Disclaimer: Okay, so I didn't want to use LOTR characters in this story, but I did use Tolkien's concepts for elves and elf history from some of his other books. At some point LOTR characters may make an appearance so I want to inform you that I don't own any of the characters, or the world. I'm just a fan who loves the movies and the books and wants to add her own little world onto this great legend. -Rogue

Secret World

Chapter One

Full Throttle

"Are you sure I can do this?" Serenity Miller frowned looking at the quad as if it were a piece of alien machinery. The shiny black off road vehicle looked almost brown from all the sand it had been kicking up the last few hours. Reni loved riding the quad, but she'd never driven it herself. Riding behind J.W., her best friend, felt safer than being left on her own.

"You'll be fine," he replied pushing her towards the quad. The high summer sun blazed above them shining off the slick surfaces where the dust had slid off. She looked around at the dirt roads that wound through the desert. Several of J.W.'s friends zipped here and there jumping off of things and kicking up clouds of dust that could rival a wind whipped storm.

"No," Reni cringed pushing a root beer lock behind her ear. "I'll crash and hurt myself and be lost in the desert forever!" J.W. held in a smirk holding her gaze at eye level. Standing side by side there wasn't much of a height difference between them, Reni on the tall side for a seventeen year old girl. J.W. at his six feet seemed taller than most in their class.

"Stop being so dramatic," he said helping her into the seat. "I've taught you how to ride it, Reni."

"No. You showed me what all the levers do. I've never driven it on my own Jay." She frowned looking over the throttle and brake that reminded her of a bike's handlebars. J.W. pushed a helmet down over her ponytail before she could change her mind and pull herself off of the quad. It roared to life as he revved the engine. "You've watched me drive a million times. Stop being such a wuss."

"You're mean," she grunted placing gloved hands on the grips. The long sleeved padded jersey she wore made the sun feel like an oven, sweat forming along her brow and sliding down her back. Just the thought of being all sweaty made her feel gross, but she didn't complain. She couldn't leave until Jay was ready to go anyways since he'd been her ride.

"I'm practical." He stood back, doe eyes squinting into the bright sun. Clouds appeared in the distance, dark, foreshadowing a coming monsoon storm that would turn the sand into a deep mud. "You'd better try it now before the monsoons hit."

Reni took a deep breath looking over the hills and well worn tracks in the dirt. Cacti, tall with arms reaching towards the sky, dotted several areas that Reni wished to avoid. Creosote bushes and Desert Spoon shrubs with leaves ending in long spikes clashed green against the reds and browns of the southern Arizona desert. Another deep breath and she twisted the throttle sending the quad forward. It jumped speeding away before Reni could fully understand what had happened.

"Grab the bra…" J.W. shouted his voice growing softer as she drifted away. The wind whipped past so violently that his words blurred with the hiss. Colors swirled into a blue, red and tawny flash. Without thinking she twisted the throttle again her stomach clenching. Her mind went blank.

The quad leapt over a hump in the sandy roadway and landed with a thunk pushing forward. The handles jerked pulling the quad off the roadway and into the barren desert. She zipped through hills and plateaus fumbling for the brake. The quad turned sliding. A wall of dust lifted into the air as Reni plowed into a solid rock wall.

"Will she be alright?" The voice was deep and soft, kind with an edge of chill. It wasn't one Reni recognized and her stomach clenched.

"You fear too much for the mortals," came the reply. Another bass voice, though rough with years gone by. "She will heal, yes, but it shall take time."

She wondered if this were a dream. Her eyes shifted back and forth in the dark behind her lids, bringing images of a burnt red plateau wall. The quad on its side tires spinning without going anywhere. Pain wracked her body from her head to her toes which were loose, no longer shielded by the heavy boots she'd worn. Sleep had never been difficult for her to come out of. A sound that would stir her, warm sun across her face, but this time was different. Her eyelids refused to pull apart, her body protesting even the slightest movement of her fingers.

"I do not fear for mortals," the first said, a touch of anger in his words. "I may not fear for them, but I do feel sorrow when one finds us in such a state as this one. Broken bones, her face covered in scrapes and blood. Pain should not be felt by any." Reni lay quiet listening to the cool tones of the first voice. He sounded almost muffled, as if he spoke behind a mask.

"It is odd that one should find us. We've remained hidden among the caves of the Sierra Vista deserts for a long time and she heals quickly." The second, unlike the first, did not sound muffled. Reni fought to open her lids only allowing a small slit.

Two men stood above her, mostly shadowed by her own eyelashes. The sky had grown dark, it seemed, a soft bluish glow coming from somewhere above. The men were tall as trees and lithe both with cream soda colored shaggy curls. Slate eyes watched her for any sign of movement, the pupils large in the dark. The second seemed older, his face a road map of wrinkles.

"Do you suspect that she is one of us? You seemed concerned with her ability to heal," the first said. Without thinking he brushed at wrinkles on his light blue tunic before adjusting the brown leather belt at his waist.

The second took a deep breath. "I cannot be sure. It has been some ages since I have healed a mortal and the women are far better at healing arts than I. Perhaps it is simply my fumbling at healing that causes her strange pace."

"You do not seem to truly believe that." The first frowned, his sharp features seeming to pull tighter beneath a silver mask. It dipped around his nose circling his eyes like the masks she'd seen worn at mardi gras on TV. His bowed lips and well defined chin the only features she could truly see.

"Why Loren Riverwood! Are you calling me a liar?" The second asked with a chuckle. Warm tones filled the room.

"No, but I do not think you believe she is simply a mortal. It has only been two days and already the scrapes across her face have mostly healed. The broken bones have very little left to fuse for it to be whole."

"Her skin does seem to glow." The second placed a hand on his chin in thought, the second holding his elbow. "It would not be strange to find a half-breed among the mortals."

"Are you saying that she may be half elf, Elder?" Loren seemed shocked at this revelation turning away from Reni's limp form. With his eyes averted she chanced taking a deep breath and opening her eyes a bit wider. The air felt cool, almost damp as if the monsoon rains had poured into the room itself. It smelt fresh, not musty as she expected, like a large forest. Blue glowing orbs filled the ceiling like stars in the night sky and she could tell that it wasn't the sky that appeared dark, but a room. Beneath her hands she could feel a wooden table, cold and marked with a design she couldn't see.

"The glow to her pale skin would suggest as much. With the sun so bright and rarely gone above ground I would have thought her skin to be far darker, or flecked with freckles." Elder held his arm out lifting her own to meet his. "Do you not see how her pale skin seems to match our own?" Reni almost gasped as Elder rolled back the sleeves of his tunic revealing ghostly skin that seemed to hint at silver. As his arm fell against her she could see that she too had the same strange glow.

"How can that be possible?" Loren gasped for her. Elder smiled revealing perfect white teeth behind thin lips.

"Galdor's followers had been exiled. It would be possible that one would have chosen a human to wed. A half-breed would have been the result," Elder explained in a matter-of-fact tone. Loren frowned, brows narrowing and forming a wrinkle between them.

"Even in exile you believe they would choose one of them over one of us? Galdor had many followers," Loren argued. Reni could feel an itch forming on her nose. It tickled giving her the feeling of needing to sneeze.

"Galdor had many followers, yes, but not all got along. Some would have done anything for him; others did not wish to die. None believed in his plan wholly. There were disagreements. I do not think that a union between any of them would be likely." Elder frowned again, scratching his smooth chin. "Elves do feel the need to marry. Immortality can be a long existence alone. I believe a few would find mortals to settle with."

"We need to return her above ground." This time Loren frowned, his perfect lips drooping unpleasantly.

"Do you suggest that she get herself through the desert? It is too harsh to leave her to wander out there alone. All of this healing will have been in vain," Elder argued. Reni fought to keep from nodding in agreement.

"Then what is your suggestion? I can see that she stirs. It will not be long before she awakens." Loren crossed his arms firmly across his chest.

"I suggest you find somewhere for her to sleep since you were the one to find her and bring her back. There are a few women here that would harbor a half-breed," Elder suggested, a chuckle behind his smile. Loren's jaw dropped.

"We are to keep her here?"

Elder nodded. Reni could see thin silver wires wrapped around his head like a crown. "Do you suggest we leave her to wander on a broken leg?" Reni wondered which leg had been broken. Neither felt heavy with a cast and she hadn't felt pain since waking.

"No," Loren sighed. He turned to Reni, head cocked. "Since you have awakened I assume you can tell us your name." Reni's eyes slammed shut.

"You have scared her Loren." Elder chuckled no longer able to hide it. Reni's eyes flew open once more. She could see they were in a small room made completely of wood like a log cabin. Markings decorated the top surface of the wall reaching out to glowing orbs on the ceiling, the stars she'd seen before. The cozy room held little furniture, a small table with a vase of flowers, the table she lay on and nothing more. From where she lay she couldn't see any windows.

"My…my name is Serenity. Reni," she croaked her throat dry. It felt scratchy, like someone took a cheese grater and slid it slowly up and down.

"Reenee?" He pronounced drawing the vowels out. Reni nodded.

"How do you feel Reni?" Elder asked before taking a seat on a carved wooden stool. Mentally she assessed her body. Everything felt fine, her face a little sore once she thought about it. Still she couldn't tell which leg she'd broken.

"I feel fine. Nothing seems too sore, but my face. I can't really feel my legs." She could hear the panic in her own voice as she tried to sit up. Gently Loren pushed her back down. Immediately she felt queasy, her head spinning.

"Ah, yes, well that would be the salve. It will take a while for you to regain feeling. We have tried to keep the pain minimal," Elder explained. His eyes seemed to glitter like stars as he looked over her face.

"Where am I?" Again the panic seemed to grow. She couldn't remember much between slamming into the rock wall and waking up with two men standing over the top of her.

"You should not-" Loren began but Elder held up a slender hand with pianist fingers that Reni envied.

"Welcome to Historidan, underground land of the Desert Elves," he answered. The stars in his eyes seemed to glow brighter as Reni eyed him, then Loren and back to him.

"I'm sorry. What?" She shrieked.