Hello and welcome back to a laaaaaaaaaaaate overdue chapter! The lock-down was not a drill as the faculty and staff tried to tell us so it took me a bit longer to believe I survived what could have been a school shooting. I want to thank you all for bearing with me and being patient. I will try and update my other in-progress fic as soon as possible! Enjoy!
I walked through the dark forest, the dead leaves crunching beneath my feet. I observed my surrounding for signs of trouble but there was none. I was walking, trying to remain to the path when I noticed lights farther ahead. I shook it off, thinking of it as a hallucination.
"C'mon guys. Where are you bastards?" I muttered, looking down for a moment. I looked back up to see a female elf holding up her loaded bow, the arrow tip pressing against my scar, causing me to stop in my place.
"What is a foolish human doing here?" The she-elf growled.
"My business is no concern to you, she-elf." I pushed her bow slightly to the left so the tip of the arrow was no longer resting on my skin. She grabbed both of my hands and wrapped them behind my back.
"Let me go!" I shout, struggling against her grip. She stood behind me, her hands gripping tightly on my wrist as she pushed me forward. Soon enough, we arrived at a palace and walked to the throne room. The she-elf pushed me down onto my knees.
Damn you, she-elf.
"King Thranduil, I found a stray woman in the forest." The she-elf explained with a proud smile.
"Leave us." The king ordered as I glared up at him.
"What is your name?" The king asked, standing up from his throne. I sat in silence, looking up at him with a menacing glare.
"I will make a deal with you." The king spoke, pouring a fine wine into a glass.
"I'm sorry, I don't make deals with dipshits." I growled, causing him to stop pouring the wine. He turned to face me, a evil smirk playing on his face.
"Tauriel, take her to dungeons." The king growled, slamming the cup on the table as the she-elf reappeared, lifting me off the ground. She pushed me to a hall deep within the forest castle.
"Katie!" I heard several dwarves call out to me and I reached out to them. Tauriel stopped at a cell beside Kili's and threw me inside before slamming the cell door shut and locking it with a special key.
"Damn." I whispered, walking to the bars and sliding down beside them.
"Katie, are you alright?" I heard Kili's voice from the cell beside mine.
"I'm alright, the she-brat pushed me around a little but I'm fine." I answered, leaning against the wall beside the cell door.
"Haha, that's good. I mean-that's good that y-you are alright, not that she pushed you around." Kili quickly added at the end.
"I am sorry I failed you, failed you all. I was assigned to protect you, to make sure this quest was successful." I sighed. I heard multiple dwarves answer this time.
"Lassie, you didn't fail us. You tried your best, didn't you?" Balin laughed form a few cells down the hall.
"We're all together, in one piece, that's all that matters." Kili spoke up. I let out a small chuckle as I rested my arm on my risen knee.
Please, that's not all that matters.
"Kili, how old are you? If you don't mind me asking that is..." I trailed off.
"Miss Katie, I am 79." He answered with pride.
"How old would you be in human years?" I ask, my head resting against the cold wall. It was quiet for a moment until he spoke.
"I'd say 23-25, rather young. I'm about your age!" Kili laughed.
"Indeed, in human years that is." I smiled. I drifted off, thinking about Earth and my family. I soon fell asleep, the only thing keeping me company was my thoughts.
I lay under a shady tree in a field of beautiful green grass. I propped myself up on my elbows and noticed two figures standing before me.
"I am Aulë and this is my wife, Yavanna." The tall man introduced himself and his wife. I quickly stood, wiping non-existent dirt from my clothing.
"I am Katie Holmes, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Katie Holmes of Earth, your presence here can change the fate of any man who crosses your path." Aulë explained to me.
"How will I return home?" I ask.
"You have a year and a half, do not make permanent bonds with anyone. If you do wish to remain in Middle Earth, you must have something that will lock you into the system, something that will show us you do not have a reason to return home." The two spirits faded as the ground beneath me crumbled as I screamed.
I woke up screaming as I heard the cell door swing open and someone run inside. The person knelt before me, placing both hands on my shoulders.
"Katie, it's Kili." The dwarf whispered, rubbing my shoulders.
"Kili?" I asked, looking up. Kili was there, knelt before me with a look of concern swimming in his eyes. I fell toward him, crying even harder into his tunic.
"Shhh, it's alright. I'm here, I always will be." He whispered, one hand around my waist, the other placed gently on the back of my head.
Please review and tell me what you think!