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Edith

Lauren awoke on her first morning in Middle Earth peacefully. This was easy to do as Lothlorien was a peaceful place. Elves were courteous, kind, loving to each other. There seemed to be little conflict between them, no worries about safety or crime. Children were free to roam the city, their parents secure in the knowledge that no harm would befall them as every adult would keep a watch on them. To Lauren, it seemed quite an idyllic place, which is why her adoption grated at her. Her birth family, royalty, would remove a baby from such a nurturing place and place her in a world of unknown? Their depravity grated at Lauren. To vent her frustration, she took to the activity that offered her solace and clarity: running.

She donned her running gear and left the flet. She had no idea where she was heading, but she just needed to run. She followed a path through the forest. She passed stables, noting to herself she'd like to ride again soon- it had been far too long since her last time on a horse. Next, she came upon a group of elven children playing a game of hide and seek. A smile crept on her face when she realized that the game of hide and seek apparently transcended universes. Then in the distance, she heard the voice of a drill sergeant commanding his troops, mixed in with the clanging of swords. Intrigued, she followed the sound until she came upon what she could only assume were the Galadhrim training grounds.

Unsurprisingly, George was being introduced to the soldiers, chatting easily away with them about their training, tactics, weapons. He was with the twin elves - her brothers apparently. The army were obviously well trained and disciplined. Qualities that had emanated from Haldir and he had undoubtedly demanded from his soldiers. Lauren's eyes roved to the sound of his commands. He stood, in front of his soldiers, with the stature of a seasoned warrior. And he clearly had their respect and loyalty. Hard earned, Lauren could tell. For a brief moment, Haldir looked at her. His expression was stern as he was commanding his troops, but his eyes gazed at her. Lauren was surprised he had seen her, she was standing rather far away. She was even more surprised by the warmth and security she derived from his gaze. She was taken aback at their momentary connection, and scared by it. She turned around and sprinted away.

15 minutes later, Lauren was kicking herself for not paying attention to where she was going. She was completely lost, She passed a rock for what she felt like was the tenth time. Was she going in circles?

"You look lost, can I be of assistance?" a friendly voice said behind her.

Lauren whipped around and saw a man walking slowly towards her. He was handsome, had shoulder length dark hair, dark tunic and leggings. He carried a sword at his belt and a small sack of supplies. To Lauren, he looked like someone who knew the land well. This seemed strange to her as he was a man in elven lands. He approached her slowly, cautiously, without any sign of aggression. He had friendly eyes and seemed concerned for her.

"Yes, I – I am trying find my way back to the city." Lauren breathed.

"I would be happy to accompany you back. The woods of Lorien can be difficult to navigate" came the reply.

"Thank you…"Lauren trailed off.

"Aragorn"

"Who are you? I'm sorry, but I'm sure you can tell I'm not from around here" Lauren offered.

"I am from Gondor, a realm of men but I was raised in Elven lands. But I must apologize, for I knew who you were when I laid eyes on you. You are the very image of your mother Luthien. You are a treasure to your people, and your loss was deeply felt by all" Aragorn said gently. Even though Lauren had eschewed the elven name, she didn't mind it when Aragorn used it.

"I – uh wanted to get away, to clear my mind" she blushed. Lauren was hardly ever flustered, and a man had never been the cause before.

"You must be quite conflicted." Aragorn concluded.

Lauren could not raise the walls she usually had when discussing her private life. Aragorn, she found, was like a kindred spirit though she hardly knew him at all.

"Yes, I am" she answered simply.
"Come, I know a place" Aragorn offered. Lauren instinctively felt this man could be trusted. She somehow knew he would see no harm befell her. She followed him.

They arrived at a quiet meadow. A patch of land where there was a clearing from the trees. The sun shone brightly, accentuating the greenness of the grass and the delicate beauty of the flowers.

"When I was young and feeling conflicted, I would come here and think" Aragorn volunteered, as he sat down on the luscious grass. Lauren followed suit.

"What were you conflicted about?" Lauren asked.

"I am of the line of heirs to the throne of Gondor. Yet due to my ancestor's mistakes, my family did not rule it for centuries. My father, was born royal but didn't have a throne. He wasted his life away, leaving my mother and I to seek refuge in the elven lands. I never felt like I belonged as I was not elven. I also had the burden of my lineage. For a while, it nearly destroyed me" Aragorn confessed. He could see Lauren also felt the pull between what she was born into and the life she lives. To help her through it, he had to be vulnerable and show her why he understood.

"How did you get through it?" Lauren asked.

"I realized that I cannot change the past, what my ancestors did, who I was born as. What I could change was how I met the world, the choices I could make. I chose not to waste my life away. I fought for Gondor during the wars against Sauron and his army of orcs. This brought me back to the throne. One day soon, I will have to ascend the throne. I have put it off as long as I can, but likely not for much longer" Aragorn answered.

"You're a king?" Lauren clarified. She could never have guessed the man before her was royalty.

"Not a King, as I am not on the throne yet" Aragorn corrected.

"Why not?" Lauren probed.

"I wish to have the one I love at my side as my Queen. The throne is a heavy burden, I do not think I can carry it alone. Alas, she has so far rejected me" Aragorn said vaguely. He respected Arwen's privacy. But in truth, he had been hurt by Arwen's refusal to openly declare their relationship, let alone marry him. He had struggled in his youth about his fate, Arwen had steadfastly loved him through those dark days. When he was finally ready to take his place on the throne, everything had changed because of a fateful picnic on the plains. After Luthien was lost, Arwen dedicated herself to stand in for her mother. She undertook official duties, cared for her grief stricken father and held the family together. After what happened to Celebrian and Luthien, she could not bring herself to defy her father. He had wanted her to surrender Aragorn, but Arwen's spirit had already bonded to Aragorn. Now they were stuck in limbo with brief, stolen moments together, hiding from her family.

Lauren, of course, knew none of this. She saw a man, an attractive man, who had been rejected by someone in his past. "It is her loss" she said with conviction. "I see why I feel like you understand me. I was born an elf, a royal. But I am not one at all. I have a different life – they don't understand. They are strangers to me. They tossed me aside. Now they act like they're so happy to see me" she added.

"I'm sure you have been told Elrond did not give you up easily. He had no choice. It nearly killed him to do so. You do not have to love them as your family right now. But you do not have to hold hate towards them either. It's alright to let your guard down Luthien" Aragorn said softly. Lauren stayed quiet but it was clear she was emotional. Aragorn laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, got up and walked a short distance away to give her some time alone to think. She took her time to think about Aragorn's words. She found them to be sincere and meaningful. After a while, she got up also and walked towards him. She smiled and told him she was ready to go back to the city.

The trek back to her flet was quite enjoyable. Aragorn regaled her with tales of dragons and wizards. He described the different lands of middle earth and the various creatures she may encounter during her time here. Finally, he cautioned her about orcs. Though Sauron had been defeated, bands of orcs still roamed the lands.

They were met at her flet by Elrond and his other children. They wore worried expressions on their faces as they did not know where Lauren had gone.

"Lauren, I am glad you're safe" Elrond said, relief evident in his eyes. That was quickly replaced by shock when he saw she was accompanied by Aragorn.

"Princess Luthien was lost, I escorted her back" Aragorn said to Elrond, though he looked straight at Arwen.

"Yes, Aragorn was very kind to me. Thank you for everything. Will I see you again? I would very much like that" Lauren said softly. Mouths dropped. She had not objected to Aragorn calling her Luthien, something she had made clear to everyone else she would not tolerate. Moreover, she seemed downright friendly with him, though they had undoubtedly just met.

"Likely not Princess" was Aragorn's reply.

"I'm sure you can spare a few days in Lorien, be Lauren's guide. You will also see her at the midsummer feast in 2 weeks time" Elrond interjected. He would cling to anything that Lauren displayed interest in, even if it was Aragorn. Unfortunately, Elrond did not see how his actions had hurt Arwen. Her father would so quickly give latitude to the man he forbade her from seeing just because Lauren wanted so. The man she had loved for years but was now forced to sneak around to see. Arwen admonished herself. It only mattered that Lauren was happy, she had been through so much.

"Thank you, Lord Elrond. Lauren, you haven't eaten today. Perhaps you would like to join your family for breakfast?" Aragorn suggested. He looked at her expectantly. You don't have to hate them, just get to know them, his expression seemed to say to her.

Lauren swallowed hard and went against what her emotions were telling her. "Yes, I'd like to join you for breakfast" she said to Elrond.

Her father looked as if he could leap for joy. "Yes, we would like that very much. We will eat at the terrace, I will have the food laid out."

Arwen smiled sadly, they had not eaten together as a family since her mother's death. Aragorn begged his pardon, giving Elrond a bow and Arwen a silent glance before leaving the group. Elrond seemed not to notice, as he was too busy ordering the table be set and food be brought. Lauren sat between one of her brothers and Arwen. She nibbled at some bread and fruit on the table. An awkward silence hung over the table, none wanted to disrupt the progress that had been made with Lauren.

"I'm told I look a lot like my birth mother? Do you have a picture of her" Lauren commented.

Elrond's children all looked expectantly at their father. No one had dared mention Celebrian to Elrond since her death. To do so would usually trigger a torrent of anger and grief.

Clearly, Elrond made an exception for his youngest daughter. He smiled at Lauren "there are several portraits of her in the library, I will show them to you. But you are right, you are the very image of her. She was an elven beauty, and it is clear you are too." Elrond heart soared when Lauren smiled at him.

Their brief family moment was interrupted when George and Michael arrived.

"Lauren, are you alright?" Michael asked cautiously, surprised at the sight in front of him. He laid a protective hand on her shoulder.

"Yea, I'm just having breakfast." Lauren said uncomfortably. The sight of Michael and George brought her back to reality – reminding her that she was Lauren Johnson. Mortal from Earth. Loving family and entire life and career waiting for her. She stood up quickly and excused herself from the table, leaving her siblings and Elrond's crestfallen expression behind.

"Looks like you were getting to know each other a little bit?" George probed as the threesome walked away.

"Don't be ridiculous, I don't care to know them" Lauren said hastily. "I did meet someone today, his name is Aragorn. We're both sort of outsiders in this place. He's great to talk to" she admitted.

"George and I were talking, someone needs to let your Dad and brother know where you are. They're going to be worried. George will stay here with you to make sure you're OK. The way time moves differently in our worlds, by the time I cross the portal and hike back to the house, explain to your Dad and brother what's happened, weather their fury, a couple of weeks would likely pass here in Middle Earth. The good thing about that is you will have lost almost no time on Earth even though you're getting quite a bit of time here. There will be no disruption to your life" Michael explained.

"You're right. Dad's going to lose his mind when he finds out where we are. Better you go tell him. He can't kill you, he needs you to run the business" Lauren smirked.