Disclaimer- I don't own anything by J.R.R. Tolkien or Darren Shan
Thank you to AngelofMusic15 for being my Beta.
Gabriella was jerked awake when some elves grabbed blankets near her tree. She looked around the camp and was surprised to see nearly everything packed up and on horses. She thought they had forgotten her, but right then, the rude elf from the night before stepped in front of her. He glared at her before untying her from the tree, but kept her hands bound. He roughly pushed her towards a horse, without speaking. 'Someone sure isn't a morning person' thought Gabriella. She sighed and walked where he was leading her; not that she really had a choice. All he did was tie a longer rope to her bound hands and mount the horse. Gabriella was left standing there, with her hands bound in front of her and the elf holding the other end of the rope. He then led her like a horse. This, without a doubt, pissed her off.
"Hey! Buddy! Don't I get the decency of a horse or something? I feel like an animal being led to the slaughter!" Gabriella cried furiously.
"I'm sorry," replied the cold and distant elf. "We don't offer such accommodations to dangerous criminals. That would be irrational considering we don't have any spare horses."
"Fine." Said Gabriella with an impatient sigh. "Have it your way." With that she swiftly cut her bonds with her super sharp nails and started to flit.
She only got so far, seeing as the gap in the trees she was aiming for suddenly got blocked as an elf steered it's horse into line with the others. She stopped right in time, to prevent colliding with the horse, but that was a mistake. She was gasping from her extended efforts and her leg was throbbing. She was about to resume flitting when a hand grabbed her hair with a vicious tug. She fell to the ground, crying out in agony.
All of the elves were staring at her with pale faces and the elf whose horse she had almost run into looked like he was going to pass out. Gabriella was lying on the ground, gasping for air from the swift punch to the ribs that had assisted her trip to the ground.
The elf that had grabbed her trussed her up like a rump roast, ready to go into the oven. Her legs were tied together, her arms were bound to her body, and her hands looked like a mummy's, wrapped together to the tips of her fingers. He then lifted her and put her over his horse's back. He also put a length of cloth in her mouth to stop her creative cursing.
The elves then moved out and traveled throughout the day. The only times Gabriella was let off the horse was when they stopped to rest and water the horses. By the end of the day, Gabriella was so cramped up that she wanted to die. Every time the horse jolted, a grunt of pain emitted from her mouth and every time the horse scrambled down a ravine or crossed a stream, a few more tears escaped from her eyes.
When the elves finally settled down to camp, Gabriella was sat against a tree, and once again, tied to it. The gag was removed from her mouth so the elf from before, the captain, could interrogate her. She once again refused to answer any of his questions. Only after the interrogation, when the elf was about to leave, did she speak.
"Where are we going and when will we get there?" she asked weakly.
The elven captain glared at her and replied, "We are going to Imladris, or Rivendell to some. We should get there in about two days. There you will be tried for your crimes." He then walked to a nearby fire, though the fire was too far away to offer Gabriella any heat or comfort.
Rivendell. Gabriella turned this name over in her mind. 'Oh yes! That elven city from Fellowship of the Ring! "Maybe Lord Elrond can help me. Or maybe he could talk to Galadriel and figure out how I got here, or if I can get back," she mumbled.
"What did you say?" asked the elf captain, coming back over.
"Oh," said Gabriella with a sly smile on her face. "I was just wondering if you could tell me your name. Mr. Stick-up-the-rear is kind of lengthy, and seeing as I haven't eaten any real food for 12 days, I really can't keep up."
Let's just say that noble, stately, perfect elven face got REALLY red. 'Red like a lobster, mmmmm with butter, or an apple, mmmmm caramel covered apples, or a tomato, mmmmm tomato soup, or fresh blood, mmmm hikers' thought Gabriella. Let's just say she was hungry.
"My name is Elladan, and I wouldn't be so impertinent, if I were you. I am the son of the Lord of Rivendell, and it is he who will be sentencing you. You aren't making a very strong case." said the now recognized Elladan.
"Ooh, touchy," said Gabriella. She was tired of being scared and weak and hungry. She was so thirsty her voice was raspy. She could feel her skin drying out a little more every second.
"Well, almighty Elladan, son of Lord Elrond of Rivendell, I refuse to speak to you until you treat me with respect, instead of a like a piece of dog crap that just clings to your shoe that you can't get off. I will require some food, and water, and some medical supplies, and I would like a blanket if you have one."
"No," said Elladan with a glare. And with that he walked away. Gabriella didn't talk for the next two days, not that she could seeing her mouth was dry and every time Elladan's feet came into view, she couldn't produce enough moisture to show him what she thought of his, 'I'm the son of Lord Elrond' crap.
About noon on the second day, they met another small group of elves. While the rest ate their midday meal, Gabriella sat slumped against a tree, too weak to raise her head. Her stomach sent constant pains to her and her shoulder and leg burned with infection. She couldn't even spit on her leg to start the healing process, and her lack of water had caused her to become dehydrated.
She felt a shadow come over, blocking the merciless sun. She pooled the last of energy so she could send a glare at Elladan, for she knew it was him. All of the other elves kept away from her. She looked up and saw that it was him in fact.
She glared at him and rasped, "Come to gloat again? I didn't think your head could get any bigger but, would you look at that! I think you've added an inch to it's circumference! Congrats." Gabriella's head dropped to her chest, her burst of energy gone.
'Elladan' knelt next to her, but then he was yanked up. Gabriella looked up at his cry of surprise and saw two Ellandans.
"Great," Gabriella once again rasped, " There's two of you now. Where did you hide the cloning machine? Leave me in my misery."
"Elladan!" Gabriella heard an angry voice say, "Why have you bound this girl to this tree! You can see her wounds are infected and she looks like she hasn't seen food or water for days!"
"It's probably all lies," Gabriella heard the same voice say, but coming from a different direction. " She probably has tons of water and food and gets it when our backs are turned with her dark magic. Perk up Princess of Mordor, Elrohir! She was seen drinking the blood of one of our people! And then she was in one place one second and in another place the next. She cut ropes with her finger nails!"
" One of our people was killed by her?" asked the elf to the left.
"No," rasped Gabriella, "I drank the blood of Mr. Pansy over there so I wouldn't die," nudging her head in the direction of the elf she drank from. Elladan and Elrohir looked over at the elf who was smelling a daisy with a gleeful smile on his face. "Water," she whispered before passing out from dehydration and pain.
Elrohir and Elladan both observed the limp girl. "This has gone too far," said Elrohir who went to get his water bag. Elladan protested, but finally allowed Elrohir to try and awaken the girl. After his failed attempts, Elrohir decided that their father would have to look at her, so the group proceeded to Rivendell.
When they reached the city gates, the girl on the horse started to stir. Elrohir gave her a little water, and then they all continued up to the stables. Both Elladan and Elrohir had to help the semi-conscience girl climb the stairs into the city. They were headed for the dungeons when Lord Elrond happened to find them on one of his daily walks. As soon as Gabriella saw Lord Elrond, she came to full consciousness. She jerked out of the twin's hold and fell at the Lord of Rivendell's feet.
Lord Elrond looked at the weeping girl at his feet. "Elrond! Get me away from these evil fiends!" she cried. "Water! So hungry!" he heard her gasp and she rolled over and lost consciousness once again. Lord Elrond glared at his sons and knelt to examine the girl.
Legolas had been wandering the halls of Rivendell, when he ran into Lord Elrond and his twin offspring. He greeted them and then saw the girl sprawled on the ground that Elrond had just risen from.
She looked odd. She had very pale, dry skin, and midnight black hair, which was dry and dull. She was wearing tight black pants made of a strange shiny leather and a tight shirt made of the same materiel, which showed her mid drift. She looked as if she had lost a lot of weight in a short time, and he could tell her clothes had been made for a much more healthy weight. He could see a festering wound on her arm, and another through a cut in the fabric of her pants. He studied her face. She had fine boned features, but her lips were dried and cracked. She had a strange black substance lining her eyes. He saw that she had pointed ears.
"Why is this elleth laying in the middle of this hall?" asked Legolas, shocked at the appearance of the girl, "And in such a sad state! Was she captured by orcs? I expect they treat their captives like this."
Elladan looked down with a shamed face. "I'm sorry, I couldn't contain my rage." he said. "She was caught drinking the blood of one of my soldiers, so I held her captive."
"She hasn't had food for three days from what we know, probably longer from before he came upon her," said Elrohir. "She didn't have water for three days that we know of until now, when we gave her a little. Legolas, what do you mean by elleth?"
"She has pointed ears. She is an elf. Did you not notice?" asked a puzzled Legolas.
Elladan looked down in shock. It was true. Elrond looked up to see curios faces looking their way, so he hustled the group off to the house of healing.
They all sat around Lord Elrond's desk while one of the healers tended to the strange girl's wounds, and helped to save her from starvation. After drinking a little broth and some water in her hazy state, she fell back onto the bed and lost herself into exhaustion.
The elves were all waiting for her to wake up. Meanwhile, Elladan told the group all he knew about Gabriella. He told them what the soldier told Elladan about how he had seen her breath into his friend's face, then cut his arm, lap up the blood, then seal it again with her spit. Elladan recounted what happened when she moved faster than the eye can see and also told them about what she had said when he had interrogated her.
Elrond told his sons to go to bed, and he walked towards the healing wing, so he could watch over the girl, for she couldn't be more than sixteen.
Legolas went on a walk that night; he couldn't sleep. He was thinking of what he had been told, wondering how such an innocent looking girl could cause so much turmoil in the calm realm of Rivendell; his refuge, his place to be away from the evils that were quickly creeping into his beautiful kingdom of Mirkwood.