Ten: Rivendell, Jealousy and Understanding

Bella helped Kili get up and looked down discretely to herself, she looked at the small gash in her ankle and knew that she had gotten injured in her thigh.

"Where you are taking us Wizard?" Thorin asked.

"It looked really bright." Ori mentioned. Bella looked at the brightness and didn't say anything.

'He has brought them to Rivendell.' Sherlock said.

Bella saw the words between Gandalf and Thorin and tried to keep the pain from her face it told her that the scratch was more than she expected.

They walked down and everyone was looking around Bella saw some of the elves looking around from the trees that the Dwarves hadn't seen. They looked at her surprised and waved her way. Once of them nodded to her leg noticing the slash on her thigh and the one in her ankle. They walked to the middle and she saw Lindir, who hadn't notice her yet.

"Gandalf."

"Where is Lord Elrond?" Gandalf asked.

"My Lord Elrond is not here." Lindir mentioned when he noticed Bella but didn't say anything. Bella heard the horn and she was pulled in the middle with Ori.

"What are you doing?"

"We don't trust these Elves." Nori answered her. The dwarves covered them, and Bella could see all the horses come down. There was an Elf in the circle that noticed Bella in the middle.

"She's injured.' Tony mentioned to him.

"Gandalf my friend what are you doing here?"

"Bella!" Glorfindel said walking to the almost attacking Dwarves.

"Glorfindel." Bella said reaching out with her arms and Glorfindel smiles before taking her. Dwalin had to stop Thorin from going after the Golden Elf. As they were other soldiers there and were outnumbered.

#

"Really Belladonna, traveling with Dwarves." Glorfindel began.

"Don't start Fin, its for a good reason, I know that you don't like Dwarves."

"It's not that I don't like them, I just knew that you were taking this year calmly before permanently moving to Rivendell." Glorfindel mentioned. "Also, don't change the subject that you are injured."

"It's not like I am going to tell Thorin Oakenshield, I was injured." Bella said with a roll of her eyes and all three men looked at each other.

"Well let's go clean your wounds and I can take you to your Dwarves."

#

"Where is our Halfling?" Thorin asked.

"Bella is getting acquainted with an Old Friend." Gandalf said.

"It actually surprised me that Bella came to our lands injured." Elrond mentioned.

"Injured?" Thorin asked and was echoed.

"Yes, two large scratches one on her thigh and the other in her ankle." Elrond said. "I would also wouldn't mention the word Halfling to her."

"May I ask the reason?" Balin asked being ever the politician.

"Well halfling is a derogative term to their people." Elrond said, all the Dwarves were surprised and embarrassed. Thorin was embarrassed as well, since he had even called Bungo a Halfling.

"It seems that she is coming." Elrond told them.

"Bella my girl you look beautiful." Gandalf said with a smile. Bella showed herself and Thorin was left without breath for a few minutes. He didn't notice that Elrond was looking at him and that he shared a look with Gandalf. Bella was dressed in a dark blue dress accentuating her curves, with her curls down and a silver headband on them a single golden flower on her side.

"Thank you." Bella said. Thorin stood in front of Bella and he remembered his manners.

"Belladonna." He said and opened her chair.

"Thank you." Bella said wishing the blush would go away as she took a sit.

"Bella, did everything get cleared?" Elrond asked.

"Yes, Glorfindel took me to Erestor and the healers." Bella told him.

"I see my Captain did not accompany you?" Elrond said.

"One word: Erestor." Bella said with a smile.

#

Bella was walking around trying to get her mind clear. She still couldn't believe the food fight that had happened. Sherlock has been more offended than anything about the issues. She stood in one of the balconies and breathed in the night air. Elrond had told the Dwarven King and Balin that it was going to take a few weeks before they could read the map, which they had told Elrond it was for academic purposes. Elrond had pretended to understand, but she knew that with his foresight he would have seen their plans.

"I thought I mentioned not to be away from us." She turned to see Thorin standing there.

"I know where I am going." Bella told him. "Do you need help finding your way back to the others?"

"No, I was actually looking for you." Thorin said, he was trying not to blush knowing that he was not good with directions. "It appears that my nephews remember you never finished the story."

"Ah, that is true, and I did promise to finish the story." Bella said with a soft smile that had Thorin feeling weird. "Well, are they still hiding in the small spot?"

"Is not hiding."

"But you are also not enjoying the rooms Elrond has given your group." Bella said.

"I am guessing that you are close to the Elves, in that case I should let you know we Dwarves are not close to them…"

"I'm going to stop you right there, Elrond is not Thranduil both are very different, if Elrond was anything like him you would be in the dungeons as you think, but he gave you rooms, which you should take advantage as we both know our road is not going to be easy." Bella said and it surprised Thorin. "Being a good leader is knowing where to take advantage, have you ever though that having a good relationship even if you don't like them with some of the Elves might actually help you."

"To be betrayed by them at the last minute?" Thorin asked.

"Or have them on your side." Bella said.

#

The walk to the others was in silence as Thorin had Bella's words go through his mind.

"Bella, come on the Elves brought us snacks." Ori said.

"Ms. Boggins you have to tell us the rest." Kili said with a smile.

"Hmm...now where did I left off?"

"You had met your friend Mike." Fili said.

"Right, so I followed Mike and we arrived at my old school, the one where I studied to be a healer." Bella said. She could feel Sherlock come back to her side, she did not notice that Thorin was looking at her and the light that was at her side.

"We arrive and I was informing Mike that it was different from our day, now there he was sitting paying not mind to us, then I heard his voice.

Mike can I borough your phone."

Bella had to stop to explain to the group what a phone was and they were surprised, before she could continue her story.

"I found out later that he had lied, that he had his phone in the pocket, but I didn't know, so my next words were

Here, you can use mine. He thanks me and Mike of course introduced me, and he said the next words that would change my life forever.

Afghanistan or Iraq? - I was confused of course, why would anyone mention anything like this. I asked him.

Which one was its Afghanistan or Iraq? - I told him it was Afghanistan and ignored the question kept asking me questions. I believe that Mike had informed him about me, he began to tell me- I told Mike this morning I must be a difficult man to find a flat-mate for and now here he is just after lunch with an old friend clearly just back from military service in Afghanistan, it wasn't a difficult leap."

"Wait, how did he know about Afghanistan?" Fili asked.

"That is exactly what I asked him and he said: I know you're an army doctor and you been invalidated home from Afghanistan, I know you have a brother who's worried about you, but you wont go to him for help because you don't approve of him, possibly because he's an alcoholic more likely because he recently walked out of his wife and I know that your therapist thinks your limp is psychosomatic quite correctly I'm afraid, enough to be going in don't you think, the name is Sherlock Holmes and the address is 221b Baker Street."

"Just like that?" Ori asked.

"No, that is how we met but that is not the entire story we bonded over a dead body and life being save."

#

Bella went back to her room after she finished her story, almost jumped when Glorfindel popped out of nowhere.

"For the love of Yavanna!" Bella said.

"You were distracted." Glorfindel told her.

"I'm just thinking."

"Yes, about your academic pursuits." Glorfindel said with a smile.

"Gossip, Fin, that is a bad look." Bella said with a smile.

"Erestor, wants you to spend time with us."

"I always do, everyone thinks that you and Erestor adopted me." Bella said. They began to diverge from her room. They both didn't notice that Thorin followed Bella and noticed them together once more.

#

Thorin walked back and met with Balin and some of the others.

"You look worried my King." Balin said.

"I saw Belladonna with the blond elf that took her from us." Thorin said. Balin and Dwalin who happened to be there looked at each other.

"You worried about Miss Baggins, but Gandalf has made it clear that she comes to Rivendell many times."

"We should be asking if she is trust worthy." Thorin mentioned.

"She is trustworthy, she would have informed the Elves of our plans but she herself told the Head Elf that we were going to the Iron Hills and she was going with us." Dwalin told him.

"Can it be that you worry that Bella will not come with us when we leave?" Balin asked.

"I don't know what you are speaking of." Thorin said. "Now we should rest."