Disclosure:  Twilight and Lord of the Rings are owned by their respective writers and holders to the rights.  I own nothing.  Perhaps if I did, this would have been what happened, but since I don’t hold a candle to Tolkien, yeah.  This is my own humble try.

Pre Edit Count –   2,366 Words

Song I listened to for this chapter: End of All Days by 30 Seconds to Mars.

Previously:

She cannot help but laugh at him, and just asks, “Answer me one question, and it will allow me to think on things, and try to place them in the order they should be.” When he nods, she asks, “Do you know the of name Gimli?”

He frowns, and slowly answers her question, “The name is familiar. I think it was one of the dwarves that had visited Mirkwood many years ago on their way to the Lonely Mountain.”

And that told her so much that Urúvion threw up his head and looked back at her as she froze in shock. When she does not react, he reaches around and nips at her knee, startling her.

Legolas watches her as she swallow a couple of times, and finally says in the language that she had spoken when first woken, “Oh my God. What have you gotten yourself in the middle of this time, Swan?”

He looks at her curiously, and says nothing when he can see she is overwhelmed. But he is even more curious about her reactions to the name of a dwarf.

Now:

Through the forest which is not as noisy as she is used to in her time, with all the birds, ride the line of elves and one human on their silent horses. They are not in a single file, but some are side by side, while others ride by themselves, but all have their hands close to their swords, bow ready to be used to the safety of their group. Bella is riding beside Legolas, her mind still in shock as she realizes she is somehow in the books, but not. She is somehow in the space of time between the Hobbit and the Fellowship of the Ring. The period of no stories really.

But how? And why now? What is going on? She no longer doubts that she is travelling with elves. Because of how hard it is to get into Russia, she just can’t see them using this for a scene, even though this is one of the areas Tolkien had used to base part of the story on. In fact she had heard a rumor saying they were going to use New Zealand for Middle Earth.

Too many things are just jarring on this being an elaborate prank. No one she knew would take this much time, or the money it would to dress all these elves in clothing that look like theirs did. And speaking the language with such fluency?

No. No matter how she tried to turn things to have it make sense to her, she is finding that there is more and more evidence that this is real. And for it being a dream, the other explanation? The pain from riding too long yesterday without a break and not enough of a rest is making itself known. But Bella is used to it, having ridden often, and knowing that this trip would be the most intensive for the two of them. She had also included pills for Urúvion in case she noticed him being in any pain.

And that causes her to bring herself up short. She did have items that she will need to try to stretch out. She starts taking a mental inventory of the items in her bags.

Legolas allows the silence since it seems like Bella needs the time, but he keeps stealing glimpses at her. He cannot explain the feelings he has around her, but he knows the longer he is with her; the more he doesn’t think he will be leaving her side soon.

With this in mind, his mind comes up with some ideas on how to introduce her to his family, and more reasons to have her by his side. These thoughts run through his head, and without noticing, the two ride through the remainder of the day until they come to an elven way stop.

The rest of the group has noticed the way their leader and prince is fascinated with the human they had found earlier. But then, they also see the glimmer around her, and like him, wonder what is she hiding.

They watch her carefully, and wait to see what she does next. They all admire her horse, and can easily see the tight bond the two share, one very much alike the steeds they ride.

When they rode into the way station, Bella is still involved in her thoughts, but you can see the care and love she has for her mount as she takes care of him. And more of their interaction is seen, as she slides off, and doesn’t even bother with the reins, as Urúvion follows behind her. She pulls off the saddle and the rest of her gear, and they watch as she brings out his stuff that is packed on top. Urúvion stands there patiently, as she takes care of him.

When she ends at his head, they just stand there, him chuffing in her hair softly his head around her as if he is hugging her. Bella is leaning against him, relaxing.

Legolas takes care of his horse, and then reluctantly calls softly, “Bella?”

Aware, but still lost in her thoughts, she give Urúvion a parting pat, then grabs her bag and follows him to the other side of the shelter. Looking around, she makes note of the many pallets separated by a curtain, so that if the sleeper wishes, there could be privacy.  Well as much privacy as there can be with a clothe dividing the areas.  She also notes the woodwork, which is quite beautiful and looking like many people have spent their time carving it.  She figures it was a pastime for those who couldn’t sleep or was forced to stay here because of outside forces.

Seeing her mind elsewhere, Legolas makes a noise.

Turning to see what he wanted, and when he indicates a spot next to him, she gracefully folds herself on the pallet.  Sighing, Bella then methodically unpacks her bag.

Bella is inventorying what she has, and while there is quite a bit, it is still not enough if she is stuck here for a long period of time.

Legolas, after doing his part in readying for the night, soon sits cross legged on the pallet next to her, and watches as she pulls things out of her bag and piles them in different areas. He is shocked by how much there is in her small packs, but he also realizes that most of it is bundled into small packages. Only when she grabs a tablet looking thing, and looks at it with an odd expression does he turn his head and asks: “What is it, Milady?”

She shakes herself out of it, and looks up at the blue eyes of the blonde elf. “It is… well it’s called an iPad, but I cannot begin to explain what it is. But it is fragile, and there is information that I may need that is stored in it. I am unsure what to do with it.”

He lifts an eyebrow, holds his hand out, and when she puts the thing in his hands, he looks over it carefully. It is lighter than it looks, he had thought it a book or a stone tablet, but it is neither. He realizes that the front is glass, and his eyebrows rise as he tries to think of what this thing can do. But more importantly, if she thinks it is important, how to ensure it doesn’t break.

One of the other men clears his throat. He has dark hair, and is actually short haired, unlike the other men and women around him. He stands effortlessly, and hands her some soft skins. “Wrap it in this, and it should cushion it well. One of us should have room in our bags for it, milady, if it makes it too bulky to fit back in your bags.”

She lifted her eyes to meet the green ones of the man in front of her, and she smiles at him. He grins down at her, and after she takes the skins from him, he bows to her with a grin on his face, “I am Beriothien, milady. Glad to make your acquaintance.”

He, unlike Legolas, is more fluent in the language, having been around the race of man more often than others of his kind.

Then Bella raises an eyebrow, and just asks bluntly, “Why is your hair short?”

The rest of the group laughs as Beriothien turns slightly embarrassed, “I lost a bet with the March Warden. In return, for a century, I need to keep my hair shorn this close. But, I have found it is easier to maintain once I got used to it.” He rubs the back of his head ruefully.

Snickering at the look on his face, she tells him. “I can see why if you do that often.”

And the group just laughs harder. Soon, they are more relaxed, and a lot of them gather around her pallet as they eat dinner.

Bella is looking through her things, and then sighing, opens the iPad to make a list of what she has. When she turned it on, they all gasped. She looks up, and seeing their faces alight with curiosity, she tells them, “Like I said it is hard to explain it. The best example is magic, but it is pure science. But I remember something said long ago in my time, ‘Objects of Science can be seen as magic to those not used to it.’” She shrugs, “And since I cannot explain how it is made, or how it runs to make sense to you, it is magic to you and to me.”

Legolas reaches for it, and he examines the surface with awe. He then touches it, and the screen changes. He was startled, but remembering how precious it seems to her, he keeps a firm grip on it.

Arranging things, she reaches out and takes it from him; swiftly closing the app he had opened. She opens another one and starts listing the items in front of her. When Beriothien asks her what she is doing, she tells him, “Making a list of what I have. I am someone who likes lists; it makes sure nothing is forgotten until sometimes too late. It also calms me.”

A female leans forward, and asks, “Do you mind if I ask what you need calm for, milady?”

Listing the last item, Bella grabs it, and putting everything away, she slowly answers, “I am not sure what to say, or not say. I cannot explain how I am here, but I am not from this place. While I have been exposed to many things in my short life, I am unsure how to handle this. To be torn from my life and end up here and with no idea why.”

The female nods, and then tells her, “I am unsure of how you came to be here, but I am sure our prince is going to make sure you are not adrift in this world. I also pledge to not leave you alone in this world.”

Beriothien nods, “I as well. Though I am sure our Prince has his own piece to say.”

Rolling his eyes at the others, he nods. “I pledge that you will not be alone in this world of ours. If nothing else, I will claim you as my kin happily. I am unsure why you are here, but I cannot believe you are here without purpose, and I will gladly help you in completing that quest.”

The rest of the group assures Bella that they too will help if needed. But none of them pledge as the three had. The female nods her head to Bella as she tells her, “Unlike Beriothien, I do not claim to have such a mouthful for a name. You may call me Sidhiel, milady.”

Though hesitant to ask, her curiosity normally wins out, “Why do you all call me, Milady? I have no claim to any titles, and am human.”

Looking at her in shock, Legolas tells her, “At least you will have the claim to milady, I have told you that I will claim as kin. And you are not human. There is a shimmer around you that tells us that you have had something hiding your true nature.” He watches her for her reaction.

Shaking her head slowly, “I know not of this shimmer, but then, I have never seen anyone glow as you all do. I think it will be one of those things that will have to wait for an explanation.”

Legolas shares a look with Beriothien and then tells her, “Bella, only other elves, those descendent from us or the wizards can see the light of an elf without us showing it. I promise you, we are all not showing it, as it is often that the grace of the Valar seems to bring the darkness descending the Middle Earth to us.” He is careful, but if she can see the glow of the grace, then she is probably one of them, or at least a descendent of them or one of the wizards. But the world rang with the coming of the wizards, and nothing heralded her coming among them.

She looks at him, thinking of the Valar, the ones who had helped the elves, who as gods to them.  They are the ones who kept them safe for awhile from the evil in Mordor, as well as who encouraged them to make their way to the West.

Sidhiel takes pity on Bella, and tells the rest, “This will not be solved by us tonight. We have an early start tomorrow and for the next couple of days to reach the borders of Lórien. I suggest we concentrate on getting Milady to our destination with her tablet of magic. Once she is there, hopefully our questions will be answered. Both our questions, and those of Lady Bella.”

Nodding to her, the rest of the elves make their way to their pallets. Soon the room is silent, as Bella tries to rest.

Legolas rolls over, and, after awhile, observing that she is not asleep, quietly suggests, “Why don’t we check on the horses?”

Nodding, she quietly makes her way to the door into the open stables. Once through the door, Urúvion is beside her, and she smiles at him as she rubs his muzzle. Following Legolas with him on her heels, she walks out and is treated to a view of the stars.

While uniquely beautiful to see, Bella loses the last hope that she is in on a prank. The stars are familiar, but so far from her own stars, that there is nothing to account for it but a huge gap in time, or a different reality. A tear drops from her eye as she accepts that she is here, and that her life is now one that is based back in a book.

Final count:  2,595 words.

Fairfarren~