Chapter 2
A/N: Okay, right after this, I'll comfort Draco by going through and getting rid of all the typos. Also, I'm making her feel better by making Katie's name a bit more exotic... without changing the name itself. ^-^ My current goal- a chapter a day, maybe one every 2 days on school days.
***
Katie looked around anxiously, waiting for the cup of tea in her hands to cool down enough to drink. Everywhere she looked, there were sprite-like people, with pointed ears and beautiful faces, singing songs in a language she had never heard before. Blowing carefully on the mug, watching the steam dissolve into the morning air, she wondered if this was real, or all some too-wonderful dream.
"Now, Katie- you did say your name was Katie, correct?" Gandalf asked, and continued at her pointed nod. "I'll leave out the obvious questions of 'how did you know who we were', and I'll ask you this simple question- why did you try to kill yourself?" Katie gave a guilty start, and looked down at her tea.
"I... I..." she stammered, reluctant to part with any detail of her miserable existence.
"Come now, if you know anything about me, you probably know I've faced quite enough dangers. I doubt anything you say could faze me in the least." Gandalf chided gently.
"But that's exactly it!" Katie blurted out. "There's nothing keeping me here- my family hates me, my friends don't care, and I want to do something worthwhile that doesn't involve politics! I want to go on grand adventures, and make a name for myself, and get some respect!" She blushed furiously at Gandalf's questioning look.
"Adventure isn't all about fame and such- people die and not all adventurers meet good ends." Gandalf said softly. "I remember Thorin Oakenshield...."
"As do I. He was the 'King of the Mountain' in the prelude to the Lord of the Rings series. He was killed in the Battle of Five Armies." Katie instantly answered with a grin. "His goal was to retrieve treasure from the dragon Smaug, who had killed the dwarven inhabitants years earlier. His companions were, in order of their arrival at Bilbo's house, Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin Bombur, Bifur, and Bofur,- oh, and you and Bilbo, of course." Gandalf laughed, pleased.
"It seems you know almost as much about our adventures as I do myself!" He chortled, and Katie smiled at him, sipping at her tea. "What else do you know?"
Katie spent the next hour or so repeating the books almost word for word. She told the story so well that Bilbo found himself listening in several times, nodding in agreement. The elves, who had heard only the hobbits' versions, were keen to hear it retold by yet another person.
"...and then the ship sailed away. From there, the series ended, and we've only been able to guess what has happened." Katie concluded. Many appreciative murmurs rose, and Katie noticed her audience.
"Well, it seems you know quite enough about us- what about yourself?" An elf called out, and the others all agreed. Katie looked startled.
"M-myself?" She stuttered. "Well... it starts like this...."
Sakura Katherine Blyse was born November 2nd, 1985, in a normal hospital, to a normal couple, in the normal way. She was (for that matter, she still is) very normal-looking- two eyes, two ears, one nose, and one constantly wailing mouth. As a matter of fact, she was completely normal for her first few years of life, where she played a little, learned a little, loved a little, and was even loved for a little.
Then school began.
"SAKURA? What sort of name is that?" A stuck-up blonde boy named Richard would ask. "It sounds stupid!"
"Stupid Sakura!" A girl shrieked, and the class laughed as little Sakura tried hiding behind her mother's knees.
"It's all right, Sakura." Her mother told her, wrenching her away. "They'll learn."
But they didn't. Day by day, Sakura was forced to put up with the insults and joking that followed her foreign name. And each day, she would go to her mother and say, "Mom, help me." Her mother would smile at her and say, "I love you, but you just need to understand- they'll learn."
Her father was no better. He was always at work, as the captain of the charter boat, "Mary Anne" (her mother's name). When he was home, he was red-eyed and sometimes drunk. Little Sakura quickly learned to avoid him.
Finally, a ray of hope came. They would be moving to the West Coast, and Sakura would be going to a new school. Not wishing to ruin her chances at this new school, she enrolled as, "Katherine Sakura Blyse", and told her parents to call her by her middle name only, or else.
It worked, more or less. People at her new school talked to her, but she hadn't the slightest clue on how to treat people. She bungled it, and anyone who became too close to her soon turned away, disappointed of her social skills. 'Katie' then turned away from them, pushing away those who would understand her and looked for understanding in herself. She began to slip from reality, and disappeared into her own world.
However, she had never felt the need to kill herself until she found The Knife. The Knife was a relic left to her by a friend who did commit suicide, along with a note, "You never know when you'll need it." Depressed, she had fingered The Knife until dawn, wondering why her friend had left her the instrument of his own death.
From there, things went downhill. Her father soon took ill, and her mother got a job. She was expected to do work, never complain, and get good grades. Pressure after pressure mounted, and she fell into despair.
The camp was silent a few moments. This was a challenge they had never faced- the fun-loving elves had never though of what it would be like to have no hopes and no dreams worth living for. Frodo and Bilbo both fidgeted nervously in the eerie silence. Katie stared at her feet, having finished off her tea.
"Well, it seems that there are all kinds of troubles out there, doesn't it?" Frodo finally broke the ice. "Take our own dilemma- our ship just sank, and we've a nasty feeling about the going-ons at home. Without some sort of new magic, we can't even get home, unless the current changes." Katie's eyes lit up.
"Over here, we've got electricity and such... I can get you a good boat, if you need it. I don't know how you'd manage to get back to Middle Earth, but it can easily overpower the current." Katie grinned. "And I can go with you!"
"Now, that might not be the best idea...." an elderly elf began, then snapped his mouth shut at Katie's glare.
"I doubt you have any choice. I know how to sail it- it sails much differently then your own boats. And I am not getting left behind!" She demanded defiantly. The elf blinked at her.
"Come now, we can decide this later. In the meantime, we've missed breakfast, brunch, and tea-time. I've no care to miss another meal!" Bilbo said, and the elves laughed.
"Well, we dare not keep poor Bilbo Baggins from his precious meals!" Gandalf said jovially. "Come, now, Katie- or should I call you Sakura? We've rations enough to last a few weeks, and I say we should enjoy them." Katie agreed, and Frodo was the first to lead her away, making small talk.
Gandalf watched them go away, and especially looked at Katie. He sensed something about that girl... he didn't know what. It was like a magic he had never seen before. He permitted himself a small smile as he followed the rest of the group to the food stores. This would be a very interesting adventure, it seemed.
A/N: Okay, right after this, I'll comfort Draco by going through and getting rid of all the typos. Also, I'm making her feel better by making Katie's name a bit more exotic... without changing the name itself. ^-^ My current goal- a chapter a day, maybe one every 2 days on school days.
***
Katie looked around anxiously, waiting for the cup of tea in her hands to cool down enough to drink. Everywhere she looked, there were sprite-like people, with pointed ears and beautiful faces, singing songs in a language she had never heard before. Blowing carefully on the mug, watching the steam dissolve into the morning air, she wondered if this was real, or all some too-wonderful dream.
"Now, Katie- you did say your name was Katie, correct?" Gandalf asked, and continued at her pointed nod. "I'll leave out the obvious questions of 'how did you know who we were', and I'll ask you this simple question- why did you try to kill yourself?" Katie gave a guilty start, and looked down at her tea.
"I... I..." she stammered, reluctant to part with any detail of her miserable existence.
"Come now, if you know anything about me, you probably know I've faced quite enough dangers. I doubt anything you say could faze me in the least." Gandalf chided gently.
"But that's exactly it!" Katie blurted out. "There's nothing keeping me here- my family hates me, my friends don't care, and I want to do something worthwhile that doesn't involve politics! I want to go on grand adventures, and make a name for myself, and get some respect!" She blushed furiously at Gandalf's questioning look.
"Adventure isn't all about fame and such- people die and not all adventurers meet good ends." Gandalf said softly. "I remember Thorin Oakenshield...."
"As do I. He was the 'King of the Mountain' in the prelude to the Lord of the Rings series. He was killed in the Battle of Five Armies." Katie instantly answered with a grin. "His goal was to retrieve treasure from the dragon Smaug, who had killed the dwarven inhabitants years earlier. His companions were, in order of their arrival at Bilbo's house, Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin Bombur, Bifur, and Bofur,- oh, and you and Bilbo, of course." Gandalf laughed, pleased.
"It seems you know almost as much about our adventures as I do myself!" He chortled, and Katie smiled at him, sipping at her tea. "What else do you know?"
Katie spent the next hour or so repeating the books almost word for word. She told the story so well that Bilbo found himself listening in several times, nodding in agreement. The elves, who had heard only the hobbits' versions, were keen to hear it retold by yet another person.
"...and then the ship sailed away. From there, the series ended, and we've only been able to guess what has happened." Katie concluded. Many appreciative murmurs rose, and Katie noticed her audience.
"Well, it seems you know quite enough about us- what about yourself?" An elf called out, and the others all agreed. Katie looked startled.
"M-myself?" She stuttered. "Well... it starts like this...."
Sakura Katherine Blyse was born November 2nd, 1985, in a normal hospital, to a normal couple, in the normal way. She was (for that matter, she still is) very normal-looking- two eyes, two ears, one nose, and one constantly wailing mouth. As a matter of fact, she was completely normal for her first few years of life, where she played a little, learned a little, loved a little, and was even loved for a little.
Then school began.
"SAKURA? What sort of name is that?" A stuck-up blonde boy named Richard would ask. "It sounds stupid!"
"Stupid Sakura!" A girl shrieked, and the class laughed as little Sakura tried hiding behind her mother's knees.
"It's all right, Sakura." Her mother told her, wrenching her away. "They'll learn."
But they didn't. Day by day, Sakura was forced to put up with the insults and joking that followed her foreign name. And each day, she would go to her mother and say, "Mom, help me." Her mother would smile at her and say, "I love you, but you just need to understand- they'll learn."
Her father was no better. He was always at work, as the captain of the charter boat, "Mary Anne" (her mother's name). When he was home, he was red-eyed and sometimes drunk. Little Sakura quickly learned to avoid him.
Finally, a ray of hope came. They would be moving to the West Coast, and Sakura would be going to a new school. Not wishing to ruin her chances at this new school, she enrolled as, "Katherine Sakura Blyse", and told her parents to call her by her middle name only, or else.
It worked, more or less. People at her new school talked to her, but she hadn't the slightest clue on how to treat people. She bungled it, and anyone who became too close to her soon turned away, disappointed of her social skills. 'Katie' then turned away from them, pushing away those who would understand her and looked for understanding in herself. She began to slip from reality, and disappeared into her own world.
However, she had never felt the need to kill herself until she found The Knife. The Knife was a relic left to her by a friend who did commit suicide, along with a note, "You never know when you'll need it." Depressed, she had fingered The Knife until dawn, wondering why her friend had left her the instrument of his own death.
From there, things went downhill. Her father soon took ill, and her mother got a job. She was expected to do work, never complain, and get good grades. Pressure after pressure mounted, and she fell into despair.
The camp was silent a few moments. This was a challenge they had never faced- the fun-loving elves had never though of what it would be like to have no hopes and no dreams worth living for. Frodo and Bilbo both fidgeted nervously in the eerie silence. Katie stared at her feet, having finished off her tea.
"Well, it seems that there are all kinds of troubles out there, doesn't it?" Frodo finally broke the ice. "Take our own dilemma- our ship just sank, and we've a nasty feeling about the going-ons at home. Without some sort of new magic, we can't even get home, unless the current changes." Katie's eyes lit up.
"Over here, we've got electricity and such... I can get you a good boat, if you need it. I don't know how you'd manage to get back to Middle Earth, but it can easily overpower the current." Katie grinned. "And I can go with you!"
"Now, that might not be the best idea...." an elderly elf began, then snapped his mouth shut at Katie's glare.
"I doubt you have any choice. I know how to sail it- it sails much differently then your own boats. And I am not getting left behind!" She demanded defiantly. The elf blinked at her.
"Come now, we can decide this later. In the meantime, we've missed breakfast, brunch, and tea-time. I've no care to miss another meal!" Bilbo said, and the elves laughed.
"Well, we dare not keep poor Bilbo Baggins from his precious meals!" Gandalf said jovially. "Come, now, Katie- or should I call you Sakura? We've rations enough to last a few weeks, and I say we should enjoy them." Katie agreed, and Frodo was the first to lead her away, making small talk.
Gandalf watched them go away, and especially looked at Katie. He sensed something about that girl... he didn't know what. It was like a magic he had never seen before. He permitted himself a small smile as he followed the rest of the group to the food stores. This would be a very interesting adventure, it seemed.
