"I wanna be a Kennedy I wanna be tall and handsome I'd conquer the world And you'd see me on television...

If I could be a Kennedy If I could be a big heartbreaker I'd watch you crash into my arms With the stars under the barrel of a gun We die young..."

--"I Wanna Be A Kennedy" by Kill Hannah (www.killhannah.com)

~ ~ ~

After the girl found wandering Rivendell had been put safely into a chamber (to keep her out of the way until Elrond decided what to do), Frodo awoke. A feast was arranged in his honor for that night.

"Sir," said Glorfindel to Elrond that afternoon, "what have you decided about the human maiden?"

Elrond thought for a minute, and replied thoughtfully, "It *would* be kind to let her partake in the feast and listen to the music in the Hall of Fire...but then, as we know not her meaning for coming here, and she appears to understand little, she might cause trouble."

"Perhaps it would be prudent tell the others to be kind to the girl, and explain things briefly," suggested Glorfindel.

"Yes, otherwise my children will be asking me why there is a madwoman in Imladris. A very good idea, Glorfindel. Do that, and meanwhile, I shall try to speak with her again." Elrond departed, leaving Glorfindel to spread the word.

"Elladan!" He seized his chance. "Do you think you can help me for a while..."

~ ~ ~

Laura lay on the bed in her new room, humming tunelessly. Nothing to do now but wait for Legolas to wander by. Man, she was hungry. Too bad there didn't seem to be a McDonald's nearby.

The dark-haired elf she had seen earlier knocked gently on the open door and walked in. He smiled and began to speak to her in Elvish.

Laura blinked, and decided it was time to confirm her suspicions about his identity. She pointed at him and inquired, "Elrond?"

He stared at her for a moment, and then a real smile replaced his comforting-an-ignorant-toddler look. He pointed at himself and declared, "Elrond Peredhil."[1]

Well, at least Laura now knew one elf around here. She indicated herself and informed him, "Laura." 'Oh, damn,' she thought after a moment. 'I should've used some Elvish-sounding name...like Mifferlifferthianelle or something.'

Elrond gave her a strange look. Her name seemed totally new to him. However, he shrugged off his surprise and spoke again, intent on seeing how much she knew. He motioned around at the landscape outside.

"Rivendell?"

He nodded, obviously pleased.

~ ~ ~

Ten minutes later, Elrond's happiness had worn away. This girl - "Laurah" - seemed to have no further understanding of anything in Arda, although occasionally she would begin to babble in her own alien tongue.

His attention snapped back to Laura as she motioned with her hands. She motioned again, bringing her hands to her mouth. Ah, she must be hungry.

Lord Elrond Halfelven, founder of Imladris, son of Earendil, descendant of Beren and Luthien, bearer of Vilya, the Elven-Ring of Air, was then reduced to working out a crude sign language with a complete stranger. Finally he managed to get across the idea that there would be a feast that night, quite soon. Laura did not seem quite satisfied with this explanation, but he quickly excused himself from her quarters.

Exhausted, he dragged himself over to his own rooms, and rummaged about in a cupboard until he found a glass bottle of miruvor. He took a generous swig and sighed heavily. This was going to be a long, long night...

~ ~ ~

"Father?" Elrohir knocked on the door. Without waiting for a response, he opened the door, continuing, "Elladan, Glorfindel and I just finished informing the household of the girl's presence, but Arwen won't believe us, she says we're just joking, would you come and talk to -" Elrohir stopped short of completing his sentence as he saw his father sleeping peacefully in a chair, an empty bottle on the floor.

"Dear Elbereth," muttered the elf.

"Oh, has Father been drinking again?" asked Elladan, entering the room closely followed by Glorfindel. All three looked harassed and tired. Elrohir nodded.

"Ever since your mother left for Valinor," sighed Glorfindel. "It's always the same: he gets overworked and overtired, and becomes lonely without Lady Celebrian around. I wonder how she's doing now," he mused.

Elrohir picked up the bottle from the floor. "I did think we'd found all Father's hiding places," he remarked regretfully. "Elladan, you'd best wake him up. Glorfindel, see if you can't convince Arwen we're serious."

Glorfindel winced. "Must I? Meaning no offense to your sister, but she kicked me in the leg last time."

~ ~ ~

Much, much later, an elf was sent to give Laura a dress to wear for the feast in Frodo's honor that night. She examined it. Oddly, it didn't have any flowing trains or anything that made it look particularly "in". The design was simple enough, but the fabric was decorated intricately in the most beautiful patterns. Then again, she mused, elves did have all eternity to make it.

Laura put it on and spent a few minutes modeling in front of the mirror. She backed up and twisted around to see the back better, but only succeeded in tripping over the hem and landing on the floor.

There was a soft knock on the door. Twin dark-haired elves walked in and cast her anxious looks. Laura completely forgot her bruises from her fall and practically melted at the sight of them. "Bishies," she mumbled blissfully, drooling. "So hot..."

No, no. Must stay true to Legolas, said her brain. Must ignore hot-hot elves and wait for your true love.

Her hormones disagreed. Those elves are so *cute*, they urged.

*No*! I can't! Besides, blondes like Leggy are hotter, Laura told herself.

That's true, her hormonal side admitted. Her overwhelming urge to glomp the two passed.

The first one coughed politely. Laura scrambled up and stammered, "Erm...hello?"

They smiled (and again Laura steeled herself against their looks). The second asked "La - Laura?" She nodded vigorously and began blathering on about a tragic, angst-filled past, but stopped when she realized they, too, did not understand her.

One of the elves pointed to himself. "Elladan."

The other did the same. "Elrohir," he added. Laura noticed he had a distinctly deeper voice than Elladan.

They motioned for her to follow them, and she hurried over, bumping into the bedstead and swearing under her breath on the way.

~ ~ ~

[1] Peredhil - it means "half-elven". Elrond's full name *is* Elrond Peredhil, as Arwen's is Arwen Undomiel ("Undomiel" meaning "evening star/evenstar").

And in case you were wondering, "bishie" is short for "bishounen", Japanese for "beautiful boy".

Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait, I've been really busy lately. I just came back from a week-long Latin convention in San Antonio, Texas. @_@ It's really, really hot there. (Stercus accidit.)

I was planning to include more in this chapter, but it would make for an even longer wait and is probably better left separated from this part. Sorry not too much happened in this chapter, but I'm building up towards the feast and Council.

A special thanks to all of the reviewers. ^_^ You go. Have some tprte! *hands it out*

--Lemonly Yakawashi--