Legolas kindly offered to escort me to Lord Elrond's study, where he left me with Lord Elrond and Gandalf. They both shared the same characteristic: incredibly wise, intelligent, and old. Lord Elrond might look as beautiful and young as an elf supposed to be, though a little older looking, but from his eyes you could tell that he'd seen more than most men, or even elves for that matter.

Right after Legolas left, he and Gandalf greeted me briefly and I thanked them for their hospitality here in Rivendell. Soon after that, we wasted no time and went straight to my unusual predicament. They demanded me to tell them everything I remember about how I got here and how I got the ring in my finger, which was not much.

Both Lord Elrond and Gandalf were good listeners, only nodded several times as I spoke and chirped in at appropriate times. The fact that they were interested in my ring just confirmed my suspicion that the ring I got in my finger right now was no ordinary, and it might as well be responsible for my current problems.

"My dear, Leane. From your stories, I and Gandalf believe that it is not a mere trinket that you carry. I dare to say that it is the Infinity Ring that allowed you to travel between worlds and time," said Lord Elrond ominously, his face grew serious and dark.

Infinity ring. Sounds about right.

"I believe now that your fate is tied to the One ring," he paused, looking at me intently and studied me. At this point Gandalf spoke up in an equally serious tone, but with gentleness that reminded me a lot of my grandpa.

"Tell me, young one. What do you know about the One ring?" asked the grey wizard.

As soon as he asked the question, I knew right away that he meant the evil ring, not my Infinity ring. I knew better than to lie, so I replied honestly, though choosing my words carefully.

"All I know right now, is that the ring is Sauron's and it is altogether evil and that needs to be destroyed. I know the fate of Middle Earth is counting on it," I answered steadily, though deep down I wondered to myself how I ended up talking to these two fictional characters that I could only dream about before.

"You know about the fate of the ring and those whose fate tied with it." Elrond spoke, and it wasn't a question. He knew that I knew. My heart skipped a beat at his statement.

"Yes," I confirmed almost whispering, fighting the chagrin that almost showed on my facial expression.

I looked away, unable to meet their intense, calculating eyes. However, I felt that I need to tell them what I think about this knowledge.

"I think it was an accident that I was brought here. I- I was never supposed to be in the picture. I'm afraid me being here would mess with the fate of everyone else's, and I can't even think of the consequences that may come with it," I added carefully, wishing for them to understand my point of view.

"I need to get home," I said with determination, willing myself to look at their eyes. At the mention of home, I saw Lord Elrond's expression turned into pity and Gandalf giving me a soft look.

I sighed inwardly. I think that these days I was bound to either got that curious look, weird look or pity look. Either way, I didn't like attention and I still don't. Gandalf spoke up after a few moments silence that hung between the three of us.

"You know the fate of everyone else, yet you don't possess the knowledge of your own fate," he stated. I nodded in confirmation and let the old wizard continue, "This is not a surprise for me, since the Valar never given anyone a full prophecy, even to someone such as Lady Galadriel herself, thus preventing the gifted ones from developing pride," he explained with a kind smile.

I exhaled softly at that, trying to hide my frustration. I decided to just tell him about this 'prophecy' which was not a prophecy at all since I knew these evil ring stuff from a movie. I pondered on how to explain what was a movie to them, which was too complicated so I chose to tell them about the book instead.

"It's not really a prophecy, Gandalf. I know about these things that's about to happen here because I read them from a book. The story about the Fellowship of the Ring is a tale in a book, a fiction, which is quite famous and well known in my world," I said matter of factly. At this, Lord Elrond spoke up.

"It matters not how you got this prophecy, whether it was from a book or from a vision, because this knowledge is given to you by the Valar himself," he said stubbornly, motioning to my hand, "...The Infinity ring testified to that."

My brows furrowed together in concentration as I thought about it. Despite how much I wanted to tell them that it was all wrong, I know in my heart that what they said was true.

"My dear, you are given such an important role in such perilous time, and now you have choices to make," Lord Elrond said and he put a hand on my shoulder, continuing, "Every thing you do or say from now on will have its consequences, either bad or good. The knowledge that you have– use it wisely for your advantage. And remember," he leaned down to look straight into my eyes. I swallowed when his eyes met mine, seemingly boring into my soul, "The knowledge you have now stands only in parts, and you have the responsibility to fulfill the rest of it which will affect all of our destinies and determine our fates. Remember that your knowledge of this... tale is not yet set in stone and things might change for the worse if you're not being careful."

Whoa.

His words were so eloquently spoken that it seemed like the world was coming to its doom–which was not wrong– but still. I was overwhelmed. This just got so real and the fact that I could mess these people's lives weighed me down and scared me.

Peering cautiously at the wise elf and wizard, I knew that by now they knew the fate of the Ring. A tale wouldn't make a good, likeable story worth telling if it doesn't end with the good win.

"What exactly is my role in this whole thing then? Does the prophecy from the old literature that Arwen spoke about says anything about it?"

Right then I decided solemnly I would not screw their world, no matter if this world exist or not in my world. This world was just as real for them as my world was real to me.

"To answer that, Leane, to know your role, you have to figure it out yourself. Let your heart guide you," said Lord Elrond.

Yeah, that narrows it down, Lord Elrond. Thanks.

"And as for the prophecy that spoke about your coming, it only mentioned about a warrior who has proven himself worthy through a scorch trials, come bearing the Infinity ring. His coming from the other world would balance the two ends of the scale," he paused and his gaze turned to a soft, sympathetic one towards me.

His eyes were calculating. I could see that he wasn't finished, and seemed as if he was contemplating how to carefully deliver whatever bomb I thought the prophecy about me could be saying. 

"Though he was not born in Middle Earth, yet he would spend the rest of his life here. Only then he would find his peace and rest after he succeeded to do his appointed task."

My heart sank. I stared at him blankly, my mind went overdrive as I digested the hard truth that the prophecy implied. I felt my knees grow weak and my shoulder slumped, but I stood my ground and inhaled, letting the words sink in.

"You're saying that I can't go home?" I blurted in disbelief. "There must be something, anything to be done once every ordeal about this ring is over. Right?" I glanced back and forth between Elrond and Gandalf, looking for answers.

Oh the look that they gave me; it was one of pity and somber and I didn't need any words to know what the answer was.

I felt my hope thrown down to the ground and trampled. A lump formed in my throat and my heart clenched painfully inside me. I brought my left hand to my chest in a failed attempt to ease the pain. Lord Elrond took my hand and led me to sit on a nearby chair. He offered me a sad smile, holding both of my hands in his. I couldn't do anything but stare at him.

I felt utterly lost.

"What about my family?" I begged Elrond. My sound didn't sound normal. It sounded broke and clouded with desperation, but at this point I couldn't care less about me showing too much weakness before these strong people. I was too much in distress at this crushing, hard truth.

"I'm sorry my dear, Leane. I could only imagine what a burden it is that you bear on your shoulders," said Lord Elrond softly in a comforting tone.

"I can only hope that one day, you may find your home here. And know this always," Gandalf said as he moved closer and put his wrinkled hand on my shoulder, "You will never be alone. You have friends here that will help you go through every obstacles laid before your eyes."

He smiled fondly at me and again he reminded me of my Grandpa. I gathered a little strength that was left of me and smiled at him and Lord Elrond at their sincere support, though I felt that my world was crumbling down. I sat in shock, still having a hard time accepting this. My fate.

Moments of somber silence passed until I wiped my tear stained cheek and excused myself for the day, feeling exhausted.

They bid me goodbye, and I thanked them for their time and hospitality. Before I closed the door behind me, Lord Elrond spoke to me.

"Just remember that Imladris will always be your home, if you so decide it one day. Rivendell will always welcome you."

I forced a smiled at his gracious offer and thanked him under my breath, but I knew he heard it. I looked away then closed the door behind me. The shine of the beautiful elven city suddenly felt dim, almost overcome by the despair and the helplessness that bit painfully inside my chest.