Rory spent most of the afternoon resting, and wondering what was going on at the council meeting.
Of course, we all know what happened, Frodo offered to take the Ring to Mt. Doom, and Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli, Legolas, the other Hobbits and Gandalf volunteering to go with him, and so the Fellowship of the Ring had been formed.
Late Afternoon came, and Rory was feeling much better, and just thinking of getting up and going for a walk, when a blonde male elf, dressed in the green and brown clothes of a wood elf appeared.
'Lady Rory, are you well enough to walk to the council room?' the strange elf asked.
Rory looked at him, he certainly was an incredibly beautiful being. But she had no idea who he was, and said so.
'My pardon, I am Legolas from Mirkwood,' the vision said. 'Lord Elrond has asked that you be brought to the council now.'
Rory slid to her feet, astonished to find that Legolas offered her his arm as support, clearly believing that she would be unable to walk unassisted. Normally Rory would have scorned such help, but there was something so charming in his concern she allowed him to assist her.
'Don't you mean Prince Legolas'? She asked him.
He nodded, and said 'When outside Mirkwood, I do not use my title'. He looked down at Rory his blue eyes puzzled. 'How do you know I am of Mirkwood's Royal family?'
'I knew your father and grandfather when I was in Mordor during the Last Alliance, you look very like your father, or how he was when I knew him. I hear that he has changed a lot.' She replied, still observing this prince closely. Yes, he was like his father, but far more beautiful. That's it! She thought to herself, if an Angel could take tangible form, it would look like Legolas, or rather he looked she imagined an Angel would.
'I thought that was just a crazy tale my father told when he has had too much to drink, the Mortal woman who appeared from nowhere, and acted as Gil- Galad's messenger during the final battle', the elf replied looking down at Rory. 'I mean, Lady, you do not even reach my shoulders in height, how you could be a formidable warrior?'
'Legolas', she said smiling at him, 'if you are going to me 'Lady' I am going to have to call you 'Your Highness', and have you not heard the saying that is it not the size of the person in the fight, but the size of the fight in the person'.
The elf's eyes widened as he digested what Rory had just said, 'You mean it is true', he asked.
'Sure is, ask Elrond, or Gildor, or Glorfindel, or your father when he's sober if you don't believe me', she said, enjoying the elf's confusion.
'Did you fight in final battle', he asked her finally.
'I had to at times to get where I was going, and trust me being small got me out of a lot of trouble that day, ducking and diving through the battle fields.' Suddenly she laughed and Legolas gave her a puzzled look. 'You should have seen the look on Elrond's and Gil-Galad's faces when I had really had been using any cover I could find, and actually crawled up to them to deliver a message from Isildur.You see my being a messenger did not make me safer that day, but probably put me in greater danger than if I had just picked up a sword and fought in the ranks. The enemy twigged what I up to and tried quite hard to kill me, and thereby disrupt the order of the battle.'
'Why you, a woman?Surely the correct procedure would have been to send you somewhere safe.' Said an astonished Legolas.
'I wouldn't have gone, and the commanders thought it was better to keep me where I could be kept an eye on. And my size, many times I was able to go where a bigger person could not, sometimes I was ducking under the swords and bows of the Allies, if I was bigger I could not have done that. And for a mortal, I'm a fast runner.' She s told Legolas who was looking more and more astonished.
By this time, as the two had been walking slowly during their conversation, they had reached the council area, as they entered, Glorfindel thoughtfully indicated Rory should take his seat.
'For those who do not know, this is Rory Mitchell, the woman who appeared several days ago. That she is here again neither Gandalf nor I believe is accidental. Now we have to decide where she should go and what she should do during this crisis,' announced Elrond.
Rory took her seat, feeling slightly embarrassed. Especially as Glorfindel, now clean and looking more like himself sat on the tiled floor next to her, as there were no more chairs. He quite surprised her by leaning against her, making her realise that he was not fully recovered from the previous night no matter how he looked.
Erestor, as Elrond's chief councillor brought Rory up to date on what had happened so far, including the fact that she had been discussed too, in her absence.
Rory sat silent as debate raged around her. Finally, it was decided she should stay in Rivendell or the time being anyway, if felt necessary, she could be sent elsewhere reasonably quickly.
'What do you think Rory', Gandalf asked her at last.
'I'm happy to stay here if that is what everyone thinks is best. I will trust your judgement there. But what I want to know is, when this is all over, and the Ring is destroyed, what will happen to me? Do you think I will just get zapped back home like last time', she asked the council
It was Elrond who answered her. 'No, I do not think you will go home, Rory. We have discussed that, and most here agree that you will stay here in Middle Earth, that your way home will be closed to you'.
Rory stared at the ground, she had not been homesick till now, but the thought of NEVER getting back made her feel sad. Her expression must have shown this, because Elrond hastened to assure her that she could stay in Rivendell as long as she needed to.
'That is not Rory's problem Elrond,' said Glorfindel, 'she feels the loss of her world, her culture, all she has known', and he surprised Rory by sitting on her chair arm and hugging her, reassuring her all will be well.