Disclaimer - I do NOT own Nowhere Boys or Lord of the Rings. All rights go to the original owners.

Divinity - A Nowhere Boys Fanfiction

Chapter 1

The old rusted bell that hung above the entrance to the shop jingled as the door swung open with a deafening creak. The shopkeeper, a grumpy looking middle-aged woman named Catherine, who was busy packaging crystals in little Ziploc bags, glanced up at the person who had just entered. The customer was a girl of about 16 with long, wavy, brown hair, bright blue eyes, snow-white skin and dark purple lips. The girl was also dressed from head to toe in all black. Black bowler hat, black shirt, black fingerless gloves, black skirt, black tights and black boots. A leather handbag which - surprise, surprise - was also black, hung on her shoulder.

Catherine rose from her seat and addressed the girl in a bored tone. "Can I help you, Miss...?"

"Ripley" the girl said. "Eden Ripley"

"Can I help you, Miss Ripley?" Catherine asked again.

Eden shook her head. "No thanks. I'd like to have a look around, if that's ok with you."

Catherine nodded. "Go ahead. Take all the time you need. I'm in no hurry to close."

Eden smiled her thanks, then proceeded to wander around the small shop, admiring all the brightly coloured dream catchers hanging from the ceiling and all the tables and cabinets laden with amulets, tiny fairy statues, ceramic frogs and skeleton tealights.

"We don't have any vampire books if that's what you're looking for" Catherine said as Eden walked over to the bookshelves.

Eden sighed. She'd heard that before. "I don't want vampire books" she said matter-of-factly.

Catherine rolled her eyes. "My mistake"

Eden sighed again. Pleasant to be in the company of such a friendly, good-natured person! She thought bitterly. Then something caught her eye. "This is pretty" she said, picking up a small stone hanging on a piece of thread. The stone was brown and circular, decorated with swirling patterns and all the zodiac symbols were engraved around the edge. It reminded her of a necklace she'd seen in a TV show.

"That's a talisman" Catherine told her. "I found it outside my shop one morning. I kept it, thinking someone might come and claim it, but no-one ever did"

"I'll buy it" Eden offered.

Catherine stared at her. "What would you want with a talisman?"

Eden shrugged. "I don't know. It might be nice to wear"

"You could get some strange looks if you're seen wearing that in public" Catherine pointed out.

"I'm a Goth. I always get strange looks" Eden replied.

"Well, if you insist" Catherine said. "That'll be seven pounds, fifty pence"

Eden handed her a ten pound note. "Keep the change" she said as she headed out the door, taking the talisman with her.

Eden Ripley was born in London, England to substitute teacher Susan Ripley. Eden's father, a drug-addled layabout, had run off with another woman when Eden was 5. But she and her mother didn't care. They knew they could manage fine without him and they did.

Eden had decided at the age of 10 that she was going to be a Goth. She had always adored the fashion and she loved reading 19th Century gothic novels, especially Frankenstein. She also had a fascination with the occult. Her mother had, at first, been a little freaked out by Eden's wardrobe change but was relieved by the fact that she had decided not to mutilate her body with piercings (the thought of having needles stuck in places they had no right to be made Eden shudder).

Unfortunately, life as a Goth wasn't always great. At school it was never rare for Eden to be called weird or a freak, amongst many other names, or for her to be alone often. Not that she cared. Being a Goth wasn't about popularity anyway.

Then she discovered the show Nowhere Boys, a TV show about four boys who get stuck in a universe where they don't exist. Two weeks and several magic spells later, they find their way home, only to discover they had elemental powers. The moment Eden discovered the show, it was love at first sight. She loved everything about it: the drama, the action, the amazing visual effects and, of course, the four main characters: Felix, Andy, Sam and Jake. Felix was Eden's favourite character, not just because she thought he was quite cute but also because she found him to be a very relatable character. He, like Eden, was often bullied for the way he looked and also had an interest in magic.

Fresh out of high school, the 16-year-old wasn't sure what to do with her life until she heard about the Stratford University of Myths and Magic which specialised in palm-reading, astral projection and suchlike. Eden applied for a place there the first chance she got and, to her delight, was accepted.

It was now the summer holidays and, in a month, she would be heading off to start her new life at university. She didn't know what to expect but she was sure they wouldn't be as bad as her schoolmates. And it wasn't just them she had to worry about. Whenever she was out in public, she was at constant risk of hearing the occasional wisecrack such as "Why do you dress like that?", "It's not Halloween yet" and "You know, you'll never get a job looking like that". Fortunately for Eden, she always had a comeback prepared for the last of these: "Honey, clothes like this don't come cheap. How do you think I can afford to pay for them?"

Eden and her mother had never exactly lived in poverty but they were far from rich. Eden helped out in any way she could and she had certainly done her fair share of work. At the age of 12, she had gotten a job distributing catalogues and brochures in her neighbourhood. She also had to work 14 waitressing jobs to pay the fees for university. She just hoped it would all be worth it.

When Eden got home, she found the house empty. Her mother must've been out working. As well as her job as a substitute teacher, sh sometimes worked an extra job selling tickets at the cinema. And yet somehow she always managed to keep the house presentable. Every window was always shining bright, every room was immaculate and every surface was kept free of dust. In the springtime, there was always a violet vase filled with freshly picked lavender that took pride of place on the kitchen table while the cabinets that displayed her mother's collection of bone china animals sat on either side of the big red sofa in the family room.

After setting her handbag down in a chair, Eden walked over to the hall mirror, a tall rectangle piece of silver glass rimmed with gold and roughly the same height as Eden. Keeping her attention focused on the talisman, she carefully hung it around her neck, then gazed at its reflection, and hers, in the mirror. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Suddenly she gave a jolt and jumped back as if the mirror had just tried to attack her. She could've sworn she had just heard a voice whispering in her ear. Eden looked around frantically, half-expecting to see somebody standing in the room with her. Then something drew her attention back to the mirror. Was it her imagination or was the talisman glowing? Eden looked down at the stone hanging around her neck and, sure enough, it was emitting a dull yellow light. The voice echoed in her ears again and this time the words were crystal clear: "Elements of the universe, within and without, space be no hindrance, no barrier, no bar." Eden's breath came in gasps and her heart was battering her ribs as she feebly grasped onto the talisman. What was going on?

Eden nearly had a heart attack when the mirror also began to glow that same yellow light. Stretching out a quivering hand, she cautiously approached the mirror but, instead of feeling its cold, smooth surface beneath her fingertips, her hand went straight through the glass which rippled like disturbed water. Before she had time to react, another hand that felt like ice grabbed her arm and pulled her forward, straight into the mirror, ignoring her shrill scream of terror and shock.