Chapter 3

"I see you are awake." The smooth voice spoke from the doorway.

Evelyn turned her head from the open balcony door to see Elladan striding through, setting a pack of items on the stand across the room. His long dark hair was pulled back in customary braids, his silver circlet in place. He must have been in meetings this morning to have decided to wear it, usually he went without it.

"I wish I wasn't." she stated grumpily. While she was awake she was usually in a state of constant pain, and now was no different. The effort to breath hurt. But she had made her choice; she was here for Valor knows how long, until her duty done. If only they had bothered to tell her what she was needed for now that the ring was destroyed. She sighed, and pushed the thoughts from her mind, she had more pertinent matters at hand; dwelling on the negative aspects was not going to get her anywhere.

"I see you are out of your sling." She added, changing the subject.

"Indeed I am, though they still have me with some restrictions."

"From the way you looked over your shoulder coming in, I take it lifting is supposed to be one of those restrictions?" Evelyn questioned, giving the ellon a smirk. The sly smile he sent her in return answered her question without words, "I thought so."

"So long as you keep your mouth closed, I will have nothing to worry about."

"Pray tell, to whom I would spill your little secret? I am much too much at your disposal to think of such an act. Now, when I am healed, it will be another matter entirely." She countered a sly smile of her own sliding across her face. Two could play this game, and she did not intend to let Elladan always have the upper hand.

When she had first awoken, neither truly knew how to take the other or what to do. They both were at a loss. However, it did not take long for Elladan's joking personality start to shine through, once he realized she was not going to freeze him on the spot—though she had to admit, there had been many times over the past few days she had wanted to. They had a tentative friendship and respect for each other. Though they both still had questions for the other, they dare not yet ask. But, with her being more on the mend, she knew they were coming, as did he.

"I was thinking," Elladan interrupted her thoughts, 'That after we do your therapy and dressing changes, we could go to one of the gardens. I think you are up for a trip out of this room. What are your thoughts?"

Go outside? Just the thought of the warm sun on her skin, even through all the material, brought a smile to her face. It had been much too long since she had been able to enjoy being out of doors. The thought of feeling the wind brush across her skin, brought a calming sensation through her body. "I think," she stated, "I would very much be up for a trip outside."

"Good then, let us begin." Elladan gave her a full smile stretching from ear to ear.

She did not know which was worse, the range of motion exercises that she had to begin with or the dressing changes that came after. Because of the extent of her injuries, she had to move her joints every so often to keep them from getting contractures. Just in the past few days she could tell a noticeable improvement in her legs, back, and neck. Thankfully her fingers had not taken to much damage and all worked perfectly. It was her left arm that worried her, and she could tell it worried Elladan too, though he had yet to speak to her of it. The small crease that appeared on his forehead told it all. How long would he keep silent? While her other joints had shown improvement, her left elbow had not, it still hung at a slightly awkward angle that was not quite straight. She worried she would never gain full use of it.

She felt the tears welling in her eyes, and shut them tightly; making a face so Elladan only thought she was wincing from the pain of pulling the old dressings off. Which it did hurt, she would not lie, but the thought of one more disfiguring aspect to mar her, was almost too much. She could hide the ones on her torso, legs, and arms. She could not hide the one on her face or a screwed up arm. No, she thought, she would deal with it when the time came, and for now, she just had to push the thoughts into her little box she created for them.

"Not much longer now, and we will take that trip to a garden, there are a few that were left unharmed from the battle." He told her, not looking up from his task. He had felt the shift in her mood, felt the depression and despair that was building. He had been a healer long enough to know there was nothing he could do to help her left elbow or the scar that would be on her face forever; he also knew that she had figured both out on her own, she was not dumb, so he figured there was no reason to bring it up to her until she was ready. That time was not now. Knowing the truth and accepting it, were two very different things.

"You are going to move yourself to the chair for me to wheel you out."

"Excuse me?" she questioned, not fully comprehending his words. She was not sure she liked the glint she saw in his eye.

"Did you expect me to do all the work? How will you ever get stronger if you do not start moving?" he replied.

"I have been moving, no thanks to you, everyday. I have not, however, gotten out of this bed."

"You are wasting precious time, not much longer and the sun will be down. Tic-tok." He teased.

"Shut up." She growled, attempting to crawl to the side of the bed she was tucked in. She felt the cold stone tile beneath her feet, almost expecting to feel the chill run up her spine, but it did not. Wiggling her toes, she played putting different amounts of weight on them. Shifting farther to the edge off the bed, she tried to ignore the pain igniting in her muscles from the strain.

"I believe my grandmother could move faster than you."

"I believe, at this point, a human grandmother in a foot of snow could move faster than me right now, besides your grandmother is an elf, her movements don't slow with age." she grumbled, and then added, "Okay okay, I am getting up." And with that she went to push herself off the bed.

At first she felt fine, then the wobbling set in. She could feel her body teetering back and forth; feel her knees ready to buckle. She attempted to hold out her arms to steady herself but it was to no avail, her knees buckled and Evelyn could do nothing as her body began to crumble to the ground, before strong arms caught her.

"If you wanted me to hold you, you could have just asked." A laughing voice spoke above her head, as she clung to Elladan, pain engulfing her body.

"Be glad I cannot hit you right now." She spat, trying to hold in the chuckle that threatened to erupt from her lips. Try as she might, she found it hard to get mad at the insufferable elf.

The fresh crisp air felt better than Evelyn had originally imagined. It was such a refreshing change to be away from the stone walls that had been her companions for many days. Though dust still clung to the air from the rumble below them, it did not hamper her spirits. The rays of sunlight filtering through the dust created beautiful shapes and patterns on the foliage around her. Ferns sprouted around the bordering walls that were covered in ivy. Wild roses grew around the fountain, there thorny branches blocking any access to the cool water from year of poor gardening, but she found the wildness of the garden intriguing. It made it unique and much more natural than the much pampered gardens she pictured going to. A few shade trees grew in random areas with benched under their old bows. Evelyn, however, chose to sit on the bench bathed in the filtered sunlight, enjoying the warmth it brought to her.

For a while they sat in companionable silence before Evelyn finally voiced one of her concerns to the elf beside her, "Has there been any word on the company since the battle? Of your brother?" She added, not looking at Elladan.

"Aye, word was sent soon after the destruction of the ring. Elrohir and the fellowship have all survived unscathed, minus a few minor injuries of course. They have began the journey home with those well enough to travel. Any who need tending, they have set up a camp to tend them until they can safely travel. The casualties were many."

She felt a pang in her heart at the loss of so many lives, though it could not match the joy that threatened to encompass her with the knowledge that the only friends she had lived and were on their way back to her. They were practically her family now. Though Elladan was somber from the loss of life, just as she was, she could feel his happiness at his brother's return.

"When do you think they shall be at the city/"

"By the week's end I am sure, they are traveling slowly."

A week, she could wait a week. She would have to; and then she would see them again, see Legolas again. Evelyn stopped her thoughts instantly. Since awakening, certain thoughts and memories had been fuzzy; taking their sweet time coming back to her, with certain thoughts, smells, or comments from Elladan would bring them hurtling back. The thought of Legolas in particular had done just that. she saw herself lying on the cart as the Kings of Erebor and Dale brought her to Gondor, she saw Legolas coming to say his last regards before they marched on the Black gates and felt rather than watched as he placed a small chaste kiss upon her lips. Instantly she raise her right hand to touch her own, still feeling the warmth of his lips on his, as her heart thudded in her chest. Legolas had kissed her, and the only thought she could muster at the moment was, 'Oh, shit.'

"Excuse me?" Elladan asked her, startled by her outburst.

She jerked her head to look at him, a bewildered expression on her face, and eyes wide. It took her a moment to compose herself enough to respond to him. She looked at his face with his raised eyebrows, waiting expectantly. With a gulp she answered, "Nothing, it was nothing, one of my memories coming back."

"Your choice of wording will never cease to shock me. Would you like to speak of it?" While the last request was spoken with true heartfelt concern, his picking on her language was full of his joking personality. How he could master putting the two together so perfectly, she would never know.

"No, I would rather not," She replied, trying not to sound to terse as she felt the flush rise to her cheeks at the thought of having to tell anyone that particular memory. "And by the way, there is nothing wrong with my language; it is perfectly acceptable where I'm from." This time her reply was curt, eliciting a laugh from the ellon and effectively changing the subject away from Legolas' kiss. She was just thankful that he had no way of knowing she knew of it.

"Do you miss them, your family back home?" Elladan spoke after a long span of silence. He watched the woman closely. She did not immediately look at him; instead she dropped her head ever so slightly and took a deep refreshing inhale. He found that when she did look at him, he was surprised to see a small smile upon her lips, albeit, it was full a grief, but not the fresh grief he would imagine seeing upon someone who recently was separated from their family, especially one who he knew to have the deep running feelings very similar to an elf's.

"I miss them, why do you ask?" she looked into his grey eyes, seeing all the questions he wished to asked her but kept bottled up. Well, she thought, an eye for an eye. If it was the trust game he wanted to play, she would. Evelyn knew she needed all the people she could get on her side, and she knew now she could never be in the towns of men for long. Even with her terror of them abated, she was immortal now, she would have to find a place somewhere among the Elves.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Curiosity." He replied.

"Back home we have a saying 'curiosity killed the cat.' Ever heard of it?" She asked him, laughing at his expression of mixed amusement and horror. "I didn't think so." She laughed some more before sobering herself up to tell her story.

"My mother passed away before I came here. She was in a car accident." Evelyn paused, holding up a hand to stop the elf from speaking. "A car is like a very fast carriage that doesn't need horses. No more interruptions. My father was also pronounced dead from the accident. It was only after the events of my death that I learned otherwise…"

"Elladan!" She chastised, seeing him open his mouth to interrupt once again. "What did I say? Anyway, I had my time to grieve them, and move on with my life. They were a successful couple and we lived generously. The horse farm and the money were left to me. I was a horse trainer of sorts you could say.

I am not sure what the others filled you in on, probably not that I died to come here, however, I did. I was attacked by a group of men." She shivered as the memories streamed through her mind as she recalled it. "The Valar intervened, apparently, my father was some sort of elemental created by Eru to take away some of the burdens of the Valar by controlling the seasons and weather of Middle-Earth. It did not work so well."

And so she continued to tell him her tale, her stay in Lorien and befriending Haldir, the arrival of the Fellowship and their departure and journeys from there. Tears fell silently as she recalled Boromir's death, but she continued on.

"…And then the Nazgul captured me." She paused as more tears choked her voice. Evelyn looked down when she felt a warm touch on her hand. Elladan's larger one covered her own.

"Evelyn, stop. You have told me more than enough, and when you are ready to tell the rest, I will be ready to listen."

"How long will that take?"

She looked at the Lord of Rivendell, hoping to see some form of hope there, some positive thought, but there was only sadness. Thank god, she did not see pity in his eyes, which would have done it for her. She did not think she could handle anyone's pity for her.

"It is never the same for people. It could be days, or it could be years."

"And how do I know when that time is?" she asked in despair. She had just come to terms with her life in Middle-Earth, being an elemental, now this. Now she had to come to terms with torture, death, immortality. She wished more than ever she was back in Nienna's halls.

"It comes slowly; you will not wake up one morning and know. It is more gradual than that, it happens a little every day, a piece at a time. But you will heal, Evelyn, you will heal."

"I can't do it Elladan." She whined, letting her arms drop to her sides, the weights already forgotten.

Elladan sighed, picking them up, "Yes you can. Have a little faith in yourself." He was trying to be positive, but he would not lie, the woman was making it difficult and at times he was very tempted to give her a good shake, then again she probably had the same thoughts regarding him.

It had been three days since her outing to the garden and since then Elladan had been pushing her twice as hard. Gone were the exercises she did in the bed, now she was lucky if she got to do anything but sleep there, napping was out of the question. She was awoken at dawn and forced to get up and to a chair and left to her own devices while Elladan met to discuss affairs of the city. She had gone through more books than she could count. When he came back after lunch it was all focused on strength training. Since her capture and time in a coma, she lost the majority of her strength and muscle mass. Between the leg exercises and arm exercises, by the end of the day she was exhausted, most nights she did not even dream. And while her legs had gained strength, and she was able to walk short distances, her arms were another story, or she should say her left arm. With its limited mobility, it made the exercises ten times harder and much more painful, usually just one rep brought tears to her eyes.

"No, I can't." she emphasized, "Not with the bloody arm!" She raised it and let it drop to her side, hanging at an awkward angle.

"It will come with time," He tried to soothe, hearing the lie in his own voice, and one look at Evelyn's face made him wish the words unsaid. She shot daggers at him with the anger in her eyes.

"Don't you dare lie to me! Don't you dare!" She seethed, snaking across the room to stand in front of him, her right index finger jabbing him in the chest. "You know as well as I do, my left arm isn't getting any better, and it isn't going to!" She was bordering on hysterics now, but she did not care, all the built up frustration and pain was at its bursting point and she could not hold it in any longer. "The bloody damn thing is useless. It will never work right again, never hang right at my side. No, it's just one more fucking thing to mar my body and make me stick out. As if my appearance wasn't enough on its own!" Evelyn's voice screeched, as she hit Elladan on his chest with her clenched fists. "Let's add a screwed up arm and a damn scar that covers the right side of my face!"

Tears now poured from her eyes and she continued to beat the Ellon in front of her, not caring if she hurt him, right now she wanted to. He was supposed to fix her, make her better. Now she was going to stand out even more, be the center of more scorn, ridicule, and curiosities.

Elladan let her vent, let her hit him until his chest really did hurt, let her burst with all her pent up emotions. He had known it would come at some point. She was always to calm, too reserved and stuck in her own mind, never voicing her frustrations. When she quit speaking, he just wrapped his large arms around her and pulled her close.

The door to the room squeaked open and Elladan looked up to see Eowyn peeking in, clearly she heard the commotion. She gave him a questioning glance, and he signaled to her as best he could he would handle it, but maybe refreshments would be nice. He hoped she understood him, as she nodded and closed the door behind her. Elladan was pretty sure Evelyn could use some female company once she composed herself.

He moved them to the couch in the room, feeling her legs quivering from the strain, it was the longest she had been on them yet, and he did not want to add to her frustration of them giving out on her. He kept her in his arms, stroking her hair as she cried, her body heaving. He placed a brotherly kiss to her forehead, "We will get you through this Evelyn, you shall not be alone."