To Warm An Advisor's Heart

You wake up and grumble. “I will not pass out again,” you vow to yourself.

“Good, because it scares us every time you do it,” a voice says. You look beside you to see one of the handsome brothers sitting beside you.

You study him for a moment. “You’re not Elrohir,” you say. “You’re Elladan.”

He nods in approval. “Very good. You’re one of the few that can tell us a part.”

“It’s easy because his eyes are darker than yours… and he bites his nails,” you say.

Elladan chuckles. “I’ll have to tell him about that. He’s been trying to quick, but it’s a hard habit for him to break.” He studies you. “How are you feeling?”

“The pain is gone. That’s all that matters to me.” You sit up and see that you’ve been moved to the bed that is the closest to the garden.

“It was Father’s idea,” he answers your silent question. “Since you wanted to see it so badly, he decided to put you closer to it. He wants to give you a tour of it sometime.”

“I’d like that.” You smile. You look down as you fiddle with your blanket. “I owe him an apology for fainting like that.”

“Don’t worry about it. He understands.” He takes a hesitant breath. “Father says that you aren’t from this world. Is that true?”

You nod slowly. As ridiculous as it sounds, you know it’s the truth. You are a human gal from Earth who’s somehow ended up in Middle Earth with handsome elves. On second thought, you really don’t mind. You’re family’s been long gone and the only friends you had were acquaintances from work. No one will miss you that badly. Perhaps there will be a few tears, but nothing more. You should feel sorry for yourself, but you don’t. Instead you take a breath and look up at Elladan.

“When do I get to get out of this room?” you ask. He grins.

“I’ll go and get Father. Stay here and don’t get up.” He jumps out of his chair and runs out of the room.

You smile until you feel your hair. Tangles. “I need a brush,” you mutter to yourself. You use your hand to free most of the tangles. Your hair has gotten a lot long than it was on Earth, but you don’t pay much attention to it. It’s not until you brush your fingers against your ear that you freeze.

Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, something is definitely NOT right. Why does touching your ear suddenly go to your crotch? AND WHY THE HELL DO THEY FEEL SO LONG? You look around desperately for a mirror or something so you can see your reflection. You refuse to touch your ears again until you can see them. You see a mirror hanging near the wooden door.

You hop out of bed and wince. You right ankle throbs in pain. You bite your lip and force yourself to ignore it as you jump on your left foot to the mirror. As you near it, you can already tell that there’s something wrong.

You hair shines far more than it used to. Instead of being brown, it is a beautiful auburn with red and brunette highlights in it. Your blue eyes have gotten a deeper shade of blue. Even with all of the cuts from the forest, you still find yourself beautiful.

You finally reach the mirror. You let yourself get your breath back. You look down at your body, but can’t tell much with the white gown covering you. You pull it up and see that you’ve got more curves than you used to.

“This is too weird,” you say. You look up at the mirror again. You take a deep breath before moving your hair aside so you can see your ears. You scream. You lose your balance and fall on your butt. You look up at the mirror in horror.

“I told you not to get up,” Elladan says. The twins are standing behind Elrond. Elrond has his hands on his hips as he looks down at you. He must see the fear in your eyes, because he immediately drops his intimidating stance. He kneels beside you and brushes your hair from your face.

“What’s wrong?” Elrond asks.

You point at the mirror. “That. That… thing made me look like I have long ears,” you say in a shaky voice.

Elladan and Elrohir look at each other with raised eyebrows. Elrond picks you up and carries you back to your bed. “That’s because you have long ears,” he says softly. You stare openmouthed at him.

“No,” you finally say. “I can’t be an elf. It’s impossible to be human one second and elven the next.”

He doesn’t answer you at first as he places you in bed. “I don’t know what to tell you. I’ve never seen anything like this in all of my years.”

He checks your face and arms to make sure the cuts are healing properly. Once satisfied, he moves to your legs. He checks your right ankle. He sighs when he sees that it’s still swollen.

“It seems that you hurt it worse than I originally thought. You will have to stay inside for a while to make sure that it heals properly. I would ask for you to stay in bed for another day, but I can already tell you’re ready to move around.” He turns to the twins. “Go get her some clothes. She will eat lunch with us.”

The twins hurry out of the room, leaving you and Elrond alone. Elrond runs his hands through his hair as he sits down in the chair beside you. He seems in a trance before he blinks and looks up at you. “Are you okay?” he asks. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t be more help.”

You smile. “You’ve done more than enough,” you answer. “I doubt I’ll ever know how or why I ended up here and I accept that. I do have a question though. Why did you think I was going to die from the fall? I mean, I landed in the river.”

Elrond stares at you. “It wasn’t the jump that scared me. It was the fact that you got a lung full of water. If Erestor hadn’t gotten you out as soon as he did and performed CPR, you would have died.”

“Erestor saved me?” you ask. “Will I get to meet him so I can thank him?”

Elrond looks away. “I doubt you’ll see him for quite a while. He’s working on end of the season reports for me. He always locks himself away in this office during those times. But don’t worry,” he says quickly when he sees the disappointed look in your eyes, “I’m sure you’ll see him in a few weeks.”

“Oh, okay,” you say. Elladan and Elrohir enter in the room carrying two dresses. Elladan is holding a dark green dress while Elrohir is hold a dark blue dress.

“We couldn’t agree on which one you’d like best-“ Elladan begins.

“So we want you to decide,” Elrohir finishes.

You look from one to the other and sigh. “I don’t know. They both so beautiful,” you say.

“Why don’t you wear the dark blue?” Elrond suggests. “It brings out the color of your eyes.”

Elrohir looks at Elladan with a smug smile. “Told you,” Elrohir says.

“All right,” you say. Elrohir hands you the dress. The three elves stay there, waiting for you. You clear your throat. “Um… do you mind if I change in private?”

“Of course,” Elrond says. He stands and heads for the door. When he sees that the twins aren’t moving, he grabs them by the collars and drags them out of the room.

You chuckle. Those elves know how to make you feel like an attractive woman. “Elf,” you correct. Speaking of elves, you really want to meet the one who saved you. “Erestor. It’s funny. From the way I’ve read things about him, I never thought he was one who’d go and jump in rivers to save strangers.”

You change into the dress and slowly walk to the wooden door, trying to put as little pressure on your right ankle as possible. You open the door and see the twins waiting for you.

“Father went ahead because we still have a guest here,” Elladan says.

“So he said we can be your escorts,” Elrohir says. Both offer an arm. You are tempted to pinch yourself to make sure your not dreaming. Instead you lock arms with both of them and let them lead you through the hallways.

You look in every direction as you try to take in all of the extravagate decorations at one time. “Be careful or your head is going to fall off,” Elladan teases. You blush, but continue to admire your surroundings.

There are detailed paintings of elves who’re either dancing or fighting. There are also painting of snow covered forests, sunsets, and flowers. Tapestries hang from the top to the bottom. They are filled with unique designs and colors, some of which you don’t think you’ve ever seen before.

“Here we are,” Elrohir says. “Now put your eyes back in your head. We don’t want the guests to lose their appetite.”

“Har, har, har,” you say dryly. “You’re so unbelievable funny.”

The twins chuckle. All of you enter a large room with a long table in the center. Elrond is on one end of the table while a beautiful she-elf with midnight long hair and deep blue eyes sits on the other side.

“That is our sister, Arwen,” Elrohir says, following your line of sight. “Beside her is our foster brother, Aragorn. He is human.”

You see a rough-looking weathered man sitting beside Arwen. He has dark hair and looks like he doesn’t take a lot of crap. It’s not until he laughs that you realize that he’s a good looking man.

“Don’t drool openly,” Elladan says. “He’s taken by Arwen.”

“I wasn’t drooling,” you say. “I was just admiring the male body.”

The twins laugh. “I think I should be insulted that she likes him more than us,” Elrohir says.

“That is very true brother,” Elladan agrees. He crosses his arms. “What do you have to say for yourself missy?”

“I find you two just as attractive,” you say. “Now stop playing jealous, I’m hungry.”

Elrond spots you and waves you over to a chair beside him. You hobble over to him with the twins following you. Elrohir pulls out the chair for you and you happily sit. The twins walk down the table to there sister, leaving you with Elrond and two strangers.

“Hello,” a voice says. You look to your right and blush. You know you’ve thought every elf you’ve seen is handsome, but this one takes the cake. He has long blonde hair that shines under the light. You curl your fingers to resist stroking the silky looking hair. His blue eyes look at you with amusement, as though he can read your thoughts.

“He-“ You clear your throat. “Hello.”

“I’m Glorfindel,” he says. “What is your name?”

“Rose,” you answer.

“Rose,” he says thoughtfully. “That’s a beautiful name.”

“Glorfindel is Captain of our army,” Elrond says. “And this is Thranduil, king of Mirwood.”

“It’s a pleasure meeting you,” Thranduil says. He has long blonde hair and mesmerizing blue eyes.

“Likewise,” you say. You have a feeling that Elrond is only making introductions so you won’t make a fool of yourself. You are very grateful. You look around. “Is Erestor here?”

Glorfindel blinks in shock. “You’ve met him?” he asks.

“No, but he saved my life. I really want to meet him,” you say.

“He’s not here,” Elrond says. “He’s still working.”

You blink. “Now? Isn’t he hungry?”

Elrond takes a hesitant breath. “Tell the poor elf. Even I know about Erestor’s work habits,” Thranduil says. He winks at you. “Who knows, maybe she’ll look after him if you tell her what’s going on.”

“What are you talking about?” you ask. When he doesn’t answer, you look to Elrond. “What about Erestor’s work habits?”

Elrond puts down his fork and folds his hands over his lap. He looks at his glass of water, refusing to meet your eyes. “Whenever Erestor gets a project, he puts his whole heart into it. He skips meals and doesn’t sleep. He’ll work day and night until the job gets done. I used to try to get him to eat, but he’d always brush me off. He keeps his office door locked so no one can get in. I have a key, but I’ve stopped trying.”

Your mouth drops. You stare at the food covering the table and lose your appetite. “May I be excused?” you ask. “I’m still really tired.”

Elrond looks anxious, but nods his head. “Take a plate with you, just in case. Do you want me to escort you?”

“No, that’s okay. You’ve done more than enough for me. I’m sure I can find it if you explain it to me.” Glorfindel fixes you a plate of food while Elrond explains to you how to get to your quarters.

“And remember, turn right three times then left,” Elrond says.

“I’ve got it.” You slowly stand up and test your right ankle to make sure you won’t fall. You take the plate out of Glorfindel’s hands. You say goodnight to all of them before walking out of the room.

Your replay the directions over and over in your mind as you walk. You keep telling yourself you’re not going to get lost. But of course, you're sure you messed up the number of times you turn right.

You stare at a dead end. “Shit,” you curse under your breath. “Now what?” You look around and see that there are only three doors. They are mahogany doors. Two are on the right while the other is on the left.

“Hm… left door or right doors?” you ask yourself. You go to the left door. You slowly raise your hand and hesitate before knocking.

“Go away,” a voice yells. You cringe.

“Please, I’m sorry to bother you but I’m lost,” you say. Your right ankle begins to hurt, but you ignore it. “If you could just help point me in the right direction, I’ll leave you alone.”

You hear someone huff and grumble instead, but still the door opens. You sway when you see the gorgeous creature standing at the door. His midnight hair goes to his waist. His eyes are a dark chocolate that seem to stare into your soul. He has kissable lips and high cheeks that show under his olive skin. You feel your groin heat up when you look from his tight black pants to his white almost see-through shirt that shows some of his chest.

“Well,” he says in an irritated tone. His voice is deep and sends shivers down your spine. You don’t know whether to run from this sinful looking creature or beg for him to take you right now.

You blink and feel your cheeks heat up. “I’m lost,” you say.

“You already stated that.” He crosses his arms. “Now where is your room at? And hurry up because I have work to do.”

“If I knew where my room was at then I wouldn’t be here,” you snap, losing patience with the rude elf. “And it couldn’t kill to try to not to act like an ass.”

His mouth drops. He gathers his wits and glares at you. “Well if you would be smart enough to learn how to get to your room without getting lost-“

“I’ve never been to my room before. Thank you very much!” Your nostrils flare and you want to smack him across the face. “How dare you try to insult my intelligence. I didn’t ask to be thrown in this world, especially not with some hot arrogant elf!”

Whoo. Stop. Rewind. Did you really say all of that? Including the hot part? Yep, you did. You feel your cheeks burn brighter. To your surprise, instead of rubbing it in, he blushes too.

“Look,” you say. “I didn’t come here to fight you. I’m lost and I would really appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction. I would really like to get into my room some because I need to get off of my ankle soon.”

The elf nods. “Well, why don’t you come in and rest your ankle. You can tell me where you were told to go and we’ll see if we can figure this out.”

You smile. You follow him into the room, which turns out to be an office. You sit in a squishy armchair beside his desk. You look at the piles and piles of books on his desk.

“Looks like you’re making your own library on your desk,” you tease.

The elf smiles. “That is my work,” he says. He grabs a foot rest and places it before you. You thank him as he sits down in an armchair across from you. “Don’t thank me because I don’t deserve it. I’m sorry for the way I treated you. I get a little… cranky when I’m doing this kind of work.”

“I guess I can understand,” you say. You rest your ankle and sigh in relief when the pain turns to a nub feeling.

“I take it you went to lunch first,” he says. He nods to the plate that is still in your hands. “I don’t mean to offend, but that looks like a lot more food than you can eat.”

You grin sheepishly. “Yeah, Glorfindel made it for me because I’m tired. Elrond wouldn’t let me leave without a plate.”

“Sounds like the two.” He eyes your food again. You take a sandwich before placing the plate in his hands.

“Have at it,” you say.

“I couldn’t-“ He begins. The rumble from his stomach interrupts him. You chuckle.

“I may not be able to eat all of that, but from the way your stomach sounds you’ll be able to.” You lean back and eat your sandwich. You smile when you see him dig into the plate. “Hun, how long has it been since you ate?”

He stops. “What did you call me?” His tone is curious.

“Hun,” you answer. You blush. “Sorry.”

He doesn’t say anything as begins eating again. The two of you don’t speak as you both enjoy your meal. You look out the window near his desk and see that the sun is shining. You sigh.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“It’s such a pretty day, but I’m not allowed to go outside until my ankle is healed. I guess Elrond is afraid I’ll make it worse.”

“What happened to your ankle?”

“Landed on it the wrong way when I was running from some orcs,” you answer. You see his eyes widen in shock. “What?”

“That was you?” he asks.

“Yes. I take it you heard about it,” you say.

He shakes his head. “I was there. I saw you jump.” He begins to fiddle with his hands. You study him. Elrohir said there were four elves there. It could only be one person. It would make sense. After all, what other elf would be missing lunch.

“You’re Erestor,” you say, sitting up.

“Yes,” he answers.

You grin. “Oh my gosh! I’m so glad it’s you. I’ve wanted to meet you ever since I found out that you saved me. Elrond kept telling me I’d see you in a few weeks because you were working but I’m glad I got to meet you sooner.” You take a breath and realize that he’s giving you a funny look. “Anyway, I wanted to thank you for saving my life.”

He looks away. “It was nothing,” he says. Before you can say anything else, he continues, “Elrond told me where your room is at.”

“Really? Where is it at?”

“Across the hall from here.” He hesitates before adding, “Beside mine.”

“Wow.” You lean back. “I actually found the right hallway.” He laughs. You feel your stomach fill with butterflies at the warm sound. “I guess I better get going. I’m sure you want to get back to work.” You stand and yelp when your ankle gives out. You feel a pair of arms catch you. You look up to see Erestor looking at you with deep concern. His heart is racing and you don’t know if it’s out of fear or…

‘Stop it,’ you think. ‘That’s not the way to think about someone who’s been so kind to you.’ But he is so tempting. His musty scent covers you and you can’t seem to stop starring into his eyes.

Pain brings you back to realize and you look down at your ankle. “I don’t know why it keeps doing that,” you mutter.

“Because you are overworking it. You need to keep off of your ankle for a day or so,” he says. “I’ll help you to your room.”

“Okay, if you’re done with the plate I’ll take it-“ you begin.

“Don’t worry about the plate. Now lean on me and we’ll get you to your room.” You follow his instructions. Even with his help, pain shoots through your body every time you step on your right foot.

“Holy-“ you gasp as Erestor picks you up. You stare at him in shock. “What are you doing?”

“Carrying you to your room,” he answers. “You’re ankle is obviously hurting more than you’ll admit.”

You resist the urge to cuddle with them. Instead you focus on opening his office door. You open the door to your bedroom and gasp.

Erestor carries you into a large room that has a multi-colored rug with a blue sofa and one red and one green chair on it. There is also a white metal table with glass on top. You look up to see different colored fabrics hanging in the ceiling. You feel your mood lift.

“It’s beautiful,” you say in awe.

Erestor smiles at you. He takes you into your bedroom. You stare at the massive bed that is covered with soft pillows of every color. The comforter is white with butterflies and flowers stitched into it. The posts are white metal and twisted to form unique designs. There are bright see-through curtains that you can pull around your bed if you chose.

As soon as he lays you on it, you feel sleep overcome you. You yawn and curl up into a ball. You sigh contently as he tucks you in.

“Good night.” Erestor brushes the hair out of your eyes.

You murmur your thanks. You want to say more, but fatigue consumes you. You close your eyes and fall asleep.

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I know what a lot of you are thinking. He's already being nice to her? WHY?! You're supposed to drag it out! Trust me, I'll make sure the story sticks to the summary and title. Until next time. Please review,

Ivory Wolf