Return to Middle-earth

by Sardhrantor

Sequel to "The Time That is Given Us". Aubrey accidentally tells her new friend, Hope, of her previous adventures, unfortunately at the cost of a good relationship. But things take a turn for the worse (or better, depending on which way you look at it) once they are both sent to Middle-earth, and so begin a journey learning about life, bravery, and friendship.

1. Hope

Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings or anything related to it. Those belong to Tolkien.

Aubrey Thompson opened her backpack and slid her books into the biggest compartment, then, tossing the blue backpack onto her shoulder, joined the mob of students crowding into the cafeteria for lunch. This was her first day of sixth grade at Redwood Middle School. She was new to the concept of school; before, she had been home schooled. The Thompson family had a tradition that when a child finished fifth grade, she enrolled the next year at Redwood Middle. And Aubrey was the last to do this, for she was the youngest of the three Thompson children.

Food in hand, Aubrey stood looking at each table. She recognized a girl from her math class sitting at one table. Aubrey strolled over to the girl and sat in the empty seat to her right. "Hi, you're in my math class, aren't you?"

The girl looked up and pushed her black hair back from her face. "Oh, yeah!" She smiled.

"I'm Aubrey," she said, putting out her hand.

"Hope," said the girl, shaking Aubrey's proffered hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You too!" Aubrey couldn't help it—her eyes scrolled down to the sketchbook Hope held in her lap, pencil gliding along, drawing a line. But what interested Aubrey was the subject Hope was drawing: "Is that Éowyn, from The Lord of the Rings?" Aubrey had to ask.

Hope smiled. "Yes, it is! Are you a fan too?"

"Sure am! Is she your favorite character?"

"No," said Hope. "Frodo's my favorite."

"I think he's cool, too," Aubrey replied, "but my favorite is Éowyn."

"Oh, really? My mum really likes her too."

"Nice," said Aubrey. She looked at her sketch pad again. "So you like drawing?"

"Yes," Hope said, "but I like painting even more. I also sew a lot."

"What do you like to sew?"

"Lots of things. But I do a lot of Middle-earth costumes. I'm a huge fan." Hope began to stack her dishes on her tray. "If you like, you can come to my house this weekend. I'll show you some of my things."

"All right—I'll ask my mom if I can come," said Aubrey, rising from her seat to take her tray away. "See ya."

"Bye!" said Hope.

A/N: My first chapter of the new version is out! Woooooo…

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