I'm so sorry for the constant wait! D: And even after I promised it sooner. T_T Please forgive me, I was just being lazy, I have no excuse. *sigh* But here it is, and I hope you like the little insight I have for Kronis. :) Also, I know it's a bit short but I wanted to get this update out there and it looked like a good place to end this one. lol

I hope you enjoy, please read&review! :)

Chapter 8 - Answers

It was some time that Sarah spent in her room after the encounter with the Tauriel, she did not return to the mess hall, or inform anyone, she just went back to where she could be in the company of noone, just herself and her thoughts… and Kronis.

Kronis had only appeared shortly after she did not return, and watched her as she stood in the middle of the room, she stared at the things around her, stared at the bed, the furniture, the walls, everything, all the things that were foreign to her and how it made her feel that much farther from her life back home. It hurt when she came to the realization that this was it, this was all she had left, things that will forever be alien to her, a culture that will always be strange and demeaning and there was nothing she could do to go back.

And that hit her harder than anything else.

Numbly she walked to her bed and sat down hard, causing her to bounce, she would have to adapt and she knew this, but it was so hard for her to grasp that she was stuck in an unknown world and she knew nothing about how it worked.

Kronis walked in front of her, waiting for her to acknowledge him, and when she lifted her head he was not just sorry he tore her away from everything she knew and loved; he regretted it…

'I have been selfish' one had said, 'I hope you can forgive me.' The other continued.

Sarah didn't know how to respond, she wanted to say, 'it's ok, don't worry about it,' but it wasn't OK. OK is not being transported to a different universe with no hope of return, OK is when you give someone socks for Christmas. So not quite able to form words (to which she had no idea what they would be), she simply nodded and looked back down at her hands.

The day was long and it was spent there in that room, knowing that once she left, it would mean that she would be joining the unknown and learning how to become a part ot it. And her old life would die, but she was determined not die along with it...

Darkness was like a living thing, it breathed and spoke. It moved and yet it didn't, captured by a fiery hell, the darkness lived with it, the darkness and fire were one and could not live without one another. Not this fire, it's fuel was the shadows, it grew on fear, hate, desire, and vengeance. To all of Middle-Earth, it was destroyed in a war by an army of men and elves… yet here he stood, in the presences of the entity with infinite evil. So long as the ring exists, so does he. Kronis, in his fine otherworldly clothing, and with grace, walked on broken stone slabs, and passed broken pillars and approached the dark sorcerer of Middle-Earth: Sauron.

"You summoned me?"

"I gave you the power to bring your human to his world, you are in my debt now. That was our contract " A hissing came from the dark figured engulfed in the flames.

Konis stood silent, with his fist clenched. "What is it you wish from me?" He asked.

"I have seen your human, I could use her, she would pose great things for my purposes…" The Dark One spoke with interest.

"That was not in our deal, our agreement was for a ring." Kronis quickly said, stomping out his idea of using Sarah for any plan the Dark Lord would have.

"OUR DEAL WAS YOUR SERVICE!" The fire grew with his rage. "And you shall honor it, you have no choice!" Sauron spat.

He was right, Kronis bonded himself to his words spoken to Sauron; he would force him should he resist… he knew from the beginning what he was offering when he came here for what he wanted. He thought it worth what ever price he had to pay, but he had hoped that she would go on beneath his watchful eye. He now knew he was very wrong...

"What is it that you want?" He could almost sense a smile from the evil thing.

"All in good time, for now you will train her, strengthen her, bring her power to its peak; for now that is all I desire." He said, cryptically.

Kronis had plans to do the same regardless that he had ordered him to do so, but knowing Sauron had similar thoughts, it only made him reluctant now. Having no other choice now though, with his head down, his heart weighed more now than it ever had before, and then he vanished.

Sarah woke with a start as banging came from her door, causing to her gasp in shock, it was the guard.

"The King demands your presence."

"Is that so?" She slurred grumpily, normally she would have been more gracious in her response to the guard to whom she was slowly becoming acquainted with. but it was a hard night for her and she felt irritable.

"Yes." He insisted harshly at her disregarding tone, "You have ten minutes to emerge from this room, or I shall have a handmaid fetch you."

Lovely, She thought. Sighing deeply she sat on the side of the bed gathering her wits and a feeling of dread at the prospect of leaving the room came over her. She knew she was being foolish, and that she could not hide away forever and especially from the Elven King. With that last thought she went to the wardrobe that was on the far wall facing the door and pulled out a white cotton dress just nice enough to deem not to think it was meant for a servant that she assumed was put there only yesterday while she was out.

Once she emerged from her room, the guard was standing in front of the door so close she nearly ran right into him.

"Follow me, the King wishes for you to meet him in the library." He said as he began to walk away, never really looking at her or really acknowledging her.

Once they arrived at the beautifully engraved double doors the guard knocked twice and announced their arrival. She heard his dulled voice call out for them to enter before he pushed through with Sarah behind him.

"I have brought her, my King." He said while bowing.

Thranduil nodded and excused him from his duty, "you shall return to your post then, Aerin." He said, and then shutting his book and placing it back on the bookshelf, not minding as the elf departed and shutting the door quietly as one could, for it echoed throughout the room.

Several minutes passed as Sarah stood there waiting for him to say something, it was most awkward few minutes she ever had, she couldn't decide whether he forgot why he had asked for her, or merely wanted to make her squirm. Her money was on the latter…

"In the future, the events that took place yesterday and your behavior will not be repeated; is that clear?" His voice came so sudden it nearly scared her when she heard it, despite it being so calm and clear.

Sarah stood there in silent awe, yes what she did was irresponsible and disrespectful, but then again what followed was almost just as much so. It sounded like an apology painted as a demand, but she did not quite the courage to state so. "Was that all that you wished to see me for?" She asked, pushing down her pride.

He looked at her sharply, "our agreement, you remember?" He said, "I will have you honor it today… take a seat." Thranduil gestured to the study furniture where a plush loveseat was, he did not follow her, instead he watched her as she made her way across the room and sat down awkwardly, as if she was waiting to be interviewed.

"How did you come to be here- and I want the truth." He stated firmly.

She had no idea whether he meant in his kingdom, or this world in general, and she sat there trying to search for her words for several minutes with her mouth opening and closing, she was sure he was amused, internally, for his eyes were cold and unmoving as always. "I-I told you, I don't remember." She said finally, playing the innocent act.

"I can always place you back into my dungeons for all time…" Thranduil said complacently, "until your skin rots and bones turn to dust."

Now that wasn't fair, using his rank to get what he wants. she thought blandly, oh wait that's what it means to be a King…

"You'd do that anyways if you didn't like my answer, and you know it." She said irritated, and crossed her arms. To which he only shrugged as if uninterested in her accusation which was more truer than she realized.

"Either way, I will have my answer, and you shall have to see." He said turning to the bookshelf to search out another book, listening as she began to speak.

"I… honestly don't know, and that's the truth, one minute I was in the bath- which was why I was without clothes by the way, and then suddenly I was being drowned by an invisible force, at first I thought it was a man or someone trying to kill me, but now I know it was-" She almost said Kronis, but she was the only one who could see him, and if elves and giant spiders and whatever else was in this world was of the abnormal, she didn't want to seem like she belonged here too, spite being magically transported by your tub wasn't exactly the norm either.

Thranduil rose his brow at her sudden hult, "go on?"

"That it wasn't of my world… where I come from everything is explained, how could I explain something I couldn't see trying to kill me? Where I'm from, giant spiders don't exist and the closest to Elven Kings is Elvis's name." Thranduil's face was priceless at that one, and she had suppress her need to laugh. "The only thing that was weirder than all that though… was I thought I heard a voice, when I was underwater…" She thought hard, it was the first time she was recalling the incident with serious thought, "but I couldn't understand it, not that I was really paying it any attention of course."

Thranduil turned at this, and considered her musing with consideration, "What did it sound like, this voice?" He broke her thoughts, as she looked back at him.

"A woman's voice, I think… like clear water…" It sounded strange, she knew, but it was the closest thing she could describe the voice to. And it was too, she remembered the voice being as soft as a peaceful lake undisturbed, ringing in her ears while everything around her was chaos and she struggling to survive.

They stood there in silence for long while, like he was sizing up her words and seeing if they held weight, and for a minute she thought that what he said before would actually come to be and she would spend the rest of her days in a cold dungeon, next to a beautiful waterfall.

"I believe you." He said, suddenly.

She was looked at him shocked, "how?! I hardly believe what I just said, I sound like a crazy person!"

"In every tale, there is a shred of truth, however I do not believe yours is a tale. There are many things is this world that even I have no knowledge of, many magicks and many untold lands, perhaps not apart of Middle-Earth…" He said distantly, as if caught in a thought. "I think we should end today's conversation for today, you are free to leave. Aerin will escort you back to you chambers." Dismissing Sarah so abruptly shocked her and was a bit rude, she wanted to put her input in but the way he no longer acknowledged her, she doubt he would listen.

"Your Highness." She bidded, sarcasm dripping from every word, still he did not face her, and she walked away and through the doors.

When she came out of the library, she saw the guard that's been by her door for two days now, and regarded him with new light. "So that's your name?" She said with a smile, "I like it. It's like Erin, but with longer 'A' sound. Very elvish."

"Do not speak, you only continue to cause confusion, human." He said exasperated, he had come to realize what ever came out of her mouth will never make sense to him and have made a pact with himself to just ignore her nonsense.

"Aww don't be like that, Aerin, I'm not crazy, I just know too much." She giggled as she began to follow him.

What did you guys think? :) I hope I kept everything canon with Thranduil's attitude, haha, I could imagine him trying to erase everything of yesterday and just moving on. lol And what do you think of Kronis? I wonder what he'll do... Heheh xD

Also Aerin is the name I gave my BJD elf so I felt like I had to put him in this. Haha unfortunately I don't know if I should put his description of blue and green hair, as I don't think that would be true to this world's standards. Haha