When in doubt, jump in head first

7. Departure from Rivendell (finally)

Laelynn wandered around, looking for the elleth. She wasn't where Lindir had taken her to first meet her (though she may be in the wrong area: all the hallways looked the same). She then decided to speak to her when she next saw her, and started looking for the library. She hadn't had a chance to see it yet, and wanted to before leaving. After all, Thorin had said they would be staying for eight days, and this was the sixth.

A few minutes later, Laelynn realised she didn't actually know where the library was. She stood in the corridor, stumped, until she saw an elf walking the other way. "Excuse me," she called, walking towards them. It was Sadron, she realised, upon closer examination. He looked at her, surprised. "Oh, hey Sadron."

"Hello Laelynn," he replied, "Are you alright? That is to say, you look a bit lost." Her cheeks flushed red.

"Do you know where the library is?" she asked, trying not to think about her horrible sense of direction.

"Up those stairs," he pointed behind him, "Until you see the statue of the woman holding a stone flower; it's at the end of that hall. The Lady Arwen is also there," he added, "she's waiting for you." Oh good, she thought, I can ask for more tea now. She was about to leave, when Sadron put a hand on her arm, "I have to warn you, one of those," his lip curled unpleasantly, "Dwarves is in there."

"Why do you need to warn me?" she asked him. She tried to shake off his hand, but it tightened around her arm.

"Just stay away from it, alright," he said, grip getting tighter with every word he spoke, "Promise me."

"You're hurting me," cried Laelynn, wrenching his arm from him. He looked shocked for a moment, before his eyes hardened.

"I apologise," he said stiffly, "But I need your word you will stay away from it." Sadron locked gazes with her, and her heart gained another crack as she realised he thought he had her best interests at heart.

"I'm sorry," she said, "But I can't give you that." The ellon's entire demeanour changed. Whereas before he had been, if a bit intense, nice enough, he was now cold, standoffish even.

"I see," he said curtly, "If you excuse me, I must be going." Sadron strode off, leaving behind a confused (but resigned) Laelynn. Why would he warn me against dwarves? she wondered, even though she already knew the answer. Is it too hard to not hate someone just because of prejudices? she wondered with a sigh. Still, she supposed it was for the best, him going away; she didn't tolerate racists, and that's exactly what Sadron was. But, as she walked up the steps, Laelynn still let herself mourn the budding friendship they had started.

___________________________

Entering the library, Laelynn, for a long time, just stood there staring at the shelves in front of her. I think this is bigger than the Hogwarts library, she thought in awe, eyes flicking from shelf to shelf. Only when an elf politely asked her to move did she remember she was in there for a reason.

She walked around, picking up more than a few books that had caught her eye (gotta love history — at least when it wasn't taught by Binns), while looking for Arwen. Finally, her eye caught the sight of her friend sitting near one of the long windows, and she started moving towards her. She was chatting with a dwarf, and as she got closer, she realised it was Ori.

"Hello Arwen, Ori," she said, nudging a chair with her foot towards them. The dwarf jumped, while the elleth merely laughed.

"Hello Laelynn," She replied warmly, a smile tugging her lips, "I've been looking for you."

"About that," said the girl, "Why did you chose the library, of all places to meet?"

"Your stories showed you like to read," answered Arwen, taking a book off the tall stack Laelynn was carrying with a smile, "But I can see this wasn't the case."