Disclaimer: I own NOTHING. Except my extra special scared copy of the Lord of the Rings with the movie art covers and the equally revered DVDs. But other then that, a Legolas and Gimli action figure, and two bookmarks, everything else belongs to other people…they can figure it out.

Chapter Three: Revelation

I soon learned that the beauty of Rivendell was not limited to the outside.

I stood quietly in a room somewhere in the middle of the building, openly gaping at my surroundings. The ceiling was very high, supported by graceful fluted columns that sprang forth from the unblemished stone floor beneath my feet. Several paintings hung upon the walls, some depicting glorious battles while others were portraits of proud men and women. The immense skill and talent of the artists was breathtaking. They were gorgeous, the colors blending so perfectly, making it nearly impossible to believe that they were not photographs.

The kind man suddenly cleared his throat rather loudly and I jumped slightly. I tore my eyes away from the paintings as a tall man entered the room. He was very poised and elegant, regarding me with the cool stare of a king. His hair was very long and dark, fashioned into a complicated style that I could never properly describe nor even begin to comprehend how he managed it. Plain brown robes of a fine cloth hung crisply in place and a small circlet of woven silver rested primly on his head.

And just when I thought that things could not get any more bizarre, I noticed that he also had pointed ears.

Suddenly the world is full of people with pointed ears, I thought quietly to myself, looking down at the floor as he regarded me with an icy stare. The kinder man cleared his throat again. I looked up at him silently. He bent his head down slightly and looked at me expectantly. I obediently made an awkward bow, slightly confused.

"Amdir, Celebfân," the man greeted, nodding at the two men. The kind man seemed to take this as an invitation to speak.

"We found a stranger wandering in the woods, Lord Elrond," he explained, nodding slightly at me. The man whom he had addressed as Lord Elrond looked at me for a moment before speaking.

"Does she speak the Common Tongue?" he inquired.

"Yes, my lord." Lord Elrond nodded before fixing his gaze upon me once again and addressing me in a superior tone.

"Who are you and what business brings you to Rivendell?" he asked. I swallowed nervously.

"My name is Haley Logan and I haven't the slightest idea as to what you're talking about," I replied, feigning confidence. Lord Elrond raised an eyebrow.

"Please explain yourself," he requested calmly.

"I was taking a walk when they—" I jerked my head in Celefân and Amdir's direction (though I did not know which was which), "—assaulted me."

"She claimed that this land belonged to a relation of hers," the other broke in, narrowing his eyes slightly at me. "We brought her back as ordered and did her no harm." Elrond nodded thoughtfully. I opened my mouth to retaliate, but the kind man gave me a sharp look and I remained silent.

"I have no knowledge of any villages within walking distance of Rivendell. How did you elude the other watchmen?" Elrond asked, almost accusingly.

"Let me reiterate," I replied, feeling rather irritated and frightened at the same time, "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I don't know how I got here. I don't even know where 'here' is!"

"You are in Rivendell," the kind man supplied, sending an apologetic look to Elrond.

"I know that. But I've never heard of this place. Ever," I retorted sharply. The other man turned up his lip slightly.

"Impossible. Rivendell is well-known in Middle-earth, especially amongst the Elves!" he exclaimed. I raised an eyebrow slightly, the bizarreness of the situation not lessened by the fact that this was coming from a man with pointed ears. Elrond held up a hand.

"Peace, Amdir." The man (who I assumed was Amdir) shut his mouth and nodded respectfully, though he sent a rather peeved look in my general direction.

"Elves?" I said, raising my eyebrows in disbelief. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm certainly not an Elf." There was a silence and the three of them stared skeptically at me. I nervously tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, slightly uneasy at the strange attention I was receiving. I suddenly stopped and ran a finger over my ear. Instead of having a familiar curve, it came up to a point before curving back down. My hand flew to my other ear, which had adapted the same shape as the other. Unconvinced, I pinched them both in the hope that they were artificial. The pain told me otherwise.

Then it all came back in a rush: the letter, the books. I suddenly remembered where I had heard Elrond's name before; he was a character in Lord of the Rings. I had fallen into a book. A book. You hear about alternate universes…but a book? I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I was in a book. And supposedly an Elf.

"An Elf. I'm an Elf. That's just ducky," I muttered, feeling incredibly overwhelmed, confused, and lightheaded. The concept was too big to grasp, constantly eluding me as I sought an explanation. Reality and fantasy had just reversed their roles and I was feeling increasingly dizzy as I tried to absorb it all. I swayed slightly on my feet and informed the three of them that I was going to pass out, before falling to the floor, welcoming the blessed darkness that is unconsciousness.

I lost all sense of time after I fell to the floor, the hours or minutes that passed in between a constant dark blur. I woke later, the sunlight piercing through the windows and nearly blinding me. At first I thought I was at home again, as I was lying in a bed that felt oddly like my own. I opened my eyes and was promptly greeted by an unfamiliar room. I sighed and leaned back into the pillows, staring quietly at my surroundings. Elrond had certainly spared no expense in this part of Rivendell, right down to the silky sheets and downy comforter wrapped comfortably around my body.

"I see you have awoken." A rich tenor voice suddenly broke the silence and Elrond stepped into the room. I sighed.

"To tell the truth, I was hoping it was just a dream of some sort," I replied, smoothing the white comforter over my stomach.

"I see," he said, sitting down in a chair across from the bed. "I took the liberty of examining the things you carried with you." He gestured to the books and letter which had been neatly placed on the bedside table next to me. "I hope you do not mind." I shrugged.

"Did you read the letter?" I asked, hoping he could shed some light on the subject. He nodded slowly. I looked at him expectantly. "Well…what do you make of it?" He sighed.

"It is cloudy…the answer evades me. I had hoped you would be able to provide an explanation," he remarked, folding his hands neatly in his lap.

"I really don't have much to offer in terms of an explanation," I responded, shrugging my shoulders slightly. "One minute I was there and everything was completely normal. The next thing I know, I'm here and I'm an Elf." He frowned slightly and nodded, seeming to signal for me to continue. "All of this," I gestured wildly around the room, "is just fantasy there. There aren't any Elves…just people." I ended with a shrug, having run out of things to say.

"The Elven race may have existed in your world long ago," Elrond began, speaking slowly and deliberately, "but perhaps they have been forgotten. There are mysterious forces at work, ones that even the Wise cannot comprehend." He looked at me somberly. "I have no other explanation."

"Oh." I looked quietly at my hands, feeling slightly more confused than I had been initially.

"In the meantime, it would be advisable to rise and dress. Dinner is in two hours' time," he announced as he rose from his chair. I gave him a small half-smile as he exited the room and leaned back into the pillows, wondering if I would ever be able to live in such a place.