Chapter 2
Miriel POV
I felt like I was lying on a cloud, and a strange but pleasant sense of peace and relief washed over me. Slowly willing my heavy eyelids to lift, my green eyes met beautiful ones swirling with azure.
"Are you feeling well?" a deep yet smooth voice asked with a foreign accent. My eyes searched the rest of the person the voice belonged to.
The most gorgeous man leaned over me. He had flawless pale skin, shoulder length platinum blonde hair, a lean yet strong build.
I flopped open my mouth, suddenly finding it difficult to speak properly as I felt a blush forming along my cheeks. "I-I am feeling fairly well. May I ask where we are?"
"You are in Mirkwood. My Lady, you have no collection of memory?" he gently asked.
I sat up, racking my brain for answers, and thought out loud. "Ice cream… We were at the ice cream parlor, and we were leaving but another car smashed into us."
The man looked at me as if had never heard of these words before. "What nonsense do you speak of? And what is your name?"
"M-miriel," I stuttered. Nonsense? I thought. How is what I am saying nonsense?
His glare softened. "A beautiful name, for a beautiful maiden," he responded politely. His kind gesture made me blush to the roots of my hair. Gazing at my hair, he murmured, "You have unique hair. It has been a while since I have seen such a color..."
"Thank you," I shyly said. "Who are you?"
"I am Legolas Greenleaf."
"Y-your ears!" I suddenly gasped, staring at his pointed tips.
Bewildered as I was, he responded, "Yes… I am elven as are you, Lady elleth."
Elven? My mind spun in confusion. "I-I do not understand what you speak of. I am a human girl from New Jersey. Where on earth is Mirkwood?"
Legolas raised his eyebrow. "I have roamed Middle Earth for countless moons, and never have I come across such a place named 'New Jersey'. What business do you have in Mirkwood? Are you a spy?"
Middle Earth?! I clutched my head, desperately confused. "Please. I am no spy. From where I came from, my sister and I should have been severely wounded or dead. I have no idea how this all happened—"
My speech cut short when I noticed the room I was in. I scrambled out of the bed, and grabbed my sketchbook from my bag sitting on a table. Frantically flipping to a specific page, I held it up.
"What…" I gasped. The strange pillars and gates in the painting were identical to the ones that stood before me.
Legolas frowned. "I do not believe you have ever entered our palace before. How is it that you have such an accurate painting of it?"
I shook my head. "This...I had dreams about this place. And I somehow remembered all of the details because…" I myself couldn't believe the next words that came out of my mouth. "I've been here before."
