The next few days blur by in a similar fashion. I wake up and go to my lesson in the morning after eating my morning meal with everyone. In the afternoon I explore around the city, sometimes by myself and sometimes with my friends. Hardly anyone speaks to me and most keep their distance. It is a bit disheartening but I'm happy with the friends that I have.

It is a few days later that I get my first period. I think it must have been delayed a bit due to the stress and the traveling but when it comes I don't want to leave my bed. Narriel finds me in the morning as I have made a mess in the bed.

"Oh do not worry Lady Kiera, we can just toss those out and get new ones. I brought you the undergarments and fabric a little while ago. Did you have time to see how they work?"

I shake my head and she opens up the drawer and grabs the fabric and undergarment. She shows them to me and I see there is a pocket in the middle. "The fabric slides into this area which holds it into place so it doesn't fall out. There are a few undergarments and I brought you a pile of fabric strips. I can take your beading and get you a new set as we probably can't get the stains out. I will get you some hot water so you can take a bath"

I nod and she takes the sheets with her and returns with the hot water. I take my bath and scrub myself clean before I get dressed. While I was expecting the underwear to feel a little bulky I was surprised by the thinness. It was about the same as wearing pads and I would just have to get used to this for the future. I am just glad I don't have to stuff a huge rag in my underwear.

The rest of the day went fine for my lessons and I am learning more words every day. By the time lunch rolls around I feel my cramps coming on. I eat quickly and go back to my room to lay down. I was about to take a few of my remaining Tylenol when Idril walked into my room with a steaming cup.

"Narriel told me you have your monthly. This is a herbal blend that helps some of the younger elves. I admit that I haven't had any pain with mine for years. My monthly only lasts about two days and it is very light. I know very little about mortals but do you always have pain during your time?"

I sit up in bed and take the cup from her. She sits across from me and I sip the warm concoction. It tastes like honey and lemon but it is not bad. "Sometimes it is painful and I have terrible cramps and other times it isn't bad. Mine only last three days but usually the first two are the worst and the last one is light. We have medicine in my world that can stop it but I haven't taken that in a while."

She nods and looks interested. "Some of the elves here chose to stop theirs. Most of the married mothers don't have theirs as they are done having children. We can control if we want to have a monthly or not. If we stop it, it will take a few years for it to return. Many of the unwed females don't want to risk it if they meet a man and want to have children right away. I have heard of some having to wait five or ten years before they can have children after they bond."

"I don't wish to wait that long so I have mine regularly. It is not painful for me and it is defenses, very short. I hope this helps. I will leave you to rest as I need to speak to my father and help Tuor later at the house. If you feel better later, feel free to join us."

I thank her and drink the rest of the cup. She leaves and I wrap myself in the warm blankets as I drift off for my nap. When I wake up later I feel so much better. I joined Tuor and Idril as they were cleaning some of the rooms in the house.

The next two days were not bad as long as I had my morning cup of medicine. At least for the future, I wouldn't have to worry so much about my period. It was a little odd washing the fabrics in the tub but the material was easy to clean and they dried fast.

The remaining week and a half I spent at my lesson, cleaning the house, shopping for furniture, and finally writing down the things I remember about the city. I had to use some code names in case anyone happened to read it. I considered writing it down in my phone but if that were to ever break I would be screwed. I racked my brain for days in the afternoons trying to remember anything that might be helpful.

I remembered quite a bit but I knew it wasn't enough. I only filled three pages of broken notes about people. I used Harry Potter references to help me remember. Barty Crouch Jr. gets cap, sells out to Voldemort. Wormtail is a coward and helps Barty. Dumbles hides in the astronomy tower. Fred fights death eaters and snatchers. Kills many snatchers with the wand, sacrifices himself against death eater. George fights the death eater. Death eater grabs hair and falls. Harry, Ron, and Hermoine escape through whomping willow with a child. The rest of Hogwarts escapes?

I knew I would have to make sure the tunnel was built and that I helped with that in the future. I had a few plans but nothing concrete yet as I still had some time.

All of my days started to blur together and I honestly didn't think it had been two weeks yet. I walked into our main meal area and was surprised to see Ecthelion joining us for our morning meal.

He smiled at me when he saw me and said, "good morning Lady Kiera. I'm back from the gates and was wondering if you were free this evening to share that story with me."

I took my seat and everyone smiled at everyone. "Yes, I am free in the afternoon. Honestly, I didn't think it had been two weeks yet but I am glad for a bit of a change. Did everything go well at the gates?"

I start to eat my meal as he answers me. "Yes, we closed up most of the gates including the golden gate. We kept the gate of steel open as the guard's quarters are between the two gates. There will be a few elves that will be patrolling the furthest gates but they will all reside in the guardhouse by the gate of gold. Most of the guards are going to be returning and we will have to work out a new rotation for them around the city walls."

Idril asks "are many of the guards happy to be back in the city? I know some of them wished to have more guard time on the walls over the gates."

He sighs and pushes his food around his plate. "Yes, most of the guards are happy to be back in the city. There were many cheers as the gates were closed. I understand their happiness but a small part of me will always want guards stationed at the gates."

Idril frowns at him and crinkles her nose. "You disagree with my father then? You wish for the gates to remain open for an attack?"

He glances around the table and I can see he is holding back his answer. "I would prefer if Morgoth's armies came through the gates. We have better defenses there and can close up gates as they approach or lure them in to attack. We could stop the armies and buy time for the citizens to escape through the mountain pass. If we close up the gate and his armies find us, they will come over the tops of the mountains. We will be surrounded and our only hope is to win or else there will be no escape for the people."

Idril looks at him with a pointed glare. "Have you discussed this with my father and Glorfindel? Surely they would agree with you if your plan had merit."

Ouch, I think. That was very rude of her and from my limited knowledge of the fall that is exactly what happens. I see Ecthelion tense his shoulders and reply, "Yes, I have spoken at length with the king. Glorfindel agreed with me but the king ordered us to close the gates."

He turns her nose up to him and says "well I'm sure my father knows what he is doing. He is the king after all and he is looking out for the people of this city. I will stand by his decision and I think it would be best for you to do the same. There will be more guards around the city now and I trust in my father's judgment."

I see his shoulder slump and Tuor and Voronwë are watching the conversation intently.

I said, "I think his plan has merit and he is just looking out for the people. I was there when Lord Ulmo foretold his message to Tuor. This city will fall and I understand Ecthelion's reasoning as it makes sense. He is just doing his job as Lord of the guards and warden of the gates."

She turns to me now and asks icily, "and what do you know about defenses around a city? Your world is a paradise compared to here. You have never faced real hardship and you don't understand what it is like to face off against Morgoth. We are well protected here in this city and my father has given up a lot to protect us."

I give her an icy look back and say, "you know very little about my world and the hardships I have faced. My family has suffered greatly during a war in my world and you cannot begin to imagine the horror that they suffered. While my life has been relatively easy it is because my grandparents and parents fought for many years so I could be given those luxuries. I am incredibly grateful for their sacrifice and I know how much they suffered for it. Nothing good can last forever. My world had plenty of great kingdoms rise and fall due to pride and arrogance. Gondolin is no different, no matter who is king. If you excuse me I have a lesson to attend."

I look at Ecthelion who is staring at me in shock. "I will come find you in the afternoon."

The boys are looking awkwardly at the table while Idril is glaring at me but she says nothing.

I leave the room and I hope I didn't piss her off too much. She just irritated me as I didn't like the way she talked down to Ecthelion. He is just trying to do his job and she treated him like garbage because he dared to disagree with her father. I snort at that. I haven't seen much of her father in the last two weeks as he is holed up in his study most days. I can't imagine what he is working on but it certainly isn't running the city.

I push the morning issues aside as I focus on my lesson. Cadweth has taught me loads and she says I am progressing at a nice pace but it is difficult. The pronunciation and learning all the different words is a bit more complicated than I thought. She tells me that it will take at least two years before I will become proficient enough to speak to everyone. Even with the daily lessons and practice.

As lunch rolls around I wonder if anyone is going to be at the meal table. As I walk up I see it is empty except for Idril. This ought to be good. I take my normal seat and she drops her book on the table.

I could feel her glare on me so I looked up and met her eyes. "I didn't appreciate how you spoke to me earlier. You told me to tell you if you or I did something that bothered each other. Your words this morning bothered me and I didn't appreciate how you spoke to me."

I cleared my throat and met her stare. "I didn't like how you spoke to Ecthelion. You talked down to him and belittled him for answering a question you asked him. I could see he was debating on saying how he truly felt and now I know why. Why do you feel the need to question him about his opinion? He is just doing his job and what he thinks is right. He has a good point about the gates and you dismissed his opinion like it didn't matter unless Glorfindel agreed with him."

She folds her arms across her chest and pouts in her chair. "He has no right to question my father's judgment. He is only in charge of his house because he is good friends with Glorfindel. He is entitled to his opinion but shouldn't disagree with my father who gave him everything he has."

I stare at her in shock. "Do you hear yourself right now? He is not allowed to have an opinion about his job because your father gave it to him. If your father told everyone to jump off the king's tower would you blindly follow him because he is a king? Or would you question it because it is stupid? Does Maeglin always agree with your father? Does Glorfindel? They are allowed to disagree with him but not Ecthelion? Am I hearing this right?"

He huffs at me and says snidely, "they disagree with my father but they have a right to. He respects their opinions and so do I. Ecthelion should just be happy he has a lordship and he should do his job without asking questions."

"You disgust me. You sit there and treat him differently because he is not a noble-born elf. Here is a reminder for you, I'm not royalty either. Tuor's house is great but he was never a lord and neither is Voronwë. Is that how you look at us? Like we are beneath you and we can't have any opinion unless it is the same as yours? I wonder how you are going to react now that I disagree with you."

She sinks down in her chair and her face is blank with shock. "I am ashamed of you and I lost my appetite. If you will excuse me, I think I will go eat with the peasants. At least they will like me for who I am and not some bullshit title."

I don't even spare her a glance as I leave the table. I don't hear anything from her and I walk to my room to grab my phone. I want out of this palace and away from here as fast as possible. I grab my phone and charger just in case and exit out of the side door.

I walk to Ecthelion's house and I hope he will invite me for lunch as I am actually hungry. I look for him among the fountains but he's not here. His house doors are wide open and I walk in hesitantly but an elf speaks to me in the entryway.

"Good afternoon Lady Kiera, Lord Ecthelion told me you would be by today. He is in his study but are you joining him for the meal?"

"Yes, I'm hungry if that is alright. I don't believe I caught your name but could you tell him I have arrived."

"I'm Inthel, his main handmaiden for his house. I will escort you to his main table and then I will go get him. Please follow me."

She smiles at me and I follow her. She leads me to the high table in the dining room and pulls a chair closer to the main one. I sit down and she brings a plate and some silverware. "I will bring you a glass when the food is served but I will go get Lord Ecthelion."

I nod and watch the people in his house as she leaves. A few are giving me glances but they all seem friendly enough. I power on my phone while I wait and I see the battery has dropped to 83%. It should be fine though and I set it back on the table.

Ecthelion arrives and he gives me a warm smile when he sees me. He sits down next to me and calls for the meal to begin. It is just us at the main table so he strikes up the conversation immediately. "I want to thank you for defending me earlier this morning. I wasn't going to share my opinion as I had guessed Idril would be upset with me. I thought perhaps she might not say anything with you all present but I was wrong. It means a lot to me to hear you stand up to her and her words."

I cough awkwardly, "yeah I argued with her before I came here. I didn't like how she was talking about you and it made me angry. If she spoke about anyone like that in my presence I would have said something. I told her she disgusts me as I am not a noble-born and I am ashamed of her if that is how she treats people because of their title. She acted like you should be grateful to her father for giving you a house and lordship. She said you shouldn't disagree with him as you have no right to. I tried to explain how her words sound but I'm not sure it made a difference."

Ecthelion looks at me now with concern. "I wish you wouldn't have argued with her about me. I have dealt with the issue since I was given a lordship and this house. The king hardly acknowledges my opinion unless Glorfindel agrees with me."

He sighs and looks away from me. "I wish I could say Idril is in the minority but there are many of my fellow lords who feel the same. I am not a noble-born lord and thus I don't get to have an opinion unless it is the same as others."

"That's stupid and bullshit. You run your house well and you do a good job from what I have seen. It makes me so mad that people can be so stupid about something you have no control over. I came to this city with nothing and I am a nobody. Should I just agree with Idril even if she is in the wrong? I don't want to be friends with anybody who looks down on another for something they can't control. It hits too close to home for me and my family."

He gives me a small smile and says "I'm not sure how Idril will react to your words. I hope she changes her ways but I do not know. If you don't mind me asking what happened in your world and to your family. You spoke of it earlier this morning as well."

I frown at him but say, "my grandparents grew up during a terrible war. They were targeted by a group of horrible people who believed they were the superior race. My grandmother lost her entire family for something she couldn't control and my grandfather as well. Those people treated them worse than animals and the horrors they endured all because of something they were born into."

"My world wasn't always as great as it was. My country treated people with different colored skin less than humans and women didn't have rights for a long time. My grandparents and my parents both fought in the civil rights movement for everyone to be given equal rights. My grandparents were very outspoken against people who treat others differently. They raised me to be the same and I won't tolerate it from anyone including my friends."

"I am sorry to hear that but I am glad that you believe so strongly about it. Many in my house don't fit in anywhere else and I accept them all no matter who they are related to. I can see now why you have taken such a liking to Celebrimbor as he is a good person. I hope Idril comes around and changes her way of thinking. Perhaps you can help with that as her friend."

He gives me a stern look, "while I am grateful for you speaking out against Idril, I do not want you to pick fights because of me. I have endured this problem since the beginning and the people won't change. This is the way our society has been since the beginning and as much as I agree with you, it would take more than just us to make a difference. I would rather focus my time on running my house well and giving everyone in it an equal opportunity."

I sigh and he smiles at me. He reaches out and squeezes my arm, "I greatly admire that about you, but you will be fighting a losing battle in this city. Focus on the smaller battles that you can win and help your friends become better people as I am sure they will help you. Now let's finish eating and then we can take a walk in the gardens by the fountain so we can find a quiet place for your story. I am very excited to hear it."

He removed his hand and we chatted about lighter topics. Once we were done he offered me his arm. We walked out into the courtyard and over the bridges into the garden. It was quiet here and there were only a couple of elves walking around. He led me over to the lakeside and I saw some of the swans swimming. He took off his cloak and spread it on the ground for us to sit on.

He looks at me eagerly and I laugh at him a little. "Now this is my favorite story and it is about a boy named Harry Potter. There are seven books total and you might not understand some things as they are from my world but I think you will get most of it. I will stop at the end of every chapter so you can ask questions. If you don't like it by the end of the first story please just tell me. I have a few other stories I could read to you instead but I think you will like it."

He nods excitedly and says "I will, but If it is your favorite, I think I will like it."

I open up the first book on my phone and he looks curiously at it. I clear my throat and begin to read, "Chapter 1-The boy who lived."

At the end of the first chapter I look up and he is watching me mesmerized. "What is a drill? "What is a professor? "Can she turn into a cat at will? What is a muggle? "Who is Voldemort? "What is a motorcycle?" He asks me in rapid-fire and he struggles on Voldemort's name.

I laugh at his eagerness and he waits patiently for my answer. "A drill is hard to explain but it's not that important to the story. Basically, Uncle Vernon works for a big building that makes the same thing over and over again. A professor is another name for a teacher. Harry will go to a school with lots of different teachers. A muggle is someone who doesn't have magic. Voldemort is a bad wizard and I won't say any more now. A motorcycle is a thing that moves really fast and usually, one or two people ride on it. They don't fly in my world but in this story they do. Do you want me to keep reading?"

"YES! I love it so far, I have many questions but I am enjoying it."

I start the next chapter "Chapter 2-The vanishing glass." I finished the chapter but Ecthelion just said, "I don't know what a lot of those things mean but I would like it if you keep reading. I am engrossed in the story now and I want to hear more."

I nod and keep reading. The next few chapters fly by and I glance up occasionally and see he is watching me with awe on his face. Before I read the chapter on Diagon Alley I asked, "I hope that answers some of your questions?

He nodded enthusiastically. "Please keep reading."

I started reading again and he gasped when I read about Gringotts.

"Goblins?" he screeched.

Oh yeah, shit. Well, I better explain this. "They are not like the goblins in this world. They are very smart and cunning in this story and they run the bank." I cough awkwardly. "There are elves in the story as well but they are not like you. Please don't get mad about it."

He shrugged, "What would make me upset? I was just surprised to hear about goblins."

Oh yeah, the elf thing probably won't go over well but I have until the next book. I keep reading and he lays down next to me with his hands behind his head. He watches me with amazement and he begins to relax as he listens. I finish the sorting hat chapter and I ask him, "which house would you want to be in?"

His eyes sparkle as he sits up on one of his forearms. "I am not sure. I agree with Harry, anything but Slytherin. I like Gryffindor but I also like Hufflepuff, which house are you in?

I laugh at him, "Hufflepuff."

"It suits you. You are patient and kind as well as loyal. I think I would fit in there as well but the fighter in me would like Gryffindor. I love this story already and you just started. Please keep going."

I nod and start to read the next couple of chapters. I stop at every chapter end but he just shakes his head for me to keep reading. As I was reading the Quidditch match chapter, Ecthelion started to gasp as I read. He was fully absorbed in the story now and when I glanced at him, his eyes shone in excitement and he was hanging onto every word.

Hours had passed and the sky was starting to get dark. I finished up the book and waited for his questions but I asked him first. "So how did you like it?"

He sits up and smiles a huge smile. "I loved it. I loved the story and the characters. Everything about it, even the parts I didn't understand. You said there were seven in total?"

I nod and smile back at him. He sits up fully and crosses his legs and sits facing me. "What are Halloween, Christmas, and Easter? They seem like festivals but they are strange."

I laughed. "They are holidays that we celebrate in my world. Halloween is where children dress up in costumes of either animals, monsters, or characters from stories and go door to door asking for sweets. It is a strange holiday but it is fun. Christmas is another one celebrated for the birth of a savior for my world. Families get together and give each other gifts and have a large dinner. Easter is another holiday for the same savior who we celebrate coming back from the dead. All of them are for religious reasons, sort of like your festivals for the Valar here."

Satisfied with the answer he keeps going, "why does Hagrid want a dragon? How is Voldemort alive if Harry was supposed to have defeated him when he was a baby? Are there more things like the Sorcerer's Stone? Who doesn't Harry stay with Ron's family? Why did Harry's parents die in the first place? Does he not have any other family besides the Durselys?"

Oh lord, he is too smart and perceptive. "Hagrid has a fascination with magical creatures including dragons. You'll find out how Voldemort survived later on in the series. Harry can't stay with Ron's family due to something that happened the night his parents died. You'll find out more about his parents later and now he has no other family besides the Durselys."

He groans now and says, "how am I going to wait days to know the answers. It is quite the mystery and if the rest of the books are anything like this one, I will enjoy them all."

I have a thought and I open up my photos on my phone. I scroll until I find the ones that I want and I show Ecthelion. "In my world, this is a popular story so they recreated it. It is hard to describe but when I turned 18, my grandmother took me to this place they built for the series. Here is the train that they ride to Hogwarts." I show him my phone and he looks at it in awe.

"Magnificent. It looks like a painting but it is so crisp and vibrant."

I laugh and pull the phone back to take a photo. "Smile!"

He smiles at me and I snap a photo. He tenses at the flash and blinks rapidly after. I show him the photo and he stares at it dumbstruck. "That's me," he stutters.

"Yup, we call it a photo. This is my phone that holds music, books, and photos. We use it to communicate with people all around the world but it doesn't work anymore in this world. It's kind of hard to explain but I can still take photos of people and show you things from my world."

I hand my phone to him and he cautiously takes it. I touch the camera app and it opens up. I help him point towards the swans in the lake and I push the red button to snap a photo.

I click on the photo and he is in a state of amazement at the photo. "I was curious about how you were reading the book to me but this is beyond anything I could imagine. There are no words except it is like magic to me."

I laugh and take my phone back. "I wish magic was real but this is just technology. It took tons of intelligent people to create this and I don't even know how it really works. I will show you some of the photos I have of the trip my grandmother and I took."

I open up the photos again and Ecthelion coots closer to me and watches me over my shoulder. I scroll past photos until I find them. "This is Diagon Alley and this is Hogwarts." I show him the two photos and then I show him pictures of me and my grandmother.

"You look like her. You both look so happy in these photos. You must miss her terribly."

I nod and smile at him. "I do, but she passed away less than a year ago. She was always so full of life and love that I know she would want me to not be sad about her passing. She would want me to remember all the good times we had together."

He gives my shoulder a soft squeeze and he asks, "do you have any other photos of your family or your home?"

I nod again and scroll through until I find them. I show him all the photos of my family and my home. I find the pictures of my friends and he laughs at some of the cheezy photos.

It was completely dark out now and he says, "I would like to hear the rest of the stories and more about your family. Would you like to stay for dinner or would you prefer to head back to the palace?"

I smile at him but then sigh, "I would love to have dinner with you but I think I need to go back to the palace. I should see if I can find Idril and see if we can talk over a meal. I would be happy to read you the stories in the afternoons if you are not busy."

"I would like that very much. I will walk you past the fountains but I should be free in the afternoons for a while."

He helps me up and walks me past the fountains to the bridge. He gives me one last warm smile and we both go our separate ways.