A/N: Katarina's dress is a blood red version of Jamie Lee Curtis' dress from True Lies. For photo reference of what Katarina looks like picture Nina Dobrev with eyes closer together.
Chapter One: Waking Up In Neverland
Katarina Leonora looked around the dark, dense forest. She needed to find a suitable tree to climb so she could form an idea of where she was.
The last thing she recalled was coming home after a long night at work, falling asleep in her room after eating a little lunch. She woke up lying under a large pine tree in a forest possibly in the middle of the night.
She wore a blood red spaghetti strap dress that ended a few inches above her knees and matching high heels. Her hair was in an elegant bun with a few strands of straight chocolate brown hair hung loose on each side. Her chocolate brown eyes surveyed the surrounding area with alarm.
I don't think I am in Sicily, Italy anymore, she thought forlornly. Her brothers, Adolfo and Othello, would be worried about her. Would they send a search party soon?
Until then, she would have to wait out the night in the forest.
She searched the ground of the surrounding area for a safe place to begin building her fire, she settled on a space three feet from the tree she woke under.
She gathered sticks and small logs as she tried to solve one of her main problems. She need to light a fire, but had no lighter. The second she was to keep it from spreading if she managed to light one.
She caught sight of some good sized stones on the forest floor about five feet to the left and created a circle around the pile of wood in a makeshift, crude version of a firepit. She sat back to look at her handy work and thought for a moment, one problem down one to go, now to start the fire without a lighter.
How am I going to accomplish that? She thought to herself, frowning.
Katarina knelt by her small pile of clothes, patting the pockets of her faded blue jeans for anything useful and to her delight, she found matches to start the fire and some packets of crackers to eat.
She decided to gather extra wood, in case the night grew colder, then settle down a safe distance from the fire and let herself fall into the realm of sleep.
She was cold when she woke.
She sat up, shivering, to find that her fire had extinguished sometime during the night. Her extra set of clothes had provided little additional warmth, leaving her chilled to her bones.
She hastened to rekindle the fire in hopes of restoring body warmth, pausing when she heard the pounding of horse hooves closing in. She abandoned the unsuccessful effort to rekindle the fire, gathering her extra clothes and running to hide behind a nearby tree.
The horses stopped before her makeshift camp and she heard the strangers dismount. Heavy footsteps slowly approached her fire.
She peeked between a few low hanging branches.
She could see two men, a young blond and an older looking black haired man examining her camp. The older man turned to look at the younger man and asked him something in a strange language Katarina didn't understand.
"Aragorn, they could not have wandered far for their path is fresh and they attempted to rekindle the fire before departing. The question we should ask is this. Why did they leave?" The young man replied in English.
"I'm not so sure they did leave, Legolas. I have felt eyes on us since we stopped here, but I am not certain from where." The first man answered, holding his kneeling position as he examined the ground.
Holy shit! Those guys are the Fellowship! I'M IN MIDDLE EARTH! But . . . WHERE in Middle Earth? Katarina wondered in awe. She absentmindedly sighed at the thought of potentially being lost for days, depending on how far in she is and in which region. Then, too late, realized her mistake. Oops.
"Halt! Show yourself! What business brings you so close to Rivendell?" Aragorn shouted, standing.
She froze in place. I have been near Rivendell this whole time? Has my presence changed who carries the Ring? She wondered in confusion. She had read some fanfictions where side effects, I suppose you could say, like that happened.
"Show yourself." Aragorn repeated, in a hard threatening tone.
She knew the Fellowship were supposed to be the sung heroes and all that, but hearing them so aggressive toward her frightened her immensely. She couldn't leave her spot behind the tree and slid, sending up prayers to not be seen or heard, to the base of the tree.
Legolas was suddenly beside her. He held a bow in his hands, the drawstring pulled taught, arrow knocked and aimed at her head. His face wore the deadly expression of a warrior prepared to kill his enemies.
Katarina gasped and braced herself against the tree, staring up at him with wide eyes. She couldn't help but feel like a trapped deer in the sights of a mountain lion and as a result her breathing quickened.
He lowered his bow with an apologetic yet confused look in his eyes. "Aragorn."
Aragorn sprung quickly into view, sword in hand and an equally fierce expression on his face.
Kat cringed into the tree until she almost became part of it, eyes darting between the two men as her heart hammered in her chest.
She swallowed and spoke through the lump in her throat. "Pace, per favore non farmi del male, io sono un amico." Her voice broke, homesickness striking her a bit.
Please don't harm me, please don't. I don't know where I am or how I got here. I don't want trouble I just want to go home.
The men exchanged awkward glances. Legolas stepped forward to pat her bare shoulder in comfort, visibly uncomfortable with the situation.
Relief overwhelmed her and she surged forward, hugging him without thinking, not noticing his hesitation before he hugged her back. She seemed oblivious to his discomfort with having any physical contact with anyone who he doesn't know personally.
She pulled away after a moment and averted her eyes to the ground sheepishly. "I'm sorry; I should not have done that."
Aragorn cleared his throat loudly and glanced pointedly at the rest of the Fellowship. "Legolas, we must consult with the group on how to handle the situation. Gandalf will know what to do. What is your name child?"
"Katarina Leonora." Katarina answered quietly, not looking directly at either of the men, only giving each quick glances.
The old Ranger softened his expression a bit while he deliberated. "Katarina, we need you to walk with us to meet our party. We have a need to hold a discussion among ourselves to find a solution to your problem."
They would not leave me here, would they? She quickly went over what she learned about them from the Lord of the Rings novels. No, they wouldn't.
She bit her lip and stared at them for a moment before nodding and prepared to stand up. Aragorn held out his hand to assist her but withdrew when he saw her halt immediately to the friendly action.
She sat there for a moment in her spot, staring at him warily almost expecting him to try to hurt her. After another moment of inactivity, she accepted his hand and silently followed the ranger and elf to the Fellowships' horses.
The Elf and Ranger walked on either side of her, hand on their weapons and a wary eye on the newcomer. The Ranger noticed her shivering but fought with himself for a moment, his compassionate nature warring with his suspicion, before stopping his companions halfway to the Fellowship and draped his cloak around her shoulders.
The Fellowship gazed at the trio strangely.
Boromir, Gimli, and Sam with suspicion, Frodo with vague interest, Merry and Pippin with curiosity. Gandalf didn't seem surprised in the slightest. This observation interested Aragorn and Legolas greatly. What did the older Wizard know that they didn't?
Katarina was very shy and withdrawn, choosing to mostly hide behind Legolas with a tiny squeak.
This action caused Boromir to laugh loudly, Aragorn to raise a brow curiously, and Legolas to turn slightly to look at her. He stopped his movements when her hands grabbed his tunic to use him as a shield from the Fellowships' gaze.
Gandalf smiled and decided to speak. "What is your name, child?"
"Kat—Katarina, sir." She answered quietly, still hiding behind the elf.
To which Legolas responded with a sigh and gently pried her clutching her fingers from his tunic, guiding her to stand beside him.
"You need not be frightened, little one. We wish to help you find your way home." He looked at Gandalf. "Gandalf, she's lost and seems to know not how to get home. She hasn't told us where her home is yet and knows not how she came to be here. Can we help her? She has no food or means of protection; we cannot just leave her here. There has to be something we can do, if only give her provisions."
"You are right, young Greenleaf, we cannot leave her here. Although I know not how we will help her, for now she will ride with us. We will simply have to think of the solution to her problem as we continue on our current path, at least until the next village we cross." The wizard replied.
"Gandalf, we cannot possibly take her with us! To think it is madness!" Boromir exclaimed angrily.
"We must, Boromir, for there is a greater plan at work here in Middle Earth that we must not meddle with. Now, with her agreement, we will move on."
"Very well, Gandalf. The newcomer will ride with me. I will keep an eye on her." The Ranger offered respectfully, dipping his head to the older male.
Katarina blushed as she mounted Aragorn's horse, Valiant, for her skirt rose a few inches higher. She couldn't look any of the Fellowship in the eyes because of her embarrassment at her indecency.
Aragorn gave her his cloak to cover her legs which made her feel much better about her indecency, and end the view of her legs.
She sighed in relief. "Thank you, my lord. I did not intend to appear so indecent, but I do not have any of the clothes necessary to blend in to your way of living."
He chuckled at her, before looking over at Legolas. "Legolas, do you have any extra tunics for our temporary companion? We cannot have her looking so indecent; it could attract the wrong attention if we come across anyone else on this journey."
"Tunic?" She and the elf asked simultaneously.
The Elf asked further. "Why must I give her one of my tunics?"
"Yes, my lady-Legolas. Or at least a pair of breeches to wear under her . . . present attire."
Boromir glared at the young woman heatedly and spurred his horse forward, near the front of the group.
She frowned at his retreating back; he had been horrid to her the entire day since they met this morning, the rest of the Fellowship seemed only wary of her.
She was brought back to herself when someone placed something light across her lap. She turned to see Legolas had given her a pair of brown breeches. "Thank you, Your Highness."
The entire group seemed to halt their actions and gaze at her with shock mixed with suspicion and curiosity.
Gandalf immediately spurred his horse over to her, demanding in his no-nonsense tone. "How did you know his lineage?"
She froze and her gaze darted from the elf to the old Wizard. How could she be so stupid as to let slip her knowledge of Legolas' lineage? What if they left her here because they thought her evil? Or worse, killed her? "I—I just . . . He seems like he would be a prince, there's a majestic air about him I think. I did not mean to offend anyone."
Boromir narrowed his eyes. "How do we know she isn't a spy of Saruman?"
Katarina glared at the Gondorian for a moment, and then cocked her head to the side. "Wait a minute, who?"
Gandalf frowned at the mortal man. "No, she is not Sarumans' spy, of this I know for sure. She is from an entirely different world that we have not yet discovered. The journey to return her to her home will be a difficult one. I cannot guarantee we will be successful in this quest to return her, but we must try nonetheless."
"What world does she hail from?" Merry asked curiously.
"I hail from a land called Italy, on a world called Earth. It is much different than it is here; there is less green and more dead plants. Instead of Orcs killing Men-Men kill each other over things like food, water and shelter." Katarina said sadly, staring off into the distance remembering the wars of Earth.
"There is much sorrow in your voice for one so young." Legolas stated, watching her closely with sharp blue eyes.
"Yes, there is much sadness in my world." She replied, mind far away.
A world away, if we're being technical about it.
"We should move on. The sun is sinking further in the sky and we have a good distance to go yet." Gandalf said as he appraised the horizon.
They rode for maybe four more hours before they broke for camp. Her rump was sore, her back and legs stiff, but it had been better than walking.
That night the Fellowship and their guest rested by a warm fire and ate lembas bread with a bit of pork.
Katarina slept on the roll Aragorn so generously gave to her and still felt guilty since she found out it was his own but he would not allow her to return it, saying that it was not right for a man to sleep comfortably while a woman does not.
She gave up trying to fight with the Ranger and sank into a deep, fitful sleep.