As of right now italics are used for both emphasis and thoughts. I trust you'll be able to tell the difference.
Darkness was beginning to overtake, painting the sky in pinks and oranges. There was no sound but the small breeze rustling the leaves of large trees, a running stream and a group of chirping crickets. A few yards away from the stream was a large moss covered boulder. A boulder that currently supported the sleeping form of a young woman. Her light skin looked radiant under the glow of the sunset while the orange rays lit her dark hair in a glossy shine. She was dressed in grey, fur-lined, leather boots, white stretch skinny jeans, and a bright pink blouse with rolled sleeves and excess fabric that tied at the bottom. On her left wrist she wore a silver chained bracelet with dangling charms while around her neck was a thin silver chain with an Aries pendant that rested just above her cleavage.
The girl awoke with a start. She must have fallen asleep for a few hours. She had only meant to take a rest from her hike for a moment. She would have to Google Maps her way out of this now. A teenage girl, alone at night in the woods. It wasn't an ideal situation. God damnit she swore mentally. She stretched her back which resulted in a relaxing series of quick pops.
"Okay, so. Google maps. Right. How the hell am I eve- where?" She muttered to herself groggily, halting mid-sentence when she realized her phone wasn't in her back pocket. She groaned and checked the outside pockets of her rucksack. "Shit!" She yelled to herself when they turned out empty as well. She flipped the bag upside down and dumped out the bag's entirety of contents.
"Motherfucker! Someone seriously stole my phone! You have got to be kidding me right now. Jesus, god damnit." She continued to mutter curses as she angrily shoved every item back into her bag. She could almost hear her mother reprimanding her for taking the Lord's name in vain. But she never cared, especially right now when she was in the middle of the woods, alone, with night fast approaching.
She had decided to follow the stream. It had to lead to the canal or to a water plant at some point, and she was already an hour into walking, at least. It's not like the forests of New York were vast. If she just followed a straight path she was sure that she would end up by some street or at least some train tracks in a few more hours. Her steps had grown purposefully heavy on the rocks. She bobbed her head along to the steady rhythm of her stomps.
"People, working every night and day. Never give yourself no time, got too many bills to pay. Slow down. Nothin's gonna disappear if you give yourself some room to move to the music you hear." She sang. She wasn't a terrible singer but it was obvious she wasn't anything special either. She started clapping every other stomp. "Gotta get up, listen to me. Clappa your hands, stompa your feet." Singing helped her pass time and it often distracted her from her thoughts. Whenever she could feel her anxiety growing she would try to just sing. It usually helped calm her completely or at least allowed her to push her attacks off for later.
Almost a full minute had passed and her singing had not ceased, in fact it had increased in volume and she had taken to adding a bounce in her step. "You don't even need to tr-" Her singing and poor dance-walking halted immediately when a sharp and very real looking arrow was drawn in her face. Where the hell did this guy even come from? And why the fuck did he have a bow?!
"Uh… hello?" She could barely make out his facial features in the dimming light but she could make out the obvious fact that he was dressed differently. Oh! She exclaimed mentally, suddenly excited. He must be a cosplayer. Wow look at the detail in that belt. Of course the fact that he was still pointing the lethal looking arrow right between her eyes and the obviousness that he could easily overpower her did not go ignored.
They had both been silent in their assessments. "My name's Lucina Fassbender, no relation to the actor." She said with a small chuckle at the end. He lowered his aim to the dirt but kept his hands in position on the weapon. "Uhm, well. Actually, maybe you could help me? I came here for a hike earlier today and I fell asleep upstream and now I'm sorta lost. I would use my phone but it seems like someone stole it while I was sleeping. If you could just point me in the right direction I'll let you get back to your cosplay." She had begun to ramble unknowingly. Her stomach was churning and her anxiety grew with each silent second. Something was telling her that this was wrong. That there was something completely wrong but she couldn't tell what just yet.
"A lady shouldn't travel alone at night. I'll take you to Uncle. He or Gandalf may be able to help you." He offered her a smile and while the gesture was a relief, the sinking feeling in her stomach remained. This was it. She was going to die in the woods by the hands of some Tolkien cosplayers. She could already see the headlines New York teen found murdered in woods due to rising popularity of The Hobbit. Ugh.
"Oh, okay, sure." Lucina agreed quietly. She had started to follow him away from the stream hesitantly. She was still apprehensive to follow a stranger into the woods but he was kind, even helping her over some slippery rocks and one unnecessarily large tree root. She tried to hide the trembling in her hands and control her erratic breathing for his sake more so than her own.
The panic swelling in her chest increased tenfold when she spotted the glow of a campfire and the laughter of many more men. Christ she swore. She was never going to go on a hike after this, never again. Just fuck the outside in general.
As soon as they stepped foot inside camp all eyes turned to them. Woah… this is seriously some good cosplay. Maybe if they don't murder me I can join in. Of course it probably cost them all a shit ton of money. Money I don't have.
"Who is this?" The deep voice resonated from behind her. She squeaked and jumped. The command in his voice grated on her already frayed nerves. Ohgodohgodohgod. She and her guide turned around to come face to face with two other men and one man who was a good two or so feet taller than her, dressed in all grey.
"I-I'm Lucina Fassbender and I was…" This cosplay was too good. She recognized the two regular heighted men as Thorin Oakenshield and Fili while the tallest was most obviously meant to be Gandalf. Fili looked as desirable as he always was on screen and on paper and Thorin just as fierce as she ever imagined. Fili and Gandalf were smiling at her while the King under the Mountain galred with suspicion. They look exactly like the actors...
"I don't know where I am…" Her voice was quiet. She couldn't even stand to look at the Fili look-alike for more than a second and the Thorin had a frightening gaze so she just stared at the forest floor. It's a dream. It's just a dream. It's just a really fantastic dream. I'm going to be okay. I'm going to wake up and I'm going to have my phone and I'm going to be able to go back home. Glancing at Fili once more she sighed aloud. I have got to stop marathoning whole movie series. She risked a glance at Fili. Oh jesus he's so attractive. Oh this needs to stop now. I can't. "I'd like to wake up now." She whispered out loud to herself on accident.
"Wake up? My dear, I assure you; you are quite awake right now." At Gandalf's words she finally looked up at him. She had had lucid dreams before. Of course, it never changed the outcome much. Knowing you're dreaming sometimes just makes it worse. It makes a person feel frustrated because they know they can do something but their subconscious just won't get the memo. She pinched her arms, hoping the common saying would really work.
It didn't though.
"Right. Not a dream. Because Thorin Oakenshield and Company are totally real." She said quite nonchalantly with an eye-roll but she couldn't fight the crushing feeling. Her world felt like it was collapsing and she wanted to believe what she was saying but her whole body was telling her she was wrong. Everything around her was simply too real to her senses. Wake up Lucy. Wake up, wake up, wake up.
"What do you-" Thorin had begun to growl at her but Gandalf quickly cut him off, even tossing the end of his staff across the approaching dwarf's chest.
"We are very much real." Gandalf confirmed, ignoring the vicious glare from the dwarven king. She stared at Gandalf. She stared, and stared. Everything was silent, save for a few distant crickets and a single pop from the burning firewood. Gandalf was staring at her just as thoroughly.
And suddenly Lucina's brain just accepted it. It was impossible, but her mind decided it was right. Her body had been trying to tell her the whole time. And glancing around at all the watchful eyes of the very real men surrounding her only confirmed it.
"Ah-ha." She giggled in disbelief. She was an overused cliche. She was in fucking Middle Earth. She was a stupid, useless fangirl in Middle Earth. She had become her second literary guilty pleasure. She continued to laugh as the panic consumed her further and soon the giggling was just rapid hyperventilating. Gandalf didn't seem very phased by her reaction. But Fili and her escort, she now recognized as Kili, exchanged a very startled stare. She was in Middle Earth. With no way to get home. Possibly even murdered at home.
And then she fainted.
Quite unceremoniously, honestly. One moment she was gasping for air as if she were going into anaphylactic shock, clutching unknowingly at her chest, leaving angry red scratch marks on the exposed skin, with one hand and clenching and unclenching the other; and then the next her face was slamming into the dirt at Fili's feet.
Sorry it's so short. I plan on updating again in the next 24 hrs. I just wanted to throw this out there in hopes someone would enjoy it and possibly encourage it. It's been a two years since I've posted my writing and I'm honestly quite nervous. Please leave any honest reviews, my writing skills are limited to my highschool education and what I read on here. So in other words constructive criticism would be so very welcomed.
I have an overall plan for this fic, but it's built on vague ideas so it's very susceptible to change based on what the audience wants and how Lucina's character truly develops. That's why the pairing is undecided as of yet. It is definitely between Thorin and Fili. I will take suggestions of polygamy pairing of Thorin/Lucy/Fili under consideration. I'll even consider a different pairing for Lucy if the suggestion ever arises.
Lots of love,
ShyxSkater