Arwen smiled and offered a hand, "come with me to the healing rooms, Alyssa. I'll send someone to get my father, you can talk with him while we see to your wounds."

I hesitantly accepted the hand, honestly tearing up a tiny bit and feeling a little weak at the knees at the warmth of her hand against mine. I hadn't felt the touch of another person the entire journey, save for the horrific paws of the brute. I felt both drawn to the touch and repulsed by it, though considerably less having had to go part of the way to receive it. I attempted to shove back a shudder, and slowly stepped towards her, the ever present pain of all my injuries making every movement a test of willpower.

I vaguely noticed Valen being lead away, trying to note which direction they went, though it didn't do much good in my current state.

The trip to the healing rooms went by in a bit of a blur. In the state I was in, I noticed very little, moving only because of sheer determination and willpower. I would see this through. I would talk to Elrond.

We got a lot of very concerned stares from passing elves, though none interrupted us.

I was too caught in the haze of pain and weariness to notice the sadness growing in her eyes every time I stumbled.

We passed over a bridge at some point, and the only reason I remember is because I paused at the edge and spent longer than is entirely appropriate looking over the edge before Arwen gently tugged me on.

I stumbled multiple times, but flinched away from Arwen's helping hands, and was thus left to struggle on myself.

Not that I noticed.

By the time we made it to the healing rooms, I was seeing black dots and having to remind myself that breathing was important, and that I should do it, no matter how much it hurt.

I was to the point where I had only one thought, a mantra of 'I will not fall' that repeated endlessly, mumbled near silently, blurring together in my mind.

There was an elf waiting for us when we arrived, and again, despite not looking like his actor in the movie, I could tell it was Elrond.

He was tall, imposing, and much younger and more handsome than the actor they'd chosen for him in the movies.

His face was gentle as he observed me, and he kept his movements slow and easy when he started guiding me over to a bed to sit. I didn't flinch from his hands. There was something calming and non threatening.

I opened my mouth to speak, but he hushed me before I could utter any words,

"Rest now. We may speak once I've seen to your wounds. You have come a long way, and now is not the time for words. Sleep."

As he spoke, he guided my feet up onto the bed and laid me back, and I drifted off to the sound of his voice soothing the worries away.

When I awoke, I felt worlds better. I didn't move, simply enjoying the fact that a good portion of the soreness was gone. Slowly, I opened my eyes and propped myself up on my elbows.

I was pretty much one big bandage.

My chest had been wrapped tightly to help my ribs heal, as had my feet and a good majority of skin, the bits that had been the worst sunburnt and had infected cuts. What skin I could see was a much healthier color, and appeared to be smeared with some sort of lotion. My feet didn't hurt anymore, though by the numbness, I assumed that there was some sort of painkiller, or weird elven healing magic at work.

Not that I was complaining.

Over the bandages was a simple, white nightgown, the fabric of which didn't feel scratchy at all against the skin that was showing, which was a blessing, because despite that it looked healthier, the skin still felt raw to the touch.

My hair had apparently been washed, combed, and braided into one long braid that coiled next to me on the pillow. I made a note to ask what they had done to it, because it had never before behaved so well for me. I usually slept with it braided, but it had a tendency to coil around my neck and try to strangle me. Maybe everything was just out to get me?

I lowered myself back down, breathing shallowly and a little bit hard just from the effort it had taken to sit up like that for so long. Despite feeling better, I also felt incredibly weak. How long had I been asleep?

What if I missed something important?

I considered trying to go find someone, and was halfway to an upright, sitting position when the door to the room I was in opened, and Elrond walked in, as if he knew I was trying to get up, and could simply not allow it.

Being in a much clearer state of mind, I only stared for a moment before forcing my eyes to a spot on the floor in front of him.

Rude to stare. Rude to stare. Stop it.

With my eyes on the floor, I missed him smile slightly, watching me with wise, kind eyes.

"Do you feel well enough to speak? Maeben and Arwen implied the information you had was of some import. You seemed to disregard your wellbeing entirely."

His voice was melodic and deep, and I noticed it had an almost exotic accent, which I had missed in the other elves due to the state of mind and body I had been in.

Elves just weren't fair. Beautiful everything. Bodies, faces, hair, voices.

I felt like my voice was stuck, and cleared my throat a little uncomfortably, trying to force it up. He walked over, picking up a cup from a table next to the bed that I hadn't noticed. He sat on the edge of the bed, propping one arm behind my back to gently help me sit up, and then offering me the cup. I raised shaky hands and managed to drink some, only spilling a little bit, which he promptly wiped up with the edge of his sleeve.

I couldn't help but stare again, and I think my mouth was open a little bit in outright amazement.

Elrond, lord Elrond, of Rivendell, had just wiped up something with his sleeve. Something about that was just very wrong.

He shrugged a tiny bit and smiled, "It's just water."

Well there went all my views of the great, amazing lord Elrond.

I would never be able to look at him again without remembering that he had done that.

He seemed to understand my stunned silence, "People seem to forget that I have raised four children."

Damn, he was probably reading my mind. I wondered briefly if the concept of occlumency from the Harry Potter books would work, and tried to picture a smooth shimmering lake to hide my thoughts under. I was distracted by his voice again, and movement as he propped a few pillows up against the headboard of the bed, leaning me gently on them. I realized I still hadn't spoken. But he beat me to it.

"You've been in a healing sleep for three days. How do you feel?"

I cleared my throat again, voice coming out harsh and a little broken sounding, from lack of use.

"I am feeling much better, thank you, sir."

Was I supposed to call him lord Elrond? Your highness? My lord?

"Excellent. I'm going to change a few bandages while you tell me what was so urgent that you ignored the deplorable state you were in. Tell me if anything is too uncomfortable."

With that said, he moved down to my feet, procuring a small bowl of some sort of ointment and a roll of bandages from a chest near the end of the bed. He started unwinding the bandages from my feet slowly, making sure not to pull at any skin. It felt odd, and I couldn't help but watch curiously, wondering what my feet looked like after that unpleasant adventure.

I couldn't see much, and after a moment of the strange feeling, I looked away, choosing instead to study Elrond.

Now that I was in a more stable state of body and mind, I noted that he was wearing robes very similar to the style that they'd used in the movies, though they looked somehow finer, and more simple at the same time.

His hair was long and straight, and not held back in any way, simply combed back and tucked behind pointed ears. His face was youthful, and yet it expressed great age.

I debated what to say for a moment before speaking, and when I did speak, I had to stifle a cringe at how strange my voice sounded.

"My name is Alyssa, I'm..not really from here. I'm..well, I'm from a different..universe..I guess?

In my world, Middle Earth, and all of the things that happen in it, are part of a fictional book series. If the world I am in now is truly the one from the books I read, then I have a great deal of knowledge of the future that could potentially be very helpful, or very dangerous, depending on who acquires it."

He was still studiously rebandaging my feet, though I could tell he was listening. He probably thought I was crazy and was deciding if he should finish helping me and then banish me, or just throw me out right now.

"I know it sounds crazy and weird, but I'm not making it up, and I'm not insane. If things go according to the books, I know how certain situations play out. I realize that there is the potential to change things for the worse, but there's also the potential to save so many lives. Wouldn't it almost be my duty to save the lives I can? I want to help. I can tell you some things that have already happened, if you need proof."

I scoured my brain, maybe I could talk about what happened in the hobbit, that was already over at this point, so it shouldn't be too dangerous.

I had just opened my mouth to speak again when he raised one hand, pausing me.

"I do not think you are crazy. If what you say is true, I think it wise to keep your silence for the time being. Should you truly have knowledge of our future, the less you speak of it, the better. Knowledge of the future is a heavy burden for one to carry. There is never any guarantee that it will turn out the way you believe it will, and trying to change that which you believe is destined to happen could have dire consequences. Saving lives, however, is always a noble ideal, and as long as you think carefully about any potential consequences, it would be a good way to use your knowledge. I do think it would be best that you refrain from informing me of the specifics of your knowledge, at least for the time being. This would be something better heard by the Wizards Saruman and Mithrandir, the lady Galadriel, and my close council, Erestor and Glorfindel."

I cringed and stiffened a little at the name Saruman. Theoretically, they shouldn't all be together before Saruman's treachery was revealed, but it would be really risky not to say something.

However, if I told them, things might happen sooner, and that would throw off everything I knew.

Though I couldn't tell, Elrond did notice the way I stiffened slightly at the name Saruman, and how my eyes became cagey and nervous at the mention of telling him of my situation.

He continued on, despite my reaction, curious, if not mildly alarmed.

"Until we are able to all be in one place at the same time, it would be prudent for you to keep your knowledge to yourself and consider as best you can what would and would not be safe to share.

He had finished my feet, and tended some cuts and scratches on my legs while I sat tensely, trying and failing not to flinch and try to pull away. The warmth of his hands felt foreign and strange after so long without human contact. He didn't comment on it, simply continuing on with his gentle, easy movements, moving upward and carefully unwinding the bandages on my arms, where he re-applied the lotion that was healing the sunburns, as well as all the little nicks and cuts I acquired along my journey.

"Would you tell me how you came to be here? Of your journey, and how you came to be in the state you were upon arriving here?"

His question was curious, but at the same time, sort of had the same tone a psychiatrist might use to get you to speak of something uncomfortable.

I cringed a little, but started talking. My voice was hesitant for the first bit, telling him about how I woke up in what I now knew to be Fangorn, with no idea where I was, finding water, climbing the tree and seeing Orthanc, though I only realized it later, the realization of where I was and approximately when I was in the story.

I started to speak a little bit easier as I continued, telling him of how I survived by eating moss, finding the little river, which he identified as the Fords of Isen. I struggled through telling him of the two brutes finding me, my treatment at their hands, I glossed over being raped and killing them, choosing instead to simply move on to the part where I took the horses and escaped.

He understood, though. I could see it in his eyes.

When I finished talking, he was just finishing reapplying bandages to my ribs, it turned out the nightgown was entirely open and tied on one side, so it was relatively easy to work around. We fell into silence for a few moments. I was exhausted again. I felt like I'd just had to relive the entire thing again, though I wasn't nearly so battered as I had been the first time. It hurt to talk about it, but I did feel a little lighter knowing that someone else knew.

Once he finished with my ribs, he sat back, watching me with sorrowful eyes and sympathy clear on his face. When he spoke, his voice was low, tinged with sadness, and gentle compassion.

"I am truly sorry that you had to endure all of that. Nothing will erase that from your past, but dwelling will only stunt your future. Set your mind to other things. Once you are well enough, perhaps some form of combat. If you truly want to make a difference with your knowledge you need to be capable of fulfilling your goals, and you cannot do that if you cannot defend yourself, and others."

I nodded, having difficulty digesting the fact that he seemed to have no trouble believing me.

Though, I suppose if you lived in a world with elves, dwarves, and magic, it wouldn't necessarily seem that far out for someone to mysteriously appear with knowledge of your world.

My voice was hesitant when I spoke, and I couldn't help but glance up at him to see if there was any reaction to my question.

"why...why do you believe me?"

He watched me for another long moment, meeting my eyes solidly, almost searchingly. I held his gaze, curious and nervous for what his answer might be.

"You have given me no reason not to believe you, and you were not lying when you said you were from another realm. That leads me to believe that either, for some reason you think you are of another realm but in truth are not, or, you are from another realm, and have the knowledge you claim. When one claims to have knowledge of the future, it makes sense to at least listen, should the claim prove to be true."

He set a small bowl on the table next to the bed, quietly explaining that it was more of the ointment he'd used on the sunburns, and that I should reapply it if my skin felt at all dry or uncomfortable.

"Someone will be by shortly with some food. If you have any needs or desires, don't hesitate to make them known. Your first experience in Middle Earth was not a pleasant one, but it is not all like that. You are welcome here for as long as you wish to stay."

With that, he stood, gathering any unused or soiled bandages to take out with him.

I couldn't help but call out after him just as he got to the door,

"Lord Elrond, would it be okay..I mean, if you don't mind..I was wondering if perhaps I might study Sindarin, while I'm here, at least? Training for the body would be a good distraction from past events, and certainly very helpful for future ones, but I feel like training for the mind would be beneficial as well. I mean, it certainly couldn't hurt, right?

I was rambling by the end of it, shaking fingers twisting a piece of my nightgown nervously as I watched the floor in front of him.

What if he took it as an offense? They weren't exactly in the habit of teaching random people their language. I probably shouldn't have asked.

I peeked up slightly to find him smiling softly, and there was a hint of approval in his voice when he responded, "That is a fine idea. Rest a few more days, and I'll have someone come tutor you. I'm sure you'll appreciate the distraction. Being confined to bed while healing will not be easy, but it will allow you to heal faster if you do not aggravate your wounds."

He gave a farewell and bid me rest well as he left, and then I was alone again.