All translations, explanations, advertisements, and thought processes are at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: All shows/ books/ video games/ songs that are mentioned in this chapter are all © to their respective owners, I don't own them.

"The English language being spoken."

"The Sindarin language being spoken."

Scotland. Mid-morning. October 29th on a Tuesday.

The sound of humming filled the frigid air as a skier zoomed down the skiing trail that hugged a pine tree line. She rhythmically used her poles to push herself forward as she followed the trail. Studying the forest that just appeared in the distance on her right, she slowed to a stop, no longer humming. From where she was, the trees seemed awfully large and old compared to the ones next to her on the left. Curious, she turned her skis in their direction and skied to them.

It was much harder for her to go anywhere on the snow that wasn't as as packed down as the trail she was just on. She managed though as she pushed through the fluffy, cold snow drifts. She saw a doe and her fawn gawk at her from ten yards away and waved as she continued on her way. The deer merely blinked, but otherwise refused to move as they stared at her.

Reaching the forest edge, she admired its height and denseness. Surprisingly, there were many different kinds of trees; a large variety of them. Oaks, aspens, pines, elms, maples, ash, and a few others she could not name. All of them were very thick and very tall. Delighted at her find, she skied further into the woods and in between the trees. She wasn't afraid of getting lost; she rationalized that she could just follow the trail she made back.

Turning off her ipod, she stuck it in her pocket after taking out the nubs to rest her ears. She reveled in the silence in the woods, with nothing but the sound of her own breathing, her heartbeat, and the occasional animal sound. Gripping the poles once more, she started on her way after giving a tree a good-natured pat with a smile. The steady rhythm of her poles and even breathing startled up a snow-colored hare from its hiding place.

The skier raced it with a laugh and was soundly beaten by the swift footed animal. She retained her quick pace though, enjoying the wind from the speed of her travel blowing through her hair. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she lazily watched the white cloud rise and disappear into the distance. So distracted by her daydreaming, she was startled out of her fantasy of of flying away when her skis got stuck in a the roots of a tree.

"Oh!" She cried out in surprise. "That's no good." she frowned and tried to dislodge herself to no avail. Muttering to herself, she disconnected her ski-boots and then tried to take out the skis only to make them even more helplessly caught. Whining to herself in frustration, she finally gave up after several long minutes of trying to release her homemade skis.

"Why did you have to eat them?" She demanded of the tree. "Trees are not supposed to be cannibals! I made these skis when my favorite tree got struck down by lightning. I would appreciate it, if you spat them back up..."

There was obviously no response from the tree.

She sighed, "Well, the least you could do is hold onto them while I get help from someone... Now let's see... which direction did I come from again? Right or left? Right, I think... Well, I will find out soon enough anyway..." The skier then headed further into the forest in the opposite direction of whence she came. For she had skied on stiff, hard snow and left no marks, not even by her ski-poles. Her skis were so deep in the snow where they got caught, they wouldn't be able to point her in the right direction.

The ski-boots made it hard to travel in the snow as well as highly uncomfortable. The further she went, the darker the sky became, telling of the swift passage of time in a Scottish winter. Her feet had started to grow numb and her stride more clumsy. "Maybe I should go back..." She mumbled to herself. "Or maybe I shouldn't. The journey would be twice as long if I went back, wouldn't it?"

She looked to the sky, huffing in exasperation, "...I don't know anymore..."

Suddenly, the sound of an automobile caught her ears. She froze for a second or two, trying to verify the sound, before making a mad dash forward. The adrenalin rush of hearing civilization gave her the strength to burst out running. floundering through the snow, she caught sight of a small break in the trees. In that small break was a road that was wide enough for two cars only. the sound of the car came closer. desperate, she struggled to go faster, only to trip over her boots, onto the road, and into the path of the car.

Panicking, she curled up her left leg and arm to protect her body while her right arm went up to protect her head. the driver hit the brakes immediately upon seeing her, but it was too late. He managed to slow down a lot, but not enough. He hit her and sent her flying a few feet. The impact of the car instantaneously broke her left arm and leg as well as cracked a few ribs on that side. When she landed; she cracked her right arm, whacked her head hard on the pavement, and bruised that side of the body heavily.

The driver fairly leaped out of the car and ran out, saying, "Miss! Miss, are you alright? Car you hear me? Oh my lord, I hit her!" The passenger doors instantly opened and out stepped two of the world's biggest company owners.

The female calmly strided over to the fallen skier. "David, please go back inside the car and calm down. We will need a good driver to drive us safely and quickly to help."

"Y-yes, Mrs. Lasse." The driver quickly followed her orders as she assessed the damage and turned the skier over to get a good look at the girl's face. Mrs. Lasse's eyes widened and she let out a gasp.

"Lindîn? I am calling for help now, what should I tell them of her injuries?" The male asked only a foot away from his wife.

"Nothing. Call our headquarters instead. Tell them we have found the Queen's daughter and that she is gravely injured." The male hesitates in surprise. "Hurry, Thranduil." Lindîn snapped almost inaudibly.

Thranduil promptly complied and relayed the message while Lindîn carried the skier into the backseat of the car. Thranduil followed while quietly conversing into the phone. Lindîn then addressed the driver, "David, continue to drive us back to headquarters, please. They are expecting us there with the appropriate help for our guest." Lindîn then put up the blackened window between her and the driver while he hurriedly obeyed her orders.

Thranduil handed her the phone, "Glorfindel wishes to talk to you. Gelinnas is preparing the healers and the room in the ward... He has questions." Thranduil's tone implied that he did as well.

"Glorfindel?"

"Lindîn, what does Thranduil mean by you 'just ran over the Queen's daughter and healers need to be advised?!' This is not amusing!"

"It was not meant to be, I assure you. We also did not run her over, we just hit her by accident."

"...You hit a human with a car on our property? How did she get in their and how do you know she is the Queen's daughter? We had lost the-"

"I made no mistake." Lindîn cut over Glorfindel. "You will know the moment you see her. Her appearance... not one of us would be able to think otherwise..."

"...That strongly? Well, I will believe it when I see it, but for now, we will take your claim at face value-no pun intended. Just a caution to you though, we only have Gelinnas and the human healers with us now. the twins are out with Legolas hunting at the moment and will not be returning until the week's end or there about."

"I understand." Glorfindel sighed before hanging up without another word. Lindîn looked over to see Thranduil looking bewildered as he brushed the hair out of the skier's face.

"The similarities are uncanny. This is no fluke." He muttered out loud.

"When we return, we will see that some of her DNA is comparable to that of the last Queen's daughter to verify everything. No need to raise Elrond's hopes for nothing."

"No doubt there will be a match..." Thranduil responded distractedly; Lindîn didn't give a reply.

The moment the lincoln stopped in front of the castle, Gelinnas raced out followed anxiously by three other healers. "What are her injuries?" She instantly asked as Thranduil stepped out holding the Queen's daughter.

Lindîn answered, "Broken left arm and leg, possible concussion, cracked right arm, and bruised ribs as far as I can tell."

"Right. Thranduil, I need you to carry her in, we will be less likely to jar her around and worsen her condition that way." Gelinnas turned her attention back to Lindîn. "Glorfindel is waiting inside." She offered a quick smile before it disappeared as she warned, "Prepare to be accosted with his many questions. Although, I believe they will be put on hold the moment he sees her..." Gelinnas trails off while examining the girl before she impatiently ushers Thranduil inside the castle.

Glorfindel was, in fact, waiting for them inside. However, like Gelinnas predicted, the moment her got a good look at the girl in Thranduil's arms, all his questions died on his lips. Gelinnas, Thranduil, and the three healers breezed by him on their way to the healing ward, as he stood there stunned. Lindîn patiently waited for him to recollect himself. Finally, he blinked, saying, "I believe you and I have some discussing to do. As does your husband when Gelinnas sends him away after he out lives his usefulness as transportation."

Scotland. Early afternoon. November 6th on a Wednesday.

White.

That was all she could see, a cream-colored white. After a small pause, a steady beeping made its way to her awareness. Turning her head, she noticed a machine with a black screen that had a weird green line. Every time it beeped, the green line went jagged before smoothing out. She couldn't place the machines name, but she knew people used it to tell if people were alive.

Images of that machine, many other machines, white buildings with red crosses, men and women in white uniforms, and sick people filled her mind. She surmised that she was in one of those white buildings, whatever they were called. the name was on the tip of her tongue, but it also successfully evaded her knowledge. She turned her head to the other side.

There was a small table with bandage rolls and tape on it. There was also a clipboard and book on it. there was a metal stand with a plastic bag filled with liquid that had a tube attached. The tube then connected to her arm. Again, none of the names of the above objects reached or made any sense to her. She just didn't like that tube in her arm. So she took it out.

Pain.

It hurt and she started bleeding. Acting instinctively, she used those bandages with her right arm and tightly wrapped her bleeding left arm and taped it shut.

More pain.

This time it was on her sides, but there was no blood.

Confusion and hurt.

The hurt slowly went away when she stopped moving, but the confusion stayed. Thoughts jumbled in her head and made no sense to her.

They didn't give her any answers either.

A more apparent need made itself known to her. She looked around the room and noticed an ajar door that led to another room, a room she recognized. White tiled floors, a sink, towels, and a toilet. None of those words had any meaning, but the images that came with them did. 'How to get in there though?' Was the almost thought inside her head.

She had a leg in something thick, hard, and white; one of her arms was in the same thing. Her other arm was was in something black, hard, and thick, but not as thick as the white things.

She stared at them almost wonderingly, before following muscle memory and putting both feet on the floor. Using her arm with the black bracer, her right arm, she urged herself up right... only for her knees to buckle onto the hard and unforgiving floor. The beeping continued and it annoyed her. Seeing a black cord not too far from her face, she pulled on it and the beeping stopped. Her face contracted into something people would call a smile, but then she stopped.

Smiling hurt her chapped lips.

She looked back at the ajar door and inched over to a wall. Using her strong leg, the one without a cast, she leaned her weak side into the wall and slowly hobbled her way to the bathroom. She couldn't find or even remember where a light switch would be, so she left the door open. Locking her legs straight, she stiffly shuffled over to the toilet and sat down.

Legolas, Elladan, and Elrohir did not expect the greeting they received when they returned to the castle after dropping off their catches to the cooks in the kitchen. That is to say, all the elves, minus Gelinnas who was soon fetched anyway, sitting in the main room waiting for them. Thranduil said to them the moment they sat down and Gelinnas had been fetched, "We have found the Queen's daughter."

Of all the things they had been expected to have been told, this wasn't it. "What?" Legolas asked disbelievingly.

"More like we found her by accidentally hitting her with the car while we were deep into our property line, but, yes, we found her." Lindîn said absentmindedly.

"You what?!" The twins burst out incredulously.

Glorfindel sighed in a long-suffering manner, "When Lindîn and Thranduil or I should say, Lin and Nathaniel Lasse, were returning from an important meeting, David got surprised. The Queen's daughter had unexpectedly stumbled out of the trees and into our driveway as well as into the lincoln's path. He stopped the car, but not fast enough."

"She has a broken left arm and leg. Her right arm is cracked enough to need an arm brace. Five of her left ribs are cracked and her entire right side is majorly bruised from her landing. She also have a concussion, not bad enough to where it is life-threatening, but it is no small issue. I had put her into a deep healing sleep; she has been out for over a week now." Gelinnas stated factually.

"We, meaning Glorfindel and myself, went back to where the accident had happened and tracked her steps. She had come from the main skiing trail, but for some unfathomable reason was drawn to the edge of our tree line and inside of it. She skied deep inside our property until her skis got stuck. She then made her way to our driveway and got hit." Thranduil explained.

"How do you know it is the Queen's daughter, not that I doubt all of you, but it is a knowledge that is just a little hard to swallow..." Legolas trailed off as Glorfindel gave a humorless smile.

"Why don't you three go and see for yourselves? She is in healing room B. We will be right behind you." Bewildered, Legolas and the twins made their way to the healing ward. They opened room B's door, expecting to see a small female asleep in the lone bed there.

It was empty.

"Maybe we have the wrong room and she is supposed to be in room D?" Elladan quietly suggested.

"Maybe." Elrohir and Legolas agreed. They were half-way down to room D, when they heard a toilet flush from room B followed by the sound of running water. Shooting each other surprised looks, they strode back to room B and went inside. There they saw a dark-haired girl hobble out of the bathroom, leaning heavily on the side of the door.

"Oh..." they breathed surprised. Legolas, having quicker wits than either of the twins at that moment, went over to her.

"You are not supposed to be up." He announced to her gently. She did not seem to hear him at first as she studiously watched her feet so they didn't trip over anything. The seconds drew out longer and longer and before Legolas could say something else, she turned her head towards his general direction startled, almost as if she just noticed he was there for the first time. The twins, who had arrived soundlessly behind Legolas, were also there.

She tried to back away from them hastily, but lost what little footing she had. When she landed, she let out a pitiful, animal-like cry of pain. A sound that a puppy would have most likely made after it had been kicked-somewhere between a whimper, a whine, a moan, and a yelp-escaped her lips.

Concerned, Legolas reached out to help her while the twins hovered anxiously. As soon as she saw movement, she flinched away warily and put up her arm as if to ward them off. Green, luminous eyes timidly watched Legolas, who froze upon seeing her face. Those eyes turned their attention to the twins, who she deemed more of a threat, when they moved forward a bit. The moment they saw her face, they shouted in shock.

"Elbereth! She looks just like father!"

"Her eyes are Eldarion's!"

To Be Continued...

Translations: * Gelinnas (Legolas's wife) ~ Joyful Will

Lindîn (Thranduil's wife) ~ Silent Song

Eldarion (Arwen and Aragorn's son) ~ Descendant of the Eldar (literally Son [of] Elves)

Glorfindel ~ Golden Hair

Elrond ~ Star Cave

Elladan ~ Elf Dúnadan

Elrohir ~ Elf Knight

Thranduil ~ Vigorous spring

Legolas (Do I even need to do this one?) ~ Green Leaf (literally a green collection of leaves)

Elbereth ~ Star-queen

Explanations: * This is loosely based off of "Daughter of Time" by wednesday-mc. A fan fiction that has not been touched on neither fan fiction nor yahoo groups for close to three years. This idea is inspired by that fan fiction, but the route I plan on taking is entirely my own. Like Daughter of Time this story is Alternative Universe because it takes place within a future LOTR universe and selectively uses canon for the purposes of set-up and back story. It is also Alternate Reality because the characters are in another time and place.

Unlike Daughter of Time, our Queen's daughter will not remember anything of her past life for a long, long time. Even if she does, it will only ever be partially, only a small sliver. She will have to relearn most things and others not so much; those things will be become more evident as the story goes on.

*Elvish is going to be the main and most common language, which is why the English is italicized and not the Sindarin.

*Besides suffering from memory loss, the Queen's daughter also suffers from APD (Auditory Processing Delay). It is only temporary and I am not an expert on this. Expect the term to be loosely used for a few chapters until she can process at the same rate she is hearing.

*Ha! I bet you thought she was going to look exactly like Arwen or Lúthien or Galadriel or some other insanely pretty person related to Elrond, but not Elrond himself! But no, I did this instead to add some conflict and psychological mind-messing. Interesting concept, right? Her picture is the book cover. Now no matter how much you may want to believe, this Elrond does not look exactly like that epic beast Hugo Weaving. If he did, that means that the Queen's daughter looked like Hugo Weaving, which would be very weird. The Queen's daughter will actually look more like ***** in Elrond's opinion, though. (Try to guess who!)

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TITLE: A Ring of Endless Light.

AUTHOR: Fan Fictional Authoress (formally Neoko-chan)

ID: 8461992

SUMMARY: When we left, did the world stop? Did it cease to exist? Or did the world pause, mourning for our loss, before slowly and painfully moving on? No. It simply kept turning, kept moving, with or without us. We were the only ones who refused to let go. Until they found us, and showed us how to feel alive. It isn't so bad to be forgotten, for you will be found and treasured once again.

OPINION: It may be a little self-serving to advertise my own story, but why not? It is probably my best story I ever made and easily my most researched. Which is a little frightening, because if that is my best work, then my other ones must be mediocre. So why don't you check it out?

Thought Process: I know, I know... I should be working on my other stories, but... This just would not leave me alone! I have been thinking about this one since last year and just when I thought it would leave me alone, it sneak attacked me yet again a while ago. It was interfering with A Ring of Endless Light. Hopefully it is out of my system for a while...