(A/N): Hey! I'm back! I want to say thank you to all those who reviewed. I'm in heaven! I swear, I read all of yer reviews like 500 times each. I was so excited! Danceingfae, Lindriel, dragon, KarateElf, and poppy (my sis), thank you so much for reviewing. You all rock!
Disclaimer: I only own Bella an' da car. I don't own anything else.
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Bella sat on the marble balcony and let a warm wind wrap around her. It was almost dark and she had been locked in that room for hours. As she watched the last bit of sun dip behind the trees she heard the sound of key in the lock. Startled, Bella jumped up and backed away a bit. Once again butterflies returned to her stomach and her mind raced. "Oh God, they're coming for me. Should I run? No, where would I go? I could jump off the balcony, but where would that get me? It'd get me a broken leg and probably a chest full of arrows. Oh sweet Jesus. Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is…"
The door open and Bella's breath caught in her throat. A Merry Man walked inside with a silver tray and laid it upon her bed. He gave her a glance and then quickly left, locking the door behind him.
Bella walked over to the bed and took the lid off the silver tray. Bella let out a sigh of relief and the butterflies vanished. She laughed to herself. On the tray were a small loaf of bread, a hunk of cheese, an apple, and a tiny jug of wine.
"Well at least they don't plan on starving me to death," she said as she sat down on the bed and began to eat. She ate greedily, for she was starving. She hadn't had anything to eat all day; with the exception of that V8 she had in the morning.
When she had finished eating she laid the tray on the floor then lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. It was dark now and from outside she could hear the soft music of a harp. She closed her eyes. The air smelled of sweet summer, and the warm breeze soon lulled Bella off to sleep.
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The next day Bella spent the whole day in her room once again. It went along uneventful except for the Merry Man who brought her her meals. And much to her dismay, he only brought two. To her delight, during the day, Bella had finally figured out their plumbing system, which was actually like an outhouse; an out outhouse that didn't smell.
Bella spent the next ten days like this. Finally, on the eleventh day something happened. She was looking, listlessly, out the balcony when she heard footsteps coming, and a key in the lock. She figured it was her breakfast so she just continued to stare out at the waterfall.
When the door opened she heard two men enter. She turned around and one of them spoke while walking over to her and taking hold of her upper arm. He motioned with his head for her to go and he began walking towards the door, still holding onto her.
Bella was very confused but she had no choice but to go with them. The second man followed her with bow ready. They walked down a marble corridor and finally came into the room where she had seen the King about two weeks earlier. The two Merry Men stood her in front of the King, standing on both sides of her. They bowed and Bella once again curtsied, this time actually completing it with a bit of grace. She looked up at the King to see if this pleased him, but finding no emotion in his face she quickly looked down at the ground.
Then the King spoke and an ancient looking man stepped forward. He was dressed in all grey, and a long grey beard covered his face. In his hand he gripped a wooden staff and he wore an odd looking hat. His face was careworn, but his eyes seemed bright, and very wise.
Bella looked up at him as he walked towards her. Bella didn't know what to think. "Great," she thought. "I bet he's some ex convicted rapist, and now they're going to offer my body to him." Bella tried not to shake, and once again she began to meddle with her cross. The man came within a few inches from her and Bella glanced up slightly catching his eyes. But despite what her mind was telling her, when she looked into his eyes, her heart told her that there was no evil at all.
The man spoke to her. Bella didn't understand. Once again the man spoke to her. Bella shook her head to tell him that she did not comprehend. The old man then made a gesture for her to speak. Bella glanced nervously at the old man, then to the King, and then back to the old man.
She shifted slightly and then spoke. "Please, sir, I do not understand what you are saying to me. I don't understand. Please don't hurt me," Bella said as she kept tugging on her cross.
The old man then appeared very thoughtful, as if searching his brain for some lost memory. After a minute he shook his head and turned to speak to the King. The King answered and the old man nodded. He let his staff fall against the King's throne and then walked back to Bella. He thought for a moment and then he reached out his arm and laid his right hand on Bella's throat. Terrified, Bella began to back away quickly, but the Merry Men grabbed her shoulder's and held her in place. She tried to struggle but they were too strong for her.
"I'm going to die, I'm going to die!" Bella's mind screamed. Instantly tears flowed from her eyes and she lowered her head. The man then laid his left hand on Bella's forehead and began to chant. His voice was deep and powerful and it sent chills throughout Bella's body. It seemed that with each word, his voice grew louder. Soon, Bella's head began to swim, and she thought her legs would turn to rubber. All of a sudden the old man let out a final, bellowing word and Bella fell to her knees, her head throbbing, her throat aching.
The old man then reached out a hand. "Here, my dear. Let me help you to your feet again," he said with a hardly noticeable grin. Bella looked up quickly. Her eyes were wide and full of confusion and shock. "What…? Did he just…? Could it be…?" Her mind was cluttered, but she reached out her hand and let him pull her to her feet.
The old man saw the amazement on her face and his eyes smiled back at her. "Now that we have broken the language barrier," he said. "We can find out who you are, and where you have come from my dear. Come, tell us your name and we shall tell you ours."
Bella was silent for a moment. She stood gaping at everyone trying to find her voice. Finally, it seemed her vocabulary had come back to her and she answered. "My name is Bella. I…I…Where am I?" she said, her voice unsteady.
"You are in Rivendell," said the King. "My name is Lord Elrond, and this man whom stands in front of you is Gandalf the Grey."
"They're crackers," Bella thought.
"We have some serious business to attend to now, and we need you're full cooperation." Elrond looked at her sternly. "Now, we need you to tell us where you are from and how you got here. You will tell no tales, but only the truth, if you have your best interest in mind."
Bella opened her mouth to speak and then shut it again. "I don't know how I got her here," she thought. "He's not going to believe a single word I say." She glanced at Gandalf. He gave a smile and nodded for her to proceed. "But then again, who knows what they'll believe, they're crazy."
And so Bella began to tell Lord Elrond about her unhappy living conditions (she didn't go into specifics, seeing that it was her personal life and none of their business), about how she decided she was going to make a better life for herself, and how she was going to pursue her career. She told him about driving down the highway and the bright light, how she woke up in a forest, and then finally how she had ended up here in Rivendell.
The explanation went smoothly, every once in a while she noticed Gandalf and Elrond exchanging confused glances whenever she mentioned something like a car, or a stereo. When she finished Elrond still sat with a grim look upon his face, and stared at her.
"This is all very strange indeed," Elrond began. ""I have never heard of many of the things you have mentioned. But I can see you have told all that you have known, I fear." Elrond paused and thought for a moment. "We will be in need of much longer discussions, but I can see that you are weary and are in need of food, and maybe a bath." At the sound of the word bath Bella perked a little. "How wonderful to have a bath!" she thought. "I probably smell like a rotting cow."
"After that, we will find you more appropriate clothing to wear," said Elrond.
"What do you mean more appropriate?" Bella said defiantly without thinking. She looked down at herself. She had on a pair of low-rise denim flares, khaki flip-flops, and a white tank top. She wore less clothing at her job every night. This was normal.
"A lady should not be dressed so," stated Elrond.
Bella started to speak to defend herself but she was being led off by another Merry Man. As she walked off she glanced back at Gandalf and Elrond, who were deep in conversation.
"I'm in for quite a ride," she thought, and disappeared around a corner.
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(A/N): okay! I hope you all liked that! I figured that since Bella was from a different world than LOTR people, that even though there was a common language, English probably wasn't a language there at all. So, Gandalf had to do a little spell to break the language barrier, and well, now they can communicate. Yay!
If anyone has any suggestions, please offer them. I have an idea for an ending, but that's not gonna be anytime. I have sooooo much to right. It's insane how long this is gonna be so sit back and relax. We're in for the long haul!
Well, let me know what you think, if you review, I'll give you a hug, and if you give me mean flames, I will use them to warm my hot tub outside =)
