Okay, this is one of my very first attempts at an actual fanfic, so bear with me through all the hard stuff, k? Also, all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Chapter One

Holly sighed and brushed a strand of her long, lush black hair behind her ear, which had earrings going all the way up on both sides.

"Miss White, your sister is here to get you." Ms. Hawkins, the school secretary said, glancing disapprovingly in Holly's direction. Holly felt the desperate urge to flick the nosy woman off. Ever since Holly first started coming to Jackson High, Ms. Hawkins was always there, trying to tell Holly how to live her life and all. It made Holly sick to her stomach.

"Holly, come on." Mary-Ellen said, coming partly in the room. Her voice was sympathetic, but Holly just glared at her sister with bitterness.

"Your sister is being nice to come and pick you up, Holly," Ms. Hawkins said sharply. "You should show her a bit of gratitude."

"And I think you should mind your own fucking business!" Holly shot back, her arms folded across her chest.

"Holly!" Ms. Hawkins yelled, but Holly had already hurried out the door. Mary-Ellen apologized to Ms. Hawkins, then hurried out to the front of the school building. Holly had sat down on the steps.

"Holly, what did you do this time?" Mary-Ellen asked, sitting down next to her younger sister and putting her arm around her shoulders.

Holly jerked away from her sister. Ever since they were little, Mary-Ellen was the perfect daughter. She got perfect grades, she hung out with all the nicest people, everyone thought she was pretty and smart (and she was). She helped out around the house. She did community projects and baby-sat the neighbor's kids for free. She was almost out of college now, and engaged to a man that she loved very dearly. Holly hated her for it all.

"Holly, I'm only trying to be nice." Mary-Ellen said, her lower lip trembling. Holly tossed back her hair.

"I'm glad for the effort," She replied sarcastically, shouldering her bag and standing up. "But can we just go home?"

"Yes, we can." Mary-Ellen climbed to her feet. She smoothed down her long flowered skirt and white blouse and headed for her car, a silver Honda parked at the curb. Holly threw her bag in and flopped down, making a face at the sight of the perfectly clean interior.

"I'm surprised they let you off work to come pick up your delinquent little sister." Holly said bitterly, glaring out the window.

"I wouldn't have to come and pick you up if you hadn't gotten your license taken away." Mary-Ellen reminded her.

"Shut the hell up, Mary-Ellen!" Holly yelled, whirling around to glare at her startled sister. "Don't start giving me all this shit about my life! I've all ready heard it a thousand damn times before!"

"Holly, please don't use such foul language when around me. Preferably not at all." Mary-Ellen said calmly, pulling onto their street.

"I'll use whatever fucking language I please when around anybody." Holly retorted crossly.

"I'm sure mom and dad will want to hear all about this little affair." Mary- Ellen said, pulling her key out of the ignition. "I advise you to tell them before I have to, little sis."

"I don't give a damn about what you advise." Holly grumbled. She climbed out and went inside. She stomped up to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. She could hear her mother and Mary-Ellen talking downstairs.

Holly flopped down on her back onto her bed, bouncing slightly. She liked her beds springy. Her long hair spread out like a fan beneath her head. She stared thoughtfully up at the ceiling, fingering the silver locker that hung around her neck and remembering.

"Holly honey," Mrs. White knocked on Holly's bedroom door, then came in. She looked worried.

"Ever hear of knocking?" Holly demanded crossly, shoving the locket beneath her tight camo shirt.

"I'm your mother dear, I don't have to knock." Mrs. White replied, closing the door and coming over to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Oh yeah. That of course gives you the right to violate any privacy I have." Holly said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Mary-Ellen tells me that you had trouble at school again." Mrs. White said. "What did you do this time, Holly?"

"I didn't do anything that wasn't expected." Holly replied, flopping over to her other side so she didn't have to look at her mother.

"I don't like the way that sounds." Mrs. White said, her face creased with worry. "What do you mean, nothing unexpected?"

"Mrs. Green told me to dissect a baby pig and I wouldn't do it." Holly replied. "She's failing me in her class this semester."

Mrs. White sighed. "I wonder how you manage to pass your classes each year, Holly." She said.

"Barely." Holly laughed bitterly, glaring at the wall.

"Holly, I believe you've been in trouble ever since you started school." Mrs. White sighed. "And you're a junior now!"

"Yeah, just about." Holly agreed.

"Your father and I have dinner plans for tonight." Mrs. White said, changing the subject. She would return to punish her daughter later, but she knew she would get nowhere with Holly in such a mood. "Do you want Mary- Ellen to stay here with you until we get back?"

"No." Holly snapped, sitting up and turning to glare at her mother. "She can go away and never come back for all I care!"

"She's your only sister, Holly." Mrs. White shook her head sadly, getting up to leave. "I know you must love her deep down somewhere."

"Probably not." Holly muttered to the closing door. She flopped back down and listened. She heard Mary-Ellen's car drive away. A few minutes later, she could hear her parents' car drive down the road.

She got up and went downstairs to the kitchen. She just finishing eating a bowl of soup when the phone rang. She dumped her dishes into the sink and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Holly. You doing anything tonight?" James Roberts asked, his voice filled with wicked mischief.

"Not with you, I'm not." Holly replied, pulling a soda out of the fridge and popping the top.

"Aww, Holly!" James cried, his voice pleading. "Come on, I'm having a little party tonight at my house. It wouldn't be any fun without you there! I've got some friends who want to meet my girl."

"Just because I slept with you once does not make me your girl." Holly told him sharply. "In fact, you're very, very far from the truth. I wouldn't call here again, James." She hung up the phone. It immediately rang again, but Holly unhooked the line and went upstairs.

After showering and drying her hair, Holly decided that she might as well go out. Find some party to crash or something. She put on a pair of stretchy black jeans and a white tank top that said OFF LIMITS on it in red letters, along with her favorite army combat boots. She snapped a hair band around her wrist in case she got hot and headed downstairs.

She stopped when she noticed the light flashing on the telephone indicating that a message was on. She pressed the button. Message after message beeped up from James, telling her that he would drive by her house in case she changed her mind.

With a groan, Holly headed back upstairs. She knew James would be stalking her for a few days. She flopped onto her bed, not even caring if her makeup got messed up. She didn't even bother undressing. She glanced at her alarm clock. Only ten, not late at all. She would wait for a good opportunity once her parents got home (when James would leave) to sneak out. She fell asleep thinking these thoughts.

When Holly woke up, she stepped off her bed. A cool breeze rustled her hair, and she looked around sharply. Her house shouldn't have breezes blowing through it.

"Don't move." A voice said from directly behind her. Holly felt something hard and cold pressing into her back, something sharp. She glanced around as far as she could see. The land before her was dark, and rolling with green hills and trees and many trickling streams. She could see nothing of the man (for it was a masculine voice) who held her hostage.

Holly carefully touched the locked around her neck for good luck. Then she took a deep breath.and ducked. She whirled around, her long hair flying. Without waiting for a glimpse of her attacker, she kicked out at him. Her heavy combat boots caught the startled young man in the stomach. He stumbled backwards. Instantly, he regained his balance and loosed an arrow at her.

Holly dodged the arrow and lunged once again at the man. She pulled him to the ground. She struggled, hitting, kicking, even biting as often as she could. She rolled away with her prize: the man's bow and arrow. With one swift, deft movement, she had him pinned to the ground, straddling his back, with the bow under his neck.

She took a moment to look at the man. She couldn't see his face, but his hair was long and silky, and very blonde. He was very muscular beneath her.

"Legolis!" A man called. Holly jerked her head up, her hair flying. Three men were quickly advancing toward her.

"Damn it!" She cursed angrily. She scrambled off the man's back. The others advanced on her, swords drawn.

"What evil creature is this?" A short one cried. Had Holly thought about it more, she would have thought the man resembled a dwarf, but her mind was much more occupied at the moment.

Holly didn't wait for an invitation. She lurched forward, kicking and punching in every direction. She was experienced from hanging out with gangs when she was younger, in junior high.

The men were startled to see her attacks coming so swift and strong. They launched their own attacks on her.

Holly dodged and attacked. She knew she was giving them all a great deal of trouble. She dodged an attack from the short one's ax and lurched forward, running as fast as she could. She could hear them all in pursuit. She passed a fire-lit area, and stopped for a moment, stunned.

Around the fire sat four extremely small men and a very, very old man. They all looked at her in surprise.

Holly rushed off again, wondering what kind of a conspiracy had kidnapped her and taken her to who-knows-where. The footsteps of her attacks were still coming strong behind her.

Suddenly, the clasp on Holly's locket broke. Even through all the shouts, and her own hoarse breathing, the sound of the breaking locket sounded like a death bell in her ears. She skidded to a stop and dropped to her knees, frantically searching for the broken locket.

When the four men following her caught up, they stopped in surprise. The girl who had given them such a fight was now on the ground, groping around in the grass and sobbing uncontrollably.

"We will not hurt you if you do not struggle." A tall man said. He had black hair and a kind face, but Holly didn't notice.

"I won't go anywhere without my locket!" Holly cried through her tears.

"Is this it?" The blonde young man asked, bending down and picking up something silver from the grass.

"My locket!" Holly cried, scrambling to her feet and reaching for it. Her tears stopped as she felt it in her hands. She felt unnaturally calm as she looked upon the man's face. It was the most handsome face she had ever seen, though she would never admit it. His ears were pointed, and his eyes were serious but kind. Holly suddenly felt very foolish, standing in the midst of these men, crying. She wiped her eyes furiously on her shirt sleeve. "Thank you." She mumbled.

"Now, come with us." The black-haired man said, taking her arm.

"No! Where? Let me go!" Holly yelled, thrashing about. Her locket was safely in her hands, but it appeared that she herself was not out of danger as of yet. The other tall man, with shoulder length brown hair, grasped her other arm. Holly realized that she was not going to get away.

They took her back to the fire-lit area. The old man was still sitting down, but the four small beings had all jumped up in fear.

"Gandalf, we've brought the girl." The dark-haired man announced gently, his grip on Holly's arm loosening.

The old man's face turned upwards to look at Holly. His gentle gaze was replaced by a look of surprise. "You're not Mary-Ellen!" He cried.



Okay, do you like it so far? PLEASE review! Yeah, that pretty little button right down there. You know you want to click it, right? Okay, I'll work on the next chapter as soon as I can! I need helpful criticism right now, thanks!

PS. If you have any personal requests for stories, email me and tell me what you want to happen and I'll gladly write it. My e address is StarChica147@aol.com mailto:StarChica147@aol.com, if you're too lazy to look it up! ©