Millie, Emma and their elven escorts were now only days away from Rivendell, but all was not going well. Emma's wound was aching and she constantly whimpered and moaned about it, but that was nothing compared to Millie's arse.

"I swear if we don't get there soon it's gonna just fall off! You know, seeing as how you elves are supposed to be the most intelligent people in this world, you would have thought you'd be better at making saddles that didn't make you feel like you were about to lose your arse after a few days travel! And when we get to Rivendell we had best get horses of our own 'cos there is no way I'm letting my arse go through this again!"

The elves took it in terns to scout ahead, to check that the trail was safe, and obviously not to avoid the constant whinging and complaining of their companions.

"Are we nearly there yet?" Emma asked for about the hundredth time that day. And considering that Millie had asked the same question about as many times already, the elves were getting fed up of answering it.

"We may reach Rivendell in two days time, or three at most, as I told you every other time you asked. We will be setting up camp as the sun sets and not before, unless you want to spend another day travelling."

"I don't think my arse could last another day! As it is I don't think I'll ever feel it again!"

Two days later and with the sun falling from the sky the elves and Emma were still travelling. They had left the mountains that morning and were now moving quickly along the banks of a river towards the elven halls of Rivendell.

"I thought you said we'd be there today!" Millie moaned preparing to lament about her numb bum again but Legolas silenced her with a smile before replying.

"I said we may arrive today, or tomorrow."

"But my arse can't spend another day like this!"

"Then you will be glad to know that we will reach Rivendell by night fall."

"That leaves your arse about another hour and a half of travelling." Emma said watching the sun as it moved between the trees in front of them, passing in and out of view.

An hour and a half later, as the sun finally disappeared from view entirely leaving the sky awash with deep golden and red light, the four elves and Emma finally left the cover of the trees and before them appeared the white halls of Rivendell.

"I think I like what they did in the film better." Millie said, her arse momentarily forgotten, "But the waterfall's nice."

Minutes later, with Millie again thinking of her poor arse, ("ow, ow, ow.") And Emma whimpering quietly, The group arrived in main courtyard of the last homely house.

They were greeted by a tall hansom elf with pale blue eyes, kinda like that guy from boom town(who incidentally was also some ensign Hawkins or something like that in one of the Star Trek movies, he also died…but he had very nice eyes) Emma, and the elves quickly dismounted ready to follow the blue eyed elf when a stable-hand appeared to take care of the horses. The boy couldn't have been much older that Millie and Emma, eighteen or nineteen at most (Emma and Millie are 17 BTW) his hair was golden brown and hung loose about his face reaching down to his shoulders but failing to cover ears that were clearly not elven. He was dressed in soft leather clothes of varying shades of brown and knee high boots of deep black, his shirt hung loose about his shoulders and a golden chain was visible about his neck.

Emma stood staring at his deeply tanned and stunningly hansom face as he first took the reigns of Legolas' horses then moved to take Atan's, whose reins she held loosely in her hands. The girl's deep brown eyes stared deep into the boy's own which mirrored hers almost exactly in colour, he smiled at her making her blush fiercely and him smile all the more before turning to leave.

Millie suddenly grabbed her friend's arm and dragged her up the steps into the elven hall and Emma, turning to see the other girl's face, realised that she was barely able to keep from laughing. The blond girl let her hair fall over the face to hide the blush now deepening across her cheeks.

Finally the girls were shown to the room they would be sharing, it was easily two or three times the size of any normal room. The walls had been painted in a pale cornflower blue and the windows reached from the floor to ceiling, looking out towards the distant mountains. The room itself had been split in two, one area set out with two large beds, a dressing tale etc, and the other holding a large fire with comfortable chairs as well as a small wooden table-delicately carved-and a pair of similarly designed chairs.

As soon as they had been left alone Millie collapsed into one of the chairs laughing as Emma, glaring at her but still red faced, slumped into the other chair, "Shut up Millie. Kuso Shite Shinzo!" (actually from earth this time and no not totally made up, this is Japanese and means 'die eating shit' or 'eat shit and die' or… something like that, pretty huh?)

"Oh Emma…Oh dear Emma, how sweet!" She started laughing again and Emma kicked her hard in the shin until she shut up.

(Ok so some time later when I can be bothered, have no idea how long they'll stay in Rivendell but its before the council thing, anyway Millie's prob off annoying Legolas so Emma's wandering…)

Emma wandered, she was fed up of the fine elven halls filled with snooty elves and Millie. I mean elves are fine, so long as you're an elf, and even if you're not they're ok for a short time. A having spent a week trapped in a book with only Millie and elves for company Emma needed some space.

Grabbing the bow Atan had given her and a quiver of arrows that she had borrowed, the girl strode purposefully away from the white halls hoping for some practice with the weapon she hadn't used since Atan had first taught her.

After a quarter of an hour shooting trees; Emma was getting bored. She seemed to be innately skilled at use of the bow-which was surprising as she'd never been that good at anything before.

Sighting on a tree branch high above her Emma released an arrow to punch through a small green leaf pinning it to the wood.

"Good shot, but how the hell are ya gonna get that back down now?"

"Frell!" Emma jumped, swore in some other totally fictitious language (this ones from farscape just in case you wanted to know) and span to face the person who had crept so silently up on her. Her startled brown eyes met a pair of the same colour set in a deeply tanned, and now grinning face that she recognised only too well.

"I didn't mean to scare ya, you can put the bow down now…please."

Emma looked down to find the bow held in her hands, arrow notched and string taunt. Lowering the weapon quickly, the girl returned the arrow she didn't even remember drawing, to the quiver at her back, "Sorry." She said a deep blush touching her cheeks.

The boy shrugged then turned back to the arrow high above them, "So, how are ya gonna get it back down?"

Emma stared at him for a moment, "wha'?"

"Well I assume you're gonna want that back, I mean there are far more useful things it could hit, Nos Feratu for instance."

"Nos what?"

"Evil blood sucking buggers from hell."

"Oh vamps, yer…" Emma replied feeling slightly tongue tied and very stupid. She turned back to the arrow, "I guess I'll have to climb up and get it."

"You any good at that, climbing I mean?" The boy asked, sceptically.

"Sure, why not? I used to do this all the time in Oxford, well minus the whole arrows thing."

"Oxford?"

"Um, yer, never mind." Emma replied not wanting to explain that she and Millie were from an alternate reality, or maybe just reality. Dumping bow and quiver at the tree's base Emma began to climb, trying to ignore the fact that the cutest guy she had ever seen, well one of, was watching her every move. Heart thumping in her chest the girl scrambled up into the tree's lower branches and from there made her way up higher. After a few minutes she had almost forgotten about the boy below her and was moving confidently through the tangled branches towards the arrow high above her.

Finally the girl's fingers closed about the arrow and she tugged it from the branch. The movement jolted her and she almost fell. Grabbing the branch with the free hand to steady her, Emma hung for a moment, letting her heart calm before descending again.

Emma dropped the last few meters landing smoothly before the boy.

"You did it."

"Did you ever doubt it?" The boy looked sheepish, "Aww come on, aren't girls allowed to be able to climb trees.

"Most elves can, but I'm used to girls who prance about the house waiting to be married and what have you."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"You didn't."

Emma blushed even redder-if that was possible.

"Look, I don't even know you're name."

"Emma, kinda dull I know but…"

"I like it, why's it dull?"

"'Cos like every second girl where I come from's called Emma, Emily or some other variation of my name." Emma shrugged her fingers moving to fiddle with her ear as she did when uncomfortable, bored or just for the hell of it.

"I'm Neithan by the way."

"NEITHAN!" A voice called making the pair jump.

"Um…I think I'd better go…" Neithan said as Emma grabbed the bow and quiver she had left lying by the tree.

"Ok." Emma replied not knowing what else to say. She watched the boy disappear through the trees before following more slowly, and returning to the room she shared with Millie.

Millie meanwhile had become bored of whatever the hell she had been doing and was at this moment, moving through the stables and trying to work out how she had got there in the first place, and how she would ever get out again. The smell of horses and horseshit was getting on her nerves.

Millie stared around the dust filled room before deciding to try around that corner. Striding purposefully towards it the 'elf' cried out as she walked straight into someone coming the other way.

"Hey watch where you're going!" Millie yelled.

"What the hell are you doing in here!" The other replied, and Millie realised it was the boy Emma had been so taken by on their arrival.

"Oh I was just looking for…never mind what I was looking for, what are you doing here?"

"Um stable hand…" The boy said pointing to himself as if taking to some infant, "Stable…" He waved his hand at the dust filled room around them, "Getting the idea?"

"Elf." Millie pointed at her self, "Human," She pointed at him, "I'm not stupid you know."

"Could have fooled me." Neithan whispered.

"Fuck a duck and learn to fly."

"?"

"Anyway as you're so clever, why don't you tell me where the hell Emma has got to?"

"Emma?" Neithan asked, a dreamy look entering his eyes that Millie didn't fail to notice.

"Yer you know, medium height, non-elf, ginger hair…kinda stupid..."

"I don't think she's stupid."

"Dull…"

"She's not dull."

"Not exactly pretty…"

"I think she's ok."

"Nobody loves her…"

Neithan opened his mouth to protest then stopped as Millie burst out laughing.

"She's my friend, for fucks sake. You're so easy to wind up. Plus, you've known her like, what, three seconds, and already you're in love? Jeese!" When Millie had finally stopped laughing she asked; "So have you any idea where she is?"

"Around." Neithan answered curtly, "Now if you'll excuse me, unlike you I have work to do."