Dear Reader:

Again, the Lord of the Rings belongs to J.R.R Tolkien, the greatest author alive...or who ever lived in my opinion. I only own my OCs (which is mainly Andi in this). Rate and Review please! Flames are also welcome! Any questions, you know where to find me.

- Bane

~*2*~

That night, Andi had a strange dream. She thought that it was brought on by the movie, and the book called The Ranger's Apprentice that she read before bed. It seemed too realistic to her when she woke up the next morning. It was six o'clock when she rose from her sleeping bag next to her friend. She snuck quietly next to the sleeping figure of her father, who had fallen asleep on the couch while watching the movie. On the top of the winding staircase was her bedroom, which was designed by both her and her father. It was green on all four walls. Her walls were decorated with painted leaves that she did herself. The doors to the balcony were covered in painted pictures of climbing ivy that she also painted. As she admired the colors of the rising sun from her window, she recalled her dream…

Bilbo and Gandalf sat in the kitchen at Bag End. Both were enjoying a steaming cup of tea. Gandalf, being his usual self, had his pipe in his free hand. They were discussing very important matters.

"Do you have all of your things to leave?" Gandalf had asked.

"Yes, yes." Bilbo replied, getting more hot water from the cozy fireplace. "The dwarves are meeting me halfway there."

"Excellent." Gandalf smiled. Soon, though, his smile faded. "Have you told Frodo?"

Bilbo sighed. "No, I have not. I'm guessing he already knows. He's a clever boy."

"He's very fond of you."

Another sigh escaped Bilbo. "I know."

The two old men sat in silence, drinking their tea. Both were mulling over their own thoughts as the fire crackled. The air was warm and the sky was blue, yet they stayed inside. They had more important matters to discuss than Bilbo's departure and his upcoming birthday party. They could not risk foreign ears hearing their secrets. Secrets that had been kept from all ears but Gandalf's, Bilbo's, and one other were not meant to be known yet. The secret was not even known by the Istari, Council of the Wizards of Old, until the right moment.

"Does she know?" Bilbo finally asked at last.

Gandalf sighed. "No. She doesn't. Yet, her ignorance is what is protecting her."

"You have to tell her soon." Bilbo stated. "The Darkness is already spreading."

Gandalf was silent. No, he had not told the Bearer the truth. The problem was that she would never believe him. She had been raised in a society that told young people that magic did not exist and they were wrong to believe. Would she even listen to him?

Finally he said. "That's what I'm afraid of doing."

"Maybe this should be the time you tell the Istari." Bilbo suggested. "If you tell them now, they may help you persuade the girl…"

Gandalf shook his head. "Even if the Istari knew, I do not think even then the girl would listen to them." He slumped in his chair. "It's useless." He grumbled in frustration.

He gazed out the window. He remembered the night that he chose her, the pain that ensued because of it.

The city around them was burning. A young boy was running at his side, carrying the one who would be an important ally. He was a friend to the girl, even though she was a baby. Her parents were dead. Both died at the hands of orcs. Sauron wanted to take the city for the longest time, but never had the chance. Then everything changed when he heard about Selestia and Arondial's new child. The rumors that reached his ears of Gandalf's coming to see the infant scared him, seeing that this meeting could spell doom for what he wanted to accomplish. Although he didn't have his One Ring, he still commanded his army from Barad Dur to conquer the city and, hopefully kill the child.

There were two positive things about that night. The first was that Sauron thought that the child was dead. The second was that Sauron never knew the name, gender, or appearance of the infant. Therefore, the child was safe…for the time being.

Gandalf remembered the pain that came when he branded her left hand. The elven rune that reddened her little hand brought tears to his eyes. He remembered how the young boy, a prince of another land, had comforted him, telling him how it was necessary that sacrifices be made. Then he remembered how he went to Upper Earth, using the grace of the Valar to take her there. Gandalf couldn't stay to see if she would be alright. His powers were fading in the world he didn't belong in. He never got to see her grow up, or teach her how to use the magic she had inside her.

Always, he regretted that she never got the chance to fully know her parents, or himself for that matter.

Gandalf looked up from his smoking pipe. "It's time she comes home. It's time she learns the truth."

Andi found herself staring off into space. Shaking her head, she brought herself back into reality. I'm never watching late night movies ever again, She told herself, knowing that she would break her self-made promise.

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry." Her father said. "I thought I would find you up here."

They sat in silence for a while, gazing at the sunrise. The clouds were a deep red color. Orange tones tinted the sky. Over the trees, a blood red sun rose, lighting the house with warm, inviting light. It was great relief to the night. Andi was still mulling over her dream as her father handed her a steaming cup of coco.

"Red sun at morning…" He murmured to himself.

"Sailors take warning." She finished, looking up at her adoptive father.

Again, there was a long silence. Andi's father took a sip of his coffee. He was addicted to his morning awakening agent called caffeine.

"Dad," Andi asked. "I know this is random, but why did you take me in when I was left on the doorstep? You could have taken me to an orphanage or something. Why did you keep me?"

He was silent for a minute, thinking of his answer. Then he responded. "I remember getting up that morning, opening the door to get the paper and finding you there with a note. I picked you up and…well, your would-have-been mother always wanted a child, and you…you look so much like her." He smiled. "I wanted to do what she would have done. I loved you from the first moment I picked you up." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "And I still love you."

"I love you too, dad." Andi whispered.

He ruffled her hair like he did to her when she was young. She laughed, and suddenly yawned. Never again was she waking up this early. She felt too tired.

"Come on, let's go make breakfast for you hungry girls." Mr. Foster said.

Liz was awake at the first smell of sausage sizzling in the pan. Andi was in charge of the waffles while her father did the sausages. Liz offered to set the table while they cooked, seeing as she knew where everything was. The house basically was her second home.

After that breakfast, Liz left with her mom. Both Andi and her father waved on the front steps as the car left the driveway. Liz said that she would text Andi later because she was headed to a coin showing. It was a hobby for her parents to go to coin shows, seeing as they were numismatists.

"So, what do you want to do today, kiddo?" Mr. Foster asked.

Andi asked the question that she had been dying to ask.

"Can I go explore again?"

Mr. Foster shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat, go ahead. I'll be in the library. Just remember to come in before lunch. Forecast says there's a storm headed this way today."

Andi sprinted up into her room. She where she was going and what she was going to take. Grabbing her Lord of the Rings book, the ring she found, some chocolate to eat while thinking, and a pocket knife, she stuffed them into her shoulder bag and made her way down the stairs. Racing out the back door, she dove into the peaceful woods. Although she thought she would be loud because of her disregard of trying to be silent, it seemed that she didn't disturb the wildlife around her.

Finally, she found what she wanted. It was the clearing where she found the ring the day before. The holes where she and her friend picked king's foil were still there. She sat down in the midst of the king's foil and started thinking. Yesterday was just a strange day of events. She found a ring with Gandalf's signature, the man in front of Mrs. Caldry's, the movie had a different phrase in the monologue that only she heard, and her strange dream. They all pointed in the direction of that weird Bearer and Gandalf. What did that have to do with anything?

Stop it, Andrea, she thought to herself. You're thinking too much. It's just fantasy. You're sixteen. It's time to grow up.

The sky rumbled. Looking up, she noticed something odd. The once clear sky had now darkened. Everything was soon dark as night. She looked around to find some sort of explanation for the phenomenon, but she found nothing. Then, out of nowhere, shimmery spheres of light started floating towards her. They seemed like lightning bugs, only bigger, but the spheres were not insects. She spun around. They were coming from all different directions. What is this? She was about to run out of the clearing, but then the spheres began to spin around her. The faster the spheres spun, the more the world around her seemed to spin. Thunder rolled from the sky loudly, but it was soon blocked out by a giant noise. It was like she was in a wind tunnel. Hot gusts of air blew at her. She closed her eyes. She was getting too dizzy from the spinning and the air. When she opened her eyes again, there were colors. Colors and lights careened overhead with such speed and intensity. Andi was falling down what appeared to be a Technicolor tunnel with no end. She screamed and closed her eyes again, hoping it was just a dream.

When she opened her eyes again, she gave a blood curling shriek, for there standing in front of her in a house that she had seen before, was the Halfling: Frodo Baggins.

A/N: I wasn't sure if I wanted to use either the Book or Movie world for this story, so I sort of mixed both into this.

Also, from the last chapter and this one:

Lord of the Rings belongs to J.R. or Christopher Tolkien

Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling

Inkheart belongs to Cornelia Funke

The Ranger's Apprentice belongs to John Flanagan

and I believe I'm missing one, but I am tired and it is late. When I find it, I will put it in the next chapter