Disclaimer: I own nothing of Tolkein's, sadly, except for Emma and Marie.
Also, anything spoken in this format is Elvish. I will put translations down at the bottom of the chapters wherever there are Elvish words.
By the way, I'm dedicating this story to my best friend (and "sister") Ari. She is the reason why I decided to write this. She is truly amazing.
Everlasting
Prologue
Marie Crowell stared at the bright white computer screen, anxiously awaiting her friend to come into the chat room. She had to go to bed in a few minutes but she wanted to at least say goodnight to her online friend.
She had met the user online two months ago, in August. Their name was Ardhoniel_Baggins, their real name was Emma Greenbrier. Marie knew this because she had actually called the girl and they had grown close over a manner of months. They considered each other sisters and told each other practically everything that went on in their daily lives. They both lived miles apart, but their love for each other made it seem as if they had been best friends, next-door neighbors even, their entire lives.
Marie wasn't expecting Emma to come on immediately; she never did. Marie sent her friend a message just in case.
SaerwenLovesYa: Hey, Ardhoniel. :) I'm here. How are ya?
Marie smiled slightly when she typed out the name Ardhoniel. It was Elvish for Emma. She and her new friend had looked up their own names in Elvish, because they both were obsessed with Lord of the Rings, and had found that Ardhoniel meant Emma and Saerwen meant Marie. Ever since, they had always called each other by these names.
Marie sighed and turned away from the computer. Her eyes rested upon a tattered copy of a book. She leaned down and picked it up, examining it. The title read The Fellowship of the Ring.
A small smile played on the fourteen year old's lips. She absolutely loved this trilogy and would do anything to become part of the story. Even though Marie knew perfectly well that Middle Earth was not real, she wished that it was. She sometimes dreamed of going to Middle Earth with her new online best friend Emma, journeying through the lands with the Fellowship, fighting the battles together, side-by-side. Marie wondered if Emma felt the same way, if she daydreamed about meeting her new online friend in fictional Middle Earth too.
Flipping through the pages, Marie smiled, admiring Tolkein's work, in awe over how beautifully he had managed to craft these simple words into a famous tale. She had always wanted to write a book, just like some of the most renowned authors had, but had never been able to finish when she tried. Her ideas floated away, seeming uninteresting after a while.
Unexpectedly, Marie noticed that there was a pinprick of pulsing white light in the center of the word Shire on the page she had suddenly stopped at. Frowning, the girl leaned in closer, trying to figure out why there was light here. The glow grew and surrounded Marie, enveloping her in a cocoon of white light, and she felt dizzy. A wave of nausea swept over her and she held back the urge to throw up. Her vision was blurred and Marie ended up dropping her beloved book. She briefly wondered what had happened to it before her vision turned to black.
Emma Greenbrier yawned and logged into the computer, eager to talk to her new friend Marie. Marie had made Emma's horrible life bearable; she was the only light in her world of everlasting darkness. Her new friend understood her in a way that seemed impossible. She was there for Emma whenever needed. She never let Emma give in to pain when it became horribly unbearable.
Emma was suicidal. Her parents hadn't meant to make her feel this way, maybe, but they told her constantly she was a burden in their lives. She became depressed easily and she only wanted someone who believed in her, who cared about her, to talk with. Marie was that person. She had saved Emma from leaving this world countless times and said constantly, and sincerely, that she loved Emma. Emma loved Marie as well; she knew that although she had met this girl online, Marie actually cared about her friend.
Now, she couldn't wait to chat with her new friend. This was the highlight of her day.
With a frown, Emma noticed that Marie was not online. There was no green light beside the name SaerwenLovesYa. She saw that Marie had sent her a message ten minutes ago... But she was not online.
That's weird. thought Emma, biting her lip nervously, fighting back the urge to panic. There was no reason to panic though. Marie probably just had to go, that was all. She wasn't gone or anything. All Emma had to do was wait. She could wait.
Emma realized that there was a pulsing white light in the middle of her computer screen. She frowned, confused by this. What was going on?
The light expanded, filling the room, causing Emma to shield her eyes in pain. The blinding light seemed to bring along nausea and the twelve year old tried to hold in the feeling, not wanting to throw up all over her brand new carpet. That wouldn't bode well for Emma.
Her vision turned to black and she kneeled on the ground, feeling really uncomfortable. What on earth was happening to her? The ground seemed to spin beneath the young girl's knees and her body tingled with warmth. These strange new sensations frightened Emma; she had no clue what was occurring or why it was. Had she drunk some sort of poison? No, that made no sense.
Emma suddenly realized that her vision was returning and sighed in relief. "Oh, thank god." She grinned slightly, feeling much better now. But then, Emma realized just where she was and stifled a shriek of terror.
This was definitely not Cincinnati.
There was lush green grass all around for miles, with a small forest to the left of Emma. Dandelions were sprinkled across the ground, as were short-stemmed flowers with bright petals. A sweet scent filled the windy air and Emma breathed it in deeply, eyes closing as she sighed in pleasure. The only sound she heard besides the wind rustling bushes and the grass around was faint voices.
Standing up nervously, Emma realized that she was no longer wearing her purple shirt and sweatpants. She was now wearing a flowy cotton white blouse and a brown skirt. Emma wrinkled up her nose in disgust. She despised skirts. She was not wearing any shoes too; curly light hair was resting on her feet. A horrible suspicion began creeping its way into Emma's mind but she ignored it. No, it couldn't be possible. She was just being ridiculous now.
But... Could she possibly have been... Transported to Middle Earth?
Well? Should I continue? Review please!