"Raise a glass to freedom, something they can never take away-!" Well, actually, summer vacation doesn't last forever, but let me just believe, dang it! Anyway, this chapter and the next may or may not contain filler in Rivendell, but oh well. But a little silver lining, there`s two (obvious) cameos from LOTR! yay.

Also, a few updates for future stories.

I`m inspired to write an "Outsiders" fanfic. I remember wanting to write on earlier but A- I didn`t for some reason, and B- it won`t be my original idea this time. Just so you know, when I say "original" I mean "My first draft."

I`m also thinking of writing two "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" fanfics, but one is about the little girl in Sudan, and the other is something pretty much nobody but I asked for. So, the one where nobody but I asked for was originally going to be written first, but I`m leaning to the one with about the little girl in Sudan. But, this doesn't mean I`ll write it at this exact moment.

The Company continued to follow the path, some falling behind because of either helping poor Liesel walk, or, for the most part, getting stuck between rocks. For being one of the smallest, it would have been an advantage for Bilbo, unless he hadn't volunteered his turn to help Liesel.

"Gandalf, where are we?" He asked, struggling to hold his walking stick in one hand, and the other gripping Liesel`s shoulder as she leaned on the wall to steady herself.

"You can feel it?" The wizard asked, minorly surprised.

"Yes. It feels like," He stopped, letting go of the little girl`s shoulder as she continued in distant thought. Bilbo finally found the words "it feels, more like magic."

Gandalf shook his head "That`s exactly what it is, a very powerful kind of magic."

The two exchanged glances for a short time, until Dwalin called up from the front, "There`s light up ahead," and they proceeded to walk out of the narrow pathway, and onto a wide, open area. If you were there, and looked down, there would lie the most magnificent establishment I`d ever lay eyes on.

"The Valley of Imraldis. In the Common Tongue, it's known by another name." Gandalf said.

"Rivendell." Bilbo spoke, staring solely at the city. Much like the disturbing creatures, he had only heard and read of them in books, and stories from his family on occasion. But this, this was something he couldn't even dream to imagine.

The same had went for Little Liesel Hayward. Only in books and her father`s letters were sights ever known to her. Even when she was much smaller, and her feet had no hair, her mother would take her to The Green Dragon bar as she worked, and the hobbit child would listen to various stories about men rescuing princess, or them stealing from the rich.

Gandalf went on "Here lies the last Homely House east of the sea."

Thorin turned sharply to the wizard as everyone looked on in awe "This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy."

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself."

"You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us." The King under the mountain spat.

"Of course, they will. But we have questions that need to be answered, and injured to be attended to." Gandalf stole a glance at Liesel, who was fighting herself to stand, Fili helping her.

He looked back "If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me." With a wry smile, the wizard led on, and the dwarves and hobbits followed afterward, trailing down a noble set of stairs. The injured girl soon became more aggressive as she walked down, refusing to any help as she let out short little gasps with almost every step; but, they eventually let her alone until reaching solid ground.

The Company walked across a bridge and entered Rivendell, a few elves are seen strolling about. Bilbo, mouth agape, gawked at the beautiful details all around him; even the light atmosphere seemed to make the little girl forget her slight injury.

"Mithrandir." A dark-haired elf walked down a flight of stairs and greeted them.

"Ah, Lindir!" Gandalf said, as if greeting an old friend.

As Lindir and Gandalf greet each other, the dwarves murmur amongst themselves in distrust, while the only hobbits in the company stared at the elf in pure awe.

"Stay sharp." Thorin whispered to Dwalin.

Lindir then spoke a phrase in a language only Gandalf the Grey could understand out of all of them. After, he responded, "I must speak with Lord Elrond."

"My lord Elrond is not here."

"Not here? Where is he?"

As if to answer his question, the Elvish horns from earlier were heard. The Company turns around and they saw a group of armed horsemen approaching along the bridge at a rapid rate!

The dwarf king yelled in his language, then the rest began to bunch up together to form a tight circle. Bofur pulled Bilbo and Liesel into the middle, and were squashed as the dwarves armed their weapons. The mounted Elves arrived and rode around the dwarves. Eventually, they stopped and one elf, Elrond, separated himself from the others. "Gandalf."

The wizard bowed gracefully "Lord Elrond." The two continued to speak to each other in Elf tongue, much to the dismay of the whole company.

Finally, Elrond spoke again "Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has drawn them near." He held up an Orc sword and shown it to everyone, then handed it to Lindir.

"Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf spoke, sheepishly.

Thorin stepped forward, and Elrond looked upon him with recognition. "Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain." "I do not believe we have met." Thorin stared at the floor, then at last looked up to Elrond.

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain."

"Indeed; he made no mention of you."

Liesel softly sighed. "You`ve got to be joking." She softly whispered to herself. The band of dwarves and hobbits stared expectantly for the retort or answer the Elf would give to Throin`s insult.

Instead, Elrond glared at the dwarves and spoke something in his tongue that sounded quite threatening if you ask me.

"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?!" Gloin growled in anger, causing the other dwarves to become angry, clutching their weapons close.

"No, master Gloin, he's offering you food." Gandalf corrected, sounding exasperated.

With that, all of the dwarves stopped for a few seconds, then turned to discuss amongst themselves.

"Why on earth are they discussing?!" Liesel nearly shouted to Bilbo, who was right next to her.

Before the elder hobbit could respond, the dwarves turned around, and Gloin spoke up, "Well, in that case, lead on."

So, the Lord Elrond led the company of Thorin Okenshield through the majestic halls of Rivendell. Embarrassed to say, Liesel and Bilbo had to be reminded multiple times not to dawdle and gaze astonished at the artwork on the wall. Soon, they reached a picturesque dining area, with food already placed out on the tables. The dwarves rushed to the closest tables they were at and sat down hastily. As for the two hobbits, they calmly walked to any given table with at least one open chair.

After the dwarves stopped acting like little children in a candy store, they finally realized what they have been served; many types of fruits and vegetables to go around. While the dwarves looked on in disgust, Bilbo and Liesel were the only ones to eat happily out of them.

"Try it, just a mouthful." Dori tried coaxing the young Ori to eat a piece of lettuce. "I don`t like green food." The small dwarf slightly whined.

Dwalin picked through a small salad, searching for something. "Where`s the meat?" He grumbled. The little girl couldn't help but giggle as she saw Oin look at a vegetable on his fork like an alien object.

"Have they got any chips?" Ori asked, full of hope.

Then, Elrond, Gandalf, and Throin joined the small gathering. "Kind of you to invite us. I`m not really dressed for dinner." Gandalf spoke humorously. "Well, you never are." The elf spoke back. The two laughed and took their spots at the table.

A small group of elf-women were playing the harps and flutes; to Liesel, they played very beautifully, even being jealous for a mere second that they could play any instrument. Soon, she and Kili caught a fairly young maiden staring at Kili through her harp. To humor her, the prince gave her a wry smile, and winked. The elf-maiden dropped her gaze and smiled.

Dwalin, right across from Kili, noticed the small exchange; let`s just say from his look, he wasn't entirely amused. "Can`t say I fancy elf-maids myself, too thin." He attempted to cover up. Dwalin raised his eyebrows, and Liesel nodded her head as if saying "Oh really?"

"They`re all high cheek bones, and creamy skin, not so much facial hair for me. Although, that one there`s not bad." He tilted his head to an elf walking behind him.

Liesel looked up to see what she looked like; oh, what the little girl said next. "He does look like a match for you." Alarmed at her words, Kili turned his head to reveal the elf-maiden he "fancied", was a he. When he turned back around to look at Liesel, he found the little girl drinking from her glass with the biggest smile on her face.

The table erupted in laughter from the dwarves, as Kili pursed his lips and avoided eye-contact with anyone. "That`s funny, that`s really funny, Lise." He spoke with irony.

Meanwhile, another elf lady was playing a flute near Oin. Seemingly upset about the noise, the older dwarf snatched a napkin, stuffed it into his hearing trumpet, then put the trumped back into his ear, smiling at the lack of sound from the flute.

Still during the feast, Elrond studied the swords Gandalf and Thorin recovered at the trolls' cave. "This is Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver. A famous blade, forged by the High Elves of the West, my kin. May it serve you well." Elrond handed Orcrist back to Thorin, who accepted it with a nod. Elrond then examines the sword Gandalf found.

"And this is Glamdring, the Foe-hammer, sword of the King of Gondolin. These swords were made for the goblin wars of the First Age..."

Near them, Bilbo stares down at his own sword multiple times, before finally unsheathing it with intentions to show to the elf.

"I wouldn't bother, laddie." Balin stops him "Swords are named for the great deeds they do in war."

"What are you saying, my sword hasn't seen battle?" Bilbo asked.

"I'm not actually sure it is a sword; more of a letter opener, really." He spoke, to which Bilbo furrowed his eyes.

"How did you come by these?" Elrond questioned Gandalf.

"We found them in a troll hoard on the Great East Road, shortly before we were ambushed by orcs."

"And what were you doing on the Great East Road?"

Not one person answered. Thorin broke the silence by uttering "Excuse me," and left the table. The wizard and Elf-Lord watched the haughty dwarf leave the courtyard, until Elrond spoke again.

"Thirteen dwarves, and two halflings, one not being of age yet; strange traveling companions, Gandalf." He took a sip from his drink.

"These are the descendants from the house of Durin! They`re noble, ancient folk."

Liesel swore she saw one of the dwarrows steal a spice shaker from the table.

"And they`re quite conscious." The wizard continued, as Bombur stuffed his face. "They have a deep love of the arts-."

"Change the tune, why don`t you! I feel like I`m at a funeral!" Nori told an elf playing the harp.

"Did somebody die?" Oin asked, looking around fearfully.

"Alright lads, there`s only one thing for it." Bofur spoke, then proceeded to climb out of his chair, and onto the table.

"He`s doing something, what is he doing?" Liesel asked confusedly, but got no response as the dwarves glimmered up at Bofur.

"There`s an inn, there`s an inn, there`s a merry old inn,

Beneath the old grey hill,

And there they brew a beer so brown,

The man in the moon himself came down

One night to drink his fill!

Oh, the ostler has a tipsy cat

That plays a five-string fiddle,

And up and down he saws his bow

No squeaking high

Now purring low

Now sawing in the middle

So, the cat and fiddle play

"Hey Diddle Diddle,"

A jig that`ll wake the dead

He squeaked and he sawed

And he quickened the tune

And the landlord shook the Man in the Moon

"It`s after three!" He said."

As the dwarves joined into the song, many of the food from the bowls were now flying through the air, hitting many of the dwarves and almost the elves. Bilbo hid himself and tried to make him as small as he could.

But acting the opposite, Liesel couldn't stop herself from smiling and laughing at how ridiculous it looked to her. When the dwarves started the last verse, she couldn't help herself but to sing along to the words she forgot but heard long ago as a child.

"Now quicker the fiddle went:

"Deedle-dum-diddle"

The dog began to roar.

The cows and horses

Stood on their heads,

The guests all bounded from

Their beds, and danced

Upon the floor.

The round moon rolled

Behind the hill,

As the sun raised up her head.

She hardly believed her fiery eyes,

For though it was day, to her surprise-

They all went back to bed!

The song finally ended in merry cheers and applauds (and also, shrill laughter from Liesel). In fact, the aftermath had been so noisy, that no one noticed an absolute breath-taking elf maiden approach Lord Elrond.

"Father," the girl finally spoke up. Elrond and Gandalf turned their heads to the woman`s voice. The Lord gave her a small grin. "Ah, Arwen." He turned back to the dwarves "Gentlemen," He commanded in a louder voice; the crowd of dwarves, and one halfling, stood in silence and looked to him.

"This is my dear, and only daughter, Arwen. I assume every single one of you will treat her with utmost benevolence." He spoke, eyeing particularly at the table Bofur and Kili sat at.

Arwen smiled at him, then stepped forward. "Thank you, father. If I am mistaken, I`ve heard that a little one is wounded." All heads turned to Liesel, who was following Bilbo`s lead, and tried to make herself appear small. Arwen gave the little girl a grin at her supposed innocence, and slowly walked towards her, all eyes following the maiden`s every move.

"Now, how about we clean that lovely face up?" She held her hand out to Liesel. The hobbit looked all around her, then hesitantly placed her small hand in Arwen`s immense one. She hopped off the stool, and forced herself to stand tall, even on her wobbly leg.

"Goodbye, little one." She heard Kili snicker. She stopped right in her tracks as the dwarves chuckled at her. She was speechless at what to retort back, that Arwen accidently dragged her off her feet.

"Sorry," She quickly apologized as they treaded away from the courtyard.

"It`s fine, I wish I could say that`s the worst that happened today." She tried to joke, but all that came from Arwen was a slightly stunned glance. Liesel dropped her gaze to the floor "I`m sorry."

Arwen soon brought the girl to a door. When she opened it, it led into a scenic room, where the furniture was much smaller than Little Liesel expected.

"This was my room as a child. I`d thought that you would appreciate it more, considering…" She trailed off, noticing what she was meant to say.

"It`s beautiful." Liesel said, and turned to Arwen grinning from ear to ear. The lady returned her smile, then took her hand again and led her behind a screen; behind it was a tub filled to the brim with pristine water, and beside it was a vile of some medicine, a pair of scissors, and a roll of bandages.

Liesel`s grin fell to a cringe at the appliances. Arwen led her near the bandages and pale, and sat her down on the floor. The elf sat down across from her, and reached for the little girl`s leg. Once she gripped the foot gently, and slightly pulled the skirt up enough to see the damage, Liesel flinched and pulled her leg away, involuntarily.

"I`m sorry, may I look at it?" Arwen asked softly; too softly. Liesel slowly nodded, then brought her leg out again; this was ridiculous, it was just a small cut on her leg, why was she being so melodramatic?

Even so, Arwen pulled Liesel`s skirt up, and looked at the bandage around her ankle. "This bandage is poorly tied." Arwen spoke aloud while carefully untying the loose dressing. The little girl was hesitant as she looked down at her wound, but alas, it wasn't as bad as the two had thought.

"At least he knew to disinfect the wound." Arwen spoke again, then looked up to Liesel "All we need to do is tie new bandages." She smiled at the child, then reached for the roll.

"You`re name is Liesel Hayward, am I correct?" She asked as she wrapped layers around the cut. Liesel nodded. "It is a pretty name, for a sweet hobbit." Arwen complimented.

The young girl tittered "A lot would think otherwise."

"Why?"

"I`m not sweet."

"I`m sure you are."

"I`ve only been away from home for a few days, and I`m sure they don't think of me as 'sweet'." Liesel giggled, causing Arwen to join in on the laughter.

After she clipped the bandages, Arwen pointed to the tub. "The bath`s just been filled, I`m sure you`d like to wash yourself?" Liesel nodded her head, with a smile. Arwen returned the smile, and stood up from her spot on the floor.

"Leave your clothes outside, and I`ll have them washed and returned to you by this evening. Is there anything else you need?" Arwen turned as she neared the door. Liesel shook her head once again "Thank you, for everything, miss."

Arwen smiled at the child. "You may call me Arwen, little one." Her smile grew wider as she left when Liesel scoffed at the nickname.

Once the door closed, Liesel explored the room more before bathing. She pushed her hand on the bed, and felt that it was softer than hers back in the Shire. There was also a petite vanity near the bed. As Liesel passed by it, she walked closer to make sure she wasn't going mad at the reflection.

Everything about her made the girl question if the girl she was staring at even was Liesel. Her hair was tied in more knots than she could count, and was greasier than she could ever remember it was. She also found it slightly unsettling how she had more bruises on her face more than she ever had when she was younger.

Still, the young girl pulled her garments off, quickly placed them out the door, then gently placed herself in the bath, savoring the hot water on her skin. She soon lied on her back, the water just beneath her chin, and let out a small sigh. The more the minutes went by, the lower her eyes dropped until she fully closed them.

Obvious to say, Bilbo wanted to detach himself from the company and to maybe sightsee; only a few days into the journey, and he already had enough of dwarves, besides, he was sure they weren't staying for long. No, they never ever do anything decent for long. He decided to have a look around the building he already was in, but to perhaps travel to different floors.

He had already visited the library, and had a good read, before climbing a set of stairs to the second level. The first artifact he saw no doubt captivated him; a statue holding a completely shattered sword with its remains were on a plate. The hobbit slowly followed his eyes up to the face of the statute, and felt a sudden sense that she was staring at something.

Bilbo followed her gaze to a mural right across from them. With curiosity, the halfling stepped farther to get a better look. The picture depicted of war, but not of one army fighting the other, no, the painting was of a giant fighting a seemingly helpless man on the ground. The monster obviously towered over the man, but the sword from the injured knight looked to be more powerful.

I have heard people say that art is effective to the oddest of people; that set of people would certainly include Mr. Baggins. Visually, he only saw a painting, a still shot from someone`s imagination. But, he can still remember that the only things he heard were the clashing of shields, screaming from wounded men, and other unsettling imageries. One object so out of the ordinary seemed to perhaps attract to him the most, on the giant`s right hand, a golden ring he wore.

Deciding that he possibly needed to step into the outside and not be shut in the houses, he explored more of the gardens. They were nothing like the ones he had ever seen in the Shire, even the nasty Sackville-Baggins`, who always seemed to be so uptight about everything.

So, as the day slowly went on, he relaxed more and more at the beautiful visuals from the small flowers, to the large waterfall. Somehow, he had made it bag to one of the many houses in Rivendell, only to walk to the top floor, and to stare at the entirety of the city from a balcony.

He was so inclined to the view, that he only realized the Elf king was behind him when he spoke and stood right next to him.

"Not with your companions?" He asked.

Bilbo turned, and stammered "Uh, I-I shan`t be missed." He paused, until finally saying "The truth is, most of them don`t think I should be on this journey."

"What of the child?"

"Pardon?"

"The little one, I would assume she`d be close to you."

Bilbo thought for a moment then shrugged. "We-we help each other, from time to time."

The King stared off behind Bilbo "Indeed? I`ve heard that hobbits are very resilient."

Bilbo scoffed, of course he thought Liesel was, but him? No, sir.

After no acknowledgment came from Elrond, Bilbo stared up at the man, and went through a range of facial expressions, before saying "Really?"

He slightly nodded, then continued "I`ve also heard that they are fond of the comforts of home."

Bilbo held himself up higher, trying not to show that home was the only thing he longed for. "I also heard it`s unwise to seek the council of elves. For they will answer with 'yes' and 'no'." Bilbo slightly smirked, but it quickly fell after he just noticed what he just said.

Elrond moved from the balcony ledge to face Bilbo. He put his hand on his shoulder "You and the child are very welcome to stay here, if that is your wish." And with that, he left to attend to what the dwarves might have been doing, leaving Bilbo in a frozen state at the possibility of home.

"Miss Liesel, are you in there?"

The voice snapped open the young hobbit`s eyes, only to find them underwater. The poor girl gasped and instantly coughed when she sat herself up quickly. There was a knock on the door, and Arwen`s voice came. "Liesel, are you alright?"

She got out of the tub, but lost her footing as she was getting out, and slipped. She pulled herself up and grabbed a towel from the vanity, and pulled it over herself, before cracking the door open.

"Oh, hello." She cracked a smile at the elf.

"Is everything okay in there?" She asked, concerning eyes staring down at the young girl.

Liesel nodded, still smiling "Yes, I was just tired and the knock woke me up."

"Oh, I apologize-."

"No, believe me I needed to wake up."

Arwen slowly nodded, then remembered what she had brought for the little girl. "I brought you a dress I thought you could wear." She handed Liesel a folded gown.

The girl took it and continued to smile at Arwen. "Thank you," she said sweetly.

Arwen nodded down at her, then placed a hand on her shoulder. "I`ll stay out here until you are ready, then we`ll see about that hair of yours."

Liesel nodded again, and let Arwen close the door. Liesel took the towel off of her, then pulled the obvious child`s dress onto her. The gown was, thankfully, only just a little big on her, but it still fit on her small figure. The light pinkness also had somewhat of an effect on her skin. When she was perfectly into the dress, she pulled the door open to see Arwen still outside.

"It looks beautiful on you. It`s not too tight, is it? Too big?" She questioned. Liesel shook her head "Can you help me? I think there`s still some knots in my hair." "Of course." Arwen smiled and entered the room.

Liesel sat down in front of the vanity, while Arwen pulled a drawer open from behind her, and took a hairbrush out. "What do you have in mind?" She asked, beginning to run the brush through the hobbit`s hair.

"I don`t know. Surprise- ah!" The girl hissed when she felt a harsh tug in her hair.

"Sorry, you have large knots."

"I know, but it still hurts."

"Grow your hair down to your waist, and then tell me about your hair hurting."

The two giggled, and Arwen continued to roughly drag the brush through Liesel`s hair. Once she had adapted to the constant hair pulling, Liesel noticed Arwen staring solely hair, with a quite odd smile on her face.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Liesel perked up the courage to ask.

Arwen snapped out like she was in a trance, and her face fell. "What? What smile?"

"You were smiling like…" She trailed off, deciding against her thought.

The elf-maiden sighed, and continued on for a little while just running the brush through Liesel`s hair, then beginning to pin it up. "Whatever I say, must not be heard outside these walls, am I clear?" She spoke sharply, causing Liesel to slightly shiver. "Yes, ma`am."

"I`m in love with a human."

Arwen kept pinning the girl`s hair in silence. "Is that it?"

She stopped, and stared at the child in the mirror. "What do you mean?"

"You`re in love, why are you acting as if it`s bad?"

"I will outlive him, unless I give up my immortality. It would be a great sacrifice I`m willing to make, but I would die before my family would."

"Oh," was all that Little Liesel had to say for the moment. "What is he like?" Liesel attempted to take Arwen`s mind off of the slightly awkward statement before.

This brought a slight smile to the woman`s face. "He`s the most selfless man I could have ever met. A ranger, but he is not like the others, very quiet." And she went on and on of talking about the man she called 'Aragorn' to Liesel.

"There we have it." She said a few minutes later. She stepped away and turned Liesel`s chair to face her, then placed a hand mirror in the child`s hands. The girl looked at the mirror in her hands, seeing the back of her head that was pinned up into a tight bun. The girl`s eyes lit up; not even her mother could put her hair up like that!

"Thank you so much!" The girl grinned up at Arwen. The elf returned the smile, then took the mirror away. "You are very welcome, I`ve heard that your companions were quite..." She trailed off.

"What did they do?" Liesel bit her lip not to sigh. Noticing the light blush on Arwen`s cheek didn't comfort her at all.

"They-they bathed in one of the public fountains." Her face flushed even redder.

The girl only imagined what on earth that looked like, then covered her eyes in annoyance. "Only they would do that." She grumbled.

Arwen continued. "Anyway, they`re cleaned up, would you like to see them?"

Liesel stood up from where she was sitting. "Just a bit, perhaps I`ll see them, but I`d like to explore Rivendell."