By Khylaren
Chapter 2"So, Glorfindel tells me I'm an elf," Laurel said to cover her nervousness as Elrond's hands gently probed her head and neck for injury.
Elrond's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Yes, that is correct. Does that surprise you?" His long fingers gently palpated the muscles of her shoulders, searching for any sign of pain or discomfort.
"Well, frankly, yes," Laurel replied, feeling very self-conscious now of how close his face was to hers as he swept his fingertips over her temples and across her forehead. "I'm human."
The elf lord's fingers stilled their movements and he looked at her sharply. "I assure you, lady, you are most definitely an elf."
"I didn't used to be," Laurel said. "I didn't even know there were such things as elves until I woke up with Glorfindel inches from my nose. Elves were always fantasy creatures, make believe, fairy tales."
Elrond helped her to sit up and frowned. "I can sense no injury to your head or neck area that would explain this lapse in your memory, nor why you would believe such things," he said finally. He took a seat across from her on a nearby chair and looked at her keenly. "I want to you tell me everything you remember of this day, from the moment you woke up this morning, to the point where Glorfindel found you. Can you do that?"
So she did, omitting no detail. She could tell he didn't understand some of what she said, but was following her story nonetheless as best he could. She got to the part where she figured she was dead, and followed the bright light out of the tunnel, and he started abruptly.
"You think that you died?" Elrond questioned, his eyebrows rising sharply. "Why do you think that?"
"Because of the light, and because I don't see how I could have survived a crash like that. And because none of this makes any sense to me at all," Laurel explained matter-of-factly. "I'm either dead and this is heaven, which seems all wrong if that's the case, no offense to your hospitality. Or, I'm in a coma, and I'm dreaming all of this."
Elrond regarded her a moment and shook his head. "You are not dreaming, Laurel," he said quietly. "I assure you, this is all very real."
"Well of course you'd say that," she replied with a short laugh. "You're supposed to say that."
He looked disconcerted at her flippant answer. He thought for several long moments, before he spoke. "I would like to try something, with your permission, that may help to answer both my questions and yours."
Laurel shrugged. "What do you want me to do?"
Elrond smiled faintly. "Lie down on the bed and close your eyes. I am going to put you into a deep, healing sleep. You will feel much refreshed when you awaken."
"And what are you going to be doing while I'm sleeping?" Laurel asked curiously. "How is that going to help give you the answers you're looking for?"
"I will be able to touch your thoughts and memories while you are asleep. It is a gift I have fortunately been blessed with. I can do it while you are awake, however it is a task made simpler if the subject is asleep," he explained simply. "Will you grant me permission to do this?"
Laurel considered his question carefully. There were a lot of thoughts and memories she wasn't really sure she wanted to share with a complete stranger. On the other hand, she truly wanted to know what was going on. If this was just a dream, well, then, it didn't matter what he found out from picking through her thoughts. If it was real, then he might be able to tell her just what exactly happened, and possibly how she got there.
She looked at him, studying his face for a moment. Though she had just met him only moments ago, something within her instinctively trusted him. Perhaps it was the gentle patience and curiosity she read in his silvery gray eyes, or perhaps it was the way that Glorfindel had deferred to him. Perhaps it was simply that if he was the Lord of such a place as breathtakingly lovely and peaceful as Imladris, how could he be anything but good?
"You won't…tell anyone if you see something…well, embarrassing, will you?" she asked finally.
A soft chuckle escaped him and he smiled. "No, Laurel. I will share no details of anything I discover without your permission. I shall be the soul of discretion, you have my word."
Laurel nodded and lay back on the bed, closing her eyes. "Because I'm trusting you, you know. There's a lot of stuff in there I'd rather not share with the world in general."
Another soft chuckle greeted this sally. "We all carry such memories, Laurel." His hands touched her forehead gently, and she felt a comforting warmth emanating from them. "Now sleep."
Elrond studied the elleth sleeping peacefully on the bed before him, his brow furrowed in thought. After speaking with her at length, hearing her strange story, as well as her equally strange words and mannerisms, he understood Glorfindel's concern.
Elf maiden she might be, but there was something inherently wrong with Laurel. Even her name was not an Elvish one, though he could not recall having ever heard it among the humans he was acquainted with.
She claimed she was human, which Elrond found equally perplexing. There was nothing human about the female before him. From the glow to her skin, to the tips of her pointed ears, she was an elf in all appearances. Like Glorfindel, Elrond could also sense her fëa quite easily, which proved to him beyond a doubt what his other senses were telling him. Laurel was indeed an elf.
However, she was the strangest, most curious elf he had ever met in his long years, and he wondered again what sort of tragedy had befallen her to make her behave in such a manner.
Elrond placed his hands on the crown of her head and closed his eyes, taking a deep, cleansing breath to focus his thoughts and will upon the mind of the sleeping elleth.
Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, knew well what her oldest son was up to, and did not necessarily approve.
While it was one thing to meddle in the love lives of mortals – something she herself did frequently, after all, it was her purview – it was quite another to take a mortal out of the realm they were born in and put her in another, without bothering to prepare her for the obstacles ahead.
Eros had made a serious error in judgment when he sent Laurel into Arda without bothering to alter anything except her physical state. While the mortal turned immortal may come to accept that she was no longer human, her new kindred would have a difficult time of it, despite their familiarity with the supernatural.
She was aware of Elrond's thoughts and intents as he opened his thoughts to Laurel, his mind beginning its gradual descent to touch Laurel's thoughts and memories. She was also aware that what the elf lord would find there would utterly confuse him and would not help matters in the least.
Aphrodite was tempted greatly to let matters lie as they were. To watch the scene unfold like a play, to see if Elrond could cope with the strangeness he found in Laurel's mind, and to see if Laurel herself was strong enough to make a life for herself in spite of her differences from those around her.
On the other hand, love was her business, and Laurel would never find it if she couldn't fit in with the elves.
Perhaps then, the best answer would be to make sure that Elrond found the answers he sought, and leave the rest of it up to Laurel. After all, it wouldn't be nearly as fun to watch if she made it too easy.
It took only a moment to ensure the information Elrond required was in place, however in the brief period she had touched the powerful elf lord's mind, she had discovered something about him that saddened her.
Elrond was lonely, almost painfully so, though he bore it with the typical stoic strength of his kind; his strength coming from the knowledge that he would, one day, be reunited with the one he loved more than life.
Still, Aphrodite could not remain unaffected by the loneliness that emanated from him, though she could do nothing to ease it. While it lay well within her power to do so, she could not interfere with Elrond's life in such an obvious manner – the Valar, the gods of this realm, would never permit her meddling in his affairs.
Elrond sat back, his hands resting loosely on his thighs and closed his eyes wearily. He had found the answers he sought, but the effort had cost him more than he would have guessed. His head ached and his thoughts…well his thoughts were spinning almost out of control.
It took him several long moments to gather his unruly thoughts together and place them in some semblance of order. He had his explanation for Laurel's strange behavior, but it did not mean he was pleased.
On the contrary, he was very displeased on Laurel's behalf.
God or not, the being had no right to interfere the way he had, taking Laurel from her world and dropping her into this one. From the brief bits of memory and thoughts he had uncovered, he understood perhaps why he done it, but not why he had changed her race. She would have had a better chance at acclimating herself to a new world if she had remained human, although he admitted that it would still have been very difficult. He had seen how vastly different her world was from his.
Still, she was here, and she was no longer human. The Valar must have had something in mind when they placed her in Glorfindel's path, for he was certain it was the Valar, and not this unfamiliar God, that had done at least that much.
It was now up to Elrond to see that Laurel acclimated herself as best she could. He sighed tiredly, covering his face with his hands. It would take a lot of work on both their parts, and Elrond wondered if she was truly up for the task ahead of her. The only blessing he could see was that now that she was an elf, she at least had plenty of time in which to learn all that she would need to know to survive as a member of that race.
The other elves of his community would be wary of her at first, but he knew, in time, they would come to accept her. She was fortunate in that she came here, to Imladris, instead of to Mirkwood or Lothlórien. The elves of both those realms were much less open to outsiders. She would have found it difficult to be accepted there.
A low sigh escaped the object of his thoughts, and Elrond turned his gaze to Laurel as her eyes fluttered open. Idly he wondered if she would continue the practice of sleeping with her eyes closed, or if she would, in elven fashion, take her rest with them open.
"You have some powerful friends," Elrond said as her eyes gradually focused on him. He saw her try to sit up, and moved to assist her. "How do you feel?"
Laurel closed her eyes a moment, before opening them once more and giving him a half-hearted smile. "Like someone has been poking around in my head," she replied with a wince.
Elrond nodded, handing her a cup filled with an herbal broth that would soothe her headache. "Drink that," he told her gently. "It will help with the discomfort somewhat."
She took it and sniffed suspiciously at the contents, before taking a hesitant sip. Elrond would have been offended by her actions, if he did not understand well the reason for her mistrust. Her look of surprise and pleasure at the taste made him smile.
"This is good," she murmured, taking another, deeper drink from the broth. "Very good."
"I am glad to hear that," Elrond replied, feeling somewhat pleased with her response. "I try very hard to make my healing brews palatable."
Laurel finished the contents of the cup and handed it back to him with a polite thank you. "What did you mean, I have some powerful friends?" she asked. "What did you find out?"
Elrond set the cup carefully on the small table beside him and folded his hands in front of him, his brow furrowing slightly. "This will take some acceptance on your part, Laurel, and some trust." He looked keenly at her as he spoke, watching the play of emotion across her face. He saw uncertainty war with curiosity, and no small amount of worry flicker across her face. "Will you trust me to tell you the truth?"
"I let you wander around my head, didn't I?" she answered back, forcing a light laugh.
A faint smile curved his lips. "So you did," he agreed. "And that does indeed require some level of trust. Very well." He leaned forward slightly, his hands coming to rest on his knees. "I will tell you what I discovered."
Laurel couldn't even begin to find words to describe what she was feeling. She stared blankly at Lord Elrond for a moment before dropping her gaze to her hands.
"This isn't a dream," she ventured finally.
"No, lady," he answered kindly enough. "I am afraid it is all quite real."
"I am really an elf."
"Yes."
"I'm immortal, trapped for eternity in a pre-industrialized civilization, because some God-like entity decided that my life on Earth was less than satisfactory," she continued, her voice dropping lower.
Elrond nodded sympathetically, understanding that this was difficult for her to accept. He himself had difficulty accepting it, so he did not begrudge her the moments it took for her to come to terms with it.
"I – I…" Laurel lifted her head and looked at him in dismay, her hands fluttering inarticulately around her.
"It is a bit much to take, is it not?" Elrond finally ventured. "I myself was rather overwhelmed at first." It was a vast understatement, but he did believe telling her how he truly felt would be helpful in her current situation. "It will, of course, take some getting used to I think. However I promise I will assist you as much as I am able."
Laurel shook her head, feeling tears sting her eyes. "I can't do this," she said, clutching the fabric of her dress between her fingers. "I don't know anything about being an elf." There was more to it than that, but she couldn't even begin to articulate it all.
"You can learn," Elrond said gently. "Can you not? The question is, Laurel, are you willing to learn?" he asked, knowing it was best to give her something to focus on, before she fell apart. He felt a surge of sympathy towards her, and an equally powerful feeling of anger at the being who was responsible for the mess she was currently in – a mess that he was not even certain he could repair.
Laurel sniffed, looking down at her hands again. "I suppose," she answered finally. "I guess I don't have much choice, now do I?" To her surprise, she felt one of his hands touch hers, enfolding it in his much larger one. She lifted her head, blinking through her tears.
"You always have a choice, Laurel," he told her quietly. "You can chose to accept the fate that you have been given, or you can chose not to. It is really that simple."
Laurel wiped her tears from her cheeks with the back of her other hand and nodded.
"Then I suppose I will choose to accept it." She was warmed suddenly by the smile of approval he gave her.
"I am glad to hear that," Elrond said, squeezing her hand briefly before releasing it. "I am very glad indeed."
Elrond showed Laurel a room that would be hers while she was a guest in his home.
"It is yours for as long as you need it," he told her, watching her awed reaction with a pleased smile. "I will have to see if we can procure some dresses for you as well," he continued.
Laurel turned to him, her eyes bright as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. "I can't repay you for any of this," she said. "You're being so good to me, and you don't even know me."
"I do not expect payment from you," he replied gently. "You are like a child in this world, how could I do ought but help you?" He shook his head, watching as she rubbed her eyes with her fingers. "I imagine a day will come when you will be able to repay me in kind, if that helps make you feel any better."
"Thank you," Laurel managed weakly, feeling simply overwhelmed by it all.
Elrond took her arm and led her to the large, quilt covered bed, pushing her gently down onto it. "Now I think you should rest, for you have been through quite a bit in the past few hours. I shall send a maid with some food and a sleeping garment for you, and I expect you to eat and get some sleep. I will see you in the morning, all right?"
She nodded, feeling weary despite her earlier nap. "All right." She watched him leave, closing the heavy wooden door behind him, and then curled up beneath the quilts, hugging the pillow to her chest.
Laurel woke sometime later, not even realizing she had fallen asleep, but knowing she must have, for the sky outside her window had darkened to evening, and a tray of food rested on the table beside her bed.
She sat up, stretching, feeling somewhat refreshed, and examined the food before her. A plate of fruit, small slices of some type of cheese, and a glass of what appeared to be red wine were placed on a delicately patterned tray. She took a tentative sip of the wine and found it to be very pleasant indeed. The fruit was similar in appearance to an apple, and when she tasted it, its flavor was reminiscent of one as well, though it was far juicier and flavorful than any apple she'd ever tasted before. The cheese was sharp, and went well with the crisp, sweet fruit, and before she knew it, the tray was empty except for the wine.
Taking the glass in her hand, she rose from the bed and walked towards the window, but paused as she caught her reflection in the floor length mirror beside an enormous wooden wardrobe. She stared at her reflection and a stranger with her eyes stared back.
It was a bit surreal. Her eyes were the same as they always were, but everything else about her had changed. Instead of a short, freckled human, a tall, willowy-limbed elf woman stared back.
Why had this happened to her? She didn't believe in supernatural entities, gods, goddess or magic. Yet somehow, someone had engineered this drastic change in her life, simply because she'd been lonely. It seemed more than absurd when she considered it. It was ridiculous.
Yet if she believed Lord Elrond that she wasn't in fact having a rather strange if somewhat pleasant coma-induced dream, that this was in fact wholly real, she didn't quite know what she thought about it. It went beyond anything she could grasp and relate to. It was like being abducted by aliens for weird experimentation and dumped on their planet for the rest of her life. It was so unreal and completely impossible to accept.
However, the proof was right before her eyes, if she wanted it. The air she breathed, the food she tasted, the warmth of the wine in her stomach, even the pain she'd felt when she'd pinched her ear – all pointed to the fact that she was really here. That it wasn't a dream, coma-induced or otherwise.
Suddenly, she wished she had more wine. A lot more.