Rory sat up on the sofa and took a swig from the brandy bottle.
Elrond had seated himself beside her, and now urged her to speak.
She started her story, 'Right, well, you all know I lived on a Station, a huge cattle farm in the wild areas of my home, we call it the Outback. My father died when I was only a few months old. I'm sure what happened but he must have dismounted his horse, and the horse got a fright, anyways the horse came home riderless, and by the time the stockmen had found my father it was too late, he had perished in the desert.'
'I remember you telling me that your home was dangerous, but surely someone could be found before they died so horribly', said Elrond
Rory shook her head, 'No, the place is huge. I never got to see it all. It takes a day to ride just across the paddock we keep the working horses in. Many of the cattle and horses have never seen people',
'As big as all of Gondor then, at least', marvelled Aragorn.
Elrond indicated that Rory should continue, which she did. 'Mum had trouble running the station herself, and aftertwo years she remarried. My stepfather and I didn't get on well, and it wasn't helped when my brother David was born. As soon as he could talk, he hated me, and gradually between David and my stepfather, they managed to turn Mum against me, to the point where I was treated like a slave.' Rory shrugged, and stared out the window. 'Probably I didn't help the situation any, I was a total brat of kid, and took any and every opportunity to make their lives difficult.'
'Anyway, that's how things went on until I was thirteen. My stepfather blamed me for damaging one of our Land Rovers, a mechanical form of transport. I was innocent this time; my brother did it to make trouble for me. Of course, I was not believed. Mum and David were off the station that day, they had gone into town for supplies, if they had been home, I don't think what happened next would have occurred'.
Here Rory stopped, unwilling to speak further. Elrond took Rory's hands in his, and spoke quietly 'Rory, please, I know you have never spoken of this to anyone who could help to deal with this, you must continue'.
Rory nodded, and drained the brandy bottle in one go. 'You're right, if only because you need to know why I am the way I am if I am to do what you guys reckon I'm here for.' She took a deep breath, and her voice was very soft when she spoke, so soft that Aragorn and Gandalf being further away had to strain their ears to hear, 'My stepfather raped me', was what they heard.