Chapter 1

A/N: *just read the review* OO; I guess that means that my fanfic isn't that bad... It's my first try at one, you see. ^-^ Well, anyway, I'll continue this now.....

***

There was a sudden and unexpected lurch on the ship. Shouts went up as everyone stumbled, and poor Bilbo would have fallen overboard, if both Frodo and Legolas hadn't jumped for him at the same time. "What happened?" Frodo cried, tugging Bilbo back onto the deck.

"We must have hit the ocean ground!" Legolas realized, and was answered by many elven cries. The ship was turned to the side quickly, but the damage had been done. The ship's hull had been ripped open, and saltwater began flooding the ship. There were panicked voices, and a few of the more bold and military-trained elves began directing everyone into the small wooden crafts that would serve as lifeboats.

"Oh dear...." Frodo said, slightly pale. He felt the pain in his shoulder flare up, as it always would when fear struck.

"Now, now, dear hobbits- no time to panic. Into the lifeboats, that's right!" Gandalf said encouragingly, following them into one of the boats. The boats were set adrift, each boat powered by some magic to head instinctively for the nearest shore.

***

The elves, hobbits, and Gandalf stood at the shore, watching their ship fall beneath the waves. They had enough food to last until they could settle into this new world- but what was it like? Their last chance at going home, it seemed, had just turned into an underwater artifact.

"I think that the first thing to do is to scout around." Gandalf suggested. "Look for someone to ask questions to, find out what resources we have, those kinds of things." Everyone agreed with that idea. 10 elves (Legolas included) were sent to scout around.

It didn't look promising- barren sand all along the coast, small scrubs and no food around, and something that was hard, gray, and might be a road. One of the elves mentioned seeing a cat, but it was feral and ran the moment the elf had approached it. Frodo sighed at the poor report. What would they do...?

"Gandalf! Come here!" Legolas said suddenly, over from some bushes. Gandalf quickly caught up with him, and both looked in the same place.

Lying unconscious there on the ground was a human girl- she couldn't be older then 16. The girl wore a strange manner of clothing- a white loose shirt with short sleeves, a soft black jacket with a hood, and a rough blue material fashioned her pants. She had brownish hair, and the sand below her was drenched in red blood. To her side, there was a black leather backpack, and a red-stained knife. The blood hadn't stopped flowing, but the girl still had a faint pulse.

Gandalf instantly pulled out some bandage, and looked at her wrist. "...She did this to herself...." he muttered, half in shock, half in anger. He quickly bandaged the wound, and scooped the girl up carefully. Legolas got her backpack and disdainfully picked up the bloodied knife, which gleamed in the moonlight. He cocked an ear, feeling something go through him... then it was gone. Legolas puzzled over the feeling for a moment, then hurried to catch up with Gandalf.

Frodo looked over at Gandalf, confused. "Who is that?" He asked quietly, before spotting the already-drenched bandage on the girl's wrist. "What happened? How did it happen? When-" He felt a hobbit-sized hand on his shoulder.

"I think that we need to stand back and let Gandalf do what he can." Bilbo murmured. Frodo hated the thought, but it was right. He stood back, trying to remain unperturbed.

Gandalf looked thoughtfully at the wound. She would recover on her own- weak, perhaps, but alive- now that the wound was bandaged. And they really did need someone to teach them the ropes of this world, or even to get them back home. He sighed mentally. They had come here expecting never to see Middle Earth again... what a remarkable twist of fate, that they now must turn back as soon as they abandoned their homes.

But now, to the task at hand. Gandalf replaced the drenched bandages, adding an herb to the new bandages that would slow the bleeding. "...I think that she'll be conscious again soon, perhaps by tomorrow." He announced. "In the meantime, I think that we should sleep ourselves. In shifts- we don't know what dangers this new world could have." Since Gandalf said this (automatically making it a wise decision), the elves agreed. A watch was set, and Gandalf fell asleep, wondering what would happen in the morning.

He didn't have to wait long.

"GAAAAAAH! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!"

"Please, m'am, calm down...!"

"You... are you an elf? What sort of sick joke is this?!"

"Joke? I am one of the elven kind, yes.... my name is Legolas."

"LIAR! CHEAT! DECIEVER!"

"What are you- hey! Give me that back!"

Gandalf quickly threw off the covers. It appeared his patient was awake... and a little less weak then he had thought she would be. She had Legolas's bow, and was backed cautiously into the ocean, water swirling around her ankles. Legolas watched her cautiously from the shore, not daring to follow in case she dropped his precious bow into the water. Frodo and Bilbo also woke at the noise - along with the rest of the elves - and Gandalf let loose a rich chuckle at the scene. The girl froze, blinking as she saw all the elves, the two hobbits, and now the tall, graceful figure by the shore. She blushed, realizing how silly she must look, standing in the ocean alone.

"You know, I'm thinking that it's just as uncomfortable for you to be standing out there in the water as it is for us to be watching you from the shore, so why don't you come over here and we can talk?" Gandalf called out cheerfully. The girl turned bright red, and waded back onto shore, muttering an apology to Legolas as she passed him back his bow.

"Let me guess- You're Gandalf, right?" She said sarcastically as Gandalf opened his mouth to introduce himself. His mouth shut, surprised. "And the two hobbits would be Bilbo and Frodo, right? You know, if you're going to play a prank on me, you could be a little more original then taking the set-up out of a book." The entire camp was quiet.

"Well, it seems you know us- what is your name?" Frodo asked uneasily. The girl looked at him, eyes narrowing a bit. Blonde hair. Like she had pictured it. Everyone else had said that he had red hair. 'Blonde hair....'

"My name is Katie." She heard herself say, almost unwillingly. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Doing what?" Frodo asked, surprised. "We came to your land, maybe, but we've done nothing else except keep you alive thus far."

"Don't act like I'm so dumb!" She shouted, then awkwardly lowered her voice. "Everyone's read the 'Lord of the Rings' series. I even saw the movie 14 times in the theater. I don't need you rubbing it into my face with this silly prank!" Katie growled at the hobbit. 'But... blonde hair....'

"It seems that, somehow, this world knows of what happened on ours." A younger elf said thoughtfully. Everyone nodded- that must be it!

"Happened, right. It was a fictional story, it's impossible, magic doesn't exist!" Katie denied. The elves all looked at each other, then at Gandalf. Gandalf looked perplexed.

"Of course magic exists...." Seeing the disbelieving look on Katie's face, he decided to demonstrate. He took out a firecracker, one he saved for special performances. Planting it firmly into the ground, he prodded it with his staff.

The firecracker fizzled, then exploded into a bouquet of fiery flowers. A flaming blue butterfly flew from one, and landed delicately on Katie's shoulder before puffing into a raging green phoenix and flying away.

Katie stared, feeling weak at this minor display of that which she had sought so long. "That... that...."

"Come, Katie... let's talk about it." Gandalf suggested. Katie nodded numbly and followed him, still staring after the phoenix as it gave a final shriek and burst into ashes.