When Fate Strikes

Chapter 2

“I always said you need to explore more.” Said Seth as she bit into an apple, watching me prepare my things. We leave tomorrow.

“I do,” I chuckle, folding my knee length, dark green dress and placing it with my brown leather breastplate, forearm cuffs and soft, brown, flat-soled boots. Next I collected everything I needed for my medical kit and stored it in my smallest travel bag which is the size of a book with a long strap that goes over my head on my right shoulder and under my left to sit on my left hip.

“No,” she retorted, “you kill whatever you can just outside the borders and then come back in through the gates with barely a scratch on you.”

“That is exactly the point!” I exclaimed, “Unless you want me returning from a hunting trip with one arm hanging off.” She scoffed and bit loudly into her apple.

“I want to travel across Middle Earth and see the places we only hear about. I want to see the great sights; The Shire, The Gap of Rohan, The White City of Gondor, Mount Erebor, Lake Town…” She trailed off in thought. I wasn’t really listening, as I had heard her ramblings of this sort before, and began brushing my hair whilst looking into the mirror. “Hopefully one day I can get out of here.”

“And where will you go first?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” She replied, lost in thought, “Somewhere that I can fall in love with someone.” I laugh.

“What about all the perfectly good Elves here? I’m sure plenty of them already fancy you.” She sits down on the edge of my bed and rolls her eyes.

“Yea, you can talk. You never even look at an Elf.”

“Love isn’t important to me right now. I am not ready for a relationship.” I reply.

“Well, you are going to have to find someone at some point, you know. “

Seth was cut off from her rant by my door opening and Lord Elrond’s head poking inside.

“Ireth,” he began while entering the room fully. I could see he wanted something but I did not just want to end my conversation with my friend. I turned to see Seth but she waved her hand at me, signalling that she was finished talking, grabbed another apple and a book off my bookshelf before plonking herself down on my bed. I walked over to Lord Elrond and he motioned for me to go outside with him.

“Was there something you wanted, My Lord?” I asked.

“Ireth, I wanted to talk to you about, well,” he hesitated, “your past.”

“What about it?” I sighed. I detested talking about what happened to my adopted family. It just brought up questions about what my Ada was talking about before instructing me to leave to Rivendell. We started walking down some steps and down a path. I had no idea where he was leading me.

“You say that your sister, Miluiel, was kidnapped because she was mistaken for you.” He said.

“Yes, that is what my brother told me before I went back to the cottage,” I had told Lord Elrond the story many times over as we had tried to piece together the puzzle.

“I just wanted to make sure that you will be ok while you are travelling. If you go anywhere that might hold bad memories for you, like the Mirkwood forest where you used to live, you need to be 100% sure that it won’t set off any bad…” he paused, “experiences. You will need your wits about you on this quest.” He said. We were now in a hallway with ornate, beautiful columns holding up the roof.

“Do not worry, My Lord,” I reassured him. I was about to continue when I sensed someone eavesdropping behind a pillar. I paused before continuing, but Lord Elrond motioned for me to keep talking. “I am sure that there will be no problems. As for the people that kidnapped my sister, I have no idea if they are still in the area.”