Selena screamed and scrambled to get away only to find she was backing up into another one whom seemed just as hungry as the first one.
"Well, what do we have here?" asked one of orcs as he grabbed the girl by her arm to examine her closely. "Well, what do you know? We got us a girl and a pretty one at that."
"Hey, get your stinky, filthy paws off me." snapped Selena as she tried to pull her arm out of the orc's powerful grip.
"She's a fighter, this one. Should we bring her to Saruman?" asked the second orc as he looked the young witch up and down. "Or should we just eat her?"
The orc holding Selena growled at the younger one and threw a short dagger at him. "You idiot, of course we're going to eat her. I don't care what that stupid wizard wants. He's not the boss of me."
"Alright, I'm sorry." snapped the submissive orc as he rubbed his head where the dagger had hit him.
Lily looked between the two orcs as she thought about the strange predicament she was in. Not moments ago, she had been arguing with her father and now she was with a bunch of orcs. To make matters worse, they were trying to decide if they should spare her life or not. 'Wait, did they say Saruman? But that would mean, I'm in my story. I'm in Middle-Earth.' said Selena to herself. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard the thunder of hooves headed her direction. The orcs were too busy bickering over what to do with their capture that they didn't hear the horses until it was too late.
Out of nowhere, four riders in armour came charging out the forest with their pure white horses and started to attack the pair of orcs. After being thrown to the ground, Selena crawled away and tried to look for her wand. As the riders drove off the two orcs, Selena finally found her wand and quickly grabbed it just as one of them dismounted and walked towards her.
"What are you doing in elven territory?" asked the figure, which upon closer inspection was a tall elf with long brown hair and was wearing a small silver crown. "More importantly, why are their orcs roaming so close to our homeland?"
Selena looked up at the face of the elf, which she recognized right away as Lord Elrond, the chief of the Elves. She tried to recall more about him, but everything else about him seemed to have left her memory. 'Why can I remember anything about you? You are more than just the chief of the elves, but I can't remember. Oh, no. I forgetting the pages of the book. That's just great. I can only recall places and names. This is just not my day,' thought Selena.
"Well?" insisted the elf lord, eyeing the young witch critically.
"Oh, my name is Selena Salazar Snape. I'm sorry sir, I lost my way," stumbled Selena, searching for an appropriate answer.
"Interesting, well seeing as you appear to by yourself and of no threat to us. Why don't you come with us?" suggested Lord Elrond, gesturing for one of his men to loan the girl their horse. One elf did and lead his horse over to her.
"Thank you. Lord Elrond is it?" asked Selena, receiving a nod from the elf in front of her.
"Yes, dear girl. Now can you ride?" returned Elrond, taking the reins of the horse from its owner and throwing them over the horse's head.
"Yes, Lord Elrond," replied Selena walking towards the horse and slowly lifted herself into the saddle with a little help from the elf.
Satisfied that the girl was alright, he motioned for his men to turn back and head for Rivendell. He too turned his horse and set off for the short journey home, every once in a while taking a glance at the young girl. She was young to be out by herself, more importantly at times like this when orcs were loose.
"So why is it, that a girl, such as you're self, is wandering the woods alone?" questioned Lord Elrond, bringing his horse close to Selena's.
Selena looked at Lord Elrond and smiled, "I didn't have much of a choice. Besides, I'm a much tougher girl than you give me credit."
"Is that so? Well, we shall have to see about that," challenged Elrond, as he picked up the pace, encouraging his other captain and other man to hurry as well.
After another few hours of intense riding, Lord Elrond and company finally made it to Rivendell. They had just arrived when one of his men came running up to him.
"My Lord, your daughter has returned with a the 'ring-bearer' who is gravely ill," informed the elf, eying the young girl who was dismounting the horse.
"Then I shall go to him, immediately," he turned to the elf as he dismounted his own steed. "See that the young girl has a change of clothes and is welcomed. Captain, send some of your men and horses into the forest. Strider and some more hobbits are probably on their way here." The two elves bowed and went their respectful ways.
"I must go and take care of some business. Allow Caeltae, to get you seated in a room and feel free to ask anything of him," said Elrond as he looked at Selena before hurrying away.
"Well, what would you like to do?" asked Caeltae, gazing at the young girl.
She was about to respond when an old man in grey robes and carrying a staff walked over to the pair. Thinking through her foggy mind, her mind supplied her with the name Gandalf, the grey, a wizard of sorts but nothing like the old headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. She frowned when she could not remember anything more.
"Good evening, child," greeted Gandalf, studying the girl with a critical eye. 'So this must be the girl in the prophecy."
"Master, Gandalf," bowed Caeltae when the wizard looked in his direction. Between Lord Elrond and Princess Arwen most elfs were taught to regard the wizard as something of an equal.
"Yes, yes I know!" snapped Gandalf. "I'm not your master. I am a friend of your Lord Elrond and that is it."
"Sorry, m-Gandalf!" stumbled Caeltae looking fearfully at the tall, grey wizard with some fear.
"Never mind that, I need to have a word with this girl," ordered Gandalf pointing to Selena as if she wasn't there.
Caeltae nodded and simply chose to lead the four horses back to the stables to give them some grooming and feed. When Caeltae was out of earshot, Gandalf motioned for Selena to follow him and lead her to a small space that appeared to be a study. Closing and locking the door, he turned back to the girl.
"So you are wizard, child?" asked tall, lean wizard.
"We prefer the term, witch where I'm from. How did you know?" questioned Selena, furrowing her brows as she tried to figure out.
The old man looked at her, before falling into a chair and started laughing, clutching his side. "My dear, when you get to be my age, you have a certain sixth sense for knowing that kind of stuff. That and you're not exactly dressed to match this world, so I assume you're not from around here."
"That is correct, sir. I come from; I guess you could say an alternate universe. Only I don't know how to get back home," answered Selena, pulling out her wand and transfiguring her clothes to look more like a common villager.
Gandalf looked her and shook his head, "Never thought I'd live to see the day when women could use magic. As to your question about getting home, I am not sure but I can certainly look into finding a way back."
Selena nodded her head in appreciation, "Thank-you so much, Gandalf."
The elderly wizard nodded his head and then his face turned serious. "I want to be clear that while you are here, you do not use any magic unless in a dire situation. People barely tolerate me and I live here."
Selena sighed heavily and nodded, "Fair enough."
"Excellent. Now I'm assuming you've never used a sword or bow where you're from?" inquired Gandalf. When the young, black-haired, girl shook her head his brows furrowed in puzzlement. "Don't your mentors teach you anything? Magic doesn't fix all your problems. Utterly useless. I'll have to send him a letter. You're completely defenseless if you rely too heavily on your magic."
Selena giggled at the thought of her handing the letter to her father or the headmaster, "We, ah learn about potions and the history of magic."
Gandalf paled and started ranting again, "Well that's all very good, but you can't learn everything from past events. Look at us. Oh, I'm definitely talking to your supervisors. This is completely unacceptable. Now potions are a fine art to be sure, but hardly practical in most situations. Your mentors sound terrible."
Selena tried to suppress the giggles that kept coming to her mouth, but she was having a difficult time while the wizard continued to rant about Hogwarts lack of teaching.
"Well, I'll just have to rectify that. In a few minutes, you'll learn from both a master swordsmen and bowmen. Two of the most impressive, men I've ever laid eyes on," insisted Gandalf as he continued to mutter off about poor education.
Selena blinked at the man several times before shaking her head, "Oh, no. I am not learning how to use a sword. I have poor hand-coordination. Ask any of my fri-oh well if you asked of my friends they'd tell I was telling the truth."
Gandalf looked at her with something akin to a twinkle in his eyes, reminding her of the Headmaster at Hogwarts. It usually meant he got his way and she groaned inwardly at the thought off using a sword.
'You will learn to use a sword if it's the last thing I do,' muttered Gandalf just as Lord Elrond appeared in the doorway.
"I've done all I could for him. He's got a strong heart so he should heal well. Come, you'll probably want to be there when he wakes. I'll show you to his room," offered Elrond, cracking a smile towards Selena who blushed back.
"Ah, yes thank-you Lord Elrond," returned Gandalf striding over to him. "I'm sure though, that I can find my way."
"Very, well have it your way," retorted Elrond nodding at Gandalf as he left to find Frodo and set his eyes once more on the young girl. "Well, you certainly look quite mess now that I've had a proper look of you. Didn't Caeltae bring you fresh clothes."
"I was speaking to Gandalf, sir," countered Selena.
"Oh that meddling, old, man. Thinks he can just order everyone one around," started the high elf, earning some giggles from the young girl. "You must be starving. Come there is to be a big feast to greet our weary travellers such as yourself."
"You are most gracious, sir," conceited Selena only to be stopped by Lord Elrond.
"Please, call me Elrond. A friend of Gandalf is a friend of mine," insisted the elf.
"Very well, Elrond, You are too kind," said Selena, following the high elf toward the banquet hall.
As they entered the banquet hall, Selena could easily recognize more faces that had come up from her foggy memories. She sat Merry and Pippin twi- no cousins, she corrected looking at the two hobbits. Across from them, sat Frodo and Sam, while Bilbo sat on the right of Frodo. Then there was Legolas another elf whom she suspected would be teaching her to use a bow. Beside him sat another elf he was talking with and a small stout man sat across from them. He was a dwarf known as Gimli, son of Gloin and he was too busy stuffing his face. Of course, Gandalf sat next Princess Arwen, daughter of Lord Elrond and was busy smoking his pipe. Scanning the rest of the table, she spied Boromir and instantly she clenched her jaw looking at him. She didn't know why she suddenly hated this man, but her memories of the book escaped her. She knew these people would come to be called the Fellowship of the Ring. However, scanning the table, she frowned. There was someone missing from the mass of people sitting at the huge dining table.
Seeming to read her mind, Lord Elrond, bent close to her ear and whispered, "Aragorn will not be dining with us, Selena." He then motioned for her to take a seat, opposite of his chair which he pulled out for her.
She smiled gently at him and eased herself into the chair and started to fill her plate, unaware of the eyes staring at her until Lord Elrond sent them a glare and continued their conversations.
"Hullo, my name is Frodo," came a quiet voice a few seats down the table. Selena looked up and smiled at the young hobbit.
"My name is Selena and it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you," returned Selena, grabbing some of the salad, eagerly.
Frodo looked like he was going to ask another question when she turned her attention to Gandalf and Legolas's conversation.
"I need you to teach, Selena over there a few tricks of trade," whispered Gandalf unaware that Selena was listening.
"Gandalf, she is a human. To teach her something that only elves excel at would be to go against my kind," argued Legolas, stabbing at a leaf of lettuce.
"But, the girl needs to learn how to defend herself. Besides, that young girl is not what she seems. I need you to do this for me, Legolas. As a favour."
"Fine, I'll start tomorrow," offered Legolas.
"I'm sure she will be delighted. Isn't that right, Selena?" asked Gandalf turning his eyes on her.
Feeling like she had been caught with the cookie jar, Selena stumbled over her words and ended up just nodding before lowering her head to her plate, making the old wizard chuckle.
After some much 'unneeded' desserts, Selena excused herself from the table, claiming she wasn't feeling well. While, that last bowl of fruit had been a bit excessive, she wanted some time to herself. As far as the Dumbledore-look alike knew, Selena was as good as stuck in Middle-Earth. Tears came to her eyes as she thought about what she had said to her parents before she had left. Swiping angrily at then with her hands, the young girl found herself staring at a small tree with white leaves. With the almost glow, the tree seemed to give her hope that things would turn out alright. Walking closer to it, she touched one of the petals, finding that it felt quite soft. Curiously, she gently tugged the leaf off the branch and watched as an image came into view herself kissing the silhouette of a man and embracing him. The image changed to show a wedding ring and changed once more to reveal herself back with happy family. Confused, as to what had happened, she flipped the leaf over but, nothing appeared.
"It's no use trying to figure it out, miss. That's a rare bit of magic for you, if you like. It shows ones deepest regrets and desires," replied a voice from behind her. Startled, she wheeled around to see Boromir watching her.
"Oh, hello Boromir,"greeted Selena, planting a fake smile on her face to hide the loathing she felt for the man in front of her. "Have a good day."
"No, no. Stay and lets have a little chat," insisted Boromir walking closer to the young witch.
"I'd rather not. I need to go to bed," informed Selena, backing away from Boromir.
"You know, it's funny how quickly a man can become seduced by a woman," said Boromir, thoughtfully.
"Yes, well we do have our feminine charm," laughed Selena, hoping she could buy herself time to get away.
Boromir didn't answer and latched onto her arm, pulling her roughly to his side. "So very pretty, for one so young and innocent like you."
"Let me go, sir!" pleaded Selena, trying to get away from the strong Gondor prince, but was unsuccessful in her attempts.
"How dare you speak to me that way," hissed Boromir only to be interrupted by another voice.
"Boromir, leave her alone!" shouted a tall, lean man wearing a grey-green cloak and looking angrily at his supposed friend.
"This isn't finished, girl," whispered Boromir pulling her harshly to his side and then threw her aside and left the room.
Tears threatened to cascade down her face while Selena shakily got to her feet, only to blink in surprise when she saw that her rescuer was the famous Ranger, Strider or as she would call him Aragorn. She met his eyes and a warm tingling feeling filled her body, only to be pushed away by Aragorn talking.
"Did he hurt you young lady?" inquired Aragorn as he looked at the young girl before him. She was very pretty for a woman and no he loved Arwen and yet….watching the young girl infront of him, he couldn't help but see her as a beautiful companion. Shaking his head, he turned to see the young girl crumble to the floor in tears.
Uncomfortable at seeing the young girl crying, Aragorn decided to try and wait it out. After a few minutes, he knelt beside her and started to rub calming circles into her back.
"Shh, it's alright. He's gone," soothed the young man as he tried to calm the young girl in front of him. After her tears quieted to hiccups, Aragorn helped the young witch to her feet and looked at her with some concern.
"Did he hurt you?" repeated Aragorn, forcefully. If Boromir had done more than what he had seen, he was going to get a punch in the face. Seeing the girl shake her head no, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Selena attempted to say something when Aragorn turned towards the stairs. Looking around the Ranger, Selena looked to see Arwen walking in their direction.
"I must speak with you," answered Arwen, ignoring the young girl. She had watched the pair and did not like what she had seen. Aragorn wanted to be with her, not some useless peasant that had nothing to offer a man of Aragorn's status.
Aragorn nodded his head in the affirmative and turned to bid good-bye to Selena, but the raven-haired girl was already running up the stairs towards her room in tears. No one saw Boromir looking pleased with himself and gaining a more happy stride as he walked back to the banquet hall.