A/N: First off, I have to apologize for not updating for the past few months. School is really killing me. That along with play practice has given me no time to even sit in front of the computer, let alone write. The only reason I can post today is because I'm sick. Don't ask for my symptoms, I'll just say that food is really not agreeing with me and I have a killer headache. No, I'm not puking. Food is really just not agreeing with my stomach.

Let's see, what has happened to me since I last posted? Well, I'm back in school now, and the homework this year is really killing me. Especially Money Management. The teacher seems to love assigning loads of homework each and EVERY SINGLE DAY. Cricket has moved away, so now H.E.L.P. days are very boring without her. I have no more LOTR inspiration! –cries- I'm also in the school play, called "Up The Down Staircase." I play a guidance counselor, and I wear a jumper. Yes, a jumper. XP At least I don't have to deal with it for very long. This Saturday is our Tech rehearsal. Eight hours long. Whoopee (note the sarcasm). Opening night is next Thursday. On December 2nd, I went to the Tonic Sol-Fa Holiday concert in Eau Claire. I just love those guys. Apparently, next Christmas they're going to be selling little books with e-mails that they've gotten over the years. I'm going to try and get in there. Oh! And Michael Perry (the guy who wrote "Population: 485") spoke at our school yesterday. I got to see him twice! –huge smile-

Anyways, I'll stop yapping and let you read the next installment. Enjoy!

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Chapter Twenty Four: Interlude: Lessons, Underwear, and Troubling Memories

Meryl sprinted down the hall, with Legolas and the twins hot on her heels. Dae was at her side, keeping pace and smiling a doggy smile, as if thinking that this was great fun. She was having trouble breathing, because she was laughing while she was running. Legolas actually looked quite funny in green hair. She knew that her lead would not last long, for the Elves had better endurance than she and they were naturally faster.

Caught up in her thoughts on how to escape this predicament, she never saw Legolas quickly closing the gap between the two. He leaped out and tackled her to the floor. Meryl winced as her elbow hit the carpet rather hard. The two rolled for a bit before stopping, with Meryl on top. She made a move to get up and run, but two pairs of hands grabbed her arms before she had a chance to escape. She was hauled to her feet and held between the twins, as two guards would guard a prisoner.

Legolas got to his feet. His hair was no longer nicely brushed, and his blue eyes sparked with fury. Meryl was terrified. Never had she seen him this angry. She gazed fearfully up at him, thinking of the horrible things that he could do to her. Having her guts dug out with a very blunt spoon, or being force-fed brussel sprouts were the first two that came to mind. She saw him begin to raise a hand and tensed, waiting for the blow.

"Do it," she said quietly, looking down. "I know that I deserve it."

Legolas was taken aback as he saw her cringe. She actually thought that he was going to hit her! "Nay, Meryl," he replied just as quietly. "I was not intending to do so." He tucked the stray green hairs that had been bothering him behind his ear and lowered his hand. "I apologize if I frightened you."

She looked up. "Really?"

"Really."

"Honest?"

"Of course."

She gave a weak smile. "Well if that's settled." She glanced at the twin on her left. "Care to let me go?"

The Elf grinned evilly. "Of course not."

"Then I take that there is no other way." She bent her knees and sprang into the air. She then landed by stomping on their bare feet. They choked back cries and released her arms. Meryl seized the chance to escape, praising herself with the idea of gluing their boots to the floor, and dashed down the hall, with Dae behind her. Legolas took off after her, leaving the twins gasping for air. He saw Meryl and Dae turn a corner and followed. He rounded the corner and saw that he was catching up.

He heard her call over her shoulder, "Think of it this way, Legolas. At least you'll blend in with your surroundings. You know, like camouflage."

"If I wished to blend in with my surroundings, I would have dyed my hair a long while ago," he replied. At that moment, he put on a burst of speed and reached forward. He then caught her right arm.

Meryl whirled around and tried to wrench her arm out of his grasp, but his fingers were like bars of iron. He was taking no chances that she would achieve escaping. After several wrenches, she aimed a kick to the back of his kneecaps, just to catch him off balance. Her attempt failed. "Let me go!" Dae gave a warning growl and advanced towards Legolas. The Elf turned and spoke a few Elvish words to the dog. Dae stopped and sat down. Meryl was aghast at what she saw. Her dog was so overprotective, surely a few measly words wouldn't stop him! "Traitor," she muttered. She turned to Legolas. "Let me spell this out for you Legolas. Release me now."

"You lured us into thinking that we had a truce. But you were purposely getting us drunk." Legolas's statement was spoken silkily and low. "So you could carry out your plans, I suppose? You're despicable."

"What else was I supposed to do?" Meryl snapped while still struggling. "You're Elves for crying out loud! You have that super-powered hearing thing going on. How else could I have gotten around you guys?"

"You said that we had a truce. You lied to us."

Meryl stopped fighting his grasp and her green eyes narrowed. "Do not start making up stories!" she spat. "We never made a truce! I only suggested that we make one." She grabbed the front of his shirt with her free hand and pulled his head down so his eyes were level with hers. The part of her cast covering her knuckles rubbed against his chin. "But we never made one, did we? You guys just went after the wine and got yourselves bloody drunk!" she hissed. "So do not go about accusing me of lying!"

Legolas blinked and said nothing, being at a loss for words. He remembered that they had never made a truce, only Meryl offering to make one. As much as he hated it, she was right. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Finally, still at a loss for other words, he asked, "Do you always react this way when you are accused of lying?"

"I hate being accused of things I don't do," Meryl replied after a slight pause. "And I don't lie."

But aren't you lying right now? asked the small voice in the back of her mind slyly. You are. You know that. You're saying that you don't lie, which is clearly a lie because you've already lied about not remembering your past.

Meryl closed her eyes and chased away the voice by playing a loud song in her head. It's a small lie, she told herself. It's for the best. I have nowhere else to go.

Legolas peered worriedly at the teenage girl. "Meryl? Are you not feeling well?"

She opened her eyes. "I'm fine," she said. "I just had a fleeting headache. I get them now and then. It's gone now." She beamed at him, hoping that he would accept the answer. She ignored the voice in the corner of her head, gloating over another "little lie."

"Alright." Legolas paused a second, as if comtemplating whether to speak or not. He must have decided to talk, for he said, "I have a question for you."

Meryl raised her eyebrows. "Which is?"

"My hair is now green," he said flatly. "In the Valars' name, how did you accomplish this?"

Meryl grinned. "It wasn't easy, I can tell you that much. Otherwise my lips are sealed."

"How was it not easy?"

"Did you know that you talk in Elvish in your sleep? I'm hoping that's only when you're drunk. I remember you saying that Gimli snoring was so loud that you were surprised that he didn't draw the Orcs in your direction. You, my dear Elf, are a hypocrite. You spoke loud enough to call even the deafest of Orcs to attention."

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Meryl found refuge in the library after the morning meal and after passing some of her food to the elflings. They were all happy to have at least something to eat before the wait for the other Elven Lords to finish dining and leave the room. She was hiding from Legolas, that much was given. Her main worry was Liselle. She had not returned to her room after eating, though it was only the second day of her punishment. She decided that she would go back in a bit with the excuse of getting lost. It should work, since Meryl had not explored Rivendell very thoroughly.

Legolas had released her after she had threatened him that she would reveal what he had said in his sleep. He hadn't believed her at first, seeing as how he thought that she couldn't understand that much Elvish. He soon saw the light when she began reciting all sorts of insults in Elvish and then telling of their translations. She told him that he was saying them in his sleep, and mostly directing them towards the twins. Knowing that the twins would be furious at the insults Legolas was saying, she told him that he could either let her go without fuss, or that she would go to the twins and tell them what he said about them in his sleep. She praised herself on coming up with a variety of insults to trade with her brother when they had learned to speak some Sindarin. That was really the only reason that they had learned the language: to frustrate the other with an insult that they wouldn't know until they found the translation.

After he had released her, Meryl had quickly returned to her room, mostly to put Dae in there. The other reason was so that she could retrieve her cane, for defense if she needed it. She then went to eat.

While eating, Meryl noticed that neither Legolas or the twins joined in the meal. Legolas, she understood why he was missing. After all, she did dye his hair. He was most likely eating in his room, avoiding contact with everybody. However, the twins' disappearance made her a bit worried about whether they were plotting their revenge or not.

She now sat in a dark corner in the library, with her cane lying across her lap, pretending to read a large leatherbound book. In fact, she was studying how the written language of the Elves seemed to flow from one letter to the next. It made distinguishing the letters quite difficult. She sat there for a while, puzzling over each letter.

"Are you enjoying the book?" came a voice from in front of her.

Meryl glanced up from her book to see a pair of feet shod in soft leather boots. Damn Elves and their super powers, she thought. How am I supposed to hear them? She looked up to see that it was Lord Erestor who had asked her. She smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am."

"You must be." He smiled knowingly. "You have now been staring at the same page for half of an hour. Also, you have the book upside down."

She knew she was caught. She smiled weakly and said, "I guess you figured out that I can't read Elvish."

"It was quite easy, I assure you," the Lord said teasingly, noticing Meryl's crestfallen face. He studied the girl for a moment. "I can help you, if you wish."

Meryl was confused. "What? Could you repeat that again?"

"Would you like to learn the Elvish language? I would be happy to teach you."

The teenage girl blinked. "Don't you have better things to do with your time rather than teaching me?"

The Elven Lord laughed. "Of course not. Being the head of the library is not always work. In fact, it is quite the opposite."

"You will seriously teach me Elvish? No lies?"

Erestor smiled. "I do not jest, if that it what you are asking."

Meryl laughed out loud and punched a fist in the air, narrowly missing the Elf Lord's face. "Sweet! When can we start?"

The Elf quickly recovered from shock before replying, "Would right now suffice? We can work in my office, if you wish for this to remain a secret."

Meryl thought a moment. "Sure, why not?" She stood up and then stopped. "I have one question, though: What would we say to the others if they come into your office?"

"I will merely tell them that you are assisting me in looking for a book."

"You'll lie? Seriously?" She blinked in confusion. "Elves usually don't lie, do they?"

"In order for me to teach you the Elvish language, we will be searching for many books to help with your education. Then if we are discovered and I am questioned, I'll merely say that you threatened me with horrible events in my future if I divulged our purposes."

"Which I will do if you do tell, you know that." Meryl raised her eyebrows. "Got it?"

"I understand entirely. You need not have to worry Meryl."

"Good."

She followed Erestor into his office, with her cane in tow, and settled herself into a large comfortable chair while he sat at his desk. He then proceeded to test Meryl's knowledge of the Elvish language. She told him every saying that she could remember, turning very red when she had to tell him every insult that she had made up. Erestor laughed at a certain few such as, "Dolle naa lost!" translated, "Your head is empty!"

"I will keep that one in mind for later use," he commented, as he quickly wrote something down. He was also interested in where Meryl had learned these phrases. She only told him that she had overheard the twins, and had memorized what they had said. She didn't know the translations though.

After Meryl couldn't remember anymore words in Elvish, Erestor gave her his results of the testing. He told her that although she had a variety of things that she knew, they weren't needed when speaking to other Elves (Meryl supposed that he meant all of the insults). Also, her pronounciation was atrocious. They would have to start with the basics.

And so Meryl began learning Elvish, starting with the phrase, "Mae govannen" translated as, "Well met." It took forever to learn just that one phrase. Erestor had her repeat it countless times, while correcting her pronounciation. He would sometimes fix her on the same mistakes over and over again until she had gotten it right. Although she grew so frustrated with the Elf that she felt like she was going to scream, she found that she enjoyed learning this new language. So much, in fact, she hadn't noticed the bell that signaled the noonday meal. She winced as she realized that she still hadn't returned to her room. Liselle would be tearing Rivendell up in a fury searching for her and Dae would be anxious to be taken out.

"I need to go," she said, moving to stand up. "I just realized that I'm still under punishment."

"Ah, yes. The four days of isolation?" inquired Erestor. At Meryl's questioning glance, he said, "I was working in Lord Elrond's office at the time your handmaiden and my lord were discussing your punishment."

"Swell," she said. "Anyways, I need to find a way to sneak inside my room. Either that or withstand more punishment, which I can't possibly handle because I haven't even explored the entirety of Rivendell. Which is amazing since I've been here for so long!"

She took a breath and before she launched into another rant, Erestor held up a hand to stop her. "I will go with you. I know that you do not wish for others to discover of your learning the Elvish language, but in order for you to continue lessons, your handmaiden will need to be notified."

Meryl gave the Elf a withering look. "Do we have to?"

"If you wish to go by yourself with no explanation, therefore earning yourself more time added onto your punishment, than by all means go." Erestor smiled inwardly at the girl's discomfort at his words. "It is for you to decide."

Almost the instant he finished speaking, Meryl grabbed his arm and began pulling towards the door. "Well come on!" she said. "We had better hurry. The more time we waste, the more she gets mad, and the more she gets mad, the longer my punishment!"

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When they had gone to Meryl's room, both Liselle and Dae had been waiting. Dae was happy to see his mistress. However, Liselle was indeed furious, but calmed as Erestor explained that Meryl had been assisting him in the library. Meryl was relieved that he didn't tell her handmaiden the real reason why she didn't return to her room. She guessed that her threats towards him on the way to her room changed his mind. That and her repeated hitting him in the back on his kneecaps with her cane. After explaining, Erestor left, leaving Meryl alone with her handmaiden. He took Dae with him, after Meryl's request the her dog be taken outside.

"I hope I didn't cause too much worry," Meryl said meekly.

Liselle took a deep breath and then let it out as a sigh. "It is fine. I understand why my lord needed your assistance. He always takes on too much work. I am more upset that you have not yet seen your new clothes."

Meryl blinked before giving a wary smile. "New clothes? Liselle, I hope that they aren't dresses."

Liselle smiled. "Not at all. These are clothes that were based off of the ones you were wearing when you first arrived in Rivendell."

"My clothes?" Meryl searched her memory, trying to remember what she had worn when she had first come to Middle Earth. However, her mind drew a blank. It had been a long while since she had first opened her eyes to behold this new world.

"Well, not all of your clothes." Liselle took Meryl's arm and drew her to her wardrobe. As she opened the doors, she said, "Your outer garmants were soaked with too much blood to be salvaged. We had to burn them. We did, however, manage to use the undergarments you had worn as a guide to sew these."

Meryl gasped as she saw what Liselle was talking about. Placed on a shelf at the top of her wardrobe were five bras, in different pastel colors. Each had a matching pair of underwear.

"Does this mean that you are pleased?" Liselle asked.

"More than you know," Meryl replied. "Thank you so much!" She hugged her handmaiden. Liselle was startled at first, but smiled.

"You are welcome."

"Liselle? Is it okay if I ask you to leave? I want to try these on."

"Of course." The handmaiden turned to leave and reached for the door. She opened it and stepped into the hallway.

"Thanks... Liselle?"

The Elf turned around. "Yes?"

"You're the best."

Liselle gave a slight smile at this. "I know." She then closed the door behind herself, listening to the satisying click to assure her that the door was indeed closed. She continued down the hall, with a soft smile on her face.

Now fully clothed, Meryl sat on her bed at a loss of ways to entertain herself. For a while she had sang "Ninety Nine Bottles Of Beer On The Wall" but had lost count after reaching negative seventy-four. She had meant to count back up to positive ninety nine, but a squirrel entering her room from her balcony diverted her attention for a few moments while she chased it out of her room. When she tried remembering what number she had last sung, she couldn't remember anymore.

She sighed and fell back against her pillows. She folded her arms behind her head and stared at her ceiling. To spare her mind the exhaustion of boredom she began humming. After a while she began jiggling her foot. "Argh! I can't take this anymore!" she cried. She grabbed one of her pillows and screamed into it. After releasing her frustration, she threw it across her room, where it hit the wall and fell to the floor. Her notepad and pens fell out from her pillow where she had hidden them. She went over and picked them up. Opening her pad to a fresh sheet of paper, she began writing.

"'Things to do once I am off punishment,'" she said to herself as she scratched across the paper. "Item one: Raid the kitchens for food (as much as I can carry). Item two: Get a basket to carry the food. Item three: Get a horse (preferably one that won't bite me and is not scared of dogs). Item four: Kidnap an Elf to show me around Rivendell (if Elf refuses, threaten to —)..." she paused as she thought of what she could threaten the Elf with. An evil smile spread across her face as she thought of an idea. "—threaten to tell Liselle that they would gladly offer to be her assistant. Perfect."

Her afternoon continued in this fashion, as she compiled her list of things to do. When she had heard a knock on her door, she quickly hid her materials. Dae came bounding in followed by two panting Elf Lords who leaned against the door frame for support. Apparently Dae had escaped Erestor and led him on a merry chase through Rivendell before the Elf enlisted the help of Glorfindel to assist him on capturing the dog. Dae led them on a little run through the halls of the Last Homely House before he stopped in front of Meryl's door, grinning his doggy grin as if nothing had happened.

Meryl suppressed her laughter and sent the Elves on their way, telling them to go and get something to drink before they collapsed. She went to her bed and sat down before she burst out laughing. "Silly dog! Do you have to do that to every person aside from me who takes you for a walk?" She petted her dog, quieting her laughter. "You even ran away from Andrew when he took you out!"

Speaking her brother's name quickly silenced her. Memories of her angry brother chasing after the dog surfaced in her mind. That had happened often, no matter what Andrew did to prevent it. At least Dae was a little more tolerant of Brian. That thought only led to memories of herself and Brian walking the dog. Meryl had once handed over the leash to Brian after his offer to tolerate Dae's endless strain against the restraint. It took only a moment for Dae to jerk free and go barrelling down the street after a squirrel.

It took Meryl a moment to realize that there would be no more walks with Brian. He was dead. He was buried under six feet of dirt in a wooden box lined with silk, left there to rot and become part of the very dirt that covered him. He would never be back. She would never again hear his voice. She glanced down and reread the message on the cast on her left arm that he had written. "I'll love you forever, even past the day I die," she read aloud. "Meryl, remember me. Remember me as I once was." A wave of grief broke over her like a tsunami. Remember him! He had said to remember him, and here she was trying to forget!

She felt a tear trickle down her face and buried her face in her hands. She was stuck in Rivendell, with no idea of getting back home. The faces of her family swam in her mind's eye. Would she ever see them again? Would she ever get the chance to argue with her brother? To shop with her mom? To watch baseball with her dad, although she never understood why he watched it religiously? A sob escaped her mouth. The initial shock of Brian's death had long worn off, and the emotions that she had suppressed on the day of his funeral broke out of the lid that she had clamped over them. This, along with her homesickness drove her over the edge.

"Why?" she whispered through her tears. "Why? Why?! Why?! WHY?!" She took her other pillow and threw it across the room, releasing a wild-grief stricken howl. "WHY?!" she screamed. "WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS?!" Frantic sobs racked her body and she collapsed onto her bed. She barely acknowledged that Dae had begun to howl, or the hurried footsteps coming in the direction of her door.

Her door was thrown open, and Erestor and Glorfindel stood in her doorway. Both were still panting; they had only gone a little ways down the halls before they heard her scream. They had sprinted the entire way back. Glorfindel had a dagger in his hand, thinking that there was an enemy. When he saw the sobbing girl, he quickly dropped it, and went over to her.

"Erestor, run and get Elrond," he said as he sat down next to Meryl. The dark-haired Elf nodded once and ran down the hall. Glorfindel turned to the teenage girl, who was hunched over and had her face buried in her hands.

"Are you all right?" he asked. He was answered by a shake of Meryl's head, with her hands still covering her face. "Was someone here? Were you attacked?" Again, no. He was silent, uncomfortable at how to comfort the mortal when he did not know the problem. He did not get the chance to get to know her very well either, for he was drowning in his endless paperwork. When she was first brought in, he thought that she would be healed and then sent on her way. He had not expected for her to stay for so long.

Tentatively he placed a hand on her back and using his thumb, rubbed small circles, and whispered, "Sidh, hiril-nin, im nev. Sidh... sidh... sidh...." (Peace, my lady, I am here. Peace... peace... peace....) He based this action off of something his naneth had done to comfort her elfling, who had fallen out of a tree and tearfully gone to his mother, so many centuries before. He guessed that Meryl did not understand what he was saying, but he hoped that he could get the message across.

Dae had stopped howling, and went to his mistress, giving a small whine. He stuck his head in her lap, and licked her hand. Meryl's sobs lessened, but did not cease. He whined again, and sat at her feet. It was at that moment when Elrond appeared in the doorway. He swept into the room, his face expressionless.

"Glorfindel, I will have to ask you to leave," he said.

The Elf stood up, bowed, and left the room, closing the door. Elrond turned to Meryl. He sat in the space that Glorfindel had previously occupied and studied her. It was a few moments before he asked delicately, "Do you wish to talk?"

Meryl shook her head. Elrond's eyebrows drew together in a frown and glanced around her room. He noticed her two pillows on the floor across the room, obviously they had been thrown. His ear caught a slight whisper from Meryl's lips.

"No more pain," she had whispered. "Make it go away. Why couldn't it have been me? Why wasn't he spared?"

"Meryl," he said gently, "are you remembering some of your past?"

Meryl's face left her hands. She turned and faced Elrond. He was shocked at the sight of the haunted look in her grass-green eyes. "Make it go away," she whispered hoarsely. That was all she said before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell back on her bed.

"Meryl?" Elrond shook the girl gently. "Meryl? Can you hear me?" When there was no answer, he stood up. He quickly set a hand against her forehead. It was burning. The girl had made herself sick. He checked for other symptoms. When he found no others, he made his conclusion. She only needed rest and some medication. He tucked her into her bed, and went to her desk. He took a piece of spare parchment from a drawer quickly wrote something down, and went to the door. He opened it, and gave a slight smile as he found two Elves sitting across the hall.

Erestor and Glorfindel stood up. "Will she be all right?" inquired Erestor.

"She is exhausted, and has made herself sick. Glorfindel, I need you to go and fetch this medication--" At this Elrond handed Glorfindel the piece of parchment. "--and Erestor, I ask you to find Meryl's handmaiden. I will remain here for the time being, to keep an eye on her."

The two Elves nodded and went their separate ways, working on completing the tasks that Elrond had asked them to do. The Lord of Rivendell sighed and went back into the girl's room. He pulled up a chair at her bedside and eased into it. Now began the thorn in every healer's side: the long wait.

A/N: So ends the chapter. You happy? 10 pages long. I don't know when I'll next post… perhaps Christmas break. Maybe if you send me a lot of reviews I'll update faster!

By the Lion's Mane,

Leo