"Cassie... I'm going to be sick."
I ran to the bushes and lost whatever it was I had had for dinner the night before. After yacking my guts up and feeling like my stomach was being french-braided, I quickly got to my feet and stumbled out of the brush.
"You handled that well."
I made a face at my friend.
"Well it's not everyday you find out your extraterrestrial. We're like Dr. Who with no TARDIS. And speaking of traveling objects, how the heck are we gonna get home?"
"Are you kidding me? We are inMiddleEarth, and you want to go home?"
"I don't want to be stuck in a different realm for the rest of my life!" I mirror Cassie's incredulous look before someone clearing their throat gets my attention.
"Are you alright, little one?"
"Whatever gave you the impression that I wasn't?', I snapped irritably.
"I believe it was the fact that you emptied the contents of your stomach a few moments ago.', Glorfindel said dryly. "Elves do not get sick unless it is induced by unnatural things." He eyed me worriedly, genuinely concerned for my wellbeing.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a shock, that's all.', I shrugged.
"A shock?"
"It was a surprise."
"I know what a shock is. I am asking the cause of it."
"We are lost, and just in case you couldn't tell, we're not exactly from here. I mean, look at us!" I gestured to my jeans and sweatshirt to backup my statement.
"Plus Aubrey has a really weird accent if that helps to prove anything.', Cassie not-so-helpfully interjected.
"Hey!', I yelped in mock-hurt. "It's not my fault that the southern twang has taken root in my vocal chords!"
"I did notice your strange accent.', Elladan said thoughtfully. "How did you acquire it? Not to appear rude, my lady, but it sounds very..."
Otherworldly?
"Odd.', he finished lamely.
"She can tell you her tale later, Elladan. Now we focus on making our way to the encampment." Glorfindel disappeared into the bushes he had first appeared in. We followed him as the sun sank lower into the sky.
"I told you it was evening.', Elladan muttered with a sideways glance in my direction as I noticed the sun sinking instead of rising. I frowned as my thoughts took a turn for the worse.
If the sun was setting, then we were most likely in a different time zone. If we were in a different timezone, we had somehow traveled to a different area. And if we had traveled to a different area, then there was a chance we had traveled to Middle Earth if you combined that thought process with the evidence we had seen so far.
I'm losing it. I've gone insane. This is absolutely ridiculous. We're either delusional, or we're Mary Sues. And I would rather be neither, thank you very much!
"You're pale.', Cassie whispered.
"Duh. I'm a redhead. Totally normal."
"No, Aubrey. You'rereallypale. More than usual."
"Thanks for being descriptive.', I mumbled back. "But what did you expect? Waking up in a different world isn't exactly good for your nerves."
Oh crap.I thought as I saw Glorfindel stiffen.That was definitely not the right thing to whisper in front of possible elves. But who am I kidding? The only way he could have heard that is if he really is an elf.
With the rest of his body rigid, Glorfindel's head snapped back to stare at us. Yep, he definitely heard us.
"You are from a different world?"
Cassie visibly gulped.
I thought elves were all wise and smart! How is he just now getting this?
"You mean you didn't notice?', I gasped. "Oh heck! Who am I kidding? Anything that's off about a Mary Sue always goes over everybody's heads!"
"Silence! We will sort this out once we reach camp. Elladan and Elrohir? I expect you two to be there also. We meet in my tent."
Fifteen minutes later...
The tent was larger than I expected. Maps and parchment were strewn about haphazardly and a plate of stale food was left sitting beside a bedroll. You would think that Glorfindel, being the legendary warrior that he is, would have had a sense of cleanliness. But noooo... he's living like a teenager!
I wrinkled my nose as I cleared a spot on the dirt floor for me to sit down. Elladan snickered while his twin only looked amused.
"He's overreacting. This whole thing is blown out of proportion!" Cassie plopped down beside me and huffed.
"Cassie, we magically appeared in another world and you think everyone is overreacting?"
"They could always call us crazy and forget it happened.', she shot back.
"Yeah, right. The way our luck has been lately I highly doubt that solution probable."
We shut our mouths as Glorfindel lifted the flap of the tent and entered.
"A another world, you say.', he drawled. "How is that possible, hmm? Or were you telling a falsehood? After all, one from another world would not know of me."
"She told you the truth.', Cassie said defiantly. "We are from a different world. And we read about you."
"The fame of the Balrog slayer continues to spread— even to other worlds.', Elrohir lopsidedly grinned at the blonde elf. Glorfindel shot him an angry glare before turning back to me.
"That does not seem likely— that someone from another world would know of Arda."
How do I word this without freaking them out?
"Because the man who wrote the book created this world."
Gah! Cassie! That was a perfect example of whatnotto say.
"Ilúvatar created this world, not some mortal with a whim to write.', Glorfindel said coldly. "If anything, the man must have traveled to this land."
I racked my brain for something to say. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.
"How did Beren and Luthien die?', I suddenly asked.
The twins blinked for a moment as they comprehended what I had just inquired.
"Many say they lived out their mortal lives in the forests of Lindon after Námos granted them their second life. Why do you ask this?', Elrohir answered the question with question.
"But no one saw them after they were dead, did they?" I began to fidget nervously. Things may just be beginning to make sense.
"No. Not even their family knew where they lived. The only knew they had gone to Lindon."
"So if they mysteriously disappeared it would not have been recorded...', I let the sentence hang.
"Aubrey, what are you getting at?"
I turned to look at Cassie.
"Tolkien."
"What?" Her face wrinkled with confusion.
"In ninth grade I read Tolkien's biography. And in the back of the book there was a picture of his gravesite, where he is buried with his wife."
"So?', she shrugged.
"So, Tolkien left us a clue on how he knew about Middle Earth! Do you know what was engraved on his tombstone?"
"No, but I have a feeling it was important.', she muttered.
"On his tombstone he called himself Beren and his wife Luthien! Don't you see, Cassie? Tolkien and his wife were—"
"The unaccounted for couple! But how did they get into our world? And why didn't Tolkien say anything?', Cassie wondered aloud.
"I don't know. But—"
"Beren and Luthien were our ancestors.', Elladan interrupted.
"But if Beren was gone long before you were even born, how would Tolkien have known of your lineage? Agh! I thought we had figured it out!" I dropped my head into my hands. This whole thing was absurdly confusing.
"Luthien was part Maia, and both her mother and father had the gift of foresight', Glorfindel, who had remained silent for the past half hour, suddenly said. "It is possible that Luthien also had such gifts."
He rose to his feet and motioned for us to do the same.
"We will finish this discussion when we are in the presence of Elrond. He shall understand it more than I and discern if you are telling the truth, though I see no lie in your eyes"