Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR
Lauren had managed to wake up pretty early compared to her usual hour; she was up only about an hour after the sun rose. It was a little chilly when she entered the dining hall and she was thankful that she found a robe in the closet of the room she was given.
When she entered the dining hall, she noticed that the tables were being rearranged so they were all in the middle, more or less.
"So Frodo has woken and the Council of Elrond will begin shortly."
Lauren walked into the kitchen and smiled at the cook.
"Mae govannen. What is going on in the hall?"
The cook smiled back and offered Lauren a buttered roll, which she accepted.
"Mae govannen, Lauren. Lord Elrond is having many guests this evening and is hosting a party of sorts. Will you be attending?"
Lauren took a bite of the roll as she thought the question over.
"Lord Elrond has not asked me to attend and I would not be offended if he did not, I am a stranger in these lands. I am sure Lord Elrond has more important things to think about than the well being of a silly little girl."
The cook's smile turned sad as he regarded the human before him. It was true that Lauren was a stranger, and rather small for a human, but in the few days that she was in Rivendell most have come to befriend her. There is a certain air about her that makes people at ease. Although she is young, she seems older than she really is. Then again, most Elves seem younger than they really are so that thought really didn't seem too farfetched to the cook. He happened to overhear Lord Aragorn and Lauren's conversation last night and she said she was only 22. She was so young to be in affairs such as these, he agreed with Lord Aragorn and Lord Elrond when they said the same thing to Mithrandir the other day.
"I am sure Lord Elrond would not forget about you. If so, Estel would see to it that you were kept informed. He is of the gentlemanly sort and seems to view you as a daughter or sister."
Lauren's eyes brightened with renewed hope as she gave a quick hug to the Elf.
"Thank you, you have helped me a great deal. Rim hennaed."
He laughed as he ushered the girl out of the kitchen to get back to work. That Estel was rubbing off on her and he was sure that Lord Elrond and Mithrandir were bound to as well. Soon Lauren would be speaking only in Sindarin. Ever since she found that most educated people knew Sindarin she was asking everyone she talked with to speak Sindarin with her.
Lauren was very happy that she might be able meet the members of the fellowship. That was saying that Elrond let her meet them. She wouldn't do anything Elrond wouldn't want her to do of course. Maybe she should go find him and ask him what he expected of her. Hopefully it would quell all the nervousness she had been feeling recently.
As Lauren began walking to Elrond's quarters she noticed that he was walking toward her and speaking with Gandalf. When they noticed her they bowed their heads to her in greeting.
"Ah Lauren we were just talking about you. I know you don't want to discuss things that will come to pass but it would be my pleasure to have you at the Council this evening."
Lauren stopped dead in her tracks.
That was easy.
She laughed slightly at the thought of how silly she was behaving a few moments ago. Why should she be nervous around these two? They were kind men who have been nothing but nice to her.
"I would love to Lord Elrond. Thank you for giving me this experience. Is there anything you wish for me to do or say?"
Gandalf placed his hand on the back of her shoulder as they continued to walk back down the hallway, towards the place where the meeting was to be held.
"We have you seated behind Lord Elrond so you will have a clear view of everyone. If it's not too much to ask, if something goes amiss then please get Glorfindel's or our attention . That is if you feel comfortable doing so."
As they walked into an open hallway Lauren looked out and noticed that the dwarves were just arriving and the giddy-nervous feeling returned.
"I have no problem joining you. It would be my pleasure as a matter of fact. Thank you again for this opportunity."
Lauren stood with Elrond as the members of the Council arrived. Boromir and his men were just arriving when she looked back out into the courtyard. She tried to be opened minded about Boromir, it wasn't his fault that he wanted the ring so desperately. He had a clinically insane father and the weight of many peoples' fates on his shoulders, and he did try to rectify his wrong doings by protecting Merry and Pippin. Now that she thought about it, Lauren was shocked that she hadn't seen Sam, Merry or Pippin. Sam was most likely with Frodo, who was still resting, and Lauren didn't want to bother Frodo, moreover, he might ask questions that she couldn't answer just yet. However, Merry and Pippin are known to be a rowdy duo who always seem to get into some sort of mischief. Lauren guessed that's why she didn't see much of Gandalf either.
A smile crept on her face as she looked back on Gimli and his kin. He was exactly as she pictured him. The first thing that came to her mind was cute, but she doubted that Gimli would enjoy being called cute, so she kept her thoughts to herself. When Lauren saw Legolas and the other Elves from Mirkwood, she did her best to hold her breath; she feared that Elrond could sense her reaction to the Elven prince. Legolas was breathtaking; Lauren excused herself and walked back into the room to recompose herself. Having an Irish complexion was a curse at times, a simple blush made her look like a ripe tomato and it never went right away either.
She felt a presence behind her as she took a sip of water, Elrond had followed her figured it was because he wanted to lecture her on relationships between mortals and elves.
"Lauren, I know you know what will happen but you must not let that sway your emotions."
Lauren understood the message between the lines. He was providing her with an out; bless his heart.
"I understand Lord Elrond. I would never want to hurt the Prince like that, he will never age whereas, eventually, I will pass on or worse I will be transported back to my old home somehow. Hurting Legolas is not even on my agenda and it never will be. Plus, you are under the assumption that he would reciprocate these feelings. I'm sure his father has someone in mind for him to marry when he returns home, he is a prince after all."
The meeting went exactly as Lauren remembered it, word for word, which was a little eerie but she supposed that was a good thing. Lauren decided to have as little contact with the fellowship as possible; she didn't want to get too involved and mess things up. Aragorn, however, had other plans and took her arm in his as she was about to leave the room when the meeting ended.
"Come Lauren, you've mentioned you were looking forward to this evening ever since the moment I met you. I could see it in your eyes so don't try to contradict me and don't worry none of them know where you're from."
So against her will Lauren met all the members of the Fellowship. Tolkien had described the members to a T, so Lauren knew what to expect. When Aragorn introduced her to Legolas she began to get edgy.
"Mae govannen, Lauren. Aragorn has told me a lot about you. He talks about you like an older brother would talk about a younger sister."
The tension left Lauren in one laugh and she tried to recompose herself quickly.
"I'm afraid he is too old to be my brother, Legolas. He is more like a grandfather in age, but yes, he could fit the roll of big brother I suppose. We do tend to pick on each other quite a lot, don't we Aragorn?"
The people around them laughed and Aragorn gave her a reproachful look.
"This brother will scold his younger sister and maybe he will not tell her that Legolas has generously offered to help in her training with a bow in the morning."
Lauren playfully glared at Aragorn as the older man wrapped an arm around her in a friendly hug. On the outside, Lauren was pretending to shove Aragorn off her, while inside, Lauren was screaming at the irony. However, Lauren's archery would improve but she would be with Legolas. She just hoped that she could bury her feelings deep enough that they two men wouldn't be able to figure things out. Maybe if she just concentrated on her goal then things wouldn't get so muddled. Yes, that's what she would so. If she started fooling around then she might not be able to save the men and elf she wanted to save. With those thoughts going through her mind, Lauren was more at ease and began talking to the rest of the fellowship more openly. While talking to the members of the fellowship, she found out that they would be leaving in two days; they wanted to get started as soon as possible, which was understandable. That left only a day of training but Legolas told her that the elves that accompanied him would continue her training when he left. Lauren excused herself to go to her room and as soon as she was out of sight she practically skipped all the way back.
The next morning she was greeted by one of the Mirkwood elves outside her door. Apparently, Legolas was at the archery range whenever she was ready. Lauren was beginning to think that all males in Middle Earth were early risers, how troublesome. The two went to the kitchen so Lauren could have a quick breakfast and then they continued onto the shooting range.
"Good morning Lauren. How was your rest?"
A small glare worked its way into Lauren's eyes, Legolas was a morning person; this was going to be fun.
"I'd be wary friend; Lauren is not a morning person."
Lauren gave Aragorn a look that reminded them of a hibernating bear that was just woken from its winter slumber, confused but deadly and of course, a hint of humor lingered in Lauren's eyes that was uniquely her.
"Well, if my arrows miss you know why. The sleep hasn't completely left my eyes."
Practice began on a good note and when Aragorn joined them after lunch he took the bow and set it down. Lauren looked at Aragorn as if he was nuts but smiled as he put two short swords in her hands.
"Come, enough with the bow. I'm afraid your skills with the blade will become rusty if you don't continue to practice."
Lauren barked out a laugh as they began their dance. Legolas was looking on intently and when Aragorn complained of being worn out Legolas took out his own blades and stepped into make-shift ring they made.
"If you don't mind Lauren, I'd like to see your swordsmanship for myself."
Aragorn took a swig from his flask as he sheathed his sword.
"Careful there Legolas, she is still unrefined and fights like a berserker at times. For something so small she has quite a lot of flair in her."
Legolas and Lauren began their spar, which was friendly mind you, and lasted longer than Lauren's spar with Aragorn.
"My friend, I can see why you tired so easily. She definitely keeps you on your toes; if it wasn't for my Elven heritage I'd be as tired as you I imagine. Her temperament with a blade suites her hair color though. It looks almost as if it's a soft fire but when the sun hits it the red comes to life; like her skill with the blade, graceful but deadly if she trained more."
Lauren heard Legolas's comment as she was putting the equipment away. He thought her hair was red? Well, sometimes her hair became red depending on the light but it wasn't that noticeable was it? Lauren began playing with her hair and she noticed that the red did stick out more in this light, which made her hair more of an auburn color with light brown low-lights. How odd, maybe it had to do something with the sun? Speaking of the sun, Lauren noticed that no matter how long she stayed out in it she never got a burn. Not that she was complaining or anything, but it was something she would have to get used to. She was thankful though, it was one less thing she had to worry about.
"Thank you Lord Legolas for your help, it was much appreciated. On a more serious note, you both better be careful. This journey will be no walk in the park but I'm sure you both are smart enough to realize that. I'll leave you two to discuss more important matters, all this archery and sword fighting has tired me out. If I don't go to sleep now I won't be able to see the old men off."
Legolas and Aragorn groaned, she was never going to let it go that they were far older than she was. However they did have two up on her, Lauren was both small and young. When Lauren exited the range the friends began talking about what they might encounter in the days to come. Aragorn never said a word about Lauren's true identity.
Morning came much too quickly and the Fellowship was just about ready to go by the time Lauren made her way down to the gate. Thankfully the hobbits were occupied talking to the elves standing guard at the gate so Lauren took the time so say goodbye to Gandalf, Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli and Boromir.
"Stay safe and fight hard should the need arise, I'll see y'all soon."
Lauren gave Aragorn and Gandalf a knowing look and Aragorn nodded in response. Gimli smiled at Lauren and bowed his head slightly.
"It was a pleasure to have met you Lady Lauren. When peace has been restored you should come to the Lonely Mountain and we will have a banquet full of meat and delights of which your eyes have never seen."
Lauren gave Gimli a hug and gave him a slight squeeze.
"I'd love nothing more my friend and I look forward to the day."
At the sound of meat Legolas had scrunched his nose subconsciously. Lauren gave him a slight punch in the shoulder and gave him a hug as well.
"Don't run out of arrows alright, you'll give Aragorn an excuse to make me learn how to fletch so you have more."
Legolas, Gimli and Boromir laughed as Aragorn messed up Lauren's hair.
"I'm not that bad am I, little sister?"
Lauren pushed Aragorn away so she could give Boromir and Gandalf a hug goodbye.
"You are the devil incarnate. Now go before you all make me cry and lose face."
Instead of watching the fellowship leaving, Lauren walked back into the great city that was Rivendell. While Elrond gave the Fellowship last words of advice before they left Lauren went to the archery range to practice shooting. Luckily for her there were other elves practicing, the Mirkwood elves being among them, and they gave her useful tips. For the next few days Lauren could be found honing her combat skills. In return for their help Lauren showed the Elves some hand-to-hand combat moves. She was still new herself so she could only show them the basics but at least they would have those down pat in case of an emergency.
Lauren was in Elrond's study reading a map of Middle Earth when the Lord of Rivendell came into the room with tea for both of them.
"What troubles you Lauren. You have been looking at that map for almost half a day now."
Elrond handed Lauren a cup a tea and she thanked him but returned her attention back to the map as she took a small sip.
"I cannot just sit here. I need to make sure that everything is going as it should be. You understand don't you Lord Elrond? If I leave now I can most likely meet them at Rauros, I was just thinking of the best way to go. Isengard has fallen to the enemy so I was thinking of taking the High Pass and heading straight down from there."
Elrond took the book from Lauren as he sat down next to her, that plan seemed possible but the Gladden Fields weren't as safe as they used to be. He could send the Mirkwood elves with her and when they caught up to the others they could turn back into Mirkwood.
"I understand Lauren, maybe the Mirkwood elves will accompany you over the pass and until you reach the others. I will talk to them before the night comes but you should rest. If all goes well I will send you off tomorrow."
With renewed hope Lauren went to her room and got ready for bed. Hopefully the elves would agree to join her but she needed to make up an excuse to ditch them once she got over the pass and over the Gladden fields. She needed to be on the left side of the Anduin but that meant passing through Lorien, which was dangerous. If she sent the Mirkwood elves home when she was in the fields, the Lorien elves might delay her and bring her to see Galadriel, which she wouldn't complain about if she wasn't pressed for time. Maybe she can keep them with her until she can get save passage through Lorien, then speed onward. Her only other option was to travel south down past Isengard then head east to the Falls and hope that the orcs or Uruk-hai didn't catch her. She might be able to pull it off if she traveled just passed the South Road and crossed the Isengard fords at night. Tomorrow she would ask for Elrond's advice on what path to take but no matter what Lauren had to reach the falls before the Uruk-hai did, otherwise Boromir would fall.
*Authors Note*
Thank you all for reading and thank you Queen Baka and Archer117 for the feedback
Don't forget to leave a comment :3
Next time on SIME: Which path will Lauren take and will she reach the Fellowship in time to save Boromir?