For a moment everything was still, and then Amelia dipped into a low bow. She did so carefully, trying not to aggravate her shoulder, but couldn't help a grimace as she did. By the time she'd straightened again the courtyard was still silent, and the silence was growing deafening.

"It's an honor to meet you," she continued. Still there was no response, and Amelia resisted the urge to fidget under the elf's gaze. She had no doubt this was a test. One she was determined to pass.

"No," Elrond said at last. His eyes seemed to clear; whatever judgement he'd held in them had passed and now his smile was wider, more sincere. "It is an honor to meet you, Phoenix."

He dipped into a bow that was just as low as Amelia's had been, which Amelia considered impressive considering that he was at least a foot taller than her. When he straightened he stepped closer, offering Amelia his arm. "Shall we?"

Amelia nodded and took the proffered arm, allowing Elrond to steer her further into the courtyard. There were two tables on the smooth stone floor, and Elrond led her to the smaller, taller of the two. Then Elrond started to pull out a chair for her, and Amelia gritted her teeth to keep from stopping him. From where he was standing behind the table, Gandalf chuckled at the expression on her face.

Taking their cue the others sat down, albeit silently. The dwarves were seated at a different table, though Amelia doubted that was due to discrimination on Elrond's part. More likely that was the distrust of the dwarves combined with their messy eating habits.

She and Gandalf were Elrond's only two guests at his table at that moment, though there were two empty seats for people who hadn't yet arrived. Thorin was at the head of his own table, and she couldn't help but notice that while he looked relieved to not have to sit beside the elegant elf, he seemed to want to be able to sit near Amelia. Most likely, she thought, to question her.

There was already food on the table, having been laid out already, and those assembled dug in. Amelia could hear the dwarves grumbling about the lack of meat behind her, though as it was their second day in Rivendell, she suspected they were more used to it.

Amelia began to scoop salad onto her plate, grimacing in annoyance as half of the spoonful fell onto the table. Forced to use her left hand, she was much clumsier than usual. Elrond seemed to notice this, because he kindly averted his eyes from the mess that was Amelia's dinner.

"So," he said. "I've heard legends of the Phoenix, but I never thought to look upon her. What might you be able to tell me of yourself?"

Amelia shrugged. For a long moment she poked at her salad, all too aware of the way everyone was listening- though the dwarves were attempting to be subtle about it. She knew Elrond was studying her, trying to work out the answers to his question. She also knew that over the years she had become very good at hiding behind a blank face.

"What do you know of me?" she asked.

Elrond set down his fork, leaning back in his chair and interlocking his fingers. "I know you travel between worlds, fighting evil where it takes root. I know you are considered very wise, and excel as a fighter." He leaned forward then, gazing at Amelia with deep brown eyes. "But that is hardly anything. It's not what matters. What can you tell me about you?"

Amelia bit her lip, resisting the urge to glance away from his scrutiny. "There's not much else to tell," she stated.

Elrond's eyebrows came together. "I doubt that." His voice was friendly, and Amelia was struck suddenly with the comparison between Elrond and a teenage girl plying her friend for details about her personal life. She had to press her lips together to keep from smiling.

"Really." Now Amelia set down her own fork. "I am what you described. I take care to be nothing more."

She let enough firmness leak into her voice to make her point clear. She wasn't interesting in sharing personal details; she only wanted to complete her job. All the same, she made sure that the overall tone of her voice was gentle, so as to not offend the elf.

However she might have come off, Elrond merely nodded, maintaining his pleasant smile. "Of course," he murmured. He dabbed at his food again for several minutes, then looked back to Amelia.

"What can you tell me of your travels in this world?" he asked. "I've of course heard of your journey from Mithrandir and the King Under the Mountain, but I'm interested in what you have to say."

Amelia nodded, glad for a break from trying to eat with her left hand. She began to tell of the company's journey, beginning with when she had joined and ending with her awakening in Rivendell. The entire time Elrond listened intently, nodding occasionally but not interrupting.

"How is your arm?" he asked as she finished. He cast a concerned look toward Amelia's shoulder.

"Fine, fine," she assured him. She cast a sudden look at Elrond. "Were you the one who attended to my injuries?"

Elrond nodded. "I am."

"Thank you." Amelia glanced down at her shoulder, then back to Elrond, suddenly self-conscious.

"Of course." Elrond looked amused by Amelia's uncomfortableness. "Mithrandir, may I?"

Gandalf rolled his eyes and nodded, and Elrond picked something up off the ground. There was a sound of metal sliding across metal, and Amelia automatically stiffened. A moment later Elrond was placing Gandalf's new sword, Glamdring, on the table before her.

"A bit large for a dinner knife, don't you think?" she asked.

A laugh sounded throughout the courtyard, and even Elrond chuckled.

"Yes," he agreed. "I was wondering what you could tell me about this sword."

Amelia's eyebrows rose. She knew Elrond was well aware of the sword's history, most likely more so than she was.

This is a test, she realized. He's trying to see how extensive my knowledge is.

"I know it's called Glamdring," she told Elrond. "We took it from a troll's cave. While there we also took Thorin's sword, Orcrist, and Bilbo's sword." She barely stopped herself from titling Bilbo's sword Sting. As of now the sword had no name. It wouldn't be good for her to go giving away things that hadn't yet happened.

"Bilbo's sword?" Elrond glanced over to Bilbo, ignoring the shocked looks on the dwarves' faces at how Amelia knew of their swords. She had been, after all, unconscious when Elrond had stated the swords names the day before, and she hadn't gone into the cave with them. "I was not aware Master Baggins had taken a sword. Master Baggins, would you allow me to look at it?"

Bilbo gulped, seemingly uncomfortable with so many eyes focused on him. "I don't have it on me right now," he managed. "I can- I can get it if you'd like."

Elrond shook his head softly. "Later," he said. "I wouldn't take you from your dinner."

Bilbo nodded, gave a grateful smile, and promptly hid behind his salad. Amelia chuckled at the tomato red blush to the Hobbit's cheeks and turned back to Elrond. It seemed the elf was about to say something else when there was a loud cheering from off to the side, and suddenly two elves burst into the courtyard. They were wearing travelling clothes, with swords on their hips and bows on their backs. These they deposited against the wall, slipping elegantly into the two free chairs at Elrond's table. The two elves were identical in looks, with dark hair and eyes and mischievous grins.

"Hello," said the one next to Amelia. "I'm Elladan, son of Lord Elrond. This is my brother Elrohir. You must be the Phoenix." He shot Amelia a grin that was somehow filled with trouble yet still rather homely, and Amelia automatically returned it.

"I am," she confirmed. She glanced back and forth between the two elves, who were watching her with twinkling eyes and barely contained smiles. "But I think you're actually Elrohir. That's Elladan."

Amelia had the satisfaction of watching the boys' mouths fall open. A moment later they were exchanging incredulous looks, and on Amelia's other side Elrond and Gandalf were laughing.

"Well done," Elrond congratulated her. "Even I sometimes have trouble knowing when they're pulling one of their pranks." He sighed and cast a loving, resigned look at his sons. "Tell me, what were the two of you doing that required your weapons?"

"Ah, yes," said Elladan. He looked suddenly uncomfortable, glancing toward Elrohir for help. "We just got back from a nice day out with our horses."

Elrond's eyebrows slanted into a sharp V. "You were out hunting orcs, weren't you?"

"What?" Elrohir looked offended, crossing his arms over his chest. "After you told us not to? Do you really think we would-"

"Elrohir," cautioned Elrond.

Immediately Elrohir deflated, looking suddenly like a skulking child. "Yes," he admitted. "We were hunting orcs."

Elrond sighed, and though his face remained mostly impassive, Amelia thought she could see a pained look flash across his features ever so briefly.

"I'll deal with you later," he promised.

The boys nodded nervously, having the common sense to look ashamed of themselves.

"Did you find anything?" asked Gandalf. He looked slightly amused by the two elves' disrobements of their father, though he was doing his best to hide it.

Elladan shook his head. "No, Mithrandir. Father's hunting party killed all the orcs and wargs that came near the city yesterday. There aren't any signs of another party coming in."

Gandalf nodded slowly, mulling over the information in his head. Amelia saw him glance her way again, but he didn't say anything. Amelia didn't offer any remarks; she had no relevant information for the wizard at that time.

Realizing that, she frowned to herself. No one had ever figured out who had alerted the orcs to the company's quest. Amelia knew the list of people who had known about it to begin with was slim, though she didn't know who exactly was on it. She would need to find out. Not that it made much difference at that point; the orcs already knew of the company, but she could at least ensure the person responsible didn't cause trouble in the future.

How are you going to do that? She asked herself. Are you going to kill them? When did you become a stone cold killer?

Amelia stabbed her fork into her salad, struck suddenly by the implications of her own question. When had the taking of a life begun to matter so little to her?

She hadn't cared when the three trolls had died, but Amelia told herself that was because she had known they were going to die anyway. She turned her mind back on her previous missions, trying to scan through them, but it was impossible. There were simply too many, and after a while it all became a jumbled mess in her mind.

Amelia sighed. She was becoming too hard. Too willing to kill, to cross that line that she had once feared and despised. She was far too close to becoming that which she had spent the majority of her life fighting.

"Phoenix?" asked Elrond. "Are you alright?"

Amelia glanced up to see the lord watching her carefully, a worried expression in his dark eyes. "I'm fine," she whispered. Again she began eating, forcing her worries from her mind and wresting herself into the conversation around her.

After dinner Amelia turned down Elrond's offer of a tour of Rivendell, promising to take him up on his offer another time. She found Gandalf and whispered a few words in his ear, then made her way across the courtyard to where Thorin was talking quietly with Dwalin, the two glaring distrustfully around them.

They looked up as she approached, and surprise flickered across their faces. Quickly they stood, and Amelia could see them both eyeing her, trying to gauge how she was.

"How are you, lass?" asked Dwalin. His voice was uncharacteristically concerned, and Amelia had to fight the urge to raise an eyebrow.

"Fine," she lied. In truth the pain in her shoulder had built up again; now a steady stream of fire was flashing through her arm and upper chest. She ignored it though, gritting her teeth slightly as Dwalin's question brought her attention temporarily to her injury.

She looked past the disbelieving looks both dwarves were giving her, fixing her gaze on Thorin. "I would speak with you in private," she said softly.

Confusion flashed across Thorin's face, but he quickly smoothed it over and nodded.

"Of course," he said. He allowed Amelia to lead him away from Dwalin, and though Amelia knew his hand had drifted closer to the dagger he kept at his waist, his gait was easier, more trusting. At least her injury had done one good thing.

She turned the corner out of the courtyard, leading Thorin into Elrond's gardens. She had been able to see them from the balcony of her room, and had spied a little gazebo there that was relatively secluded. She wasn't quite sure of the way, but she figured that if she started walking she would reach it eventually. It was right at the center of the garden.

Thorin grumbled as they pushed their way past leafy trees and delicate flowers, and Amelia knew he was resisting the urge to pull out his new sword and simply hack his way through. Just as Amelia was beginning to resist the same urge they broke through the line of foliage and found themselves in front of the gazebo.

It was simple but delicate, looking, as did the rest of Rivendell, like it had been grown and not carved. The walls looked like a series of thick branches that ran up and down, the occasional smaller branch jetting out to the side. They tapered at the top to form a series of brambles that had netted together, forming a roof that still held a few green leaves. In fact, Amelia could see many places on the walls and roof where no one had bothered to trim away leaves or flowers, and as she and Thorin approached the gazebo Gandalf reached up to finger a pink flora by the entrance, smiling softly.

"Gandalf," greeted Thorin. He cast a wary look at Amelia. "What is the meaning of this, Phoenix?"

Amelia sighed and gestured for Gandalf and Thorin to step into the gazebo. After a moment's hesitation they did, and while Gandalf sat on one of the benches lining the walls Thorin remained standing, switching his gaze back and forth between the other two.

"I wanted to speak with the two of you in private," she told them. "So I asked you to meet me here, away from prying eyes or ears."

Thorin nodded, seeming to relax a bit more. "What do you need?" he asked.

Amelia sighed. "I need to know who you told about this quest. The both of you."

Thorin's brows drew closer together, anger brimming. "I told no one who I cannot trust," he stated.

Amelia held up her left hand slightly in a gesture of peace. "I don't mean to imply you were careless, but someone alerted the orcs to the company's presence on the Great East Road. Now I highly doubt it was either of you, so it had to be someone else."

Thorin's lip curled up slightly, but it was Gandalf who spoke next.

"I did not think you would be concerned about this," he said. "The damage is done. Is there much point in agonizing over how the orcs found out?"

"Will this person make more trouble for us on this quest?" asked Thorin. His eyes narrowed in concern as he studied Amelia, and she bit her lip.

"Not that I know of," she said. "As Gandalf said, the damage is done. The orcs know we're heading east, and there's nothing we can do about that. However, I fear the person who alerted the orcs in the first place might make trouble for you after the quest. Is there anyone who wishes you harm?"

Thorin snorted. "I think the better question is who doesn't. I'm a king; there is no way to not make enemies. Even among my own people there are those who dislike me."

Amelia blinked in surprise; that wasn't something she'd expected. "Why?" she asked.

Thorin shrugged uncomfortably. "Many feel as though I haven't done all that I could to protect them. Who feel my decisions as King Under the Mountain haven't been the best ones. However, my people do not know I am on this quest, and none hate me so much that they would resort to allying with orcs."

Amelia's eyebrows raised. "Then where do they think you are? Surely they've noticed your absence. And that of your heirs."

Thorin nodded. "I told them I was travelling to visit my cousin Dain in the Iron Mountains. As my heirs, it would be only right that Fili and Kili accompany me, to learn about diplomatic relations."

Amelia nodded. "Does Dain know what we're doing?"

Thorin nodded. "He does. I asked him for aid, but he says that to challenge Smaug is to embrace death. If we succeed he will back me in what follows, but that is only if I have the Arkenstone."

Amelia nodded, doing her best to hide her disgust at the mention of the King's Gem. She knew how much trouble that blasted rock was going to cause, and was still trying to work out how she would keep Thorin from coming down with the gold- sickness.

"He is the only one who knows?" she asked Thorin.

"I told my sister Dis," he said. "She's managing the Blue Mountains in my absence. But she would never betray me."

Amelia nodded. She didn't know much of the dwarrowdam, but she had no doubts about what Thorin had said concerning her. Dain though, she wasn't so sure about. If she remembered correctly he became King Under the Mountain after the death of the line of Durin. Amelia hated to admit it, but she wasn't uncertain the dwarf wasn't trying to secure his place on the throne by disposing of his cousin. She simply didn't know him enough to be sure otherwise.

She didn't say this to Thorin, knowing it would only start a quarrel. Instead she turned to Gandalf. "What about you?" she asked. "Who did you tell?"

"Nobody."

Amelia raised an eyebrow. "Absolutely no one? Are you sure? Not the White Council? Not anyone? How did Radagast know where to find you?"

Gandalf sighed. "Radagast was always very good at finding people. But he had no idea of what we're doing. Neither does the council."

He cast a look toward Elrond's house, knowing that soon they would. The elf would call them, and the company would have to sneak out of Rivendell in the night. For a moment Amelia considered warning Thorin of that then, but decided against it. He would want to leave immediately, and would never allow Elrond to read his map. Amelia thought she remembered most of what the map said, but not nearly enough. Something about dawn's last light on Durin's Day. They needed Elrond's help.

She sighed. "Alright." Amelia rubbed her left hand up and down her face, racking her mind for an answer and coming up with none. "I suppose that's all."

With that she slipped from the gazebo, leaving Gandalf and Thorin staring after her. Finding her way back to Elrond's house was about as trying as finding the gazebo had been, but at last she was back at the courtyard. There she saw Anwë deep in conversation with Elrohir. Elrohir glanced up and saw Amelia as she arrived, but she sent a small wave his way telling him to ignore her. She knew Anwë had been waiting for her, and would leave Elrohir to see to Amelia. Amelia didn't want to take her away from such an intimate looking chat, and she felt confident that she could manage just fine on her own.

To her dismay, however, she soon found herself lost. Elrond's house was big, and everything looked alike. Amelia began to wander down random hallways, hoping she would somehow end up back at her room. Though how she would tell it was her room she wasn't exactly sure.

"Lost?"

Amelia turned to see Kili making his way up the hall, a small smirk on his face. Though like the rest of the company he still bore his weapons, he seemed much more relaxed than the others had.

Amelia scowled. "No," she lied. "Just wandering."

Kili chuckled as he reached her. "Nice try. Come, I can show you to your room."

He started back the way he'd come, and with a sigh Amelia followed him. He was walking slowly, making it easy for her to keep up with him, and the two adopted an easy pace side by side through the halls.

"How do you feel?" Kili asked. "I'm sorry if I hurt you earlier."

Amelia waved her good arm dismissively. "I'm fine," she assured him. "What about you?"

Kili glanced over to her, his cheeks reddening. "You heard that, huh?"

Amelia grimaced and nodded. "Sorry."

Kili nodded but didn't respond, and Amelia didn't press. However, as they walked she saw a shadow pass over Kili's face, and she frowned. For some reason her reference to earlier had saddened him. Automatically she reached down, taking his hand in his and squeezing it in her own.

Kili glanced up sharply, and Amelia quickly pulled away, mentally scolding herself for her brashness.

"Sorry," she said.

Kili smiled. "No, no," he said. "It's fine. I don't mind." His smile widened to a lopsided grin, and Amelia had to glance away to quiet a sudden flaring of butterflies in her stomach.

Why is this happening? She thought to herself. She couldn't have feelings for Kili. She couldn't let herself. Roughly she shoved any thoughts of a relationship with the dwarf from her mind, but to her annoyance the butterflies continued to swirl around her stomach.

The two were silent as they made their way through Elrond's house, and Amelia was beginning to think Kili had lied when he'd said he could get her to her room. A minute later though he came to a stop outside one of the many doors, giving Amelia a proud smile.

"Here you are." He executed a low bow that had the desired effect of making Amelia giggle. He righted himself, flipping his dark mane of hair behind his shoulders.

"Thank you," Amelia said. She quickly opened the door. "Goodnight, Kili."

"Wait!"

Amelia blinked in surprise at the way Kili nearly shouted the word, and his cheeks reddened.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

Amelia frowned. "Why?"

Kili bit his lip, looking like he was suddenly regretting his outburst. "Just- just to talk."

Amelia sighed. While she felt bad saying no, her shoulder was really starting to pain her and she was already tired, despite having just woken up a few hours ago.

"Another time," she promised. "I'm not really in the mood for another inquisition tonight."

Kili smiled ruefully at the mention of his constant bugging. Then embarrassment took over his face, and his gaze dropped down to his toes, cheeks turning tomato red.

"Right," he muttered. "I'm sorry."

Amelia gritted her teeth. She hadn't meant to make him feel bad.

"Kili," she said. "Another time. I promise."

Kili glanced up, brown eyes lit up with hope. "Really?"

Amelia nodded. "Really."

Kili grinned and took a step back, looking pleased with himself. "Ok then. Are you sure you're alright for tonight?"

Amelia nodded with a small chuckle, hiding a wince as her shoulder flared in pain. "Positive. Goodnight, Kili."

"Goodnight Phoenix."

Amelia kept the door open just long enough to see Kili saunter down the hall. Then, as he started to whistle happily, she shut the door with a small smile.