Same disclaimer as usual…
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Her first thought when she opened her eyes was that all her work had been for nothing, all the years of practising hard and then this… Looking around Serena realized that she was not in a hospital, the room was beautiful and warm, even though it had no windows. No windows? 'I must have hit my head harder than I thought, it is winter for god's sake, I'd be freezing to death without windows.' Carefully she tried to sit up to check whether she was really injured. Her legs seemed to work, so did her arms, only her head hurt and the room began to spin around her. When her vision cleared she found that this place was unlike any she had ever seen and suddenly a strange thought hit her. 'Is this heaven?'
Without any sound the doors opened and now Serena was convinced that this was heaven. No way that an American doctor would wear something like this grey dress and then his ears?
"Are you well Lady?" His voice was deep and comforting, his eyes silver grey and seemed to look through her.
"I don't know, how am I supposed to be, if I am dead?"
The other man looked at her and smiled. "You are not dead, you were sent to us from far away to help us in danger."
"Sent? Where am I, who are you? Danger?"
"You have many questions, some I can answer some will be answered on your way and for some I will find the answer in yourself. You are in Rivendell, the elven kingdom. I am Elrond the king of Rivendell. There is a council going on and if you feel well enough to attend, then we should go now."
"Wait a second, elven kingdom? Are you telling me that I am in another world?"
"Yes you are. I shall wait for you outside while you get dressed." Without any other word, the man left the room, leaving Serena completely bewildered.
Five minutes later she came out of the room, wearing a grey robe in the same style as Elronds. He led her to a big room where a group of men sat. "Please take this seat." Elrond asked her and she sat down.
Then the council began. Different people started to explain their reasons for being here, Serena listened interested but after a certain time she got bored and started to examine the people that sat around. They were very different. 'There's a bigger variety of people than at any UN summit' she thought letting her eyes going from the old tall man over the small boys to the grumpy looking group of bearded man and from there onwards to a group of beautiful blond men with the same weird ears as Elrond until her eyes came to rest on two men that looked like normal men. 'Apart from the clothing and the long hair.'
Then one of the boys took a few steps forward, placed a ring on the podium in the middle and suddenly they were all shouting at each other. The only thing Serena could understand from this chaos was that this ring was evil and had to be destroyed in a certain Mount Doom. 'How can a ring be evil? But then, how did I get here and those ears?'
Legolas had jumped up with the others when the ring had been produced, but now he stood outside of the crowd and watched the woman that had accompanied Elrond. He had never seen anybody as beautiful as her. Long black hair that shone in the afternoon sun, a flawless yet almost white skin and eyes that were even darker than her hair. 'How can anybody have black eyes?' he wondered. In that moment she raised her hand and brushed a few strands of her hair back. 'She's not an elf, she's a mortal woman.' Now Legolas was even more interested to know what she was doing here.
'She is beautiful.'
Finally the old man calmed the group down and Elrond appointed the people that were to accompany the boy in his mission to destroy the ring. Serena tried to remember the names, Gandalf ( the old man), Aragorn (one of the two normal looking men, the shabbier), Boromir (the less shabby one), Legolas (obviously an elf, blond and handsome with weird ears), Gimli (the grumpiest of the grumpy bunch), Frodo (the boy that had shown the ring), Sam (another boy), Merry and Pippin ( yet two other boys). Finally Elrond looked at the nine and looked at Serena. "The journey to the golden woods will be accompanied by danger and peril. For this way a guardian was sent from another world. She will go with you." Seeing the confusion in Serena's eyes he held out his hand and led her down to the fellowship.
"Serena, I know you have a lot of questions, but they will be answered on your way."
'What is this all about?' Serena wondered. Then one of the boys stepped forward and greeted her. "I am Frodo and those" pointing at the other three boys "are Sam, Merry and Pippin. We are hobbits." "Hobbits?" "Halflings, small people" The man who had said that was, if she recalled it correctly, Boromir. "You are Boromir aren't you?" "Yes Milady I am at your service." Serena gave him a sarcastic look and took the next man's hand. Aragorn greeted her friendly and introduced the rest.
"We are leaving in seven days." Elrond's words had the effect of a wake up call on Serena. The games, the competition… Suddenly the room began to spin around her and without any sound she fell on the ground. Or better would have fallen, if Legolas, who had watched her closely the entire time, hadn't jumped forward and captured her in his arms.
Slowly he lowered the girl on the bed, while Elrond and Aragorn tried to find out what was wrong with her. 'She is as light as a feather, yet there is a strength in her.'
Serena opened her eyes and realized that she was in her bed again. Two men were leaning over her and a third one stood silently on the other end. Confused she looked around, when it all came back to her and she began to push the men away. "Why did you do this to me?" Her anguished scream shocked all three men. Aragorn watched her closely and saw the anger, the pain and for a short moment the hate that she felt against him and his friends. "Do what to you?" His voice was laced with concern at her obvious unease to be here.
"I've practised for nineteen years, never allowed myself to live, watched every bite I ate, I put away everything that mattered for this day. And then you come and decide that I must help you in some stupid quest? What you have done? You have just destroyed my life!"
With those words she seemed to break and tears formed themselves in her black eyes. Serena couldn't believe it that she had almost allowed her emotions to take over. Closing her eyes she blocked her surroundings out and tried to breathe to calm down. In front of her inner eye she travelled to her secret place, concentrating hard on conjuring up the image of that beautiful lagoon until she could almost feel the wind on her skin and smell the water of the sea.
Legolas had not been surprised when she had started to cry, however what happened then had taken him unprepared for he had never seen anything like that. Serena seemed to close down any gates even closing her eyes. Slowly her breathing calmed and as she opened her eyes they were bare any emotion. A shiver ran through the elf when he realized that the girl had completely shut away any feelings.
Serena looked at the men and knowing that no matter what she did, the games were lost, she decided that she would do as they wanted. "I will go with you"
----
Her first thought when she opened her eyes was that all her work had been for nothing, all the years of practising hard and then this… Looking around Serena realized that she was not in a hospital, the room was beautiful and warm, even though it had no windows. No windows? 'I must have hit my head harder than I thought, it is winter for god's sake, I'd be freezing to death without windows.' Carefully she tried to sit up to check whether she was really injured. Her legs seemed to work, so did her arms, only her head hurt and the room began to spin around her. When her vision cleared she found that this place was unlike any she had ever seen and suddenly a strange thought hit her. 'Is this heaven?'
Without any sound the doors opened and now Serena was convinced that this was heaven. No way that an American doctor would wear something like this grey dress and then his ears?
"Are you well Lady?" His voice was deep and comforting, his eyes silver grey and seemed to look through her.
"I don't know, how am I supposed to be, if I am dead?"
The other man looked at her and smiled. "You are not dead, you were sent to us from far away to help us in danger."
"Sent? Where am I, who are you? Danger?"
"You have many questions, some I can answer some will be answered on your way and for some I will find the answer in yourself. You are in Rivendell, the elven kingdom. I am Elrond the king of Rivendell. There is a council going on and if you feel well enough to attend, then we should go now."
"Wait a second, elven kingdom? Are you telling me that I am in another world?"
"Yes you are. I shall wait for you outside while you get dressed." Without any other word, the man left the room, leaving Serena completely bewildered.
Five minutes later she came out of the room, wearing a grey robe in the same style as Elronds. He led her to a big room where a group of men sat. "Please take this seat." Elrond asked her and she sat down.
Then the council began. Different people started to explain their reasons for being here, Serena listened interested but after a certain time she got bored and started to examine the people that sat around. They were very different. 'There's a bigger variety of people than at any UN summit' she thought letting her eyes going from the old tall man over the small boys to the grumpy looking group of bearded man and from there onwards to a group of beautiful blond men with the same weird ears as Elrond until her eyes came to rest on two men that looked like normal men. 'Apart from the clothing and the long hair.'
Then one of the boys took a few steps forward, placed a ring on the podium in the middle and suddenly they were all shouting at each other. The only thing Serena could understand from this chaos was that this ring was evil and had to be destroyed in a certain Mount Doom. 'How can a ring be evil? But then, how did I get here and those ears?'
Legolas had jumped up with the others when the ring had been produced, but now he stood outside of the crowd and watched the woman that had accompanied Elrond. He had never seen anybody as beautiful as her. Long black hair that shone in the afternoon sun, a flawless yet almost white skin and eyes that were even darker than her hair. 'How can anybody have black eyes?' he wondered. In that moment she raised her hand and brushed a few strands of her hair back. 'She's not an elf, she's a mortal woman.' Now Legolas was even more interested to know what she was doing here.
'She is beautiful.'
Finally the old man calmed the group down and Elrond appointed the people that were to accompany the boy in his mission to destroy the ring. Serena tried to remember the names, Gandalf ( the old man), Aragorn (one of the two normal looking men, the shabbier), Boromir (the less shabby one), Legolas (obviously an elf, blond and handsome with weird ears), Gimli (the grumpiest of the grumpy bunch), Frodo (the boy that had shown the ring), Sam (another boy), Merry and Pippin ( yet two other boys). Finally Elrond looked at the nine and looked at Serena. "The journey to the golden woods will be accompanied by danger and peril. For this way a guardian was sent from another world. She will go with you." Seeing the confusion in Serena's eyes he held out his hand and led her down to the fellowship.
"Serena, I know you have a lot of questions, but they will be answered on your way."
'What is this all about?' Serena wondered. Then one of the boys stepped forward and greeted her. "I am Frodo and those" pointing at the other three boys "are Sam, Merry and Pippin. We are hobbits." "Hobbits?" "Halflings, small people" The man who had said that was, if she recalled it correctly, Boromir. "You are Boromir aren't you?" "Yes Milady I am at your service." Serena gave him a sarcastic look and took the next man's hand. Aragorn greeted her friendly and introduced the rest.
"We are leaving in seven days." Elrond's words had the effect of a wake up call on Serena. The games, the competition… Suddenly the room began to spin around her and without any sound she fell on the ground. Or better would have fallen, if Legolas, who had watched her closely the entire time, hadn't jumped forward and captured her in his arms.
Slowly he lowered the girl on the bed, while Elrond and Aragorn tried to find out what was wrong with her. 'She is as light as a feather, yet there is a strength in her.'
Serena opened her eyes and realized that she was in her bed again. Two men were leaning over her and a third one stood silently on the other end. Confused she looked around, when it all came back to her and she began to push the men away. "Why did you do this to me?" Her anguished scream shocked all three men. Aragorn watched her closely and saw the anger, the pain and for a short moment the hate that she felt against him and his friends. "Do what to you?" His voice was laced with concern at her obvious unease to be here.
"I've practised for nineteen years, never allowed myself to live, watched every bite I ate, I put away everything that mattered for this day. And then you come and decide that I must help you in some stupid quest? What you have done? You have just destroyed my life!"
With those words she seemed to break and tears formed themselves in her black eyes. Serena couldn't believe it that she had almost allowed her emotions to take over. Closing her eyes she blocked her surroundings out and tried to breathe to calm down. In front of her inner eye she travelled to her secret place, concentrating hard on conjuring up the image of that beautiful lagoon until she could almost feel the wind on her skin and smell the water of the sea.
Legolas had not been surprised when she had started to cry, however what happened then had taken him unprepared for he had never seen anything like that. Serena seemed to close down any gates even closing her eyes. Slowly her breathing calmed and as she opened her eyes they were bare any emotion. A shiver ran through the elf when he realized that the girl had completely shut away any feelings.
Serena looked at the men and knowing that no matter what she did, the games were lost, she decided that she would do as they wanted. "I will go with you"
