I would first like to state that I do not own any of Tolkien's work nor do I claim any of this as my own.
A little bit of back story before I dig in. This tale is going to be about a woman named Sarah. She is 24 years old and lives deep in the mountains, alone. Her parents died a little before she turned 20 in a bad accident. They owned a small farm and would raise cattle and pigs to sell at their local market. That was their job. Her parents taught her everything, from school to working the farm, how to hunt, even how to fight if necessary. She was very skilled with an axe. See, the mountains where they lived were very secluded from civilization. A lot of homes were like this in the mountains, the closest thing was the marketplace. It was a 5 hour drive to get there, which they usually traveled to the market 1-2 times a week.
Sarah's parents tried to keep her away from most people, due to her rare ability to read minds. It started when she was very young, 2 or 3. She went for a walk in the woods with her father to hunt over night. That night, after the camp site and tent had been set up, a terrible storm came through the mountains. The wind was howling and blowing the trees back and forth, the rain was pouring down, and thunder and lightning surrounded them. They had to get back to the cabin, to safety. Her father was carrying her and running as fast as he could to get them back, when he fell and let Sarah slip out of his arms. He got to his feet only to realize that Sarah was gone. He yelled and yelled for her, ran in every direction to find her, but he couldn't. The storm was getting worse, he needed help. He ran the rest of the way home, woke his wife and they called for help from the others who lived in the mountains.
The storm passed and morning came. Her parents were back at the cabin, exhausted and mourning after a long night and no success in finding their daughter. Then, there was a knock at the door. There stood a man, a man her parents had never seen before. He was tall and lean, with long brown hair. He was holding Sarah in his arms, she was fast asleep and safe. They invited the man in, and he laid Sarah on the couch. The man told her parents that she showed up late that night, soaking wet from the rain and scared to death. She also had a pretty bad cut, right above her left eyebrow. The man bandaged her up, fed her, and let her sleep in his home. Her parents were grateful for this strangers kind deed.
It was after that, that her parents noticed she was responding to them, without them having to say anything. She was reading their minds. Worried, they took her to the town doctor who said it could be a brain injury from where she had hit her head the night she disappeared. Her parents accepted this answer. However, every time they went into town and she read the minds of people around her, they would get scared or make fun of her.
There was only one person in town that did not treat her any different, a man named James. James owned a firework stand next to her parents meat stand in the market. Her parents would let James keep her while they worked. See, she could see into his mind but it was foggy, she could hear, but it was always unclear.
James would always tell her stories to entertain her. His stories would always be about creatures called orcs, and goblins, there would be great kings and elves, dwarfs and hobbits. But his favorite stories were about Wizards. The stories would be about a lonely kingdom in the mountains or about a powerful golden ring. However, the older Sarah got, the more real the stories seemed. Sometimes, she almost thought James was telling her these stories to inform her of something that happened in the past.
After the death of her parents, she continued to live in their cabin alone and to keep working the farm. Instead of selling meat, she found it easier to grow and selll vegetables at the market., still at her parents stand of course. James still had his fireworks stand next to her.
Now we begin!
The sun came shinning bright though Sarah's window just as it always had. She got out of bed and made her morning coffee and watched some T.V.. It was market day, and she was excited to go into town and see her friend James. After her coffee she got dressed, put her boots on, and headed out to pick all of the vegetables to sell at the market that day.
Having picked all that were ready, she began to load them into baskets and put them into the back of the truck. She stopped suddenly, having heard something in the woods behind her. She turned around, and thought for a second she heard a voice. This was not something new to her being able to read minds, she would hear the occasional hunters mind if they were close enough. But this time, it felt like someone was watching her. She quickly loaded up the rest of the vegetables, locked the door to the cabin, and left for town.
Once she arrived and set up the stand, James finally came along to sell his fireworks. Sarah had never paid attention until now, but having known James her entire life, he didn't look as if he had aged a single day, still had the long gray hair and beard, same wrinkles in his face, same calming voice. Yes he was an old man, but never managed to look older, even after 24 years.
The market was halfway over for the day when a man came up to her stand and began filling a basket full of vegetables. This man looked very familiar to her, he was tall with long dark hair. She was just about to ask him if they knew each other when James greeted him and said "Ah! Hello there old friend!". The two began to talk and catch up, then the stranger pulled James aside for a private conversation. Then, the man left. James turned to Sarah and advised her to head home. "It's been a long day , and you have many hours until you reach home. And I sense a storm coming". James then patted her shoulder and packed up his stand. Before he left, he said to her "I hope that you are ready for an adventure my friend, it is time to put your power to good use". And before she could ask any questions, he was gone. Puzzled, she packed up her stand and headed home.
It was late when Sarah arrived home. It was dark, and silent outside. Being in the mountains, you always hear something, animals in the night, the chirp of crickets, owls talking back and forth. But this time, dead silence. She observed her little cabin carefully with the pale yellow porch lights glowing around it. It looked normal. The little cabin was made of an ash gray wood, a dark roof, and a light pink door. It had a small porch with a white bench swing off to the side. It wasn't much, but it was home. She went inside, armed with her axe as her father taught her to be when she felt unsafe. She didn't have to bother to look for anyone because the cabin was small she would be able to hear a persons thought if they were in the house. It was just as she left it. The interior of the cabin consisted of two bedrooms, a small kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom. It was decorated in subtle colors, a lot of gray and sage green, some pale blues and purples here and there. The kitchen had gray walls and white cabinets. The dishes made of black stone that were bought from a crafter in the market. The living room carried on the same gray paint, a stone fireplace as the center with a television right above it. A couch was in the center and off to the side was her fathers recliner. In the middle of the room was a coffee table made from pecan wood, it was a rich dark brown, a stack of books could always be found on it. Her bedroom was painted white, except for one wall. Her mother hired a painter to paint a mural of the forest on it. Not just the forest that surrounded her cabin, but the forest in fall. The trees were painted in every shade of red, yellow, and orange. Fall was her favorite season. Her bed was small but cozy, stacks of warm blankets were at the end and fluffy pillows at the head.
She locked the door behind her, set her axe down and made some tea. She had the same tea every night. Honey Vanilla Chamomile, her mother would make it for her when she was sick or sad. Sarah found her self to be sad a lot. Living alone, being afraid to talk to people because of her ability, and not having her parents with her anymore. She put a bag of tea into her mug, and poured the hot water in and left the room to start a warm bath while it brewed. After she got the water temperature just right and filled up the tub, she shut the water off and went to get her tea. She stopped, looking at the mug, she didn't recall putting a spoon into the cup. She always waits to stir the tea after it has steeped for a few minutes. Sarah then thought that maybe she did put the spoon in early this time, after all, the comment James made had her confused and a little spooked. She picked up the cup, took a few sips and carried it off to her room to get her pajamas to put on after her bath. She took another sip and set her cup on the night stand by her bed and walked to her closet. She reached up to the top shelf for her robe and it fell to the ground. She wasn't a tall girl so most of the time she accidentally knocked things to the floor. She bent over and grabbed her robe, but when she stood up, she got dizzy, really dizzy. She moved slowly to her bed and laid down, thinking that she just stood up to fast. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.