Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR.

Author's Note: First of all, Thank you to all of you who followed or favourited the fanfic. You guys are truly awesome.

Narylfiel: Thank you! I'm glad that you're finding my story good enough for you to read and review. I'll look forward to hearing from you :) Hope you enjoy this chapter!

English isn't my first language, so if you find any mistake please feel free to tell me.

Hope you enjoy the chapter!. RR.


Ch 3: Apprehension.

'The inn is so peaceful today' l mused as I sat down on a stool near the counter. The inn looked quite different than it had when I entered it two nights ago. The wooden tables were clean, the chairs in order, and some windows open to let in air and sunlight. Only a few men wearing travelling cloaks and leather boots, purely medieval style, were scattered about.

The lady, whose name I learned with no small difficulty, was busy setting up a small breakfast for me.

'Raforta' I had thought her name to be quite peculiar but soon noticed that almost all of the names were in medieval or Anglo-Saxon fashion.

Looking at Raforta, who was currently flipping the toast, my mind wandered down another line of thought. Two nights ago I had been dragged into this pub, four days had already passed since I woke up in this place. Gradually I was getting more and more worried. For the last two days, I've made a point to stay in the commonplace of the inn whenever it was possible to look for any sign of technology or modern device in the hands of the many travellers that chose this inn for their stays but it was all in vain. I had even shown Raforta my mobile phone but she had been so genuinely surprised and curious that I gave up any hopes of finding someone who recognised technology here.

Butterbur, the inn's owner and his little crew of Raforta, Bob and Nob had been nothing but patient with me even though I did not understand a word of what they say. 'Not like they understand me either' I sighed. It had taken me hours to just know their names and tell Raforta mine.

"Lanette." I heard her calling my name. My attention snapped back to her as she set a simple breakfast of toast and jam before me. I smiled at her and nodded in thanks. My knowledge of their language only extended to the name of the language.

Yesterday, in her free time, Raforta had taken it upon herself to teach me their language. It was a total disaster. She didn't understand English and I couldn't understand her which made communication almost impossible. Raforta had gestured to a script and repeated the word Westron for ten minutes before I realised that she was telling me the name of her language.

I had almost finished my breakfast when Butterbur entered the inn. Seeing him made me nervous. It was no lie that he had been nothing but kind, but I wasn't exactly sure if he knew that I had no money to pay him. I could tell him by a few gestures but a small part of me was nervous that he'd kick me out. In the last few days, after seeing so many different sorts of travellers somewhere in my heart I was already sure that I wasn't in America anymore. This thought alone caused me enough turmoil. I had no clue about what to do if I was thrown out to fend for myself...

'If my phone's battery was alive I could've known my location by GPS or even Google Maps for that matter!' I brooded.

I finished the last of my toast and got up. "Maps!", I exclaimed, my mind racing. Maybe if I can get Raforta to show me a map I'll know where I am. 'Why hadn't I thought of this before? What the!'. A surge of hope filled me.

I looked around to see if Raforta had not already left for the market. To my luck, I saw her stacking a few dishes in the storage room.

I got up hurriedly and moved to the back of the counter where Butterbur kept his small supply of papers and bills. I had seen Raforta taking out a few, yesterday when she was preparing to teach me. I took out a paper and a pen. On an impulse, I drew the map of Europe. If I was right and somehow I wasn't in America anymore and was somehow in medieval times, I had no chance of her recognising the map of America much less the whole world.

I finished just as she came out of the room equipped with a basket to do her shopping. "Raforta", I called her name urgently as I came to stand before her. Shoving the paper in her startled hands, I gestured to the map, willing and hoping her to understand it. She squinted at the map for a long moment. I could literally see the realisation dawning on her face. I wasn't sure why but she looked at me with something akin to wonder. It was a lot later when I learned that literacy was a luxury here, and reading something like maps were considered the epitome of it. Only Kings, generals, stewards, nobility and people with titles to uphold usually bothered to learn them. She nodded once more, still surprised. Maybe the fact that someone who didn't even understand a word of the language could read and even draw a map left her staggered. She led me to her room and took out a small folded piece of parchment from her stack of a few books. She handed it to me.

I looked closely at the paper, something stopping me from opening the parchment immediately. My fingers hovered over it. 'I am afraid of what I'll see.' I realised with a start. Nothing till today had wronged the messed up possibility that I might not be anywhere I knew anymore. I gulped. Looking up I saw Raforta's expectant gaze on me. Smiling weakly at her I gestured slightly towards the door. Backing away, I turned around abruptly and escaped from her room. I went towards my room as fast as I possibly could without actually running and closed the door behind me. 'Quite a brave person I am' I thought wryly. I was so scared of the reality myself that I wasn't sure how I'll react. There was no use in causing Raforta worry. 'As if my hasty escape wasn't worrying...' What I fool I was.

I sat on the bed and stared at the parchment. Should I...In a moment of impulse, I opened the folds. What I saw made me freeze on the spot. I stared at the map for a very long time, taking in every detail, looking desperately for any place that was familiar. Nothing. I felt light-headed, my heart thumping wildly. I squeezed my eyes shut, realization dawning on me like a ton of hard bricks. 'I wasn't on Earth anymore' My mind screamed. There was no use in thinking this to be set up. In the past two days, I've observed enough to tell that these people were being genuine in their life. All the air seemed to be swished out of my body.

I fell back on the bed, wholly scared. It was a fearful concept, being stuck somewhere I had no means of communication, no know how about life here, no clue about medieval survival...

'Raforta will be worrying...' Somewhere in mind, I thought dully. I didn't particularly care at that moment. I had a lot to take in and I wasn't going to worry her more with my dark mood.

I stared at the ceiling for a long time, long enough that the morning hues changed into the bright blaze of the sun and then again to the purple hues of the setting sun. For that long I kept reminiscing my past memories, the small things that I never even noticed and yet played an integral role in the whole structure of my life. The way I had already bought my apartment and yet whenever I could I went back to my parent's home, the way my mother's cooking always left me wanting more, the way my father would start talking so passionately about football whenever we had a family dinner, their little banter, the way we always trekked in summer at my sister's insistence complaining the whole way and yet loving every moment of it, the way... My thoughts were endless. I didn't even know when the tears started flowing. All I knew was the fact that my tears soaked the stiff sheets of the bed.

It took me hours to calm down enough to think straight. It wasn't like I could spend my whole life mourning. I felt like if, at that moment I didn't do something I'll regret it even more. I needed a game plan. I needed the will that had got me to not quit my job when I had lost a patient in the emergency, helped me not to panic when the patients got to the emergency room too late, helped me through each and every operation. I had to overcome this too. I had to buck up and think straight, no matter how hopeless it seems right now.

The dark of the night had already spread when I tried to reassess my situation. If I strained enough I could hear the hoot of the owls through the closed windows.

"If Butterbur is truly being kind and letting me stay without money" I murmured, more to fill up the dark silence inside the room than anything else. "then he'd expect me to leave in a few days. There's a limit to how much I can leech off of him".

I sighed and closed my eyes. Nothing was coming to mind. I was sure that if Raforta came here now she'll have a heart attack at the image I was posing. I had forgotten to light the candles so the room was considerably dark. Only a faint glow was coming from the lanterns on the street. My brown orbs were red and puffy. My hair tangled in the form of a knot at the back of my head, my dress wrinkled in all the various ways.

I inhaled sharply, my grumbling stomach reminding me that I had eaten nothing since breakfast. 'If only I could support myself' I thought wryly.

I had nearly fallen asleep in my exhaustion when a thought came unbidden to me. I sat up suddenly. 'If only I could support myself'. 'Maybe, just maybe I can get Butterbur to give a job at the inn!'. This prospect, if it works, was advantageous to me. The only people I knew here were Butterbur and Raforta, Bob and Nob to a small extent. If I could get a job here then I can live here until I decide what to do further.

Getting up from the bed, I made my way to the small table. I washed my face with the water present in a bowl. Tying my hair neatly, I exited my room.

'The inn isn't that rowdy today' I noticed as I climbed down the only flight of stairs. Yes, there were a lot of people scattered about but Butterbur, standing at the counter, was looking quite peaceful as he cleaned a few mugs and placed them on the shelf.

I walked over to him with determination. "Butterbur", I called out his name to get his attention as I reached at the counter. I came to a stop in front of him. His eyebrows raised at my expectant expression. I looked around and saw Raforta serving a few customers. Gesturing at her work and then at myself I looked at him. He squinted at me as if to see if I had after all gone mad. I sighed and took the mug out of his hands. I poured an imaginary drink and pretended to serve it. He didn't look like he understood me. His eyes gave away his amusement at my antics. I huffed slightly. 'How was I supposed to tell him what I wanted?'. I looked at the counter and saw a few coins, which I knew as the money they used for their exchange, lying there. I gestured to the coins and shook my head while pointing to myself.

It wasn't until he let out a loud guffaw that I realised how pathetic I must've looked. Stealing a glance around the pub, I realised, with no little embarrassment, the amused stares of the customers. I could feel the blood rushing to my face.

Butterbur turned his back to me and started filling the mugs. My heart sank. 'I hadn't embarrassed myself this much to just-' My angry line of thought was cut off abruptly as he shoved a tray full of largely filled mugs in my hands. He then gestured to the in and nodded, smiling half amusedly and half kindly. Realisation dawned on me. 'I just scored a job!'. I could feel the toothy smile on my face. I nodded and went to serve the customers, the smile never leaving my face.

'Even with my language barrier, I won't disappoint him!' I thought firmly. ' After all, I didn't exactly deserve their kindness'.

Soon I was too busy serving to even formulate any thought. The crowd thickened as the night wore on. 'Maybe it won't be so bad' I contemplated trying to lift up my spirits as I smiled at the people sitting on the table ready to be served.


To be continued...