Arriving in Rivendell became a breathtaking view in Kelsey's eyes. She had never seen something so beautiful in her life and the atmosphere made her feel relaxed and calm. Feeling like nothing could worry her anymore, she bounded over to Kili who also stood in awe at the Last Homely House east of the sea. Kili gave her a small smile before following after the grumbling dwarves who realised that Gandalf had lead them straight to the Elves; something Thorin was even more furious about.

"We have some questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and a small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me," said Gandalf as they started to descend the stairs to the bridge to enter Rivendell. The bridge itself was enchanting and Kelsey took her time crossing it to admire its beauty.

The white, pristine stones shined bright in the sun and the water running underneath glistened like diamonds. She felt bad for ruining the cleanliness of the bridge as her and her companions tracked dirt all of it as they reached a small courtyard where a man descended down the stairs. Kelsey couldn't help but stare as she had never seen a man so beautiful. It wasn't until he reached the bottom and addressed Gandalf, that she realised that he was an elf. Every time one of the dwarves would mention elves, she had imagined them small and with big, pointed ears. But alas they were as tall as a human; their ears average sized with a slight point at the tips.

Unfortunately for Kelsey, Kili had noticed her staring at the elf and a frown appeared on his face in annoyance. He didn't know why he felt jealous; a feeling that is unfamiliar to him. He realised that what he has with Kelsey was a bit more than friendship, well on his side. He was unsure what Kelsey felt about him and watching her stare at the elf, finally confirmed that they were just friends. He first realised when she called him her best friend out when they were being hunted by orcs. Shaking his head, he heard the sound of an Elvish horn from the bridge and quickly turned around to be pushed into the centre of a small circle that the dwarves had created, pushing the younger ones in the middle.

Kelsey watched as the Elves started to ride around the small group, towering over them. Although she found the Elves beautiful, she did find them very intimidating and braced herself for whatever was to happen next. A regal-looking elf gracefully jumped down from his horse and approached Gandalf before hugging him.

"Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something or someone has drawn them near," claimed the elf with an amused look.

"Ah, that may have been us, Lord Elrond," answered Gandalf with a slight chuckle. Thorin stepped forward from the small circle and Elrond looks at him in recognition. He quickly scanned the group, his eyes lingering at Kelsey for a few seconds before addressing Thorin.

"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain."

"I do not believe we have met," grumbled Thorin, his eyes giving the elf a stern look.

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled over the Mountain," explained Elrond. Kelsey knew then why the elf looked so wise; he had to be at least a few hundred years old to know Thror.

"Indeed; he made no mention of you."

"Thorin, please don't insult our host," Kelsey said, stepping up beside Thorin, causing him to glance at her in annoyance. He wasn't surprised at all from her outburst since he knew that there were moments where she had to speak her mind. But as she looked strong, he quickly noticed that she was very pale and her hands were slightly shaking. Before he asked her if she was okay, Elrond interrupted his thoughts, in something Elvish.

"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?" shouted Gloin, the dwarves grumbling in union.

"No, master Gloin, he is offering you food," explained Gandalf, annoyed at the dwarves behaviour. The dwarves quickly discuss this among themselves and Kelsey found herself rolling her eyes.

"Ah well, in that case, lead on."

As the dwarves started to follow Gandalf, Kelsey realised that Lord Elrond lingered to the side, waiting to speak to her.

"Lady …?" he questioned.

"Just Kelsey, mi'lord," she responded quickly, a small smile on her face.

"Lady Kelsey, we have a room prepared for you to relax before dinner; maybe where you would like to freshen up since it looks like you have been on the road for long," acknowledged Lord Elrond, as he guided her down a corridor. She glanced down at her clothes and realised that she must look like a mess. Embarrassed, she smiled and nodded.

"I am just curious, Lady Kelsey but have you met a woman by the name Ilmarë?" asked Elrond, out of the blue. Kelsey looked at him in surprise and shook her head.

"That is the second time I have heard her name today. Who is she?" Kelsey asked, just as they arrived to a large room that was the size of her apartment, where an elf maid was waiting.

"She is a traveller that I have come across several times, and you remind me of her. You share the same eyes," he replies before acknowledging the elf maid. "Ah Yava, please make Lady Kelsey feel welcomed and draw a bath for her."

The young maid nodded with a large smile and handed a white robe to Kelsey before scurrying off to start a bath.

"I will send someone once dinner is ready," announced Elrond, before quickly gliding out of the door, leaving Kelsey with a puzzled look on her face.

Who is Ilmarë?

"Lady Kelsey, would you like to have lavender in your bath?" asked Yava, peering around a wall separating the bed and the bath. A huge smile appeared on Kelsey's face.

"Yes please. I love the smell of lavender."

Waiting for the bath, Kelsey stepped out onto the balcony where the view of Rivendell was just enchanting. Feeling the relaxed effect again, she looked down where she saw the dwarves heading towards an open room. Kili felt eyes on him and looked up to see Kelsey on a balcony, a huge smile on her face. She waved with excitement before being called back into the room. He sighed with relief to know that she was safe and he would see her at dinner.

…..

The scent of lavender filled her nose as she took her grimy clothes off and settled into the bath. The warm water began to relax her joints and after washing her hair, Kelsey soon drifted to sleep.

Merilwen, it's almost time. Time to know who you really are.

Kelsey was jolted out of her sleep when a loud knocking echoed through the room. Realising she had fallen asleep in the bath and it was now cold, she jumped out and threw the robe that Yava had given her, on since she noticed her clothes gone. Remembering that Yava had taken them to be washed, she opened the door to find a frowning Yava.

"You are almost late, mi'lady. Let's get you ready," she cried, scavenging through the nearby wardrobe for something Kelsey could wear. Kelsey looked outside and realised that the sun was setting and that she had been asleep in the bath for at least an hour. Didn't feel like an hour, she thought as she was placed down in front of a vanity mirror and allowed Yava to fuss over her.

She astonished to find her hair dry within 10 minutes, its waves cascading down her back. Since meeting Kili back in her world, she had allowed her hair to grow over the years with an occasionally trim and it now hovered just at the middle of her back. It felt good to have it out of its braid from the week long travel. After adjusting a silver circlet on Kelsey's forehead, Yava put a little dusting over powder on her face and then quickly helped Kelsey into the dress she had picked out for her.

The dark blue fabric looked lovely against the paleness of her skin and admiring herself in the mirror, Kelsey couldn't believe how beautiful she looked. The dress sat on her shoulders and the sleeves stopped just below her elbows. Her hair, in its usual waves, fell over her shoulders and the circlet suited the entire look.

"You made me look beautiful, Yava," she exclaimed with a huge smile on her face, surprising the elf with a quick hug.

"Oh mi'lady, that is all you. I just brought out your features," she laughed, before leading Kelsey out the door and to where everyone had assembled already for dinner. Butterflies filled her stomach as she carefully stepped down the stairs that led to the dining area, trying not to trip as she was not used to wearing an elegant dress. The dwarves all stopped their bickering over the lack of meat and beamed at her; Kili's smile the biggest.

"Kels, you look…um…" stuttered Kili as she sat down next to him. "Like a girl."

"Gee, thanks Kili. You can really compliment a girl," she jokingly said, playfully shoving his arm.

"What my brother is trying to say, Kelsey, is that you look very beautiful," explained Fili from across the table, the dwarves nodding in agreement. Laughing at the now red Kili, she dug into her bowl of salad, not caring that the motion looked very unladylike.

The music that was played by several elves, made Kelsey feel very welcomed. The dwarves, on the other hand, disliked the melodies and complained about it sounding like a funeral. Bofur quickly stood up on the table and began a new tune in which the dwarves all started to throw food at each other. Hysterically laughing, Kili dragged Kelsey from her chair and begun to dance with her, spinning her around, before the music stopped with the dwarves cheering and Kelsey in Kili's arms, staring at each other. The atmosphere between the two was so intense, Kelsey felt her legs buckled. She felt something stirring in her as she and Kili went back to their seats.

Suddenly a wave of dizziness rolled over her and Kelsey felt like she was going to be sick. Quickly excusing herself and ignoring the curious looks she was given by the dwarves and elves alike, she scampered up the stairs and down a corridor she was hoping would lead her to her room. Blackness started to threaten her sight and nausea started to settle in her throat. An elf walking the other direction came up to her to ask if she was okay. Ignoring the elf, Kelsey leaned against a pillar before collapsing, a trickle of blood flowing from her nose; soon slipping into a sleep of darkness.

….

Watching Kelsey quickly scamper away from the table and disappearing to her room, Kili felt deep concern for her. Along with Thorin, he also noticed her growing pale and shaking hands since the strange occurrence she had when receiving the silver bow. When she missed her mark with the orc, Kili could almost feel her panic as she rubbed her eyes. He had quickly taken her face in his arm to inspect them; admiring how beautiful her eyes were. His thoughts interrupted by a frantic elf who came running into the courtyard.

"My lord! Lord Elrond!" shouted the elf, causing the elven lord to quickly stand up from his seat at the head of the table. "It is the Lady Kelsey! She has collapsed."

As soon as those words were spoken, Kili's blood drained from his face. His breathing became erratic and he almost fell out of his seat, trying to get up to follow Elrond. Pushing through his companions to the front, he watched as Elrond kneeled down to the unconscious Kelsey, examining the flowing blood from her nose and quickly picking her up, her head flopping back with the lack of support. She was so pale, she looked like death itself.

"I will try to heal her, master dwarves. Please bear with me," was all Lord Elrond said before scurrying away with 2 other elves after him.

"She will be okay, Kili. Elves are exceptionally healers," claimed Thorin, his voice echoing around the corridor. Kili was surprised by his uncle's comment, since he despised elves. But he knew that Kelsey would be in good hands.

….

"The poor lass," sighed Bofur, as the whole group huddled near the door to Kelsey's chambers. Kili tried to keep himself busy by flicking small stones across to Fili but his thoughts kept going back to Kelsey. A sudden round of loud coughs could be heard from the room, causing everyone to jump up. Elrond walked up, a solemn look on his face.

"For whatever reason, something is blocking me from curing her," he said, his arms crossing behind his back. "There is nothing I can do."

At his words, Kili felt like life had frozen over. Kelsey was supposed to help them on their journey; she was meant to be a part of his life but now something was stopping her to do so. His hands curled up into fists and he swore at the Valor. Why must you do this to an innocent woman?!

"She has asked to speak to you all."

Being the first to walk into the room, he found a seat right next to her and he noticed how pale she really was. He took her hand and Kelsey gave him a small smile. The others found a spot around the bed and were all looking at the young girl, with disheartened looks.

"I am so sorry to do this to all of you," she said, her voice barely heard. "In my world, there is a disease called cancer. There are many forms of cancer but what I have is a brain tumour. It hits the brain and deteriorate causing that person to have extreme headaches, nausea, dizziness, blindness and in my case, nosebleeds."

A huge cough stopped Kelsey with her words, causing her head to lurch forward. The sudden movement started a nosebleed and an elven maid ran forward with a handkerchief.

"Thank you Yava," Kelsey said, attempting a small smile before settling back onto her pillow. "The healers in my world told me that the tumour was too big to remove so they gave me 8 months to start using special treatment to downsize it. Of course that was when I came here; joining you all on this quest. I thought I would have more time, but it seems because of the timeframe between your world and mine, the cancer has gotten worse."

Tears started to roll down her pale cheeks as she said three words that made everyone's heart stop for a split second.

"I am dying."

LONG CHAPTER! I hoped you enjoyed it; as readers who have been waiting patiently over the 2 years with this story, I wanted to do a long chapter and bring it out to you as soon as Chapter 8 came out. I am aiming to have Chapter 10 finished and ready for you all to read tomorrow night.

Please read and review! If you have any questions, please ask them xx