A/N: This will be a multi chapter scene, for easier read.

Big thanks to my Beta's NixNox and Tyren

Chapter 6: The Rivendell Nexus, Part 1

She was slowly learning what the meaning of 'stubborn dwarf' was. An obstinate one too. First the incident when they arrived and were greeted by Lindir. Granted the elves weren't blameless in the whole thing, they pushed the envelope too, what with Elrond speaking in elvish when none but other elves and Gandalf could understand him. The dwarves took it with dislike and hostility, of course and almost started a fight with the elven guards.

Elrond showed interest in her as well, having sensed she wasn't of Arda. He seemed to have sensed she was displaced in time as well, but urged that they talk about all of it after getting cleaned, healed and fed.

The dwarves protested at her being separated from them and lead to a separate room by Elrond's daughter, Arwen and only calmed down when Gandalf assured them she'd be fine. Faintly, she could hear Thorin and Fili ordering she be checked upon every few minutes until she returned to them.

On top of all of it, all the emotion, all the chatter, all the exhaustion, the place itself was affecting her a lot more than she'd anticipated. Granted she'd only ever been in one force nexus, back at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, but Rivendell was far more powerful, far more primal in its emanations. She needed some time alone, to meditate, to refocus, she needed it soon.

"Lady Linshara, are you alright?" Arwen's ethereal voice broke through her mind cloud.

Suddenly she felt like a dirty tramp next to the regal elven woman. The elves reminded her of Master Fay and her people. Mysterious, powerful, attuned to the living Force.

~Could they be related? I'll have to look into this~ she thought to herself before realizing that Arwen was still waiting for a reply.

"A little overwhelmed by everything, Lady Arwen. So much has happened lately that I've not had time to process it all properly." Linshara admitted.

Arwen nodded, "follow me, a bath as been drawn for you." She motioned for the Jedi to follow her. "My father says you are not of this world."

Linshara looked over at the elf cautiously, "he says...yet I've not heard him speak the words…" an eyebrow raised, "you are telepaths too."

"Tele...paths?"

Linshara blinked, "you speak within your minds?"

"Not precisely. At times, my father can imprint thoughts and images to my mind." Arwen explained as she lead her into a beautifully decorated room that was quite clearly their equivalent of a bathroom. It had all the amenities, along with a large bath filled with sweet smelling salts and what looked like foam.

She picked up a long, thick piece of cloth which she held in front of her so that it covered Linshara's body from her sight. "What kind of a world did you leave behind?" Arwen asked softly, looking to the side.

Linshara took the hint and started taking off her outfit. She blinked away the heavy emotion behind her eyes and sighed. "I left a world that was at war and was being betrayed by an enemy unseen until the last moment. I don't know if any of my friends or allies have survived the sudden attack. They more than likely think me dead."

Arwen looked over at her, keeping her eyes on the blonde woman's face, though the edge of her sight caught pieces of scarred and burned tissue on her neck and shoulder. Small, but present. "Gandalf knows of no way to help you return?"

The Jedi removed her upper undergarments then proceeded to remove the rest. "No. He promised to ask your father and the White of his Order, but he holds little hope." She said as she stood before the elven woman pretty much naked.

She stepped into the hot bath gingerly, hissing a little as as she slipped in so that her collarbone and above, plus her knees were above the foam, while the rest of her happily soaked in the warm water. Arwen folded and put aside the cloth and handed Linshara some soap and what looked like a sponge.

"Thank you, Lady Arwen." Linshara said gratefully, closing her eyes. "I've dreamed of this for a few days now.

The elf flashed her a smile as she picked out a bottle from the nearby cabinet. "I don't imagine spending a lot of time in the company of unwashed dwarves is too pleasant."

Linshara chuckled a little as she sensed Arwen approach the tub. "You get used to it. Beside I stank just as badly, so I don't think we really cared." There was a fond smile on her face as she leaned her head back against the edge of the tub.

The dark haired elf pulled a chair closer and sat, looking at Linshara curiously. "You are fond of them."

The Jedi opened her eyes finally and looked over at the elf before reaching for the soap. "I've come to appreciate them, yes. Gandalf asked me to aid them in their quest and we have, I would dare say bonded over time."

Arwen motioned to the bottle. "To wash your hair with, then I will decorate it for you, so you can dazzle them at dinner."

Linshara chuckled as she rubbed soap over her tired body. "I hardly think they would notice, or care, to be truthful with you. Nor is impressing men on the list of my priorities. I'm a keeper of peace and a scholar, not a would be wife and mother."

There was that knowing smile to Arwen's expression, "I understand. There are some things, however that cannot be directed, Lady Linshara. Peace keeper or would be wife, we are all made of flesh and emotion. Don't discount the power of them."

The other woman stopped momentarily and looked over at her, "oh I don't discount them. I am, if anything all too aware of them and what power they can hold. Especially the dark path they can lead on."

Arwen frowned slightly, "they can, certainly. But they can also be the source of your greatest strength and resilience."

Linshara sighed and leaned further down and back, dipping her head into the water to wet her hair. She released a long held groan of tension released.

Arwen smirked a little. "You are like someone I know, I feel. You hold so much goodness within you that you fear to show...when all it takes is the right person to accept it."

The blonde fought herself not to roll her eyes, but said nothing.

"And judging by the ruckus the dwarves raised when I lead you away, I would venture that they have grown attached to you. Which in itself is not a bad thing." Said the elf.

"I could tell you stories…." Linshara sighed as she reached for the bottle of what she assumed to be their version of shampoo.

"I will fetch you some clean clothes and give you a few moments. Then I will do your hair and take you to your dwarves." Arwen stood up with a smile and left the room.

The Jedi proceeded to scrub the layers of muck, grime, sweat and blood off of herself and out of her hair, shutting her mind down and enjoying the simplicity of motoric movements.

By the time Arwen returned she was had stepped out of the tub and wrapped herself in a towel, her wet hair wrapped in another one. She felt a lot better, much more composed than before, though the need to calm down and meditate was still there.

Arwen held up a beautiful dark blue dress up for her to see. "This should fit you just fine." She said, handing the dress over to her.

It took a good hour before Arwen was done with Linshara. The dress was surprisingly a perfect fit, though Linshara was shorter and of more mass than what seemed to be a standard for elven women. It was elegant without being too constricting and the rich blue colour of it was indeed beautiful. This also reminded her to actually ask Fili where he found that sword that he'd given her, she hadn't recalled him or any of the others carrying a sword like that before.

Arwen had dried her hair and fashioned it so that it was pulled back at the sides and braided together at the back, leaving most of it to flow freely over her shoulders, her bangs gently curled and pinned to the side lightly at their ends.

The long toned down and denied, female part of her had to admit the elf had made her look beautiful. She quickly squashed those feelings down and turned to Arwen.

"I have to admit I'm quite hungry, should we go?" She asked, eager to get the focus off of herself.

Arwen nodded, "certainly. Father said he would speak to Thorin after dinner and then he would speak with you after that meeting was concluded."

LInshara nodded as she followed Arwen out of the room. "Thank you. Um..my things…"

"Will be looked after and washed then returned to you, worry not." Arwen smiled calmly.

Another nod, "is there a secluded place here I could meditate later?"

"If by meditate you mean introspect in solitude, there are a number of places that could suit your needs. I will instruct that you not be interrupted unless it is urgent." Arwen offered as she lead them into the open patio where the tables were set. Most of the dwarves were chattering amongst themselves.

"Lady Lin! Are you alright? What have they done to you?" Bofur shouted to her with a big grin as he waved her over to their table.

Kili waved at her enthusiastically too from his place beside Bofur, "have to admit they could do that to her more often. Not a bad job, for a lady of men." He was clearly teasing, despite some semi surprised and semi deliberate gasps from the others.

Funnily enough most of the surprised gasps actually came from other elves. Linshara shook her head amusedly and waved at the big dysfunctional dwarvish ensemble with a smile. Arwen was right about one thing. She HAD grown fond of them.

She saw Elrond leading Gandalf and Thorin in so she decided to take a seat between Fili and Kili who patted the place between them with enthusiasm. Linshara could feel the elven curiosity, the mix of dwarvish mistrust and curiosity and Elrond's own mix of amusement and horrification at the utter lack of manners of the dwarves. Most of them anyway.

"I think you look lovely," Fili leaned his head a little and whispered as Kili commented on a passing Elf looking pretty.

She nodded with grace and smiled, "thank you, Fili." Linshara hoped her cheeks weren't pink as she felt quite warm on the inside.

She rarely received compliments, even more so from people she was fond of. This thought in turn caused her to attempt to shut those feelings down, at least this particular fondness she seemed to be experiencing for the golden prince.

Further thought was broken by loud laughter and teasing of Kili by the others.

Soon after Bofur climbed over their table onto a small stone stub and began to cheerfully croon.

"Thereeeee's aaaaaan Inn, there's an Inn, beneath an old grey hill..." He stomped his feet in time with the tune.

All of the dwarves joined in nearly instantly and soon the serene atmosphere erupted into another loud food tossing party. Linshara had to duck her head a few times and Fili even moved to shield her from food projectiled on occasion.

Elrond looked disgusted, Lindir looked positively horrified while Gandalf and Linshara looked positively amused.

The rest of the meal passed much the same until it came time for Elrond to speak with Thorin. As he, Thorin, Balin, Gandalf and Bilbo left the dining space, several elves glided in gracefully and began taking the food away and cleaning while the rest of the company filed out to another area.

"Fili, Gloin, Nori!" Dwalin barked, "come, let us see these elven forges they keep yammering about. We'll teach those pointy eared whelps a thing or two about smithing eh?" He looped his large arms around Fili and Nori's shoulders.

Fili shook his head amusedly, "aye, you just need me there to smooth over feathers." He said as Dwalin dragged them over.

Gloin jogged after them after consulting with Oin who along with Dori was going with Lindir to replenish their stock of medical supplies while Bofur, Bombur and Bifur were lead to where the dwarves would sleep so they could set up. This left Linshara in the company of Kili and Ori.

They all sat on a sturdy looking railing as they waited for Thorin.

She could sense curiosity from the two youngest dwarves. The irony was, at 37 she was the youngest. She felt just the opposite though.

"Take your pick who goes first and ask your questions." Linshara smiled at the two fidgety men who grinned at her words.

"Could I draw you and record your tale?"

"Are you being courted by anyone?"

She straightened up and blinked at them. Of all the things they could have had the grace to look somewhat horrified while Kili grinned cheekily at her.

"Yes and no." She decided with a smirk.

"Which answers which question?" Kili chuckled.

"I will leave the unravelling of those answers to you both." Her smirk grew into a smug smile.

"Tis not a fair answer." Kili countered.

"Nor was the question." She intertwined her fingers on her lap sensing Ori's satisfaction at having realized the answer.

Kili peered at her for a moment. "Ah, I understand." He chuckled again.

She winked at the younger prince. "The sword Fili gave me. It is elvish isn't it?"

They both nodded. "We found it along with Thorin's, Gandalf's and several others in the troll horde. It was very close to where the trolls became stone." Said Ori.

Linshara nodded slowly. She'd been too distracted and too overwhelmed by Radagast's force presence to even notice.

The door to Elrond's study opened and Thorin marched out flanked by Balin and Bilbo while Elrond and Gandalf beckoned her in. She took a deep breath, ignoring Kili and Ori's curious looks and headed into the room.

As the doors closed behind her, Elrond stepped over to her, "welcome, Master Linshara Thannis of the Jedi Order, we have much to discuss."