- Chapter 3 -

The stars were bright as she lay in the grass on her back once more, looking up towards the heavens. Her hands brushed over the blades beneath them, letting the grass tickle her sensitive palms. She didn't look to her left, or right, afraid of what she would – or wouldn't – see, so she sighed heavily and watched the light show before her.

"I know you're confused," said a voice to her right. She turned her head to look into the familiar face of her mother, a feeling of longing filling her chest. "And you have every right to be sweetie."

"I just don't understand. I thought it was a dream," she admitted, and her mother gave her a small smile as she met her daughter's eyes.

"I know. But it's not."

"I want to go home."

"You are home. Middle-earth is your home."

"No," Shyloh said, desperation clinging to her words now. "Earth is my home. East Farmington is my home and I want to go back!"

"I'm sorry sweetie," Mom said with a pained look in her eyes. "But you can't go back."

"I don't understand."

"When you fell, you hit your head-"

"You said I wasn't dead!"

"You hit your head," her mom said patiently. "And when you did, you passed away from your injuries. Your mortal body is no longer alive on Earth anymore. They brought you home."

"Now I just feel like we're talking in circles."

"Oh, how do I explain this?" Mom asked, but her face turned towards the stars, and she let go a soft sigh.

There was a moment of silence while Mom seemed to wrestle with some thoughts in her mind, so Shyloh took the opportunity to stare at the stars herself, and dive into the thought that she wasn't in pain anymore. This was all so confusing. She wasn't dead but at the same time she was?

Sure, she thought, makes total sense. I've gone crazy.

"When we were in that accident together," her mom began, sounding a little more confident now than before. "You should have died then. They were calling for you, but your body hadn't completely let go of your soul. You were called back to the mortal world once more and the Valar had to be patient once again. When you fell off of Boss in the woods just a few days ago, the Valar saw that as an opportunity to bring you home where you belonged. You died on earth, and your soul has been returned to its proper place."

"A few days ago? I just fell! And I thought you said I didn't die!" Shyloh nearly choked on the words as she said them, panic building up inside her.

"You are alive, right here and right now, in Middle-earth, but back home in East Farmington you're not alive anymore and cannot return to your old body or life."

"So...so you're s-saying I'm stuck here? In this place and in Middle-earth?"

Mom nodded, and a pained smile flickered on the corners of her mouth.

"But what about Dad? What about Mack? I'm never going to see them again?" Pain shot through Shyloh's heart as the realization hit her. She was never going to see her family again.

"They will not remember you." Mom said softly after a length of silence. "In a way, it's cruel for you but a blessing in a sense that they will not feel the pain of losing you."

"So, what, you're saying I was just a hallucination? I wasn't real?" Anger bit at the edges of her voice and she clenched her fists together. Mom's touch sent a jolt of calmness through her as her slender fingers wrapped around her daughter's hand.

"You were very much real while you were there sweetie, and they loved you with all their hearts just like I know you loved them. And you know how much I love you, too. That will never change."

"So... it'll be like I never existed?"

"You were never supposed to exist there in the first place," Mom admitted. "It was merely a place to keep you safe for a short while. Now it's time to go home."

Tears threatened to escape from the corners of Shyloh's eyes as understanding flooded her.

"Am I really an elf?"

Mom gave a short laugh and that almost helped ease Shyloh's pain but only for a small moment.

"Yes, I'm afraid the ears are real too, and the hair."

Shyloh bit back a groan. "They probably think I'm absolutely crazy. This just isn't normal." Shyloh pulled at her hair again. In the starlight it was almost silver and felt completely foreign to her. Even the texture was different.

Mom laughed again, this time a little more freely. "I wouldn't worry too much. You did hit your head pretty hard. Your body is exactly how it should have been, had you grown up in Middle-earth instead. It will be an adjustment, I admit."

"Will anyone there know who I am?"

Mom was quiet for another moment and Shyloh's fears ate away at her. She didn't want to be all alone.

"You have family," she said finally. "Lord Elrond will know of your history. It was in the Second Age that your family gave themselves up to keep you safe. It will be safe to trust him."

"How do I find him?"

"He will find you. In fact, two of the elves that are with you now are his sons. Elladan and Elrohir; they're twins. The other elf is Glorfindel. He is a strong warrior, and you can trust him also."

"I don't understand any of this," she groaned in frustration. "Mom seriously, things like this just don't happen!"

The ground shifted suddenly but Shyloh tightened her grip on her mother's hand.

"I don't want to go back, it's peaceful here," she admitted but her mother smiled.

"There are still things we need to discuss, but for now you know as much as you need to, and you know that this is real."

"I still have a lot of questions..."

Another shift underneath her.

"Questions for another time. You've spent enough time with me for now. I promise, it'll be okay."

"Don't leave me!"

"I'll always be right here." Mom placed her free hand over her heart and then blew her a kiss.

"Mom..." But the ground fell out from beneath her, quicker than the last time and she was sent spiraling back down into the darkness.

The smell of rain filled her nose as she took a deep breath. It was the sweet smell that she loved so dearly back home, one she craved in the early days of spring when the first rains would come and wash away all the slush winter left behind. It tasted like a rain forest, earthy and crispy at the same time with a hint of pine and forest. There was no other smell in the world she savored quite as much except maybe horses and saddle leather.

She became gradually aware that she wasn't lying on the ground anymore, and the slight jostling she was feeling was strange.

She opened her eyes just a crack and came face to face with leather armor. The snort of a horse drew her attention and as she looked around, she realized she was awfully high off the ground. Tucked into the arms of one of the twins, she sat across the saddle in front of him, her legs dangling off the same side of the horse. She was wrapped in a blanket and rain drizzled down on them, making the ground squish and squelch under the hooves of the horses. A distant rumble of thunder echoed through the trees, but no wind blew the leaves. The only sound she could hear was the pitter patter of rain on the current landscape and the splashing of the hooves that carried them through the trees. If she didn't feel so gosh darn awful, she might have enjoyed a ride in the rain.

But there was nothing to enjoy about it. Feeling uncomfortable in the arms of a stranger, she squirmed a little but found she was wrapped up like a cocoon, making it difficult to move her arms. A stray strand of strange white colored hair tickled her nose as a fat drop of water dripped down into the folds of the blanket.

"Put me down," she mumbled, as she became aware of the throbbing in her left shoulder and on the back of her head. It was a nasty reminder of the fact she'd fallen off the back of a horse days ago, instead of hours. How long had she laid there on the ground before they found her? Or were they the ones that spooked Boss to begin with?

The handsome face tilted down to look at her and a smirk played at the corner of his mouth.

"Well, well, well," he said gently. "Look who's awake."

"Put me down, please," she said again, this time more sternly.

"We haven't reached camp yet, and we can't afford to slow down." he told her, and she struggled to reach a hand up to brush the hair out of her face. She thought she saw his gray eyes dart into the trees, but it happened so fast she could have been mistaken.

"I can walk," she argued, but he gave a short laugh.

"I don't think so. You still look pretty out of it. Can't chance you falling and hitting your head again. Besides, the horses will be faster." His tone was even and low, and she wondered why he was talking so quietly.

She bit her lip and thought for a moment, choosing her words carefully. If Mom was right, and he was who she said he was, she could feel a little more at ease being in the company of three complete strangers.

"You're one of Lord Elrond's sons," she said, hardly daring to believe her strange dreams about dark places and shiny stars were real. "Aren't you?"

He looked down at her again and frowned, and she suddenly felt stupid; thinking she'd made a horrible mistake and had gotten her facts wrong.

"Yes," he said slowly, staring at her curiously. "But I don't believe we've met before this morning."

She hummed in reply as relief flooded though her, but she didn't reveal how she knew that information. She felt him watching her for a few more moments but she refused to meet his eyes, and instead, she focused on the trees that passed by. They were tall, taller than she ever realized trees could be. Much taller in fact, than she'd ever seen in the woods at the farm.

She decided she would have been more comfortable riding if she'd been sitting in the saddle properly, but she left well enough alone. Eventually, her mind shifted back to her mom and her last dream, and dreadful sorrow filled her insides. They would never remember her and the horrible thought that she herself might forget them too, ate away at her heart. The tears that dripped from her eyes could have easily been mistaken for rain drops, but if the elf thought she was crying by the trembling of her lower lip, he said nothing about it.

After they stopped by a stream for a short break, she drank the water they offered but refused to say anything more. Even after they exchanged looks of concern she ignored their questions, hardly hearing their words as images of her brother and father flooded her mind. Her head was pounding so she closed her eyes, eventually allowing sleep to come and claim her.

The only thing that lit the camp was a small fire. Nighttime had fallen while she slept, and she found herself laying on the ground on her side. She was covered with a heavy blanket and her three rescuers were seated cross legged around her and the fire. The rain was done, leaving the ground mushy and wet.

"Welcome back," said one of the twins, and all three heads turned towards her. She was glad it was dark, because she felt her face heat up under their watchful eyes.

Glorfindel was closest to her, and he twisted around to look at her more clearly.

"How does your head feel?" he asked, and she bit back a groan.

"Like someone took a sledgehammer to it," she said sarcastically, and the twins grinned.

She rolled herself onto her elbow and then pushed herself up into a seated position, gingerly stretching her legs out before her as the world adjusted. Aches and stiffness ran through her knees, as if she'd spent the last three days in the saddle instead of on the ground.

"Well, you look better than you did before," Glorfindel said, and she laughed dryly.

"I somehow doubt that," she muttered.

He held out the water skin and she took it gratefully and drank deep, even though the cold water burned the spot on her tongue that she must have bitten when she fell.

"Can you eat?" one of the twins asked and she nodded dully.

They handed her a plate with strange looking meat and berries. Her stomach growled but she really didn't feel that hungry. Sadness for the loss of her family still consumed her and she hardly tasted what she was eating. Glorfindel, however, seemed satisfied she was at least eating, and the other two watched her carefully, as if they were waiting for her to burst out into hysterics or pass out again. She did neither, but only made it through half her plate before pushing it away. She couldn't stomach anymore and worried her body wouldn't keep the food down. The last thing she wanted to do was throw up in front of them.

Glorfindel frowned and offered her more water. She took a few sips before handing it back to him. He didn't argue and she was glad.

"You are not from around here, are you?" one of the twins asked.

She wrapped her blanket around her shoulders, shivering at the cold air that surrounded her before answering.

"What gave me away?" she said, stifling a yawn. Twin one gave a small huff of amusement through his nose.

Aside from her 'strange to them' clothes and freakishly white hair (seriously there was no way she was ever going to get used to that...or the ears...) she was as foreign to them as they were to her. They seemed friendly enough and they had saved her, but she wasn't sure if she was waiting for them to turn into ax murderers or superheroes.

"Yes, and no I guess," she said eventually, only realizing after she said the words out loud how cryptic they were.

She wondered then, how it would sound if she told them what she knew about herself – however little that really was – and then she decided against it. Mostly, she feared how insane it would sound, but she also worried they'd just up and leave her behind by herself and that, she admitted, was a scary thought indeed.

The dark trees loomed around them in the small clearing, making her feel claustrophobic. Their branches reached up towards the black sky, blocking out any sign of the world beyond their little campsite and she unconsciously pulled her blanket around her even tighter.

"Where are we going?" she asked eventually, and one twin looked up at her.

"To Rivendell," he answered. "To the house of Lord Elrond."

"Lord Elrond." She repeated the name out loud but mostly to herself.

"Shyloh," twin two said as he stared into the fire. "That is a strange name."

"So is Glorfindel, Elladan and Elrohir," she retorted, and her three companions went still.

She looked at them blankly, not realizing she had said something wrong.

"I do not believe we offered you our names, Lady." The tone of twin number two's voice was cold as he spoke, and she picked up on the wariness that floated between his words.

Of course, she could have slapped her hand on her forehead. They had not introduced themselves to her, but her mom had in fact, mentioned their names in her last dream. If they were wary of her before, it was nothing to how they looked now. A stranger they found in the wild who spoke strange, looked strange, acted strange, and let's face it - was just downright strange - knew the names of two people she'd never met or seen before. They had every right to be cautious. How was she supposed to explain that without sounding crazy?

"Um..." she stumbled for words. "My mother told me that Lord Elrond had two sons, I just assumed they were you."

It wasn't exactly a lie...

"You are, indeed, a strange little elf," Glorfindel said, a smirk forming on the corners of his mouth. The twins continued to stare at her, and she felt herself shrink under their gaze.

"I'm not a -," she started but then stopped herself. She was about to say she wasn't an elf but maybe that would have made her seem even stranger, so she tried to change the subject instead. "How long until we reach Rivendell?"

She hoped it would ease the tension she felt building within their small circle.

Glorfindel shot his companions a look but when they didn't answer he did. "It is a four-day journey."

Four more days? She groaned inwardly at the thought of being under the glare of the twins for that long. She gritted her teeth and buried herself into her blanket, even though the brothers turned their attention back towards the trees. They stared off into the darkness as if she weren't there and she found she was okay with that. She hated being stared at and she was already completely out of her element as it was. Behind them, their horses were tied nearby. They flicked their silver tails but were otherwise quiet as they rested. They were grays of varying shades and tall, like Boss was.

Her mind drifted to Boss, and she prayed with all her might that the horse was alright. Strange how he would find his way into this world with her, and she wondered how that could have even happened to begin with.

The forest...it all had to do with the forest...

Suddenly, a shrill screech split the air and several things happened at once. First, the fire was doused so quickly it sent a shock through her core as she was engulfed momentarily in darkness, that she thought she must have passed out again. Second, footsteps shuffled beside her, and she felt a heavy hand drag her to her feet. Before she could let out a surprised yelp a rough hand covered her mouth, and she felt her back slam into a very solid person.

"Not a word," a voice whispered very quietly in her ear, and she recognized the voice as one of the twins. "We have to be quiet."

He didn't remove his hand from her mouth until she nodded, silently giving her word she wouldn't speak at all.

Satisfied, his hand left her mouth and snatched her hand tightly, and suddenly she felt herself get pulled along behind him. Without warning, she was lifted onto the back of one of the horses, and seconds later the elf was behind her, one arm tucked around her middle, the other taking the reins. He turned the horse just as the others mounted, and they rode into the trees.

The others whispered between themselves, but the words were inaudible to her, and it brought her great annoyance. Something must have happened to cause them to make a break for it and travel in the darkness, but she clenched her teeth together and spoke no words as they rode.

As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she thought it was weird how well she could see. The moon wasn't very bright behind the clouds, so it didn't exactly light up the forest very much. The elves let their horses run, and the only thing she could think of was low hanging branches and getting knocked off the back of the horse. None of that happened, however, and the horse beneath them was smooth and surefooted, guiding them through the trees as if he walked these woods all the time.

Glorfindel and the other twin followed behind, and she chanced a look at them. They both had their bows in hand; arrows ready to fly at the first sign of trouble.

They ran for a way until finally, after what seemed like hours, they let the horses walk. Her heart was racing even though she was only riding. As if sensing she was about to say something, the elf shushed her again. The two other riders walked near them, eyes constantly searching the trees around them.

She couldn't imagine what could have possibly made them flee so quickly but something told her she didn't want to find out. Shyloh kept quiet. The woods around them were silent, so silent in fact that even the trees didn't make a sound. It was an eerie kind of quiet, one that was completely unnatural in a place surrounded by wildlife, and it sent a deep shiver up her spine.

After a few moments, the tension in her three companions' shoulders seemed to relax a little.

"We keep going," her co-pilot said, and the other two agreed.

"What was that?" she whispered quickly, but her twin just shushed her again and they continued down an invisible path through the darkness.

When they finally stopped again, it was much to her relief. She was cold and her head was throbbing.

"She's shaking like a leaf," the other twin muttered pitifully as he looked down at her from his horse.

Her sweatshirt, bloodstained as it was, wasn't overly thick and the air was cold. Every inch of her body ached.

"She is not exactly dressed very warm," Glorfindel said, coming to her defense. "And she still has been through much."

"Well, we can't start a fire, not with orcs roaming the woods," said twin two. She didn't actually know who was who, so she mentally numbered them twin one and twin two. They still had yet to introduce themselves to her, but they weren't worried about that now. Her mind shifted to the word orcs, and she noted the cold tone he used when he said it.

"What are orcs?" she asked quietly.

Twin one sighed impatiently. "This is not the time for you to find out. We need to get a little further south before we stop. We are still too close to the northern edges."

She pressed her lips together, not daring to say another word. How could anyone tell where they were in the middle of the night?

"She does not look like she can make it much further," said twin two. If her ears heard correctly, there was a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"She will have to. Orcs don't like traveling through the woods as much as the open planes. We stand a better chance if we head further south toward the East Road..."

Twin two sighed, knowing his brother was right. Glorfindel caught Shyloh's eye and he tried to give her an encouraging smile, but it came out more like a grimace.

"I do not exactly want her to pass out again," twin two said, and that was about all Shyloh could take.

"She is sitting right here, thank you very much," she snapped, and they went quiet.

Without a word, the others silently agreed to keep going, and they continued on their way, moving a bit slower as the trees suddenly seemed to be thicker the further south they headed.

Once again, she had no idea how long they rode but her back ached and her head was throbbing to the point the ground was moving in a blur. It was Glorfindel's turn to call a halt when they reached a small stream, and the brothers didn't argue. She was lifted out of the saddle to the ground, where her knees threatened to buckle underneath her. Moving off to the side of the small clearing, she sank down to the ground, ignoring the throbbing pain that shot through her limbs. She'd fallen off of horses plenty of times, but never had she ached so bad from it before. She was past the point of shaking now and most of her body had fallen into a sort of painful numbness that ebbed away at her from the inside out.

Shyloh didn't look up at the twins, or even at Glorfindel as he examined her head once again. She didn't even wince at the pain when his fingers checked where she'd hit the ground because she was too tired to care anymore. All the pain seemed to flow together, and she wanted nothing more than to go to sleep.

Glorfindel said something to the brothers, but his voice was grim, and she didn't understand the words he said. She was too tired to be irritated. He pulled a blanket out of a bedroll and one of them wrapped it around her shoulders. She raised her head only slightly but didn't even acknowledge him.

The last few days rushed at her in a big wave, and she closed her eyes before the tears could escape. Right now, they were running for their lives; from what though, she had no idea, and it was not the time to break down into hysterics. Glorfindel tried to get her to eat something as they settled in to make camp and she only took it to appease him, however, she barely tasted it.