Into the World of Elves

Ch 4- Can it get any worse?

"OH!" Temp cried as she was thrown to the ground and something heavy landed right on her. The breath was knocked right out of her.

"What's this beneath me?" A gravelly voice asked, and he bounced a bit. She was positive her chest was caving.

"GIMLI!" Legolas cried from somewhere above her and the great weight was lifted. Taking a deep breath to fill her empty lungs, she cracked open her eyes. Legolas stood over her, frowning worriedly.

"Are you well?" He asked kneeling beside her.

"Fine, just a collapsed lung." She said sitting up, with a sigh. Legolas offered her a hand and she took it, letting him pull her up.

"Gimli, this is Temperance." He said pulling her forward. Temperance looked at the squat man before her.

"Atst Ist I'm taller than someone!" She thought to herself.

"So this is the reason you ran off into the woods, elf. To chase after a girl? Hmph!" Gimli huffed looking Temp over. Legolas sent her an apologetic smile.

"You'll have to forgive him, he's a dwarf." He said winking at her.

"What was that elf?" Gimli growled.

"I just told her you were an dwarf to explain your rude behavior." He said.

"What? Don't listen to him, lady. He is an elf, they like to spin tales." Gimli said causing Legolas to laugh.

"Temperance this is Gimli Elf-friend." He said still chuckling. Temp smiled at Gimli, who continued to study her. She didn't like to be under scrutiny, so she started in the direction she thought the city was in.

"Where are you going?" Legolas asked. She looked over her shoulder at him.

"Back to the city." She watched an amused smile creep across his face. Again she fought the urge to puddle at his feet.

"What?" She demanded.

"You'll be wantin' to go this way then." Gimli said pointing behind him. She looked back at Legolas, who affirmed the answer.

"You two had better lead the way." Temp mumbled. Nodding he and Gimli walked ahead of her. They began a conversation in elvish. Well at least she assumed in was elvish, since she didn't understand it.

"Well fine I didn't want to talk to you any way!" She huffed quietly. Temp was a little shocked when Legolas turned to give her a questioning look. She smiled and waited for him to turn. He did after sending her a reassuring smile.

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"You two had better lead the way." Legolas heard Temperance mumbled to him. He and Gimli started towards the city, with her following close behind.

"What do you think of our new friend?" Legolas asked in elvish, a language Gimli had long ago mastered.

"Her eyes, it seems as if I have known them before" Gimli said sounding slightly baffled. Legolas turned to look upon Temp, thinking he heard her mumbling but wasn't sure because he had been listening to Gimli. She smiled sweetly, he returned the smile and turned back to Gimli.

"I felt the same when I first saw them. It couldn't be possible could it?" He asked. Gimli simply shrugged.

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"Whew! Got to watch out for that elf hearing!" She sighed when Legolas turned back to his friend.

"Just when I thought life couldn't get anymore complicated, I run right into the Undying lands of elves. Get told I can never go back." Temp blinked away the tears that clouded her vision. Now wasn't the time for tears, she went back to her musings.

"I get a huge splinter, but I was taken out by Legolas, which wasn't too bad. I mean what girl doesn't like to be treated so gently. Legolas was definitely someone I could get used to being around." She thought as she watched him. He moved easily, barely making a sound. She wondered how she had heard him coming behind her earlier.

"I wonder if elf's get spilt ends?" She thought as she studied his hair golden blonde and reaching just under his shoulder blades. He had great hair, thick and it looked really soft. Oh to ru...

"Stop it! Those thought are distracting me from more important things."

Like what?" She asked herself.

"Like that really creepy sound coming from the forest!" She thought and ran ahead to latch on to Legolas's arm. She looked nervously about her, then up at Legolas. He was smiling down at her.

"I thought I heard something," she said quickly dropping his arm.

"A bird most likely." He said patting her hand. Great now he thinks of her as a wuss.

"Can it get any worse?" She asked mentally.

"Legolas, Gimli! How was your hunt?" Apparently it could.

"Haldir! Our hunt was good but we have returned with something unexpected." Gimli called out cheerfully.

"Damn dwarf!" Temp swore silently.

"You have? What is it?" Haldir asked moving forward to greet the pair.

"Haldir, you've heard of the human found in the woods?" Legolas asked.

"I have. Is it true then?" Haldir responded. Temperance groaned inwardly and tired to move back unnoticed. No luck, Legolas had started to nudge her forward.

"It is. Haldir this is Temperance." He said holding her in front of him. Haldir looked down at her and grinned.

"So we meet again. Well at least this time ." He started.

"Don't say it!" Temp ground out between clenched teeth.

" You are dressed." He finished. Temperance reacted before she thought it out.

"OW!" Haldir cried in shock as her foot connected with his shin. She stood shocked at her action. While Haldir leaned down to nurse his aching shin.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" She cried, and then turned to run embarrassed down the hall. She had no idea where she was going. So she ended up asking a hundred people if they knew where she was staying. Of course no one knew because they had no idea who she was.

"I hate this place!" She cried slumping against a wall.

"But you haven 't even been here a full day yet." Someone said to her left. With a gasp of surprise Temp whirled to look widen eyed upon an elf standing not far from her.

"Forgive me. I didn't mean to frighten you. I am Elrond." The elf said moving forward to take her hand. He, like all other elves, was tall and lean of stature. His grey eyes roamed over her face.

"I'm Temperance." She said nervously. What was with everyone and staring at her? She thought remembering the way Legolas and Gimli had studied her so.

"I know who you are. You aren't very tall." He said looking her up and down.

"No, I didn't inherit my mother's height. She is maybe a little shorter than you." Temp said giving him the same treatment. He smiled.

"Yes, I can see that you didn't" Elrond answered almost as if imply that he already knew that fact. Temp frowned, and then shook off the nagging feeling that he knew something she didn't.

" Do you perhaps know where my room is?" She asked. Elrond jerked slightly, she must have brought him out of his thoughts.

"I do. Let me take you there." He said turning he started down the hall.

"Okay." Temp said hurrying to follow him.

"Temperance tell me about your family." Elrond said after a few minutes of silence. Temperance really didn't want to talk about them but supposed it would be useless to refuse the imperial elf beside her.

"My only family is my mom and dad. My mom is like me, so much alike that our personalities clashed a lot. Nothing major just few disagreements on little things. We look the same except I am shorter of course. " She said looking over at Elrond. Smiling Elrond nodded for her to continue.

"My dad is wonderful. He is so funny. He would sing to me when I was little. The song was called Silver Wings. He loves that song, I'm pretty sure it was the only song he ever learned the words to." She said with a little laugh. Suddenly her mind was filled with her dad's voice. She could hear him singing the song clearly.

"They're taking you away, leaving me lonely." She murmured, memories availing her mind. Tears filled eyes, too fast for her to fight. With a strangled moan of woe, she covered her face.

"I'll never hear him sing it again." She sobbed. Temp soon found herself engulfed by the comforting arms of Elrond.

"I know the pain is strong now but it will dull over time. You will learn to live happily here." He said holding her against him, wishing he could somehow lessen the pain. He knew he couldn't but the need was still there.

"It won't fade! Tell her to send me back! I don't belong here." She cried brokenly. Elrond waited for her to calm down before answering.

"You may think now that you don't belong here but that may change soon." He said as she pulled away wiping her eyes. That statement confused her and strangely enough comforted her for the moment. She stood looking up at him.

"I got your clothes all wet." Temp said. Elrond smiled.

"It is okay, it will dry. Let us go to your room." He said once again starting down the hall. Temperance followed suit. When they reached her door, he turned to her.

"You will need to learn the way. That is unless you plan to stay in this room for all your days." Elrond said smiling down at her.

" I was planning to do just that." Temp said sounding quite serious. Elrond's smile changed to a frown.

"Don't hide away, learn your new home. you are supposed to be here. You wouldn't be here if you weren't." With this said he left her to stand in infinite confusion.

"Wonder what he meant by that?" Temp asked herself as she entered the room. Sighing she went to her bed and flopped across it.

"That man speaks in nothing but riddles." She said thinking back on the conversation. Slowly her thought meshed together and sleep overtook her need to understand Elrond. She didn't hear when the maid from earlier entered.

"Poor woman." The maid said laying a blanket over her new mistress. She would let her sleep until she had to be awakened for dinner. ‡