Disclaimer: I don't own LOTR or any of its characters, but I do love the story. This is a fanfic that I felt had to be written. I also don't own the songs that are in this story, but I feel that they would fit in it. Hope ya'll enjoy!
Across Distant Shores
Chapter 1:
An Unexpected Adventure
The sun shone brightly on the small Hobbit hole, the dew-covered flowers glistening like jewels in the June morning's light. The window above the small flowerbed opened, and young Hobbit-lass of about eighteen or nineteen years poked her head out into the new day. Her name was Carole Greendown. She loved to wake up each morning and watch the sunrise. It was one of her most beloved sights in the entire world. Then again, she loved all such natural wonders, for, you see, she was a girl with a very active and broad imagination. Reading the old tales and singing the almost forgotten songs were her passion, and any chance she got to just sit about and daydream or read she took. As she looked out upon the view of Hobbitton on this enchanting morn, she knew this would be a perfect day to dream of all things fantastic.
After quickly getting dressed in her favorite walking clothes, and stopping by the kitchen long enough to grab a fresh biscuit from her mother, she ran outside. As she stepped outside, in to the red and golden light, she realized that it was too a wonderful day; she knew she could not waste it with just a walk around the forest. She knew that this day was made for a quick adventure. Carole had always wanted to go on an adventure. She had only ever been as far as Northfarthing and Westmarch, but she longed to journey to distant lands, and maybe, one day, look upon the sea. Ever since she had first read stories about the Elves she had wanted to see the sea. To walk on the sand, and stand under the White Towers in the Grey Havens. Oh, that was her deepest wish. To trod where old and nearly forgotten heroes once stood as they said farewell to Middle Earth. But she had always been a bit afraid to go beyond the borders of the Shire. People always said it was too dangerous. Even some of her stories warned of it. Stories like the ones about the Old Forest in Buckland, where people would go in, but few would return. Then again, she would remember the tales of Old Bilbo Baggins (or Mad Baggins as he was often called), and of his nephew, Frodo Baggins. That was one of her most favorite stories of all. The story of Frodo and The Ring. Many said those stories weren't true. That some old man wrote them down, and then went off spreading them and saying they were true. But it mentioned her own cousins, the Fairbairns and the Gamgees, and many other people whose names were in history books, and true events that were recorded. Carole knew that the land of the Valar waited out on the sea, where only the Elves and those to whom the Valar gave permission could go. As she thought more and more, she remembered that if she went by the old track in the forest, she could go to the Havens and be back before nightfall. That was it! That was Carole's adventure for today.
As soon as the idea popped into her mind, Carole made a dash for the trail. It lay only five minutes west and south of her house, so it took no time at all to get there. But as she set her left foot onto the stone lined path, hidden in the trees, she heard a familiar, and annoying, voice call her.
"Carole! Hoy Carole, how are you this mornin?" said her neighbor, and second shadow, Andmar Flaxseed as he jogged up behind her, "You're not runnin off again this mornin are ya?"
Carole sighed and said, "No, Andy, I'm hiding from an annoying beast,"
"Well, if that's all, then why are you headin for your 'secret path'?"
"Oh, hush Andy! I want to go do something," she said, exasperated as she tried to proceed down the path.
"Well, why don't I take ya to the market. Theres always something new from the kingdoms o' the Big Folk," said Andy as he grabbed hold of her arm.
"Because," Carole replied as she yanked her arm back, "I want to go somewhere far away instead of just looking at things made there."
"But that's stupid. Why don't ya come back to town wi' me?" Andy said, feeling very confused by his would-be sweetheart's behavior.
"Because I want to go to the Gray Havens," Carole shouted, " and I mean to go now!"
"What!?!" Andy exclaimed, "That's crazy! I'm goin to get your pop," he said as he turned around to go back to town.
"Oh no you don't, Andmar Flaxseed!" said Carole as she grabbed hold of his arm, and kept hold of it, "I didn't want anyone to come with me today, but since you always insist on following me everywhere, you're coming, too." she said as she pulled him along down the trail, "Maybe this will teach you that sometimes getting what you want isn't exactly what you really wanted."
?????????????????????????????
Carole and Andy walked on for three hours, stopping only for short rests and a few sips of water at a nearby stream. Andy kept whining and complaining about being starved (though, truth be told, Carole was also very hungry), but Carole promised that he would get a large supper at her house as soon as they were back home that evening. So, they journeyed on, until Carole heard the sound of the waves against the shore. A sound she only heard in her dreams. It was as beautiful as an Elf's song (something else she only heard in dreams). Then, she saw the White Towers, rising up from the shore as if they had grown there like trees grow from brown earth, just a second ahead. She let go of Andy and sprinted ahead, running onto the shore, feeling the sand beneath her feet for the very first time in her young life.
"This is more amazing than anything I've ever seen," she said softly as she looked out upon the horizon, the sea and sky almost a mirror image of the other, merging in the distance.
"Yeah, it's beautiful," said Andy, for once at a loss for words. The two stood there, silent for a moment. Then Andy said, "Well, we've seen the sea, now let's go home."
"Go home?" said Carole, as she turned and looked at him, "But we've barely been here five minutes. I want to look around a bit," she said as she began walking back up the shore. She looked to her right, and saw an old pier, jutting out over the water. She quickly made her way to it, ignoring Andy's continuous requests to go. As Carole walked up on to and along the pier, she spied a small boat, designed with many leaves along its sides, tide to a pole. She decided to get in it, but only for a second. Besides, no one else was here, and who would need a boat that must have been abandoned at least fifty years ago. As she stepped in, Andy came up, saying "Carole, be careful! That thing might tip over or somethin."
"Andy, this is an Elfish boat," Carole replied, "and besides, what could go wrong?"
Just then, clap of thunder and a flash of lightening came seemingly from nowhere. Dark clouds billowed in, when just seconds before the sky was clear. Andy and Carole screamed as the frightening storm came down upon them. Carole tried to get out of the boat, but the growing wind knocked her down. Then, the waves lifted the small boat up and away from the dock. Somehow the rope had come untied, and now, Carole was drifting out to sea. She called frantically for help, but Andy, frightened and panicked, ran from the dock, into the woods.
Andy ran as fast as his Hobbit feet could carry him, back along the trail. It seemed to take only minutes for Andy to get back to Hobbitton, and up to the Greendowns' door (when in fact he had run nonstop for over an hour). He banged his fist on the door, shouting, "Mr. Greendown! Help, Carole's in trouble!"
Instantly, Carole's father opened the door, and screamed, "What?! Where is she!?!"
"I don't know sir," Andy said, tears streaming down his face. He frantically told Mr. Greendown what had happened, Mrs. Greendown and Carole's brothers and sister listening from the living room. As Carole's mother heard Andy say that he'd last seen her being carried off by the waves, she shrieked and fainted, and Carole's three older brothers leaped up to help their mother. Soon, word had spread around town, and when the storm stopped, as quickly as it had begun, all who could make their way to the Havens, but they were too late. The boat was far from sight, and not even any of the Hobbits who knew more about water than anything else could find a way to help the young Hobbit-lass. So everyone began to mourn for her, and said farewell to the girl. No Hobbit in Middle Earth ever saw or heard from her again. In time, her story was known by many, and used as another cautionary tale to all young Hobbits who would dare to go beyond the borders of the Shire.
?????????????????????????????
Carole was tossed about by the sea for a long time, holding on to the side of the boat as hard as she could. Then, The storm subsided and vanished, and she drifted on the water. She didn't know how long she was at sea. It might have been a day, or many days, for she would often be rocked to sleep by the waves and always awake to a clear sky or a sunset (or sunrise, foe all she knew). All she knew was that as she drifted, she grew hungrier and thirstier than she'd ever been before. At one point, she lay in the bottom of the boat, looking at the clouds rolling by, and said to herself, "Well, Carole, this is a fine mess you've gotten yourself into. I should have listened to my own advice. 'Sometimes getting what you want isn't what you really wanted.' I'm such a fool." Hours passed, and Carole slept once more. In her dream, she heard a song, first feint, like it was coming from the distance, and then it grew, and grew, until the words were clear:
Once you had gold, once you had silver,
Then came the rains out of the blue.
Ever and always,
Always and ever.
Time gave both darkness and dreams to you
Now you can see Spring becomes autumn,
Leaves become gold falling from view.
Ever and always,
Always and ever.
No one can promise a dream come true.
Time gave both darkness and dreams to you.
What is the dark; shadows around you.
Why not take heart in the new day?
Ever and always,
Always and ever.
No one can promise a dream for you.
Time gave both darkness and dreams to you.
Carole had never heard a voice so sweet, yet so sad, before. Then, she felt the boat jolt. Like it had run up on something. She opened her eyes, and rose up. She was on a beach. The sands up and down the shore were as white as snow. The sun spread out in a hundred shades of reds, oranges, and pinks. She got up, her body stiff from the lack of movement, and weak from thirst and hunger, out on to the shore. The sand felt as soft as silk, and unlike when she stood in the sand at the Grey Havens, she didn't sink in to her ankles. She walked slowly along the beach. She looked up to her right, to see if there was any sign of civilization, and saw tall pearly buildings amid beautiful silver trunked trees. And sitting in the sand, up the hillock on the shore, Carole saw five figures. The largest was an Elf. She had never seen an Elf before, but she knew this was an Elf. His fair hair stirred in the wind, and his face was ageless, but he had an air about him that said he was very wise, and older than the oldest Gaffer in the entire Shire, back home. As soon as she saw him, she knew she must be either dreaming or in the land of the Valar, but she was betting closer to the former, because sitting to the left of the Elf was a Dwarf. He was obviously old, for his beard was gray, but it still had some red streaks in it, and she could hear his booming laugh from where she stood. And to the right of them were…three Hobbits! She knew this was a dream if Hobbits were in this strange and beautiful land. Two were very old, the second extremely old, and they held canes. But, as Carole beheld the third, her heart jumped. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever, ever seen. His hair was as dark as the sky at midnight, his face young and even fairer than the Elf that he sat with. As she stepped forward, they all turned their heads towards her. As the gorgeous being's eyes met with hers, her breath halted altogether. His eyes were the deepest, most exquisite blue she had ever seen. They were like sapphires, gleaming brilliantly, yet as deep as the very sea that had borne her to this land. To him. Carole and this Elf-like Hobbit stared at one another for what seemed like hours, and they may have done so for- ever, if the Elf-prince had not gotten up, and rushed off to who knows where. At the movement, the dark haired Hobbit looked away, and Carole collapsed on to the sand. A few minutes later, she felt someone gently lifting her up. She looked up, and she saw the face of the young Hobbit looking down at her. Again, she felt her breath cease, and she reached her hand up to touch the wonderfully beautiful face that looked at her with such concern and tenderness. Then, she gazed once more into his mesmerizing blue eyes, and then she knew no more.
That's chapter one. Please, review for me my peoples!
Across Distant Shores
Chapter 1:
An Unexpected Adventure
The sun shone brightly on the small Hobbit hole, the dew-covered flowers glistening like jewels in the June morning's light. The window above the small flowerbed opened, and young Hobbit-lass of about eighteen or nineteen years poked her head out into the new day. Her name was Carole Greendown. She loved to wake up each morning and watch the sunrise. It was one of her most beloved sights in the entire world. Then again, she loved all such natural wonders, for, you see, she was a girl with a very active and broad imagination. Reading the old tales and singing the almost forgotten songs were her passion, and any chance she got to just sit about and daydream or read she took. As she looked out upon the view of Hobbitton on this enchanting morn, she knew this would be a perfect day to dream of all things fantastic.
After quickly getting dressed in her favorite walking clothes, and stopping by the kitchen long enough to grab a fresh biscuit from her mother, she ran outside. As she stepped outside, in to the red and golden light, she realized that it was too a wonderful day; she knew she could not waste it with just a walk around the forest. She knew that this day was made for a quick adventure. Carole had always wanted to go on an adventure. She had only ever been as far as Northfarthing and Westmarch, but she longed to journey to distant lands, and maybe, one day, look upon the sea. Ever since she had first read stories about the Elves she had wanted to see the sea. To walk on the sand, and stand under the White Towers in the Grey Havens. Oh, that was her deepest wish. To trod where old and nearly forgotten heroes once stood as they said farewell to Middle Earth. But she had always been a bit afraid to go beyond the borders of the Shire. People always said it was too dangerous. Even some of her stories warned of it. Stories like the ones about the Old Forest in Buckland, where people would go in, but few would return. Then again, she would remember the tales of Old Bilbo Baggins (or Mad Baggins as he was often called), and of his nephew, Frodo Baggins. That was one of her most favorite stories of all. The story of Frodo and The Ring. Many said those stories weren't true. That some old man wrote them down, and then went off spreading them and saying they were true. But it mentioned her own cousins, the Fairbairns and the Gamgees, and many other people whose names were in history books, and true events that were recorded. Carole knew that the land of the Valar waited out on the sea, where only the Elves and those to whom the Valar gave permission could go. As she thought more and more, she remembered that if she went by the old track in the forest, she could go to the Havens and be back before nightfall. That was it! That was Carole's adventure for today.
As soon as the idea popped into her mind, Carole made a dash for the trail. It lay only five minutes west and south of her house, so it took no time at all to get there. But as she set her left foot onto the stone lined path, hidden in the trees, she heard a familiar, and annoying, voice call her.
"Carole! Hoy Carole, how are you this mornin?" said her neighbor, and second shadow, Andmar Flaxseed as he jogged up behind her, "You're not runnin off again this mornin are ya?"
Carole sighed and said, "No, Andy, I'm hiding from an annoying beast,"
"Well, if that's all, then why are you headin for your 'secret path'?"
"Oh, hush Andy! I want to go do something," she said, exasperated as she tried to proceed down the path.
"Well, why don't I take ya to the market. Theres always something new from the kingdoms o' the Big Folk," said Andy as he grabbed hold of her arm.
"Because," Carole replied as she yanked her arm back, "I want to go somewhere far away instead of just looking at things made there."
"But that's stupid. Why don't ya come back to town wi' me?" Andy said, feeling very confused by his would-be sweetheart's behavior.
"Because I want to go to the Gray Havens," Carole shouted, " and I mean to go now!"
"What!?!" Andy exclaimed, "That's crazy! I'm goin to get your pop," he said as he turned around to go back to town.
"Oh no you don't, Andmar Flaxseed!" said Carole as she grabbed hold of his arm, and kept hold of it, "I didn't want anyone to come with me today, but since you always insist on following me everywhere, you're coming, too." she said as she pulled him along down the trail, "Maybe this will teach you that sometimes getting what you want isn't exactly what you really wanted."
?????????????????????????????
Carole and Andy walked on for three hours, stopping only for short rests and a few sips of water at a nearby stream. Andy kept whining and complaining about being starved (though, truth be told, Carole was also very hungry), but Carole promised that he would get a large supper at her house as soon as they were back home that evening. So, they journeyed on, until Carole heard the sound of the waves against the shore. A sound she only heard in her dreams. It was as beautiful as an Elf's song (something else she only heard in dreams). Then, she saw the White Towers, rising up from the shore as if they had grown there like trees grow from brown earth, just a second ahead. She let go of Andy and sprinted ahead, running onto the shore, feeling the sand beneath her feet for the very first time in her young life.
"This is more amazing than anything I've ever seen," she said softly as she looked out upon the horizon, the sea and sky almost a mirror image of the other, merging in the distance.
"Yeah, it's beautiful," said Andy, for once at a loss for words. The two stood there, silent for a moment. Then Andy said, "Well, we've seen the sea, now let's go home."
"Go home?" said Carole, as she turned and looked at him, "But we've barely been here five minutes. I want to look around a bit," she said as she began walking back up the shore. She looked to her right, and saw an old pier, jutting out over the water. She quickly made her way to it, ignoring Andy's continuous requests to go. As Carole walked up on to and along the pier, she spied a small boat, designed with many leaves along its sides, tide to a pole. She decided to get in it, but only for a second. Besides, no one else was here, and who would need a boat that must have been abandoned at least fifty years ago. As she stepped in, Andy came up, saying "Carole, be careful! That thing might tip over or somethin."
"Andy, this is an Elfish boat," Carole replied, "and besides, what could go wrong?"
Just then, clap of thunder and a flash of lightening came seemingly from nowhere. Dark clouds billowed in, when just seconds before the sky was clear. Andy and Carole screamed as the frightening storm came down upon them. Carole tried to get out of the boat, but the growing wind knocked her down. Then, the waves lifted the small boat up and away from the dock. Somehow the rope had come untied, and now, Carole was drifting out to sea. She called frantically for help, but Andy, frightened and panicked, ran from the dock, into the woods.
Andy ran as fast as his Hobbit feet could carry him, back along the trail. It seemed to take only minutes for Andy to get back to Hobbitton, and up to the Greendowns' door (when in fact he had run nonstop for over an hour). He banged his fist on the door, shouting, "Mr. Greendown! Help, Carole's in trouble!"
Instantly, Carole's father opened the door, and screamed, "What?! Where is she!?!"
"I don't know sir," Andy said, tears streaming down his face. He frantically told Mr. Greendown what had happened, Mrs. Greendown and Carole's brothers and sister listening from the living room. As Carole's mother heard Andy say that he'd last seen her being carried off by the waves, she shrieked and fainted, and Carole's three older brothers leaped up to help their mother. Soon, word had spread around town, and when the storm stopped, as quickly as it had begun, all who could make their way to the Havens, but they were too late. The boat was far from sight, and not even any of the Hobbits who knew more about water than anything else could find a way to help the young Hobbit-lass. So everyone began to mourn for her, and said farewell to the girl. No Hobbit in Middle Earth ever saw or heard from her again. In time, her story was known by many, and used as another cautionary tale to all young Hobbits who would dare to go beyond the borders of the Shire.
?????????????????????????????
Carole was tossed about by the sea for a long time, holding on to the side of the boat as hard as she could. Then, The storm subsided and vanished, and she drifted on the water. She didn't know how long she was at sea. It might have been a day, or many days, for she would often be rocked to sleep by the waves and always awake to a clear sky or a sunset (or sunrise, foe all she knew). All she knew was that as she drifted, she grew hungrier and thirstier than she'd ever been before. At one point, she lay in the bottom of the boat, looking at the clouds rolling by, and said to herself, "Well, Carole, this is a fine mess you've gotten yourself into. I should have listened to my own advice. 'Sometimes getting what you want isn't what you really wanted.' I'm such a fool." Hours passed, and Carole slept once more. In her dream, she heard a song, first feint, like it was coming from the distance, and then it grew, and grew, until the words were clear:
Once you had gold, once you had silver,
Then came the rains out of the blue.
Ever and always,
Always and ever.
Time gave both darkness and dreams to you
Now you can see Spring becomes autumn,
Leaves become gold falling from view.
Ever and always,
Always and ever.
No one can promise a dream come true.
Time gave both darkness and dreams to you.
What is the dark; shadows around you.
Why not take heart in the new day?
Ever and always,
Always and ever.
No one can promise a dream for you.
Time gave both darkness and dreams to you.
Carole had never heard a voice so sweet, yet so sad, before. Then, she felt the boat jolt. Like it had run up on something. She opened her eyes, and rose up. She was on a beach. The sands up and down the shore were as white as snow. The sun spread out in a hundred shades of reds, oranges, and pinks. She got up, her body stiff from the lack of movement, and weak from thirst and hunger, out on to the shore. The sand felt as soft as silk, and unlike when she stood in the sand at the Grey Havens, she didn't sink in to her ankles. She walked slowly along the beach. She looked up to her right, to see if there was any sign of civilization, and saw tall pearly buildings amid beautiful silver trunked trees. And sitting in the sand, up the hillock on the shore, Carole saw five figures. The largest was an Elf. She had never seen an Elf before, but she knew this was an Elf. His fair hair stirred in the wind, and his face was ageless, but he had an air about him that said he was very wise, and older than the oldest Gaffer in the entire Shire, back home. As soon as she saw him, she knew she must be either dreaming or in the land of the Valar, but she was betting closer to the former, because sitting to the left of the Elf was a Dwarf. He was obviously old, for his beard was gray, but it still had some red streaks in it, and she could hear his booming laugh from where she stood. And to the right of them were…three Hobbits! She knew this was a dream if Hobbits were in this strange and beautiful land. Two were very old, the second extremely old, and they held canes. But, as Carole beheld the third, her heart jumped. He was the most beautiful thing she had ever, ever seen. His hair was as dark as the sky at midnight, his face young and even fairer than the Elf that he sat with. As she stepped forward, they all turned their heads towards her. As the gorgeous being's eyes met with hers, her breath halted altogether. His eyes were the deepest, most exquisite blue she had ever seen. They were like sapphires, gleaming brilliantly, yet as deep as the very sea that had borne her to this land. To him. Carole and this Elf-like Hobbit stared at one another for what seemed like hours, and they may have done so for- ever, if the Elf-prince had not gotten up, and rushed off to who knows where. At the movement, the dark haired Hobbit looked away, and Carole collapsed on to the sand. A few minutes later, she felt someone gently lifting her up. She looked up, and she saw the face of the young Hobbit looking down at her. Again, she felt her breath cease, and she reached her hand up to touch the wonderfully beautiful face that looked at her with such concern and tenderness. Then, she gazed once more into his mesmerizing blue eyes, and then she knew no more.
That's chapter one. Please, review for me my peoples!