By the time she had begun to read a tome that had been carefully selected from the vast array of books, Aella was disturbed by another elf who informed her that dinner was about to begin. She let him escort her as she pestered him with questions about what she had just read (elvish folklore), and was pleased to find that he was more than happy to answer her questions. They entered the dining hall in deep conversation, until she glanced up and noticed the expressions the dwarves all bore. The tables, of which there were two, sat on a large balcony that overlooked Imladris and the setting sun cast a warm glow over the occupants of the tables. Most of the Company sat on the longest table, whilst Thorin, Dwalin and Gandalf were sat at a slightly raised table with Elrond and a few other elves. Before she could say anything to the dwarves, Gondien (her escort) lightly grasped her elbow and led her to an empty seat at the high table, where she sat between Gandalf and Dwalin. Thorin had been seated reluctantly next to Elrond, who was flanked by four other elves on his left side. She smiled at Gondien as he retired to his seat, and as she glanced around the balcony she noticed the small quartet of elves who played soft music as conversation picked up again.
"Aella, I must confess that your presence here confuses me," Elrond began, shifting forward in his seat. "Tell me, why do you travel with Master Oakenshield and his company?"
She smiled at the elf, thanking Yavanna that she had already prepared an answer for such a question. "I travel to Esgaroth, to buy much needed items from the merchants there, on behalf of those in the Shire who cannot wait for the next time the merchant train passes through." The elf narrowed his eyes slightly, but nodded and turned his attention to Thorin.
"And may I be permitted to examine your blade, my lord? I have noticed that it is of elvish make." He said, extending a hand. Aella stifled a giggle as Thorin handed over the blade, his glower darkening subtly. "This is Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver. A famous blade, forged by the High Elves of the West, my kin. May it serve you well." Thorin inclined his head and accepted the blade, looking over it with a higher regard as he sheathed it at his belt.
After Elrond informed Gandalf of his own blade's' origins, Aella once more found herself eating in silence as she half-listened to the conversation that was carrying on over her head. Instead, she amused herself by watching the dwarves reject the vegetarian meal that the elves had offered them. Whilst their facial expressions and comments were amusing, she wished that they would be more accommodating to their host: it was awfully rude to turn down food that a host had prepared and she knew that it would increase their unpopularity amongst the Rivendell elves.
Night fell quickly, and Aella retired to her chambers after Gandalf and Thorin accompanied Elrond to read the moon runes, and Dwalin and Balin tagged along as Thorin's bodyguard (from his days as prince) and the scholar of the group. She, on the other hand, had borrowed the elvish folktales from the library and was now seated on the armchair in her room, which she had dragged out to the balcony. She had slipped out of the green dress and pulled on her shirt, which had been washed by the elves during dinner. Dressed in just her shirt, smallclothes and socks, she had collapsed onto the armchair and dived into her reading. The moonlight and the torches in the room cast contrasting glows over the pages and she was so lost in her book that she did not notice Fíli, Kíli, Bofur and Ori knock and enter the room. In fact, she did not look up until she felt a pair of hands clamp down on her shoulders, and she shot up from the chair, spun around and withdrew her knife in one movement, before she realised that it was only Kili and the others. She felt a soft breeze curl around her legs, and blushed as she realised her state of undress. The four dwarves had also noticed and blushed and averted their eyes.
"Umm, oops?" she muttered, dropping the knife and snatching up her breeches and slipping them on. "What brings you four here then?" she asked, reseating herself in the armchair and raising an eyebrow.
"We, uh, just came to check on you." Offered Kíli, glancing sideways at his brother, whose blush was still fixed on his face.
"Thanks, boys. I'm fine though, just enjoying the peace and quiet. Eru knows how much longer I'll have to put up with your racket." She joked and glanced back outside, where the moonlight bounced off of the water in the fountain. "You can sit down, you know." She commented, waving towards the bed.
This seemed to end the awkwardness in the room, and she spent the next few hours chatting and laughing with the dwarves. The silences were few and far between, and Aella found herself growing more and more at ease with them- their sometimes crass sense of humour evoked a chuckle and the toss of a pillow and her sarcastic comments led to good-humoured teasing. She was, however, growing uncomfortably aware of how often her eyes lingered on Fíli, watching his eyes crinkle as he laughed or his cheeky grin spread across his face. This would be something she would have to give some thought to at some point, but for now she indulged, and allowed her gaze to roam wherever it wanted to. However, once their yawns began to come too often, they left her room one by one until it was only she and Fíli left, leaning against the balcony in silence.
"As much as I hate to admit it," she began teasingly, glancing over at the dwarf with a wry smile, "you're surprisingly good company."
Filli gasped in mock disbelief and clutched his heart. "Was that- was that a compliment? From Aella?! Mahal take me, this is surely the end for me!"
She giggled and pushed him in the chest. "Come off it, Fee. I actually mean it for once."
His smile faded a little and he came to stand a little closer to her. "I know." he said softly. "You've been quite mysterious for all of the time I've known you. It's intriguing, it draws me in. You're an enigma, and I want to solve your riddle. So let me start with a question: where did you get your scars? I couldn't help but notice them earlier…" he trailed off, but maintained his eye contact.
Aella sighed and ran a hand through her loosely braided hair. "It's a long story, one that I'm not sure that I'm ready to tell or that you're ready to hear. But I swear, I will tell you. Soon."
The blond dwarf nodded in understanding and swung his right arm over her shoulders, squeezing gently. "That's okay. Whenever you're ready, I'll be here to listen. In the meantime, however, it's getting late and we both need to sleep."
He leant forward and kissed her forehead, causing a sharp intake of breath from Aella, before he retreated across the room. "See you in the morning." He said as he opened the door.
She smiled softly, and admittedly affectionately. "Night, Fee." Aella watched as he winked and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. She sighed wistfully before she began to strip off her breeches and shirt, tossing them on the armchair and falling into bed. As her mind swirled with memories of this evening and the feel of Fíli's lips on her forehead, she sank into a deep sleep.