Author: Mika
Title: Journey to Middle Earth
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Unfortunately none of the Middle Earth characters are mine. If they were, I'd huggle them all day long.
Summary: A girl mysteriously finds herself whisked away to Middle Earth! AU fic about her adventures and the familiar faces she will eventually meet along the way! I only have these first two chapters done, but please R and R and let me know what you think... if I get a good response I will keep going!
***
Marzibet was an Elven girl of twenty... in our modern world that is an adult, but she was an Elf of Middle Earth, and to the Elves- who are immortal- twenty is but a baby in their eyes. Marzibet was tall and slender, she had long shining golden tresses shot through with sparkling flames of auburn streaks. Her eyes were grayer than molten steel and her lips full as a new rose blossom. She was beautiful, and many Elven lads would court her, but Marzibet had a mind for other things. She cared not for boys or playing the kissing games her fellow girlfriends seemed to work their lives around and enjoy so much; Marzibet was a daughter of the Trees, a lover of the Forest. She would spend hour after hour every day in the deep woods, tending her small private garden or practicing her sword fighting with no one but the silent Trees as her audience. And unknown to her, the Trees loved her and waited for her to come every day. Every morning Marzibet would awaken in her beautiful home and as she rushed past Mother some breakfast would be pushed into her hand and away she ran to the Forest, where she spent the rest of her day. This is what her life was, and this is what she loved. The other Elves began to affectionately call her Lorestil, or 'Forest Child'.
***
Janie was an American girl of sixteen. In some places of her world this was old enough to marry and begin a family, but in the rural midwestern town she lived in she was still regarded as a child. This suited Janie fine. Janie was short and slender, with shoulder-length brown hair and glasses. She felt there was nothing too appealing particularly about herself. Not too many boys paid any attention to her either, but this Janie didn't mind. Janie's favorite thing to occupy her time was writing in her journal or working in her little garden out back. On this particular day Janie had come home from school feeling quite irritable... she had not only failed her math test (after all those nights of studying, too!), but that Larson boy was picking on her again. Flat and dumpy, he teased her. She crossed her arms over her flat chest with her schoolbooks as she walked home in a funk. She couldn't help the way she looked. She couldn't help that the only things that made her happy were books and flowers. She sighed and walked around her house to the backyard without even going inside first. She dropped her books next to her garden and checked to see if her strawberries were coming up yet. They weren't. She knew it was too early but she kept hoping each day. And that's when she noticed the strange flower.
***
Marzibet was running barefoot and laughing through the fair silvery Forest near her home, her golden sunshine hair flowing behind her in waves. She ran to her garden like she did every morning, hoping this day to see if her roses were in bloom. They weren't. But as she knelt beside her rosebush she noticed a strange new flower nearby that hadn't been there the day before, she was sure of it.... It was large and plump with yellow petals streaked with red and purple, and its sweet scent made Marzibet long to touch it...
***
...Janie reached out her hand to the strange yellow flower before her, intoxicated by its otherworldly scent... she couldn't resist leaning in for a sniff, just to run her finger along one of those velvety-looking yellow petals...
***
As Marzibet leaned in an inhaled the soft scent of the strange flower she suddenly felt lightheaded and dizzy, like what she assumed drinking too much ale must feel like...
***
The moment Janie sniffed the flower she felt odd. Something was making her feel dizzy and as though unseen strings were pulling at her gut. She sat down on the ground and cradled her head in her hands and closed her eyes, hoping the swimming feeling would pass...
***
Marzibet sat down on the soft earth beside her garden and drew her knees up. She rested her forehead on them and willed herself to feel better. She knew not what had happened, whether some sorcery from this strange new plant or if the breakfast her mother gave her as she ran past had not sit well with her. As soon as she closed her eyes though she felt as if her whole body were spinning down a well, too fast to think straight or grab anything. When she felt as though she had hit bottom her body sprawled out onto the grass, and she opened her eyes expecting to be laying beside her garden. She was laying beside a garden, but she knew right away that it was not hers. Gone were her huge fat rosebushes and her creeping Silmaril vines- she named them this herself as the bright beautiful flowers reminded her of the tales of the Silmarils she had heard all her life- and in their place she saw various other vines and blossoms, some familiar to her and some not. And this strange place where the garden lay... it was completely foreign to Marzibet. She stood slowly and looked around...
***
Janie felt herself fall over onto the grass and she sat up. When she opened her eyes however she did not see her backyard like she expected. She found herself in a forest, the likes of which she had never seen before. Trees towering and.... Silver? Could trees be silver? ... and the most lush blooming garden she had ever seen. She was transfixed briefly by the beauty of it before realizing... Where AM I??
***
Marzibet saw many things she did not recognize. The small, fence-enclosed grassy plain where she stood was capped at one end by a dwelling. Modest in size, yet covered in a strange material, and with many windows- all glass. Marzibet marveled, as glass was quite expensive in Middle Earth. True, her Ada had glass put in a few of their windows back home, but only two of them in the front entrance hall ... THESE creatures must be of great wealth, she decided, as the dwelling appeared to have more windows than any home she had ever visited. And nearby to where she stood lay two iron shapes with wagon wheels. (AN: bicycles.) These she stared at with wonder until a noise caught her ears. It was a woman's voice calling from the door of the dwelling.
"Janie!" the woman called, and Marzibet wanted to hide. She did not know where she was, or who these people were, or if she would even be welcome. She got to her knees and crawled behind the garden.
"Janie!" the woman's voice continued to call. "Janie, I saw you run back there! Come inside for dinner now!" Marzibet bit her lip and continued to hide.
***
Janie stumbled through the lovely forest in a confused daze, falling to her knees beside a small pond. She loved this place already, but the fact that it was strange and she didn't know why she was here made her scared. She happened to lean forward and caught her reflection... and she gasped at what she saw. The skinny mousy-haired girl with glasses was gone, and instead Janie was looking at the reflection of an auburn-haired beauty with pale porcelain skin, no glasses, and bright emerald fire eyes. This can't be happening, she thought with astonishment as she continued to stare at herself. And then she heard a man's voice calling from somewhere behind her in the trees: "Marzibet!" Panicked, Janie scrambled to hide behind a tree as the silvery voice came nearer. "Marzibet! It's Ada calling. Marzibet, we need you for just a moment dear!" Janie's breath came in quick gasps and her heart pounded a mile a minute. Who is this man and, better yet, where AM I?? The man continued to call, and Janie remained hidden.
***
Marzibet cowered behind some tulips as the woman's voice came nearer. She didn't know if she should pull out one of her Elven fighting knives, or if the woman was perhaps Elf Friend. Or maybe, Marzibet hoped, she is an Elf. The woman stepped around the garden to see a beautiful Elf girl huddled behind her daughter's tulips. At first her face was surprised, but then it softened into a knowing smile. Not an Elf, Marzibet thought. "Hello, Elf-child," said the woman in the Common Tongue with a pleasant laugh. She seemed an Elf friend to Marzibet, so the Elf relaxed a bit. The woman held out her hand. "They told me you'd be coming, but you know?" the woman laughed. "I never really believed it." Marzibet blinked. "How... what..... what's going on?" The cheerful brown-haired woman smiled again. Marzibet thought her clothes to be very strange, even for a Mortal woman. "Come inside, I will tell you all I know." And with that Marzibet took the woman's hand and was led inside the strangest dwelling she had ever seen.
***
Janie sat huddled still behind the large tree and thought the man had finally gone away. But when she poked her head out to check, he was very nearby and saw her. "Marzibet?" He came closer. As the Elf rounded the large old tree he saw a lovely young Mortal girl crouched fearfully. He knelt before her and held out his hand. "Do not be afraid," he said in her language, and his voice was like the sound of the ocean's waves. Janie noticed with astonishment that the man had pointed ears. Pointed ears! He was not a man, but an Elf. Janie felt more confused. "I..." she stammered. "I was just in my garden, and then... and then I was here. I don't know what happened or where this place is." She swiped at her tear-filled eyes with the back of her hand. The Elf smiled kindly at her. "I know what has happened," he said, "though I wondered if it ever would." He held out his hand to her. "Come with me, child, and I will answer your questions as best I can." He smiled so warm and wisely at Janie that she felt safe with him, and was grateful to take his hand which seemed familiar amid this strange land.
***
The friendly Mortal woman sat Marzibet in a cozy kitchen, filled with many odd appliances that startled the Elf. Everything here is so... large and dull, she thought. Even the trees she had seen outside were empty and hollow of spirit, like tall dead stalks rooted deep in the Earth. She knew in her heart that if she went outside and sung to them that they would not hear. The woman sat a cold glass of something bubbly and brown in front of Marzibet then, and when Marzibet sipped it she found it sweet and the bubbles tickled her nose.
"Ai! What is this, then?" she asked the woman. The woman laughed. "Soda pop. It's Janie's favorite." When the Elf regarded her questioningly, she sighed; a wistful smile on her face. She toyed absently with the edge of a napkin. "Janie is my daughter," she told the Elf. "That's her garden where... where you were hiding. I expect she is probably in your world now." Marzibet raised her eyebrows. What was this woman talking about, anyway? "I don't understand..." she said. The kind woman laughed quietly, running her fingers through her short wavy hair. "You can call me Laura, by the way. Well, I don't understand either, honey, but I'll tell you what I know."
The woman began to explain to Marzibet about the day her daughter Janie was born. They were so excited, Laura said, to have their first baby. The day after Laura and her husband took Janie home from the hospital they invited several friends over to have a small celebration. What was intended to be a small celebration ended up being the entire neighborhood, most of Janie's extended family, and almost all of her parents' friends, come to wish the couple and their baby good luck. Amid all the well-wishers an old foreign woman with a hunchback and many shining baubles about her neck came up to Laura and handed her a business card. "You and Baby come to me, yes? I tell you all you need to know about her future. She will be strong baby, you will see." And the old woman winked and was gone. Laura looked at the card and read: Lady Lorena: Diviner of the Future, Sooth-Sayer, Psychic Advisor. And below that was an address and phone number. Laura and her husband had a good laugh over that one for several days and she thought nothing of it or the old woman's strange words. A week went by and Laura was feeling more of her old strength back after giving birth, so she set to the task of tidying the house. As she cleaned the kitchen she opened the garbage lid to throw the psychic's business card away... "But I couldn't do it," she told Marzibet. "I don't know why, even to this day. I never believed in that psychic mumbo-jumbo. And yet I kept staring at that card and I wouldn't let myself throw it away." Another day went by and Laura still had not thrown the card away. After her husband left for work she pulled the card out and stared long at it, then found herself picking up the phone.
What am I doing? she thought, feeling completely foolish as she dialed the number on the card, and before she knew it she had made an appointment for her and Janie to visit the psychic later that afternoon. "It was your typical psychic parlor... you know, red lamps and crystal balls and such," she continued, forgetting that the Elf probably had no idea what a psychic's parlor was supposed to look like. She went on to say that the old woman sat her down at a table with a crystal ball in the middle, and even insisted on holding Janie during the reading. Janie slept through the whole ordeal, which Laura found to be a blessing. The woman first congratulated her on new motherhood, saying what a fine baby Janie was. But then she said that she had foreseen Janie's future, and the girl was to be a small but important part of an even bigger plan. There was a place, the old woman told her, called Middle Earth; where one day a mortal from our future world would cross over to help save the fate of Middle Earth. Laura laughed, but the woman went on. When the time was right Janie would be summoned to Middle Earth to heed the call, and she would have no choice. "An Elf from their world will be sent here thus, and you will know the time has come." "What do you mean?" Laura said anxiously. "Who is going to take her away from me?" "It is Fate," said the old woman. "You cannot fight it. A door will be opened into their world, until she succeeds or fails, and then it will close. The Elf will stay here in her place meanwhile to fulfill some of the needs of this realm. If she fails, the Elf will not survive. And if the Elf should perish, Janie will not survive." Laura ran home clutching her baby, crying. It was all too much to bear. As she got closer to home, however, the shock seemed to wear off and she scolded herself. Pure nonsense, she decided. How silly am I to get upset over some crazy bullshit like that! She berated herself for wasting fifty dollars on the reading, and swore off psychics for good. The reading slipped from her mind for over a decade, until one day an Elven girl was caught hiding in her daughter's garden. Then everything fell into place in Laura's mind.
***
The kind Elven man gave Janie a warm cup of mead and sat across the ornately carved table from her. This place is so beautiful, she thought. Even the walls and doorframes are carved with richness and splendor. And... she couldn't be sure, but... had those silvery trees in the forest been singing?...
"Much of why you are here is a mystery to me as well," the Elf began. "All I know is what was foretold by the Eldars upon my daughter's birth."
The gentle Elf told Janie then about the night his daughter Marzibet was born, and the counsel of Eldars among the Elves foretold to him that the future world would be very bleak and bereft of life, and spirit. Marzibet would be summoned there to bring its pulse back. And in her place a Mortal child would appear, to aid Middle Earth in a Dark War. The Elf said he knew of late that Janie would be appearing soon, as the signs and winds of war were making there way to the Elven village where they lived, and even now he knew the Dark Lord was regaining power in the East. It would only be a matter of time before the war began, though no one was sure where or when. And when he saw the mortal girl sniffling in the crotch of the great Tree, he knew that the War had officially begun.
***
Marzibet told Laura then everything she knew about this War that Janie was summoned to fight, which regretfully wasn't much. It had not begun as far as she knew, but rumor told of a Shadow rising in the East; a Great Dark Lord that had once had terrible power that was now regaining his strength. A token of his power had been recovered, and he was awake. Laura listened with tears and sobs, and Marzibet felt badly for the mother. She couldn't help feeling bad for herself also, looking around Laura's wood paneled kitchen with its ceramic hen collection. This is not my home, she thought sadly, and peering through the sliding glass door out into the yard she mourned for her garden and her friends the Trees. What would an Elf have to keep her company in this strange world? She patted Laura's hands and spoke genuine words of comfort. She couldn't help shedding a tear for her own Ada though. She missed her family dearly.
***
Janie blinked back her burning tears. The words this Elf was speaking to her were not comprehending in her mind.
"Just HOW am I supposed to help you in your War?!" she said in a panic. "I'm only sixteen! I know nothing of wars!"
"All I know is that strength may come from the unlikeliest of places," the Elf replied. "Beyond that, your path will reveal itself. I do not know anything else." Janie sat and cried as the wise Elf held her hand. She was comforted to be in this soothing twilight place, wherever she was, with the rushing sound of a distant waterfall down in the valley and the birds singing outside the open windows. But she was confused, and the thought of war frightened her. The Elf had worry wrinkles in his brow also, and Janie felt sorry for him then. He had lost his daughter, after all; and she could tell it grieved him deeply. "If what you say is true," she said slowly, "then your daughter is with my mother. My mom will take good care of her, don't worry." She was glad to see this made the Elf smile a bit. He squeezed her hand. "Besides," Janie chuckled nervously, "WE don't have a war going on! She's safer there than here!" But she regretted it after she said it, as the face of the Elf before her saddened greatly. You fool, she scolded herself. He TOLD you his daughter will die if you get killed! She's no safer there you idiot! She squeezed his hand in return. "Don't worry. I will do what I can."
***
Laura led Marzibet down the hallway to Janie's bedroom and opened the door for the Elf. A small soft-looking bed sat in the corner, and the walls were lined with books. "This is Janie's room, I think you'll be comfortable in here," she said with a tear-stained face. She looked very tired. "I'm sorry," she said then, wiping her face with her sleeve. "This is all a bit much for me, even though I knew about it for years. I truly never believed it, and now it's happening." She chuckled despite herself. "I mean, holy shit!" Marzibet patted her arm. "It's alright. It will take some getting used to for us all." "I mean..." the woman continued to sob, "I don't even know if my baby is safe or warm, or hungry... this is all too weird..." "She is safe with my parents," was all the Elf could think of to reassure her. The woman wrapped her in a quick embrace and the shuffled off down the hall, sniffing into a tissue. Marzibet bade her goodnight and went into Janie's room, shutting the door behind her. The room was roughly the same size as the one Marzibet had back home, but the windows were small and sealed with glass and there wasn't a single plant or potted flower. Gone were the gorgeous Elven tapestries her mother had woven for her walls, and in their place Marzibet saw flat sheets of parchment with sayings and images of people on them. The paper sheet above Janie's bed said 'Gryffindor', which Marzibet thought was perhaps a family crest of some kind. She pulled one of the many books off the shelves that lined the walls and sat down on the bed- which wasn't as soft as it looked- and tried to read it. The front of the book had a painting of a girl in a long gown with wings, carrying a sword, with a large dragon in the background. Marzibet found it confusing to read, however, and soon gave up and replaced the book on its shelf. She curled up on the bed and pulled her knees to her chest, missing the warm softness of her feather bed back home. She lay there weeping in the dark for several hours, thinking of her family, and this strange lonely new world which was about to get even stranger.
***
Author's Note: Well I hope you like it so far! Review and let me know what you think, if people seem to like it I will keep going. Namarie!
Title: Journey to Middle Earth
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Unfortunately none of the Middle Earth characters are mine. If they were, I'd huggle them all day long.
Summary: A girl mysteriously finds herself whisked away to Middle Earth! AU fic about her adventures and the familiar faces she will eventually meet along the way! I only have these first two chapters done, but please R and R and let me know what you think... if I get a good response I will keep going!
***
Marzibet was an Elven girl of twenty... in our modern world that is an adult, but she was an Elf of Middle Earth, and to the Elves- who are immortal- twenty is but a baby in their eyes. Marzibet was tall and slender, she had long shining golden tresses shot through with sparkling flames of auburn streaks. Her eyes were grayer than molten steel and her lips full as a new rose blossom. She was beautiful, and many Elven lads would court her, but Marzibet had a mind for other things. She cared not for boys or playing the kissing games her fellow girlfriends seemed to work their lives around and enjoy so much; Marzibet was a daughter of the Trees, a lover of the Forest. She would spend hour after hour every day in the deep woods, tending her small private garden or practicing her sword fighting with no one but the silent Trees as her audience. And unknown to her, the Trees loved her and waited for her to come every day. Every morning Marzibet would awaken in her beautiful home and as she rushed past Mother some breakfast would be pushed into her hand and away she ran to the Forest, where she spent the rest of her day. This is what her life was, and this is what she loved. The other Elves began to affectionately call her Lorestil, or 'Forest Child'.
***
Janie was an American girl of sixteen. In some places of her world this was old enough to marry and begin a family, but in the rural midwestern town she lived in she was still regarded as a child. This suited Janie fine. Janie was short and slender, with shoulder-length brown hair and glasses. She felt there was nothing too appealing particularly about herself. Not too many boys paid any attention to her either, but this Janie didn't mind. Janie's favorite thing to occupy her time was writing in her journal or working in her little garden out back. On this particular day Janie had come home from school feeling quite irritable... she had not only failed her math test (after all those nights of studying, too!), but that Larson boy was picking on her again. Flat and dumpy, he teased her. She crossed her arms over her flat chest with her schoolbooks as she walked home in a funk. She couldn't help the way she looked. She couldn't help that the only things that made her happy were books and flowers. She sighed and walked around her house to the backyard without even going inside first. She dropped her books next to her garden and checked to see if her strawberries were coming up yet. They weren't. She knew it was too early but she kept hoping each day. And that's when she noticed the strange flower.
***
Marzibet was running barefoot and laughing through the fair silvery Forest near her home, her golden sunshine hair flowing behind her in waves. She ran to her garden like she did every morning, hoping this day to see if her roses were in bloom. They weren't. But as she knelt beside her rosebush she noticed a strange new flower nearby that hadn't been there the day before, she was sure of it.... It was large and plump with yellow petals streaked with red and purple, and its sweet scent made Marzibet long to touch it...
***
...Janie reached out her hand to the strange yellow flower before her, intoxicated by its otherworldly scent... she couldn't resist leaning in for a sniff, just to run her finger along one of those velvety-looking yellow petals...
***
As Marzibet leaned in an inhaled the soft scent of the strange flower she suddenly felt lightheaded and dizzy, like what she assumed drinking too much ale must feel like...
***
The moment Janie sniffed the flower she felt odd. Something was making her feel dizzy and as though unseen strings were pulling at her gut. She sat down on the ground and cradled her head in her hands and closed her eyes, hoping the swimming feeling would pass...
***
Marzibet sat down on the soft earth beside her garden and drew her knees up. She rested her forehead on them and willed herself to feel better. She knew not what had happened, whether some sorcery from this strange new plant or if the breakfast her mother gave her as she ran past had not sit well with her. As soon as she closed her eyes though she felt as if her whole body were spinning down a well, too fast to think straight or grab anything. When she felt as though she had hit bottom her body sprawled out onto the grass, and she opened her eyes expecting to be laying beside her garden. She was laying beside a garden, but she knew right away that it was not hers. Gone were her huge fat rosebushes and her creeping Silmaril vines- she named them this herself as the bright beautiful flowers reminded her of the tales of the Silmarils she had heard all her life- and in their place she saw various other vines and blossoms, some familiar to her and some not. And this strange place where the garden lay... it was completely foreign to Marzibet. She stood slowly and looked around...
***
Janie felt herself fall over onto the grass and she sat up. When she opened her eyes however she did not see her backyard like she expected. She found herself in a forest, the likes of which she had never seen before. Trees towering and.... Silver? Could trees be silver? ... and the most lush blooming garden she had ever seen. She was transfixed briefly by the beauty of it before realizing... Where AM I??
***
Marzibet saw many things she did not recognize. The small, fence-enclosed grassy plain where she stood was capped at one end by a dwelling. Modest in size, yet covered in a strange material, and with many windows- all glass. Marzibet marveled, as glass was quite expensive in Middle Earth. True, her Ada had glass put in a few of their windows back home, but only two of them in the front entrance hall ... THESE creatures must be of great wealth, she decided, as the dwelling appeared to have more windows than any home she had ever visited. And nearby to where she stood lay two iron shapes with wagon wheels. (AN: bicycles.) These she stared at with wonder until a noise caught her ears. It was a woman's voice calling from the door of the dwelling.
"Janie!" the woman called, and Marzibet wanted to hide. She did not know where she was, or who these people were, or if she would even be welcome. She got to her knees and crawled behind the garden.
"Janie!" the woman's voice continued to call. "Janie, I saw you run back there! Come inside for dinner now!" Marzibet bit her lip and continued to hide.
***
Janie stumbled through the lovely forest in a confused daze, falling to her knees beside a small pond. She loved this place already, but the fact that it was strange and she didn't know why she was here made her scared. She happened to lean forward and caught her reflection... and she gasped at what she saw. The skinny mousy-haired girl with glasses was gone, and instead Janie was looking at the reflection of an auburn-haired beauty with pale porcelain skin, no glasses, and bright emerald fire eyes. This can't be happening, she thought with astonishment as she continued to stare at herself. And then she heard a man's voice calling from somewhere behind her in the trees: "Marzibet!" Panicked, Janie scrambled to hide behind a tree as the silvery voice came nearer. "Marzibet! It's Ada calling. Marzibet, we need you for just a moment dear!" Janie's breath came in quick gasps and her heart pounded a mile a minute. Who is this man and, better yet, where AM I?? The man continued to call, and Janie remained hidden.
***
Marzibet cowered behind some tulips as the woman's voice came nearer. She didn't know if she should pull out one of her Elven fighting knives, or if the woman was perhaps Elf Friend. Or maybe, Marzibet hoped, she is an Elf. The woman stepped around the garden to see a beautiful Elf girl huddled behind her daughter's tulips. At first her face was surprised, but then it softened into a knowing smile. Not an Elf, Marzibet thought. "Hello, Elf-child," said the woman in the Common Tongue with a pleasant laugh. She seemed an Elf friend to Marzibet, so the Elf relaxed a bit. The woman held out her hand. "They told me you'd be coming, but you know?" the woman laughed. "I never really believed it." Marzibet blinked. "How... what..... what's going on?" The cheerful brown-haired woman smiled again. Marzibet thought her clothes to be very strange, even for a Mortal woman. "Come inside, I will tell you all I know." And with that Marzibet took the woman's hand and was led inside the strangest dwelling she had ever seen.
***
Janie sat huddled still behind the large tree and thought the man had finally gone away. But when she poked her head out to check, he was very nearby and saw her. "Marzibet?" He came closer. As the Elf rounded the large old tree he saw a lovely young Mortal girl crouched fearfully. He knelt before her and held out his hand. "Do not be afraid," he said in her language, and his voice was like the sound of the ocean's waves. Janie noticed with astonishment that the man had pointed ears. Pointed ears! He was not a man, but an Elf. Janie felt more confused. "I..." she stammered. "I was just in my garden, and then... and then I was here. I don't know what happened or where this place is." She swiped at her tear-filled eyes with the back of her hand. The Elf smiled kindly at her. "I know what has happened," he said, "though I wondered if it ever would." He held out his hand to her. "Come with me, child, and I will answer your questions as best I can." He smiled so warm and wisely at Janie that she felt safe with him, and was grateful to take his hand which seemed familiar amid this strange land.
***
The friendly Mortal woman sat Marzibet in a cozy kitchen, filled with many odd appliances that startled the Elf. Everything here is so... large and dull, she thought. Even the trees she had seen outside were empty and hollow of spirit, like tall dead stalks rooted deep in the Earth. She knew in her heart that if she went outside and sung to them that they would not hear. The woman sat a cold glass of something bubbly and brown in front of Marzibet then, and when Marzibet sipped it she found it sweet and the bubbles tickled her nose.
"Ai! What is this, then?" she asked the woman. The woman laughed. "Soda pop. It's Janie's favorite." When the Elf regarded her questioningly, she sighed; a wistful smile on her face. She toyed absently with the edge of a napkin. "Janie is my daughter," she told the Elf. "That's her garden where... where you were hiding. I expect she is probably in your world now." Marzibet raised her eyebrows. What was this woman talking about, anyway? "I don't understand..." she said. The kind woman laughed quietly, running her fingers through her short wavy hair. "You can call me Laura, by the way. Well, I don't understand either, honey, but I'll tell you what I know."
The woman began to explain to Marzibet about the day her daughter Janie was born. They were so excited, Laura said, to have their first baby. The day after Laura and her husband took Janie home from the hospital they invited several friends over to have a small celebration. What was intended to be a small celebration ended up being the entire neighborhood, most of Janie's extended family, and almost all of her parents' friends, come to wish the couple and their baby good luck. Amid all the well-wishers an old foreign woman with a hunchback and many shining baubles about her neck came up to Laura and handed her a business card. "You and Baby come to me, yes? I tell you all you need to know about her future. She will be strong baby, you will see." And the old woman winked and was gone. Laura looked at the card and read: Lady Lorena: Diviner of the Future, Sooth-Sayer, Psychic Advisor. And below that was an address and phone number. Laura and her husband had a good laugh over that one for several days and she thought nothing of it or the old woman's strange words. A week went by and Laura was feeling more of her old strength back after giving birth, so she set to the task of tidying the house. As she cleaned the kitchen she opened the garbage lid to throw the psychic's business card away... "But I couldn't do it," she told Marzibet. "I don't know why, even to this day. I never believed in that psychic mumbo-jumbo. And yet I kept staring at that card and I wouldn't let myself throw it away." Another day went by and Laura still had not thrown the card away. After her husband left for work she pulled the card out and stared long at it, then found herself picking up the phone.
What am I doing? she thought, feeling completely foolish as she dialed the number on the card, and before she knew it she had made an appointment for her and Janie to visit the psychic later that afternoon. "It was your typical psychic parlor... you know, red lamps and crystal balls and such," she continued, forgetting that the Elf probably had no idea what a psychic's parlor was supposed to look like. She went on to say that the old woman sat her down at a table with a crystal ball in the middle, and even insisted on holding Janie during the reading. Janie slept through the whole ordeal, which Laura found to be a blessing. The woman first congratulated her on new motherhood, saying what a fine baby Janie was. But then she said that she had foreseen Janie's future, and the girl was to be a small but important part of an even bigger plan. There was a place, the old woman told her, called Middle Earth; where one day a mortal from our future world would cross over to help save the fate of Middle Earth. Laura laughed, but the woman went on. When the time was right Janie would be summoned to Middle Earth to heed the call, and she would have no choice. "An Elf from their world will be sent here thus, and you will know the time has come." "What do you mean?" Laura said anxiously. "Who is going to take her away from me?" "It is Fate," said the old woman. "You cannot fight it. A door will be opened into their world, until she succeeds or fails, and then it will close. The Elf will stay here in her place meanwhile to fulfill some of the needs of this realm. If she fails, the Elf will not survive. And if the Elf should perish, Janie will not survive." Laura ran home clutching her baby, crying. It was all too much to bear. As she got closer to home, however, the shock seemed to wear off and she scolded herself. Pure nonsense, she decided. How silly am I to get upset over some crazy bullshit like that! She berated herself for wasting fifty dollars on the reading, and swore off psychics for good. The reading slipped from her mind for over a decade, until one day an Elven girl was caught hiding in her daughter's garden. Then everything fell into place in Laura's mind.
***
The kind Elven man gave Janie a warm cup of mead and sat across the ornately carved table from her. This place is so beautiful, she thought. Even the walls and doorframes are carved with richness and splendor. And... she couldn't be sure, but... had those silvery trees in the forest been singing?...
"Much of why you are here is a mystery to me as well," the Elf began. "All I know is what was foretold by the Eldars upon my daughter's birth."
The gentle Elf told Janie then about the night his daughter Marzibet was born, and the counsel of Eldars among the Elves foretold to him that the future world would be very bleak and bereft of life, and spirit. Marzibet would be summoned there to bring its pulse back. And in her place a Mortal child would appear, to aid Middle Earth in a Dark War. The Elf said he knew of late that Janie would be appearing soon, as the signs and winds of war were making there way to the Elven village where they lived, and even now he knew the Dark Lord was regaining power in the East. It would only be a matter of time before the war began, though no one was sure where or when. And when he saw the mortal girl sniffling in the crotch of the great Tree, he knew that the War had officially begun.
***
Marzibet told Laura then everything she knew about this War that Janie was summoned to fight, which regretfully wasn't much. It had not begun as far as she knew, but rumor told of a Shadow rising in the East; a Great Dark Lord that had once had terrible power that was now regaining his strength. A token of his power had been recovered, and he was awake. Laura listened with tears and sobs, and Marzibet felt badly for the mother. She couldn't help feeling bad for herself also, looking around Laura's wood paneled kitchen with its ceramic hen collection. This is not my home, she thought sadly, and peering through the sliding glass door out into the yard she mourned for her garden and her friends the Trees. What would an Elf have to keep her company in this strange world? She patted Laura's hands and spoke genuine words of comfort. She couldn't help shedding a tear for her own Ada though. She missed her family dearly.
***
Janie blinked back her burning tears. The words this Elf was speaking to her were not comprehending in her mind.
"Just HOW am I supposed to help you in your War?!" she said in a panic. "I'm only sixteen! I know nothing of wars!"
"All I know is that strength may come from the unlikeliest of places," the Elf replied. "Beyond that, your path will reveal itself. I do not know anything else." Janie sat and cried as the wise Elf held her hand. She was comforted to be in this soothing twilight place, wherever she was, with the rushing sound of a distant waterfall down in the valley and the birds singing outside the open windows. But she was confused, and the thought of war frightened her. The Elf had worry wrinkles in his brow also, and Janie felt sorry for him then. He had lost his daughter, after all; and she could tell it grieved him deeply. "If what you say is true," she said slowly, "then your daughter is with my mother. My mom will take good care of her, don't worry." She was glad to see this made the Elf smile a bit. He squeezed her hand. "Besides," Janie chuckled nervously, "WE don't have a war going on! She's safer there than here!" But she regretted it after she said it, as the face of the Elf before her saddened greatly. You fool, she scolded herself. He TOLD you his daughter will die if you get killed! She's no safer there you idiot! She squeezed his hand in return. "Don't worry. I will do what I can."
***
Laura led Marzibet down the hallway to Janie's bedroom and opened the door for the Elf. A small soft-looking bed sat in the corner, and the walls were lined with books. "This is Janie's room, I think you'll be comfortable in here," she said with a tear-stained face. She looked very tired. "I'm sorry," she said then, wiping her face with her sleeve. "This is all a bit much for me, even though I knew about it for years. I truly never believed it, and now it's happening." She chuckled despite herself. "I mean, holy shit!" Marzibet patted her arm. "It's alright. It will take some getting used to for us all." "I mean..." the woman continued to sob, "I don't even know if my baby is safe or warm, or hungry... this is all too weird..." "She is safe with my parents," was all the Elf could think of to reassure her. The woman wrapped her in a quick embrace and the shuffled off down the hall, sniffing into a tissue. Marzibet bade her goodnight and went into Janie's room, shutting the door behind her. The room was roughly the same size as the one Marzibet had back home, but the windows were small and sealed with glass and there wasn't a single plant or potted flower. Gone were the gorgeous Elven tapestries her mother had woven for her walls, and in their place Marzibet saw flat sheets of parchment with sayings and images of people on them. The paper sheet above Janie's bed said 'Gryffindor', which Marzibet thought was perhaps a family crest of some kind. She pulled one of the many books off the shelves that lined the walls and sat down on the bed- which wasn't as soft as it looked- and tried to read it. The front of the book had a painting of a girl in a long gown with wings, carrying a sword, with a large dragon in the background. Marzibet found it confusing to read, however, and soon gave up and replaced the book on its shelf. She curled up on the bed and pulled her knees to her chest, missing the warm softness of her feather bed back home. She lay there weeping in the dark for several hours, thinking of her family, and this strange lonely new world which was about to get even stranger.
***
Author's Note: Well I hope you like it so far! Review and let me know what you think, if people seem to like it I will keep going. Namarie!