(A/N): Salut! Ca va? Anyways… first of all, I need to apologize for that last chapter; I know, it wasn't my best. In fact, it down right sucked ass. I just kinda rushed through it because, well whatever. No reason except for being lazy…bad excuse I know.

Second of all…THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! YOU ALL ARE WONDERFUL! Seriously, I value all of y'alls input so much. The person who signed in as "ME", thank you for your review. It kinda scared me. I'm now trying really hard to not make this a Mary-Sue, which means I won't be able to update as fast - because the quicker I update, the more lazier I become, and the lazier I become, the more Mary-Sueish this will become. I'm sure you all can appreciate that. Also, if ANY bit of this starts to become really Mary-Sue, PUH-LEASE tell me. I took the Mary-Sue quiz and I had 17 points. It was that damn magically-transported-modern-day-character-into-middle-earth thing that did me in. That was a whole 10pts. Anywho, for those who wanted to know, this is taking place about 1 ½ - 2years before Bilbo's 111th birthday party.

Another thing, I know you all will be very happy to hear this…there will be absolutely no romance w/ any character! Especially Legolas. If there is any romance, which is about as likely as me changing my sex to male, it will be w/ a man! Yes, no elf or cute cuddly hobbit. No Aragorn or Boromir or Faramir etc... And it will be just a mere detail that's not important. So unimportant that I'm probably not gonna do it and I'm going to stop rambling and go on with the next chapter! Here we go……..

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing, nothing! 'Cept Bella, Laitaan, and Novcristiel (aren't those pretty names? I love 'em!)

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       After Bella turned the corner, she was led down yet another long corridor. The Merry Man who was leading her stopped half way down the hall and turned sharply to his right. Bella stopped abruptly behind him knocking into him. The Merry Man gave a sharp look back and Bella mouthed a "Sorry". He turned back around and addressed yet another Merry Man who looked like a messenger of some sorts; he was much younger then the other Merry Men.

       "MMIT's," Bella thought. "Merry Men in Training." Bella entertained herself with this thought until her guide, guard, however you looked at it, started to talk to the MMIT in yet another language she did not understand, only this language was much more elegant sounding, and very soothing to the ear. When her leader had finished speaking the MMIT hurriedly went down the long corridor. The Merry Man than seized Bella by the arm and turned down another hall to their left.

       When they got to the end of the hall Bella realized that she had been led back to her room. The guard placed her inside and then stood guard in the open door way Bella sat on her bed and stared cautiously at her guard, puzzled upon why the door was left open and not locked like normal. But within a few minutes time a woman appeared with a wicker basket. Bella felt her jaw drop when she saw the woman. She was very tall, and her skin was as smooth and as pale as the purest ivory. Her eyes were diamond blue, and her lips were the perfect rouge. Her long golden hair fell in waves down her back and flowers adorned it. She wore a long, white gown that seemed to glitter in the light, and it was embroidered in gold designs. It also appeared as if the woman glowed with a radiant light.

       Bella immediately felt ugly and shifted uncomfortably on the bed. This woman was gorgeous. The woman walked up to Bella and placed the basket on the bed next to her.

       "Stand up," the woman commanded. "My name is Laitaan. I am here to measure you so I can make you more appropriate garments. Now please, stand." Her voice was hard, and she didn't bother to look at Bella. Instead, Laitaan went to her basket and pulled out measuring tape, paper, and a pen of some sort. "Come, come, I don't have all day," she said quickly. Despite the tone of her voice, the sound of it was quite melodic, and soft to Bella's ears.

       Bella stood up feeling awkward. "Step forward," Laitaan commanded. "Now, hold your arms out straight. Good. Now don't move." While Laitaan was measuring Bella, a line of MMIT's came in carrying steaming buckets of water and filled her tub. Bella watched them as they silently worked. She began to notice similar qualities in everyone she saw here. They all seemed to have a faint glow to them. They all seemed so, angelic-like in a way. They moved with ideal grace and all of their voices sounded like music.

       "Inhale," said Laitaan. Bella inhaled nervously as Laitaan measured her bust. "Okay, exhale." Bella did and moved around embarrassedly. She felt so inferior and she felt her face flush a little. Soon Laitaan was done and another maid entered the room. She was just as beautiful as Laitaan. Her hair was long and amber colored and shined like the sun. Her skin was a tad darker, but flawless just the same. She wore a gown of soft purple with a sliver tie around her waist and silver embroidery along the edges.

       She walked up gracefully to them. Laitaan and the maid exchanged kind glances, and then Laitaan looked back at Bella. "You will have some new garments by this lunch this afternoon," she said, and turned and walked out the door.

       The new maid stood in front of Bella and inspected her. "I am sent here to be your maid*,"she said. "I will instruct you and be your guide during your stay here in Rivendell. My name is Novcristiel."

       "You're name is beautiful," she said. "I'm Bella." Her voice was low and quiet.

       "Well, now that introductions are over please disrobe. Your bath is ready."

       Bella's mind stirred. "You mean you just want me to undress right here? The door is open." Bella stammered.

       "Well I did not mean for you to do it right there, I meant for you to in the washroom. Now hurry, Lord Elrond is expecting you," Novcristiel replied and made her way into the bathroom. Bella followed warily in making her way to the back corner of the room. Novcristiel took a bench and brought it to the door and sat down.

       Bella slowly undid her belt and slid her flip-flops off. "Is it really necessary for you to be here?" she asked. "I know how to bathe on my own."

       "Oh really now, don't be a problem. Hurry while the water is still hot," replied Novcristiel. But she turned her head and looked out the door into the bedroom; she was not intent on watching Bella in the first place.

       Bella then quickly took off her clothes and slipped into the tub. The water was hot and steamy and had a lavender aroma floating about it; it was wonderful. Bella sighed and leaned back, letting her hair get completely wet. She hadn't felt so wonderful in a long time and she let herself relax. But she wasn't able to relax for long until Novcristiel was nagging her again to hurry.

       When Bella finished she looked about everywhere for a towel. "Excuse me, Novcristiel," Bella said weakly. "But, I cannot seem to find a towel."

       Novcristiel stood up and went to a cupboard on the right corner of the room. She walked over to the tub and held it up between her and Bella. Bella quickly got out and wrapped herself in the towel, all the time feeling ugly compared to Novcristiel. "I must look like Janet Reno compared to her," thought Bella.

       "I'm afraid your clothes are not finished and so you must slip back into your former apparel. I beg you to wear this robe, however, to make your appearance more suitable," Novcristiel said taking a robe from the armoire. She handed the robe to Bella and left into the bedroom so she could change.

       Bella wrapped her hair into the towel so it could dry and then slipped back into her jeans and tank top. She picked up the robe and put it on. It fell to the ground and was soft to the touch. It was a forest green color with simple gold designs around the sleeves. It was nice, but no where near as glamorous as the other two ladies clothes.

       When she had finished dressing she took her hair out of the towel and let it fall damp upon her shoulders. She walked out of the bathroom just as Laitaan was entering with a dress.

       "I made this one quick so that you could be more presentable at your meeting with Lord Elrond this afternoon. You shall receive more tomorrow," Laitaan said handing Bella the gown. She turned back to Novcristiel and spoke something Bella didn't understand. They smiled and Laitaan then turned and left the room.

       "Now hurry and get dressed girl, and bring the robe back to me since you will not be needing it at the moment," said Novcristiel. Bella took the robe off and handed it to Novcristiel; she then took her dress into the bathroom and put it on.

       The dress fell to the floor covering her feet. The skirt was a heather blue of soft material. The top cut down low in a square-cut, and the sleeves were long and white. What appeared to be a black corset, Bella didn't know, was at her upper waist and tied at the bottom of it (okay, think Briar Rose aka sleeping beauty sort of dress. It's pretty plain.).

       She walked over to the mirror on the right wall and looked at her self. She twirled around feeling like a little girl playing dress up. Even though the dress was much plainer, and a lot more conservative than what she normally wore, she loved it. In the midst of her twirling Novcristiel came in and interrupted.

       "Will you quit twisting about like a silly child," she snapped. "We've got to fix your hair before your meeting with Lord Elrond. Come now." Bella could feel her face turn bright and she quickly covered her face with her hands and she followed Novcristiel out the bedroom. She began to mentally beat herself up. "Oh God," she thought. "I've gone and made a fool of myself; acting like a three-year-old. I'm so retarded."

       Novcristiel led Bella into a very warm and sunny room with ivy hanging about. Bella's hair began to dry rather quickly upon entering the room and within five minuets it was completely dry. Amazed, Bella tousled with her hair to see if it really was dry.

       "Sit down," commanded Novcristiel. Bella did as she was told and Novcristiel came up behind her with a jar. She took of the lid and placed it on a table next to her. A gentle aroma of honey wafted through the air, intensifying the summer feeling to the room. Novcristiel took a goop of the mixture in the jar and rubbed it together, covering her palms and fingers with it. She then ran her fingers through Bella's hair. When she was finished, Bella's hair was smooth, and it shined like the hair in Herbal Essences commercials. Novcristiel went to a basin and rinsed her hands off. She then grabbed a piece of blue string and took partial bits of Bella's hair from the sides and tied them in a small, half pony-tail.

      "There," she said when she had finished. "You're presentable. Now, it's time for your meeting with Lord Elrond. Follow me." Bella got up quickly and followed Novcristiel through the winding hallways. They finally reached the end of a hallway and walked under a huge archway into a large room with a table. There, at the head of the table, sat Lord Elrond, waiting for her.

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*maid= I don't mean Novcristiel to be a maid like a servant. She's there to wait on her and to keep an eye on her since Bella isn't trusted. C'mon, would you trust a complete stranger that dropped in w/ something like a car? Especially if machines weren't invented yet? Didn't think so.

Anyways...dull chapter. I might write more tonight. I would've written more in this chapter but I really didn't want to make it a looooooooooooong chapter. Well, anyways. Review and I love you. Mean reviews will be used to burn my AP Biology book.