Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Lord of the Rings *sigh*, they belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. Alex and Mark (and any other original characters) however, are my own creation.

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Alex pulled her brown hair back into a pony tail and glanced at her clock. It was nearly 8:30, and the bus would be there soon. High school was not something she really looked forward to everyday, but, it would all be over with soon. She was almost 18, and graduating in only two months. Sandy, one of her ever-changing foster mothers, yelled up the stairs,

"Hurry up, you're gonna be late!"

She grabbed her backpack as she yelled back, "I'm coming!"

She got to school and her best friend, Mark, was waiting by her locker. He was her age, perhaps a bit taller, with green eyes and black hair.

"Sheesh, that was a close one!" he teased her. "You were almost two minutes late! Thank goodness for Sandy, eh?"

Alex rolled her eyes in disgust, "Oh you know how it is, she always freaks when I have a test coming up".

Mark groaned "A test! AH, man I totally forgot! Umm...I don't suppose you've been studying perchance, have you?" Alex replied sarcastically "Of course I have. Right after I watched my daily two hours of Fellowship of the Ring".

"Oh please!" Mark said. "Why is it that you ALWAYS skip to the part where Boromir comes in? You know, you'll start to forget the beginning of the story if you keep that up." Alex gave him a punch in the arm and closed her locker as the bell rang.

'It's more exciting after he comes into the movie anyways' she thought as she entered her English class.

All her notes for the upcoming test were prepared, and she was feeling confident that she would ace it. Everyone was present in class, so of course it was deafeningly loud. Alex glanced around the room, but she couldn't see where Mrs. Drake, the English teacher was. Just then someone came into the room.

"Calm down class!! Good grief, you're supposed to be adults here". Alex saw it was Mr. Rollick, the principal.

"Mrs. Drake is sick today, so I'd like you all to sit and study for your upcoming test. You have 20 minutes, and then proceed to your next class". With that, he left to go back to his office.

'Well, that's just great. He's an idiot if he thinks that this class is going to sit still, be quiet, and "study" for 20 minutes'. Alex thought to herself.

Mark tapped her shoulder "Hey, how about I come over to your house later and we can do some more studying then, okay?" "Oh, sure!" Alex replied, "That would be fine. I have something I wanted to show you anyway..." "Ok, I'll ride home with you on the bus".

Mark picked up his books and shuffled out of the class as soon as the twenty minutes had passed.

School dragged on and Alex was beginning to think it would never be over. Finally the bell rang and everyone made their way to the buses. Mark found a spot and Alex went over to sit beside him. He got out his Lord of the Rings trivia cards that he always kept handy.

"Okay, see if you can get this one: What three words does Théoden use to describe the Wargs?" Alex rolled her eyes, twirled her hair around her finger, and sighed "So simple, it's almost painful...The Wolves of Isengard." Mark kept it up with the Trivial Pursuit cards until the bus came to a stop.

Alex grabbed her backpack and ran inside the house. "Sandy? Hey! I'm home". "Alright. I'm a bit busy, finishing up my sewing here." Her foster mother's voice trailed off, "No problem, Mark's here with me to work on some homework. We'll be in my bedroom."

With that Alex went upstairs, and Mark followed her to her room. She dropped her backpack and turned on the fan. Alex turned to Mark, "Hey hand me my CD case, would you?" she said, pointing behind him. Mark leaned over to grab the case. "Sure, here you go. Now what was it you wanted to show me?" They both sat on her bed, and Alex brought out her CD cover for The Two Towers, limited edition, with a stunning photo of Legolas on it.

"Ok, check this out…tell me what you see that's out of the ordinary" Alex placed the CD cover in Marks hands and watched his face. "Hmm...I don't see anything...OH Wait!" Alex's eyes lit up, excited that her friend would be enough of a LOTR fan to notice minute details "His hair looks a bit different, riiight??" Mark said, sounding like he actually knew what he was talking about. Alex rolled her eyes "No, you dork. Look at his eyes!! They're brown in that photo!" After he took a closer look he noticed, "Oh man how could they have made that much of a blooper, and on such a huge scale too..." Alex took the picture back "Exactly...weird huh?"

Alex started looking closely at Legolas' eyes. Suddenly they overwhelmed her and she couldn't make herself look away. It seemed his eyes were enchanting her, drawing her close to some unknown place. After a few moments, she felt Mark's hands on either side of her face, pulling her eyes towards his.

"Alex!! Take a look around! Something is way wrong here!" Mark said in a panicked voice. Alex looked at him, his expression snapping her out of the spell. She looked around, taking everything in. They were still sitting on her bed, but they were definitely not in her room anymore. They were in the middle of a heavily wooded forest.

"Where are we?!" Alex asked, turning to Mark. He appeared to be equally puzzled. "I have absolutely no clue!" He replied. They got up off the bed and, staying close to each other, started to walk around. Alex was facing a northerly direction when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She shrieked and turned. In front of her, to her surprise, were those same eyes that she'd been studying not a moment earlier.

"I heard you cry out." Legolas said.

Alex examined his face in shock, "Oh my gosh…Legolas?!"

He released her shoulder and took a step back, looking a bit puzzled himself. "Yes, that is my name" he replied. "Who are you, and what business do you have here?"

Mark puffed up his chest a bit, stretched out his hand and said "Hi there, I'm Mark. We were just…exploring your lovely woods here…and uh…" he trailed off, beginning to realize that he wasn't sounding so impressive.

Alex quickly stepped in and took over for Mark's blubbering, "We were traveling to Rivendell to visit Lord Elrond."

Mark's face was filled with surprise. 'What is she up to now?' he wondered. He decided not to interfere and glanced at Legolas to see how he was taking all this. He couldn't help but notice how Legolas avoided looking directly at Alex as he responded, taking a sudden interest in his surroundings.

'Must be how she's dressed…'  Mark thought, glancing at her short shorts.

Legolas seemed to regain his composure and said, "I too am traveling to Rivendell. Would you care to accompany me?" Alex eyes were aglow as she answered, "OH, yes! We would like that very much..." Mark shot her a look, but went along with it.

"Very well then" Legolas replied. He held his horse's reigns. "My lady" he said, giving them to Alex.

'Oh man...I hope I can do this and look like I know what I'm doing' she thought. "Thank you" she said as she pulled her leg up, trying to get her foot in the stirrup.

She wasn't exactly in riding clothes, but she managed to get on the horse anyhow. Legolas went to hand her the reigns again once she was in the saddle.

Alex panicked, 'My gosh, I don't know what to do with those!' She tried to hide her uncertainty and smoothly said "I would be so much more comfortable if you could lead the horse." Legolas gave a slight nod, and after a roll of the eyes from Mark, they were off.

They had traveled for a few hours when they stopped at a stream to rest and water the horse.

Mark turned to Alex and whispered "My feet are killing me!"

Alex said "Oh, come on Mark…We're living something we never would've thought possible. We're in middle earth for crying out loud, and all you can do is complain about your feet?"

She was so excited; she could barely keep her voice down. "I mean, this is so cool!! I wonder if we'll see any tree-herders? Do you suppose you can recognize them at once, or do they have to kind of 'wake up' like in the movie…Where are we anyway?" She was about to continue, but was interrupted by Mark insistent voice.

"Alex! Get a grip…We still have to figure out what to do next. I am tired, sore, and hungry…I am in not in the mood to look for 'Treebeard'. If I would've thought logically, I'm sure I would've worn my hiking boots this morning. Like I really expected us to be here…" Mark whispered sarcastically.

Alex hissed and motioned to Legolas, "Mark! Be quiet! He can probably hear every word you're saying…I am sure we're not sounding very middle earth-ish. Besides, the way we look is bad enough as it is."

She glanced down at her clothes. She had gotten dressed in a bit of a hurry that morning and was wearing her favorite pair of jeans shorts with a Tinkerbelle t-shirt. She was also beginning to realize that her pink flip flops weren't suited for journeying through the woods…

She started to feel sorry for making fun of Mark for complaining about his shoes. "Mark, I think we should take turns on the horse from now on. I need the chance to stretch my legs anyway…"

Mark didn't get the chance to respond to the sudden change in her tone as Legolas was coming their way just at that moment.

Once he was by their side, he turned to Mark and said, "I can take you no further without inquiring as to the purpose behind your travel to Rivendell. Your earlier conversation, that I couldn't help overhearing, left room for suspicion."

Mark glanced at Alex questioningly. He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Alex's authoritative tone.

"The reason for our meeting with Lord Elrond is for his ears alone. All you need to know is that it's a matter of great importance."

Mark raised his eyebrows, impressed with how diplomatic she sounded.

Legolas seemed unconvinced, but replied, "Very well. We shall continue our journey."

The rest of the trip to Rivendell was uneventful as they continued in somewhat uncomfortable silence. Once they arrived, Alex realized what they were there for. Legolas helped her off the horse, then bowed and left to attend to his steed.

Alex turned to Mark in excitement. "Mark! This is the council! This is where they decide what to do with the ring!! OH MAN I can't believe this! It's sooo cool". Mark didn't seem quite as enthused to be there.

"Oh yeah...great…a perfect world surrounded by a bunch of perfect guys. What more could I hope for, eh?"

She ignored him and started studying the elvish writing on the walls. "This is just amazing…" Alex looked up to see more guests arriving. She was a bit lost in the crowd, but she could make out Gimli and Boromir. Then she saw Elrond coming down the steps gracefully, as only elves can do, to greet everyone.

"Boromir, Gimli, Aragorn, Legolas…it is my honor to be in your company."

They all bowed in turn as he addressed them. His eyes stopped when they reached Mark and Alex.

"Who are these guests?"

Mark stepped forward, "My name is Mark. I'm from Kentucky."

Elrond gave a slight nod of his head, and looked at Alex.

"I am Alexandria of the Lexington realm"

Elrond bowed, and said "Enter. Rest yourselves. You must all be wearied from your journey." As he turned and went inside, everyone followed.

Alex started walking up the steps to join them, but Mark gripped her arm. "Alexandria?! Excuse me...I thought you absolutely HATED that name. And what's with the 'Lexington Realm' bit?" Alex rolled her eyes and said "I'm simply playing the part. I don't want to make them think we're like from another world or whatever. They'll totally freak! Besides, I'm having fun!" Mark sighed and started up the stairs. "Oh, come on. Just wait 'till you get a cool sword or something. You'll have a blast!"

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A/N I know it's not long, but it's my first story and I am still working on it. I will update faithfully, I promise! Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks so much!!