Man my arm hurts. I don't know why, it just does. Oh well, I'll just sleep it off. That's my cure for everything, just sleep it off. Hey, it works. . .well, most of the time it does. Now, where did I stop? Oooooooh, yea, now I remember.

I let out an angry breath. I shut my eyes against the moonlight streaming through the window and silently walked back to my bed. I laid down and leaned back into the pillows. I was restless, I couldn't sleep. I had felt like this many times before. All the years I'd gone to summer camp I'd been like this, I couldn't go to sleep, I was somewhere that wasn't my own. I couldn't lie on my sides or stomach like I always did at home, so I slept on my back. I remember my last thoughts before I fell into an uneasy sleep were that it was like I was at camp again, but there wasn't any comfort in the fact that at the end of the week I'd be home again. Now, there was no home.

I woke up after only a few hours of restless sleep. The sun had yet to rise. I looked through the window to see that all of Rivendell was still, bathed in the blue green glow of the time before the sun cast its rays into the sky.

I shuddered. I hated dawn. I never knew why, but it always made me shudder. I curled up tighter in my blankets and shut my eyes tight. I sat there, curled up and well, kind of scared. I started to reflect on my thoughts from the night before, I'd decided that I'd never be able to go back home again, and that even though my voice would come back, I would stay silent. I didn't know what told me to do that, but I felt so strongly that it was what I should do.

I looked up from my blankets to see that the sun had begun to peek out through the trees. I sighed and relaxed, and untangled myself from my blankets. I got up as quietly as I could and walked into the bathroom. I found the tub full of warm water, how it was there and warm I did not know, but I didn't really care. I slipped into the water and washed myself while still pondering my thoughts of the night. I got up and wrapped a towel around myself and walked into my room.

The sun was still barely up, so I assumed that it was still early. I found a closet and opened the wooden doors. All I could find were dresses. I hated dresses, and would never wear them. A skirt, I could be ok with, but never a dress. I searched through the many dresses until I found something. I was a brown skirt that went down to my ankles, maybe made of something like deerskin. It was actually very pretty and had a vine of flowers embroidered down the left side. I put it down on the bed and began to search for a shirt. Soon I found what I was looking for, a simple white shirt with sleeves that went to my elbows. Right next to it there was a brown vest with ties that went down the front. Satisfied, I put on the skirt, shirt, and vest. I tied up the front of the vest, and began to towel dry my hair. Soon it was almost dry, so I searched for a brush. When I found one, I brushed out the tangles and let my dark brown hair simply sit on my shoulders. I cautiously stepped in front of the mirror and looked at my reflection. I actually looked not half bad, and my eyes were even slightly brighter because the pain from my throat had lifted and I could breathe normally again.

I saw that it was still early, and I had nothing to do. I walked out onto the balcony connected to my room and watched the scene in front of me. The balcony overlooked a good part of Rivendell, and I was thankful that I had a good view from my room. I stared out, unblinking, unmoving. I stood there, barely breathing. It was one of my talents, but also a small part of my demise. As I stood there, my mind wandered to places I kept far away from conscious thought. I began to unwillingly think of my past, of some of the worse things that had happened to me. I felt a heavy weight on my chest, preventing me from moving. I couldn't breathe and I could barely control my muscles from doing something of their own will. I felt the deep, smothering anger cover me, I couldn't breathe. I felt hot, angry tears slipping into my eyes, blurring my vision.

'Don't cry, don't you dare cry. If you do, things will get screwed up really bad. You can't do it, just will yourself not to.' I thought. I finally blinked and fought back my tears. I could breathe again, and I could move. My muscles listened to me again, and I curled my fingers a few times, just to make sure I was back to myself again. I let out a sigh and began to wonder how long I'd been staring out at Rivendell. I jumped slightly when I heard my door open. There was the maid that had brought me to my room last night.

"Breakfast is ready, I can show you where the dining room is." She said. I let out another sigh and figured that I didn't have anything to lose, so I followed her. I tried to remember how to get to the dining room, just so I'd know where something was. Finally, we came through a set of doors and entered a huge room. There weren't many people in the dining room, well at least for it being so big. The maid led me to a table where Elrond, Elladan, and a few other people, no, Elves sat. I took a seat and looked around.

"How is your voice this morning?" Elladan asked. I looked up, but said nothing.

"That's odd, the tea I gave you was strong enough to cure any loss of voice." Elrond said, looking at me questioningly. I simply blinked and shrugged. Then Elrond introduced me to everyone at the table, and I simply waved and smiled at everyone. I discovered that two of the Elves I didn't know were Elrond's other children, well not exactly "children", but you get my point. One was Arwen, and the other was Elrohir. Elrohir must've been Elladan's twin because I couldn't tell them apart whatsoever. Arwen was very pretty, and smiled back at me when I waved. Breakfast went on normally after that, I didn't eat much, I never could when I wasn't home. Every time someone asked me something I'd nod or shake my head or do whatever else I had to do to show how I felt. I realized that this was going to be like a giant game of charades.

After breakfast I slipped out of sight and invented the fun game of Let's- Get-Lost-In-Rivendell-And-Try-To-Find-The-Right-Way-Back-Before-The-Sun- Goes-Down. I wandered pointlessly around until about noon, and decided that I was lost enough, and I should try to find my way back. I finally found my way back at around 6:00, just in time for dinner. I didn't eat lunch, but I wasn't hungry. Dinner was pretty much the same as breakfast, I picked at my food and ate very little.

After dinner though, I walked around in the gardens. I was alone, and thankful for it. It reminded me of all the years I'd visit my grandparents during the summer, and after dinner we'd walk down their street to a house that had huge beautiful gardens. The man that lived there always welcomed me and would let me throw a pebble into the wishing well he had. . .But that was a long time ago. Before things went wrong. I shook my head violently to try and forget about my past.

"Is there a reason why you're shaking your head so hard?" I jumped and turned around. "I apologize, I didn't mean to surprise you. I believe we met at breakfast, right?" At first glance I thought it was Elladan, but then I realized he said we'd met at breakfast, so I figured it was Elrohir. I nodded, remembering our meeting at breakfast. I started looking for some way to tell Elrohir and Elladan apart, but Elrohir must've read my mind, because he said, "Yes, my brother and I look very much alike, we're twins you know." I nodded, still trying to figure out some difference between him and Elladan. They looked so much alike, same color hair which was the same length, same height, same gray eyes. . .After a few minutes of silence, I figured it out. I looked up quickly and smiled.

"Did you find out how to tell us apart?" he said smiling. I nodded and grinned. I pointed to my eyes. It was actually pretty simple, it was in the eyes, I could always tell people apart by their eyes. Elrohir's eyes had a more serious look in them, whereas Elladan's had a more mischievous look.

Elrohir laughed and looked slightly surprised. "That is true, it's all in the eyes, and I find it surprising that you have figured out our secret, whereas there are Elves we've known for centuries who still can't tell us apart."

I simply smiled, happy that at least I wouldn't be calling Elladan Elrohir or vice versa. I looked up at the sky then and realized that it was pretty dark out and if I stayed out much longer, I wouldn't be able to find my way back to my room. Elrohir must've had the same thought, because he also looked at the sky.

"Well, it is getting late and I could escort you to your room if you wish." He said, offering his arm. I took it and we walked back to my room, and when we got there I let go of his arm and opened my door.

"Goodnight, sleep well." He said and smiled. I almost said 'Goodnight, don't let the bedbugs bite.' But I caught myself and just smiled back.

Ok, my Internet has been down for four days. It's driving me insane. I'll bet all of my friends on the internet think I'm dead or something. . .Oh well, I guess I'll just start writing the next chapter then. . .