Chapter 3: Welcome to Rivendell

I awoke to the sun glaring at me through an open window, a soft wind bringing the sweet scents of spring into the room and the sound of waterfalls and birds. Without opening my eyes I knew I was in a soft, warm bed and somewhere safe. My head no longer hurt and all I wanted to do was lay there dreaming. The prospect of waking up was very much debatable.

Eventually, I finally gave up on the idea of more sleep and decided to get up. Sitting up, my fingers caressed the spot in which I knew had been an open wound last time I was awake. Someone had gone through the trouble of fixing me up it seemed, there was a fresh bandage wrapped around my head and the pain was decidedly less prominent than it had been.

Looking around, I found myself in an elegant room. For a moment I couldn't remember where I was or what had happened. Then it all came rushing back to me and I began to feel dizzy for the umpteenth time since hitting my head. Only this time it was shock, not injury that caused the room to spin.

How could I be in Middle Earth? For once I wished I had paid better attention to the books I had only read for extra credits in middle school. Or at least come here with one of those kids at my current high school who were so obsessed with the stories and studied them. I remember making jokes about all the energy they put into learning a fictional language. Really, I was impressed by the effort, just not the direction the effort had been placed in.

At least if one of those kids had been here with me, I wouldn't feel as lost as I currently did. I barely remember the stories I had read over three years ago. There were a few parts that caught my interests of course, like the shield maidens of the horse people. Elves and dwarves with so much animosity towards each other. Little people that were more powerful than someone could have imagined. A ring that had to be thrown into a volcano and destroyed to defeat the "dark lord". Wizards, one good and one evil. And two men…but I couldn't remember much of them either. One was a prince in hiding and the other a Captain of a great city.

For a good while I struggled to remember more than this. It felt like it would be very important, sometime in the near future. The more I tried to pull the information to the forefront of my mind, the faster it slipped away. Until all that was left was some basic information and lots of frustration. Eventually my head began to hurt, and I gave up fighting.

Irritated at myself, I pushed back the covers and swung my legs off the bed. Someone had dressed me in a nightgown and there was a robe set on the chair next to the bed. Shivering now that I was away from the warmth of the blankets, I pulled the robe on and was instantly starting to warm up again. Slippers were on the floor, tucked neatly under the seat of the chair. I put them on as well to save my feet from the cold stone of the floor.

I gradually walked over to the window and pulled the curtains aside. I was shocked at the view. This place was so natural and beautiful as if it had been completely carved from a marble mountain. Down below were some people in what appeared to be an arena and training ground. I was only in a second story room so I could easily make out Estel and Elledan once I stepped out onto the balcony. I swore my eyes were playing tricks on me though…were there two Elledans? The second one had just come out of a nearby building with two training swords in his hands. Rubbing my eyes, I looked again. Yup, there were two.

"Twins." Said a soft, yet powerful voice behind me. I spun around to see a regal looking elf that was easily related to Elledan.

"Excuse me?" I asked pulling the robe tighter around me. I didn't know this elf and I wasn't sure that Estel or Elledan would be able to hear me if I yelled. I certainly didn't feel like I could protect myself at the moment. Not that I had felt the need to, but I always decide to err on the side of caution.

"Peace," said the elf calmly, raising his hands to show he was unarmed. I got the impression that he was a very high-ranking person here and was used to being obeyed. "I am Lord Elrond, and this is Imladris, Rivendell in the common tongue. My sons brought you in yesterday evening. How are you feeling?"

Confused, it took me a moment to process. "I'm feeling better. My head hurts but not nearly as much as it did. I'm just…very confused."

Lord Elrond nodded. "Understandable. Do you have any questions that I may be able to assist you with in answering? Or perhaps you would like to eat first?"

I nodded and sat at the small table where there was a tray with fruits, breads and cheese. Slowly, I sat down with my back to the balcony. There was a goblet with a strange liquid inside that smelled sweet, like a fruit juice or honey drink. I sipped the drink, surprised at just how thirsty I was. Setting the goblet down I realized it was nearly gone. The Elf-Lord simply refilled the goblet and sat across from me, sipping from his own cup of sweet liquid.

'This taste similar to cider.' I mused to myself. 'Not exactly like I'm familiar with, but very similar.'

I thanked him and went to the bread. Taking a bite, I was amazed at how flavorful and sweet tasting it was. Sampling the rest of the offering I found the only thing that did not have a sweet flavor was the cheese. Even then, the taste was so robust that it rounded the meal out perfectly. I felt I must be dining in heaven.

I spent a good while eating before remembering I wasn't alone. Lord Elrond had sat so quietly and barely moved at all the whole time I ate. Blushing I set the plate aside and used the table napkin to wipe my mouth. Mostly to hide my embarrassment at stuffing myself in his presence. The elf smiled and gave a slight nod of understanding.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I guess I was hungrier than I had expected. But the meal was delicious. Best food I have ever tasted."

At this Lord Elrond gave a slight chuckle, taking away some of the stern features that had put me on edge at first. "How old are you child? You are very young to have been out alone."

Raising my head defiantly, I looked him in the eye. "I'm fifteen sir, nearly sixteen. That is, I will be sixteen in May. Plenty old enough to go riding alone."

I knew it was rude to speak to him that way. I also knew that I looked much younger than my true age. Even at sixteen, people who didn't know me insisted that I couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen at the most. They even insisted on it. Almost got me kicked off campus one time because a new staff member had seen me and wouldn't believe I was a student at the school. Eventually I started carrying my school ID around everywhere with me just to prove my age.

Lord Elrond bowed his head, but I could see the hint of a smile there. Afterwards we spoke for a while. Him asking questions about me and my home, with the obvious intention to get me back there safely. I carefully deflected his inquiries that I couldn't answer and in return asked about everything.

I learned about Elledan and Elrohir, as well as their sister Arwen. I learned stories about Estel as a child and how he came to be in Elrond's care. There was a hobbit by the name of Bilbo Baggins residing in Imladris. Eventually I was able to stop asking questions and Lord Elrond continued from one lesson to the next. It was all halted by a knock at the door. Shocked, I was sure that only a couple of hours had passed but it felt like we had been talking the day away.

My companion seemed to be surprised that he lost track of so much time as well and answered the door himself. There was a female elf on the other side who matched the features of the other elves I had seen walking the grounds. They all seemed to be tall, dark haired and pale skinned with a sort of glow about them.

"Ah, Cyithrel my dear, so good of you to join us." Lord Elrond proclaimed, as if he had simply been keeping me company until her appointed time to arrive. "Cyithrel, this is Arianna. Arianna, this is Cyithrel. She will assist you in adapting to our environment and escort you around the grounds until such time as you can find your own way."

Cyithrel curtseyed and I opened my mouth to protest. Before I could say anything, Lord Elrond had left with a wickedly amused smile on his face. The door closed firmly behind him. Flabbergasted, I turned to the girl who had taken his place. She was already turning to the cabinet on the far side of the room and opening the doors.

Turning with a dress in her hands, she spoke something in elvish and I shook my head. Embarrassed, she repeated herself in what I assumed to be the common language here. "I apologize, I was asking if you cared to try this dress on. Until we get your measurements a perfect fit will be difficult to manage but I believe this to be a close match."

With a sigh I nodded. What was commonly worn by the locals was considered getting dressed up for me. I never wore dresses if I could avoid it. No, my preference was a shirt, jeans and boots. Some accommodating was going to have to happen it seemed. Quickly I hid behind a screen that pulled out from the wall and changed into the dress. Cyithrel had to assist in the ties on the back since there was no way to reach them myself.

After she sat me down in front of a vanity table and combed out my hair. She spent so much time and care on it that, by the time she was done combing and styling, my hair was shining like the sunset. She even managed to work the style around the bandaging on my head, of which was supposed to come off in the next day or so. I was in awe. With the emerald and gold dress she had chosen for me, and the work put into my hair, I had never felt so beautiful. Admiring myself, I thanked her.

Cyithrel escorted me around and explained all the different areas to me. While there were a few rooms that we did not enter, she did explain what they were and why they were off limits. Eventually we made our way outdoors, though there were still walkways that simply had a roof held by carved pillars. In one direction was an amazing garden made up of every kind of herb, plant and vegetable that could be used in the kitchen or for healing purposes.

In another section of the grounds was the biggest stables I had ever seen. For every two stall doors there was an enclosed pasture area for the animals to reside idly in. Most held horses at different stages of life. Some held farm animals such as cows and goats. Near the closest building was a large chicken coop. There were also several arena type areas that seemed to focus on different disciplines. One was jumping, another was weaving, a third was obviously for archery. There was even one more that had nothing in it and appeared to be just a straight, open arena. I couldn't have possibly dreamed up a more incredible set up.

I was so excited that I started rushing over to find Faradrim and Roheryn. I found the two of them in one of the front pastures of the third stable. I was a bit surprised to see both housed together, but then from what Elledan had said, I guess not many of the horses were willing to put up with Faradrim's attitude.

Cyithrel tried to stop me, but I calmly walked up to the fencing and was greeted by two horse heads inspecting me. I heard Cyithrel mutter something but couldn't make out what she had said. Laughing, I pushed back on the horses and gave them each a turn of full-face rubs while muttering nonsense to them. Faradrim preferred to have under his chin and behind his jaw scratch while Roheryn really got into having his ears rubbed.

Fully satisfied at their care and mine, the horses gave me a couple of nudges and nickers before returning to their feeding troughs. I turned to see Cyithrel standing behind three people with familiar faces. Sheepishly I dusted some stray horsehair from my sleeves. Aragorn had his hand covering his mouth, desperately trying not to laugh. Both Elledan and Elrohir were not so tactful as one, I assumed Elrohir, started teasing his brother about beauty taming the beast.

Huffing, and unable to determine who they were laughing at, I put my arm into Cyithrel's and requested that she finish the tour. Agreeing, we left the twins to their jabs at each other and Estel to struggle to keep the peace between the two. Or joining in the teasing, I wasn't sure which.

*Later that night*

Sitting at the table in the dining hall, I was placed next to a very interesting character. He was shorter than I was by more than a few inches. In fact, I had mistaken him for a child at first. He was introduced as the Bilbo Baggins that I had heard about previously. Shyly I introduced myself to him and sat down picking at the food on my plate.

I felt awkward at first, just sitting at the table. Estel, Elledan and Elrohir were all sitting up closer to Elrond and a female elf that I assumed to be the Lady Arwen I had heard of. Bilbo and I were in a more discrete location that offered us some privacy from the rest of the group. While I was grateful for that I felt very much alone.

"C'mon now dear," Bilbo said cheerfully. "You should eat something, keep your strength up. You'll need it living with these elves. Quiet and thoughtful folk they are but highly active as well. You'll rarely find one napping. I myself enjoy my naps and take one when I can."

I smiled at the hobbit. I could see why everyone had an affection and amused look on their face when they spoke of him. He didn't mince words and yet seemed to still be very polite and considerate. We sat and talked throughout the meal, ignoring those around us just as they ignored us. By the end of the meal, Bilbo and I had gotten very comfortable with each other and talking as if we were old friends.

Eventually we were ushered out of the dining hall, and I followed Bilbo out to one of the sitting areas where we sat on a bench together. He lit a pipe and continued to tell me story after story. Everything from his family history to his nephew Frodo. I began to wonder at the things he said as he began an incredible tale involving a company of dwarves, a wizard and a treasure guarded by a dragon.

He was just getting to him sneaking up on a trio of trolls that were arguing over how to eat the dwarves when I heard footsteps behind us. Instantly I was up and spinning around, going on the defensive, just to have my eyes meet Estel's.

Bilbo looked over his shoulder at what startled me. "Ah, Strider my lad. I was just having a lovely little chat with my friend Arianna here."

"Strider?" I asked and gave Estel a confused look.

"One of my many names. Though, my true name is Aragorn son of Arathorn." He told me. And with that, he and Bilbo seemed to make a game of listing out his different names, when and where they had been used, and how they even came about.

I relaxed as Estel, er, Aragorn gave a bemused smile. "My friend, it is getting late, and I think I still owe our friend an apology for startling her."

"Quite right," Bilbo muttered and stood up, looking at the sky. "I'm getting too old to stay out so late. I wish you both a good night and a happy morrow with hopes of having more time to visit."

With that Bilbo bowed and we wished him a good night.