Chapter 10

Sam could hear faint voices coming toward them and perked up immediately. They were back already!

"Elladan informed me that you are unwell?" Elrond asked as he strode in, his clothes billowing behind him.

"Hi," Sam greeted, leaning forward.

Elrond sat down on the couch, with Elladan following suit. His features were wrought in a concerned expression instead of the friendly one he usually wore. Sam gulped. Serious conversations had never been her forte.

"Go on," Thranduil encouraged.

She wasn't sure how to explain the situation. There was no way she was going to repeat the crazed rambling she had told Elladan and Thranduil — it made things seem less believable.

"Yeah, okay," she began uncertainly. "Well, I fell into the lake today. It sucked and in the middle of drowning I saw a vision of … of my family. And not just any vision, it was like I was actually there. Everything was as vivid as real life. But my parents … they couldn't see me even though I was shouting at them. My dog, though. I think he saw me." She threw an anxious glance over at Elladan, hoping to receive some comfort from a familiar face.

"Have you ever had these visions before?" Elrond asked.

"No, just this once," she said. "Do you think falling into the water was what triggered it?"

"I cannot say for certain." Elrond went silent for a while, looking deep in thought.

Sam felt nervous, as if she was waiting on the verdict in a trial. She bounced anxiously in her seat. "It was real, wasn't it? I mean elves are able to have visions like these, right?"

"It would not be unheard of," he said finally. "Although for elflings to see them with that clarity isn't common. However, I have no reason to believe that what you saw was false. If you must know, there is someone residing in Lothlorien who is able to see with as much clarity as you. It might help to be in correspondence with her?"

Sam sighed in relief. So she wasn't going insane, thank god.

"Maybe, if you think it could help." She wasn't so sure about Galadriel — and who else could Elrond be talking about. Sure, she had her all-seeing mirror, but somehow that felt quite different from her own vision.

"It is getting late, so let us continue our conversation tomorrow. The matter is too serious to take a hurried decision on. Rest now. I promise you I will think more on this while you sleep," he said. "Elladan, could you escort her back to her room? There are some things I must do before I retire for the night."

They stood up, though Sam was still feeling unsure whether she had gotten an answer that would put her mind at ease. She did, however, trust Elrond to reflect further on what she had told him about the vision and to tell her about it. Until then, and perhaps after they had contacted Galadriel, there wasn't much point in discussing it at greater length right now.

"Oh, and Sam," he called right as they were about to leave. "Be sure to tell me if you have another vision. Perhaps with more information we can figure it out sooner."

She nodded, and after saying a quick goodbye to Elrond and Thranduil, left with Elladan.

The day after turned into several days. And then those days inevitably turned into a week. Sam had waited patiently for another vision to occur, and when none did, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. She tried and tried to recreate what happened, even going as far as to go for a swim in the frigid lake, and yet nothing. The only thing it got her was Glorfindel's ire, and getting banned from going anywhere without supervision.

For the week after, the twins and Estel accordingly stuck to Sam like glue. While they weren't the worst company and did try to cheer her up, she couldn't be distracted enough by them. There was always a nagging feeling at the back of her mind that refused to go away. Did the vision have any meaning? Was it even a real one? Why wasn't she experiencing more of them? Or would the next one transport her back to her own world?

After another visionless day, Sam sighed and wandered back towards the main living quarters, feeling more than a little depressed. Maybe there was no chance to go home after all. Maybe the vision had been a fluke. She had managed to ditch the twins today and had to make sure they don't spot her on her way back. It was already dawn, and she didn't want to hear more from Glorfindel about wandering off.

Silently, or as silently as she could manage, she crept along the hallowed halls. There wasn't anyone around however, and she soon straightened up, feeling mildly foolish. She racked her brain, wondering where everyone was; it wasn't fully dark yet, and usually, there were at least a few elves hanging around. She continued on, this time not paying as much attention to the sound she was making when she heard faint voices straight ahead.

Sam paused mid-step. Should she go investigate? It wasn't in the direction of her room and if it took too long Elrond might notice her absence. Besides, she was a little tired, and her comfortable bed was beckoning to her. In the end, her curiosity won out and she hurried toward the general direction of the voices.

As she approached, she could make out the distinctive voices of Elrond and Glorfindel, but there were others that she didn't recognize. They sounded different from the melodic tones of the elves, which further fueled her curiosity.

Finally, she reached the end of the hallway and came out on a secluded gazebo on top of some stairs. Softly walking to the edge of it revealed an open courtyard some ways beneath her. A convenient tree seemed to envelop the gazebo, which hopefully meant that no elf would be able to spot her.

When she finally glanced down, she was shocked. The voices she hadn't recognized belonged to a group of people who definitely weren't elves. They were men. Sam felt faint. It was hard to believe she was seeing humans again after having been in the exclusive company of elves for these past few weeks. The contrast between the elves and their human visitors couldn't have been sharper too. They wore ragged clothing and looked nothing short of desperate. She felt a pang of sympathy. It seemed that the other races of Middle Earth didn't have nearly as many resources as the elves.

From what she could see, there were also some other elves beside Elrond and Glorfindel, including Thranduil. She listened in without any difficulty as they seemed to be in a heated conversation — from the humans' side at least. Elrond and Thranduil looked as calm as ever but the men's voices had grown much louder.

"I'm afraid we cannot assist you in this matter," Elrond was telling a miserable-looking man. "Though you have our sympathies, we simply aren't in a position to provide aid. You may stay here for as long as you wish to if you need to recover."

It wasn't until Elrond was finished with his sentence when Sam realized he wasn't speaking in elvish. She supposed it made sense for him to speak with these men using Westron, but was surprised that she could still understand it.

The men looked angry at the response and one of them spoke up.

"You elves live in such luxury, and can't even help with such a small matter?" he huffed. Sam noted that the way he spoke differed from Elrond — as if he had an accent. Couple that with his gruff voice and it was nigh impossible for Sam to understand clearly. "Our children are dying so quickly we haven't even got the time to bury them, but I suppose elves don't care for that," he spat. The anger in his voice deeply unsettled Sam. The elves, and Aragorn, rarely displayed strong emotions, especially not anger.

Elrond looked disturbed, but it wasn't him who spoke up.

"You dare intrude upon Imladris and insinuate that," Thranduil sneered. Even from a distance, Sam could almost feel the chilly air that seemed to emanate from Thranduil and she shivered. She sympathized with the poor guy that had to face him.

The man drew back, his anger fading into fear. Elrond muttered something which made Thranduil back off.

"There is nothing we can do to help. Our own numbers have been steadily decreasing, and there are no healers that we can spare. I can provide some medicinal herbs that you may try, but nothing beyond that," Elrond said more diplomatically. His voice held finality, though.

"It is only a simple sickness." Another man stepped up, his tone pleading. "Nothing the skilled healers of Rivendell can't heal. Please I beg you, my daughter is very ill, and I fear she may not last until the end of the month. I've already lost my wife, I cannot lose her too."

"Please," a third man begged. "Have you no pity? What if it had been your child that lay dying?"

Sam felt her blood freeze. A sickness? In this setting, they were all as good as dead if any of her knowledge of history was anything to go by. And if it was the black death, well, maybe the entire human population was at risk. She felt torn between wanting to keep a good distance from the men and bursting out and providing some insight on hygiene.

At that moment, Glorfindel looked up directly at where Sam was. He turned to Elrond and said a few words before turning and walking in Sam's direction. Sam flushed. Busted. She'd have to work on her hiding skills. Though with how observant the elves were, she wasn't sure she could ever hide from them with any degree of success.

Within moments, Glorfindel had made his way up to the gazebo.

"Hey," Sam said meekly, giving him a feeble wave.

"Sam, why are you up here, at this hour?" he asked, his voice disapproving. Sam could feel herself shrink.

"Just, uh, you know." She gestured around vaguely, trying to find the right words. "I like this gazebo."

"Of course," Glorfindel said. He glanced down at where the group was still conversing. "I'm assuming you heard everything?"

"Mostly," she admitted. "Am I not allowed to? They're human, like me, so I think I got a right to see what's happening with them." She stared defiantly at Glorfindel, willing him to disagree.

"Perhaps," he said. "Though wouldn't you agree that you are far more an elf than human now? Or perhaps you think your former race holds the answer to your predicament? And that by helping, they will give you the answer you seek?"

"Yeah, maybe I do think I can help. Better than sitting back and doing nothing. Maybe I'm actually super good at the whole healing thing and you just don't know it," she said loudly.

"Elrond won't approve," he warned. "He rejected them for a reason, as you have no doubt heard."

"He could be wrong."

She glanced over the railing to see how Elrond's conversation had been progressing.

The men were leaving, and Sam would have to hurry if she wanted to talk to them — she knew she had to.

Bouncing down the stairs with Glorfindel following right behind, she sprinted towards the elves as they watched the men go. She wasn't quite sure she wanted to achieve exactly, but her instincts were telling her to do something.

"Hey! Wait!" she yelled to their backs. "I can help them."

Elrond turned around, his eyebrows raised.

"Sam," he said slowly. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

Sam faltered. "I said I wanted to help. They're sick right? I bet I can figure out why and solve their problem."

If anything, Elrond's eyebrows rose even further.

"Go back to your room Sam, we can speak of this further in private."

"But they're leaving and ..." Sam paused, her heart racing. But resolve filled her tiny body, and she pushed on. "And I want to go with them." Somehow, Sam felt sure of this decision. This was her chance to help, to finally do something meaningful. With her modern knowledge, it should be easy to figure it out. And above all, she empathized with these people. She was human, after all, despite her elvish appearance. As great as the elves were, she missed being around regular people. She still felt rather out of place in Imladris, despite both her and their best efforts.

"No, absolutely not," Elrond said, and for the first time, Sam heard a sternness in his voice.

"What? why not?"

"Many reasons, Sam. Must we get into this here?" The annoyance in his tone made Sam almost want to stop and beg for forgiveness, his disapproval was almost too much to bear. She doesn't, though.

"Yeah, we do. Just give me one good reason."

"Alright. Sam, you are the last elfling. It would be extremely remiss of me to send you to a perilous place," Elrond said. "And I'm also certain they don't want help from an elfling such as yourself. You are but a child, despite real your age." Elrond seemed to note the hurt on Sam's face, for his toned softened. "However, I can help you become a healer. There is much knowledge I can impart on you if you wish to learn."

They were fair points, for sure, but Sam wasn't deterred. Ignoring Elrond she strode up to the men, trying her best to look confident.

"I can help you guys," she said, feeling awkward.

They gave her a strange look as if they didn't understand what she was saying. For a moment, Sam wondered if she had used the right language.

"You? Do you have any knowledge in healing?" The man's voice was full of doubt.

"Yeah? I mean I can try?"

"Samantha, that's enough," Thranduil cut in. His voice held no room for argument.

"Erestor, could you please escort them out? Make sure to provide them with anything they might need," Elrond said.

"Of course," Erestor responded, and without another word, they were gone. Sam felt crushed. Why did everyone treat her like a kid, she was fifteen, for crying out loud. She cursed her appearance.

She was definitely going to help these people despite all the odds they have stacked against them. Despite the fact that she wasn't an elvish healer and that her modern knowledge didn't match that of a doctor. And also despite what Elrond had said.\

A/N: Heyo it's been a while. Sorry bout that. I swear I had this finished like all the way back in April I think, but I kept forgetting to post it on here. But it's here :). Unfortunately, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be finished. I'm getting busy with uni again and I don't have that much time to spare for fics. I'm still writing, but the focus is spread pretty thin and tbh I'm not feeling all that much inspired for this one and the fandom in general. Maybe the new prime LOTR show will kick me back into gear? lol. But yeah, I'll try my best. I do want to finish the story eventually. it's my first one, after all. The next chapter is sitting at a whopping 200 words ;-;

Anyway enough talk lol. Thanks for reading and thanks for all the comments :D I still read them even if I'm inactive.

RandomMusicalCatBooks: Heyo! Glad you're still here :) And I like the elf name :D Honestly I might just use it if I do eventually incorporate that into the story. LOTR lore and rules can be a bit of a chore to sift through sometimes. Thanks for all your support :DD

Louise: Thanks :D Fortunately I passed all my exams, but now it's round two and midterms are next week D: We'll see if I pass this time haha.

pineapple-pancake: Sam would definitely go to Valinor if she could haha.