EDITED~ as/12/14
Okay, hello everyone! This is the start of the edited version of The Doppelgänger. Each chapter that has been hopefully edited will have an EDITED at the top left hand corner of the page. Before this begins, I would like to say a couple things….If you want to skip this and go on to the story, go ahead!
-This is my first LOTR story, so please have mercy on me. I'm bound to make more than one or two mistakes. I'm in college and not a professional writer.
-I have only read The Hobbit and The LOTR trilogy. Due to that, I do not know as much as some people who have read the other books like The Similarion and The Unfinished Tales. They are on my to-read list though.
-This kind of goes along with the above bullet. I sometimes am not as knowledgeable about Middle Earth history and customs. If you think I am writing something wrong, it may be intentional, but it might not. So, please contact me or review if something looks wrong. I really want to fix my mistakes!
-This is AU (Alternate Universe). I will stick to the main plot line, but details will be changed.
-In this story, premarital sex is practiced by some. Also, I know consummation is part of marriage for elves, but in this story to bind to one another the two participating people will have to actually say words they are bound to each other.
-If I spell the names wrong for places or people please let me know (Only let me know if it is in an edited chapter because if it is unedited, it will be fixed by me). My spell check changes names, so that is mostly why they are messed up.
-I do not own any of Tolkien's works, and this story is just for fun.
-This is kind of Mary-Sueish, so if you don't like it: move on. The main character is a strong individual who has her own secrets and plot.
-This is very important! This story will be a mix of the movie and book as well as my own added stuff. There are different elements from the three sources!
-Oh, and this is important too! If I use the 'Elvish' language, I'm basically just getting it from a site of elvish phrases and words I put together. I know the language is supposed to be Sindarin, but I do not know the language. So, sorry!
So, I hope you guys like the story, and let me know what you think!(:
…
Chapter One
"Come on! Everyone follow the path and don't stray. Keep up!" The English tour guide roared in his heavy accent.
As I trudged along following the huge, tourist group, I could tell he was aiming it towards me.
It's not like I was slow. Well, I was, but I was just taking my sweet time looking at the scenery. If it was a race I could've smoked all these bitches. Maybe he just loathed me because I was American, I thought. It was probably all the candy bars I had been eating on the way. There was no stopping my addiction. I shrugged my shoulders, whatever.
I had just graduated from Loyola Marymount University (writing major) in California and had decided to journey to Europe, a place where I had always wanted to go. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and Laura had urged me to travel before I started a job. Writing had always been a talent of mine, and Laura, being the authoritative figure she was, had pushed me to do this to get inspiration. I thought about my adoptive mother, and a sharp pang shot in my chest. I missed her. She was the only person I truly missed.
I also had wanted to go because being a nature-lover I was very excited to take tours of the mountains in northern England, but this tour guide was on a strict agenda. The rest of the group listened to him intently, and followed him around like little puppies. Maybe I was being rude, but this dude was a total asshole. I pretty much rolled my eyes at every word he said.
He was a short, stout man with an over-sized backpack that was half the size of him. I was informed that this would be a day trip, not a week trip. I looked at my light pack and wondered what he could have in there. My pack was nothing in comparison. I had only brought the essentials: Water, pocket knife, and four candy bars. Make that three, now.
I shoved the Snickers in my mouth and ran hastily towards the group. I almost bumped into the middle-aged guy in front of me when the group stopped. I had really wished this group consisted of hot guys in their twenties, but it mostly had older people.
"And here we have a clearing where you can see part of the mountain range surrounding us." Mr. Grumpy Tour Guide said.
No duh. My annoyance soon went away as my eyes settled on what was before me. All I could see was earth and green and it made me blissfully content. I felt at thoughts were torn away by a sound. It was quiet but seemed like it was getting louder and more distinguished.
I turned around and looked at the woods behind me. Through the trees I noticed a stream and some boulders. I could hear a waterfall. Relief washed over me. Finally, I could jump into water. I was about ready to melt. England seemed like it would be so much cooler than California, but I was sweating buckets here.
"I hear a waterfall!" I tore everyone's attention from the mountains and made them all look in the direction where I heard the water. People seemed to get excited as they were sweaty and uncomfortable like I was, but then confused looks spread on their faces.
"There are no waterfalls or rivers for miles! I don't hear anything!" The tour guide pushed through the crowd to get a better look. Everyone looked around to each other trying to hear something. I didn't know how they could not hear it. The roaring was so loud in my ears. These people were crazy.
"Come on! There are no waterfalls or rivers people. Let's move along to another clearing a half-mile up. We can stop for lunch there," The tour guide elbowed me out of the way and guided the assembly to follow.
Of course, I was left standing and listening to the water. I looked to the disappearing group and then to the direction of the sound. Well, they were going to stop soon, I thought. I dragged my hand through my straight blonde hair feeling the moisture on my neck. Without another thought, I made my way to the boulders. Soon, I couldn't see any of my companions which actually made me feel a little relived. I wasn't skilled with making friends, and this time was no exception.
Two huge boulders stopped me from my short trek as I came up to them. The rushing of water became louder than ever before, and I stuck my ear against the boulder. My ears felt numb with a dull ringing. The water was definitely coming from there. I looked into a dark hole that two boulders created and saw some light at the end. Crouching on the ground, I wiggled into the hole not thinking of the consequences that could come from exploring a random hole in the middle of some boulders.
Before I could even begin to notice how stupid I was being, I saw the waterfall. I was in fact behind it! I made my way to the opening where I saw a huge stream of water that shielded the other side from me. My black tennis shoes squished the mud beneath my feet and almost made me fall. I hesitantly put my hand in the water. I was afraid I would get knocked down along with the river.
This was amazing. I had to get the others and show them. I laughed gleefully and made my way to where I was. Crouching on the ground again, I tried to get through the hole, but there was no hole. Brushing it off, I led my hands across the rock trying to find my escape. I never found it though. It seemed lost to me. How could I not find the way out? Another couple of minutes passed as I frantically tried to find where I entered. This could not be happening. The obscurity of the dark wasn't making anything better and I could frustration seething through me.
After finally realizing, I would not be able to exit the way I entered, I calmed myself down. There had to be an explanation for this. There were a plethora of towns all around where we entered the hiking trail. I would just find one and get a ride back to my hotel. The only problem was going to be getting down from the waterfall. I tore all my panic away from me. I had to be smart, careful, and safe. This was no time for me to be afraid. I tried to plan how I was going to be free of this cave. If I was too hasty, I could get thrown along with the water. I needed to find a way to climb down the rock next to the waterfall. As I tried to secure a safe route, the rushing water didn't allow me to see through the thick covering of blue and white.
I paced in the dark cavern and decided to get closer. I inched nearer to the moving water, and stuck my hand in a bit to see how heavy and fast it was. Leaning a little bit, I noticed maybe I could get through. Suddenly, a hard force struck my back. For a second, I thought it was my own clumsy mistake, but I could feel the connection of something hitting me. Screaming, thinking that this would surely be the end, I closed my eyes. I lost my balance and fell through the water.
It was like it wasn't me experiencing it. When I hit the water I felt nothing and only heard the sound of my body emerging from the swirling pit of what I thought was going to be my doom. I should have stuck with the tour guide.
I woke up on the bank of a river almost forgetting what had happened to me. The memories flooded in my head and I sat up with a start. I was lucky I had not drowned. It was more than luck though. It should have been impossible for me to have survived that when I fell unconscious. My back and arms felt very sore, but nothing seemed broken. I wonder how long I had been out. My eyes trailed over myself, assessing. My wet clothes were weighing down on me, so I decided to take them off to dry in the sun. I stood in the grass in my sports bra and panties and looked around. Everything looked so different. I couldn't sense how or why. There were trees and grass like the forest of course, but I sensed I was somewhere different. Everything around me seemed to be so wild, so alive. It was beautiful too. My surroundings made it difficult for me to be so angry, and it took my mind of things at least for a moment.
I looked at the watch around my wrist to see how many hours of daylight I would have. Finding a town wouldn't be too hard. Unfortunately, even though it was waterproof, it seemed to be going crazy flashing different times. Frustrated after trying to fix the damn thing, I took it off and threw it in my wet backpack. At least my snickers were still okay. I brushed my hands through my long golden hair. It was already dry and perfectly straight. It has a tendency to not be difficult with me. I longed for a mirror, but not in the sense of vanity. I want to examine my face and see if there was blood or cuts. I splashed should some water on my face to make sure I got everything off.
I looked up at the sun and placed my hand above trying to figure something out. I had about two more hours of daylight. How did I know that? Before I could even realize how I just figured out the time without a watch, I froze and heard something in the distance. I couldn't have been sure, but I thought I heard people. It was coming from the West. I had to find civilization or at least people before sun down. Who knows what lurked in these woods. I did not want to encounter any bears or mountain lions if England had those.
Swiftly, I put my black t-shirt over my head and my running shorts over my long legs. They still clung to me due to their dampness, but they would dry quickly, hopefully.
"HELP! IS ANYONE THERE?" I screamed in the direction I heard the people (or what I hoped was people). I could've sworn I heard voices, but the words were too muffled and too far away. I sped along running and running. I had to have been running for an hour before I finally got tired. I was usually so good at running and I was very fit. I was so exhausted though. Placing my hands on my hips, I squinted up at a sun that was barley there. The sun was falling. I had to make camp. A horrid fear popped into my head. How was I supposed to protect myself with a bottle of water, three snicker bars, and a pocket knife? Some instinct within me warned me that I needed to prepare.
I gathered my belongings and went under the shade of a tree. Its roots were huge and I snuggled myself between them. Camping wasn't that foreign to me. I had always enjoyed being outside, and I was comfortable enough to stay here. I decided I would save the candy bars for later because who knows how long I would be traveling until I found a town or city. I needed to save them just in case. I would have to find food in the forest. In one of my college classes, I had learned about foods that were safe to eat in the wild.
Getting up, I surveyed my surroundings. Even if I had a pocket knife, something else larger and sharper should be used as a weapon. Maybe a tree branch would have to suffice for a good enough weapon. I didn't really know the native animals of this land, but I doubted my pocket knife would be good enough to defend myself against them. I didn't usually like to do this, to harm nature, but I had to survive. Hey, on all those TV shows like survivor they made spears out branches right?
Within no time, I had used my pocket knife to make a long branch very pointy and potentially dangerous. I swore if my tour guide found me like this, he would have laughed. A feeling inside me was urging me to protect myself though.
I was about to head back to camp when I came upon some mushrooms. Some mushrooms can be dangerous, but I surveyed them. I was Ninety percent sure they were okay to eat.
So that night, I used skills I obtained to make a fire and I sat there eating mushrooms and sharpening my stick. Yep, I was going to survive.
"These mushrooms are so good!" I said aloud to myself. As I swallowed them, my body began to feel numb. It was like eating a rainbow, I giggled. I put more in my mouth and then I noticed all the colors around me. I was seeing double and everything turned pink.
"WOAH!" I screamed aloud trying to touch the colors. MORE MUSHROOMS! I looked around but there were none. I stumbled on the roots of the tree, while picking up my bag. Everything was so hazy in my head. It was dark, but I didn't really realize it while under the influence of some nasty mushrooms. My only mission was to find more. I heard a song and looked around screaming. I looked down again and noticed I found more. I sank to my knees and laughed while picking more.
"Lle holma ve' edan *You smell like human*" I heard a funny voice talking to me. The words registered in my head, even though I didn't know what language it was. Maybe, German. I turned around angry with the person that interrupted me.
"BAW! *no!*" I bellowed, too high to notice I just said something in a language I don't even know. I faced the annoying voices. There were three people. I couldn't make out their faces, but they were all on horses. Why were people riding horses during the night? Why horses? Their faces blurred for me and I could not distinguish anything, but I didn't notice their pointy ears. What was this heaven?
"Is she an elf?" I heard another voice ask in a language that I was used to speaking. Suddenly I was being picked up. I screamed and threw my hands in the air. Were these elves? Oh no, did they think I was one of their own? Laughter filled me as I laughed. Oh, this was so funny.
"THE ELVES ARE KIDNAPPING ME HELP!" I suddenly bellowed. Where was my sharp stick when I needed it? I grabbed on to it and raised it in the air. I'm pretty sure it connected with something. Then, everything went black for the second time that day.
…
I knew I was dreaming. Everything was clearer than before. I should not have eaten the mushrooms. At least I was aware now. Although, I turned around and noticed I wasn't. In the dream, everything was so blurry and bright. White was the only thing I saw, but then green filled my vision.
Sage eyes looked deep into mine. They were the only clear thing I could see. I wanted to scream, but no sounds came out. It was like I was under another's control.
The eyes continued to stare at me, green in the bright light. The rest of the person was hidden within white light.
"You must protect it," A melodious voice sang. It sounded like a woman's voice. Tears were forming to my eyes, but not because of any sadness. It was the beauty of the voice that effected me.
I wanted to scream what, but nothing came out. A familiar scent rose around me, but I could not identify it.
"You must protect it," the voice sounded closer. The sage eyes were coming towards me.
"It is time," the voice sang. Then, I felt two palms grasp the sides of my face. The hands were soft and delicate and instantly warmed my face. My cheeks became hotter, and I felt something surge in me. I gasped, and everything returned to white once more.