Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot, Brela, Colleen, Jiphon, Rana and Loma.
Woodland Shadows
Colleen was in a weird mood. She wanted to do something big and meaningful, but at the same time she didn't want to do anything. She decided to take a walk, so leaving a note for her parents she went out the front door and locked it behind her. She walked to the park down her block and began to run across the lawn, getting rid of her tension with exercise, not paying particular attention to where she was going. Suddenly without warning she came to the edge of a small cliff. 'A cliff in the park?' just had time to flash through her mind before she went over it with a small scream and lay on the ground, dazed.
When she sat up and looked around she realized that she was lost. There was no sign of the basketball courts on the other side of the park, or the chain link fence surrounding them. She lay near a large beech tree at the edge of a shadowy forest. 'There are no forests in my neighborhood! I live in the suburbs!' As she looked around, wondering where she was and how on Earth she had gotten there, she heard the sound of hooves. A tall, fair man with black hair appeared along the path running out the forest, riding a brown horse. Seeing her, he pulled up, startled, and alighted from his horse. "Might I be of service, my lady?" he asked with a bow. His voice was deep and resonating.
Colleen got up. "Um...yes...could you tell me where I am please?" The man looked puzzled. "You stand at the northern eaves of Mirkwood, near Ered Mithrin." Colleen was sure she hadn't heard right. There was no such place as Mirkwood; that only existed in a book... "Excuse me, did you say Mirkwood?" she asked shakily. "Yes, my lady," he replied.
Colleen thought fast. The man could probably overpower her, and she didn't like the look of the quiver of wicked-looking arrows slung over his shoulder or the long bow in his hand. He probably knew how to use them. He was obviously crazy, but it would be safer to play along, at least for now. Besides, if by some wild impossible chance she was in Mirkwood, she would need to be more courteous. "And whom do I have the honour of addressing?" she asked, in her best Lord-of-the-Rings manner. "Legolas son of Thranduil, of the Elves of Northern Mirkwood at your service," he replied, bowing again. Suppressing a gasp of surprise, Colleen returned the bow and replied "Colleen O'Shea at yours."
"Are you all right?" Legolas asked solicitously, looking at the bump on her forehead. "You are injured." He pointed to her head. Colleen reached up and winced slightly at the pain. "I must have hit my head harder than I thought," she muttered. "I beg your pardon?" "Oh nothing, nothing. It's just...I seem to be...lost." Boy, was that the understatement of the century! Legolas looked at her carefully. "Yes, you do not seem to be from this region. Your clothing is unfamiliar." He swept the most discreet of glances over her dark purple T-shirt, jeans and sneakers.
For the first time Colleen noticed that the elf was wearing a leather jerkin, white tunic, and breeches, with moccasins on his feet. "I will take you to our halls, to meet my father. Can you ride?" "No," said Colleen, looking nervously at the horse. The few times she had tried to ride, she had frozen up at the mass and height of the animal under her. Legolas looked vaguely surprised, but said simply, "I will have to teach you, then." He mounted his horse, and rode him over to a stump. "Step up here." Colleen did so, and with Legolas giving her a hand up, she managed to clumsily swing herself into the saddle behind him.
"I'm going to fall!" she cried, clutching at Legolas. "You will not fall," he said. But Colleen was panicking. The horse must be five feet high, and she had nothing to hold on to. "Colleen!" said Legolas sharply; "You will not fall! Put your hands around my waist and grip the horse's sides with your knees." Colleen did so, slowly relaxing. "He's so high," she whispered. Legolas only said "I will start him out with a walk." He chirruped to the horse. "Hyah, Brela!" he said, and the horse started off slowly. Colleen gripped the horse's barrel more tightly but said nothing. Gradually Legolas urged the horse to a trot, and then to a canter.
As they rode through the woods, Colleen relaxed. She had always loved forests, and to be in Middle-Earth was the fulfillment of one of her secret wishes. The sunlight slanted through the leaves, dappling everything with green-gold light and shadows. The trees were mostly gnarled oaks and cedars, but here and there Colleen caught the silvery glow of a birch in the distance. Then suddenly a horrible thought struck her and she gasped. Reining in his horse, Legolas asked "Is something wrong?" Colleen didn't answer right away. She was too busy thinking of the possibility that she had been plunged into the midst of the great War of the Ring, of which she had read. "Legolas," she said finally, "I know this is going to sound really strange, but what year is it?" Legolas turned and looked at her sharply. "As Men reckon it, it is July tenth of the year 3020." he said. Colleen racked her brain, trying to remember the chronology of the Lord of the Rings. She thought she remembered that Sauron had fallen in March of 3019, but she couldn't be sure.
"So...so the Dark Lord has been cast out?" "Yes, he was defeated some time ago." Legolas replied, then murmured, as if to himself "Where could you be from that you did not know that?" There was an awkward silence, but then Legolas pointed ahead of them "Look!" he cried. Colleen peered over his shoulder and saw a high stone wall. "There are our halls." Legolas said, and urged Brela to a gallop, pulling him up short at the great stone doors.
After his horse was led to a large thatched stable by an elf in green and brown, Legolas led Colleen through vaulted passages supported by pillars carved into the likenesses of ivy-wreathed trees. He stopped in front of two silver doors, which were guarded by an elf in bright armour with a pike in his hand standing on either side. "Hail, Prince of Mirkwood!" these thundered in unison as they approached, banging their pikes on the floor. Legolas bowed low to each of them in turn, then, noticing they were both peering curiously at Colleen he said, "This is Colleen O'Shea. I found her near the Northern boundary of the forest." Colleen made a clumsy bow. "Colleen, these are Jiphon and Loma, two of my father's ceremonial guards." The elves nodded at her as they were named. Jiphon had wavy light-brown hair and hazel eyes, and Loma had blonde hair and blue eyes.
"I will explain things to my father. Wait here until I call you." Legolas disappeared into the throne room and Colleen stood looking nervously around until the door opened again and Legolas beckoned her to enter. She walked slowly down the middle of the throne room, which was lit by the multicoloured light of stained-glass windows. As she approached the throne, she bowed low.
"Welcome to my halls, Colleen of Shea" said Thranduil. He was tall, lordly and fair, with a necklace of white gems, and a sword in a jeweled scabbard. "Thank you, Your Majesty." "My son has told me how he found you at the Northern boundary of our realm. How came you here?"
This was a tricky question. Aside from the fact that Colleen had no idea how she had ended up in Middle-Earth, she was sure King Thranduil would not understand if she said she was from Arizona, but she didn't want to lie to him either. "I come from land far from here, Your Highness" she replied finally. "You are from over the Misty Mountains- from Eriador?" he asked. "No, Your Majesty." "From the South, the Bay of Belfalas, or from Dale in the East?" Colleen shook her head. "I come from a land beyond Middle-Earth, where it is only a story." Thranduil looked puzzled. "You come from over the Sea?" "Oh, goodness, no! My country has no connexion with Middle-Earth and Mirkwood is the last place I expected to end up! I was walking near my house and suddenly I fell over a cliff and was here."
Thranduil nodded, although he did not look entirely satisfied. "Very well. You shall be our guest until we find out more of this matter. Rana will show you to your chamber." A young elf girl stepped forward and led Colleen from the hall.
A/N: I will try to get the next chapter of this fic up soon, as well as sequels to my two others and a third fic I'm working on. Thank you to all reviewers, even those who were critical. I don't mind criticism as long as it's constructive and polite. I gave warning to people who read my NC-17 fic that it was lemon and slash, there was no justification for flames and I ignored all I received.