The bottom of the boat grated against sand, and I sat up with a gasp.

"Di-did I miss the kings?" I asked, one hand around the ring.

"The what?" Aragorn asked, stepping to shore and pushing the elven boat further.

"You know - the big stone kings!" I put my left hand out in front of me, palm bent up, and frowned. Aragorn laughed, a sound that eased some of my fears.

"Yes, arwen en amin, you missed the kings," he ruffled my hair, smiling. His hand strayed down my hair, and then he took my chin and forced me look at him. His eyes turned sad. "You are still a child," he murmured. "For all this, you are still a child."

"I - I - " I stammered, not knowing what to say. Aragorn turned away from me and I clambered out of the boat, blushing a bit.

"Wait - " Shannon was saying, as she helped unload the boats. "Legolas means 'greenleaf?'" She sounded confused. "So your name is Greenleaf Greenleaf? Isn't that... kind of repetitive?"

I turned to try to smile at my friends, then stopped. Something was coming through the bushes.

"WEEZER!" yelled the girl in the khaki shorts, pushing at her glasses and grinning. She made the "W" with her hands, smiled, and then continued on her way. Everyone stared after her, and that's when the stranger decided to attack.

With a bloodcurdling shriek, he jumped out of the tree above me.

Not again! I thought, as we tumbled to the ground. I kicked and scratched, and Legolas and Aragorn heaved the stranger off of me. He struggled and swore, trying to break away from their grasp.

Shannon helped me to my feet, and I was shaking as Legolas bound the stranger's hands behind his back. All was quiet, except for the distant cries of "Weezer!"

I stared at the stranger. He had been following me, attacking me, searching for the ring since the beginning of my quest. His breath was ragged underneath the dark hood, and I felt the breath catch in my own throat. Would the identity of the stranger finally be revealed?

Aragorn reached up and pulled the dark hood back.

I felt my mouth drop open. "Miss Whittemore?" I gasped.



My band teacher sneered at me. "That's right," the chubby blonde said. "Miss Whittemore - Miss Ana Whittemore, period 8, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays!" She had a wild look in her eye.

"She forgot Tuesdays and Thursdays," Ann whispered.

"Shh!" hissed Veronica.

"You're the one after the ring?" I asked, putting a protective hand around it. "But why? Why?"

"B flat concert scale, B flat concert scale, half notes!" Miss Whittemore shrieked. One eye was crossed and her whole body was shaking. "That's my life - B flat concert scales - and - and YOU! A room full of ninth graders every day! Concert F, everyone please!" She shook her head and grinned psychotically. "But with the ring - I could be powerful and terrible all at once! No one would dare oppose me! All will love me and despair!" She cackled evilly, and I began to back away.

Legolas looked at Aragorn. "What do we do with her?" he asked, incredulous. But he needed have worried - Miss Whittemore wrenched herself free, and leapt for me. I ducked and she went tumbling into the Anduin.

Wide eyed, we all watched as the river sucked her away. I'll never be quite certain, but I could've sworn I heard her screaming - "G harmonic minoooooooooooor!"



"Dear God," said Molly.

"I don't know about you," Veronica muttered and shook her head. "But I'm quitting band."

Ann glanced around the campsite. "Where's Meg?"

Everyone fell silent, and Shannon looked up. Her heart beat a little faster as she scanned the clearing saw Dan's shield, abandoned by a boulder.





I walked quietly through the forest, thinking. Gandalf had said that when the people from my world got in, the barriers were weak. If the barriers were weak here, then my friends could go home. If I left now they could go home - because I knew I had to leave. Every step the ring got colder, got heavier, and suddenly I knew why I was chosen to bear it.

Middle Earth needed the elvish prince, Legolas. Middle Earth needed a king, Aragorn. Middle earth needed the real Frodo and the real Sam to tend the Shire, to grow beauty.

But Middle Earth did not need me.



I was going to die.



"Meg?"

I stiffened and turned. "Dan," I said, simply, looking up at my tall friend. His face was calm, but his hair was damp and fell in dark slashes against his pale forehead. The leaves on the forest floor ruffled, and I shivered.

"You suffer, Meg," Dan said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I see it in you, every day." His voice was smooth and soothing, but I flinched as his fingers tightened. His voice dropped to whisper. "You don't have to suffer alone, Megan." His hand trembled, and he took a step closer.

I started to panic - then chided myself. This was my old friend Dan! The one that shared his cookies in the third grade - the one that helped me paint my bedroom in the sixth grade - the one that I go to the movies with - the one that helps me out in computer class -

I was tired all of a sudden, and I put my head against his shoulder. "Oh, Dan." I tried not to cry.

"Shh, Meg," he said. He bent down and kissed the top of my head, tipped my head back and kissed my lips. Thoughts of Peter flashed through my head, and I tried to pull back.

"Dan, no, I, " I stammered, but he kissed me again. I was so flustered, I didn't feel his hands at the back of my neck until -

- the chain snapped.

I yelled and pushed myself away, grabbing at the front of my shirt for the ring. "Dan! You monster!"

"The only monster is you!" Dan said, as I clutched the ring with white knuckles. "You think you're the hero, do you? Give the ring to me! Give it to me and I will bend it to my will! I will stop all this, all this pain, all this madness!"

"You're crazy!" I screamed. Dan growled and launched himself at me. I did the only thing that I could think of: I put on the ring.



Wind howled in my ears, and everything went dark with shadow and screams. Dan was a skeleton before me, pawing at the ground and at the air. I kicked him, viciously, and he went sprawling.

"Meg-eg-eg-eg-eg!" his voice rang in my ears. "You will betray us all! You will fail! You will die-ie-ie-ie!"

Pressing my hands to my ears, I ran and ran and ran. The ring burned on my hand, and I gasped for breath in this nightmare world. I gave a yell as the ground pitched beneath me, and held on to a stone slab for dear life. A tower rose before me, and the image of a great, burning, lidless eye. Wicked laughter ripped across the bloody sky, and I struggled against the power of Sauron.

I will not come to you! I will come to you! I will not! I will! Never, forever, and I -

I grabbed at my left hand, pulling at the ring. It slid off, and I fell backwards on to the hard ground. It was a moment before I could catch my breath, and another before I could stand.

"Arwen en amin?"

I spun around to face Aragorn. He put a hand on his hilt and came closer.

"Stay back!" I cried.

"Megan? Megan!" Aragorn cried as I stumbled backwards. He tipped his head forward and to the side. "I swore to protect you, Arwen tel'Korma - why do you run?"

I gulped. "C-Can you protect me from yourself?" I held the ring out, bitter. "What would you do?"

Aragorn looked at the ring, then at my face. He knelt and folded my fingers over the ring. "I would have followed you to the end," he whispered.

I drew a ragged breath. "I - I have to leave, now. Please - tell the others. They won't understand..." I was shaking as I put the ring back on to the broken chain, and knotted it firmly around my neck. "Aragorn - " I threw my arms around him. He stiffened, surprised, then hugged me back. After a moment, sniffling and wiping my nose on my sleeve, I drew back.

Aragorn looked at my waist. "Meg!"

I drew Sting - and it was glowing a violent blue. "Orcs - run!" Aragorn said, drawing his own sword. "Run!"

I turned tail and stumbled down the rocky hillside, twisting my ankles and panting from the fear. Orcs were swarming all over now, yelling and screaming. I stumbled to a halt and pressed my back against a tree.

"Meg!" called Veronica. She and Ann were hiding in some bushes - Molly was no where to be seen. "Over here! Hide!"

Gasping, I stared at my two friends. I bit my lip and felt a salty tear run down my face.

"What - what's she doing?" Veronica whispered.

"She's leaving!" breathed Ann.

Footsteps pounded - the orcs were coming closer. It was then that my friends did the bravest, or the stupidest, thing of their lives.

Ann leapt out of hiding. "Yo! Ugly dudes! Over here!"

Veronica followed suit. "Over here! This way!" she yelled, and they plunged away into the forest, leading the orcs away from me.

Sobbing outright, now, I threw myself at the boats on the shore. I grabbed the first supplies that came to my hands and shoved them into the boat, then stumbled and tripped as I pushed it into the water.

On top of the hill, after firing shot after shot at the on coming orcs, Shannon turned and saw my boat leaving. "No!" she yelled. "Oh, no you don't!" She slung her bow over one shoulder and began running down to the shore. "No - no you won't I won't let you you little bi-"

"Shannon!"

Shannon stopped, glanced back, and saw Legolas standing there. His bow was slack and his eyes were pained as he called her name a second time, his voice cracking. "Shannon - where are you going?"

Taking a big breath, Shannon raced to the elf, grabbed his face with both hands, and kissed him for a full five seconds. Legolas gasped, then put his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Shannon said, crying, as she broke away. "Namaarie..." she whimpered, turning away to run back towards the boats.

"Shannon!" Legolas cried, reaching one hand out to her. He was standing there, like he was watching everything he ever loved run away...

Shannon slowed her pace for a moment, glancing back. With a tearful sob she wrenched her eyes away and stormed on to the beach.

I was scrabbling with the paddles, just a few feet off shore.

"Megan!" Shannon cried, wading into the water.

"No, Shannon!" I screamed. "Go back! I'm going alone!"

"Of course you are!" Shannon was now up to her waist and swimming. "And I'm (gurgle) comin' with you!"

She grabbed the side of the boat, flung a wet bow and an even wetter quiver at me, and then heaved herself in. She dripped water everywhere, and a little puddle began to collect at the bottom.

Shannon pulled a wayward piece of wet hair from her eyes. "I - I don't intend to lose you, Megan."

Then I lost it. The lines from the movie, the lines from the book, the horror of this whole quest caught up to me. I flung my arms around Shannon and cried. After a moment we picked up the paddles and made it to the other side of the Anduin. We divided up the packs, ate some of the food we couldn't carry, and abandoned the rest with the boat.



Without looking back, holding hands, Shannon and I set off into the wilderness.







End of Part One.
Namaarie, melloneamin.