A.N/ I am soooooo sorry! This delay thing is happening way to often... It's time for excuses again! XD School has just started and I am piled under so much homework that I really had no time to upload anything even though the next chapter was written. Sorry guys :P Anyway, after completing (and failing) a latin test today, I felt I had left this sotry faaaaaar too long so here is the next chapter! Hope you like it :) Oh and do you guys like the front cover? Maddie's a bit of an artist and likes photoshop so... XD I can say that I am ecstatic! YAAAAAAY! I love Lord Elrond, he's one of my favourite characters in lotr. Lol, enough of my blabbing, on with the story :)

Disclaimer: We own nothing here...

Chapter Eight - One Annoyed Genius

Di's POV

Our first sign that our destination was near was the change in the sounds of the horse's hooves. The soft, peaty ground of the path on which we had been travelling became cobblestone as we approached the village, and the regular clip-clop noises became more pronounced, waking me from my meditative state. I gazed in wonder at the land before me: life could be seen everywhere, but instead of altering the surroundings to suit their purposes, the animals and elves who I supposed lived here had conformed to the will of nature itself. Tall buildings rose into the now violet sky, their spires creating a forest of emeralds, and I could not help being reminded of L. Frank Baum's city in Oz. As I was admiring the elegance of this magical place, I noticed that the horse's pace had slowed, and that we were now stopping beside a magnificent silver gate embedded with jewels. Dismounting, Glorfindel told us to remain beside the horse.

"Wait here, young maidens, for I will enter Rivendell first. The great Lord Elrond may not take kindly to being disturbed without prior notice as he is extremely busy at the current time, so I shall request an audience with him. I shall not be gone for long, so await my swift return. Farewell for now!" With that, he walked over to a cabin adjacent to the gate, where a guard elf was standing sentry beside the towering portal. He was ushered through without hesitation, as the elf had recognised Glorfindel as a figure of importance.

Once he was out of earshot, Fin poured out all the thoughts she had been keeping to herself in Glorfindel's presence.

"Oh my God, I can't believe that was really Glorfindel!" she cried. "He's so amazing: he has golden hair (well, obviously, 'cos that's why he's called Glorfindel); he defeated a flipping balrog; he..." Finna continued to list reasons why she adored the elf, but I largely ignored her as, having studied her body language over the past few days, I had come to the conclusion that she was experiencing what one might call a 'crush'. Instead of listening to her ramblings, I retreated into a calm state of mind and planned out what we were going to say to Elrond. I constructed a short speech briefly summarising our interdimensional journey and our travels through Middle Earth, which ended in a plea for help returning to our home.
Before long, Glorfindel returned, a cheerful smile playing on his features.

"Lord Elrond has expressed his eagerness to meet with you. It is advisable that we proceed before the light fades completely," he told us.

So we were led into Rivendell, through broad streets and open colonnades, on our way to the Last Homely House, the home of Lord Elrond. Finna was excitedly giving me details about the founder of Rivendell as we followed Glorfindel towards our destination. At last we arrived at the residence of Elrond, and Glorfindel told us to go inside and meet him. From what Fin had told me, Elrond was incomparably wise and unfailingly kind (I am paraphrasing as those were not the exact words she used) and I was rather looking forward to meeting him, as I could draw many parallels between myself and the great elven ruler. Entering the House, I was struck by how grand the main hall was, but before I could look around properly a voice boomed through the large space.

"Welcome, travellers. I see you have come far on your plight. Please have a seat." We duly perched ourselves on the stately couch that was behind us. I quickly found the source of the voice, as the throne on which Lord Elrond was seated was positioned directly ahead of us. He looked young, younger than I had expected him to be, with shoulder length coal black hair and a face still untouched by old age. I could tell that his piercing grey eyes had seen a great many things, harbouring timeless pools of knowledge.

"Your true home has no Middle. Is that not true?"

Finna and I glanced at Glorfindel. Had he told Elrond from where we had come? A slight shake of the head indicated that Glorfindel was equally confused at Elrond's knowledge of us.

"Lord Elrond," I started, "we have come here in order to request your guidance in matters that are of great importance to us. As you are clearly at least partially aware of our current situation, it is perhaps safe to assume that you may be willing to aid us in returning to our home. Let me tell you our story..." I then proceeded to narrate a condensed version of what had happened since Seph's eventful birthday party, Elrond listening patiently and intently throughout. Once I finished speaking, a look of concern passed over his face.

"Surely you cannot expect to reasonably achieve your goal? I will try my utmost to assist you, but be warned that our efforts may be futile. Never in my long existence have I encountered a case such as this, but, given time, I may be able to aid you. For now, please make yourself at home in the guest quarters of the House, while I shall conduct some research into the events which to me you have described. Glorfindel will lead you to your rooms."

I was quite surprised at this development, as I had been of the opinion that I would be useful (rather instrumental in fact) to Elrond in his search for a solution to our problem. When I voiced this view, Elrond merely chuckled and said:

"I appreciate your offering child, as I can see you are keen and eager to help. However, you are undoubtedly exhausted after your long journey. Furthermore, the majority of our scriptures are written in the ancient elvish language of Quenya, which I am afraid to say you would not be able to comprehend, despite your astounding mental capabilities. Therefore it would be wise for me to complete my work alone."

He said this last statement with finality, and Glorfindel gestured for me to follow him through one of the many doors adjoining to the hall. I did so with some hesitation as I knew that Elrond had underestimated me. How could he presume that I had no knowledge of elvish languages? Although this was in fact true, I resolved from that moment that I would make it my duty to learn as much as I could about this strange new world, so I could never again be accused of ignorance.

A.N/ Please review! You'll get a preview of the next chapter if you do... Pretty please ;)