I'm sorry if it's a bit short, but I am trying to write more so I can post more chapters. Also, I would like to ask my readers for help. I am running out of ideas and events to happen next, please if you have any, don't be shy to share them. I won't judge, PM if you want instead. If i can make it fit, I will utilize it in my future chapters. So I would like to ask you this
Do you think Alicia should have a romantic interest? if so, then who do you think would be a good option?
Do you see any relationship gaps/ or other possible disagreements of fluff that could happen? with whom and when?
Thank you for your thoughts and reviews are very very much appreciated. Please enjoy.
CHAPTER 10- Finish line
"Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil."
2 Timothy 2: 23-24
She must've sighed for the thousandth time, and it wasn't even the afternoon yet. She was getting frustrated and irritable at not really getting anywhere or at least finding a way to go! The woman wasted no time in scouting the area, then urging the horses onward. Rainlight didn't seem tired of the weight or running, which was good, she was able to rest. The ponies seemed fine too. But it was obvious they were just as wary as her. Alicia patted and comforted each pony as best she knew how before mounting up again for another ride.
Lost in her thoughts, she was surprised suddenly to see the ponies jolt and run forward, even the two she had tried to pull free. " What's wrong?" she asked no one in particular. Rainlight also grew more restless as her walking sped up a bit to a power walk. " There's more of them behind us isn't there?" Alicia gave a resigned sigh. With a kick she spurred the horses faster, she caught up with the free ponies and ran alongside them. These stupid creatures didn't want to give up! Just like zombies only faster and with a degree of intellect.
The horses galloped faster as they weaved around the boulders. There was a feral growl and all Alicia saw next was brown and black coming from her left side. Instinctively she crouched lower to the saddle, but that didn't help much, as she was ripped from the horse's back and thrown about on the ground. She hit the ground hard, rebounding off it before rolling to a stop. Not far from her staggered a warg and its rider. Rainlight's bucking had thrown the warg off balance as well, but didn't harm it. Unfortunately, now the horses had run off and she was left to fight a warg and a larger orc by herself.
" Oh jeeze." She wheezed out as pain pulsed rom her body. Panic also once again rears its head up as the creature shook his head and grinned wickedly at her. The orc dismounted held it's weapon ready to strike her, stalking forward. Alicia knew nothing about actual swordplay, but she was not without surprises. Hesitantly, as the orc stepped closer, she drew her katana. The woman gave her best deadliest look reserved only for the worst situations. The orc's own head tilted a bit, bit he only hesitated a moment before charging her.
" Pretty female." It hissed. " Bigger than most I seen. More to enjoy." The thing swung at her wildly. Alicia staying defensively until she could formulate a good hit and run plan. But the pale green orc kept swinging at her, not allowing for her to escape. It laughed at her mockingly. " You have a sword! You cannot use it? Is that why you run?"
Alicia paid it no mind, watching it's movements closely, seeing clearly that is was right handed, put most of it's weight on it's left leg, and preferred powerful hits. This thing also had the advantage of years of experience as a hardened warrior. Alicia did not, and her lack of food and sleep made it hard to keep up with his energetic strides. The orc continued to tease and taunt her, but his gravelly voice thankfully makes it hard to understand his words.
Adrenaline, panic, excitement, all of it was a tornado inside her, fighting for dominion to command her next move. The orc did not let her escape too far, but what could she do? Time to cheat again.
Alicia stumbled to the side, using it as a cover up for her fist full of sand. The orc swung and swung at her as her fist met her face for a second till he had to jump aside again. She tried using the boulder to her advantage, making him hit the hard rock with his weapon.
The woman led him around one large rock, circling around the huge obstacle, then darted for the warg. The beast stared blankly at the spot where they first disappeared, then yelped in surprise at a sudden weight climbing on it. The beast growled at the unfamiliar scent, but instincts kicked in when it's flanks was kicked, and the creature darted forward dumbly. Riding a warg was unsurprisingly different than a horse. One had to roll with the arching and curling of the canine's spine, whereas a horse's back stayed relatively motionless.
The orc let out another roar of outrage. Ho she wished the thing would just die or disappear.
The next question, where the heck is she riding off to?
" How do I get you to turn?" she asked aloud as she searched for reigns of some kind. She did find two ropes that wrapped from the saddle and under the warg's chest. Experimentally she tugged one, and the warg snorted as he turned right. " Oh."
With some difficultly, she finally got the beast to run the opposite direction so that she was heading in the original direction she was going.
More howls from around the field echoed about. Now she had more bad company, also on their own wargs. Alicia groaned loudly. " Leave me aloooone." She whined to herself. They rode up quickly to flank her. Alicia tried zig zagging to throw them off, but it didn't last long. Alicia cast a look over her shoulder to see that the same orc, now riding behind some friend of his, was glaring devilishly at her. "I hate everything."
The orc suddenly jumped off his companion's ride and right behind Alicia. She gasped at the sudden rough contact with the orc as it grabbed a huge handful of her hair, yanking her head back hard.
Alicia squirmed and tossed under the orc's grasp, causing them both to fall unceremoniously out of the saddle. The wind was knocked out of her as her arm made contact with the ground, she couldn't even scream out in the explosion of pain that tore through her right arm and shoulders. Tears instantly gathered in her eyes, obscuring her already spinning vision. Her sword, tied onto her waist did not allow her to roll too much as it was turned perpendicular from the crazy crash.
She shook her head to clear away the tears just in time to see the orc pounce back on her. It grappled her arms and had her pinned on the ground, taking a momentary pause to catch it's own breath. Alicia was currently dealing with a mouthful of dirt to even growl. Her right arm curled across her belly in an effort to ease the pain. She ignored the tears, just as long as they didn't block her vision anymore.
It leered down at her. " Got you little bitch. Now we shall have some fun!" The thing opened it's rot toothed mouth hungrily at her. As it leaned down closer, Alicia took a deep inhale through her nose and blew out all the sand that filled her mouth right into the orc's face and most importantly, eyes.
It turned away from her as he shook his head violently but did not relent it's hold, instead, gripping tighter. Alicia coughed and gagged at the sand still in her mouth and what had fallen back down. She desperately padded the ground for anything she could use. Obviously she couldn't take out her sword, and her hunting knife was strapped on the right side of her vest. So she struggled to pull free her belt buckle knife. The orc turned back to glare at her again, raising one hand to slap her.
The contact nearly made her black out. Her face was whipped to the left hard by his ' bitch slap', fresh tears freeing from her eyes, thought process nearly non-existent due to the immense pain everywhere. Her left hand twitched above her belt buckle, temporarily unable to command it properly. " I shall have my fun with you before turning you over to my master Azog."
The orc grabbed her and pulled her to her feet, but before it could do more, and arrow embedded itself into the orc's shoulder. It only had time to look at the arrow before another one embedded itself in it's head. Alicia fell to her knees once the creature had released her. There was another horn blast, just like the first she had heard, the sound of more orcs and wargs running or screaming around her. she scooted back against a nearby rock, cradling her right arm.
A horse galloped in front of her with a rider in elegant looking armor on it's back. Both newcomers looked at her with intelligent eyes as the rider dismounted and slowly approached her.
" Fear not Milady. I am here to help. My name is Sudryl, please allow me to aid you." His voice was clear as a glass bell, even his movements were more like he was gliding. His face was very fair with long dark hair that hung down behind him. He stopped approaching her in hesitation. " Milady? Can you understand me? You look at me in confusion."
She blinked, not realizing that she must've been staring at him like he was an alien. " I, uh, yuh, gerbagen.."
The rider tilted his helmed head, now also confused. He slowly started to inch near her again. " Allow me to tend to your wounds." He asked again.
" Okay." She held still, not really sure what else to do, or just too tired to think.
Sudryl held out his hand for her. " Can you stand?"
She took it gratefully as he pulled her up, gently escorting her to his horse. He eyed her arm critically and face critically with a slight frown. " What did that foul creature do to you?" he asked as he prodded her arm. She flinched from his soft graze. Sudryl frowned even more. " Your arm is broken. We must take you to immediate attention." He helped her on the horse and seated himself behind her.
Sydril said something in a foreign tongue and the horse was on the move.
The girl whined and groaned in her head. ' son of a- more bumping and jolting! More broken bones!'
The rider was kind enough however to keep the horse's movements as minimal as possible.
More elegant looking horse riders flanked them as they rode. Through bleary eyes she looked at them. One one a white horse and in maroon colored armor looked at them all with a furrowed expression. His eyes fell on hers and she returned her own furrowed brows at him. Sudryl summarized what happened to the other rider, who nodded and gave a small smile. "Well done! Let us return home with our guest."
He took the lead then, guiding the group through the field again. They slowed down as they approached near some more large rocks and turned to ride between them. It was a small tunnel that opened up on the other side to an open valley looking place. Tired and hurt as she was, Alicia could not keep her eyes closed as she took in the new surroundings. They descended down a dirt path, closer to these canopy style white buildings were that seemed to grow off the side of the cliffs. A large body of water, like a bay, glittered as they rode past it. More people in long gowns and robes watched as the riders rode by.
They stopped on a path that led to a building where two ladies stood awaiting. Sudryl helped her down the horse and guided her to the archway behind the maroon clad leader.
Just as they entered the hall, the leader began requesting some medical supplies and to prepare a room for their guest. He turned to Alicia and smiled. "Do not worry. You are safe now. I shall tend to your wounds with the utmost urgency."
" Wadju' say me?"
Elrond looked at another helper that showed up. "Prepare a cast. Get lots of water boiling. We'll need a drought, the strongest white willow bark brew as well, for we may need to re-align the bones."
Alicia's eyes widened as she continued to gawk at the new leader. " Are ya'll gonna eat me?" Her feet slowed considerably.
Elrond gives a small smile at Alicia. " No, my lady. Be at peace. We mustn't tarry."
Soon she was escorted to a bedroom like area, where the two ladies from before wait with armfuls of supplies. They ushered her on the bed and quickly set about their jobs. Bandages, wraps, ointments, bloiing water, carved wooden pieces and slings were placed about everywhere. One lady held a bottle up to her mouth, but Alicia recoiled instinctively.
" Tis for the pain milday. It shall help ease some of it." She said in a gentle voice. The four people that were in the room with her, Elrond, the two ladies, and another lady, and Sydril watched her with their own unique glares. It gave her the impression of being in a surgery room.
"Nobody better say oops in here or I'm gonna be running like a madwoman, you got to catch me again." she grumbled to herself than anyone else.
Sydril quietly chuckled behind Elrond, earning a half glare from the other lady. Even Elrond gave the faintest of light hearted smirks. " I assure you we will work as fast as we can."
The lady beside her beckoned her again. "Please drink this, I promise it will only help."
The survivor complied and drained it all. Immediately everyone went right back to their work. Elrond gently reached for her broken arm to hold it in proper position for alignment.
Alicia inhaled deeply, trying not to squirm too much as he went about setting the arm.
The gentle lady beside her kept encouraging her at how well she was doing. Quickly her arm was dressed properly, held still with the wooden cast like thing, then put in a sling. They had moved to the rest of her injuries regarding her bruised face and scratches here and there. Half way through the lady held up another bottle. "This is a drought that will put you to sleep which will help the healing."
"Thank you." was all Alicia was really able to spit out as the lady held it to her lips.
Needless to say, it was very potent, and Alicia had an accurate simulation of being high.
A slurred thank you escaped her lips just as the four were finished and packed to leave. The two ladies said something about coming to check on her again before taking their leave.
The bed and sheets were alluringly comfortable and warm. The memory of her friends gathered at an old home with the fire going to hold the cold at bay came flooding up. They had all sufficed to cuddling up in a huge dog pile to share the sheets and warmth while playing board games or telling stories about their future hopes and ghosts of the past. Michelle, ever the night owl, was wide awake. Gage had started dozing with his girlfriend beside him. Jeremy and Lonnie went on some hilarious skit from marvel and DC heroes, to video games, and to which is more powerful and dark humor jokes. She could easily imagine them gathered around her bed, or in their own laid out about the room. The last thing the girl could comprehend was the laughter and joking of her family.
-(^_^)-
Balin rubbed his face as he took a break from staring at the maps that he borrowed. The old dwarf slowly stretched his arms up as he straightened his back, realigning his spine with a few satisfying pops. The outstretched shadows on the wall was a clear indication of how the time had passed. He needed a break, so up he got and took a stroll down the elven halls, humming an old tune as he made his way about. Loud voices echoed back up to his ears, telling him his company was just ahead. Balin scrunched his face however, these shouts didn't sound so jolly. As he approached, he was able to hear both his brother deep voice, and that of Nori's. Turning inside the large guest room that was given to them, his eyes fell in the middle. There stood Dwalin, fists clenched, glaring angrily at Nori who returned it in full force. They were in each other's face just far enough that their noses didn't touch. Dori was glaring at both beside them, playing the referee. Gloin had taken Dwalin's side on it judging by how he stood with his arms crossed. Ori and Bofur had taken Nori's side.
" Why did you come Theif? Was it the gold that caught your eye? Seeing as you care nothing for the honor of your kin!" Dwalin growled out.
Nori snarled back at him. " What's it to you why I joined? S'not because I give a feck about your thoughts of me!"
Balin inwardly sighed. Even before the quest these two had been at it, but before it was not more than chiding and teasing, now they're truly questioning each other's motives. What started this up?
He stepped inside the room. "What is the meaning of this? Why are we fighting amongst ourselves like dwarflings?"
Dwalin snorted. " We should be asking why did we let this shifty dwarrow join us."
Nori sneered back at him. "Is it too much for your thick skull to believe that I want what's best for my kin as well?!"
Balin held out his hands. " Come off it both of you! Thorin would not allow you to sign the contract if he did not see you both worthy of joining. We all have our own personal reasons to join, but we also all have a common goal." His gaze scanned over everyone standing in the room. " If we are to make this work, we cannot fight with each other like this." He lastly looked at his brother, giving him an all too familiar 'Stop it' look.
The younger brother's shoulders relaxed just a notch.
Glion however, did not get the message. " But what happens when we're all in danger aye?" He spit out.
Balin's head whipped towards his cousin, a pleading look on his face. " Gloin. Enough of this already."
Gloin's head shook like an agitated bull. " It's not just the theif I'm talking about! What of his kin? They're just like him! His youngest brother won't take up a proper dwarvish weapon! Look he's got that sling shot! What are you going to do with that?"
Ori looked quite hurt by that statement. " I've trained with other weapons too." He muttered out.
" The only one who has any ounce of decency between the three of you would be Dori!" Gloin continued to criticize. " And that's not much, considering you can't even get along with each other for more than an hour."
There was shirt grabbing and suddenly fist flying. Balin inhaled sharply and raised his arms in defensive block , jumping between Gloin and Ori as a fight broke out. Balin fended off both of them as they tried to reach other over him. He roughly pushed the red head back. Bofur was trying to hold his cousin back as Bombur, who preferred to avoid these situations, tried his best to stop the fight too.
Balin tore his coat out of someone's grasp, then his attention was captured by a loud thud of Fili's body being thrown against the wall. Then there was another, Bofur bounced off another wall.
The elder dwarf's eyes fell on a red faced, curse streaming Dori.
Dori vice-griped Dwalin, pulling him away from Nori and half throw, half push him across the floor not too far from Fili. Nori was cast off to the side as well. Balin grabbed Ori's wrist and yanked him back to the door to get away from his riled eldest brother. Balin stared wide eyed as Dori rampaged around, not particularly caring who he hit just as long as they got the message to stop. Which they did.
Everyone stopped, not moving from the spot Dori had assigned to them. No one even uttered a word as the silver dwarf took deep breaths to calm down, his face returning to normal.
Dori became eerily quiet before speaking. " Next time, we should listen to Master Balin's advice." Then he stomped out of the room going who knows where.
The scarlet clad dwarf regarded everyone in the room. He stopped down to pick up a fallen chair. " Let's clean this up. Get ourselves straightened up as well before Thorin gets back."
In silence everyone did clean up the room, then once that was finished, they scattered about their own separate ways. Dwalin walked up to his brother once every one was out of earshot. They stood in silence as Balin folded up one last blanket. Balin knew his brother was struggling with words, looking for the right thing to say, debating on if he really wanted to say it or not.
He would not make his brother say anything now. Balin merely gave a tired smile at him. " I'm not going to scold you like a child anymore, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that again. Makes my job a little easier aye?"
Dwalin gave one mute nod. Balin finished the blanket and went by a bed that he left unmade. The old dwarf slipped off his coat, shoes, and gloves, set his weapons beside him in easy reach and flopped down on the bed. " A nap will do me some good as well." He slurred out as his eyes shut.
-(^_^)-
Deep inhales of air slowly made her dreams fade out. Alicia's eyes creaked open. For a moment, she had entirely forgotten where she was and how she even got there. But once she stirred, all the memories came back.
The company running from the orcs and wargs.
Her getting separated and resorting to punji trap tactics.
The Hungry Vulcans finding her.
Oh, and of course, her broken arm. She sighed. Are cracked and/or broken ribs going to be a norm for her from now on? God, she hoped not.
The sun's rays showed brightly through her room. It must be late morning or afternoon. There was a tray of biscuits, cheese and a bowl of fruit with a pitcher of water. Gingerly, not to mention awkwardly, she rolled and pushed herself up till she was in sitting position and slowly helped herself to the tray. The food was the most amazing thing she's ever tasted! Or at least after what she had been through it was good. The water was so refreshing that he ended up drinking the whole thing.
Her tennis shoes sat neatly at the end of the bed by a chest at the end of the bed. A gold with auburn trimming dress hung on the outside of a wardrobe with brown slippers under it. The dress was one that showed off the sides of the wearer's shoulders, accented by a long vest that wrapped around it. On the other side was an open door where she could tell was the bathroom. Once all her food was empty, she went to the bathroom. The reflection staring back at her was a gritty mess. Her eyes had subtle bags under them again from lack of sleep, her hair was a curly tangled monstrosity. Her right face sported a dark bruise with a small cut near her cheek bone. She was not even remotely presentable. Her mother would be shocked to a brighter skin tone if she saw her now.
Alicia spent a few moments, answering nature's call and making a better attempt at trying to look more like a human and less like something a bear threw up. Once satisfied she put on her tennis shoes and ventured out of the room. The hall way was quiet, peaceful.
Just as she was about to venture more, two ladies came peeking their heads out from another room down the hallway. " OH you've awoken!" said one of the ladies.
They walked, or rather, floated, to her with friendly smiles.
They stopped and curtsied to her.
" My name is Meira I am relieved to see that you have recovered your strength so well." She was the soft spoken lady from before that fed her the painkillers and drought.
Alicia smiled. " Thank you very much. You helped me a lot. 'Preciate it."
Meiral smiled in return.
The second lady, was not so soft spoken. " And I am Sudriel, sister of Sydril. Wonderful to make your acquaintance."
" Good to meet you too. Thank you as well for helping me." Alicia responded.
Sudriel and Meira came by her sides, ushering her right back in her room, asking how she felt and all.
Of course Alicia was incredibly sore, but other than that, no real pain at the moment until the pain killers for her arm wore off.
" If you will allow us, we'd like to help you find something a bit more appropriate." Meira said as she walked to the wardrobe. " Not that what you're wearing isn't good, I'm sure it's very practical, but since there is no danger here…" she trailed off a bit, casting a look over her shoulder to see if Alicia had taken offence or not. Which she didn't. The woman just gave an encouraging smile.
Sudriel took her hand, and guided her to the tub. Carefully, she helped Alicia with her cast and sling, as well as run the bath for her while Miera changed the sheets and did whatever she thought needed to be done in the meantime.
The survivor hesitated getting completely nude in front of a woman she only just met. Sudriel gave her a dry look about it. " Would you prefer then to bathe in your small wears? Come now you have nothing I do not have."
" I might! I know I have uglier than what you have." Alicia retorted as she used the towel as a cover. Sudriel barked in laughter at her, and after much more coaxing Alicia finally relented due to the luring hot water of a bath. It felt absolutely amazing. She practically melted as her body sank up to her neck in the tub.
The elven lady's eyes did linger on her stomach for longer than a second. " I'm sorry for staring but, are those… abs?"
Alicia blushed furiously as she looked down at her own stomach. " The early signs of possible lady abs… yes." Sudriel tilted her head. " A relative of mine and I had a bet, a three years ago, and once the bet was over, I, decided to keep mine. Don't judge me."
The lady shook her head. " I meant no offence, or to pass judgement miss Alicia. I have just never seen nor heard of any female wanting such muscular tone before. If I were not me, I might even find it intimidating." Alicia couldn't help but snort in laughter at Sudriel's opinion. " I suppose you are right now."
" Hm? About what?" Alicia had already forgotten.
" I do not have abs."
After the bath, the gold dress with the auburn red trimming was held out for her. It looked expensive, but Miera cast away any doubts she may have had and showed her how to put it on. It was unusual, to say the least, being someone's live Barbie doll, but considering it was also a rare moment, the girl didn't object. They got her hair tamed and redid any bandages that needed checking. Her face luckily didn't need any more bandages, as it was only a bruise with a dark cut.
Looking in the mirror, she stared astonished at the change the elves had made. A fond smile pulled at the survivor's lips as she thought of what her friends and family would have said.
Miera and Sudriel smiled proudly at their work.
" Oh how beautiful you are." Miera mused. " I knew I was wise in choosing that dress over the cream one."
Sudirel nodded her head sharply in approval. " Indeed. Now you do not look like some swamp creature, so we may leave now."
Alicia cast them a mock glare as they escorted her out of the room.
They asked her general questions like if she truly liked the dress, how long did it take to get abs, etc.
The botany inspired furnishings and décor' looked like something out of a roleplaying video game to Alicia. It felt surreal. But then again, what has she seen since joining Bilbo?
Casually, the three ladies walked down the halls, Alicia's head swiveling this way and that as she looked around for people. She wondered also if the company had made it here as well. Turning the corner was when she found the first person, A rather skinny man with flowing brown hair who smiled when he saw her.
" Greetings Milady. I am Lindir. Pleased to meet you." He greeted as he closed up the book in his hand and approached them. He also shared a friendly greeting with Miera and Sudriel.
" Nice to meet you too. Alicia." She gave him an apologetic smile and nod of her head, since she couldn't very well shake his hand.
Lindir inclined his head in a friendly bob. " Lady Alicia how are you feeling?" he made a small gesture to her arm.
"Better yes thank you." She replied.
Sudriel turned to Alicia. " We made her much more presentable for Lord Elrond."
Miera smiles kindly. " Shall we leave her in your care or would you like us to accompany you?"
" Only if that is okay with Lady Alicia." Lindir regarded the woman.
"I'm sorry, where are we going?" Alicia asked.
"My lord Elrond would like to see you are well. Shall I escort you to him?"
" Oh. Alright. Thank you." She said automatically.
Sudriel and Miera bade farewell as Lindir glided to her left side offering his elbow. It took her a moment to remember that she was supposed to hook her hand on it. Gingerly she did so, and Lindir guided her down the halls again.
" I trust that you slept well Miss?"
" Yes thank you. Better than I had in a while." She answered him. " I'm sorry, where are we?"
" This is the city of Rivendell. The last Homely house, city of Lord Elrond." Lindir answered with a hint of pride.
" Why is it called the last homely house?"
" When Lord Elrond first established the city, it was quite literally the last place at the time that offered refuge for all folk to live in peace during the harsher times of the past."
Alicia's eyes roamed over the halls and people that passed them. " Who is Lord Elrond?"
" He is a half elf, son of Earendil, brother of Elros, born in the first age. He was here when Middle earth was very young and the age of elves had begun. He was here when the dark armies first tried to overtake Arda, and to this day he keeps a vigilant watch for any signs of the dark one rising again.
He is as noble and fair as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of dwarves, and as kind as summer. " Linidr summarized.
Alicia looked back to Lindir" The Dark one? Hitler?"
Lindir raised his brows. " I know not who Hitler is, But the evil one here is called Sauron."
She nodded and shrugged. " Evil is evil, doesn't matter the name I suppose."
Lindir looked at her too. " Indeed. You seem wise for a child of man."
She smiled in bemusement at him. "Wisdom is for everyone if they choose to get it."
The fair male returned her smile with his own. " Ah. Here we are." Lindir opened the door for her to walk through.
There by a podium stood another very regal looking man, the one she thought was going to cook her earlier.
Lord Elrond turned at the sound of Lindir announcing their presence and broke into a smile of his own.
"Greetings and welcome Miss Alicia." He smiled at Alicia.
Alicia walked inside, " Thank you. How are you doing today?" was the first words that tumbled out of her mouth.
Elrond put down some papers he was looking over and came to stand in front of her. " I am well. I thank you for asking. I am glad to see that you are up and about."
" Thank you. And also thanks for finding me out there, and for helping my broken arm. And for the hospitality." She rambled a bit as she tried not to stare at his ears.
Elrond however, merely broke into a gracious smile again. " When Gandalf and the others told me of their lost companion, I could not simply do nothing. It is good that we found you. Would you care to join me?" He waved an arm towards a table by the balcony. On it rested a platter of light snacks such as breads and cheeses, fruits, biscuits with jam and butter, and a pitcher of water. She nodded her thanks and went to sit down. Lindir held out the chair for her as helped slide her in as Elrond took his own seat. " What would you like to drink Miss?"
" Do you have sweet tea?" She perked.
Lindir tilted his head. " Sweet tea? I suppose I can add some honey to it."
" That would be good too thank you." She grinned at him.
Linidir gave a small bow and left swiftly.
Alicia turned back to Elrond. " I hope I'm not being rude by asking about Thorin and the others? Are they okay?"
Elrond slid the platter closer in her reach. " Not at all. I'm happy to tell you they are well, well enough for dwarves who have to reside in an elvish city." He half jokes. " Master Baggins has also fared quite well and enjoys his stay more than his companions." Alicia reached for a biscuit with the strawberry jelly. " Allow me if you please?" The girl complied and Elrond prepared two biscuits for her. "When we asked them for a description of yourself, they said, ' tall, muscular build for a lady, olive skin and dark hair, dressed like a man.'"
At this she raised an eyebrow as she regarded an amused Elrond. " Really?"
Elrond nodded as he smiled. " Indeed they did. Now that I see for myself, indeed you are very unique."
She smirked at him before taking a bite. " That's the nice way of calling me a freak." She chuckled.
The high elf's eyes smiled with the rest of his features. " I prefer the term, unique."
They shared a small laugh before Elrond continued. " I was told you were foreign to these lands, is that correct?"
" Who told you?"
" Mithrandir, Gandalf."
" Yes. I'm, not from around here."
The elf Lord nodded in interest. " Where are you from? How came you here?"
" I was on a supply run with my friends…" She began and summarized the evnts that happened up tp now. " And I was told that Rivendell would have a much bigger collection of maps that may help me find my way back home." That's when it dawned on her that her map was in the pocket of her bag, which was on Rainlight. Chumps man.
Elrond nodded in understanding. " My resources are yours to use if you wish. What kind of monsters did you have to battle?"
" Zombies."
Elrond raised his brow in interest. " Zombie? What is that?"
" Undead people that come back to eat the living if their brains aren't destroyed properly." She answered casually as Lindir came back with tea and a pot of honey for them.
Elrond watched her a moment, making her pause to regard him. " You say that, so normally. You must deal with this necromancy on a daily basis."
She bobbed her head side to side as she weighed the differences. " I'm not sure if you'd call it necromancy, as that would require the use of magic. Magic doesn't exist in my world at all, but I suppose the concept, with different criteria, is similar?"
Elrond frowned a bit. " I see. It still sounds like a dreadful situation. How did this come about?" He watched her closely.
" No one has yet to pinpoint exactly what has caused it, people are still investigating that, all we know is a general area of where it might have originated and how to combat against the zombies. Once bitten, there really is no cure unless you can cut off the limb fast enough before it flows through your entire system. This is called the Z virus and doesn't fully activate until the victim is finally dead. Some people have tried to find a cure, but instead they just made an alternate one. This one makes the victim act crazy like a bad kind of crazy. They're less likely to get bitten, and their sickness is curable at least. This is called the C virus."
Elrond listened intently, absorbing all her information like a sponge. " How very sad. I am sorry to hear that you must face such a dilemma every day." His head tilted a degree. " I do believe your difference from women here is quite understandable, for what else would one do if they had to live in a world like that?"
The woman dipped her head. " Thank you for understanding, I appreciate that."
"Of course. It is my job to learn to understand situations as best as possible. If you'd like, I can take you to your friends once you're finished."
He gestured to his podium where broken
She nodded her head. " Yes please, thank you."
Elrond continued a light conversation about Rivendell. She felt just as ugly as a troll next to the elves.
They probably got that notion a lot from other people who saw them for the first time.
She also noted that she was almost just as tall as the elf Lord, with a two or three inch difference.
The elf lord led her to a further hallway that was less busy than the others she's been down before.
She heard them before she saw them. They sat about, at various tables, or spots on the floor in a large lounge looking area, heads bent over whatever they were working on. No one even raised their eyes as Elrond and Alicia entered. Even Bilbo was reclined on a small bench, eyes closed as he smoked on his pipe.
" Good afternoon Thorin and company." Elrond began, though still no one acknowledged his presence. Alicia did find this weird. "I trust you all fair well. My scouts have found and recovered Lady Alicia."
And that's when all activity seemed to stop. Heads finally swiveled and lifted to face them.
" Hello. Good to see you all again." Alicia said, trying to banish the awkward silence.
Bilbo was the first to respond. " Miss Alicia?" He jumped from his perch to engulf her in a hug, which she returned in kind, with one arm. "Thank goodness you're alright!" He pulled back to frown at her cast.
Behind his outburst came some from the others.
" Good to see you lassie!" Balin cheered.
" Ya made it! And in one piece still!" Bofur joined.
"What happened?"
"My arm got broken while trying to find my way back to you, but thankfully Lord Elrond and his scouts found me and helped me out a lot." She gave a grateful smile to Elrond who tilted his head and returned the expression.
Bilbo was silent for a moment, eyes roaming her face before returning to her own eyes. "You had me worried. But I'm glad you're safe now."
Lord Elrond gave a slight bow. " I shall take my leave now. Should you need anything, do come and ask me." With that he was gone.
The woman regarded the rest of the company. To her wonder, they had mixed emotions splayed on their faces. Some Broke into smiles when her eyes met theirs, while others had calculative looks which confused her. She wasn't expecting to be smothered with kisses no, but she couldn't yet understand why they had this kind of reaction either. She caught Kili looking at his brother with a look of uncertainty and slight….fear?"
Maybe if she acted friendly, that would help. "I'm happy to see you all made it here safely too."
"As am I to see you have returned." Thorin responded. His face went from neutral to a frown as he came closer. "What happened? Why did you separate from us?"
"The warg thing jumped between us. I was trying to evade it. But when I looked for you all. All I saw was the back of Mister Gloin as he went behind a boulder. I followed and found no one. I looked everywhere I could, but it's like you disappeared." Alicia explained as she found a couch to sit.
Thorin's features softened a bit. Bifur came up, throwing his strong arms around her as well, muttering in his language by her ear. " Oh Bifur I missed you too. I'm glad you're alright."
The haggard dwarf dropped himself bedside her. Bofur popped up behind his cousin with his wide grin.
"Bless me, a right pretty sight ye are, in a dress an' all."
"Happens on occasion." She answered back. She looked over at the Ri brothers, but they didn't seem the same. They looked, distant, troubled. Her attention was stolen by Oin who stepped in her field of vision. "What happened out there? What did you do to escape the orcs?"
" I ran like heck." She half joked.
Oin snorted. "In all seriousness, tell us what happened. You must understand that surviving an orc raid is no idle task."
" No, it wasn't." Alicia greed with him. "I decided that going back to the trees was the best bet since I had no idea where you all had gone. So I managed to make it back there before the raiders found me. I couldn't even see where that guy with the rabbit sleigh went off too." Alicia wasn't the best with names.
Oin motioned for her to continue.
" I wanted to search for ya'll again, but I had to bid my time. Luckily I found a large patch of bamboo growing about, which I utilized to my advantage."
" Utilized how?" Bofur asked.
" I made some makeshifts traps, spears, spikes, etcetera to slow down the monsters that were chasing me. I actually even managed to find the horses we lost." Alicia continued. " I kept the horses with me as I moved on. Eventually more of the riders came at us, most of the ponies bolted ahead of me and Rainlight, so we tried to shake them off our tail. An green, pale-ish orc cornered me. I escaped the first time but then it chased me again and tackled me off the horse. That's how my arm broke. We fought a bit till the elves rescued me."
Oin listened, wide eyed as Dwalin got curious. " Did you say pale orc?"
Alicia nodded. " He was taller than the others and wasn't as, dark in complexion." She hoped that didn't sound too racist, but then again, everybody hates orcs.
Dwalin had visibly tensed. " Did he give a name? What else happened?"
" He said that he'd enjoy tormenting me before handing me over to his master Asgog, or something similar to that sound." She answered. At this, the room had quieted again.
Dwalin glanced at Thorin who's stony expression was now on Alicia. " What is it?" She asked.
" Azog. He should have died years ago." Dwalin rumbled. " Are you sure that's what you heard?"
Alicia nodded again. "Yes. The orc that attacked me didn't give his own name, but he said he was going to hand me over to his master A-zog. He didn't say where his master was either."
Bilbo even raised eyebrows at the strangeness of the company's behavior.
Alicia was at a loss of words, not that it was a very hard thing for her to do.
" It was a farce. Jut to scare people." Gloin concurred first.
" It's awfully coincidental." Mumbled Dori.
" His arm was chopped off!" Dwalin countered.
Alicia and Bilbo shared a look of confusion while the others began to argue. Thorin didn't let it last long as he yelled above the others to quiet them. He stepped forward so that everyone could see him.
" Azog is dead. It is all just a fear tactic, as the name still scars many. Miss Alicia is safely back to us, and there is no need to fear a dead orc." Thorin spoke in a firm tone.
Alicia soaked in those words. Thorin's words implies that he saw Alicia as a friend and cared for her just like she has grown to care for them. Or, maybe she was just making too much of it. But it made her chest swell with appreciation none-the-less.
The room stayed quiet for a time, before Bombur patted his belly. ' Time for a snack break." He said jovially as he left the room. He was followed by his brother and cousin. Nori even sauntered up to accompany them.
In fact, most of the dwarves had filed out of the room for some business or another. Dwalin stood where he was, as did thorin.
Bilbo cleared his throat. " Miss Alicia? Care to go exploring Rivendell with me?"
She smiled and stood up. Turning to cast Thorin a look of concern, the dwarf nodded his head once slowly. Alicia smiled warmly to him before catching up with Bilbo to chat with him.
-(^_^)-
Dwalin grimaced as worrying thoughts flooded his mind. He cast a glance at Thorin, who continued smoking his pipe. " Do you think he could be still alive?" Dwalin dared to ask.
" No. His wound was too grave to live through. He was formidable, but not invincible." Thorin shot out like an arrow.
Dwalin frowned. " You cut off his ram. It can be mortal, or it can just be a handicap."
Thorin removed the pipe from his mouth, frowning back at Dwalin. " The girl was out there by herself, and I do take full responsibility of that. But the orc may have been just playing on her fears more, or she heard wrong."
Dwalin looked away, unconvinced.
His king watched him closely. "You still have uncertainties? You were there. You saw what transpired Dwalin."
Dwalin looked back at his old friend. " I do Thorin. I did. But I find it too coincidental. The lass has a shroud of mystery about her but it's clear as day she's not from here. So, I do not think she would make this up."
Thorin pushed himself off the pillar, clenching his jaw. " She also said that the orc was more pale than the others as well, so it could be one related to Azog in some way." He stepped closer to Dwalin. " Azog died of his wounds long ago. Miss Alicia was scared and alone. An orc pack may be hunting us, but it is not led by that filth."
" Thorin." Dwalin cut him off. "I am on your side."
The leader took a deep breath and turned away from his friend. "Aye. I know." He turned away. "But you still have your doubts." He mumbled over his shoulder.
-(^_^)-
Bilbo went on and on talking about his stay at Rivendell so far. He talked about the explorations he'd done, nearly seeing more of the company than he needed to see, meeting Nobi and other strange folk.
It made her smile.
Once he had exhausted her again, he walked her back to her room where she slept the rest of the day and most of the next day's morning.
To her surprise, Bilbo and Dori came to visit her for bilbo's second breakfast.
They sat around the table as Bilbo set out a nice breakfast of fruits, rolls, jams with bacon and sausage meats. Dori had made a pot of jasmine tea for them to enjoy as well.
" Thank you for visiting me." She greeted them warmly as Dori poured her a cup of tea. He smiled back at her and nodded. The woman gestured to her night stand." Look I'm having some wine."
The elder nodded in approval." Good. I'd like to see you branch a bit more."
" I'd like to think I've been doing a good job branching already." She giggled in mock offence. " Though I'd not complain if I did not branching anywhere near trolls again."
The dwarf and hobbit smiled in agreement.
" But I mean with dishes and more safer hobbies." The fair dwarf reiterated. " Try something new each day that you're here."
" Like what?"
" how about venison? Try a venison dish with melted cheese and proper seasoning." He answered as he held his cup of tea.
The woman raised her brows in intrigue at the dwarf. " I won't make any promises, but I can try a few new things."
Bilbo swallowed his bite of cantaloupe. "Such a dreadful predicament you were in. I daresay you had fate on your side, surviving out there by yourself with all those monsters about."
" Yes. You are indeed lucky to be alive." Dori added his own two cents.
Alicia wasn't real sure how she felt about that last statement, as she didn't believe in luck as much as being blessed, but she kept that to herself.
"What did you do out there? How on earth did you manage?" Bilbo inquired.
" Ran like the wind." She said quickly for comical response.
Dori did snort in response
" I'm sure you did!" her hobbit friend responded as well. The light mirth was gone as quickly as it came as he continued, " I saw some elf scouts come back before you did. They talked of how they found some of our missing ponies, and some strange traps that the monsters had fallen into. Traps of simple wood sharpened and tied together with torn leather or cloth. Are you responsible for that?"
She grinned at him, which was all he needed to confirm his suspicions. He made some cute awkward face back at her. " I see. Some skill you learned from your homeland?"
" Yes. Though I never suspected I'd be using them, to this effect. Knowledge is the advantage." Alicia concluded.
" You must have been terrified." Bilbo looked at her with sympathy.
She gave a half smile." I was afraid of not being able to find ya'll again. I've been in tough situations before." Though none like that. " I actually feel a bit sorry for the warg creatures, I bet with training from good owners they'd be amazing protectors."
"Protectors? Training?!" Dori spluttered.
She smiled jokingly at him, but the dwarf misread er, and scowled angrily at her." Wargs are vile creatures! Their bites are diseased and infectious!"
Alicia stared at him dumbfounded as he stood up to stand in front of her.
Bilbo frowned at him: see here master Dori, I'll ask you to calm down."
Dori's turned his scowl towards the hobbit as well." Master Baggins you have lived a life of comfort. You know not the dangers of the world first hand." He turned back to Alicia then. His normally kind face now pinched in a scary scowl. " Once your arm is a mite better you shall start training better with that sword. Dwalin and Thorin will not be against it. Do you not understand the miracle it is that you are alive and even still have that arm at all lass? If you are to travel with us, you must learn to fight better than tricks and traps!"
If this was her father or uncle she might have started crying at being yelled at. She thanked the lord that she didn't start crying. After recovering from staring at Dori like he was taking off his face like a robot from a cyborg movie, she looked at him sadly. " But Dori, I'm not coming with you anymore." She said softly.
This made the dwarf deflate a bit. His brown eyes blinked at her in surprise before he mimicked her sad look. " Oh. That's right. You only came with us to Rivendell…"
Bilbo however was still frowning at Dori. " That's right she is. I should like to enjoy her company a bit more without any more sudden outbreaks." He scolded dori.
The dwarf didn't seem bothered by his scowling as his shoulders dropped. "I, yes. I suppose that is for the better. Tis a dangerous quest after all. But I shall miss your company too. I'll not have anyone to enjoy tea with me as much as you."
"Bilbo likes tea." She said quickly.
Dori gave a small sad smile. "Aye." He regarded Bilbo finally then. "Forgive my outburst Master Baggins."
Alicia couldn't stand it then. The woman stood up and wrapped her one arm around the dwarf's shoulders, squeezing him in the deepest hug she could muster. " Dori, don't be sad. I'll miss you and yours very much too. I'll try new things while we're still together and when I go home I'll have venison and tea on the twelfth of every month in remembrance."
Dori did not pull away while she rambled by his head. Instead he quietly laughed and returned her hug in kind till she let go first. She smirked deviously at Dori before saying. " And I'll find me a white dog that I'll also name Maximus." The elder dwarf shook his head in light amusement before giving a small sigh and moved to sit back down so they could resume a pleasant breakfast again. "I admire your loyalty Alicia." He said after eating. "You are putting your family before yourself, something very important to our culture." His smile was genuine, but sad. "I hope you are successful in your endeavors."
She smiled back. "I appreciate you saying that, thank you. And I'll keep you all in my prayers."
Bilbo and Dori helped clean up the empty plates and bade her farewell.
Off she went to explore again. Once again, nothing but pretty dresses were optioned to her, but it's not that often she dressed up anymore, so might as well humor it while she had the chance.
On went another dress and slippers. A few indecisive thoughts floated around her head as she slowly wandered the halls again.
Many more elves smiled politely as she passed them. Honestly, she wasn't feeling so inclined to visit the dwarves as much today. So that ideas was pushed aside quickly. As fond as he had grown of them, she did have her own mission, which was to find her way back home. Ugh, but how? She really had but one lead and it was a small one.
Another voice pulled her out of her thoughts causing her to whirl around quickly to the right. The elf gave a gracious smile. " I apologize Miss Alicia. I did not mean to startle you." The elf lord greeted.
She made herself relax and force a smile. " It's alright. How are you?"
Lord Elrond dipped his head slightly. "I am doing quite well thank you. How are your injuries? May I examine them while we're here?"
She smiled. "If you want to. Thank you."
Elrond did make a quick examination of her arm. Afterwards he nodded his approval and ushered her inside of the room he was just in. It was a small and tranquil study. "If I may have a talk with you for a while I wish to speak to you in private." He was quick to notice the very subtle fall of the corners of her mouth. "Tis alright, no need to fret."
He offered her some more tea as he made to sit down across from her. "As I might have mentioned earlier, Gandalf has informed me a bit about you, and some things that you carry." He paused.
Alicia blinked.
" He made mention of a curious scribe device, and another much more dangerous item. Can you please tell me about them?" Elrond continued.
The woman stared at him a second before her brain kicked in telling her that it was her time to speak. " Well," she started with a small jerk. " The scribe device is called a camera. Everyone had one where I'm from. Pretty common. Pretty harmless. It works on electricity and power suppliers called batteries and chargers." She pulled out her little blue camera and showed it to Elrond. The elf's brows raised in interest as she demonstrated it, he even smiled at the picture that was taken of him. The elf displayed a keen interest, which made Alicia mentally pat herself on the back for thinking ahead. The elf lord asked his questions about it curiously, tried it out a few times even before handing it back to her. "I can see why it is a handy tool. And what of the other item?"
She reclined casually. " The other is called a gun, generally speaking. It is also a very common device in my world, but not as open to the younger consumer. It's a weapon."
Elrond was silent as he took in her words. He nodded to encourage her to go on. "Warfare is different in my world, so naturally we'd have different tools for it. At the moment, my home is going through some dark times of it's own, so when we travel, we carry our own weapons too."
" But why are you traveling alone if it is so dangerous? And why did you bring it here?" The elf interviewed.
" I wasn't traveling alone at first. I had my own company, but we were attacked with few options to escape. So I took the only option we had, leading most of the enemies away after me, while my friends escaped, then they'd come around, cut off the enemies and come get me. Only, that last part didn't get to happen." She answered with unhidden sadness. " I had no intention of coming here, didn't even know this place was in existence. I was just trying to survive and help my comrades to survive. I found these, underground cave tunnels and accidentally fell in them. And through those tunnels I stumbled here. Thorin and his men were kind enough to let me join them till I came here. Gandalf said your library may have further knowledge on how I can get back home."
Elrond sat still as he listened to her brows furrowed in his trademark look of seriousness. "Enemies… your zombie fiends I assume?"
"Yes sir."
His right hand raised to idly rub at his jaw as he spoke. " You truly wish to go back to such a horrid place? I mean no disrespect to your home, it's just that I imagine that most people would be glad to get away from that nightmare."
Alicia smiled kindly to him to show that she was not insulted, as that was a very logical point. "You're right, but I do have loved ones who are still there. Who need me and whatever I can do to help them thrive in the hometown we're in now. I helped lead my colony there and helped establish Blue Hope. I should at least try to go back else it feels like I'm turning my back on everyone."
The lord of Rivendell gave a thin smile in approval of her words. " I do hope you find what you need to find in my resources, but in the meantime, you are here now. I request that you hand over the gun while you're in my city. If our own enemy were to get their hands on it… our world could quickly lapse back into chaos and destruction."
Alicia gave a curt nod to him. " I understand. Gandalf has told me the same thing already. So I took my own extra precautions."
" Oh? What did you do?"
" The gun is a collapsible item, like pieces of a crossbow or catapult. I took it apart and hid different pieces in different locations before coming here. I didn't want the orcs to find them either. So if I was caught, at least they'd not find that." The woman explained to him.
She watched him carefully, half expecting him to jump up and yell 'off with her head!' Elrond was doing the same to her. After way too long he relaxed again, and surprisingly smiled. "That was good foresight of you I daresay. Perhaps that might have been for the better, if no one else finds the pieces."
Alicia relaxed, relieved that the lord of the city did not decide to kick her out. Maybe she was being over paranoid?
"Thank you for this conversation Miss Alicia. I must admit that I am much more at ease now." Lord Elrond breathed. It made her relax even more knowing that the elven leader was more comfortable around her too. " Is there anything I may assist you with? How are you enjoying Rivendell?"
"It a very nice place. I love how peaceful it is and how kind everyone in your halls are." She answered in kind.
Elrond escorted her out. " Wonderful. I am happy to hear that. If you do need anything, please do not hesitate to let me know. Oh and one last thing, my scouts were able to catch all the ponies and your horse before the wargs could eat them. Some belongings were still strapped on them and amongst those belongs was your own rucksack. It should be in your room or on its way there now."
" Oh that's great news. I'm glad to hear they're all okay. You found Rainlight too?"
Elrond smiled. " Rainlight is well and with the others in our stables. She's a brave horse."
Alicia smiled proudly at the compliment for her ride. The lady bowed just like Elrond had bowed to her before thanking him and leaving again. Sure enough, her bag was right there at the foot of her bed. How fortunate that every time she lost it, it would find its way back to her somehow. Even the extra gold that she looted from the troll caves was all there. Once getting a pouch full of money, she left again.
Idly, she strolled throughout the halls, evening finding the Hall of Fire that her first two elf friends had told her about. She had to admit she learned a lot about Middle Earth and it's people and how it worlds from them, but yeah, she still had a long ways to go. No need to rush though, every little step counts.
Meh.. like I said, a bit short, but I truly hope it was worth your time. Thank you again for being so patient and effing loving my story so much. It means a lot. Until next time, I'll be writing more. (^_^)
Sincerely,
Adeleidhis.