Prologue

"Sky we have your venti Chili Mocha with an extra shot!" the barista calls out, smiling as she handed me the hot beverage.

I grin, pushing back a strand of auburn hair," thanks."

I sip greedily at the coffee, sighing as I push open the front door only to wince. The artic wind assaults my exposed hands and neck, causing me to involuntarily shiver. Small specks of snow lazily spin down past and around me, leaving a thin layer of white to cover the packed parking lot.

Chips of ice crunch under my thick boots as I carefully make my way towards the little yellow jeep, praying I don't slip, especially since I have hot coffee in my hands. Hurriedly I throw the door open, tossing my purse haphazardly into the passenger's seat and quickly turn the ignition, cranking the heater to full blast.

Beep

"Oh boy. SnapChat…" I reach my Note from the confines of my woolen coat. "Let's see what Sam wants."

Sam, since fifth grade, had been my best friend. She and I, since paired together for a writing exercise, discovered our love together for the arts that day and many after, became inseparable. Together we shared many firsts. Our first sleepover. First sip of whiskey, which was gross by the way. Our first scary movie (without parent supervision)…which consisted of Tremors. Which quickly followed to our first crush…Kevin Bacon. And then many to follow after him.

Still grinning from the memories, I open my phone to press the pad of my index to the app only to see Sam's message. My heart fell.

Sky, stop by my place? Its Hunter…Sicily said she saw him last night with Brandy…as in, WITH Brandy.

Hunter? Cheating?...I bit my lip, sorry and hurt for my friend. Instead of texting back I straight up called her. She answers on the first ring.

"I thought you might call," came her quiet voice.

"Where's this douche live, I'm running his worthless ass over. I'll laugh the whole time I'm doing it too. You in?"

Sam chuckles on the other end when I hear her sniffle. She had been crying. "He's not worth it Sky…Besides, I took care of it already."

Slowly, I steer the jeep out the Starbucks parking lot and out next to the light. Already making my way to her house. "What exactly consists of takin' care of? Was there curse words thrown around? Blood, his blood?" I grin, knowing that she knows I'm playing. I was simply trying to make her laugh.

It works as I hear her snicker. "You scare me sometimes Sky."

Grinning I sip my coffee before replying," hey, I'm on my way. I just left Bucks but there's another not far from where I am. You want me to get my girl something with lots of chocolate and whip cream? Always makes me feel less murderous."

"No, it's okay. I made me some here." I could practically hear her grinning," broke out the Andes mints."

"That's my girl." Sam had a love for all thing coffee and mint…apparently applying them together rocked her world. I had tried her coffee once, sputtering profusely, claiming it was awful but in fact it wasn't bad. I just liked to tease her and she knew it.

The light turns green and I'm on the move. Due to the fact that it's early morning, cold and with a snow storm on the way, the roads where pretty clear. Only a green minivan trudged in the lane next to mine. It was a man who was, either on a Bluetooth device I couldn't see, or he was having a rather heated conversation with himself. I snicker at the latter.

"Alright well, I'll be there in five chica, leave the door unlocked."

Another chuckle," alright, see you then."

I hear the soft click as she hangs up. Sighing I place my phone back into my pocket…I had known…I had known Hunter was bad. Okay, not that I had actually seen him doing anything (like cheating), it was more so the way he acted. For example, at the movies, even though Sam would have her arms thrown over him or have their hands woven together, I would notice how Hunter would unashamedly watch other women. Sometimes it being me! Sam…poor Sam was oblivious. I just didn't know how to tell her without, well, telling her. How do you go about destroying your friends' first love? Something tells me they don't make a "For Dummies" book for that particular 'ahem' subject.

Coming over a hill I see the overpass come into view. Sam's house was just beyond that, hiding in a small community obscured by woods. Eager to see my friend, I hit the gas up to forty-five. Ignoring the fact that the limit is forty…and the yellow and black sign that read, Caution Ice one road.

Once again I grab my coffee, sighing as the hot liquid rushes down my throat, only for it to turn into a choked scream. The jeep suddenly skids across the road, having a life of its own as I see the metal railings quickly approaching.

"Shit!" If I didn't do something NOW I would go over the bridge. Frantically I grab the wheel, all logic and reason escaping me as I attempt to righted the jeep. Hot coffee splashes over my chest and legs, seeping through my fleece yoga pants and parka, scorching my skin. I ignore it though, all the while yelling at the wheel. Yelling at God to somehow save me when-SLAM!

My head hitches forward, smacking into the wheel, hard, causing it to honk in the process. And the funny thing was, as the jeep slowly pitched forward, I wanted to laugh that a honk, caused my head of all things, would be the last thing I heard.

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CHAPTER 1

Only it wasn't the last thing I heard. Groggily, as if waking from a deep sleep, I feel myself sit up. Glancing around I frown…why am I in my car? The sound of birds chirping momentarily brings me from my stupor as I hesitantly unlatch my seatbelt and open the door. The air around me was comfortably warm. Warm enough to take my jacket and boots off…how is the weather suddenly nice? Before I had left the house the weather man had warned of a coming ice storm, hours away…but now…now the sky was a clear blue. Mid-morning from the look of it as the grass was still wet with dew.

Glancing around I could tell I was in a…forest? What? Looking in every direction I search for the overpass, something impossible to miss when suddenly the memories of my "accident" come rushing back. Like a drop kick to the stomach my breathing hitches…I should be dead! Maybe I am dead?

Quickly losing it, I whirl back to the jeep, throwing the door open and grabbing my phone that now lay idly in the front seat. I go to call Sam when suddenly it said, NO SIGNAL.

"What?!" I shriek, causing a flock of birds nearby to fly away in fright. Ignoring them I try the phone again, nothing. Without thinking I climb the hood of the jeep, raising the Note above my head, desperate. NO SIGNAL.

"Dammit! What does a girl have to do for a flipping SIGNAL?!"

Another flock of birds, closer this time, suddenly shoot from their perch in the trees, quickly followed by footsteps…heavy footsteps.

I pause, hesitant. Maybe it's a search party? Looking for me?

Leery I make my way down, my boots slightly squeaking against the hood as I hit the ground. "Hello?"

Nothing. Maybe I'm imagining things? …I seem to be doing that a lot today anyway.

"I need some help. I've been in an accident. You wouldn't happen to have a good signal would you? ...Hello?"

I hear a whistle, quickly followed by a shrill thud comes from my immediate left. All I can do is gasp…there, resting solidly in a thick tree only two feet away from my person is a black arrow. My mouth hanging open, leaving me gaping like a fish I turn, nearly tripping over my own feet as I once again go for the jeep. The door, still slightly ajar, is ripped open again as I quickly go for the dessert eagle resting in between the driver's seat and the console. I have just enough time to grab the handgun when suddenly, right before me, something large, black, and ugly rips through the foliage.

What the hell? It looks like something from Lord of the Rings!

"Get back!" I raise the gun, not forgetting the fact that it was on safety. The creature paid no heed to me, either this guy was really stupid or really crazy.

"I mean it! Get back! I'm not playing around!" The thing was closing in fast. I could see his dark beady eyes intent on me, coming full charge. I go to remove the safety, cursing my now sweaty palms, just as it was about a hundred feet away.

With a soft click the red safety shuts back and, not wanting to shoot a guy, I raise the gun above my head, burying my ear into my shoulder and using my free hand to cover the other when-BANG!

Like magic the creature freezes. Slightly stumbling over his armored shoes in an attempt to stop his large body from the momentum.

I raise the gun again, pointing low but enough for the thing to realize it was aimed at him. "I don't know what's going on or where I am but could you cut the LARPing act? I'm seriously lost."

Rotating its head to the side, like an animal it studies me. Frozen, all I can do is stare back...it sure did look like an orc.

"Qua-ish-traaaaaa-" I gasp as the thing suddenly falls to its knees, gurgling.

"What's wrong?" I demand, feeling sick all of a sudden, "Are you okay?" I step forward, scared and unsure when the thing pitches forward. There, in the center of its back was an arrow…This was all too familiar now.

Ice creeps into my blood, suddenly leaving me shaking despite the warm weather. "Oh, God please help me. Please-"

"Gi suilon."

Turning sharply to my right I see a man suddenly appear from the wood. Even from this distance, some three hundred feet, I could tell he was good looking with long straight dark hair and a light complexion. "Man agoreg?"

"Stay back!"

The man raises his hands is surrender," Nanye Manoreg." He takes a step closer, ignoring my plea when suddenly I see others. Other people, all men from the look of it, come filing behind the first man. There where approximately ten of them, all with long flowing hair of various shades and silver cloaks. Some sat atop horses while most where on foot…What on earth is going on?

"Nanye Manoreg," replied the man again, stepping closer.

I raise the gun in his direction, realizing my focus had been dropped as I had been assessing the others. Slowly they were beginning to form a wide circle around me. Trapping me.

"Listen, I don't understand you. I don't know what's going on. Why did you shoot him?" Saying all this I walked cautiously towards the fallen guy, leaving my gun raised.

"Ew, what is that-" I freeze. There, resting on the ground was…not a man. The skin was a sickly dark grey with little blue veins running up its translucent skin. The ears where pointed and slightly curved back, like a goblins and the smell coming from this thing was something fowl, like it had never bathed in its life. I covered my mouth, backing away. No movie magic or makeup could ever create a thing such as this!

"What is that thing?" I point my free hand down while looking up at the…The man now was a mere twenty feet away. His hands where still raised but now I could better make out the leather armguards, the breastplate and the longbow strapped across his broad chest. But the thing that stood out the most was the fact that his ears where…pointed? Glancing around at the others I see they too have pointy ears.

"What the f-"

The thunderous sound of footsteps…no, hooves, swiftly permeate the air. The man…er, elf who spoke earlier quickly turns his head as roughly twenty people, all on horseback, suddenly break through the trees.

Wincing, I notice they all wore the same elaborate armor and silky cloaks that cascaded down and around their shoulders. "Elladan, lonneg, prestad?" called one, their leader I presume as he occupies the middle of the tense group. Plus he was the only one who had spoken up.

"Adar, noro!" replied the first elf, stepping between me and the others, his back turned and hands still raised. What is happening?

. "Apusta…Nas, Nas tenna, enta lume!" At that…whatever he said, the elf points in my direction. Like a collective mind, all thirty something pairs of eyes sharply turn to me, then to the yellow jeep as if they had just now noticed its existence.

Slowly, afraid any sudden movements will set them off like a wild animal, I back away till my knees hit the bumper of the jeep. "Listen, I don't want any trouble," my voice is surprisingly stable as I lower the gun (just an inch). "I just need to get home…my family is waiting for me." Which was a total lie. Actually, my dad was in jail…I think I spoke to him last roughly three years ago. And my mom traveled a lot for work…but there was no way these guys would know that…right?

The leader, eyeing me, hesitantly dismounts his horse,"telin le thaed." Cautiously, as he nears, the details of his face shift into view. All others in the small clearing suddenly disappear, leaving me feeling weightless as I stare at this man. There, gazing back at me was Hugo Weaving…or better yet, Elrond. As in….lord of Rivendell Elrond.

My eye sight begins to blur around the edges, I suddenly felt tipsy. "That's not possi- "like a dead weight, I faint.

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The creature before him was like nothing he had ever seen in all his long life. The she-human had bright auburn hair, smooth lightly tan skin splashed with few freckles. She was attractive for a human but it was her attire that had caught his attention. Not only was it like anything he had ever seen, but the fact that she was dressed in winter attire…Which was most extraordinary.

She wore a forest green cloak that fell down to her mid-thigh. Light brown fur edged around the hood that currently encompassed her head as she lay on the cool ground. Her under-shirt was that of a light cream which too feel lowly around her small hips and her legs were covered with a second skin of ebony leggings. To anyone else, the skin tight material would be considered vulgar, and to all of Middle Earth but something told him this woman was unalike any other. The female's shoes were somewhat bulky. Not as in they were too big for her feet but suggested these were designed purposefully for a colder climate. They were the color of tan buckskin and short, only reaching up to her ankles with white-ish cream fur surrounding the lip of the boots. Over all she was a peculiar individual.

"Father, what shall we do with the female?" Elladan, Elrond's son asks uncertainly, stepping up next to his father to observe said woman.

"Take her with us. It would be unwise to leave her here. She will need to rest, sustenance, and then we need to understand who she is and where she hails from." Elrond's grey orbs turn towards the fallen Orc, grimacing. "As for the fallen, leave nothing behind. Burn the bodies."

Elladan nods, showing his respect," yes father." He turns to leave but pauses momentarily," what about that thing she carries…the thunder stick...I've never seen, nor heard anything of its kind before."

Elrond glances at the compact silver object laying a mere foot from the she-human. The sun glinted off the smooth and shiny item…what sort of devilry is this?

He then turns towards the yellow box, assuming it to be some sort of carriage. But what was strange was that there was no evidence of a place to strap horses to. It too was bulky, made from what appeared to be a sleek, shiny metal. Glass panes where on either side of the large object and a larger one in what he assumed to be the front of the carriage. Like the girl, it too was just as strange, sticking out amongst the green wood.

The morning birds flew overhead, singing happily as the older elf watched as his son and another, Amos, lift the girl onto the back of Elladan's horse. Her auburn head swayed to the side as his son reached up, sitting behind her, securing her.

"Adar?"

Elrond bends then, silently grasping the silver object in his outstretched hand. The thing was cool, and heavier than he first imagined. He was unsure what this thing was capable of, nor did he understand what it was particularly used for. But standing there, holding it, it felt perilous. Like a child, he felt as if he had just discovered his father's sword and while he was curious, he was blind to the hidden dangers. He hadn't experienced such a feeling in a very long time…

His stormy eyes gaze upward, his son watching him questioningly. "Come, we ride home."

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Translations:

Gi suilon (I greet you)

Man agoreg (what did you do)

Nanye Manoreg (we mean you no harm)

Adar (father)

noro (stop)

telin le thaed (I've come to help you)