When Katie awoke the next morning, she just lay there and felt for a moment, her eyes still closed.

The back of her head was sore, as was her left cheek and eye. And she felt strangely weak and tired. Her mind had not quite processed everything yet by the time she tried to open her eyes—and found that she couldn't. Panic gripped her for a moment, but then she realized that her right eye was nudged into the pillow.

She turned her head a few degrees and tried again. This time, her right eye opened, but her left was reluctant to do so. Gingerly, she felt around it. It was swollen.

Oh, right. The blow to her face yesterday—it must've given her a black eye. Now that she was fully awake, she had a vague memory of Elrond waking her up a few times in the middle of the night to check her condition.

"How do you feel?" a gentle voice asked, and Katie rolled over more fully. Arwen sat nearby. The thought flashed through her mind that she looked like a queen enthroned.

"Sore and shaky," Katie answered truthfully. "I don't think it'll be any problem obeying doctor's orders and staying in bed; I'm not so sure I'd want to get up even if I was allowed."

Arwen nodded, unsurprised.

There was movement at the door, and Katie rolled over onto her back to see Elrond smiling down at her.

"Ah, you are awake."

"Yes. And before you ask, I feel sore and shaky," Katie added with a small smile.

Elrond smiled back. "You sound more like yourself this morning. And your voice is better."

Katie closed her eyes wearily, with a small smile. "And you thought you were gonna get a reprieve from my endless chatter for awhile."

The elves took her comment in the spirit in which it was intended, and chuckled.

000

Arwen stayed with Katie for a little while, and they chatted of many things.

"Your brothers were great," Katie said, referring to the night before. "I never had an older brother to take care of me."

"I spent many happy hours playing on their laps when I was little," Arwen said reminiscently. "They used to tell me bedtime stories. Both of them were good storytellers by themselves, but they were even better when they told stories together. They would take turns adding things, but the story never seemed to get away from them. There was one that took them a whole week of nights to tell me." She paused, then laughed. "I believe it was about a little elf girl from another world."

"Really?" Katie asked, intrigued. "What happened?"

"Oh, she had some adventures—I believe she played a riddle-game with a troll, or some such thing, and made friends with some dwarves. I do not remember many details, although I know it ended happily. All of their made-up stories ended happily. The true ones generally did not, or at least, not entirely. But I loved them all." She sat silent for a moment, thinking. "Even at that age, I knew there was no such thing as other worlds." She looked at Katie again and smiled gently. "We elves do not believe in such things; they are only children's stories. Or at least, that is what I used to think. Your appearance seems to have proven all of us wrong."

000

Elrond made orders for some of the guards to recommence their patrols on the far side of the Bruinen, with a reminder to them that if they took the guilty man prisoner, that they should be sure to ride into the river before their captive, so as not to cause the river to flood. The guards were planning to ride out en masse at noon.

Elrohir volunteered to go, also. "I will go and retrieve our things and the horses, and then return and rejoin the guards," he said. Elladan, on the other hand, would stay and help his father organize things in Rivendell. Elrond did not comment on his elder son's uncharacteristic choice.

Elrohir headed down the road at mid-morning. The guards would need the three horses he was out to retrieve. He had considered waiting for noon and fetching the horses then, but the animals really could not be spared. Besides, he was not in the least worried about a bandit, or even a small band of them. If they attacked him, he was more than capable of defending himself. He would hear them coming, anyway; they had not the stealth of elves.

Even before he reached the river, he met his own horse and Elladan's on the road. They had crossed the Ford on their own and were headed back home. Elrohir gave them each a command to go home, then continued on across the river to recover Serondrych and the picnic things.

Elrohir rode directly to the clearing they had eaten in the day before. Serondrych was nowhere to be seen, but that was to be expected. The remaining food certainly seemed the worse for a night in the open air, and there were some small paw prints of animals that had come through in the night and sampled the viands. With a small smile, Elrohir began to pack the blanket and the viable food back into the basket, which he put on the back of his horse. Now. Where was Serondrych?

Elrohir began to call for the horse, wandering out around the area. In between each call, he listened carefully for sounds of the horse or of any humans approaching. He wandered some distance off the road, moving gently through the underbrush.

Suddenly, something made him stop in his tracks—a vague feeling that there was something—or someone—nearby. Listening very carefully, he put his hand to the hilt of his knife and slowly began to turn around.

Something heavy struck the back of his head, and then there was only darkness.

000

Arwen left after she and Katie had eaten luncheon together (swallowing had been a trifle painful for the girl), and left the young human to take a nap. Katie felt much more alert afterwards. When Erestor came to see how she was doing, she was able to greet him relatively cheerfully, sitting propped up on pillows.

"I see you are recovering well," Erestor commented, taking the seat Arwen had occupied earlier. "You are not averse to company?"

"Not at all. Arwen was here most of the morning. Speaking of Elrond's family, where's Estel?"

"He went off hunting in the Trollshaws with a large party yesterday morning," Erestor said. "They are not expected back for a fortnight. So there are fewer guards to spare for the patrols than usual."

"Ah." They sat in companionable silence for a few moments. "This is totally random, Erestor, but what does gwethel mean?"

"Sister," he responded, with hardly a pause.

"I thought that was muinthel?"

"That is the word for the daughter of one's parents. A close associate, an ally, or a very close friend that one calls a sister—that is gwethel."

"Oh." Katie looked pleased.

000

Elrond met Elladan in the hall. His son was looking around with a frown on his face, as if he expected something to jump out from behind a pillar.

"What is it, my son?" Elrond asked.

"Have you seen Elrohir?" Elladan asked in response. When Elrond shook his head, Elladan continued. "He was to retrieve the horses, then ride out with the rest of the guard. Two of the horses and the one he rode out on have returned to Rivendell on their own, the third with the picnic things. But Serondrych is still missing, as is Elrohir."

Elrond thought for a moment. "He probably packed the picnic things up on his own horse, then went off looking for Serondrych. Either he has not found her yet, or he caught her and then picked up on the bandit's trail and followed it. I would not worry just yet, Elladan. Your brother is quite capable of defending himself against a man, or against several men, if need be."

Elladan nodded. "I am sure you are right, Adar."

000

Part of the patrol returned to Imladris as night fell, and Glawar came to report to Elrond and Glorfindel.

"We have found few tracks, my lord," he said. "These bandits have covered themselves well. However, we do have reason to believe that there may be more than one of these kidnappers, as there seem to be more than one kind of tracks. They have a few horses, as well. Half the patrol is remaining to continue to police the area throughout the night. We have placed a guard at the Ford."

Elrond nodded. "If the patrol is stretched too thin, the guard may be placed on duty somewhere other than the Ford; it will protect itself. Is there any sign of Elrohir?"

Glawar frowned in confusion. "Lord Elrohir did not ride out with us, my lord," Glawar responded. "I assumed he had retrieved the horses and would be joining us later, but we have not seen him. I thought perhaps he had been occupied with other responsibilities here."

"Three of the horses returned, but one and my son are still missing," Elrond said.

"Perhaps he discovered the bandits' trail while on his first foray, and followed it," Glorfindel suggested, unconsciously echoing Elrond earlier assertion. The warrior smiled slightly. "It sounds like something he would do. I am sure he will turn up in the morning, covered in mud, wondering why anyone was worried about him."

"You are probably right," Elrond said, and turned back to the guard. "Thank you, Glawar, that will be all."

TBC

AN: Uh-oh… lol I know, I'm wicked.

Extra credit is awarded to Princess Siara, crazycatluver and Darkened Dreams for knowing that the missing Arata was Nienna. More EC is awarded to werewolflemming, for being the 100th reviewer!

Laer4572: …maybe…maybe not… lol

IwishChan: Well, the twins see Katie as almost a child, so they tend to treat her that way. She's silly and friendly with them, so they're silly and friendly with her. But they're not always that way. And thank you for reminding me to tell Katie where Estel had gotten to!

crazycatluver: Mwa ha ha… Cliffie again!

Madd Hatter: Yes, I feel rather bad for Katie. But she seems to be surprisingly resilient. Thanks! I looked up concussions in the encyclopedia and my mom's medical dictionary and took some notes before I wrote that chapter. :)

Neassa: Nopers. Don't feel bad; I checked before I wrote in the others! I certainly don't have them memorizied!

werewolflemming: Thanks! I'm beginning to move toward that kind of obsession, but I'm not quite there yet…

Darkened Dreams: lol! Oh, good! If Josh Groban isn't gay… DIBS! Hee hee.

Thanks also to Princess Siara, Hermione at Heart, Arlindor and Fk306! You all make my day!

Just to let you all know, I'm going to Indiana for a week from the 16th to the 22nd, and there's no internet there. So you can expect at least a week before the next update. I will try to write while I'm there, but I'm not guaranteeing anything—I'll have the newest Harry Potter to read! —does a victorious "Harry-Potter-is-coming-out" dance—

If you don't review, the twins will come after you! But if you do review, they'll still come after you… in a different way. lol!