Chapter 3: Floating in stuff

sooo many reviews,,,,

Sooo Many hits,,,,

I've had a story on for a year that hasn't got this many, I feel honored.

(And popular, grins).

And now all the way from Imladris just for us, with the disclaimer for this chapter iiiiiits Elrond. (Clapping)

Elrond: ETphonehome only owns Hui'Selde and Alicia and Sarah and Rachel, the rest belongs to Tolkien.

ET: Thank you Elrond For that wonderful disclaimer!!!

Elrond: Remind me to sail to Valinor as soon as you let me go.

ET: Pouts.

On with the chapter, where all your questions about how the hell she became an elf are answered.

(Alicia's pov)

I don't know how long I floated in a strange kind of soft darkness, I felt weightless but at the same time as if I was wrapped in something soft and warm.

When I finally became aware enough to open my eyes and look around me I found myself floating in a soft grey fog.
I blinked my eyes a few times trying to make sense of it, as I did the memory came floating to me from the back of my mind that I was supposed to be dead.

I was surprisingly calm about this revelation and wondered idly if the grey place was a kind of limbo where one waited for the tunnel and the light to appear.
I floated there for a little longer then there was the sensation of drifting downward slowly towards a floor I couldn't see.

I was beginning to become a little more conscious and aware, starting to ask myself a few more intelligent questions about my confusing surroundings and rather naturally beginning to question my grip on reality.

I continued to fall and slowly I became aware of a light growing progressively brighter as I went.
The thought crossed my mind that I must have gotten turned around to be approaching the light feet first and for some reason I found that particular thought very amusing.
I giggled softly to myself as I continued to drift downwards and it occurred to me suddenly that if I was dead I would never see my family again, I waited to feel the sadness and grief I expected but instead I felt nothing except a vague regret.

A nagging thought in the back of my mind was suggesting that something must be wrong for me to feel nothing despite being dead but the warm softness wrapped a little tighter around me and the thought was smothered in the fog.

As I floated lower a faintly humanoid form began to take shape in the middle of the light I could see a head and arms and legs but that was about it then I surprised myself even further by remaining perfectly calm as the shape began to speak.

"Welcome child to my home"

The voice was definitely male but it made me think of an uncle rather than of a grandfather figure as I had expected god to sound.

It was at this point that I threw away entirely the theory of being dead; this was nothing like any story about heaven I had ever heard.

After a moment I found my voice and asked a very obvious question.

"Where am I? And why?"

The voice answered sounding rather apologetic,

"You are in a place of waiting; the changes occurring in your form are very painful so you were brought here to wait to spare you the pain"

"You do not realize but you have done a great service for this world, the one who attacked you was called Hui'Selde one of the immortal elves who had betrayed her people for the darkness and the power he could give her."

"However when you gave your life freely to her to save the children with whom the blame truly lay you met the terms of a very old spell placed on her to limit her power"

"The spell stated that should ever an innocent offer their life to pay the dept of another then she must give to the innocent in exchange her own life"

"So you see when you gave up your life willingly for those children she was forced to take on your lifetime as her own and give to you her own immortal life in exchange"

"So she is now mortal and her power is greatly reduced, she will be vulnerable and little threat to the people of this world, and at such a critical time the removal of such a threat may be what tips the balance in the favor of the light"

I was beginning to get a sneaking suspicion as to whom I was talking to and the shock and fear was beginning to penetrate even the pleasant blanket of grey fog that had kept my mind calm to this point.
I swallowed hard and tried to understand what I had been told, I had accidentally switched lives with an evil witch and in the process I had effectively beaten her and now I was going to be an elf but the change evidently hurt so the Uh, powers that be of this place had put me to sleep so I didn't feel it by way of thanks for removing the bad guy.

"The girls that were with me? Rachel and Sarah?"

"the children are well and under the care of Elrond half Elven as are you at this time, he is a skilled healer in the way of his kind and will take good care of them until you wake."

"It is almost time for you to return, you will not remember much of what you have seen but I must tell you some news that will be hard for you to accept, While we will be able to return the children to their rightful place when the current conflict is finished you will no longer be able to exist in your world and if you do return you will die."

"but you need not trouble yourself with that yet you will be given a choice when it is time to return the children whether to stay in your new world or return to your old world to die."

"But for now sleep, and then wake to yourself and remember nothing"

As the voice spoke the last words the light began to fade away and darkness crept up from behind my eyes and I drifted back into unconsciousness.

I wasn't sure how long I had been out when I woke for the second time; I knew it was the second time because I vaguely remembered waking up in a place where everything was grey for a little while before waking up here.

I became aware of my surroundings slowly, first realizing that I was lying in a soft bed then realizing that I hurt all over.
All my limbs ached as if I had been beaten all over and my head pounded like the little man behind my eyes was wielding a sledge hammer, and to top it all off my mouth tasted like the cat had crawled in there and had kittens while I was sleeping.
I also discovered that I was as weak as a kitten, even moving my arms to hold my head took great effort.

I groaned and forced my eyes to open, the room I was in was dim, and glancing around me I realized that this was because someone had covered all the windows with curtains.

The room itself was completely strange to me and I studied it trying to get my bearings.
The walls seemed to be made of some kind of white stone, the windows were high arches beautifully carved and decorated with cushioned benches in front of them obviously for sitting and admiring the view, there was a table beside the bed with a bowl of water and a jug as well as a number of small bottles and jars which I presumed were medicine.

Suddenly I sat up with a start ignoring the pain it caused in my shoulders and back, Wasn't I supposed to be dead?

I distinctly remembered being hit with a ball of light that 'HURT' and loosing consciousness. I threw back the blankets and swung my legs over the edge of the bed, I glanced around and located the door on the opposite side of the room and pushed myself off the bed intending to walk across the room to it.

But it was then that I discovered another side effect of whatever had made me feel like I'd been hit by a Mack truck, I couldn't seem to walk.

A gargantuan thank you to all my reviewers:

1EVIL MANIAC

2) childofthekng

3) Lady Laughter

4) CapriceAnne Heidican-Kokur (your pen name is to long)

5) Katleaf

6) elf angel

7) XxRupertgrintloverxX

8) Drunken Landlord

9) Sea Star

10)Tortall Princess

You are all great