Lúthien waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark of the room. The soft while-blue light from outside filtered in through the curtains of the window near the door. From what she could see so far, the room was beautiful. Wanting to see more, she made her way over to the fireplace she saw at the other end of the room. She smiled. It was already prepared for a fire, so all she had to do was light it. Touching around the fire place, her hands fell on two small stones. Striking them above the kindling, she built a fire. She smiled in surprise as she saw the neat pile of logs in a cubbyhole off to the side of the fireplace. Taking a few out, she tossed them onto the growing fire. Soon, the fire was going well, and she turned to inspect her sleeping chambers.

She gasped as she saw the extent of her quarters. Intricately carved doorways and moldings weaved with patterns of ivy and flowers. The walls were decorated with beautiful pictorials. The curtains seemed to shimmer with silver in the flickering light of the fire. Beautiful furniture decorated the room. She awed at the magnificently crafted oak table with 3 equally beautiful chairs. Lovely ceramic vases with fragrant flowers and ferns growing from them littered the room. Looking off to her left, she saw the sleeping area. There was a marvelous oak wardrobe near the bed, carved in the same ivy patterns as the other woodwork. Then she examined the bed. It was huge! She had never seen such a posh bed before. Its headboard was carved in the same intricacy as the doorframes. It was covered with very soft looking pillows and covers. She suddenly found herself feeling very sleepy.

Not wanting to sleep in her clothes, she went to the wardrobe to search for some nightwear. Opening the beautiful doors, she found numerous gowns. Never had she seen such elegant gowns. Closing the doors, she pulled open a drawer near the floor.

"Aha!" She said triumphantly, pulling out a silken nightgown. Pulling it up to her face, she rubbed it over her cheek. "So soft…"

She closed her eyes, enjoying the softness against her cheek. Never had she felt something so soft and smooth. She marveled at it. It was a pale violet color and most probably transparent. Stripping out of her clothes, she folded them neatly on the bed. Then she slid the soft nightgown on. It fell past her ankles, pooling on the floor. The sleeves fell over her hands. She arched a delicate eyebrow. Obviously, these clothes were intended for someone a bit… taller. Shrugging with indifference, she scooped her clothes off the bed, lifted the hem of the dress, and walked over to set her clothes in one of the chairs. Smoothing the dress over, she turned to go to bed.

She had always been taught to take good care of her things. Her father had taught her to be responsible from a young age. If she wanted anything new, she was expected to take care of what she already had. For that reason, she took very good care of anything in her charge, including people. That was one reason she had been such a good healer at home. When someone was placed in her care, they became her responsibility, and her first priority.

Climbing into the soft covers, she thought back on her memories of caring for the sick, injured, and dying. She had sometimes stayed up throughout the night, nursing the very sick. She never allowed herself to rest until she knew they were well on the path to recovery. There had been an occasion when, somehow, she knew she could do nothing. She suddenly thought very hard on that. She had known before when someone was beyond help. How?

Her immediate fatigue forgotten, she delved deeper into her thoughts. Had she been able to sense things before, but never realized how? She had never thought anything of it, before. It had just come as a sort of instinct for her, and she had never thought anything more about it. On the same subject, she had always seemed to know what would help someone recover, almost by the same instinct. Lúthien's eyes burned with the need for sleep, but she was too deep in thought to acknowledge it.

There had been times she had sent people to retrieve plants for the ill, even though she had no formal knowledge that it would work. She had gone solely on instinct. It was almost like the feeling she got from someone who was ill or injured matched the feeling of the plant, almost like a key to a keyhole. How is it she could do these things, feel these things? Perhaps, tomorrow, she would bring this up with Lord Elrond in their discussion. Thinking about how she would bring this up to Lord Elrond tomorrow, she allowed sleep to overtake her.

Morning came in ecstasy for Lúthien. She woke warm and comfortable beyond belief. She felt as though she had fallen asleep in a cloud. Opening her eyes, she found herself in darkness. Sitting up, she looked around. She wasn't at all confused about where she was, but rather the time. Rising from bed, she walked to the window and pulled back the curtains. Still dark. She walked to the fire place, hovering her hand over the burnt wood from last night. Still warm. She must have only slept a few hours, though she felt extremely rested. Dawn was most likely still an hour or so away. Feeling a chill, she went to the fireplace to rebuild the fire.

She sat in silence for a while, warming by the fire as it sparked to life. She sat, her knees bend under, relaxing in warmth and silence. She reveled in the peace and quiet for the morning, the dancing fire keeping her comfortable and warm. She stayed that way for a long while. Eventually feeling an anxiety build within her, she felt a strong need to get out and do something. Deciding to wear her mother's dress, since the ones in the wardrobe most likely wouldn't fit, she stripped from the nightgown. Folding it neatly, she replaced it in its proper place in the wardrobe. Walking back to the table, she dressed herself in her mother's burgundy dress. Tying her slightly messy hair back in a loose braid, she ended it with a ribbon she had discovered in the wardrobe. Then she opened the door to her quarters and stepped out.

Looking east, she noticed the sky was brightening. The sun would be rising soon. Banking the location of her quarters to memory, she started walking, trying to retrace her steps from last night. Before long, she found herself on familiar paths. She continued walking, all the while remembering twists and turns. Once in a while, she would stop and think hard, trying to remember where she had been the night before. She hadn't been paying complete attention, so it occasionally took a lot of thinking and a little bit of guess work. Somehow, she had found herself in an area completely foreign to her. She was about to retrace her steps to familiar territory until a voice behind her spoke.

"Lady Lúthien Arwen." Lúthien nearly jumped out of her skin as she spun around to face Lord Elrond. "I am surprised to see you out and about this early. Did you not sleep well?"

Lúthien sighed in relief. He had startled her. "Yes, my lord. I slept exceptionally." She said, bowing respectfully. "I have always been an early riser."

Lord Elrond smiled down at her. "Was there anywhere in particular you were heading?"

Lúthien nodded. "I was trying to find my way to the stables. I wanted to wish Gilleth a good morning."

"I would be willing to take you there." He said, placing his hand on the small of her back and directing her towards a path to their left. Lord Elrond spoke as they began to walk. "Perhaps we could discuss more about your dreams. I would like to know why they affected you the way they did. "

Lúthien nodded. "In my nightmares, I experience pain. When I wake, the pain remains. Something I had forgotten to mention last night, however, is that in one of my dreams, I was injured. I experienced a great deal of pain in my left shoulder. When I woke, it still hurt tremendously. When I touched my hand to it, I was shocked to see my hand covered in blood."

Lord Elrond looked to her, surprise in his eyes. "An injury incurred in your dream appeared on your body? Perhaps you had tossed in your sleep and hurt yourself against a rock or stick?" Lord Elrond suggested, trying to find a reasonable explanation.

Lúthien shook her head. "I would have thought the same thing, except that when I inspected my shoulder, I found no wound."

Lord Elrond looked stumped. "This is most curious." He looked pensive, running this new information through his head.

"Would you like to see the dress I was wearing, my lord?"

"The dress you were wearing when you had the dream?" Lúthien nodded. "Yes, I would indeed."

"It is in my travel sac, my lord. I left it in the stables with Gilleth last night."

Lord Elrond was deep in thought, mulling over everything he had been told and trying to find a meaning to it all. This woman was most curious. If what she had just told him was true, then her injuries from her dreams have caused her real physical harm. This could be a serious problem. It could also have some significant meaning, as well. She could sense things like danger. She had found her way to Rivendel, merely by following her senses. He had spoken to Tirithon during the night, trying to discover anything more about her. He was surprised to learn she had communicated with one of the horses. More intriguing was that the particular horse she had managed to pacify happens to be particularly leery of humans. She was also having violent nightmares involving The Red Eye of Sauron, which she said had caused her great pain. Somehow, it was all connected. It was only a matter of finding out how.

He looked ahead. The stables were within sight. Looking to Lúthien, he saw her smile. She truly was a sweet girl. He could see it in her eyes. He then noticed her state of dress.

"Lady Lúthien Arwen, why do you not wear some of the clothes that were provided?"

Lúthien looked to him, a bit surprised by his sudden question after his long silence. "They are too big, my lord." She said, watching as Lord Elrond stepped forward to open the stable gate for her. Such gentlemen, these elves… "Also, please feel free to call me by either Lúthien or Arwen. It sounds so awkward to hear myself referred to by my full first name."

"About your name… who gave it to you? It's strange that a human girl should have an elfin name, especially since both names are names from my family."

Lúthien looked to him in surprise. "What do you mean, my lord?"

"Lúthien was the name of my great grandmother," he said, looking into Lúthien's eyes. "and Arwen is the name of my daughter."

Lúthien's eyes widened in shock. "Arwen is your daughter? Arwen Undómiel?"

Now it was Lord Elrond's turn to be surprised. "You know of my daughter?"

"Yes, my lord." She spoke, still quite in shock. "I have long thought of her as a mother."

Cerulean Sage

"Oh ho! Lúthien just laid the bomb on Lord Elrond. Well, they laid bombs on each other. Lúthien has no real memory of Arwen. The last time she saw Arwen she was too little to remember. The only things she knows about Arwen is what her parents have told her and the occasional messages and gifts Arwen sends. Now she finds out she's talking to the father of the woman she considers a mother. Grandpa Elrond! Lord Elrond knew of the humans she had helped to bear a child many years ago, he just has yet to put the pieces together.

Also, I wanted to talk about something that came to mind because of a review I got. I didn't mean to make Lúthien seem so image conscious. Let me put it this way. If you were going to see people as majestic as elves, people you had heard nothing but wonderful things about all your life, wouldn't you want to make a good first impression?

About AmberRose's comment, I know about how the original Lúthien had grey eyes, as well as Elladan, Elrohir, Elrond, and Arwen. However, as I mentioned in chapter 6, I am not basing this on the books. I cannot, in good conscience, change the books. I am basing this more on the movie, which I do not feel so bad about changing. I am, of course, adding some elements from the books. However, it is not the books I am changing.

As for her other question. I made the protocol for titles. I made it based tightly on respect and manners, but also by the flow of a language. I want to show respect with out having said respect get in the way. Those that barely know each other are not likely to have lengthy conversations. Once individuals get to know each other on terms where they will have lengthy conversations, titles are no longer required. I educated myself thoroughly on manners and respect from a young age, things no one bothers to teach their children anymore. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only chivalrous person left these days. It's sad that I'm the only gentleman in a room full of men, especially considering I am a lady.

Anyhow, I think that's all that needs explaining. If you're confused about anything, feel free to ask."