"What beautiful hair you have, Diena."
Diena smiled. "Thank you Arwen. It still doesn't compare to your elven hair though."
She had been scrubbed all over. Her body was sore and her cuts hurt from being washed.
So there she was, watching Arwen do her hair in a mirror. Apart from the bruise on her cheek and the cut right by her eye, Diena's skin had never been this clear.
"There, done!" Arwen said, smiling at her work.
Diena looked in the mirror and gasped. She barely recognized herself. What would she look like when she put on the elven dress? Would she look like an elf?
She got up and danced around. Arwen laughed. Her laughter sounded light, like bells ringing.
After her dance, Diena was out of breath. She flopped over onto the bed. Arwen flopped down beside her and laid her head onto Diena's shoulder.
"We need to find something for you to wear to dinner." said Arwen, standing up and walking over to the armoire in the corner, she pulled out three dresses. "I like the blue one, it would go well with your eyes and complexion."
"Whoa, these dresses are for me to wear?"
Arwen nodded yes.
They put the blue one on her. It didn't fit her that well so they switched her into a white one. Diena let out her breath as she looked into the mirror.
Wow, she thought, Is that me?
The dress was low cut and it had short sleeves. It was tight around the waist and showed off Diena's nice figure. It trailed softly behind her.
"Go now, otherwise you'll be late. I'll meet you outside the dining hall alright?" Arwen left the room.
Diena started trying to find her way to the hall. She turned a corner and promptly ran into a child.
"Nice one, Pip," Merry commented.
"Ah, what the hell are you?" she asked them, stepping back.
Merry bowed and said, "We're hobbits, milady. Shire folk. We've come to see Aragorn and Legolas. My name is Meriadoc and this is Peregrin." He pointed to the other hobbit. "Known as Merry and Pippin for short!"
Pippin stood up, muttering about how he always got trampled. "First by the elf and now by a lady."
"Hello, I'm Diena. I was just trying to find my way to the main dining hall and as you can tell, I am completely lost." explained Diena. "I'm supposed to meet Lady Arwen there and I don't want to keep her waiting."
"Don't worry, Lady Diena, we'll get you there! In fact, that's where we're going." Pippin took her hand and started to pull her the opposite direction she was going.
Diena almost pulled away from his hand. She dreaded being touched. In fact, Arwen was one of the only people she had let touch her.
Pippin dragged Diena around until she was thoroughly confused. Finally she saw a big door. Arwen was standing in front of it, looking impatient. As soon as she saw Diena, she smiled. "I see you have met Pippin and Merry."
"Lady Arwen, how have you been?" Merry asked her.
"I have been fine, and you?" Arwen laughed slightly.
"Never better!"
"I have been," Pippin interrupted, "I'm hungry!"
Laughing again, Arwen led them into the dining room. Legolas, Elrond, and some other elves Diena did not know were already seated. Excusing themselves for being late, the hobbits, Diena, and Arwen sat down.
Elrond greeted them. After little conversation, Elrond brought up Diena. "Where are you from, Lady Diena?"
God, why does everyone call me Lady? I'm not a lady! Don't they understand this?
"I am not from around here, sir," she replied.
"What is your story?" Elrond tried again.
"I do not have a story, sir."
"Everyone has a story." Finally Legolas spoke.
Diena turned her head and looked at him. "My story is horrible, you would not want to hear it."
Arwen took Diena's hand. "Of course we would, Diena. Please tell us."
"When I was born, my mother was only fifteen. My father was much older than her and he would not take responsibility for me." Diena sighed. They actually looked as if they wanted to hear what she had to say.
"My mother could not look after both of us, let alone herself. So she sent me away to an orphanage," The elves looked confused, "I was very young. The people at the orphanage sent me to a new family. They were very kind to me. I lived with them for many years, until I was fourteen years old. When I was fourteen, there was an accident. They were killed. I was alone again." Diena heard Arwen gasp.
"I was sent back to the orphanage. They sent me to a different family. They were not kind to me. The woman hit me. The man abused me sexually. If I didn't do something right, I was beaten. It went on and on until one day, I ran away. I was on the street, I was cold and hungry all the time. To buy food I had to do horrible things. I sold my body so I could stay alive."
"I lived like that for about a year. Then I was picked up by the police." Again the elves looked confused. "They took me back to the orphanage. They had found someone to take me. It turns out it was my Grandmother. She had been trying to find me for many years."
"I was sixteen. I lived with her until this year, when she died. Before she died, she gave me this." Diena grabbed her necklace, which she was still wearing. "If I have to go back home, I don't know what I'll do. They won't let me live by myself. I'll have to live on the street again."
Finally, Diena looked up. Arwen had tears running down her face. Elrond looked shocked.
Legolas was amazed at this girl in front of him. She has just told them the horrible story of her life, and yet, she wasn't crying. The only emotion she had shown was regret. Regret for wasting her life away like this.
He looked her right in the eyes. She stared blankly back at him. She felt no need to cry. Arwen, who sat on one side of her, took her hand again.
"I am sorry, Diena."
Diena merely shrugged and picked up her fork. She took a bite of food. It was something she had never tasted before. Silently she chewed, looking at her lap.
When she finally looked up, she saw most people eating but Legolas was sitting there, watching her. He saw her looking at him, gave her a grin, and started to eat again.
What does he want? she silently asked herself. There was something about him, under the surface, that she couldn't quite place.
A/N: The fluff is coming! Fluffer-fluff! Yay! I can't wait! But I warn you, I am not that good at writing fluff. I'll try my best though, don't worry! Like the cute little Hobbitses? I did! Aww, little Pippin!