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Thorin looked down at the valley before them, still holding Valadhiel bridal style, as she was badly wounded. In fact, she was sweating an abnormal amount, and every now and then, she seemed to twitch. Was it possible that the wolf bite was already causing some mental side effects?

"We need to hurry and get Vala to the healers." Thorin told the others after a brief moment, looking over at Gandalf after he'd spoken.

Gandalf looked over at Valadhiel and furrowed his brow when he noticed her twitch. He placed a hand over her head and mumbled something before he began leading them all down the hill, and soon they were walking across a bridge leading into the elven city.

Valadhiel looked up at Thorin once they had stopped next to some stairs. "You can put me down now. I think I'll be able to stand with some help." She whispered to him.

Thorin, however, shook his head. "You have a ripped wing, a stab wound in your thigh, and you have an infected wolf bite, from a rabid wolf at that. I'm not putting you down unless it is to set you in a bed." He told her, looking at the stairs when a dark haired elf descended them.

"Lindir." Gandalf greeted with a smile after the black-haired elf greeted him, using the name 'Mithrandir'. He then listened as the elf began to speak in elvish.

"Lastannem i athrannedh i Vruinen." Lindir said after he'd been greeted by Gandalf. When he spotted Valadhiel, fiery hair, yellow eyes, and wings, he smiled and dipped his head. "Suilad, hiril nin Valadhiel." He then turned to another elf passing by. "Please take Lady Valadhiel to the healers. She is in need of some elvish medicine." [We heard you had crossed into the valley.] [Greetings, my lady Valadhiel.]

"Suilad, Lindir." Valadhiel replied with a smile, dipping her head in response, then she looked at the other elf when she came to help her out. [Greetings, Lindir.]

"I will help her. You show me where to take her." Thorin said before the elf could even get close enough to touch Valadhiel. For some reason, he would rather be there with her to make sure that she would be alright. He looked over when Gandalf said he needed to speak with Lord Elrond, but he then tuned the rest out as he waited for a reply from the elf.

Valadhiel was about to speak, but a horn then sounded from behind them, and horses trotted over, elves mounted atop of them. The elf maiden who had come to take Valadhiel backed up for the time being to get out of the way. She would take Vala to the healers when the horses and the elven soldiers were out of the way.

The elves and horses that had come up circled the dwarves, who then backed up and pointed their weapons at them, before they stopped, then one particular black haired elf walked up and dismounted his horse. "Gandalf." The elf greeted with a smile.

"Lord Elrond." Gandalf replied, bowing surprisingly gracefully, then he continued in elvish. "Mellon nin! Mo evínedh?" [My friend! Where have you been?]

The dwarves all murmured amongst themselves as the two chattered in Elvish, seemingly annoyed at the fact that they couldn't understand the two. Why did these elves all speak in elvish when in the presence of dwarves?

When Elrond finished conversing with Gandalf, he turned to Valadhiel and smiled. "Valadhiel, it has been awhile." He commented, bowing his head to her.

Valadhiel smiled and bowed her head in return. "It indeed has been." She replied, then she chuckled a little. "I would say that we are beyond bowing, and I would give you a hug if I could, but I am pretty beat up."

"I can see that, and we will get you the help you need, hiril nin." Elrond assured her, then he looked at Thorin and gave a polite bow of his head. "Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain."

Thorin watched the elf and elven, skin-changing dragon converse, and he frowned just slightly. She had said that she knew Elrond, but he hadn't quite realized that they had known each for a long while, apparently. "I do not believe we have met."

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under The Mountain." Elrond explained.

"Indeed? He made no mentioned of you." Thorin commented with a hint of rudeness in his tone. It seemed that having not known that Elrond and Valadhiel seemed to know each other pretty well had soured his mood somewhat.

Valadhiel hit Thorin with her uninjured wing, earning a look of annoyance from the dwarf. She then looked at Elrond when he almost seemed amused by Thorin, and he simply ignored the insult before he began to speak. She smirked in slight amusement when he made his kindness sound insulting. He could be an amusing elf indeed, mischievous in his own way.

"Nartho i noer, toltho i viruvor. Boe i annam vann a nethail vin." The elven lord said as he looked around at all of the dwarves seriously, though there was a twinkle in his eyes. [Light the fires, bring forth the wine. We must feed our guests.]

"Does he offer us insult?" Gloin asked angrily, watching the elf cautiously.

"No, Master Gloin." Gandalf said while Valadhiel laughed in amusement. "He is offering you food."

All the dwarves turned and whispered to each other, then they again faced the elven lord. "Well, then, lead on!" Gloin exclaimed, much more cheerful than he had been before.

"You all go on ahead." Thorin told them, though he gave them no explanation, and his expression said that he didn't want to be asked why. Once the others left, Gandalf and Elrond chatting a little more, the dwarven prince turned to the elven maid that had come over to them before. "You can help her, can you not?"

"Of course." The elven maid responded, giving a respectful curtsy to the dwarf king before she turned to lead them. "Please, follow me."

Thorin followed after the elf, still holding Valadhiel bridal stye, easily going up the stairs. He followed the elf through many halls and up the stairs before he was led into a section of the room that had many, many rooms. They all appeared to be healing rooms, though it seemed very few were in use. Whoever the healer was must have been very skilled.

He followed the elf into one of the rooms and gently set Valadhiel on the bed. Before he even let go of her, he made sure that she was comfortable. He didn't let her go until Valadhiel assured him that she was just fine.

"You go and join your people, Master Thorin. Valadhiel will meet you downstairs once we have tended to her wounds." One of the other elves said as she began to clean the wound on Valadhiel's wing, then she got a needle and some thread.

"You can go without me." Valadhiel told Thorin before he could object. "I'll be down there soon, and I'll be able to walk down there. I have been through worse, remember. Besides, I will want to freshen up before I go back down there."

Thorin had been about to protest, but he looked at Valadhiel when she spoke and was quiet a moment before he nodded. He ought to be down there since he would need to discuss things with Gandalf and Elrond, and he ought to be with his people since they were a few dwarves among many elves. He knew how uncomfortable that could be. "I'll see you then." He replied before he turned and left the room.

Shortly after Thorin left the room, Elrond walked into it and smiled at Valadhiel, though he did give her a subtle scolding look. "What did you do to get injured so badly this time?" He asked her, walking over to look over her wounds before he went about getting the supplies he needed.

"The rabid wolf bite is one I got protecting Bilbo and the dwarves." Valadhiel replied, gesturing to her shoulder. "The ripped wing was thanks to a warg, and I was again protecting the dwarves. The stab in the thigh was from an orc and happened just after I was bitten by the warg."

Elrond shook his head. "Perhaps, sometime, you should let someone protect you for a change. Otherwise you are going to end up being killed. Thorin Oakenshield seems like the protective type."

Valadhiel blushed a little when she had a few flashbacks of Thorin before they had gotten to Rivendell, then she gave a light shrug, resisting a wince when the action sent a burning pain through her shoulder and part of her chest. "I suppose he would have to be, being a king and leader. It's his job."

Elrond sat in a chair next to Valadhiel's bed, a bowl of paste in one hand. He set it down on the table next to the bed before he helped Valadhiel with her armor, as did an elleth that was in the room with them. "It seems to me that he has different reasons for protecting you, Vala." He commented.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." Valadhiel replied, glancing away and grimacing when the paste was placed right into her wound. It stung like crazy, then the sensation spread, though it then began to take on a soothing feeling. Valadhiel soon felt the wound begin to seal. Thanks to the herbs, elven medicine, and her own healing abilities, the disease was gone.

"Oh, I think you do." Elrond replied, raising an eyebrow at the stubborn elf, though his eyes sparkled in amusement. He placed the medicine in her thigh and made sure that it sealed before he set the bowl aside and began to seal her wing. "Do keep in mind, however, that relationships between mortals and immortals end in pain."

~<3~<3~<3~

Valadhiel was now in her room, as her wing had been all stitched up by this time. She had gone there to not only bathe, but to find a dress so she could join Gandalf, Thorin, Bilbo, and the others for dinner. Plus, she was to be with Gandalf and Thorin as they discussed things with Elrond. She, obviously, couldn't show up in her hunter's dress and armor, which was dirty and rent, so being washed and mended by the elleths in charge of taking care of her room.

The elf maiden opened her closet door and, when she did so, a piece of paper fell to the floor. She picked it up and examined the handwriting before she sighed a little. It was from Gandalf, apparently. He must have written it while she'd been with the healers and stuck it here so she'd be sure to find it. According to this, her outfit had been picked out for her already, and it was hanging up in the bathroom. She walked into the bathroom before her eyes widened slightly. The dress that had been picked out for her was absolutely gorgeous.

The dress was white, and the sleeves were long and flowed along with the dress, and it was trimmed with gold. The ends of the sleeves and the very bottom of the dress almost appeared as a golden fire. And the roses on the dress were also laced with gold, as was the collar of the dress. [5] After she slipped the dress on (as she had recently bathed and was now clean) she realized there were other things for her to use. There was a collection of hair ties, and there was jewelry that had been placed. She found another note next to the jewelry, which read:

"Yes. You must wear the jewelry, too."

Valadhiel rolled her eyes a little, but she decided she'd better. It couldn't hurt for one evening, she supposed, and dressing up every now and again wasn't too terrible. Being a girl felt nice. So, she picked up a ring [6] that had been lying on a table and slipped it on. It had a blue gemstone in the claws of a dragon. She smiled before she picked up the earrings [7] she found lying there, which were blue in color and shaped like the wings of a dragon.

After she got the earrings in, she picked up a beautiful Dragon's Gem necklace [8]. Dragon's Gems were very beautiful jewels, as they looked like the eye of a dragon. Many were solid colors, but there were some that had combined colors, and this necklace was one of them. Most of the eye was blue, starting with a dark blue before it faded to a lighter blue, then in the middle was a light yellow, which faded to a darker yellow, then there was a sliver of orange before it came to the black pupil.

After slipping on the necklace of hardened dragon fire, Valadhiel found a circlet. [9] It, too, was very beautiful, and also had a dragon quality- it had a dragon shape on the back of it, that would rest on her head. On the front of her tiara, there were dragon wings that formed a 'v', the 'v' touching her forehead.

She brushed her hair out, then put a tiny braid on each side of her face, each one resting against each side of her neck and coming down past her chest, then she left the rest of it down before she placed the circlet on her head. Now she was ready- yet, at the same time, she was nervous about being so dressed up. After taking a deep breath, she turned around and walked out of the room.

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5: Valadhiel's dress (except this picture is all white without the gold):

6:

7:

8:

9: