Murmurs. She could hear them coming from her right. Her pace quickened and she found herself nearly at a sprint. Nancy tried to be careful, to watch out for sharp rocks, but she was so excited. It had been nearly three days since she had fallen.

Her hand laid on the wall for guidance and her helmet light lit her way. She had no wishes of falling to her death. There were plenty of drop-offs all around the cave and she had nearly fallen into one too many.

"Hello!" She called out loudly. If they were down there then maybe they were part of a rescue party? "I'm here, hello!" Nancy didn't want to startle them as the voices were getting louder and she knew she was going in the right direction.

Suddenly everything stopped. She couldn't hear a single voice, not even a whisper. There were two tunnels in front of her. Trying to call out again Nancy didn't receive a single answer and she was starting to think that maybe she had imagined the voices.

Nancy could feel her heart shake as she looked between the two tunnels. She could not hear a single sound from either. Taking a chance she turned off the light to her helmet. Her actions were rewarded when she saw it. The faintest flicker of light from the tunnel to her left.

Chasing the tiny flicker she used both walls and walked slowly. Nancy didn't dare to try and turn the helmet light back on as it would drown out the tiny light that was only growing slightly brighter as she went on. She just hoped there were no drop-offs between her and the light.

Slipping Nancy fell clattering to her knees causing a loud groan to leave her mouth. Then as if by magic the voices started again. They were quiet and nearer than before. She knew she had made the right choice and shot to her feet and began making her way towards the voices.

"Please, I need help!" She called and again the voices disappeared. Fear began to grow in her chest. What if it was not a search party? What if they were just random cavers that had come down to enjoy themselves? Would they be able to help her then?

Only a few more steps until she saw them. She entered with both hands up and slow steps. Nancy knew what could happen if one were to startle a group of cavers. It was never a good thing.

Upon looking at the group though, it was obvious that they were no cavers. They had no equipment and their clothing was, to put it lightly, medieval. They were no rescue group and she wondered how in the world they had even come so far.

None of them had any injuries that she could see. Well, none that were actual caving injuries. They had plenty of cuts and bruises rather than ones that came come caving the ones they sported looked as though they could have been from a bar fight or something similar.

It wasn't their strange garb or the odd injuries that she was most confused by, but the men themselves. One was an old man which was strange enough for being so deep in a cave. He had a long bushy beard which was the much like the rest of his outfit, grey.

Of the men, three of them were regular men, one of whom looked young, but the other two looked middle-aged. The first man was tall with shaggy dirt blonde hair and a wary look in his grey eyes. Next to him was a man with dark hair that had grey flecked through it. He looked confused and startled by her, but not nearly as wary as the other man.

The last of the taller men was taller than the first and just shy of the height of the second. His hair was long and blonde, somehow it looked silken. His eyes were a luminous blue and she wondered how he looked so clean especially for being so deep in a cave?

Around them were five small men. One had a large red beard while the others sported very large feet. There was only with dark hair and bright blue eyes, he looked the most startled of all the men and clutched at his chest.

Beside the dark-haired one was a blonde who was chubbier than the others. He stood in front of the dark haired one protectively. The other two with big feet were both blonde and had these looks about them as though they had just found an unimaginably great surprise.

Rounding out the group was a man with an axe. He sported a huge bushy beard that had several braids throughout it. She was trying to pick out any other distinguishing feature about the man, but the axe in his hand was capturing her attention over anything else.

"Who," She stuttered looking over the group. "Who are you?" The group of men were staring at her with varying degrees of confusion. Catching a glint of light she looked towards it and took a step back. One of the men, the one with brown hair, carried a sword at his hip and he was drawing it out towards her.

Taking a closer look Nancy saw that each one of them, even the old man, carried a weapon of some sort. The youngest looking of the taller ones carried a bow that had an arrow poised to shoot her. All of the others carried swords save for the short male with the beard who held his axe.

"I think it would be a better idea for you to tell us who you are." The old man warned looking closely at her. His gaze made her feel self-conscious and reminded her that she was covered in dirt and slightly bloodied from all the falling she had done. "And then tell us how you came to be here." He added still assessing her just as the others were.

"My name is Nancy," She refused to tell them her last name. The men seemed strange and she was not sure if she could trust them, though if the last three days of silence were anything to go by, she might need to. "I was caving with some friends and fell. The rope must have snapped and I fell down to the bottom." She shivered remembering the incident.

When she woke Nancy looked around and saw nothing but rock. Her head was tender, but her vision was clear and didn't spin. Making sure that her head lamp still worked Nancy could feel relief flush through her as the light flickered on.

Looking over her body Nancy took inventory of all of her extremities to make sure nothing was broke or punctured. She had a few scrapes, including one on her face. She looked through her meager medical pack and decided that none of the scrapes warranted the use of anything she had brought.

Once she finished checking herself she needed to find her group. When Nancy looked up to where she fell from there was nothing. No rope dangling or a sign of the others. The ceiling of the tunnel she was in seemed shorter than it was before, but she couldn't be sure. She might have rolled from higher up.

"Asha! Asha, are you there?" Her own echo was the only answer she received. And it seemed like that would be the only answer she would be receiving. For hours she sat there. Trying to figure a way out of the caves. Calling for the others didn't work and neither did signaling them with her lights.

Nancy may not have been in the same spot as she fell, but her group would still come for her. The thought that they had left her was fleeting, she knew her group and they would never leave her behind. She knew her friends would never leave her.

After a day of sitting there, she decided to start moving. She would follow the air current and hope that it led her out of the tunnels. Nancy was deep and she knew it would be hard to get out, but she needed to try. Her life depended on it.

"Caving?" The words brought her out of her thoughts and she turned her attention back to the dark haired man who was looking at her with cautious yet curious eyes. He had never heard of such a thing, that much was clear.

It made her wonder though, why were these men down there when they didn't even know what caving was? The system they were in was known to be dangerous and only for experts.

Nancy knew that it was not that they were lost. To get lost and then end up so deep in a cave was a ludicrous idea. Even entering a cave by accident was just silly to think about in its self. Falling in and getting lost was different though.

That did not seem to be the case with the group before her though. She had seen the result of such a thing more than once and she knew the men had not suffered such a fate. People who fall in are usually terrified and clawing to get out. The men were calm and collected though a bit on edge.

Seeing that they were not lost she was at a loss as to what type of a situation they were in. The men were dressed so oddly and not at all for the climate of a cave and yet they did not seem to be too bothered. The smaller ones were not even wearing shoes. Nancy's mind was boggled as to what they could have been doing in a cave dressed how they were.

"Yeah, my group and I were exploring the caves, but like I said my rope must have broke and I ended up separated." She was just repeating herself, but those were the only answers she could give. "I thought maybe you were rescuers, but I see now that I was wrong." She was unsure of what else to say.

The old man, who frankly looked like a dirty version of Dumbledore, starred at her. While all of the men did this it was the old man whose gaze was the most piercing. He was staring straight into her eyes. It was strange, the man glared into her soul and yet he had an aura about him. One that seemed to spoke volumes, but those volumes seemed to be hidden from her.

"Gandalf, let us rid ourselves of this girl." The brown-haired man spoke looking down his nose at the small girl. His eyes were cold as though to counteract the kindness of the old man. "We know not who she is. She could be one of his spies." The man seemed stressed at the thought of whoever it was that he spoke of.

"Nay, I do not believe this is the case." The old man, Gandalf, replied though he did not look from the girl before him. Compared to them she probably looked rather strange. They were all dressed like people from the dark ages. Nancy was dressed like any old caver unlike the strange group she had met with.

Her caving pants were tight and paired with her thick jacket and sturdy boots. Her clothing was all black with only reflector patches on it. Only her helmet and gloves were pink with a light on the front of her helmet.

The man seemed offended that Gandalf refused to listen to him. Though, Nancy was happy that he refused. She liked not dying which is what usually seemed to happen to people that others 'got rid of'. The four smallest men looked fearfully between the man who had suggested it and then herself. They did not seem nearly as excited to get rid of her as their friend.

"What would you have us do?" The man questioned turning his burning gaze towards the small girl who coward into the wall of the cave. She was normally not one to shy from a fight, but she also was not usually getting into fights with men who had swords. "She would only slow us down!" His glare seemed to try and poison her.

"If we do not take her with us then would you say we should leave her here?" The dark haired man questioned looking to the other man. "Are you suggesting that we do this? That we leave her to the goblins and whatever else may come for her?" His anger was palpable to the young woman who stood and watched, but only one word caught her attention.

Goblins.

Wide-eyed Nancy stared at the group. The small men and their large feet, the man with the axe and too large of facial features. The old wizard-like Gandalf. There was definitely something up with the men around her.

Looking closer at the taller of the men she noticed that the lithe blonde one had ears the shape of leaves and seemed to have a glow about him like he was glowing from within. The other two seemed normal enough though she was unsure if everything was as it appeared.

Surely they were just deeply invested into whatever role-play it was that they were doing. Or perhaps it was one of those shared delusions? Where they all found a mythological character of legend that fit them and went along with it. She couldn't be sure, but whatever it was that was happening to them was nothing good and she wanted no part in it.

Her feet drew back further. Her flight or fight instinct seemed to be spurring into the flight direction. It was strange for her. She grew up with siblings so fighting was normally her first reaction even when going against people that were not her siblings. These men, however, were nothing like the men that she had argued with in the past.

It wasn't only the swords they wore that frightened her. It was the way in which they carried themselves. She had met soldiers in her time, she had seen the way that they walked and had experienced the air that surrounded them. The men before her reminded her of soldiers or at least people who thought they were soldiers.

She started to wonder if she was dreaming, but if she was when did it start? She hadn't been dreaming five minutes before when she fell and hurt herself trying to get to them. So then, had she fainted at some point and this was some strange dream or was it all real?

"Did you say goblins?" She questioned looking at the man who had said the word. He was and shaggy looking. His beard barely trimmed and looked like to be growing out while his hair was greasy and unkept. He was covered in dirt and grime from head to toe. Nancy doubted she looked any better.

"Yes milady," His voice was solemn and she heard the nerves in it. "We found many a dwarf slain when we entered these caves. Killed by goblins." She could hear the bearded man choke back a sound at the others words. "Did you not see them when you entered?" He sounded confused as he looked closely at her and must have registered the shock on her face at what he was telling her.

"No, I saw no bodies." Her head shook and she could feel her braids move the slightest bit under her helmet. "The entrance I came from was hard to get to and was a drop almost right away. I don't think that we came in the same way." She wasn't going to say it out loud, but there was no way a few of them could have gotten in the same way as her. No need to upset them about their non-slim figures.

The man nodded a thoughtful look crossing his grey eyes. He ran a hand through his grey-flecked hair before letting the dark tresses fall back. He studied the girl just as Gandalf had. She stood defensively eyes flickering between the members of their company. Most often they settled his brown-haired companion.

She was scared. That much was obvious. The girl, Nancy, was fearful of him and the rest of the men. As well she should be. They were armed to kill and they were pounced to strike at a moments notice.

"No, I do not believe we did," Gandalf spoke to Nancy a sort of twinkle in his eye as he watched the girl. "But, I do believe that you will have to come with us for now." His voice reflected the worry he and his companion had voiced, though his voice was much kinder than the other men.

There it was. Nancy knew she didn't have to go with them, but what other choice did she have. Her granola bars were halfway out and she had already run out of water. If she decided not to go with the men then she would surely die in the cave. No, she had no choice but to go with the group.

Instantly the atmosphere of the group was changed. Two of the smaller men came to her and introduced themselves. Merry and Pippin, they said to call them. They were nicknames though, they told her their full names, but those were long and slightly confusing. She had tried using them, but both males asked for just their nicknames.

The rest of the group held back though the two small men were happy to tell her their names. Gandalf she already knew, then there was Aragorn the one who agreed she should come along. Boromir was the unhappy one, they said he was often like that. Then Frodo and Sam. Frodo was apparently their cousin? The tall man with leaf-shaped ears was Legolas. Strangely they had little to say of him. Lastly, there was Gimli, he was said to have family somewhere in the caves. Though if there were already so many bodies as they said she feared for his family.

It was strange, she noted. The group didn't refer to the place as caves, but rather as mines. Merry told her that Gimli's family had made the mines or rather that his people had. She took a look back at Gimli when they said this. The man in question wasn't paying attention. His gaze zinging around when ever the softest noise occurred.

Nancy worried the longer they went on. Gandalf was leading them and seemed to know where they were going. That was not what worried her. It was the fact that as they were walking the caves looked less and less like caves and more like they had been made by hand.

Halting in her steps Nancy's jaw dropped. Before her sat a staircase. It wasn't an amazing or beautiful staircase. It seemed old and was crumbling, but there was no mistaking what it was.

Reaching down she pinched her arm, hard. A hiss escaped her lips at the pain and she knew that she was awake. Just for good measure, she slapped her cheek once. Stinging assured her that the stairs before her were really before her.

Mind reeling Nancy looked to the others of the group. Most had already started climbing though the taller three of the males waited watching her with interest and thinly veiled confusion. They had probably witnessed her harming herself. None said anything and simply waited for her.

Giving the men a small nod she walked passed them towards the steep stairs. For a few moments she attempted to climb with just her feet, but the incline would randomly steepen and she was forced to use her hands to keep going.

Hearing someone slipping Nancy looked up and saw a small body coming down towards her. It was Frodo. He was coming towards her quickly and she realized that he hand already been slipping for a few seconds before she looked up.

"Gotcha!" She called digging her feet in as well as one hand. Her other hand reached out and caught Frodo before he could fall any further. "You okay?" Her inquiry was met with a red-faced nod.

Looking Frodo over she nodded back. His feet were large and the stairs thin, he had probably just lost his footing. A glinting of metal caught her eye in the low light that Gandalf's cane offered. The glimmering drawing her attention straight to it.

A metal undershirt? She found it strange that he wore metal under his clothing. It looked thin and as though it would not do much, but she didn't question it. There were a lot of things that didn't make sense and Frodo's fashion choices were the least of her worries.

Smiling lightly she helped Frodo regain his footing. The male looked confused for a moment before giving her a gentle smile back. It was the first she had seen from him since they had met. It seemed strange that he was related to the ever-smiling duo of Merry and Pippin, but some people were just like that.

"Frodo!" It was Aragorn coming up close behind the pair. "Is all well?" He looked closely at Frodo, mainly his chest, she noticed. Maybe he was confused by the metal shirt as well? A small nod from Frodo was answer enough for Aragorn before the latter started pushing them to move again.

After the short encounter, there was no more talking. The group was so set on getting to the top of the stairs that no one said a single word. The stairs seemed to go on forever. She had to wonder where they were going and if maybe the stairs would just lead straight to the surface.

What felt like an eternity later they finally reached the top of the stairs. Normally Nancy was happy to climb, but it this time was different. The air felt close and her hair stood on end. The fact that no one said a word made her feel even more nervous. She and her friends would normally talk nonstop as they were caving, but the group seemed to all be lost within themselves.

Once they reached the top, Merry and Pippin quickly resumed chattering as they sat happily on some rubble laying around them. The two were talking about the food they would eat when their mission thingy was over with, their words not hers.

The words of the two small men piqued her interest. They were on a mission? She wondered for what seemed like the hundredth time, what was the strange group doing down in such a place? Her thoughts were cut off as a murmur from Gandalf rang out.

"I have no memory of this place." Those words seemed to pierce into Nancy's ears. The men around her took this as a chance for a rest. Were they not also worried that they would be trapped in the tunnels? Was Gandalf that great that they didn't even question him?

Confused and cold Nancy decided it would be a good time to pull out some of her supplies. She first grabbed her hot packs so that she could warm her hands. They went to her pockets before she pulled out her mace.

Looking over the small can Nancy let out a bitter chuckle. Well, Jessica did always say that she might need it one day. Nancy was sure she meant for a small rodent or raccoon, not for a group of men or goblins. Jessica was always right in the end.

Tears attempted to well in her eyes, but Nancy forced them back down refusing to let the men around her see her cry. She was the only woman in the group and she would be damned if she gave into the 'all women are emotional messes' stereotype.

Her mind wandered as she tried to make her body relax onto a rock and leaned back into the wall behind her. How long were they going to be stuck wandering the tunnels in the dark? Would they even make it out at all?

"Miss Nancy," A timid voice called her attention to the small round blonde. He looked at her with uncertain yet kind eyes. His hand was outstretched and held a leather pouch. From the look of it she assumed it was a water skin. "I reckon you could you some water in you." His kind words and actions lulled her into a sense of safety and she carefully took the skin from him.

Sam. That was his name she remembered as she drank from the pouch. The water was crisp and cool on her lips. It wasn't until that moment that Nancy realized how thirsty she was. her water had run out the day before and she could feel her body going slack in relief.

"Thank you, Mr. Sam." It felt funny to call the male that, but maybe using suffixes was how it was done back home for him. She knew he and the other small men were from the same place, but Merry and Pippin didn't seem like the 'stick to tradition' types to her and Frodo hadn't spoken her name so she wasn't sure.

A soft red hue covering Sam's cheek was barely visible by the dim light Gandalf's walking stick gave off. Nancy smiled softly. She was scared and shaken from the last few days. Sam's smiling face was a welcome sight.

"No need to call me such a name. Just Sam will do." His polite words confused her as he stammered his reply. Just Sam? Nancy marveled at his sweet words. She had met some sweet boys before, but she was unsure if she had met one as sweet as Sam seemed to be.

"Alright then, just Sam." She teased smiling down at the male before her. Her heart had yet to stop racing but seeing such a friendly face was helping her to calm down. It was reassuring. Let her know that they were not all out to get her.

Thinking about it she slid her eyes over to Boromir. Luckily his gaze was not focused on her. Instead, he was talking in hushed voices with Aragorn. It almost felt like a blessing to not have the two men staring her down.

While Boromir's gaze was filled with contempt and blame, for what she knew not, Aragorn's was a different story. His look was one of confusion. Like he was trying to puzzle out a riddle. The man did not seem as if he was going to ask any more questions though. If he wanted to do that he had plenty of chances.

Her hair began to stand on end and Nancy knew she was being watched, again. Since the others were busy she knew exactly who it was. Legolas was far more discreet than the two men. She had never actually caught him looking at her, but she knew he constantly was. At least he tried to hide it.

"Oh, it's that way!" Gandalf exclaimed looking to a dark tunnel on his left. Merry became excited that Gandalf had remembered the way, but the old man denied his words. "No, the air doesn't smell so foul down here. If in doubt Meriadoc always follow your nose." He told the small male as he sat his large hat onto his greying head.

The descent into the cavern was much easier than the climb up the steep steps. She could rely on the wall to keep her steady. Though she was sad to have to keep her heat packs in her pockets. The caves were cold and damp.

She had to wonder how the small men were doing it. They wore flimsy clothes and no shoes at all. They had to have been freezing, but said not a word of complaint, aside from their hunger. It was rather impressive as even regular caves were exerting though not nearly as much as the one they were in.

Watching her step was rather hard. It was dark and her lights were running out of battery. She wondered what kind of a battery Gandalf's light ran on. He had been using it non stop for the past several hours and didn't seem to worry about it dying.

"Gandalf!" Nancy called picking up her pace to reach the old man. Frodo stared up at her from his side. He never seemed to leave the other. "What type of light is that on your walking stick? Like what type of battery and bulb is it?" She was hoping that maybe he had more batteries so she could borrow some for more lighting.

"Do forgive me, but I do not know what a battery is nor am I aware of what a blub could be." Gandalf seemed confused by the words. How could he not know what a battery is or much less a lightbulb? The look he gave her was one of inquiry rather than one that told her he was joking.

"Then how exactly is your staff lit up? Magic?" Her sarcasm was uncalled for, but she couldn't help it. If he didn't have a battery or light and claimed to not know what either was then how was she supposed to react?

Both Frodo and Gandalf stopped and their gazes settled on the girl. She could feel her face flush as she stared back at them. Perhaps they were offended by her tone? She was normally a very patient woman, but the ongoings around her were running her thin.

"Yes, how else would such a wondrous feat be possible?" It seemed that not only Frodo and Gandalf were listening to her words. Pippin seemed more than happy to explain that Gandalf was, in fact, a wizard. "He's quite a good one too! You should see his fireworks!" She had to wonder how fireworks equated to being a wizard but did not say anything aloud.

Frankly she was not even surprised. Strange things had been happening for the past few days. She falls in one cave only to wake up in another. Then she finds a group of men dressed like they were going to a renaissance fair. Then they say goblins killed a bunch of dwarves and that there were more of both in the caves that turned out to be mines? Why not add some magic into the mix?

The company were all staring at her in wait. She was not sure what they wanted and she was not sure what to tell them. She sure felt like Dorothy in Oz, though she didn't even have Toto. Her mind was reeling as to what to tell them. It seemed as though she was in a land not her own. Like that fall had taken her somewhere far away.

"Uhm, well, I've never met a wizard before." She started out and they all made some gestures of understanding. Well, that was good. "So, uh, people back home use batteries and light bulbs to give light instead of, uh, magic." The answer was so absolutely eloquent she wondered if they would be able to comprehend it.

Judging by the looks of confusion on the faces of the males, the answer was no. Instead of trying to figure out how to explain she reached up and flicked the light on her helmet on. All of the men staggered backward from the bright light. She could hear the flapping of wings and quickly shut off the headlamp. She did not want to add bats to the list of worries she was accruing.

"What sort of sorcery was that?" Boromir ground out looking at her head gear with sudden distrust. "How in the world did you conjure the light and force it away. You claim to be not a witch and yet you are able to commit such a feat?" He was stepping closer and closer his hand on the handle of his sword.

Nancy's feet were once again taking her back from the danger. She scuttled backward away from the male who seemed to want her dead and also happened to have a sword. Didn't seem like a good idea to stay too close to him.

Her escape only stopped when a pair of hands gently grabbed her biceps from behind her. She turned her head to find Legolas staring down at her his curiosity burning in his luminous eyes.

Her gaze flickered from him to Boromir trying to decide who was the less deadly option. The man who would happily cut her down with a sword or the archer who didn't seem to have any ill will towards her. She decided to take her chances with Legolas. Nancy knew to zigzag.

"It's not me. Anybody could do it. It's science, not sorcery." Her voice quivered as she stared at the tall man stalking closer. The hands on her arms removed themselves and Legolas stood at her side. It almost felt as though he was trying to protect her, but she doubted he would go against his friend for a woman he didn't know.

Raising her hands Nancy tried to motion for Boromir to stop, but the male continued until he was stopped by Aragorn who also looked at her with a hint of suspicion. It made her stomach flutter with nerves. It seemed as though one wrong move would end her life.

Slowly and deliberately Nancy raised her hands and removed her headlamp. Luckily she had bought a detachable version. She had no wishes of taking off her helmet. It might not stop a sword or an arrow, but it would stop other things that may come at her.

Brushing the wisps back behind her ear Nancy looked up at the group of men. Gently she motioned Sam forward. He was soft-spoken and seemed truly loyal to what ever the mission they had was. If he vouched for her then maybe they would be more inclined to believe her.

Sam seemed rather cautious as he took the light from her hands. Turning the device over a few times he looked up at her in confusion. She pointed to the button that would turn on the light and let him do the rest. She just hoped he wouldn't point it at the ceiling as she didn't even want to think of the number of bats up there.

The group was stunned as they watched the light flicker on as Sam pushed the button on and off when he gave it another press. He did it a few more times before passing it off to Frodo and then Merry and Pippin. Even Gimli was interested in her lamp.

"See, I told you it wasn't me." Nancy could feel the smug grin on her face as she watched all of the others messing with her light. "It is an invention of my people." The males were all astonished at her words.

Watching them marvel over the simple device scared her. Was she truly so far from home? She had said it was her people and back home. She knew she had no choice, but accepting such a crazy situation so easily did not sit well with her.

She felt like she had lost her mind and knew little of what was happening around her. Her world was whirling and Nancy didn't know how to make it stop. Everything around her seemed to be insane, but she could feel the stinging of her cuts and the throbbing of her heart. She knew it was all real and yet found it hard to accept


AN: I've dropped off the face of the planet, but now I'm back! I haven't reread this too much. I edited it and everything, but there could still bery well be mistakes. If you find any please do let me know!