Chapter 1- Cake, Creepy Aunts and a Change of Scenery, or Two: Katie's Pov:

I woke up to the sound of my mother singing. She sat down on my bed, a small round chocolate cake in her hands. Hm…that was weird; I never got cake not even on my previous birthdays. But there was my mother, sitting on the end of my little bed, holding the cake, grinning like a maniac and waiting for me to blow out the candles.

A small smile spread across my face as I blew out the candles. I closed my eyes and wished the one that I had always dreamt of; Adventure. I wanted something outside the confines of my slightly interesting life. Since I was 5, I've had this dream, every night, for 12 years now. I always dream of seeing this exciting new place, somewhere that people don't even believe exist. It's a rather stupid dream, but it's what keeps me going through the good, the bad and the ugly. And believe me, I'd seen ugly. Just to clarify, I mean finding my Dad dead, beaten to death in an ally way on his way home from work. I think that's what really changed me. I used to be loud and out there. But now, I'm just the quiet little nerdy girl.

There is only one person I actually talk to in school. Her name's Mia. She and I have been friends since Kindy, when I saw a bunch of blondes-I have nothing against blondes in general, only the bitchy ones, see how mad they make me? I only ever swear when I am describing or talking to bitchy blondes! - picking on her, calling her names that no five year old should have known. Anyway, I went over to the blondes and told them to 'go stick their heads in a pile of horse shit.' And surprisingly, I was one that got in trouble for that!

Mum threw a soft little parcel into my lap, bringing me back to the present. I carefully unwarped the tissue paper and looked at the bundle inside. They were shirts. Four to be exact. All were of the same design, but each a different colour. I pulled the one on top of the pile out to examine it. It was a deep, earthy brown made of thin cotton that had the appearance of being slightly waterproof. I don't mean like swimmers, but it had a sort of a shine about it. It had four buttons that weren't really necessary, more for design than practicality. The sleeves and bottom of the shirt twisted on odd angles to create a ripple effect. I looked down at the other shirts; they were white, black and dark green as well as ¾ pants in the same colours. The pants had large pockets, done up with buttons and a mall bow on the side.

"Wow! Thanks Mum!" I say, throwing my arms around her neck.

"Hey! There's still more!" she laughs, chucking two large boxes at me.

I open the first and pull out a pair of knee-high, camo print, lace up boots and a small old fashion backpack out of the other.

"Thanks!" I laugh, throwing Mum another small smile. I can't believe it. I'm 17 today.

I walk over to the wardrobe and pull out my school uniform.

"Not today Hun!" Mum laughs, throwing my uniform over a chair "Meet me downstairs, we're going out for breakfast!"

I should have known. Mum took me out to this little café around the block and dropped just about the biggest bomb shell imaginable!

~Flashback~

Mum and I sat down in a quiet corner. I was wearing my green shirt and brown pants with my new boots. Mum sighed into her coffee cup.

"Katie…" I could tell this wasn't easy for her, so I tried my best to me patient. "Katie, Honey…I'm sending you to live at your Aunt's!" she blurted, looking away so I wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. Now you may think that going to live with your Aunt is cool or fun! But not my aunt. My Aunt was strict, prim and proper. She ruled with an iron fist. She was the worst cook in the world; all she could make was mystery goo that tasted strangely of burnt turnips.

"… What? You can't be serious!" I managed after a few minutes.

Mum turns back to me, her eyes full of tears. Crap.

~End Flashback~

So now here I am, packing what little items I have into the backpack. Mum is refusing to talk to me. What did I do? I mean, I know I wasn't exactly…understanding. But still, I hardly deserve the silent treatment.

I hate bus rides, always have. So a four hour bus trip to the middle of nowhere? It was living hell. But hey, at least I didn't kill anybody. Yet. Aren't you proud of me?

We arrived in this town that was so god dam clean, you needed to wear sunglasses to look at it. Now when I say Aunt, I mean 50yr old great Aunt. Mum grew up with her after her parents in a car crash. Must explain Mum's fascination with keeping the house clean. The inside of my Aunts house is completely dark wood. WHAT IS THIS WOMAN'S FACINATION WITH WOOD?! Anyway. Aunt Meredith-yes her name is Meredith, I'd be angry at the world too – Showed me up to the attic that was going to be my bedroom. A pink bead curtain covered the door, rattling as we entered. The room was small, with only one small pink lamp, filling the room with a soft glow. The bed was white covered in a pink bedspread. WHAT WAS THIS WOMAN'S FASINATION WITH PINK!? That was about it. Mum left without so much as a backward glance, leaving me to wallow in my own self pity.

"Katie!" my Aunt calls after me.

Maybe not.

"Yes?" I asked. Giving her a tired look.

"Dinner is ready" with that she stormed off to the kitchen

I'm exhausted. It took all my energy to convince Aunt Meredith that I wasn't hungry. Truthfully, I just didn't have the stomach for mashed turnips. I managed to escape to my room, throwing myself down on the bed. I couldn't be bothered to change, instead crawling under the covers, boots and all. I opened my eyes to a strange green glow. Oh crap! I fell asleep. I looked over at the clock. Midnight. I love midnight. It's so mysterious and creepy. I love how Roald Dahl describes it as the witching hour in the BFG. Speaking of witching hour. I turned to the end of my bed and saw a lady, a beautiful lady with wavy golden hair and a flowing white dress. Well…this is one of the stranger dreams I'd had! The lady gave me a soft sympathetic smile. I got out of bed and walked to wads her. Now most normal people would have alarm bells ringing if they woke up in the middle of the night to find a strange lady at the end of their bed who seemed to be…glowing in the dark. I want it on record. I'm not normal.

"Follow me" the lady said in a voice that reminded me of wind chimes. My hand reached for my backpack and followed her out the door. Now I know you are probably screaming at me saying "why are you going with the freaky lady?!" and yes, for all I know she could be a mass murder, but what harm would it do? That's what I like most about dreams. You can make a dozen deadly mistakes and still wake up in one piece in the morning. The lady turned again and gave me another sad smile.

"My name is Lady Galadriel of the woods" Galadriel whispered leading me down the stairs. With one hand on the front door she turned to me, her eyes making me feel plexiglass.

"Happy birthday, Katie." She whispered throwing the front door open. A green light blinded me. When I opened m eyes I was lying in a grass clearing. My head was killing me! Crap. Dream don't hurt this much. That means that there really was a lady standing in front of me, I really was lying in a grass clearing and I really and truly had no idea where I was.

"I must say, I only understand about half of what you say, and only half of that makes sense." Lady Galadriel smiled, offering me a hand.

"Thank you" I replied. My voice, well, it didn't sound too much different, maybe slightly more musical. I walked to the edge of the clearing and looked down at the town. It was beautiful, unlike anyplace I'd ever seen.

"What IS this place?" I breathed in amazement.

"That my child is Rivendell. Welcome to middle earth"

(Hi ya'll thanks for reading my story. Please review so I know if I should continue or not!! Also special thanks to my cozez JaneVolturi and Bella for editing and brainstorming with me and to Hammy and Izzy for inspiration and reviewing to make sure it was perfect by the time it got to you guys!

Lots of love and hugs

Lostsouloftheunderworld-xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo