A/N: Would you believe that I am back with another chapter! Please enjoy it!

Chapter Fourteen

They spoke through the night, her and Thorin. About all manners of things. The revisited childhood memories that Ellie had almost forgotten about until Thorin mentioned it. Then they laughed and it was the first time that Ellie had laughed genuinely and heartfelt in a very long time and she could tell it was the same for Thorin.

For the first time since this whole journey began and since they were kids, they were able to simply just enjoy each other's company.

A part of Ellie worried that by the time she woke up, she'd either be somewhere else or Elrond's magic somehow wouldn't work anymore.

Fortunately, when the day's first rays of sunlight shone through the large open bay windows, Ellie was still in her bed and still in physical form.

Thorin had told her that they would be in Rivendell for just about two weeks, until Midsummer's eve and that Elrond had welcomed them as guests. Ellie heard a bit of skepticism and mistrust in Thorin's voice and she was reminded of the dislike between elves and dwarves of which she had been told when they were younger.

Still, surely not all elves were the same and Elrond seemed kind. Ellie had a feeling that he certainly wouldn't share his magic with her unless he genuinely wanted to.

Simon used to sometimes tell Ellie that she was too naive and trusting of people. He'd say that just because they did kind things, it didn't mean that they always had her own best intentions at heart. This would certainly be one of those moments, but she also wanted to trust her gut.

Her gut told her that nothing in Rivendell was bad and that she would do good to finally allow herself to just relax. After all, there was no telling when she'd next have the opportunity to just enjoy her time in Middle-Earth.

Today is the day Ellie would be introduced to the rest of the company. She was both excited, nervous and scared for all the same reasons. She had no idea if Thorin already told them about her in the years to come. Had they thought of her as nothing more than a figment of Thorin's imagination for all these years? Perhaps a sign of his slow descent into madness? Imaginary childhood friends simply did not come to life, even in a world so remarkable as Middle-Earth.

"Alright, Ellie. Let's just get this over with." Ellie said to herself, "Rip off the bandaid as Simon always said."

It was weird, Ellie thought as she finally got up from the soft mattress. She hadn't thought about Simon in a long time. Usually, thinking about him was followed by a wave of sadness washing over her, but not now. Instead, Ellie found herself wondering what Simon would have made of all of this. He always had an adventurous spirit.

One of the young, if there was such a thing as young elf, elf-maidens had left a pile of clean clothes which were exactly Ellie's size. Ever since she walked through the threshold into Middle-Earth, she'd been wearing the same clothes because well, it wasn't as if she'd had a need to change them, but now that she was in physical form that was also different.

After standing in front of the mirror and adjusting her dress for the millionth time, she exhaled a nervous breath and finally left the room.

XXXX

There was a certain kind of serenity to Rivendell that Ellie had never experienced anywhere else. She wondered if it was all a part of that elven magic, but she of course knew very little about that. More than anything, it was just a sense that she had.

She certainly hoped that these next couple of weeks would give her more time to explore every nook and cranny of the hidden valley.

"Is there nothing dwarves will not put a wager on?"

"Ah, Master Baggins - finally asking the important questions."

Thorin's voice boomed in a way that Ellie hadn't heard in a long time. It was followed by a hearty laughter and in the background she heard music.

"The answer to your question, Bilbo." said an older whitehaired dwarf who was sitting next to Thorin, "Is no. There's nothing that can't be turned into a wager, but sometimes depending on the delicate nature of a situation we might refrain from doing so."

"Rarely, in my experience." Gandalf mumbled as he reached for a hand carved wooden pipe from inside his robe.

Just as Gandalf spoke, the wizard caught Ellie's eyes and suddenly she felt as though everyone were staring at her. Which, of course, they were.

"Ah, Lady Eleanor." came Lord Elrond's voice as he walked up and stood next to Ellie. "I'm glad to see you're joining us for breakfast."

"Please, just call me Ellie." said Ellie, "I'm only ever Eleanor when I'm in trouble."

"Very well then, Ellie. Why don't you-"

Lord Elrond didn't have a chance to finish his sentence before Ellie practically ran into Gandalf's arms. After all this time, she had only ever known him as a teacher, a mentor and a guide and even though he had sent her on this journey, Ellie still had so much to talk to Gandalf about. There was so much she wanted to ask him about Vaire and the part the Valar had in all of this and she wanted to know more about why she was chosen, because she had a feeling that Gandalf knew more than perhaps he was letting on or simply could not talk about.

Perhaps not until now at least.

Instead, Ellie stood there and hugged Gandalf as if he was a grandfather whom she had not had a chance to see in a very long time.

"My dear child." Gandalf said as he looked at his wise eyes, "I am so glad you are here and we have much to talk about. Later."

Ellie nodded and quickly dried her tears, trying to not make a fool of herself.

"Now then, Ellie, might I introduce you to the rest of the table. Sitting right in front of you is Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. The reason why he's looking at you with wide eyes is because hobbits are not accustomed to seeing people, dwarves and elves in the same company."

Ellie noticed Bilbo's cheeks turned red and she couldn't help, but chuckle. She was looking forward to getting to know Bilbo and perhaps also apologize for making a mess of his hobbit hole and essentially spying on him without his knowledge. She wasn't sure if Middle-Earth had any particular laws about stalking, but she imagined it was frowned upon as much as it was back home.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ellie." Bilbo said and neatly placed a handkerchief next to his place.

"Then, there is of course the company of Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf explained, "Although, if I am not mistaken, you and Thorin are already acquainted with one another rather well."

Suddenly, all eyes turned to Thorin and as he stood up, Ellie swore she saw a bit of nervousness in Thorin.

"Is it true, Uncle?" one the younger blonde dwarves asked. His voice was curious, but also wary. "Do you know this woman?"

"Yes." Thorin replied, "Yes, I do. Ellie and I have been friends for a very long time."

"Then why have we never met or heard of her before?" a younger, dark haired dwarf asked. His voice was more mischievous than

"Because Ellie's family come from a place far away and I have not seen her since….well, for a long time."

"I did not think we were in the business of making friends with people." grumped a bald dwarf and Ellie instantly had a feeling that she was going to have a difficult time with him.

"I will only say this once." Thorin's voice was suddenly sharper than Ellie expected, "Ellie is more than a friend. She is family and while she is with us here, you will treat her as such. Have I made myself clear?"

Most of the mumbled 'ayes' in agreement and just as Ellie was about to sit down, the silence was interrupted again.

"Family, hmm?" it was the bald dwarf who spoke. "You speak of her as family, yet I have never heard you mention her. Not once. Not ever."

"Dwalin…." Thorin began, but Dwalin cut him off by slamming his fist into the table.

"No, you will listen to me, Thorin!" he hissed, "Do not take me for somebody who is blind or deaf. I have seen how you speak to yourself when you think nobody is watching. How you look for something that only seems to exist in shadow and when you are asked, you act as if it is nothing. I do not know if the rest of you cannot see what is going on, but this is not just a coincidence! This is a scheme! Probably carefully thought out by Gandalf and him! It is like you have forgotten the old stories."

"Dwalin, you are being unreasonable, my lad." said the whitehaired dwarf, "We all know that sometimes things are not what they seem and that is not always a bad thing."

"Well then it will be your doom, but it will not be mine."

"Oh come now brother-"

Dwalin ignored his brother's words and stormed off, leaving an awkward silence in the air and Ellie felt a knot turn in her stomach.

"Do not worry about my brother, dear." said the whitehaired dwarf. He had kind eyes and Ellie already liked him. "He has always had a bit of a temper and things have been a little tense of late. He will come around eventually. "

"I hope so." Ellie said, "I don't want to cause any problems."

"He is quite good at doing that himself. Now, why don't you sit down and tell me all there is to know about you. If Thorin has kept you a secret for so long, there must be an awful lot to know."

"I am going to regret this." Thorin mumbled, but not in a way that was all too serious and Ellie had a feeling that everything was going to be alright after all.

To be continued…

This is not the best chapter I've written, but things will get more interesting in Rivendell for the next few chapters, I promise.