It was surreal. I was standing in the middle of a road in the dead of night with an arrow pointed at my neck. Not only that, but I was in my favorite pajama pants that had Homer Simpson's head all over them while I was barefoot. I also happened to be looking at an arrow held by some blond guy who seemed to be dressed for a Renaissance festival. He was wearing leather pants, with a- there was no better word for it than tunic. Over it he had some sort of leather vest. He also had two swords attached to his back.

So, naturally, being the idiot I am, I did the worst possible thing I could have done in that situation. I laughed. He had been staring at me intently with crystal blue eyes, but now his eyes harbored confusion as well. He said something to me in a language, which I swear sounded like music. I looked at him and said, "You are joking, right?"

Comprehension dawned on his face as he said, "You speak common tongue."

I looked at him oddly before saying, "Um, yeah. English. You know, America… um, are you robbing me? Cause I don't have anything."

He looked at me skeptically before lowering his bow, "I know not what to rob is. I wish only to learn where I am, or where I could find Mirkwood. I assure you, I intend no harm."

I said sarcastically, "Could've fooled me."

He looked confused, "I did not wish to fool anybody. Though, we were never properly introduced so I see where you might think this. My name is Legolas, son of Thranduil."

He was the man from my dream! How could he be real? I must have seen him before on the streets somewhere. But… he talked about Mirkwood! Snapping back to reality I realized that he was looking at me oddly. I must have been staring at him. I decided to share some of my new insight with him. I took a deep breath before saying, "I think that I saw you in a dream, and I know that sounds creepy but I saw you pick up this ring and all of a sudden you were gone. Now you are here, in New York."

When I looked at him again he was pacing back and forth, actually considering what I had said. He quietly said as though to himself, "Where is New York? Oh Eru, what have I gotten myself into?"

Not wanting to invade his privacy, while he was thinking I stood there awkwardly. He looked up to me and asked, "Am I even in Middle Earth anymore?"

I responded with, "You are in Earth. Plain, run of the mill Earth." I realized I was taking out my confusion and frustration on him. I winced inwardly at his briefly hurt expression and realized how blunt I was being. I said softly, "I'm sorry."

He responded chivalrously, "It was no fault of yours. I am the one who should apologize. I am forcing you to talk to me in the night. It is not proper."

I felt even worse at his response and said, "Don't worry bout it. Listen, if you came from some other…um…world, then you will need a place to stay. We don't want you to get hurt." I thought that it was more likely he would hurt someone else, but I decided it was wiser not to say that.

Legolas said, "I do not wish to impose, but seeing as the circumstances are… odd, I will oblige. It seems that the Eru has sent me to a whole different world." He then whispered the word "Earth" as though seeing how it felt on his tongue.

I smiled at him and said, "Come in."

Legolas seemed fascinated when I took out my keycard and scanned it in the door of the building. As we walked in the hall he looked around and exclaimed, "I did not know that there were dwarves in this world! So much metal!"

I responded warily, "We don't have…dwarves. Humans can get metal themselves."

Legolas looked disappointed, but his expression abruptly changed when we got to the elevator. He looked downright panicked when the doors slid open to reveal the interior. He practically screamed, "Am I supposed to get in that?!"

I looked at him with concern and said, "Yeah, don't worry, it will take us to my room. Trust me."

He looked at me wearily before stepping in. When the doors shut he started breathing heavily. By the time we got to my floor he was downright hyperventilating. I didn't know what to do so I had settled for carefully observing the carpeting that lined the elevator. When the doors opened he jumped out and leant against the wall, closing his eyes. A few minutes later he opened his eyes again to see me staring at him. He nodded to me and I opened the door to my apartment.

We walked in and I flicked on the lights. He looked at me in amazement. "What type of sorcery is this? How did you harness the sun?"

I could have smacked myself on the head! If he came from some other world than of course he would not know about anything. I said, "It is called electricity. It is not magic, it is science. We can use electricity to do a lot of things and one of its uses is to create light."

He looked confused but merely nodded. I pointed out all the different rooms to him. I showed him where the living room was, my bedroom, and the kitchen. He seemed to be fascinated by the latter. I hurriedly told him not to touch anything lest he end up with one less finger. I told him I would explain it in the morning. I then proceeded to pull out extra blankets and put them on the couch. I apologized, "Sorry, you will have to sleep on the couch."

However he merely waved his hand and said, "Think naught of it, I have fared worse. I am amazed how far progressed edain have become."

I looked at him curiously and asked him, "What is an 'edain'?"

Without thinking he said, "It means human."

My jaw must have dropped to the floor. I managed to squeak out, "Human? Then what are you?"

He said, "I am an elf."

I snapped without thinking, "Elves don't exist."

He looked at me and pulled back his disheveled hair (I made a mental note to myself to explain showers to him) and revealed pointed ears.

I reached out my hand and touched one, looking for synthetic or plastic (after all I am a reporter- I am supposed to be skeptical). He seemed amused by this and a grin lit up his face. I realized I had not seen him smile yet and decided to make him do so more often. He was downright gorgeous when he smiled, as though someone had pulled away a mask.

I sat there and thought. Maybe he was just a freak with pointy ears. But the circumstances that surrounded him were odd, so why shouldn't there be just another odd thing about him. I can't believe I am taking this all in stride, I mentally berated myself. I mean there is some guy from some other world sitting on my couch! However, there was something about him that intuitively made me want to protect him. I decided then and there that I would do whatever I could to help him.

I smiled at him and said, "You're an elf."

He looked relieved and said, "Yes. But the hour is late, and it is time for rest. I assure you, in the morning we will speak again."

I nodded and mumbled, "Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite." I then remember falling right where I stood only to have strong arms encase me. I then felt myself lifted onto my bed where I promptly was lost to dreams.