The Fellowship of Eleven

(A/N: Character appearances:

Riley: 14, Ginger hair, blue eyes (sort of like Ginny in Harry Potter)

Vivian: 14, Blonde hair, grey eyes (sort of like Annabeth in Percy Jackson)

Disclaimer: As much as we all wish that we own Lord of the Rings, Tolkien does.

Also, please tell me if my characters are Mary Sues. Then I'll try to change it! :)

Chapter one:

Riley's POV

I sprinted off to the area where Vivian was waiting, once she'd done her second long jump as well, and I spotted her under the shade where we kept our belongings for track and field.

"Mae Govennan," she greeted.

Well met. Of course! Vivian and I were complete Tolkien fanatics- I mean; he was a pure genius- the whole Middle Earth stuff! We even got so far as to call each other by our Sindarin names (Celunibeniel for me, and Cuilpantiel for Vivian) and instead of saying all the different abbreviations we made them Tolkien-ish, like OMG is OTV (Oh The Valar.)

"You did great today!" Vivian grinned, as she looked at my first place (for the third year in a row!) long jump ribbon.

"Hannad," I replied, (thanks) and fanned myself with my hand. "It's so hot out here!" I breathed, feeling like I was vulnerable to heat and immune to the cold (well, I was!) even though Vivian was the opposite. "Vivian, let's just chill in the library and pretend to be library helpers- you know, hide behind the big reading poster near the back door and read? The news said it would rain, like, at one, and," I checked my watch before continuing, "it's two- fifty."

"Touché," Vivian said, and I felt a surge of relief- not that I was worried she wouldn't come, anyways. We always did that.

"Here?" I whispered in front of the poster board, clutching The Fellowship of the Ring.

"Yeah," she replied, "I think. Is it just me, or does it feel smaller than usual?"

"Just you," I teased.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Everything! I'm not even behind the board yet, Oh The Valar! And I can't even get in!"

The librarian probably moved the poster up on a bookshelf (which meant our hiding place was behind the bookshelf) and Vivian, who easily climbed up (shhh!) a trick taught to us by a classmate, I was too small to get up, always being petite and everything.

Vivian laughed, "For Middle Earth's sake, Riley! Lift up the poster board!"

We both knew I couldn't, without making a ruckus, so she extended a hand and pulled me in.

"Yeah, le hannon." (Thanks.) "You're right, it does feel smaller."

"And darker," she added.

"Euh, let's read."

I was on chapter one, Bilbo's eleventy- first birthday, and Frodo's thirty- third (the age equivalent of eighteen, I guess?) from the book Vivian and I were sharing together, a copy of The Fellowship of the Ring that we found the librarian of the antique store discarding in a garbage bin. Since she didn't want it, Vivian picked it up. It had a worn but beautiful cover, a hardcover edition, but with a nicer front- of purple leather (purple leather! Who discards that?) And gold ribbon- bindings with yellow parchment- like pages. Of course, we'd read it a million times already, and the movies, but who cared?

I concentrated on reading.

The eldest of these, and Bilbo's favorite, was young Frodo Baggins. When Bilbo was ninety-nine he adopted Frodo as his heir, and brought him to live at Bag End; and the hopes of the Sackville-Bagginses were finally dashed. Bilbo and Frodo happened to have the same birthday, September 22nd. 'You had better come and live here, Frodo my lad,' said Bilbo one day; 'and then we can celebrate our birthday-parties comfortably together.' At that time Frodo was still in his tweens, as the hobbits called the irresponsible twenties between childhood and coming of age at thirty-three.

That was when I felt it. Weirdness.

Because:

a) The air was very, very, very slightly hotter (yes, I notice these things!)
b) I got dizzy (maybe it was just because of reading in the dark)
c) It felt like the space was smaller!

"Cuilpantiel!" I called. (Vivian.)

"Celunibeniel!" She called at the same time, remembering my name in elvish.

"We're getting transported to middle earth!" We laughed and high- fived. It was what we always did if we said the same thing at the same time.

"No, actually, it feels too small here. How do we get out?" Pe- channas! I thought to myself. Idiot!

Vivian turned to me slowly. "Uh, actually, Riley?"

I knew what she was going to say.

"I'm not sure if we can get out," Vivian finished.

"So we climbed above the poster board to behind the bookshelf," I started, "annnnd we can't get out! On either side of us there are bookshelves, and we can't climb above again! There's no shelves to hold onto and hoist ourselves up, nae!" I used one of my favorite words, 'nae' which meant alas!

"Hey, Riley! A little help here please?" Vivian screamed.

Oh, for goodness sake, where was the librarian? She was the only one who could help us.

Vivian was sinking through the floor, down, already thigh deep like she was in quicksand (only there was no way to get out), holding the book. "Put the book down!" I protested, and we reluctantly let go.

"I can't!" I yelled to her earlier question, realizing I was stuck in it too- waist deep.

But the sensation wasn't soooooo bad, I realized. What I mean is that it was bad, (no duh!), but at least I didn't pass out or something and become a 'damsel in distress.'

The floor wasn't like goo or anything, but it was kind of unpleasant, like sticky stuff without the stickiness (how is that possible?) slowly pulling me down, and there was nothing I could grab to prevent it. My head felt dizzy, thankfully it wasn't more than that, and I reached up to finger the necklace around my neck- I was wearing a matching necklace and bracelet set with an amethyst, (not too expensive, but at least worth of some value.)

My head ached, and Vivian and I locked the two or our bracelets together. They were from a small shop, and like a BFF bracelet, that were like two pieces that fit together and could be locked together. We might be going somewhere, but at least we would stay together!

My vision started to blur, but I could catch well- enough glimpses of things, maybe darkness, as soon as our heads went beneath the floor, I flashed back to grade six.

'Lift must equal gravity,' Ms. Taylor had said, 'in order to prevent ourselves from sinking down to earth, lift must work equally against it to stop us.'

But thankfully, that didn't seem like the case. I didn't want to speed down into the core of the earth.

My arm felt numb being locked into the same position for so long, from the bracelet, and suddenly, when I saw some light, and blue, green, a lot of blue- I couldn't breathe.

Then, my instincts took over me, and with my right hand that was free, I treaded up to the surface, holding my breath, as I felt something wet, water- we were in a lake.

As I was pulled up by Vivian (I may be the best long jumper in the school, but she was better at swimming) my head broke the surface, and I surveyed my surroundings thinking the exact opposite of Gimli's quote in the first Lord of the Rings movie, 'I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!'

I sure didn't feel that.

But I gasped, merciful middle earth! Where were we?

But it seemed that Vivian and I already thought of the answer.