"What does this mean?" Elrohir said as his father examined the knife. They had all come immediately into the house following the discovery and were now in Elrond's study. "Is this a threat?"

"Looks like a sick joke to me," Katie said.

Erestor shook his head. "No elf in Rivendell would do such a thing."

"And yet, one has," Elrond answered him. "And it could have happened at any point within the last few weeks, I would imagine. People do not often go the cemetery; it could have been there quite some time before you discovered it." He paused. "I will send someone to watch the entrance to the cemetery for a few days and see that this does not happen again. Orain's family need not know of this; it would only cause them grief."

After the interview with Elrond, Erestor went back to his study, and Elrohir walked with Katie and Vivian to the kitchens, where Lossefalme had promised Vivian she would show her a special trick to making bread. They stood back and watched for a few minutes, until the cook came over.

"Are you going to stand there all afternoon and do nothing?" he asked teasingly. "Come with me; I have a job for you."

Katie and Elrohir soon found themselves in another part of the kitchen, chopping vegetables.

"How did we let ourselves get talked into this?" Katie asked as she chopped away at a piece of celery. Elrohir grinned at her in response. Katie frowned. "Where is Elladan, anyway? I expected to see him in your father's study. And Arwen."

"Arwen is visiting with friends, and Elladan has gone out to one of the farms to help with the planting," Elrohir answered, swiftly slicing a carrot.

"The farms? There are farms in Rivendell?"

Elrohir laughed. "Of course! Where do you suppose these vegetables come from? And the flour your grandmother is using to bake bread?"

Katie blinked. "Oh. I guess I'd never thought of that before. You really do have a self-sufficient community here, don't you?"

Elrohir nodded. "The produce from the farms is enough to get the entire settlement through the winters. Estel and Legolas showed you part of the community the first time you came, didn't they?"

Katie nodded. "Yep. Weaver, seamstress, blacksmith, carpenter… The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker!" she finished. "I just never thought much about it before." She frowned. "What is your job? You and your brother, and your father, and Erestor…"

"We distribute the resources, make sure the community is well-protected, organize hunting parties, settle minor disputes… And even help out in the farms when they're a few hands short." He smiled again. "I would not be surprised if Elladan swings a scythe this harvest. I might even join him."

His hair would be a little more grown-out by then, Katie thought. He was still embarrassed about it, but he was making strides in the right direction. Even being down here in the bustling kitchens were a good sign. And his walking with them outside the house, of course.

Her mind turned back to the knife in Orain's grave. As far as Katie knew, no one had had any grudge against him. Even Dorlarth hadn't killed him so much out of spite as simply because he could. It didn't make any sense. Why would someone do something so vengeful? The only person she could think of was one of Dorlarth's followers. But all of his elves had either been rehabilitated into the community, or had been exiled. The only two exiles were Delwon and Garaveg, and they were both dead. And that left… nobody. Katie was very puzzled, and she wasn't the only one.

But the mystery was not solved. A guard stood at the entrance to the cemetery for a week, but no one was seen anywhere in the vicinity. Eventually, everyone dismissed it as a freak occurrence, and their thoughts turned elsewhere.

The two elves and two humans continued their daily discussions, sometimes talking about Katie and Vivian's time, and sometimes about Middle-earth. When Vivian discovered that Lithorniel and Glawar were betrothed, Katie was proud that she was able to fill her in on Elvish wedding customs.

Vivian was very interested in the idea that Erestor had put forth that Men's spirits could leave Arda, but not Elves'.

"But if the spirits of Elves are confined to Arda," she said to Erestor one afternoon, "and if Arda is eventually going to end… What will happen to the Elves?"

"No one knows," Erestor said, shaking his head. "Many of us believe that when Arda perishes, our fëar will perish with it, and be no more. On the other hand, some of us hold that since our fëar do not come from Arda but from Ilúvatar, that there is no proof that they will end when Arda does." He shook his head. "I honestly do not know."

"Which one do you believe, then?" Vivian asked.

"I believe that we will perish with Arda," Erestor said calmly. "It is a dark thought, but a possibility that we must face. And then indeed, the gift of Ilúvatar will truly be a gift to Men."

"Gift of Ilúvatar?" Katie asked.

"Death, in the way that humans experience it," Erestor said. "It is held that this was a gift to Men—that mankind would live a short time on Arda, and then die, and their spirits fly out beyond the confines of the world."

"How is that a gift?" Katie said. "I certainly don't want to die; I don't think anyone does!"

"No, but for your spirit to fly out beyond the world rather than to disappear when the world ends—would not that be preferable?" Elrohir asked.

"Maybe," Katie said slowly, "but neither one of them is very nice."

They were all quiet for awhile, then Erestor spoke up again. "Part of the reason I believe this, is because before Arda was marred, it would have lasted forever."

"Marred?"

He nodded. "It was marred by Morgoth, corrupted." Katie and Vivian both knew who Morgoth was—the Dark Foe. Vivian referred to him as "The Lucifer of the Valar." "Arda is not now as it once was. There are evil creatures and dark places and deadly diseases that devour whom they will. None of these things would be had not Arda been marred. And so Arda would have lasted forever, and the Elves themselves would never had had to face death at the end of the world." He smiled at Katie. "You see, Elves really are not immortal at all—it is just that our lives are so very much longer than the lives of Men, that we seem immortal. We do age, just differently than men do. For instance, one of the oldest elves in Middle-earth is an ellon by the name of Círdan, the Shipwright. He is unique amongst elves, in that he has a beard."

Katie and Vivian's eyes both widened, and Elrohir had to bite back a laugh, their expressions were so much the same. One could definitely tell they were related.

"A beard?" Vivian exclaimed. "I thought elves didn't have beards! Like American Indians!"

Erestor didn't know what American Indians were, but he let it go. "Most of us do not. But Círdan is so old, he has entered a new stage in the lives of the Eldar. And he has grown a beard."

Katie shook her head. "Craziness." She squinted at Elrohir. "I thought you said your grandmother was one of the oldest beings on Middle-earth?"

"The Lady Galadriel?" Erestor interjected.

Elrohir nodded. "She is. But she would not grow a beard; she is female!"

Katie and Vivian laughed at that. Erestor nodded sagely, with a twinkle in his eye. "Yes. We will leave the beard-growing to the dwarf-women."

000

The four of them planned to take a picnic lunch down to the Bruinen one day ("This side of the Ford, please!" Katie had exclaimed). The morning of, Katie woke up earlier than usual and couldn't go back to sleep.

She climbed out of bed and opened the curtains. The sun was just beginning to touch everything with a very golden finger as it peeked over the mountains that framed the eastern horizon.

What a lovely day," Katie thought. "Perfect for a picnic."

She got dressed and brushed her hair out, pulling the sides back as all the elves of Rivendell seemed to do. She glanced at herself in the glass and chuckled. "You've been around the elves too long, my dear," she whispered to herself, amused.

Her grandmother, she knew, was probably already awake; she generally awoke well before Katie did. Just in case, Katie opened the door between their rooms veeeery quietly and peeked around it.

Vivian was indeed awake, and was kneeling by the bed, praying. Katie felt very embarrassed, having walked in on her. Vivian looked round and smiled.

"Nearly done, Dear, have a seat!" she gestured to the couch, and Katie sat down very awkwardly and waited silently.

In a minute, her grandmother stood up and stretched. "Gorgeous morning, isn't it?" she said, coming over and taking a seat next to her granddaughter.

Katie nodded. "Perfect for a picnic! I'm just glad that this time it won't culminate in kidnapping," she said feelingly.

Vivian smiled. "I'm very proud of you, you know. You handled the shock very well. Who would've guessed, from the way you react to seeing a spider on the floor, that you would bounce back from such a traumatic experience so quickly!"

Katie laughed, remembering all the times she had let out a blood-curdling screech at seeing a tiny arachnid headed her way. "It's no thanks to me, I think. Or at least, little thanks. Mostly, it's the atmosphere of Rivendell itself. It's very soothing."

Vivian nodded. "It is indeed. Well! Shall we go down and get a little breakfast?"

TBC

AN: IwishChan commented that she was confused on the last chapter. If anybody is confused about the philosophy of Middle-earth (which I admit is pretty darned complicated), please ask! This sequel to the story, part 4, in what I'm intending to make a 6-part series, is pretty much the thematic center of the story, so it's kind of important you understand what's being said.

cat: Thank you! I take that as high praise. :)

Laer4572: Nope! Keep trying!

IwishChan: Thank you for reminding me; I stuck a bit in this chapter telling where Elladan and Arwen were. :)

Madd Hatter: Holy cowS? How many of them are there?

Princess Siara: Mad-insane-authoress. I like that. I think I may use that… MIA lol If Vivian were part Atlantean, Katie would be as well. But the special something about Vivian doesn't apply to Katie.

Ravens Destiny: Sorry to say, no Legolas in part 4. But I do plan a bit of him in part 5! Well, it's complicated enough without adding an idea of soul, and as you say, they're pretty much close enough to call both soul and spirit fëa. In fact, I'd say that the "thoughts, emotions, and memories" reside partly in the body and partly in the spirit, rather than the soul, which is more of a metaphorical concept. For instance, thoughts, emotions and memories all register in the brain, which is part of the body, but are also spiritual. Confusing, huh? Ah, well. Whatever. :)

theycallmemary: Well, it makes sense that both "trust" and "hope" should begin with "estel", as the word estel actually means, not so much hope (that's amdir) as trust in Ilúvatar—that is, faith. But Tolkein translated it "hope" because it was based less on belief in a statement of Ilúvatar's than trust in his good and loving nature. Oh, and you needn't build him a temple! Just join the nearest Jewish, Christian or Muslim group in your community. :) —puts the sticker on her shirt and eats the cookies— Oh, and (urp) I'm not telling you one way or another about Sadron. :)

werewolflemming: BONES of thrrrree-fifty men (spits a bit) lay strrrrewn about its lairr!

Darkened Dreams: Happy birthday! Everybody sing happy birthday! lol

Thanks also to Fk306!

You know, there's nothing that brings a smile to my face quicker than a review in my inbox!