I won't lie. I had been dreaming and wishing to be swept off to Middle Earth and join either a fellowship or a company of dwarves ever since my dad introduced me to the first set of movies. Don't get me wrong, I loved my life here so much. My family was amazing and I had some of the best friends a girl could ask for. But I had always felt that it was a little…bland. Which, technically, I know bland is definitely better than the constant evils that were always in Tolkien's books, but that didn't keep me from wishing. It also helped that everyone else in my family was at least a fan of the movies. I was no expert, but I was definitely more knowledgeable about them than most, and even my family had all agreed that if one of us was swept off to Middle Earth, we wouldn't hold it against them if they decided not to come back.

We had not actually anticipated it happening.

Nor did we anticipate it happening in the manner it did.

Dying hurt. I'm not talking about the prolonged pain of cancer or anything. I mean getting stabbed and bleeding out slowly. They say your body shuts down and goes cold, and you lose feeling. But that's not how it works. Your conscious mind shuts down. It stops receiving input from your brain and you just think you don't feel any pain as you breathe your last.

Crappy way to go, if you ask me.

But that's how I went. Pulled my little sister away from the guy with the knife, sequestered her and her classmates into the hallway, put up one heck of a fight with the guy, and stupidly tripped over some girl's backpack. As if it couldn't get any worse, I pulled him down on top of me and the knife went right through my stomach. He looked horrified, not really understanding what it would mean to take a life, and he pulled the knife out at an angle, causing worse damage. As the blood was leaving me, and the pain becoming worse, I felt my body lighten, and then I started screaming. I was being lifted off the ground and it wasn't until I was standing up right, looking down on my prone form, glassy eyes staring at nothing, that I understood what had happened.

I heard a scream and saw my sister rush into the room, when everything turned white in a bright flash. Still in shock, I barely registered when things began to take shape again, and figures appeared.

"Do not be afraid, little one. You are among friends now," A powerful voice spoke. I shook my head slightly, trying to be more alert, and saw a great man before me. Well, I think it was a man. Not that it looked like a woman, but it was almost like there was no point in assigning gender, as if the figure was above it all. It was just…a feeling.

"I…where…what….what happened? I'm dead, aren't I…" I held back the tears, because as much as I wanted to let them go and scream about unfairness, something told me there was a reason I didn't see St. Peter and pearly white gates…or flames and eternal damnation for that matter.

"I'm afraid so, little one. And while I am truly sorry your time with those you loved was cut short, I have a very important task I created you for," the ethereal figure said. "You see, your, uh, clumsy nature was a little more clumsy than I intended. You were not supposed to go at that time. You had much more to give. So I made a second chance to live your life."

I looked up, my eyebrows scrunched, a spark of recognition running through me. "You're God then?" That would make sense since I couldn't really find words to correctly describe Him. But it wasn't what I was expecting.

He smiled a warm smile, and said, "Indeed I am, little one. At least, in your world, that is what you call me. Now come, there are some friends of mine I would like you to meet."

At this, He turned around and began to walk into the white nothingness. I followed, my head drooping a little still. As I began to hear voices, something clicked in my mind. "Wait, did you say, 'my world?'" There was more than one world then…so like Pluto? Maybe a planet in the Andromeda galaxy? Or is there more than what we know?

He simply looked back with another warm smile, if a little mysterious. We came upon a massive, horseshoe-shaped table, with several other imposing men and women around, all looking different, and yet all had similarities. At the table were 15 Chairs, some filled, some not. The most obvious was the one on the far left, which was dark and almost rusted. It was very out of place in the presence of such beauty, and yet no one had moved it. It seemed as if no one had sat there for years and it served as a reminder for something. But what dark secrets could be held from a chair?

"Unfortunately, not all of my friends can remain long, some are still very busy, but all wanted to meet you," He said, sitting down in the seat in the middle, facing me. The rest of the figures milling about sat down.

"Oka—wait what? Meet me?" I squeaked, my eyes widening. Why would anyone up here want to meet me? Besides, why is God waiting for me? What am I missing?

"As I mentioned before, you have great importance. You know of Middle Earth, correct?" At my nod, the giant God continued. "I will be sending you there to ensure that the visions Mr. Tolkien received in his dreams do not come to pass. While the ending is still a victory in his dream, a lot fewer of our children see it than we desire."

I stared at him for a moment, then glanced around the table. "You're the Vala…aren't you. None of this is a dream, and Middle Earth is real. God is real…and you are Manwë, I presume?" I guessed. I would get to the whole "Tolkien's dream" and "saving people" thing later. My brain had hardly caught up to the fact that I was dead.

He smiled again, this time a little brighter. "Now you're catching on. I am indeed Manwë, Lord of the air, wind, and clouds, and King of the Vala. This is my wife, Varda, Queen of the stars," he pointed to a lady to his left. "And next to her are Aulë, Lord of Earth and crafting, and his wife, Yavanna, Queen of all things that grow. Then there are Oromë and Vána. On my left is Ulmo, Lord of the seas, Nienna, Mandos, Lórien, Tulkas, and…well, I think you can guess who used to sit there," he said, gesturing to the decrepit chair.

I wasn't sure if his name may have power, so instead I simply nodded. I wasn't about to mention Melkor's name when the mention of the chair itself stilled the air in the room and caused all spines to stiffen as if the devil himself were present—then again, I guess that description isn't far from the truth. "So…importance, you say?" My statement must have been funny, because all of the God-like figures let out a laugh, from Nessa's tinkling laugh, to Aulë's deep belly chortle.

"Yes, indeed," Manwë spoke, letting himself let out an amused noise, smiling indulgently like a father smiles at a daughter's failed attempt to walk or talk. "I'm going to send you to Middle Earth, at a very important time. There you must discover how exactly you should carry out your task. Tolkein's vision only showed a small portion of time. What he did not see if the utter destruction that would occur hundreds of years later if the proper figures were not strengthening their position. You are needed for this task for a reason, one which you must discover before the end. We will count on you to know what to do when the time is right. While we will not be able to directly intervene when you are there, we each have a gift to bestow upon you that will aid in your journey…the one we have given you and the one you will give yourself." And with that critic message, I was suddenly standing in front of Tulkas.

"Young one, I give you the gift of bravery. That even as you face your adversaries, you have the strength to laugh them in the face." He gave a proud, yet somewhat smug smile, and suddenly I was standing in front of Lórien. I think they were using some sort of fancy magic transportation…

"I give you the gift of dreams. On your journey, you will have the soothing touch to settle any nightmare." That may actually come in handy, but I wondered if I could use it on myself.

Then Mandos: "I will ignore the first time you knock on my door." Well that's…gracious…

Nienna: "I give you the gift of hope. That even when all light seems to fade, you will still feel it in your heart—the will to go on—and influence those in your presence." Now that was useful!

Ulmo: "I give you the gift of friendship. While you never seemed to have needed it, the water is your friend, as are all those who dwell in it." So…mermaid powers? Percy Jackson powers? I'll go with yes…

Oromë: "I give you the gift of voice. Nay, not a pretty voice, but one that is powerful, draw attention, and can bring all the people together when they are scattered. One they would follow." Great, so apparently I'm expected to give speeches? Not what I signed up for…not that I actually signed up for this but…

Vána: "I give you the gift of beauty. And while it is not something you need, this will make you beautiful in the eyes of all who truly know you, for they will see the true beauty that lies within." And that's confusing as hell…

Yavanna: "Should you have need, you can call upon and communicate with all my creatures. They will come to your aid when the need arises, so long as the call is true." I think that means that I can't just call up a deer for dinner.

And this is where things got really weird…Aulë said, "I know many things, but your future is not one of them. But of what I do know, this will come in handy." And with that, he shrunk me. Probably a few feet, although it was hard to tell. "Oh, and my true gift is that music will never fail you when words do. As well as the life span of a dwarf," and a wink. The whole exchange felt like that weird uncle that teases you for something you just don't understand.

Then Varda said, "I give you the gift of the stars," and she took out of her pocket what looked to be a tiny star, and sent it right into my chest. I gasped, feeling the warmth fill me and a soft smile came to my face. "May they keep you warm and your memories strong." I suddenly had a memory rush in, of the conversation between Kili and Tauriel in Peter Jackson's version of The Hobbit, when Tauriel is explaining that starlight is memory.

Weird.

And then finally Manwë stood from the table, put his hand on my head and said, "And I, little one, give you the gift of an excuse. It will make it easier, I believe." And with that, I was spinning around as the figures faded away.

Excuse?

I wasn't able to dwell on the meaning behind all that had just transpired as I was falling through nothingness. It felt like I was flying, but it was not uncomfortable. And still, all too soon I was landing on hard ground, forms taking shape, and I realized I was in a forest somewhere. I struggled for a while trying to get up, and it wasn't until I looked down that I realized why.

I had four legs. And what it—is that a TAIL?

Oh dear…

I was a DOG! Would it have really killed them to warn me ahead of time? It must have been that whole excuse thing—not telling people my odd story because I'm a dog… But not wanting to dwell too much on what I was still in shock about, I shook my head a little to clear my thoughts (which made my ears flop around a little) and spent the next five minutes figuring out how to move around (and coming to the conclusion I was some odd mix of German Sheppard, hound, and retriever. And thus started my rather odd adventure.

So, I've been putzing around with this story idea for a while. I had started writing it and finally decided I had enough ideas to be able to make a story out of it. IT will come in two parts: during the quest and after the quest. I will probably just keep it all under the same story, though.

As always, I appreciate suggestions, criticisms, predictions, encouragements, and anything else!