Chapter One:

Someone is going to pay for this...

If someone ever told me that there was another world, and that there were actual ways to get there, I would have immediately told them to go back to their padded white rooms and strait jackets. But, now that I am actually IN another world, it leads me to believe that I am the crazy one. That's something that I don't doubt at all. Who the hell else would jumps off of a twenty-foot high bridge just to save a precious family heirloom?

Certainly not me . . . what? Fine, so what if I did? I really liked that necklace, and my father would have KEELED me if I lost it. Literally.

So now, here I am. Lost. Utterly and completely lost. I certainly am not in Toronto anymore. I think I would have remembered this huge freaking forest here.

Meh . . . I think I should introduce myself and probably tell you about how I found myself to be in this situation. Hi, my name is Elizabeth L. Johnston. I prefer to be called Beth, or Lizzie, but you can go by whatever the hell floats your boat. Ain't gonna bother me none.

The day started off completely and utterly normal. I woke up, fell out of bed, had a shower, tripped downstairs, ate some pretty much burnt toast, and went to work at the Diner. My boss yelled at me, my ass got pinched, my hand got busted up from punching said ass-pincher, and I went to the "hospital" as I like to call it. My friend Marie, a nurse in training, always tells me to go to her first when I get banged up, or something of the like, so I called her apartment my own personal hospital. She was an amazing women; ten years my senior, as I was only twenty-one. She was tall and elegant; extremely beautiful, amazing voice.

And, she was a lesbian. I smile at the irony of it; she was the type of women that all the guys dream about, but she was a lesbian. Oh well, at least I would never have to worry about some oaf of a man stealing away my best friend.

The day was more or less the same as every other day. I started thinking about my life as Marie cleaned off my hand with peroxide; which from all the times I got cuts and bruises I've become oblivious to the stinging sensation.

"I hope you got that asshole good." Marie grumbled.

"Yeah, I sure did. Knocked him the hell out, and nearly lost my job. Maybe next time, I'll knock him harder and Mike will finally fire me." I laughed, sweeping my good hand through my short and spiky black hair.

She flicked me on the ear, "Don't be a dumbass Lizzie, you NEED that job. You need the money."

I sighed, "Yeah, yeah; I know. I just really hate that man."

She liberally wrapped up my hand with gauze and tied it off; she leaned back in her chair and combed her fingers through her long golden, wavy hair, playing with strands of it.

"Well, since I don't have to work for the rest of the day, do you wanna go to the park?" I asked her.

"Sorry, I can't. I've got training tonight. Speaking of which, I should be getting ready for!" She got up and walked me to the door.

"Ah, it's okay." I grabbed my leather jacket from the rack on the wall, "I'll see you tomorrow at lunch?"

"It's a date." She laughed.

"Sorry Marie, no matter how much of a jerk they can be, I still have not stopped liking the thing we like to call MEN."

"I shall corrupt you one of these days! I swear it!" she giggled maniacally and I found myself laughing my ass off too.

I walked home to my apartment that was only three blocks away. I changed out of my work clothes and into my regular attire; black jeans, a charcoal grey t-shirt that said "ROCKSTAR" on it, and my black and white striped arm warmers. If you haven't guessed it by now, I'm one of those punk-ass kids you see at the smoking corner. Hell yes, I party, I skateboard, I snowboard, but I don't do drugs, smoke, or drink alcohol. Nope, not with parents like mine; the ones that would kill you if they found out you did drugs, or interrogate you mercilessly when you come home with the faintest smell of cigarette on you. I'm a hell of a lot smarter than that! I've got my college education and whatever else you would need to succeed in life. Yet . . . I work at a Diner.

Life is very strange sometimes.

Sorry, I got off track there. I gathered up my kitbag - or as some would call it, a messenger bag – that was covered in buttons and stickers that I had collected over the years, and filled it up with some fruits and stuff that I could eat when I got to the park. I also grabbed my MP3 and a couple of batteries too, just in case I got bored, or a bunch of girlie teenagers decided to take a trip to the park today and I wanted to block their annoying giggles out.

And then I was gone out the door, making sure to lock it, and then made my way to the park.

The park was quiet, only containing a few joggers or couples on a bench. I found a tree and sat under it, taking out a banana from my kitbag and munching away on that. Other than that, I just relaxed in the sun; soaking up its happy rays.

When looking back, I think I closed my eyes for about a minute. I was thinking about a song – it might have been country – and when I opened my eyes, the park was gone.

In its place, was this huge forest, in which I have been wandering in for about an hour, maybe two? I've tripped on roots and other shrubbery about twenty times, cursed about a hundred times when I received a cut or scrape from my clumsiness, and almost fell into a river.

"Ah nature, you may be beautiful, but I hate you so much right now."

I glared at the tree that I sat next to, and then scooted away from it. Stupid tree. Stupid nature, stupid everything! Where the hell I ended up, I have no sweet clue, but if someone doesn't find me soon, I'm going to go ballistic!

I haven't seen so many trees in my entire life, and for a brief moment, I don't really regret that fact. But then again, fewer trees in our world add to the growing threat of Global Warming; something I'm not really fond of. In fact . . . I should be more appreciative of these trees, as they are basically the reason we can breath- I hissed sharply when I tripped over another tree root. Then again . . .

I sat up and looked at the damage. Everything seemed to be fine, no cuts or anything, so I got up and brushed off the dirt and leaves that stuck to my clothes. I went to step and immediately fell back down hissing in pain.

"Oh for FUCK sakes!"

Isn't nature bloody-fucking wonderful?

"Stupid, stupid! Oh if I ever find out who the hell did this to me I'm going to make them beg for mercy and wish they were never BORN!"

Oh yeah, I was definitely not a happy camper. My clothes were torn and shredded, similar to my skin as well; which bared many scratches and scrapes from the rugged terrain. I was lugging myself along, using a large stick to support my weight. I had taken off my boot, in fear of not being able to get it off later if my ankle began to swell, which it did. I knocked as much dirt off of it as I could and put it in my kitbag, underneath the remaining food in there, which wasn't much; two apples, a pear, and an orange.

Oh yes, I was pretty much doomed if I didn't find civilization soon. This forest is starting to get awfully dark and creepy, probably my imagination, and the air was pretty humid. The forest was so thick that the air was trapped in it, and I was starting to find it hard to breath. I sat down with the help of a nearby tree, propping up my foot with my kitbag.

It was then that I felt a strange feeling grow in my chest. It took a few minutes to realize that it was the feeling that you get when you need to cry. I don't like crying.

A strangled sob escaped from my lips.

On second thought, I think I am going to cry. Screw my pride.

I wrapped my arms around my stomach and the feeling grew and grew, until the dam finally burst. I began sobbing, pretty much uncontrollably. I was frustrated that I was crying, but that made me only cry harder.

It's only been four hours at the least, and I've already started cracking . . . go me.

It's now night time, I think. It's hard to tell in this forest. I was now glad that the forest was still warm, or else I would probably be freezing right now. My ankle is still swollen, and there are angry purple bruises around it where the root twisted it. Not a pretty sight, I can tell you that. In fact, I'm probably not a pretty sight myself.

As for my food supply, I now have one apple, a pear, and the orange left. Oh joy.

"Someone is most definitely going to pay for this."

"Well, what do we have here? A human? Lost and alone in the forest of Valinor."

"What? Who's there? Come on out and show yourself!" I growled out threateningly.

There was a giggle, soft and melodious, and a chuckle, deep and throaty. Two figures appeared in the clearing from the darkness. I jumped to my feet and wielded my walking stick as a weapon. They came closer, but I jabbed the branch at them.

"Don't! Don't come any closer!"

"You have nothing to fear, child. We only wish to help you and mend your wounds."

There was a silence as I contemplated the dangers of letting these strange people near me. For one, they were all glowy and stuff. They literally exuded light! And, they did not show their faces, and they haven't even told me their names; not exactly trustworthy actions.

"Well, who are you?" I asked, "And come on, what's with the hoods? You can take them off, ya know."

There was another moment of chuckles, and then they both swept off their hoods. I unabashedly stared in awe. These were some beautiful people here.

The male, who was tall and exuded a great physical strength, nodded his head in greeting.

"I am known as Tulkas, Champion of Valinor. This is my wife, Nessa the Dancer."

"Riiight. Well, seeing as you two are the first human beings I've encountered, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Go ahead; mend away! My name is Elizabeth Johnston, by the way. I don't have any fancy titles like you two, but – sorry, I'm rambling."

The two laughed merrily and approached me. I jumped when Tulkas picked me up bridal style.

"When you said mending, this is not exactly what I had in mind."

"Dear child, we must take you back to where the medical supplies are. It is not every day that we run into a human in Valinor who is injured so greatly. We do not carry supplies-"

"Alright, I get it. It was a stupid question." I interrupted, my ears burning red.

And after that it was pretty much silent. Nessa started humming a song in her soft voice, and soon after, Tulkas joined him, his humming rumbling against my arm.

And after that, I fell asleep. I suspect that was their purpose when they did that. I couldnt bring myself to care, however, as I was now having some nice dreams of Hugh Jackman.

"Oh yes, that was definitely the best sleep I have ever had." I mumbled in delight, snuggling further into the soft comforter and bed. "Oh em gee this is comfy..."

Well, that would be my inner nerd shining through.

I snuggled again and sighed. It was Saturday today; that meant no work and I could sleep in! Though not for long; Marie would be coming over soon.

Wait a second. . .

I shot up in the bed, shaking off the dizziness and fogginess of sleep that clouded my head. I remembered what had happened yesterday; appearing in the strange forest, the cuts and bruises I gained, my ankle, and meeting those strange glowy people.

I looked around. I was definitely not in my dark and messy room. The room was really white, with undertones of cream and blue.

"Nice room. . ."

"I am glad you like it Elizabeth." A voice said that was way too cheery for my liking this early in the morning.

I turned to the door on the right of the room, "Nessa, was it?"

She nodded.

"Alright. So where am I, and how'd I get here?"

She came further into the room and stood next to the bed.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Oh, no. Go right ahead! It isn't really my bed anyways."

She sat down gracefully and kept her eyes trained on me.

"If you feel up to it, I would like to ask you some questions." At my nod, she went ahead, "Elizabeth is a strange name for a boy."

"Ah, excuse me, but I am not a boy."

She raised an elegant eyebrow. Nessa stood up from the bed and walked to the other side of the room.

"Come. Look in the mirror and see for yourself."

My heart jumped to my throat. I climbed out of bed and walked over slowly, suddenly afraid of what I was about to see. When I looked in the mirror, I wanted to both squee and faint at the same time.

"Holy crap! I look like Hugh Jackman! Except younger!"

After I had hyperventilated for a good half an hour, I became fascinated with the body that was now in place of my own. Hugh Jackman was bloody beautiful, I can tell you that much. I stood in front of that mirror for a good ten minutes admiring the hotness that was Hugh Jackman.

"I think you have spent long enough staring at your reflection, Elizabeth."

"Well, this isn't exactly my real body. What would you do if you woke up in a very attractive man's body? Honestly?"

"Well for one, child, I would be panicking a lot more than you have, as waking up in another's body is not natural."

"That's true." I nodded and finally turned away from the mirror to Nessa, who was holding out some clothes for me. "Oh, thank you."

"You are welcome Elizabeth."

I looked at the clothes; they were really nice, though they weren't my style. I couldn't complain, though, as I was wearing some pyjama like pants and shirt at the moment. I went behind a screen and began to change. As I struggled to put on the pants, I decided to make conversation.

"Nessa, seeing as I am now a guy, wouldn't it make more sense to have a male name? What do you think?"

"Yes, that would be sensible. Would you like for me to think of a name for you?"

"Please, if you don't mind. . ."

I then focussed all my attention on getting on this damn tunic, or whatever it was. The pants were easy, but this . . . this was just ridiculous.

"Ah, Nessa?"

"Yes child?"

"I need some help with this thing . . ."

Her bell-like laughter was probably heard for miles.

"I have finally found a name for you, child." Nessa announced when she entered the room.

"Awesome! What is it?" I asked, looking up from my drawings.

Nessa had been mulling over a name all afternoon, having left whenever a man brought in some breakfast for me, which I pretty much devoured. The man had told me that there were plenty of books in the room for me to read, and there was parchment on the desk in the corner. I asked him if there was any charcoal, because I wanted to draw. There was some in the desk. That was where I stayed for the rest of the day.

I looked up at her expectantly, noticing that she was not alone. Tulkas and a few others accompanied her.

"Your new name can be Beriadan. It means defender of man."

I tested it out. It wasn't the greatest name in my mind, but it would have to do. I smiled at her in acceptance.

"Beriadan it is then. So have you figured out why I'm here? And how I got here, for that matter?"

All of them exchanged grim glances. I suddenly felt the odd feeling of impending doom.

"... You have got to be shitting me!"

They did not understand what I meant, but they got the gist of it.

"I can assure you Beriadan, that we are not 'shitting you', as you put it." Manwe said; who had introduced himself as the King of the Valar.

I don't know what it was; maybe the fact that he was a King, or maybe that he was an elf like person, but when he said that, I burst out into hysterical laughter.

"I'm sorry, but when you said that . . . it just sounded so funny!" I managed to gasp out between my laughter.

Well, you are probably wondering what the shit I am talking about, so I'll tell ya. There is another elf, or Valar, as they call themselves, named Lorien. Apparently he had a vision of a human arriving here that would not be herself in body. It was a very vague vision, but they knew it was me that matched it, for the person would be of another world, and would speak in a very strange way. This human would gain the immortal life, while still staying human (plus for me, then. No offense to the elves, but pointy ears would definitely not match Hugh Jackman in my opinion).

So let's count it off. One; I am most definitely a girl that is not herself, as I look like a clone of Hugh Jackman. Two; I am from Toronto of EARTH. NOT Middle-earth or Varda, or whatever this place was called. And finally, I don't talk in the way they do.

Yeah, I was basically the perfect fit.

Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there! Apparently I am supposed to save someone. Lorien did not, however, reveal who this person was, which helps me OH SO MUCH. Nothing is ever that simple, is it?

It's been seven months since my arrival here in Valinor. It feels as if I have gone back to school, because ever since I had gotten here, Nessa and Manwe had pretty much took me under there wing and began to teach me all there was to know about this place. I say good luck to them with trying to get me to remember it all.

Nessa is teaching me about the songs and music of this world, at least, the elvish kind. She began teaching me about the language of the elves, which was damn hard to learn and pronounce, I can tell you that. Manwe, on the other hand, decided to teach me swordplay and archery. When I asked him why, he gave an answer equivalent to: "Well, I have nothing else to do, so why not?"

"Why the hell do I need to learn this Manwe? You know that I'm a klutz. I'd sooner kill myself by accident if I had a sword!"

Manwe agreed with this fact, so in placement of the sword, there was now a staff with a blade on the end. During training, though, we only use the staff. I think that Manwe called it a Halberd, or something like that. I don't remember.

Ten years . . . time flies here, yet it almost drags. Every day I wonder how Marie and my family are handling my disappearance. Now, I'm probably nothing more than a missing person that will never be found again. The thought is depressing, and only usually haunts me at night, or during the day when I do not have any training or lessons.

I am a fluent speaker of elvish, but I still prefer to speak English, or Common Tongue, as they call it here. Manwe tells me that I am a Master of Archery by now, almost as good as any elf but still a little slow when it comes to firing speed and aiming. That's good enough for me.

I'm an official Halberdier now, and Tulkas has now taken over my training. He helps me strengthen my body and increase my endurance, which in turn helps improve all other attributes. Aulë, another of the Valar that I had met a little while after I had arrived taught me how to properly care for my Halberd, as it was basically the same make as the axes that he prefers to make. Oromë, Nessa's brother, had offered to teach me how to hunt game, something that I was very reluctant to do, but I agreed to it in the end. Who knows? It could be a useful skill when I have to go rescue this mystery person.

Every day I was dragged off to assist one of the Valar in some new and exciting activity. Gardening (something I enjoyed immensely), playing different instruments (another thing that I enjoyed, since I couldn't sing that well, and I didn't know how well Hugh can sing either), watching re-enactments of some funny or sad tales of Middle-earth (some of which, I got to take part in playing the part of the Dark Lord who was a bit . . . nutters, as I had portrayed him), or just going for a swim in the lake and floating around till I turned all wrinkly.

Does anyone know why that happens? I've always wondered. . .

Anyways, to sum it all up my stay actually hasn't been all that bad. I mean, I really do miss Marie and my family, but here, it's just so peaceful, yet hectic. There are so many things to do; life is never boring, and I'm never alone. I've made a new family here; the bonds that I made are probably stronger than the ones with my family at home. Which I find pretty strange and sad.

And I'm going to stop talking about that before I get all sentimental.

Outside of the Valar, I've met a really nice elf lady. Her name was Celebrian; from what I had heard about her, she had a troubled past. It really showed too; she always had a melancholy look to her every time I saw her. In the language that we all know and love, that means something really bad happened to her. I never approached her at first; just observed her from afar whenever I came across her.

One day, I gathered up some courage and approached her.

"I don't know what exactly it is that you've been through, but I can relate. I've been through some . . . excuse me;" I cleared my throat, "I've been through some bad experiences myself. But I can tell you, honestly and truly, that the pain does heal with time, and loved ones and friends help out a lot too. If you ever need a friend, just ask around for the crazy human. Everyone will know who you mean." My voice had cracked, but only once.

I left after that, but not before catching a glimpse of a teary smile.

I've been known for the rare inspirational speech. The next day, she found me and we talked for a long time. She told me about her family back on Middle-earth, and how much she missed them, but she could not regret coming here. She told me that she had been here for a long time, well, a long time for me. Thirty-eight years; I gaped like a fish, and she giggled at my expression.

Thirty-eight years; that long, and she still couldn't get over what happened. We talked a lot after that, meeting each other every day after lunch and going to the gardens. And we just talked. Through all that she has told me, I feel as if I had been there with her as she raised her children and watched them grow up. She was a really good story-teller.

I told her all about me; why? Because I could. She knows me from cover to cover now; my whole life on earth, and now my life here. I even told her about the incident when I was fourteen. I think revealing this to her helped her heal a little bit inside, which in turn helped me feel better.

It has now been fifty years since I arrived here in Valinor. Living here has impacted me immensely, and I impacted everyone here a lot too, if I do say so myself. I don't think any of them knew any songs by the All American Rejects, or Evanescence before I arrived. Or the infamous song that never ends.

Oh that is a day I will never EVER forget!

Manwe had helped me finish all preparations, and others that were here overlooked by Aulë had finished the construction of the first EVER ship to return to Middle-earth. It was the day of departure, and I was standing on the dock looking out onto the horizon. I looked to the side when I felt the breeze of someone joining me by my side. It was Celebrian.

"So this is the final farewell, Elendil."

I shook my head, "You don't know that Celebrian. There's always a chance that we will meet again."

She smiled sadly and shook her head; that's when it hit me. There was no coming back after this.

"Oh . . ." I whispered.

"Yes. Beriadan, you have been my light when all seemed so dark. You helped me heal, and for that, I thank you." I went to tell her that her thanks were not needed, but she silenced me with a raised hand. "I have a gift for you. May it remind you of our friendship, and give you hope when all seems lost."

In her hand was a silver necklace, with a crystal pendant in the shape of the sun. It glimmered in the light. I let her put it around my neck.

When she stepped back, I pulled her into a hug. We stood there, holding onto the last minutes of our time together.

"I will never forget you, Celebrian. You will always be the greatest friend I have ever had."

After that, we stood together in companionable silence. When it was time to go, she handed me a letter.

"It is to my husband, Lord Elrond of Rivendell. Please deliver it to him."

"I will. I guess this is goodbye?"

A tear slipped out of her eye, "Yes, it is. Good bye, mellonamin."

The next thing I know, I am on the ship and staring back at the shore, watching as the figure of Celebrian and the others of the Valar shrink slowly out of sight. It was then, that I began to cry. They were not tears of grief like I expected them to be. They were tears of happiness. Happiness for the greatest friendship that I have ever had.

And so, the first chapter in my life is over. As the ship sales over the calm sea, I look forward to the future. A memory fleeted in my mind.

"The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live."

I've spent fifty years preparing for life. I'm ready to live it.

A/N: Okay. This idea practically mind-raped me while I was in school, so I decided to write it. Why? Because it would have made me go bloody banana's if I didn't. I know I should be updating Just Another Crazy Dream but, since Summer is only 29 days away (OMGBBQ and all that jazz) I am going to wait until then to start an updating frenzy. I will repeat that in caps so I get my point across: UPDATING ON ANY STORIES WILL BE PUT OFF UNTIL SUMMER WHEN I AM NOT SO GODDAMN BUSY WITH SCHOOL AND HAVING A LIFE!

There, I said it; I feel better for it.

Anyways, Read, Review. . . if you feel like it. Writing this story was just basically for myself; it's not to impress, as it is probably cliche to the max.

R&R if you feel it is necessary.

BAI!! XD