A/N ~

Hello everyone! PLEASE be sure to read the Authors Notes ("A/N") before reading each chapter!

Well this is my first time writing a Lord of the Rings Fanfiction, so we'll just have to see how it goes. I've written quite a few busts in my time when it comes to fanfictions, that is, stories that are good, just not what people want to read. This IS an OC story, which is something everyone says "I don't usually like OC stories, but…" I've gotten that and read that in others' reviews quite a bit.

My point is that the life span of this Fanfiction will have to depend on the reviews. If I get at least a few reviews each chapter, I'll keep them coming.

Also, none of the characters or places in this story belong to me, but to Mr. Tolkien, with exception of the Original Characters, Lace and Alexis, and maybe other peoples/places as I mention them.

Lastly, the characters may not in any way reflect myself, my appearance, personality, age, gender, whatever. Well, gender yes. And I might share a few characterisms with the characters, but so might you.

Whew! With that out of the way, Enjoy!~

~.Chapter One.~

Out of London

Lace tripped over something in the dark and fell face-first onto the hard cobblestones, wet from the rain, and skidded along the ground, scratching up her knees, palms, and chin. For a moment she just lay there, shuddering and sobbing. Then a hand clasped onto her arm just below her shoulder and wrenched her upward. She hung limp, spluttering and crying.

"Come on. Get up!" A brave voice told her somberly, as the girl it belonged to pulled Lace onto her feet.

Lace looked up through dark red hair at Adeline, whose curly hair hung around her face like a sopping curtain. Her ice-blue eyes were serious. Lace searched them for a moment, looking for some fear, but there was none.

Then she was being pulled down the rain-washed streets and, at the last moment, yanked into a nearby abandoned shop.

The inside was musty and smelled of mold. Alexis, her arms around Lace, hid the both of them in a dark corner behind an old wooden wardrobe.

"They'll beat us for sure when they find us," Lace breathed into Alexis' ear.

Alexis put a thin finger to her lips, and put a hand on Lace's head. The girls were the same age, as far as they knew, but Alexis was taller, more mature and always looked after Lace. They'd come to the old orphanage on the same day, and had been best friends since then until now, their final year at the orphanage. Now that they were adults, they would be moving on. But since they were women as well, they'd most likely be sold to men or a brothel. And so it was that the two of them had ended up fleeing along the rainy streets of 1930 London.

Something moved in the darkness. The girls became as still as the grave, not daring to even to breathe.

A tall, gruff man stormed into the shop, his boots crashing on the wooden floor boards like thunder as he drew near to the girls.

Lace slipped out of Alexis' grip and backed away, up against the wall. Her hand brushed against something. It was a tattered and torn book. Not old, but certainly forgotten. The silver letters upon it were clear, but she could not read, and so did not know what they said. The letters looked this way:

The Hobbit

Just then, Lace's fingers slipped off the book and she found herself falling backwards, though she had just moments ago been resting her back on the wall. A strange iridescence was pulling her into black depths. She saw Alexis, now seemingly far away, gasp and plunge in after Lace without a second thought. Beyond her, the man was running across the room towards them, a pistol in his grip. He fired one bulled as the wall closed behind Alexis. They heard it ricochet off the wall and the man cursed.

Falling… falling…

"What is this?" Alexis murmured, inspecting her hands. The bodies of the two young women were sparkling.

"Hold on!" Lace shouted suddenly, her voice echoing in the void, for a force greater than gravity was yanking her backwards. She thrust her hand towards her friend. The other girl copied; their fingers touched…

Then an almighty lurch jolted them apart and Lace was flying away from Alexis.

Darkness closed around her vision, and she fell onto her face.

She hit solid ground, but it was softer than expected, and fragrant. Not only fresh grass but flowers and the living wood of trees filled her senses.

Lace pushed herself up with her hands and spun around 'til she was sitting on her bottom. She looked around. She was in a very different place than the dirty streets of London.

And someone was walking toward her under a clear blue sky covered by the canopy of leaves overhead. Someone small, large-footed and curly-haired.

A/N ~ And there is the first chapter. It's quite short because it's more of a prologue. The next ones will be longer. Now all I have to say is... REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! You know you wanna press that button ;) Free cookies for everyone who reviews!~ And of course, reviews will make me put up next chapters quicker... hehe ;D