A Different Life

Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR or any of its characters, settings, etc. Everything that is unfamiliar to you, preferably Renee, her mother, her friends, her house, etc. would be owned by me.

A/N: Wow, I'm surprised by how many reviews I got in just a few days! My other story, unfortunately, is not getting nearly as many reviews as this one. *sob* Oh well…anyways thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you all liked it! Here's chapter two, Enjoy!

Chapter Two

Reality Is Proven

It seemed to Renee that she was falling. Falling into a pit of darkness that was inevitable to escape. Everything around her was distant and foreign and nothing registered in her mind of what was going on. The only thing she had remembered was the numb feeling of pain and heartache, but the cause was unknown to her. She did recall a trip down her street towards her house as she was walking home from a boring day of school, but anything after that was blank. She did not know why, but in a way it felt comforting. It felt comforting that for once in her life, she could forget all of the terrible things that were bestowed upon her and never have to worry about consequences or horrible images. It was in fact, a gift.

As time seemed impossible to keep track of, Renee did not know how long she was falling. All she knew was that it felt like flying. She could feel a cool breeze upon her face and a warmth circulating around her body. She never wanted it to end. Though, at some point it did end and she felt a soaring pain engulf her limbs as her body came in contact of something stiff and hard. The ground maybe? She didn't know, but a whimper escaped her lips as she realized that her sudden feeling of freedom was over. It was back to imprisonment.

After what seemed like hours, her senses began to kick in and she was able to become aware of her surroundings. The sounds of leaves rustling in the slight breeze and the steady flow of water rushed through her ears and she became puzzled. Where was she? She attempted to open her eyes to take a look around, but her body seemed immune to respond to her demands. She tried again, but nothing happened.

'Great, I'm stuck in a place of god knows what and I can't move. Luck must be on my side today' she thought. After lying or sitting or whatever she was doing for a couple more hours, she began to hear noises. The warmth that encircled her before disappeared and a slight chill racked her body. The breeze had become stronger and a few leaves landed on her bare skin. A light rumbling roared from above and she could feel her eyes rolling under the confinements of her lids. So it was going to rain? First she had to endure a horrible pain of which she knew not the cause of, and then she had a feeling of freedom escape her grasp with a hard landing on something solid, and now she was going to get drenched because cold air was meeting warm air. How bad could it get?

Moist droplets began toppling down from the sky above and trickling over her cool skin. As the droplets came in greater amounts, Renee seemed to become more conscious. Guess the pouring water on your face trick really works. As soon as she concluded that it was pouring cows and more cows, she knew she had to take cover under something that would keep her dry. But first, she had to be able to move. After allowing the rain to soak into her skin, she tried to move her arms. And they did! Though as soon as she did move them she could feel a throbbing pain course through her muscles. She ignored it, too happy that she was lifting a limb, and she rose to her hands and knees. After taking a few deep breaths, she forced her eyes to open and as the place around her came in vision, she could do nothing but stare in awe. She was in a vast plain riduled with short grass and beautifully coloured flowers. A large stream lay beside her and its rushing waters passed by without a care in the world. That is whatever world she was in.

Never had she seen something so breathtaking before and the rain that fell from the murky clouds above aided in the perfect image set before her. It was so pretty! A smile reached her lips as she stored this image in her memory and she decided it was time to move on. She needed to get out of the rain. So it was now that she attempted to stand on her own two feet and she carefully lifted herself onto her feet and kept her hands on the ground for support. After taking one deep breath, she forcefully pushed herself fully onto her feet without any support and she began to lose her balance. She stumbled on the ground beneath her and moved in all sorts of directions. Her legs were obviously too tired and strained to hold her weight and therefore she clumsily tripped over her feet and landed hard on the ground. But the force of her fall made her tumble and soon she found herself rolling off of the solid ground and into the river beside her. She didn't even have enough time to hold her breath as her body was pushed under the water and she tried swimming towards the surface. Her attempts were proven useless though for she was too tired to fight the swift current of the raging waters, but luckily her body automatically floated to the surface. Science has been proven once again!! Erm…

Anyways, her head popped up from the water and she sputtered and flailed her arms as panic overtook her. Air wasn't reaching her lungs as she was only taking in large amounts of water while her head bobbed up and down and soon she found it hard to keep conscious. Her body was growing tired quick and her attempts of escape were futile. 'I'm gonna die!! Drown!! Hit a rock and then die!! Why me? I'm too young to die!' Thoughts ran through her mind as little black dots began to cloud her vision and soon enough, darkness took over.

Her mind wasn't really registering what was going on, but she could guess at any rate. Though she was sure she had heard a voice. It was a soft voice, male from what she could tell, but in a way it was melodic with a touch of concern. It was overpowering the sound of the water for a little while, but then it disappeared as she sunk towards the bottom of the river. She could feel her heart slowing as air was not available and her mind slowly slipping through her fingers. It wouldn't be long now until her heart ceased to beat, her lungs ceased to breathe, and her body ceased to move ever again.

Until suddenly, something strong pulled on her clothes and she emerged to the surface once more. She could hear water splashing, unlike the regular flow of the water, but something that was made by a person. Was someone saving her life? Who would dare risk their life for her? Whoever it was, they were foolish, but she was gracious anyways.

After a couple of minutes, she felt her body being dragged up onto the damp grass and the tiny green blades pricked at her cool skin. The wind had picked up considerably and immediately she began quivering. The sound of a distant voice rang through her ears and she found it to be similar to the one she had heard before. Was that the person who had saved her? A slight warmth suddenly hovered above her and a slimy object pressed against the side of her neck. It was cold and clammy and it made shivers jolt up and down her spine. What was going on?

Suddenly, a giant shiver ran down her spine and her body racked in tremors. Her eyes slightly opened and she caught a glimpse of a man above her. His long hair was of the sun's golden rays and it was pulled back into a hallf ponytail, allowing his free locks to fall gracefully towards her face due to his position. His eyes were of the bright azure sky and were filled with concern and curiosity. He actually seemed to glow too. It was weird. Then just as fast as her eyes opened, they closed and she was unconscious to the world around her.

When Renee came to she felt a scorching heat engulf her body. It felt like a large fire was burning her…slowly. She stirred and wriggled around, trying to lessen the warmth around her, but to no avail. Though as she did this, she noticed that she was lying on top of something soft and comfortable and something soft and warm was lying on top of her. Wait a second…she was in a bed! Oh, praise the lord! She has found civilization, somehow. How did she get here, wherever here was anyways? The last thing she remembered was being surrounded by flowers, and then water, and then…oh. It must have been that man.

She sighed as the image of the man that hovered above her entered her mind and she found him to be truly captivating. In other words, he was scorching hot! Like she was now. Why was she so hot anyways? It felt like her skin was melting right off of her body. She whimpered as the heat began to become a little overbearing and she suddenly felt a cold damp cloth upon her forehead. It trailed down her cheek and then to the sides of her neck which sent a shiver down to the tip of her toes. Oh, that felt good! Her head leaned against the dampened cloth and a light smile formed on her lips. This felt so nice that it must have been too good to be true.

Then she realized what was going on. 'Wait, for this cloth to be moving someone must be holding it. That means…' She froze as she knew someone was in the room and curiosity got the better of her. Her eyes cracked open into tiny slits and then immediately shut as the sun's rays engrossed her pupils. She turned her head away from the bright sunshine and opened them again, only to see black dots pop up in her vision. She waited a few moments before her vision became clear and then she eyed her surroundings cautiously. A big bed with silky green sheets she lay in and around her were white frilly lace sheets that hung from the top of the bed. Cool, a canopy!

Surrounding the bed were tall stone walls with large curved windows every two feet. Talk about no privacy. Candles protruded from a few places on the walls and they burned brightly, even though it was daylight outside. Weird. She continued looking around and found a few tables lying here and there and a couple of chairs in various places. Otherwise, it looked like a pretty normal room, save for the stone walls and open windows.

As Renee's gaze continued searching every square inch of the room, she came across a man sitting at the edge of her bed. His hair was of the man's she had seen before except his was brown, like hers and his eyes were of a deep chocolate. His skin was fair and flawless and he wore long crème robes that flowed to his ankles. And surprisingly, he had a light glow to his figure as well. Were all people glowing now? She shook her head as if in disbelief and rubbed her eyes for they were playing tricks on her. He was breathtaking to say in the least.

A smile rose on his lips at seeing her awake and he soaked the cloth in a bowl of cold water that sat beside him and placed it on her forehead again. It was slightly puffy and pink due to the high fever she was undergoing. Poor girl. It was but three days ago that his dear friend Glorfindel entered Rivendell seeking aid for this sick young girl. She was burning up whence they arrived and they had thought she might not make it through the night. Her fever was so high that it proved fatal, but fortunately she had a strong will to live. Glorfindel had never left her side during the severity part of her fever, fearing that his attempt to save the child failed. He had only left to his chambers a few hours ago by order of himself and Glorfindel reluctantly disappeared from the room. He smiled just thinking about it.

His attention was redirected back to the young girl as their eyes met and he smiled warmly at her. She seemed to be staring at him with curiosity and awe; not the first time someone has looked at him like that. Mostly it was the ones who had never seen an elf before. It could be the same in this case. Suddenly she tried sitting up with much strain, that was visibly obvious, but he quickly refrained her from doing so with a slight shove.

"No. You are very weak and are suffering from a high fever. Do not strain yourself further." Renee looked at him quizzically. Who was this guy? Well he couldn't be that bad due to the fact that he was helping her, but this didn't stop her curiosity.

"W-Who are you?" Her voice squeaked and she hated the way it cracked. It must have been from the lack of speaking and the fact that she was very thirsty.

"I am Elrond Halfelven and you are in the House of Healing." Elrond Halfelven? That was a strange name, yet it sounded so familiar. She tried thinking of where she had heard that name before, until she was interrupted by Elrond. "May I ask your name?"

"Renee. My name is Renee." She drew in a deep breath as her head began to swirl and her body heat started to rise. A pulsating ache began to throb on the top of her head and she groaned in pain. For some unknown reason she felt dizzy and sick to her stomach and the weirdest part was that it was so sudden.

"Guess the after effect of being unconscious takes a while," she whispered to herself.

"Actually, I believe the 'effect' you are speaking of is from your fever. You have been suffering from a severe fever for over five days now. We weren't very sure if you would live through it." Renee's eyes widened in shock. She had barely even talked out loud and yet this man heard every word she said. By golly gee, who was this guy? And then the word 'we' struck a nerve. Who was 'we'?

"You heard me?" He smiled and nodded. "But…how? I hardly even spoke. And who is 'we'?" She was beginning to get irritated by her lack of knowledge. This place and these people were so foreign to her. It was almost…medieval. She must have been hallucinating or something.

Elrond stared at her with a small smile playing his lips and he shook his head. She knew so little. He wondered what had happened to her and where she was from. Her choice of attire was extremely unusual and she had a strange air about her. Though her questions were quite normal for someone who had been unconscious for a few days, she seemed unknown to everything around her. Strange indeed.

"You are very observant Renee. The 'we' that you inquire would be myself and your savior, Glorfindel. Do you not remember him?" Renee's brows furrowed.

"My savior? Wait, are you talking about a glowing guy with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and…umm…glowing?" Elrond raised a brow at her words. She spoke very differently than anyone he had ever encountered.

"I suppose. I do not know if he glows, but rest assured he has the appearance you speak of." She seemed to have fallen into a mode of deep thinking then for she appeared distant. Her eyes were unmoving and her brows were furrowed. Elrond wondered what she was pondering about. It was apparent she had remembered Glorfindel for he noticed a small smile form on her lips after he answered her question, but it immediately vanished and was replaced with a frown. After a couple of minutes of sitting there and watching her frozen expression, he saw her blink and look at him with confused and curious eyes. He could tell already that she had many questions that would be directed towards him and he prepared himself for the onslaught of unsure words.

"Ok, so your telling me that I was saved from drowning by a man who just happened to walk by and he brought me here to this House of Healing?"

"Mostly, save for the fact that he is not a man." Renee knitted her forehead in confusion and a look of fear crossed her features. If he wasn't a man, then what was he? "Before you asked me how I heard you speak even though you spoke in a low whisper. 'Tis because I have sensitive hearing, likewise with Glorfindel. It is one out of many characteristics of our race."

"Race? You're not human?" She remarked with a bit of sarcasm apparent in her voice. Renee had a hard time believing that this man in front of her was anything but human. There was no other thing he could be besides human anyways. He was either lying or joshing her pickle. Elrond seemed to have caught her sarcasm too for he rose a brow and cocked his head to the side in curiosity.

"No, I am part of the Elven race." Renee raised both of her brows in disbelief and grinned maniacally. Then she began to laugh to the point of not being able to breathe. This guy was crazy! There was absolutely no way he could have been an elf. There were no such things as elves. They were a figment of your imagination…right?

"Hold on. Y-Your telling me…that…you're an elf?" She inquired in between gasps. She didn't know why she was laughing so hard, but the idea to see a full-grown man wearing strange garbs and admit that he was an elf was hysterical in her books. And the look on Elrond's face just made her laugh even harder. His eyes were wide and his brows were furrowed and he was all together puzzled. It was one of those you had to be there things. Quite funny.

"You don't believe me? Are there no elves where you come from?" The more he spoke with this girl, the more his suspicions grew. She was very unusual and the laughing just made him more curious. Maybe it was just an effect of her fever. Delusion is common among victims of a high fever.

Renee tried calming herself down, though it was very hard to do so. He actually believed that he was an elf! This was more funny than weird, but as she started thinking about it, fear began to spread within her. She was alone in a large room with a crazy psycho who believed he was an elf. She at least needed evidence that proved he was an elf. Maybe pointy ears or extreme cleanliness or even wings…if they had wings. As she listened to his question she shook her head and grinned, trying her hardest not to appear frightened.

"No, elves are imaginary creatures where I come from. So now that you know, how do I know that you're really an elf? I at least need some proof." Her eyes roamed his body and she concluded that he looked the part, but make-up could easily give someone the right impression. He looked clean enough and his appearance seemed godly, but there was only one way to know for sure. He must have pointy ears. None of that fake stuff, but the real thing. She nodded to herself and asked for him to come closer. He did so, hesitantly, but moved so they were about a foot away from each other. Without warning, she lifted her arm and moved his hair to the side and indeed, they were pointed. They appeared to be real, but she had to be one hundred percent sure. Again, without warning she clutched onto his ear and pulled on it. It didn't come off! She heard Elrond hiss in pain and then she felt his hand wrap around her wrist and remove her hand from his ear.

"What in blazes do you think you're doing?" he cried in surprise. Renee couldn't answer him though for her mouth remained agape and her mind was reeling. Shock overtook her and she could feel twice as much heat spread throughout her body. The room began wildly spinning and she could do nothing but lay there and watch as the black dots clouded her vision once more. He wasn't lying. He really was an elf! His ears were real and so was his cleanliness and the world around him. It was all real! How could this be? She was just in a place totally different than this one and now she was in a weird world. What was going on? She didn't have enough time to dwell over all of this new information and questions though for darkness took her and she fell into a deep slumber.

A/N: Chapter two is done! Yay! Though for any one is confused by her lack of knowledge, I have made it so she doesn't remember the 'robbery/murder' before she arrived in Middle Earth, but she does recall every other event in her life. Anyways, I hope you all liked it. Please review and tell me what you thought of it! Diolla lle!

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