The last thing Arlen wanted to do was drag herself out of bed to go to a meeting in which a bunch of men would just yell at each other, but what choice did she have? Gandalf told her to go, and he seemed to be the one who knew everything.
She walked on the cold marble over to the dresser. Opening it, she found a forest green dress with a golden pattern that was even grander than the one she had worn the night before. Making a good impression was important, right? She barely had slipped the dress on and stroked her hair a few times before Gandalf swept into the room so quickly it scared the living daylights out of her.
" Well, are you finally ready?" he asked with an impatient sigh.
" Ready? Have you lost your mind? You left me only five minutes ago! How long do you think it takes for a normal person to get ready?" She snapped back at him.
" It takes me no longer than three minutes to be precise, and I have many more layers of clothing to put than you do." He calmly replied.
Arlen, annoyed by his calm stance rushed out of the room. " Men," she breathed in a harsh tone.
Gandalf raised his eyes towards the sky.
" Women," he said before going out to join her.
The sun was still shining and there were no clouds in the sky. Arlen wondered if it ever rained here. Soon they were at a platform. Many people, all male- surprise, surprise, were sitting down on chairs that had been placed there. Gandalf led her to a chair, which was right next to Elrond, and, to her horror, Aragorn. She sat down and looked at her new father. He looked mad and she could tell that he had not wanted her here, but was forced to give in by Gandalf. She was about to tell him that she did not mind being here when he started the meeting.
" Here we go, the council of Elrond" Arlen thought to herself. Because she had read the book about a million times she had memorized the whole council so there was no point of listing. To amuse herself she looked around at the guests. There were the elves, all beautiful and proud, listening to Elrond with deep concentration. It was easy to set Legolas apart from the rest. He was the most beautiful, in her mind. He also sat straight and tall and you could tell with one glance that he was elvish royalty.
There were also a man; he sat with a strange expression on his face, his gray eyes seeming to pierce Elrond with his gaze. He had long brown hair, like Aragorn's, but cleaner. Borimir, son of Gondor.
As Gandalf's voice filled the air she turned towards two dwarfs, short and crouched. On had gray hair and a much-winkled face, Gloin. The younger one who sat next to him had masses of bright red hair. Arlen's best friend, Emma, had similar red hair. Arlen had wished that she could have that kind, fabulous red curls that fell down to her waist; but she quickly saw that what looked good on a woman does not always look good on a man. Suddenly a small, curly headed creature came to the middle and set a ring- the ring- down on a small table. Ah, mister Baggins. Arlen looked up to see the ring. It looked surprisingly ordinary. Nothing that would catch your eye if you went jewelry shopping, that's for sure.
All the other people stood up to see it.
" Oh great, this is where all the shouting begins," she whispered to herself.
Sure enough, as on cue, the shouting did begin. The dwarfs against elves, and the men against everybody.
" Do you think that we should entrust this mission to an elf?" a dwarf voice shouted, probably Gimli.
" How would you know anything? Dolle naa lost!"(Your head is empty) Legolas shouted back.
" Well, Dolle naa lost to you to" Gimli said, having no idea what he just said.
" Auta miqula orqu (Go kiss an orc) and leave us alone!" Legolas roared.
" Legolas, don't say such things. We should be brothers or this mission will never succeed." Gandalf said stepping in the middle of the two. Just then Frodo said that he would take the ring. Everyone stopped shouting and stood in stunned silence. Gandalf strode over and placed a hand on Frodo's shoulder. Elrond knew that Frodo must go. He had just agreed when another little hobbit with golden hair jumped up from behind a bush. " Mister Frodo will not be going anywhere without me" He said, trying to be brave, but failing miserably.
" Brave little Sam" Arlen said under her breath. It must be wonderful to have a friend so loyal. " Nor us" two other voices said. Merry and Pippin came from behind another bush. Elrond turned his face into a cold expression. Arlen was confused. In the books and movies the hobbits came after the rest of the members were chosen. Oh well, it couldn't be exactly like the books, this was real life. Gandalf and Elrond argued for a while but it was finally agreed for the hobbits to come. Then he chose Legolas to go, representing the elves, Gimli for the dwarves, and Aragorn and Borimir for the men. Gandalf was to be the guide. Arlen was wondering why Gandalf brought her here when he took her by the hand and hoisted her up. All eyes were on her as she was being led to the center by the gray wizard. " You have forgotten to mention the tenth member of the fellowship," Gandalf said facing Elrond. Tenth member? It couldn't be. Gandalf meant for her to go on the quest. " Awesome, a quest! A real live quest! This is just the type of adventure I have been waiting for!" she thought to herself. " No, absolutely not!" two voices yelled at the same time. Arlen looked up and saw Elrond and Aragorn standing side by side, looks of worry and anger on her face. " She is just a woman, she will not last a second in the battlefields!" Aragorn told Gandalf. What! Aragorn is a sexist, she thought, hating him even more. " Excuse me, but yes, I do happen to be a woman, but I know a lot more than you. I know karate and judo! I think I can handle myself." She told him. "You might be able to protect yourself with what ever those things are, but you are my only daughter and I will not lose you again!" Elrond told her, his gaze colder than ice. Arlen softened a bit. Her father cared about her, a bit too much, but still. She walked over to him and touched his cheek. " Father, I will be fine. I am old enough take care of myself. Let me go, father, let me be my own person." She told him, watching his expression change from anger to sadness. " Lle il'lembuva amin, you can not leave me!" he cried. " I will never leave you, I will come back, I promise." She said. She took his head in both hands and looked into his eyes. Slowly he nodded. She kissed his cheek and went back to the group, smiling. Elrond looked up at the group. " You shall be the fellowship of the ring." He said, smiling at the happiness in his daughters face. Aragorn took hold of Arlen's hand. " I will be here to give you strength." He told her. She quickly jerked her hand away. " I do not think I will be needing any strength, thank you very much." She said icily, as she moved away from him. She looked up over the tall trees of Rivendell and saw snow covered mountains that were reeking of danger. " What have I gotten myself into" she said.

Vedui'

I hope you liked this chapter, my longest ever. Please review and tell me what you think. I am open to all kinds of reviews and suggestions. What would you like to see happen in the story? Tell me. Aa' lasser en lee coia orn n' omenta gurth. Namaarie

Shadowcat