Two chapters in one day! I'll update most likely on Tuesday so I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you so very much for the reviews! Keep them coming cause I love to know what you think! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Lord of the Rings. I only own Aria and her family.

Chapter 3

"Aria, you should not have run off like that," Elrond said as they once again entered his study. Aria sighed and sat down. She had no energy left and she just wanted to be alone. "If Legolas had not caught you when he did, you could have been hurt."

"Lord Elrond, I did not catch her. When I found her she was sitting in the forest. She came back willingly," Legolas said trying to defend her. He had no clue why, but he felt compelled to. Elrond just looked at Legolas and then at Aria.

"That may be true, but it was still foolish of you to run, Aria," Elrond said as he sat down in his chair. "Even though you may think what we tell you is false, it is not." Aria just nodded her head. Gandalf sighed and stepped closer to her chair.

"Aria, tell us the last thing you remember before you woke up here," he said gently. Aria sighed and closed her eyes.

"I was walking in the woods behind my house. Before my grandma died, she made be promise that on my 24th birthday I'd follow the path in the woods to a clearing. She told me that that was where my father met my mother," Aria said as she slowly opened her eyes to see all three of them looking at her intently. "I thought maybe that was where he had proposed to her, because how could he have met her in the middle of the woods when there wasn't' another house around for miles?" Anyway, I stepped into the clearing and it was just like any other clearing I'd seen, except there were several large rocks. One of the rocks had an inscription on it in a strange writing. I ran my fingers over the carvings and they began to glow. Then, there was like this force that knocked me back and I sat on the forest floor. I remember feeling dizzy and lightheaded before I passed out." Gandalf looked at Elrond and sighed.

"A portal. That was how Marwen was lost to us," Elrond said. Gandalf nodded and Legolas and Aria furrowed their brows. "Is today your 24th birthday?" Aria shrugged.

"What day is it here?" she asked.

"October the 24th," Gandalf said and Aria nodded.

"Today is my birthday." Elrond sighed and sat back in his chair.

"Why did your parents not travel with you?" he asked as he looked at her. Legolas looked at Aria and saw sadness flash in her eyes before she covered it quickly.

"My mom died while giving birth to me and my dad died fourteen years ago in an accident," she said quietly.

"So, you never knew your mother's true heritage?" Gandalf asked. Aria looked at the old man and shook her head.

"No, I never met her and my dad only told me that she was from a far away place." Aria paused and sighed. "My grandma told me that my father was going to take me to the clearing on my 24th birthday. Does that mean anything?" Gandalf nodded.

"Aye, that it does," Gandalf said. Aria furrowed her brow and stood. She walked passed Legolas and Elrond's desk and looked outside as she thought. After a moment she turned back and faced them.

"Does it mean that the portal couldn't have been opened until then?" she asked. Gandalf gave her a small smile and nodded. Aria sighed and closed her eyes. "The carvings were gone," she whispered and turned around. "I'm stuck here." Tears filled her eyes and she closed them tightly. Gandalf frowned and walked over to her. He put a hand on her shoulder but she kept her eyes closed as she willed the tears away.

"Come Aria. We will have a bath made ready for you. Are you hungry?" he asked. Aria shook her head and looked up at him.

"No." Gandalf sighed and nodded his head. Elrond looked at her, she was broken he noted and his stern expression melted to one of understanding. He stood and left the room to have maids fill the tub with hot water so she could bathe and rest. Gandalf patted her shoulder.

"Come then, we will let you rest." Aria nodded and followed behind him. She looked up at Legolas and he smiled at her but she didn't return it.

Before Aria walked into the bathroom, she put her photo on the nightstand next to the bed. She heard someone humming so she walked towards the open door. Aria opened the door and a girl elf leaning over the tub adding something to the hot water. The elf stood and smiled at Aria. "Good afternoon, milady. I am Nienna and I will be your attendant during your stay in Imladris," she said. Aria gave her a small smile and nodded. Nienna looked Aria over and furrowed her brow at her clothes. Aria tugged at the bottom of her sweatshirt and felt slightly uncomfortable. "Once you step into the bath, I shall have your attire cleaned for you. Until then, I have brought more appropriate dress for you to wear." Aria nodded her head.

"Thanks," Aria said. Nienna could feel her tension and ushered her over to the tub.

"I will lay your nightdress on the bed for you to wear. Lord Elrond stated that you wanted to rest and I will see to it that you are not disturbed." Aria smiled at Nienna. Nienna was her height and for some reason, Aria felt at home with her.

"Thank you Nienna, and please call me Aria. Seeing as I'm going to be here for a while, we might as well get to know each other." Nienna nodded her head and smiled at Aria.

"Bathe and rest Aria. I shall see you in the morn." With that Nienna left the room and Aria heard her shuffle about in the bedroom before she heard the door softly click shut. Aria sighed and removed her dirty clothes and neatly stacked them on the floor. One thing she hoped for was clean underwear; she really didn't want to put her dirty ones back on. Aria lowered herself down into the water and sighed as the scent of lavender hit her nose. She sighed and ducked her head under the water and continued her bath.

Aria climbed out of the tub and wrapped herself in one of the towels Nienna left out for her. Then she towel dried her hair and picked up the brush left on the vanity counter. She walked into her room and saw a white nightgown and to her relief, underwear. Once she was dressed she saw a robe on the bed as well. She picked up the robe and draped it over the chair of the vanity and brushed out her hair. Aria sighed when she saw her reflection and her ears. She quickly sat down the brush and walked over to the bed. The sun was now gone and the moon shine brightly over the city. She laid down on the bed and pulled the blankets up over her body.

She laid there for a long time, tossing and turning. Finally, after several hours she got up from the bed, wrapped the robe around her body and slid on the slippers that were next to the bed. Aria quietly left her room. She walked around the corridors and somehow found herself outside on a balcony looking over the city. Aria heard movement and looked over to her right. She saw a little boy looking over the city as well; however, he seemed even more troubled than she did. Aria walked over to him and he seemed to jump slightly. He smiled up at her and Aria couldn't help but smile back at him. It was then that she realized he wasn't a little boy, he was older, but much smaller than any of the others she had met. "Hi. You couldn't sleep either?" she asked as she sat down next to him. The man just looked at her with his piercing blue eyes.

"I could not milady," he said quietly. Aria nodded and looked over the city.

"My name is Aria. What is yours?" she asked as she looked back at him.

"Frodo." She could see a longing in his eyes and she realized he was away from home too.

"You are away from your home as well?" Frodo furrowed his brow.

"You are not from Rivendell?" Aria frowned and shook her head.

"Rivendell? No, I am from a place that is quiet far from here." Frodo nodded.

"As am I. The Shire is a great distance away and I fear in my heart that I shall never see it again." Aria felt her heart clinch. He had the same fear she had.

"I know how you feel Frodo." Frodo looked up at her waiting for her to explain. "I know I will never see my home again, but you may see yours." She gave him a smile and he returned it, but Aria noted it did not reach his eyes. They sat in silence a little longer until she heard him sigh.

"I hate to leave you, but I must." Aria looked at him as he stood. She smiled at him and nodded.

"It is quiet alright Frodo. You look as though you could use some rest. Try to sleep and know that you will someday again see your home." Frodo gave her a slight smile and turned. He made his way back inside and Aria looked back out of the city. Her heart ached for the small man, there was something more in his eyes than just missing his home and fearing never going back that much she could tell. But what it was that made him ache like that she had no clue.

Aria stood once more and began walking around once more. Soon, she found herself in a corridor with many paintings on the wall. She was looking at the details of one of the paintings when voices cut through the night air. Aria turned to her left and looked in the direction of the voices and saw a man standing in front of a statue holding a tray.

"The shards of Narsil. The blade that cut the Ring from Sauron's hand.," a man with reddish blonde hair said as he raised a broken sword hilt and touched the blade. Aria saw him jerk his hand back and look at it. "It's still sharp." He looked to his right and hastily put the sword back on the tray. "But no more than a broken heirloom." He turned and walked away not bothering to pick up the sword from when it fell to the floor. Aria's brow furrowed and she took a step to pick it up when she saw another man doing as she intended to do

This man seemed different than the last, of course he looked much different with his darker hair and all but there was something more to him, something she wasn't certain of. She watched as he placed the sword back on the tray and as he placed his hand over his heart and stepped back from the statue. Aria heard another approach and saw a woman, rather an elf, but she was more beautiful than anyone she had ever seen in her entire life. More beautiful than an actress or model and Aria felt very inferior when she saw her. The elf's hair was dark as night and flowed over her white dress as she stopped behind the man.

"Why do you fear the past? You are Isildur's heir, not Isildur himself. You are not bound to his fate," she said her voice soft. She found that to be trend amongst the elves. The man turned around and faced her.

"The same blood flows in my veins. The same weakness," the man said as his expression saddened. Aria furrowed her brow in confusion but continued to listen, even though she knew she should not.

"Your time will come. You will face the same evil and you will defeat it. A si i-Dhúath ú-orthor, Aragorn. Ú or le a ú or nin. (The Shadow does not hold sway yet. Not over you, not over me)." Her last sentence made no sense to Aria but she knew it was something important to them both as they left the corridor and went into the night. Aria stepped further into the corridor and looked at one of the paintings. It showed a man holding the broken sword in front of a dark and scary figure. Aria felt a chill down her spine and her body gently shook. She wrapped her arms around her and left the corridor hastily. Aria turned the corner and bumped into someone. She stumbled back and caught her footing.

"Excuse me," she said quietly and walked around the figure only to have them stop her by grabbing her arm. Aria looked up at the person and found it was Legolas.

"Lady Aria, are you alright?" Legolas asked. Aria nodded and withdrew her arm from his hand and quickly made her way down the hall. Legolas watched her retreating form and sighed before he turned and followed her.