A/N: Come on people, I need reviews! I need to know if there's anything I need to improve on. -waves cookie in front of your face- I'll give everybody who reviews a cybercookie! How does that sound?

Disclaimer: Good day my young readers (and reviewers! ^_~), my name is John Ronald Reul Tolkien and I have taken over the body of this fanfiction writer... HELLO! Does it look like I could own LOTR? I wouldn't be posting this fanfic if I owned everybody.

Anyways, on with the fic!

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Chapter Four: In which explorations lead to brunch

It was morning the next day when Meryl woke up. She sat up and massaged her left arm. It had gone stiff in the night. She noticed that the bandages had been changed, and that there weren't as many on her arm. She glanced around the room and spotted some clothes that had been set out in the night. Her purse was hung on a hook across the room. Her original clothes were nowhere to be seen.

"They were most likely burned," she told herself.

She slowly got out of bed and made her way to the clothes. She could see that somebody had set out a dress with three quarter sleeves, made out of green fabric. It had golden trim, with golden suns for buttons, and a golden-colored shawl had been placed next to it.

"Probably so nobody sees my arm," thought Meryl out loud.

She quickly changed her clothes and wrapped the shawl around her shoulders, making sure that it covered her left shoulder. Even thought there were less bandages, she had better not take any chances.

Meryl quietly opened the door and stepped out. She realized that she now stood in a hallway with no windows on the opposite wall. The windows were only large branches bent into swirling designs. The sun shone brightly outside, casting light into the corridor.

She turned left, and decided to explore the place. As she walked down the hall, she peeked into a room. Inside was a large library, filled with thousands of books. They were all written in many languages, such as Sindarian, Quenya, even Dwarvish. Elves sat at large tables, or in soft chairs, each reading a thick book.

Meryl went down the hallway further. There was another door to the left. She went over and peered inside. This room was a large sitting room. There were few chairs scattered around, and a large fire was burning in a massive hearth placed between two carven pillars, at the farthest wall in the room. Meryl could see that many Elves were standing, as a tall Elfess with raven-black hair stood in front of the fireplace reciting a poem.

She longed to go in and listen more, but she felt that it wasn't time yet. Wistfully she made her way down the hallway. There were a few more doors down this hall, before it came to a place where you could either turn left or right. Meryl decided not to explore these rooms, but turned right.

At the end of this hallway was only one door. It was closed, and had a bar going across it. Curiosity got the better of Meryl, and she went down the hallway and slid the bar out from its locking position. She pulled the door open and went inside.

Inside it was all stone walls. Meryl cautiously went down the hall and turned left. There, on the left, was a statue in the form of an Elven maiden with outstretched arms. In her arms was a stone tablet covered with a champagne-colored cloth. There were obvious wrinkles on the cloth that showed that many items had rested on the cloth at one time.

On the right was a large painting depicting a being dressed entirely in armor standing over a man laying on the ground. In the man's outstretched hand was the hilt of a sword, with only part of the blade left. Meryl slowly realized where she was. She glanced at the empty cloth and touched it with her right hand.

"Yes," said a soft voice from behind her shoulder. "That was where the Sword that was Broken once was. Now it resides in Aragorn's sheath."

Meryl whirled around to see an Elf standing behind her. His dark hair was brushed back behind his shoulders, while a small crown adorned his head. "Lord Elrond!"

The Elf was amused. "Now, how did you know my name? I'm sure that we haven't met before."

Meryl thought fast. "Your reputation as a healer precedes you my lord," she replied slowly. "For in my land, many know about your healing skills."

She listened to see if her white lie was believable. Part of it was true, for Brian and his friends were huge fans of the Lord of the Rings books. His friends would ramble on and on how they wished that they could just one day fall into Middle-Earth and be an apprentice to Elrond. Of course, Brian's dream was to become an architect, but he also wanted to heal people.

Lord Elrond seemed to accept that answer. "Now, may I escort you to the dining hall? Brunch will be starting soon, and I believe that you haven't had anything to eat for while."

Meryl realized that he was right. Her stomach growled at the mere thought of food. She blushed and hoped that Elrond hadn't noticed. He hadn't. The Elf bowed and offered his arm to Meryl.

Meryl ignored the arm and walked past him. She didn't mean to be rude, but she didn't exactly want people to think that Elrond pitied her. She strode out of the room and went back into the hallway. She turned left and was stopped suddenly when-

"My lady?" asked Elrond. "You're going the wrong way."

Meryl whirled around. "Am I? Very well then, lead the way."

The Elven lord looked at her strangely and began walking down a separate hall, with Meryl following behind. Elves would bow when Elrond passed, and they smiled at Meryl as she followed. She would acknowledge them and trail after the Elven lord.

Soon, Elrond stopped in front of a double door system. The wood was dark brown, with a tree carved into it. Elrond turned around and said to Meryl, "After you, my lady."

"Alright," said Meryl and put her hand on the handle. She pushed the door open and walk inside.

The scene was amazing. A long table was positioned in the middle of the room. It was covered in a deep red cloth, with golden plates and goblets and silverware set in straight lines. Many Elves already sat at the table, including a human and a Dwarf.

An Elf stood up. Meryl recognized him as Legolas. He walked over and bowed. "My lady, it is nice to see that you are well," he said as he rose. "May I have the honor of showing you to your seat?"

"Alright then," Meryl replied.

Legolas held out his arm. Meryl slowly placed her hand on it and the Elf led her to her seat. He pulled her chair out for her, and with her hand still on his arm, helped her sit down. Meryl realized that the dress that she was wearing didn't exactly help her cause much, as she tried to sit down. She glanced around, and saw that she was seated close to the head of the table. Two identical Elves already sat towards the head, one at each side. Both had dark hair, and dark eyes.

{They must be Elladan and Elrohir,} thought Meryl.

A laugh at her right brought her to see that she was seated next to Gimli. She turned to her left and saw that Legolas had seated himself next to her. She turned back to Gimli and asked, "What, may I ask, is so funny?"

The Dwarf's cheeks reddened. "Aragorn and I were talking about how funny it was to see Legolas acting so... polite and courteous. We've never seen this behavior in him before. Even when he's around women. Usually he acknowledges them and then makes his escape."

Meryl managed a slight grin. "And who are you exactly?" she asked innocently.

"My name is Gimli, son of Gloin," the Dwarf replied proudly. "And you are the lady Meryl, correct?"

Meryl nodded. "You were in my room," she remembered. "Along with somebody else."

"That would be Aragorn," said Gimli. He turned forward and Meryl saw that the King of Gondor had been seated across from them. "Oy, Aragorn. Stop sitting there and introduce yourself!"

Aragorn looked up from his plate and caught Meryl's eyes. She merely said, "My name is Meryl, but you already know that."

"And I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn," he replied. "Do you fare well?"

Meryl nodded. "I am much better than a day ago."

They fell silent. Meryl didn't know what to say. Fortunately for her, Gimli broke the silence by asking, "Where is that dog of yours? He's always hanging about you."

Meryl replied, "I haven't a clue. He has disappeared." A wet nose in her lap told her otherwise. "Wait, he's under the table." She smiled and picked up the hem of the table cloth.

Underneath was Dae, sitting with pleading eyes. Meryl shook her head. "Dae, you won't be getting any table scraps from me today. Lie down."

The dog obeyed reluctantly, giving a soft whumph. Legolas smiled and said, "Don't worry Dae. You'll get fed soon enough."

"You better not slip him any table scraps."

Lord Elrond seated himself at he head of the table. After a quick glance around he cleared his throat. The chatter died down as heads turned towards him.

"It is now time to break our fast," said Elrond, "but first I would like to say that there will be a dinner feast tonight, in honor of the Lady Meryl's recovery."

Meryl's cheeks slightly turned red as many heads turned to stare at her. One included a young male Elf, with dark hair and grey eyes, who eyed her with interest. In response, she stared coldly back at him. She'd seen his type before.

"And now," said Elrond, clapping his hands, "Let us eat!"

Elven maidens arrived each carrying a large tray filled with delicious smelling food. One set a bowl filled with fruit in front of Meryl and Aragorn. Meryl quickly grabbed an apple and bit into it. Its sweet juices filled her mouth. The apple went down quickly, and Meryl eyed the table for anything else that caught her stomach's attention.

She spotted a tray laden with biscuits sitting before one of the sons of Elrond, whom was in deep conversation with one of the maidens. "Um, excuse me?" she asked.

The Elf went on talking with the maiden. Meryl tried again. "Excuse me?"

Again, he paid her no attention. Meryl got ready to stand up and take the tray for herself, but a hand placed itself on her shoulder. She looked up to see Legolas, his eyes dancing in laughter.

"Let me," he said. "Elladan!" he called.

The Elf looked up from his conversation. "Yes?"

Legolas spoke rapidly to him in Elvish. Meryl could catch only a few words, but she figured that Legolas was telling Elladan off. Elladan quickly handed the tray to Meryl. "Forgive me," he said. "Once I start talking with the ladies, I just tune out everything else." He winked at her.

"That's okay," replied Meryl, knowing that he was flirting with her. "Just try to tune in to the outside world next time."

Elladan was surprised at the comment. Meryl supposed what she said was rude, but she didn't apologize.

{Don't let them get close to you,} she mentally coached herself, {and you won't experience more pain.}

She selected a biscuit and bit into it. It had a flaky crust, but was soft on the inside. It was warm and delicious.

"Elvish food sure is good," she told Gimli quietly. He chuckled and agreed heartily.

Brunch slowly ended and Elves wandered away for their duties. Soon it was only Meryl, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, and Elrond left. Meryl felt uncomfortable, and she squirmed in her seat. Aragorn noticed this, and he smiled inwardly.

Elrond paid no attention. "I would now like to know the whole story now," he announced.

"Story? About what?" asked Meryl.

Elrond glanced pointedly at her. Meryl knew in an instant what he was talking about. "You mean what happened?"

"Yes, I've already gotten Aragorn's part of the story, now all we need is yours."

"It might help you get your memory back," said Legolas gently. "It might help you get home."

Meryl was thrown into a mood swing. Her sparkling eyes quickly clouded over, and the smile was wiped from her face. "What? Am I becoming a burden?" she spat. "I've been here only a few days, and already you're trying to throw me out on my ear." She stood up, nearly toppling her chair over and turned to leave. She began to walk away.

"Lady Meryl, wait!" called Gimli.

"I am no lady!" Meryl called over her shoulder. "So stop calling me one!" She pushed the doors open and stalked out of the room.

"Well," commented Gimli, "that went well."

The others shook their heads. "Gimli," said Aragorn, "sometimes you are so clueless."

"I was being sarcastic Aragorn. Learn to tell the difference."

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A/N: 0.0 Wow, Gimli can actually be sarcastic. I guess I'll leave you there for now. Remember, review and you get a cybercookie! Also, I won't post another chapter until I get at least five reviews for this chapter, so start reviewing! And, the next chapter is where you get to see some action, and Meryl punching the living daylights out of an Elf (sadly, she doesn't hurt him all that bad), so please review or you'll never get to read it!

By the Lion's Mane,

Leo