Chapter 2

Afternoon sunlight streamed softly through the open window. Her eyes fluttered open momentarily before they closed again to block out the delicate rays shining directly in her face. Such light she had never seen, pure and golden, unmarred and gentle.

"I see you have waken," a voice said gruffly, but kindly. The girl turned over and saw a wizened old man sitting beside her. His beard was long and curled over his chest, as did his great silver hair. He leaned back in his chair and gave another puff on his pipe.

She sat up uncertainly and blinked the sleep from her eyes. "Where am I?"

"You are in Rivendell, in the house of Elrond. You were found in the woods upon your horse," he told her.

"Who are you? And how fares my horse?" She felt a knot in the base of her stomach. What if they had found out where she was from? Who she was?

The man laughed. "Your horse is fine, under the best care of Mr. Samwise Gamgee. And I am Gandalf." He looked at her quizzically and raised an eyebrow. "But who, my friend, are you?"

She pushed herself higher in the bed. "Uh… Lorelai… Lorelai Underhill." She looked at him with wide eyes, wondering if he would dispute her claim.

Instead he smiled in remembrance. "Ah yes… Underhill…." Within a moment, his attention was once again rapt on her. "Now what is an Underhill doing out alone, so far from where I have known Underhills to be?"

"Oh… well…" she wracked her brain for an excuse. "Well, I sort of… ran away."

"Away?" He looked at her curiously and she quickly thought for a reason.

"Well, you see… I had heard wonderful stories… of the elves, and of grand adventures! And I wanted to go and see… for I had heard of their bravery and of their beauty and… and I wanted to see if they were all true…" she trailed off sheepishly. "But no one wanted to come with me. My family thought I was mad, and so we all ended up in a huge argument…" she hung her head, "… and I was told to never return."

"Ever?"

"Well… I said a few things rashly that I didn't quite mean…"

Gandalf nodded. "Yes… rather adventuresome for a hobbit… rather like our four…

/Hobbit?/ she wondered. /Is that what they call halflings here? Queer name…/

"How did you come to be infected?" he asked patiently.

"Infected? Is that what that powder was then?"

"Yes, a very strong poison, usually found only within the borders of Mordor. Do you know where that is?"

"Oh yes," she stopped when she saw him glance at her swiftly. "I saw a map before I left home…" she offered quietly.

He looked at her with expectation.

"Oh, yes… I was on my pony riding towards the Misty Mountains, when all of a sudden, this group of… beings were upon us! And then they knocked me off my ride, and stripped me of all my supplies! Food, what little weapons I had gathered, everything. And then this particularly disgusting one drew close to me and slit my arm and put this powder all over it, and then just began grinning at me, really evilly." Her eyes were wide as she tried to demonstrate her story. "My arm began to burn where they had cut me, and within moments they had gone and scared my horse away. I was so scared, Mr. Gandalf sir," she pleaded, "honestly. I found my ride and then began to head north. I figured at some point we'd have to find someone who could help, and near the end, I could barely see, let alone steer the horse. So really, it was by pure luck that I ended up here at all."

"Yes, my thoughts exactly," said Gandalf. He paused in thought before looking at her once more. "Well, I must be off now. Rest, and soon I assume you shall be up and about." He rose and headed for the door.

"Um, Mr. Gandalf?" she called meekly. He turned and watched as her eyes fell. "Who found me?"

"Another young hobbit, a Mr. Frodo Baggins," he said. "I fancy he and his friends will be here before long." He winked at her. "They have been very curious of you since your arrival last evening."

She smiled, and with a kindly grin, he exited. He hurried through the corridors and outside through the gardens. He didn't even notice Pippin and Merry seated in the lowest boughs of a tree beside the path.

"Where d'you suppose he's headed so quickly?" Pippin commented.

"Well, where was he before?" Merry said exasperatedly. He slowly realized what he had just said and his eyes raised to Pippin's in excitement.

"She's awake."

They both stumbled off the tree and began to run, looking for Frodo and Sam.

After much searching, they discovered them on a small bridge in the middle of a blissfully peaceful garden. The foliage created a soft canopy of warm earthy light, and the gentle splashes of their skipping rocks made it one of the most beautiful scenes to be seen.

"Frodo! Sam! She's awake!"

Frodo and Sam looked at each other before hopping to their feet and following Pippin and Merry up to the house. They ran upon nimble silent feet once inside to the door leading to her room. Merry nudged Frodo.

"You go first. You found her."

"Me? Well, I…" He started to say before Pippin opened the door and shoved him inside first.

The afternoon sun was dimming and a soft breeze rustled the long sheers over the adjacent balcony. The sunlight played gently over her face, over her closed eyes. She sighed softly in her sleep and Frodo cautiously stepped forwards. She seemed almost magnetic to him, as if he couldn't tear his eyes away from her, even in her sleep. He stepped closer once more and peered at her even steadier.

"Are you going to tell me who you all are, or do I have to keep pretending to be asleep?" she murmured and turned over to stare directly at Frodo. He quickly backed up and walked right into Pippin, who was leaning over his shoulder. His eyes were met with cold gray, like slate, like the hardest of steel possible. Her eyes sent shivers down his spine, but oddly entranced him and locked him into her stare. She quickly felt her face begin to flush and she dropped her eyes.

"So I guess by default you have to tell me who you all are then," she mumbled and pushed her long straight hair out of her face.

"Oh right. Well, I'm Frodo, and these are Merry, Sam and Pippin." He motioned to the others.

"Well then hello Merry, Sam, Pippin, and Frodo." She smiled at them. "I'm Lorelai."

Frodo still felt her cool glance sweeping over him. It was almost…

"So Lorelai, where are you from?" Pippin asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Oh… well," she began to pick at the edge of the blanket resting over her legs as she wracked her brain to think of the information she had been told back home, "well… I am from a town… called Bree…"

"Oh! We know Bree! We passed through Bree on our journey here!" Merry exclaimed as he sat beside Pippin.

"Well, I live very far outside of Bree, on the outskirts, far enough to almost not be considered Bree anymore," she burst, picking at the edge more feverishly. Sam glanced at her peculiarly. She raised her glance and smiled brightly. "So where are you all from?"

Before long, the quartet were describing their homes and families in great detail, as well as their journey so far. Lorelai just sat and listened to their stories carefully, trying to remember as much information about each of them that she could. /It may come in handy one day./ She sat listening intently as they described their adventures to her. Her eyes were continually drawn to Frodo's neck, where she had caught a glimpse of the golden ring they spoke of freely. Sam just sat beside Frodo, and rarely spoke, only to concrete the rapidly spoken points on behalf of Pippin and Merry.

None of them even noticed that the sun was sinking rapidly along the horizon. Soon the moon was the only source of light shining in brightly. No one even noticed the door creak open slowly.

"I see you are feeling better," a strong voice mused from the doorway. All turned to see Lord Elrond standing at the door. "I decided to come up to see you once these four didn't show up to dinner, a very unusual habit for them." Pippin and Merry stared at each other in fear they had missed a fabulous Rivendell meal. "I also wanted to see if you had completely wearied our guest even further than she already was."

"Oh, no sir, they were telling me of their life in the Shire and of many tales…" she said brightly. He smiled back at her. "There is dinner waiting for you downstairs," he told the foursome. Within a flash, they were on their feet and calling their goodbyes to Lorelai through the door. She tried to hide back her smile as he shut the door and sat in the chair beside her bed.

"Lorelai, my name is Elrond. I am Lord of the Rivendell elves, and this is our home."

"Lord Elrond, I can never repay my gratitude to you for your hospitality and your kindness." She dipped her head for a moment as a sign of appreciation.

He smiled as an Elven maiden entered and lit the torches upon the walls, creating a soft warm flickering light. "You have already repaid me in your quick recovery."

She smiled gently before speaking slowly, almost as if trying to work through her thoughts. "What is to become of the hobbits?"

Elrond looked down. "We shall see. It will be decided what is to become of your friends, if they should return to the Shire, or not…"

"Oh…"

"But do not worry of such things, child, there shall be time enough for this later, and at more happy times." Elrond stood. "Do you hunger or thirst? Victuals and drink may be brought up if you wish."

"Oh, no…" she exclaimed. "I am still weary of my infection, and wish only to sleep."

He nodded. "Then I wish you great rest."

"Thank you." He turned and left the room.

She thought dreamily, /They seem to know not of hunger or of wanting here. Everything is so… perfect…/

She snuggled deeply into the warm covers of her bed and drifted off into sleep.

~*~

The next morning she awoke, just before the rising of the sun. With no caution, she slipped out from under the blankets onto the stone floor. A wonderful, delicious stone, filling her with warmth and light that she had never felt before. Very different from the stone of her room were she had been raised in Minas Morgul. Stone, yes, but cold and black and damp, almost dead itself. Her walls were made of the same bleak rock, and her only escape had been the sun, ever peeking over the horizon, just beyond the reach of her window. She had never missed a sunrise in Minas Morgul.

She walked out onto the connected balcony that ran along the edge of the building, and gasped at the beauty before her. Never before had the breaking dawn seemed so joyous, so alive. The jagged mountain edges prolonging the sun's ascent were gone, as were the snorts and grunts of the menacing Orcs shying her away from the light. They weren't there to stop her anymore. The light felt so new, and yet so old to her.

A soft warm glow bathed the valley in gold. The autumn trees rustled below and gleamed in the earliest rays of the day. Elegant housings of Elvish fashion were sparkling in the light.

She glanced to her left to drink in more of the warm beams when a curly head caught her eye.

"Hello there Sam," she smiled. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"

He lifted his eyes to meet hers as she walked towards him. He hadn't noticed the tiny rim of blue wrapped along the outside edge of her eyes before. "Yes, quite beautiful."

He didn't know why, but a small nagging emerged, it seemed to when he had first set eyes on her in the woods and continued to follow her. It urged him to turn away from her, to not speak to her, to get her away from him and his friends as quickly as possible. Something… cold in her eyes…

"Sam, I never had the chance to mention it before," she said thoughtfully, "but how does my horse fare? Gandalf told me yesterday she had been left to your care."

"Oh, such a sweet horse I have naught to see," he smiled. "She nickers to me whenever I go to see her, and never gives me troubles."

"May we go see her?" Lorelai asked. "I know it is early, and I trust in your care, but she was my only companion, and I should like very much to see her once more."

Sam was taken aback by her keen interest in the animal. The day before she had seemed almost… cold… and uncaring in a way. He seemed to have been the only one who saw something dark in those eyes.

"Of course miss, I was just on my way to see them now," he said, startled at her suggestion.

"It is just that it has been such a long time since I saw her last, and I would not like to leave a good friend like that in an unfamiliar place alone. We became very close over our long journey." They began to walk down the cut stone stairs on the side of the building.

"Very long indeed, especially when there is nobody to answer in your conversations."

She giggled softly. "I supposed an animal lover like yourself would understand what I meant then by 'companion.'"

They soon arrived at the stale, cozy and warm inside. The stone cobbled floor beneath their feet was warm as that in her room, and it was of the same mauve pink as her room. It was open and warm, with large windows overlooking the picturesque dale. Large wooden doors graced the left wall, and the small stalls were made of an aged oak, misty and ashy in colour. There was an air of stillness within, though the horses moved about within their stalls. A whinny flickered through the air and Lorelai saw her horse boxed in one of the furthest stalls.

"Oh Sunrise!" she exclaimed and ran to hug her horse around the neck. Sam watched in awe as he saw the girl drop her frigid act even further. The horse quickly responded to her kindness and nuzzled her shoulder.

"Yes, girl, I missed you too…" she said fondly as she stroked along her soft nose. "Sam, let me rightly introduce you to Sunrise," she gestured to the pony, "as you never were rightly introduced before."

"Ah, so now you have a proper name," Sam smiled. "And to think, all this time, I've been calling you Whitenose…"

She giggled. "Although Whitenose is a sweet enough name, she answers to Sunrise most often. Seeing the sunrise every morning gave me new hope, and this horse is my best friend…." She patted her once again on the nose before turning to Sam. "Will you show me around this stable? It looks marvelous. I think if I was a horse, I'd most love to be housed here."

Sam wondered about this strange girl. Though she seemed frosty, when with one she knows well, she was warmer than he had known before. Her love for the horse clearly radiated through her eyes, and he wondered as to how she became so icy with others.

"Sam?" she looked at him expectantly. "You alright?"

"Oh, oh, yes," he mumbled. "Sorry, I was thinking."

"Quite alright. So where do we begin?"