EDIT 3/7/2021: Chapters one to eight have been revamped completely thanks to my beta reader Leona2016! Shoutout to her for helping me fix all the inconsistencies and grammar mistakes. She's super awesome and spent a ton of time walking me though everything! So yeah, a major thank you to her for helping me make this fic a lot more readable.

Hi! This is my first time writing a fanfic, so bear with me, please! This story is mainly going to be a kind of slice of life centered around an OC who is dropped in middle earth as an elfling. I know it sounds a bit cliche, but I just wanted to write a coming-of-age story about a young girl in an unfamiliar environment.

This won't be a Mary Sue, as the OC will be super young, so don't worry haha.

This will be a good few years before the events of lotr, and I might make it a tenth walker fic later if we get there, but it is unlikely. With that said, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1

Samantha Brooks was, by all means, a normal girl. Just picture your stereotypical high schooler, and you'll have a pretty accurate idea of what she was like. She played the flute in her school band, was going through a rebellious phase with her parents, and liked ice cream along with the other ninety-nine percent of the population.

Her parents were as normal as could be. In fact, they excelled at being normal. Of course, her family owned the most common breed of dogs: a golden retriever. His name was Rex, just like a gazillion other dogs just like him. And on days when it wasn't parked in its usual spot on the drive, they drove a non-descript Honda civic.

Another thing in which Sam proved to be like most teenagers was that, above anything, she wished for something different and exciting to happen. If only to break the dull and predictable pattern of her mundane and peaceful life.

As a kid, Sam had always dreamed of a portal opening out of nowhere, whisking her away to other worlds. Worlds in which she would have adventures and prove to be an awesome heroine for whom every monster or foe was no match. It wasn't a realistic dream, but it was her dream. One that had been fed by an overactive imagination, an overdose of fantasy and sci-fi stories, and an envy of most if not all the protagonists she read about or watched.

These childhood imaginations slowly went away as she grew up, and reality filled the void they left in their wake. She knew she would never be the heroine of a story, just as she knew there would be no hero to save her. An ordinary life for an ordinary person seemed to be all Sam was destined for. The sooner she accepted this, the less devastating the inevitable disappointment would be. However, that didn't stop her from occasionally indulging herself with her silly daydreams every so often.

"Sam!" The sharp voice of her friend Alice jolted Sam out of her reverie. "Do you want me to walk you home? You seem out of it today."

Sam looked up in mild surprise. She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she had forgotten that her friend was by her side.

"W-What? Oh. Uh... No thanks. I'm okay," Sam replied hurriedly.

"Alright then," Alice said with a shrug, not wanting to push the matter further. "I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Sure." Sam waved at her friend, watching her retreating back for a few seconds until she was out of sight.

Once she was alone, she sighed and kicked a pile of fallen leaves on the sidewalk, staring forlornly as they slowly floated back to the ground. A spike of loneliness hit her, and she half regretted not having taken her friend up on the offer of walking her home. While she had never been extroverted – she never liked having too many people around her at once – being all alone had always scared her. Which was why the hollowness that had blossomed in her chest when her friend had walked on felt like a bright light leaving her on her own in the dark. Deciding to hurry home to be rid of the growing loneliness, she quickly continued home, already taking off her backpack and searching for her keys.

Her hurried pace faltered a little when she walked up their driveway, suddenly aware of an unnerving silence that had blanketed the neighborhood. A glance around told her that no one other than herself was outside, and she frowned at the unusual sight, quickly unlocking the door.

"I'm home!" Her shout went unanswered, causing her frown to deepen. Not even Rex had come padding over to greet her.

Sam spied a note and some money on the table, and her heart sank. Her parents weren't home. Again. It wasn't as if their jobs were especially taxing, they just always seemed to have something more important to do. Something more important than her. She picked the note up, a miserable feeling settling in her stomach, and deciphered her mother's loopy handwriting.

Hi Sam,

Your dad and I had to deal with an emergency concerning your uncle and won't be back until next Monday at the earliest. Please take care of the house and Rex while we're gone. The money is for groceries, NOT snacks and video games. We'll call you later to make sure you haven't burned down the house!

P.S. There are some leftovers in the fridge so don't spend more money than you need to.

Love,

Mom and dad.

With trembling hands, Sam placed the note back on the table, feeling white-hot tears burning behind her eyes. The silence of the house suddenly felt extremely piercing, the earlier feeling of loneliness intensifying. It wasn't like she enjoyed her mom's constant nagging or her dad's dumb jokes, but damn it she just didn't want to be alone. She briefly considered having a pizza night, but ultimately decided against it – it just wasn't the same by herself.

Sam heaved a great sigh, snatched the money and stuffed it all in her backpack. If her parents didn't want to waste money on snacks, they should be here instead of ... whatever it was that they were doing. Thinking of her absent parents introduced a vengeful surge to her loneliness. And vengeance it would be if spent the money they had left her on as many snacks as it would buy her at the nearest Walmart. Maybe she would even throw in a video game too, if she felt like it. She strode out of her house purposefully, grabbing her bus pass and a warmer hoodie on her way out.

Sam exited Walmart not half an hour later, clutching two filled bags of various snacks and drinks, the door making a pleasant ding as it slid open for her. She knew she was going to get a terrible stomach-ache later if she were to eat to her heart's desires, but she didn't care. After all, her parents weren't there to police her, she thought with a savage smirk.

She hummed as she skipped to the bus stop, ready to go home and enjoy her spoils. The sky had darkened slightly, and she was worried that she had taken too long deliberating in front of the snacks section. Wanting to make sure she didn't miss the bus, she hurried along.

Ten minutes had passed, and still, no sign of the bus coming. Checking her phone, she frowned when she saw the time: half past seven. She started sifting through her purchases in an attempt to not fixate on her growing unease.

Another ten minutes had passed, and finally, the bus came. With a relieved smile, she jumped from the bench and hurriedly climbed up the metal stairs of the bus, swiping her pass as she entered. Finding herself a seat in the back of the bus, she glanced out the window and saw that the sky was almost completely dark now. Her uneasy feeling from before returned, and she couldn't help but feel anxious to be safely home. Perhaps it hadn't been worth it to have come out here just to spite her parents.

The bus finally stopped at her desired destination after about twenty minutes, and Sam quickly thanked the bus driver before hopping off and sprinted home. As she neared her doorstep, the sense of unease that had been bubbling under the surface stirred almost warningly. Taking a step back quickly in alarm, Sam reflexively glanced around her, half expecting something to spring at her from the dark. When nothing did, she relaxed a tiny bit and laughed quietly at her paranoia. What scary monster could there be in this peaceful suburb? She thought with a snicker. Giving her surroundings a careful scan one last time for good measure, she moved on.

As she took a step closer to her front door, however, she noticed that it was slightly ajar. Chiding herself internally for forgetting to lock the door, she silently pushed it open and took a tentative step inside. The house was completely dark, and feeling increasingly uncomfortable, Sam groped her way to the light switch and flipped. Nothing happened.

She tried again. And again. The lights still weren't working. Frowning in apprehension, she cautiously headed over to the kitchen where Rex's pen was. "Rex! Come here, boy!" she called out softly. No response.

Overcame with worry, Sam gathered what little courage she had and sprang forward, only to bump against the edge of the marble dining table. After letting out a few curses she continued, when she felt her feet getting caught on something invisible. Puzzled, she stopped and tried to unstick herself.

Fear coursed through her as she found that she was paralyzed from the waist down. What? She thought, panicking. Before she could do anything else, a black portal opened beneath her and swallowed her whole. She opened her mouth in an attempt to scream, but nothing came out.

She could feel herself free falling, a strong wind buffeted her hair, making it extremely difficult to see. Not that there was anything to see anyway, the inside of the portal was pitch black.

The portal that took her vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving no trace of the girl having ever existed in the house.

So this is it for ch1! The story should pick up quickly from here, as this is only an introduction. The next chapter will be longer. Let me know what you think!