Later that night after one of the healers had come and gone with another small tray of food, I was visited again, this time by an elf with a stack of books in his arms, along with a bag of parchment, quills, and an ink pot. He stood at the doorway, as Maeben had, managing to look elegant despite his arms being filled with things.

"My name is Erestor, my lord Elrond informed me that you wish to learn Sindarin. Would you like to start now?"

I startled slightly, from where I had been sitting on the edge of the bed, putting a little bit of weight on my feet to see how they felt.

He had made no noise, and I hadn't noticed him until he spoke.

Erestor was just as beautiful as all the rest of the elves I'd seen, though in a more studious way, whereas Elrond was beautiful in a kind, regal way, and Arwen was lovely, like a full moon on a starless night.

I nodded, voice soft when I spoke. It was still quite raspy, though had already vastly improved since the morning. I wasn't sure if it was just because I had been talking more, or if it had to do with all the tea they kept offering me with meals.

"Good evening, lord Erestor. I would begin at your convenience, as I'm sure you are far busier than I am presently."

He smiled, "Well, I am not busy now, so it is quite convenient. May I enter?"

I nodded again, and he came in, moving the bed table slightly and aligning the chair next to it before depositing the items he'd brought onto it.

"I have some books for you. My lord Elrond told me that you are not of this world, so I brought a few in the various languages of middle earth. We will work with what we can in translating and teaching."

He showed me one book, with lovely, unintelligible script pressed and painted into the front of the leather cover, and his voice was very obviously curious when he spoke. I recognized the script as some form of Elvish, though I had no idea what it said.

"Can you read this?"

I shook my head, and he took it back, offering another, this time with different symbols, not swirling and beautiful like what I knew had been elvish. This script was blocky, rather reminding me of gothic calligraphy, the letters looking more like runes than letters. Dwarvish, maybe?

I shook my head again, before he even bothered asking if I could read it.

He replaced it with another, and almost immediately on seeing it I nodded.

It looked rather like english, just with a few odd letters here and there, some oddly shaped. Sounding them out in my head came out with real words that did seem to make sense together, though, so I assumed I would probably be able to read the rest of it.

I wouldn't be able to read it quite as fluently as I would the english I was used to, but I would be able to read it.

Just a bit slowly.

It looked like it was a book on geography.

He smiled slightly, as if having expected it. "Good, I had hoped you would be able to read common. I wasn't sure, what with you being foreign to Middle Earth. It will make things a bit easier."

He handed it to me, picking another book with lovely script out and handing it to me as well.

"These are the same book. In both Common, and Sindarin. We will be using them, and a number of others, to assist you in learning how to read, write, and speak Sindarin."

My voice was tentative when I spoke, "He..he told you, then?"

For a moment, he watched me, keen eyes taking in the way I was slightly tensed, the worry on my face. "You do not approve."

It was a statement more than a question.

I bit back a sigh, "I trust you. There's just so much potential for things to change. The more people that know, the greater that potential is."

He steepled his fingers, forearms resting on the arms of his chair.

"Would things changing really be so bad?"

"Not necessarily, but there is always that possibility."

He nodded slowly, "Of course. You have every reason to be careful. Do not let caution become paranoia, though. In attempting not to change things, you could very well end up changing them anyway. Your very presence here causes differences, though perhaps we have yet to see them."

We passed another few moments in silence as I considered his words. It was true that even if I was too hesitant to change anything, my presence alone would make things different whether I liked it or not.

Seeing that I had little else to say on the subject, he gestured towards the books in my lap, and I opened them.

It was another half hour, mostly taken up with him talking, and occasionally me repeating, before I began having difficulty focusing, yawning, and having to blink repeatedly to keep my eyes from blurring.

After the first couple yawns, he watched me closer, silently noting my lack of focus

His smile was kind when he spoke again, this time not of languages and history.

"You're tired, you should have said. You will learn better if you are well rested, and no one expects you to master an entire language in one evening. I will take these" He indicated the books, "and seek you out again after the midday meal tomorrow. I understand you are leaving the healing house in the morning?"

I nodded again, "Arwen is going to show me around Rivendell."

I felt a bit foolish immediately after saying that, and mentally berated myself.

He wasn't going to care what I was doing tomorrow.

He nodded slightly, smile full of amusement, "I had wondered. I came across her talking quite sternly to her brothers about ceasing their mischief tomorrow. I had assumed she simply desired a day of peace. The twins do have a habit of poking at her for reactions."

His eyes held fondness, though the rest of his face showed mild exasperation when talking about Elladan and Elrohir.

"Arwen has always been more reserved than them. I suppose she simply wants your first day out of the healing house to be a peaceful one."

He rose, speaking as he gathered up the rest of the things he'd brought, "Perhaps you should take a few days off, then, and settle in. I'm sure you'll be able to focus more on your lessons if you've had a proper chance to explore."

Part of me wanted to agree, but most of me wanted to protest, so protest I did.

"But we just started, won't I learn better if I practice every day?"

He looked at me, a hint of a smile playing at his lips again, "Yes, but I cannot very well schedule lessons in the library if you do not know how to get to the library. Take a day or two to learn your way around, and then seek me out. I can usually be found in the library for an hour or two after the midday meal."

With that said, he retreated to my doorway, bowing his head just slightly as a farewell, along with a quietly spoken "Good night, I do hope you sleep well."

Then he was gone.

That night was the best sleep I'd gotten in my entire stay in Middle Earth, let alone in Rivendell. Perhaps because I was kept up by my many visitors, or perhaps because the peace of Rivendell was finally setting in through the nightmares.
I didn't know.

I woke up feeling refreshed and excited to explore Rivendell with Arwen, only to look out the window and find that the sky was still mostly dark.

Sleep would not return to me, however. So instead I climbed out of my bed, carefully smoothing the blankets, and evaluated how I felt.

My feet still ached a bit, as did my ribs, and there was a small bit of lingering soreness in my entire body. I felt rested, though, exhaustion no longer clouding my mind.

I slowly fell into the routine of stretches I had taken up on my long journey, easing muscles stiffened with lack of use and regaining some of the mobility I lost due to soreness.

I took my time, not needing to start walking for the day, my stretch was leisurely and thorough.

By the time I finished, the sky was starting to become lighter, and I already felt much improved since waking, some of the sore feeling fading with warmed up muscles.

I was in the middle of combing my long, wavy hair, when there was a knock at my door.

I glanced down at myself, wondering if they would be offended if I let them in while in a nightgown and not covered by blankets. In the end I decided that I didn't really care, it wasn't like I had anything else to put on.

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal one of the healers, an elven woman with light brown hair and a lovely, warm smile, who I'd learned in the first few days was named Alena.

She entered, hands occupied with a bag filled with various garments.

"Good morning, Milady. I've some clothes for you to choose from, the rest will be brought to your room in the main house. Would you like some assistance dressing?"

Her voice was kind and not at all demeaning, as if she really wouldn't mind having to help me.

I shook my head slightly, "no thank you, ma'am. I'm sure I can figure it out."

She looked a little hesitant to leave, still, lingering at the door after setting the things on the bed. "Are you sure, Milady? There are ties on the back of the dress, you might not be able to reach them without aggravating your injuries."

I smiled, but shook my head once more, "I'd like to at least try to do it myself. Maybe you could stay within earshot, and I can call you if I can't manage on my own?"

Her look of slight concern turned into a pleasant and reassured smile, "of course Milady. I'll just be down the hall a bit, taking stock of some herbs. Call if you need any help at all."

With that, she turned, quietly shutting the door behind me, and I was alone again with a bag full of clothes.

I went through the bag slowly, pulling out what appeared to be some type of underwear that tied at the sides, a long white gown with thin ties at the top and sides which was far too flimsy to be on its own, made of a thin, wispy fabric, and I assumed it was some sort of under slip or petticoat type of thing*.

I slid the nightgown off, not really spending any time looking at the mass of bandages that covered me, and tied the underwear thing. It felt like the bottom of a bathing suit. Then came the white gown, which I tied at the sides carefully, and after that came a dress, as that was all they had offered. It was a quiet, forest green, it had a long skirt, long sleeves that had ties going all the way up them to offer a bit of fitting, a wide neck that showed rather more of my shoulders than I was used to in dresses, and a set of ties in the back. It was quite practical, and I very much liked it.

I slid it over my head carefully, arms shaking a little. The arm ties were a tad difficult, as was the back tie, but I managed. The lack of a bra didn't really bother me, as I'd been without one the entire time I'd spent in Middle Earth, so I was used to the feeling, and the white undergown hid any poking out of nipples.

There was also a pair of soft fabric flats that had a bit of ribbon going around the opening that tied in the back, soled with leather, which I managed to slip on over my bandaged feet.

I looked practically normal by the end of it, hardly any bandages showing. A few from my shoulders and neck, and a few at my wrists and on my fingers, but everything else was covered up.

I rather wished for a mirror, wondering what I looked like in authentic elven clothes.

Making my way out of the room was rather strange, as I had never really left it since arriving in Rivendell almost a week ago. I found Arwen to be walking down the hall towards my room when I exited, and she smiled widely upon seeing me dressed and up.

"Alyssa, you look marvelous. Much better than you did yesterday, and that gown is very lovely on you, the color brings out the green in your eyes."

She carefully slipped my arm through hers, gently moving past the slight flinch from the contact, and started leading me out.

The first sight of Rivendell was breathtaking. All the more because I would be able to remember it this time.

The buildings were all lovely stone and wood structures, combined in decorative arches, pillars, and carvings, all leading up to large roofs that covered and protected everything.

The sun was just peeking over the tops of the misty mountains, painting everything in golden light and making it look all the more unreal.

I teared up a little, both at the beauty, and at the sunlight that my eyes weren't quite used to after having been inside for the past couple days with most of my time spent sleeping.

The day went by slowly, and yet so quickly. The healing house was really a kind of branch off of the main house, connected with bridges and lovely open walkways covered with stone archways and wooden roofs. The walk from the room I'd been in, to the room they gave me in the main house only took a few minutes, though I was breathing harder upon arrival, and Arwen decided that perhaps we should wait another day before I ventured out more. She made sure I was comfortable in the bed before informing me she'd be by later in the evening to accompany me to lunch. I fell asleep quickly after the slight exertion, napping until Arwen came by for lunch.

I awoke to the knock on the door, I sat up slowly, "Come in"

It opened to reveal Arwen, who greeted me with a small smile.

"Do you feel up to joining me for the midday meal, Alyssa?"

I nodded and rose, rubbing still tired eyes in an attempt to clear them.

"Yes. Thank you. I'm sorry I was so tired."

"Nonsense. It's perfectly understandable. You will likely feel that way for a number of days still, until you build your strength up again."

She twined arms with me again, taking a slow, easy pace. We went through a few halls, her pointing things out to me that I might use to aid in navigating, before we got to the kitchen.

She started gathering small bits of food into a large bowl, before pausing and looking at me and speaking, voice a bit tentative.

"I thought we might take our meal to the garden."

"That sounds wonderful. Can I help carry anything?"

I knew it was odd to offer help when I was already having difficulty carrying myself, but it was out before I could think about it.

She offered a smile and a gentle shake of her head, "It's quite alright, tis only a small amount. Just enough for us."

We quietly made our way out, and she continued pointing things out and giving directions to other places. When we finally made it to the garden, she lead me over to a bench that sat among a number of lovely flower bushes, sitting next to me and holding the bowl between us so that we could both get at the bits of cut up fruit and vegetables in it.

We ate in comfortable silence, only broken by the occasional bird.