The Amulet

Authors Note: Hi! Okay, this story has shorter chapters than Amanda's Pocket Hobbit, but there will be more of them. I did plan it out this time, and I'm going to give myself a month to finish each chapter. That should prevent any more three-month delays in updates. All right, enough chat. Here's the story:

Amanda Buckley groaned, throwing off her blanket as the late morning sun poured into her room. She sleepily got dressed, then instinctively looked toward the windowsill. 'Good morning, Pi- oh. I guess it's just good morning, me.'

Amanda walked down the street, her boots crunching on the half-melted snow. Winter was loosening his hold, and spring was beginning to peep through the white curtain.

Soon, the fourteen-year-old girl reached Sasha Dehan's house- her best friend and only sharer in the adventure that had swept her world just a month earlier. She adjusted her favorite red scarf and waited. Sasha wouldn't be long.

Sure enough, Sasha skipped out of her house, looking like a supermodel showing off this year's winter-wear.

'You're ridiculous.' Amanda grumbled good-naturedly as Sasha fell into step beside her.

'And you're grumpy.' Sasha responded airily. Her face then lost its silly look and she asked, 'Any particular reason?'

'No.' Amanda rubbed her arms. 'Not really.'

'Doesn't feel good to have only one friend in the world, does it?' Sasha said. 'Especially after being part of a trio for a while.'

Amanda frowned. 'Wha- how- what?'

Sasha giggled. 'It's not hard to see what's bothering you.' She grew more serious. 'I miss him too, but I think you should move on.'

Amanda started to protest, but Sasha interrupted. 'I'm not saying forget him. You should never forget. But I don't think you'll ever see Pippin again, and you need to start focusing on the real world.' She smiled slyly. 'Some boys have been giving you… looks.'

Amanda scoffed. 'Looks. They're far more likely to be looking at you.'

'Aww, you flatter me. Oh look, here we are.'

Amanda looked up to see towering, snow-covered trees. 'The park? Haven't we been here before?'

Sasha pranced forward, light-footed as a deer. 'Don't be such a wet blanket. There aren't many places to hang out around here.'

Amanda shrugged, a smile tugging at her lips, and followed her deeper into the park.

They soon reached a very significant bench.

'And this…' Sasha said dramatically, in a hushed voice, 'is the very bench where a wizard from another dimension appeared, and opened a portal to Middle-Earth.'

Amanda elbowed her friend. 'We know.'

Sasha tilted her head, staring at something on the ground. 'Hey, what's this?' She bent down, and picked up a chunk of wood. It was smooth and carved on top, but jagged around the edges. It didn't look like tree bark.

'It probably just came from the bench.' Amanda said dismissively. But somehow, even to her, that explanation didn't seem adequate. Some weird feeling emanated from the wood, like it wasn't supposed to be there.

'Here, feel it.' Sasha urged. She passed the chunk of wood to Amanda.

In that split second when both their hands were touching the wood, there was a silent but blinding flash, and when it cleared there was nothing there but the chip of wood, falling innocently into the grass.

Amanda sat up, rubbing her head. What had happened? She looked around to see, not the closely-growing trees and clipped grass she remembered, but wide, open, rolling hills.

'Where am I?'

Author's Note: So yeah, the character of the girls is a little different because of the way they reacted to Pippin leaving. Sasha got sillier, Amanda got grumpier. But she'll perk up, you'll see… The next chapter will be out by 9/20/2015, at the latest. If it's not out by then, feel free to verbally beat me up. xD