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Chapter 4: Meetings and Bathing

Ana looked around in slight amazement at the city. It seemed lost in the trees, which it was because all the homes were high up in them. Her legs were still sore and she was thankful that Rumil was walking slowly. She looked up at the elf in question and he looked back at her. "You're home is beautiful," she said. Rumil gave her a quizzical look and she sighed. "I know you can't understand me, but thank you for taking you're time with me." She gave him a small smile and looked back ahead of them missing the deepened frown of the elf.

Rumil wished he could understand her sharp language, but it appeared only the Lady had that luxury for now. As they walked Orophin crossed their path just as they were about to reach the stairway to Ana's talan. "Brother," Orophin said and Rumil stopped causing Ana and her animal to do the same. Orophin looked at Ana who looked at him with equal curiosity. "So, this is the cause for my taking Haldir's position at the border," Orophin said as he smiled at Ana and bowed his head. Rumil laughed quietly to himself.

"Do not try to flatter her, Orophin. She does not understand any words we utter," Rumil said. Orophin looked from Ana to Rumil with a raised eyebrow.

"Not even common?" he asked. Although the pair knew very little of the language of men, they knew some and it surprised Orophin that the mortal woman before him did not know it.

"No, she does not." Rumil paused and looked at Ana who was giving him the look that she wanted to know who he was talking to. "Ana," he said as he pointed to her and she gave him a smile before she looked to Orophin. Rumil pointed to his brother. "Orophin." Ana raised an eyebrow and Rumil smirked. She spoke before she cleared her throat and looked at Orophin.

"Orophin," she managed and Rumil smiled. Orophin bowed his head to her and she laughed.

"Why are you to take Haldir's place on the border?" Rumil asked and Orophin turned his attention back to Rumil.

"He is to remain in the city for a time." Rumil nodded and caught Ana yawning out of the corner of his eye.

"I must get her to her talan," Rumil said. Orophin nodded.

"I will be waiting for you to return to the border." Rumil nodded then and led Ana away and up the stairs to her talan.

As Rumil opened a door to what looked like an elaborate tree house to Ana he stepped inside. Ana took a deep breath and followed behind him. The room was dark, but what surprised Ana was something she had just noticed. Rumil seemed to glow very very lightly. She watched as he moved quickly and soon a soft warm glow filled the room from a small fireplace. Ana was surprised considering they were in a tree. He spoke quietly and Ana looked at him. He pointed to another room and began to walk into it. She and Sadie followed and Ana's smile only grew.

"This is for me?" she asked as she looked around the small kitchen. She wouldn't know how to cook anything without a stove, but there was already a steaming plate of food sitting on the table as well as a dish of meat for Sadie on the floor. Rumil pointed at the food and made an eating motion. She nodded and Sadie made her way over to the dish and began eating. Ana laughed quietly and shook her head. Rumil smiled and when Ana moved to go and eat, he put a hand on her upper arm and stopped her. She looked up at him and he motioned for her to follow him. Ana frowned but nodded.

He led her down a small corridor. Rumil opened another door and led her down a small set of stairs to an open area where a large wooden pool rested on top of the platform high in the tree. A screen separated the area from something else but she could not tell what exactly. Ana looked at Rumil and waited for him to explain exactly where they were.

Rumil thought a moment how he was to explain the bathing area to her. The pool they stood in front of was the woman area and behind the silken screen rested the men's bathing area. "You bathe here," he said and she frowned. She opened her mouth but quickly closed it. Rumil knew the look that crossed her face all too well. Lady Galadriel, must be speaking with her.

"Rumil is showing you the bathing talan," Galadriel's voice in her head. "You should bathe before you retire to your talan for your meal and bed." Ana looked at Rumil who was watching her closely. "Rumil will leave you before you bathe." Ana let out the breath she had been holding. Ana pointed to the tub before she made a scrubbing like motion up and down her left arm with her right hand and did the same to her shoulder blade length hair. Rumil smiled brightly at her once more and nodded his head. She noticed something familiar about him. Some of his features reminded her of the new elf she met with him, Orophin, and sad to say some also reminded her of Haldir.

Rumil turned around and sorted through several of the bathing tonics. He held out one bottle and then reached over and grasped a lock of her raven hair and held it up. "For your hair," he said. She looked at his hand then at the bottle. She said something and nodded as she made the motion she had just moments before about washing her hair. Rumil nodded and let go of her hair and sat the hair tonic back down. He then lifted a bottle of bath oil and showed it to her. She looked at it and then did the scrubbing motion she had earlier. "Yes, for your body," he said with a smile. Ana nodded and then glanced around the room.

"Rumil," she said and he met her gaze. "I would like to wash up, but I don't have anything to wear." Ana pulled on her clothes and then shook her head and held out her hands in an exasperating matter, hoping he would understand. It seemed he did because sat the bath soap down and went up the stairs they had just come down. Ana stood there for a few minutes and looked around.

It was completely open around the bathing talan has Galadriel had called it. Ana didn't know if she liked that idea, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. She wasn't in South Dakota anymore and she had to go with the flow on how the people, or elves, in the beautiful city did things. As she looked out into the trees a hand settled on her shoulder. She screamed and jumped before she turned around and saw Rumil looking at her with shock written across his own face. Ana sighed heavily and tried to slow her breathing as she raised her uninjured hand to her chest, she hadn't even heard him come into the room.

"You sacred me!" she exclaimed quietly as she looked up at Rumil. He said something with a concerned look on his face and she assumed he was apologizing. Then, he held out a few things to her. She looked down and smiled at the towel he carried as well as what looked like a nightdress, but it was pale blue. She took the towel from him and he held up the dress.

"It is not a nightdress as you think it to be, it is gown for you to wear. Before you retire, you will find a nightdress folded in the bottom drawer of your wardrobe," came Galadriel's voice. Ana smiled inwardly and mentally thanked the woman for the heads up. She didn't want to look like an idiot. Ana nodded her head and he draped the dress over one of the benches. Rumil spoke and pointed to her left wrist. He held out his hand to her and Ana slowly placed her left hand into his right. He covered her wrist with his other hand and said something quietly. A warm sensation wrapped around her wrist. He let go and Ana brought her hand close to her. She moved her wrist and smiled when it no longer hurt. It ached slightly, but it no longer throbbed. She looked up at Rumil and smiled.

"Thank you," she said quietly. Rumil returned her smile and said something gently before he bowed his head and left.

Ana waited a few minutes before she was certain he wasn't coming back. She sat the towel down next to her dress before she put one bottle of the shampoo and one bottle of the body soap next to her towel. She took off her flip flops and slid them under the bench. She glanced around and quickly removed her jeans, tank top, underwear and bra. She wrapped her body in the towel and was surprised at how soft it was. She made to go into the tub but stopped. Rumil didn't bring any underclothes and Ana sighed. She would do with what she had, once she got back to her room, she'd wash her underwear and put them on when they dried.

She walked over to the edge of the tub and removed her robe and climbed into the inviting water.

Haldir sighed as he walked up the steps to Ana's talan. He did not want the duty assigned to him, but what Lady Galadriel ordered him to do, he must do it. He knocked on the door once he reached the level where Ana's talan rested. When he got no answer, he went inside. "Ana?" he asked tiredly but only her animal, Sadie, she called it came walking from the kitchen licking its lips. He frowned and walked around the talan. It was empty.

Without thinking, Haldir went down the steps to the bathing chamber. He silently opened the door and stopped before he descended down the final set of stairs. He had thought Rumil would be explaining the area to her, but what he saw he did not expect. So lost in his own thoughts that he did not think to listen carefully around him.

Ana was standing at the tub wrapped in a towel. She removed the towel and climbed into the water. He froze for a fraction of a second before he snapped from his surprise and closed the door. Haldir moved silently and went back into the sitting room. The knot that he felt in his stomach surprised him, but he pushed it away and looked down at the animal that looked at him with curiosity. He scoffed before he sat down and waited for Ana to return.

Ana was in the steaming water and sighed as it relaxed every muscle in her body. She found a little shelf to sit the bottles of soap on and a hook for her towel on the side of the large pool. There was even a bench that wrapped around the round pool under the water for you to sit on and wash the bottom was further down then she thought it to be and she was surprised to see that it was rather deep.

As she washed her hair and body with the soft smelling soaps she tried to figure out exactly how they got hot water up in the tree and other things she had seen, as well as how she ended up in the strange place.

Ana swam in the water and sighed at how wonderful it was. She looked at her hands and saw she was getting a little pruney so she swam back to the edge of the tub where her towel rested. She climbed out and quickly dried her body and her hair as best she could before she wrapped the towel around her. Ana carried the soaps back to where the others rested and she put them back. She was surprised how soft her skin felt after her bath.

Ana dressed quickly and she suddenly felt like a princess wearing the pale blue dress. She laughed at that thought and took the towel and wrapped her hair up. She gathered all her things and walked up the steps that led to her house and went inside. Her dinner was waiting for her and she was absolutely famished.