Sorry it took this long to update, to be quite frank about a year after I posted the last chapter, I had a health problem that took some time to get under control. Still, I`m quite glad that at least I will be able to continue this story at this time.

I will speed things up a little bit, at least I will try, otherwise I feel the story will take just too long to finish. I will mainly focus on Link's point of view from now on.

Just a reminder, English is not my first language, so I`m sorry for the eventual spelling, grammar mistakes or the occasional odd sounding phrases.

Also, I own nothing.

Hope you all enjoy.

Just a reminder

' ' Thought

" " Speech

Sindarin (Elvish)

All was still, it seemed to link like time had stopped itself completely, it was as if the whole world was cast into a timeless void. The only indication that time was still moving was the sound of his own heartbeat, and the very faint rustle of leaves somewhere outside.

But to Link those all were minor points not worth considering at the moment, for now all he could do is stare at the gather of people in front of him. They were all tall, all too tall if he had he had any say on the matter. But the height was not the only curious thing, no It was but one of many things that sat this population of pointed ears aside from his previous experience. Frist thing that came to mind was that they all seemed to be about in the mid 20's, and most important of all, they all seemed to be looking at him like he was and ancient malevolent ghost that had just awoken from his supposed eternal slumber to lay waste to all they ever loved and cared about in the most painful and horrible way imaginable.

That first impression on the expression of the many elves present was thrown away furiously from Link mind when as one absolutely every single one of the elves present in the room made the best Aragorn personification he had seen in a while with an impressive show of coordination from such a large gathering of people. They all had such an embarrassingly open shown of worry set in the semblant, as if what was in front of the could break and shatter in a thousand pieces with the smallest gust of wind. And it did not help for the peace of mind of the one Kokiri present when he forcibly reminded himself of what exactly that stare was aimed at.

It was at that point where one unfortunate boy started to get nervous, for he could handle one overprotective adult, for the most part, but an innumerable number of people, for he was not tall enough to safely tell how much they were, it was becoming a bit too much. For said boy was not in fact well used to be in the center of attention, quite on the contrary in fact, and to find himself suddenly and without warning overflowing with it was honestly quite overwhelming.

As the staring contest was underway, Link felt himself being pulled up and carried by someone, as he looked up, he saw the same elf that was with him when he first woke up. He had a lot of questions that needed to be answered, and deciding what kind of information was going to become a priority was honestly something he could not do at the moment. In the end he should not have bothered as the elf took the initiative:

"You should be resting, it's barely been half a day since you last woke, and you still have a lot of healing to be done."

Link was, honestly, quite fed up with the child act at this point, so he decided to be a little bit more proactive in his response:

"My name is Link 'not child', what´s yours?"

That stopped the little tirade that the elf was going on, and just after a moment he responded:

"I am Elrond, child, well met."

It took some convincing, a lot of puppy eyes, and some promise that Link knew he could not keep for long, but still, at least he had managed to convince Elrond to leave him with a book about the story of the elves and middle earth.

First things first then. It took the rest of the day and well into the night to wrap his mind over the fact that everyone that he has seen with pointed ear were actually immortal. Well, not truly immortal, they could still die by a well-placed sword strike or a broken heart 'Seriously?'. Still, suddenly he was not that put out with Zelda anymore, if he decided to live in this new land, it would have been quite bothersome to be the only elf that has the lifespan of a normal man. And while he would still have to try and make something up about the fact that he would not be growing up, it would still be better that coming up with some kind of explanation about why he was the only one with pointed ears and wrinkles.

He had to make some kind of explanation as to why no one knew him, so he told Elrond the same story he told Frodo. That his parents died when he was very young, that he never learned their names, that he was taken care by a guardian that lived on the woods, and that said guardian had been killed by a villain some time ago. He then told Elrond that he trained with a sword, shield and bow so that he could one day avenge his guardian and help the world get rid of the evil bastard. That opportunity came some months later, and after a fearsome battle, he was able to get rid of the evil man and his gang while they were attacking a human village.

This explanation was riddle with half-truths, and he knew that if the questions were kept being asked, that he would not have been able to maintain his story for long. Still, he was quite glad when a teary-eyed Elrond changed subject and asked what kind of books he wanted to have. Those books helped him understand the geography of the place, learning the names and especially the different races that inhabited it 'By Farore, middle earth was huge'. He was quite curious to learn about dwarfs, they sounded a lot like his world´s Gorons, apart from the eating rocks, and sounded quite awesome in the way they battled, with big and broad double-sided axes. It was a pity that they were not on the best terms with the elves by some ages now, but as Link really liked the straightforwardness of the Gorons, he decided he would try to make some of them friends if he gets the chance.

The other thing that bothered him, was that apparently the elves, and dwarves for that matter, had a whole language for them, with written symbols that were quite different from what he was used to*. That could become quite bothersome really fast, since apparently what he knew as Hylian was known in these parts as Common Speech. And since dwarven books was not fond in the library of Rivendell 'understandably after reading their past story', Link decided now to try and learn the languages of the elves so he could at least try to blend in a little better.

Still, all of that was minor annoyances for what he discovered next. Apparently, children of the elves, or elflings for short, were so rare, that the last known one to be born was the daughter of Elrond about an age ago. That almost made him wish he were turned into a Man, a Dwarf, a Goron or even a Zora by Zelda instead. The fact that he would have to dodge an overprotective race for all of his lifetime, witch with his lifespan and theirs could mean indefinitely, made him wish he had some classes with Zelda/Sheik about the art of stealth.

As he was planning his dodging strategies for the next days, he heard a knock at the dor. A moment later he met with someone he had a feeling he knew somewhere before. It was an elf lady caring a small tray with a cup of tea in it, young as the rest, and quite beautiful.

"It´s nice to see you awake child." She began, and at his involuntary head tilt she continued "It was I that brought you here after you were injured at Weatertop."

"Thank you" Link said, nodding "I don´t know everything that happened there yet, but I feel I would not be here If it weren´t for your help."

She smiled in a way that radiated kindness "There´s nothing to thank, I did what anyone would do to see a child healthy again."

Link smiled a little, nodded his head in understanding, and then said "I´m Link" and remembering what Elrond said a moment earlier, continued "Well met".

"Well met Link, my name is Arwen."

Link took a moment to remember the name, after he did, he had to ask her something that was bothering him a lot.

"How did you manage?" and this time it was her that made the head tilt, so he thought he had to formulate his question better "I was reading this story book" he began, as he gave the book to her "and here it is said that you are the last elf born in these lands." She gave him a nod, not bothering to say that he was the last as far as everyone knew now. He continued "I also read that Elves in general care a lot for their young…" he made sure to emphasize the caring and lot part "so how did you manage all the attention, all the caring?" he hoped he was being eloquent enough that she would get his meaning.

She took a little wile to respond, clearly not ready for this kind of question, she hid it well though, putting the tray with the tea on it on the nightstand by his bed. Still, when she began, Link could feel her tone of voice was genuine. "We care not only for our young, but for every child. Did you know Aragorn was raised here in Rivendell?" At the shake of his head, she continued "He was raised here after his mother passed away and was as spoiled as any elflings would be. Do you think of him as a lesser adult for it?" he shook his head again, as she continued with a smile "We understand that there are times when life calls us to me strong, to be just, to do the right thing no matter how difficult it could be…" he gave a solemn nod at that, "but there are times when we are called to enjoy the simple thing in life as well, to smile, to gaze at the life all around us, at the sea, at the rivers, at the tress. To laugh as simple silliness, to enjoy a well-done meal, to enjoy the company of another person..." And then, she moved forward suddenly, and Link found himself being hugged by her "…to be hugged, to be cared for, to care for another." She staid that way for a moment longer, glad that at least the boy was not fighting back the hug. She broke out the hug and watched the expression on the child face. It was a genuine smile; one spoke of a deeper understanding that she expected from a child that age.

"So", Link began, after a moment of comfortable silence "It´s not spoiling after all, it´s caring, deeply, about the physical and psychological wellbeing of someone, especially if they have not developed enough to understand the difference of right or wrong, of happiness or sadness". He stopped, with a sigh of relief "Thank you" he said as he looked at her and noted a little bit of surprise on her face. The surprise lasted for only a moment, she nodded back and smiled again.

After a moment of silence, she told him it was time to sleep, and that the tea, as it was still hot, would help him with it. He just nodded and welcomed the sincerity and the information. His back and shoulder were still hurting a bit, so he took the tea without questioning, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

*Side Notes

I made Hylian and Common Speech the same for the sake of simplicity.