It was now afternoon in Rivendell, and Rory had been unable to eat any lunch despite the fact Bilbo had sat next to her, and tried his best to make her eat. The fact she could not eat her lunch really bothered Bilbo, to his knowledge no hobbit had refused to eat because of feeling upset or worried about something, and it puzzled him that Rory should have this reaction.
'But Rory, not eating won't make things any different!' the old hobbit exclaimed.
'I know that, Bilbo, but I just can't. If I do eat something, I'm probably only going to be sick', said Rory.
'You do look ill,' said Bilbo, suddenly concerned. 'Maybe you should see one of the healers?'
'No, I just need to get this 'interview' with Jessryn out of the way'.
Bilbo nearly fell off his chair in shock. 'All this is because you are worried about seeing Jessryn this afternoon? What do you think he'll do to you?'
'I don't know, and that's the problem', she said staring out the window, hoping the weather would turn bad, and then meeting Jessryn on the west archery range would be impossible, and avoiding him in the house would prove easy.
'Jessryn would never hurt you, Rory. He's a very gentle person. I have spoken to him this morning, and all he wants is to talk to you'.
'Yeah, maybe, but what do I say to him? I don't talk or act like a lady, and I don't know what to do, I've never been in this situation before'.
'Never?' the hobbit asked in surprise
'Never', she confirmed.
'Well, well, no wonder you are nervous', said an astonished hobbit.
'And why does he want to see me on the archery range? Why not here in house, somewhere nice and public like this dining room?' said Rory.
Bilbo rolled his eyes, 'But Rory, that's the whole point! Jessryn wants to see you alone'.
'Why'.
'Because he wants to talk to you privately', said Bilbo, exasperated
'What the heck can he want to tell me that he can't say here in public', she said, getting more and more nervous.
'Many things, and nothing. He just wants to talk to you, in private, with no one to interrupt'.
'Ok, I still don't understand the big deal. But I did promise Elrond, so I best go and get it with over with', she said, getting to her feet, and slowly leaving the room, headed towards the west archery range.
As she left, Elrond appeared by Bilbo's side. 'Has she gone to meet Jessryn?' he asked the Hobbit.
'Yes, with a look on her face like she is going to be executed', Bilbo replied, shaking his head in exasperation at Rory.
'Poor Jessryn, I feel almost sorry for him!' said Elrond.
'Should we follow Rory, and spy on them?' asked Bilbo.
For a split second, Elrond considered this. Then he laughed, and shook his head, his dark hair flying about him, 'With our luck, we would get caught!' he said.
Bilbo giggled at thought of himself and Elrond getting caught spying on Jessryn and Rory. 'As you don't like my suggestion for the afternoon's entertainment, how about a nice game of cards?' the little hobbit asked.
'Only if we do not play for money. I still owe you from last time', the elf said
So Elrond, Bilbo and some other Elves, along with the Dwarf Gloin, Gimli's father settled down to play cards, and wait to find out what would happen between Rory and Jessryn.
Meanwhile, on the west archery range, a tall blonde half-elf is waiting for a lady. As he waited, he sent arrow after arrow into the targets, with great accuracy. As she approached, Rory had to admit that Jessryn was an excellent archer, and almost as graceful as his brother Legolas.
Nervously, she spoke, 'Good afternoon, Jessryn'.
'Good afternoon, Rory.' He replied. 'You do not look well, are you ill?'
'No, I'm Ok, I think'.
'Then what is wrong?' he said, walking over to stand next to her, his bow still in his hand.
Rory decided her best and only tactic was brutal honesty. 'It's you', she said. 'I really don't want to be here, talking to you'.
'Do you so dislike me then?' he said disappointment in his voice and face. For the first time, Rory looked directly at him, and was surprised she felt upset at the hurt in his blue eyes. Normally, she would be delighted.
'Well, it's not you. I would feel the same about any man. I'm not interested in romance and men, and well that's it. I'm happy as I am', she replied.
'Then will you let me be your friend? I asked you here today to teach you to use a bow if you like, I overheard you saying to my brother that it is something you would like to learn', Jessryn replied, hoping that he could at least succeed in winning Rory's friendship, if not her heart.
Still deeply suspicious, Rory agreed. To her surprise, Jessryn was a competent teacher, patiently correcting her stance, and the way she held the bow. By the end of the session, she was hitting the target with a fair amount of accuracy, and surprised herself by enjoying the afternoon more than she had thought possible.
At last, Jessryn called a finish to the lesson. 'For if we do not stop now, you will be dreadfully sore tomorrow', he said.
'Forget tomorrow, I'm sore now!'
'Then let me help you', said Jessryn, stepping up behind Rory and putting his hands on her shoulders, intending merely to rub her sore muscles.
Rory panicked, stepping forward, and spinning about aggressively.
Jessryn stepped back, his hands in the air. 'I did not mean to startle you, Rory,' he said.
'Never approach me from behind, unless I know you're going to, it really freaks me out!' she snapped.
'I am sorry, all I wanted was to rub your shoulders, and loosen your tight muscles so will not be sore tomorrow, I did not mean to frighten you', he said looking as upset as Rory.
'Ok, but only because Elrond asked me to be nice to you', she said, allowing Jessryn to rub her shoulders.
'You have spoken to Elrond about me?' he asked.
'Not really, but I promised him I'd be nice to you, and that's about it'.
Jessryn was very confused, and hurt by Rory's attitude to him, but didn't know what to do about it, so decided to ignore her strange ways, 'Elrond told me something about you', he said.
Rory's whole body stiffened, and there was a slight edge to her voice as she answered, 'What did Elrond say?'
'That your real name is Aurora. It is a pretty name, why do you not use it?'
'Tisn't a pretty name. It's awful', she said.
'May I call you Aurora? It is a nicer name than Rory', he asked.
'Only if you want to be beaten to within an inch of your life', she replied
Jessryn noticed that she was getting tenser and tenser, and stopped rubbing her shoulders, realising that he was only making her feel worse. He picked his bow back up, and bowed to her 'Thank you for your company this afternoon, Rory. Will I see you this evening?' he said
Rory looked the blonde archer up and down, 'Thank you for the archery lesson' she said, hesitant, not knowing what to say or do. 'As to this evening, I don't know. I might stay in my rooms, I might not'.
'Then I shall hope to see you this evening', he said as he walked away, wondering what he had done to anger her.