Chapter 3
Jennie woke and looked around. Everything looked strange. She groaned and sat up. She looked out of the window to see the sun rising. "I wonder what time it is?" she said, glancing at her watch. She looked back at her watch slowly. It had stopped! Then she remembered that things in the 'real world' had stopped. She sighed. Today she would plan with her friends whether to go and find the book and the page and then somehow they could get back home. 'But Steph and Heawood might not feel too good at the moment,' she remembered. Well, maybe they would have to wait until tomorrow to go on their quest. Jennie got dressed and opened the door. There was a long corridor going in both directions. Jennie bit her lip. Well, she did have a long time. She might as well try and find her way to the food hall. So she took the corridor that sloped slightly downwards. But before she got to the bottom an elf called, "Where are you going, Jennie?" It was Ceovern. Jennie smiled sheepishly. "I was trying to find the way to breakfast," she said. "Follow me, you are going the wrong way," Ceovern answered turning on his heel and going left. Jennie ran to catch up with him. She followed him round more twisting corridors until they came to a big room. Jennie drew in the nice smell of food and her stomach rumbled. Lots of elves were seated at the tables, and at one table were Nat, Steph and Heawood. They waved her over and she sat down. "Jen! What did you tell Elrond?" Nat asked. Jennie smiled. "I told him the truth," she said, buttering some bread. Nat let out a sigh of relief. "Good, me too," she said, "Do you have the page or the book?" Jennie shook her head, "We have to go and look for them. I thought today but I guess you two have to be questioned as well?" Steph nodded, "Why are we here? It's all your fault, Heawood. You found the page" Heawood frowned, "No it's not. Jennie put the two of them together" "But it was Nat's book" Jennie said. "But Steph snatched it from Jennie" Nat said. They all stared at each other. "I guess we're all partially to blame," The others nodded in agreement. They carried on eating their breakfast. "This food is yummy!" Steph said. Heawood nodded. "It delicious!" Heawood said. "Shame they don't have any chocolate though" Jennie said. "Yeah, I wonder what sort of sport they play?" Nat said. "Nat, I can assure you that they won't have cricket," Jennie said. "Oh well, they might" Nat replied. Steph rolled her eyes. "Yeah, they might have theme parks too, eh Nat?" she said. "Shut up, Steph." Nat snapped. Steph laughed and bit into her toast. When breakfast was over, Steph and Heawood went to be questioned. Nat and Jennie sat outside in the grounds. "Are we leaving tomorrow?" Nat asked. "I want to, but I think they might keep us here until Elrond has finished with us" "What you mean, like finished questioning?" "Yeah, or maybe they'll only let us leave when Steph and Heawood are better" "Hmm. Did you see those bruises on Steph's head?"
"Yeah. They look nasty" "They can't just keep us here for questioning though?" "Maybe he doesn't want us to go because we won't last two minutes out there" "We will!" "Nat, seriously. We don't know how to use a sword, fire a bow, swing an axe..." "Alright, I understand. But we did some archery on P.G.L.!" Jennie sighed, "Yeah, and that 30 seconds of knowledge will help us kill thousands or orcs! I think maybe Elrond might teach us a thing or two before we go plunging into the wilderness without a clue where we're going!" "Let's hope so! This is before the whole ring thing right?" "I guess so why?" "Well, if we find the book, we can tell them what will happen" "What?" "I mean, think about it, we have the book written on their existence and what will happen to them when they go on their journey" "I still don't get you. What are you on about, Nat?" "Well, if we have the book, we can re-write the story. We can stop Borromir dying if we tell them that if they go to Amon Hen, Borromir will die." "Clever! So we can basically re-write the whole book!" "Yes, exactly!" They stared at each other for a moment before laughing. Then Nat got up and danced around singing "We can save Borromir!" Jennie smiled happily, but her smile soon disappeared. "Um, but Nat? We don't have the book" Nat stopped dancing and began to bite her nails. "I forgot about that" "But we have to find the book to get back home, so we have to find it anyway" "And when we find it, we can get back home and stop Borromir dying!"
"We can also tell them about Helm's deep and the Black Riders and stuff!" "This is going to be really cool" "Yeah, but really scary" "Oh yes, we're in danger too. If Sauron finds out that his enemies have four magic people who can predict the future he'll try and kill us!" "Or kidnap us for himself" "Ok, this might not be as easy as I thought" "But we can do it, we're not in the story so he doesn't know we exist, so we're not in any danger so long as he doesn't find out that we can tell the story of the Lord of the Rings." They got up and went inside to the food hall. Ceovern was there and he greeted them. "Do you need something to do?" he asked. "Yes, could you please show us to the story room?" "Of course, does Natalie wish to go there too?" Nat blushed, "Please call me Nat. Yes, I would like to go there too" "Follow me then," said Ceovern, leading them along the maze of gleaming corridors. They followed him to a bright room where many elves were sitting. Not just elves though, there were also men and children. Jennie and Nat sat down next to a tall man with a beard. Then an elf stood up and everyone fell silent. He smiled warmly and said, "Welcome to Rivendell, my friends. Today I shall tell you the tale of the lonely mountain, and how the treasure was won back from the evil dragon, Smaug" Jennie and Nat listened intently, they had read this story a lot of times, but somehow it seemed different when someone told it out loud. When the elf had finished everyone clapped loudly. Ceovern came in and tapped them on the shoulder. "You are called for," he said. They got up and followed him through to another grand hall. He took them to the hall and said, "Lord Elrond, Nat and Jennie are here" Then he bowed and left the hall. Elrond smiled at them. Heawood and Steph were already there. Jennie and Nat sat down next to them. "Now," Elrond began, "I know that you know nothing of sword skills, or how to use a bow and arrow, so my friends and I have agreed to teach you the skills you need to complete your quest" "Thank you" they said in unison. Elrond smiled warmly. "I have given it some thought and some elves are already out looking for the two keys, the book and the page. But there is something that you must know. There is a ring, a ring that was forged by the Dark Lord Sauron years ago..." "We know, we know. And Frodo Baggins has to carry the ring to Mount Doom and destroy it or else Middle-Earth will fall into darkness." Steph said in a dreary tone. Elrond stared at her and Jennie and Nat held their breath. Elrond eventually broke the silence, "How do you know all this?"
"It's written in a book called the Lord of the Rings. Nat has a copy. That's how we got here. Nat got out her copy of The Lord of the Rings and Jennie put the page together and BAM, we end up here" Elrond turned to Jennie, "You told me that you did not know the name of the book" "I'm sorry, Lord Elrond. I didn't think you'd believe me if I told you that the book was called the Lord of the Rings and it had you in it" "It had me in it? What does it say? Does Frodo complete his quest?"
"Yes. He does. But Borromir dies" "Who's Borromir? I do not know him yet. When do I meet him?" "At the council you call to determine the fate of the ring" "So this means that you can tell us everything that happens, what will happen?" "I guess so" "And can you prevent deaths then, if you tell us when it will happen?" "I suppose we can yes" "But will you need the book?" "Yes, I cannot remember everything that happens" "Then we must get that book! Middle-Earth depends on it!" Ceovern suddenly appeared in the doorway, "Lord Elrond! Lord Elrond! They found it, they've found the book!"
Jennie woke and looked around. Everything looked strange. She groaned and sat up. She looked out of the window to see the sun rising. "I wonder what time it is?" she said, glancing at her watch. She looked back at her watch slowly. It had stopped! Then she remembered that things in the 'real world' had stopped. She sighed. Today she would plan with her friends whether to go and find the book and the page and then somehow they could get back home. 'But Steph and Heawood might not feel too good at the moment,' she remembered. Well, maybe they would have to wait until tomorrow to go on their quest. Jennie got dressed and opened the door. There was a long corridor going in both directions. Jennie bit her lip. Well, she did have a long time. She might as well try and find her way to the food hall. So she took the corridor that sloped slightly downwards. But before she got to the bottom an elf called, "Where are you going, Jennie?" It was Ceovern. Jennie smiled sheepishly. "I was trying to find the way to breakfast," she said. "Follow me, you are going the wrong way," Ceovern answered turning on his heel and going left. Jennie ran to catch up with him. She followed him round more twisting corridors until they came to a big room. Jennie drew in the nice smell of food and her stomach rumbled. Lots of elves were seated at the tables, and at one table were Nat, Steph and Heawood. They waved her over and she sat down. "Jen! What did you tell Elrond?" Nat asked. Jennie smiled. "I told him the truth," she said, buttering some bread. Nat let out a sigh of relief. "Good, me too," she said, "Do you have the page or the book?" Jennie shook her head, "We have to go and look for them. I thought today but I guess you two have to be questioned as well?" Steph nodded, "Why are we here? It's all your fault, Heawood. You found the page" Heawood frowned, "No it's not. Jennie put the two of them together" "But it was Nat's book" Jennie said. "But Steph snatched it from Jennie" Nat said. They all stared at each other. "I guess we're all partially to blame," The others nodded in agreement. They carried on eating their breakfast. "This food is yummy!" Steph said. Heawood nodded. "It delicious!" Heawood said. "Shame they don't have any chocolate though" Jennie said. "Yeah, I wonder what sort of sport they play?" Nat said. "Nat, I can assure you that they won't have cricket," Jennie said. "Oh well, they might" Nat replied. Steph rolled her eyes. "Yeah, they might have theme parks too, eh Nat?" she said. "Shut up, Steph." Nat snapped. Steph laughed and bit into her toast. When breakfast was over, Steph and Heawood went to be questioned. Nat and Jennie sat outside in the grounds. "Are we leaving tomorrow?" Nat asked. "I want to, but I think they might keep us here until Elrond has finished with us" "What you mean, like finished questioning?" "Yeah, or maybe they'll only let us leave when Steph and Heawood are better" "Hmm. Did you see those bruises on Steph's head?"
"Yeah. They look nasty" "They can't just keep us here for questioning though?" "Maybe he doesn't want us to go because we won't last two minutes out there" "We will!" "Nat, seriously. We don't know how to use a sword, fire a bow, swing an axe..." "Alright, I understand. But we did some archery on P.G.L.!" Jennie sighed, "Yeah, and that 30 seconds of knowledge will help us kill thousands or orcs! I think maybe Elrond might teach us a thing or two before we go plunging into the wilderness without a clue where we're going!" "Let's hope so! This is before the whole ring thing right?" "I guess so why?" "Well, if we find the book, we can tell them what will happen" "What?" "I mean, think about it, we have the book written on their existence and what will happen to them when they go on their journey" "I still don't get you. What are you on about, Nat?" "Well, if we have the book, we can re-write the story. We can stop Borromir dying if we tell them that if they go to Amon Hen, Borromir will die." "Clever! So we can basically re-write the whole book!" "Yes, exactly!" They stared at each other for a moment before laughing. Then Nat got up and danced around singing "We can save Borromir!" Jennie smiled happily, but her smile soon disappeared. "Um, but Nat? We don't have the book" Nat stopped dancing and began to bite her nails. "I forgot about that" "But we have to find the book to get back home, so we have to find it anyway" "And when we find it, we can get back home and stop Borromir dying!"
"We can also tell them about Helm's deep and the Black Riders and stuff!" "This is going to be really cool" "Yeah, but really scary" "Oh yes, we're in danger too. If Sauron finds out that his enemies have four magic people who can predict the future he'll try and kill us!" "Or kidnap us for himself" "Ok, this might not be as easy as I thought" "But we can do it, we're not in the story so he doesn't know we exist, so we're not in any danger so long as he doesn't find out that we can tell the story of the Lord of the Rings." They got up and went inside to the food hall. Ceovern was there and he greeted them. "Do you need something to do?" he asked. "Yes, could you please show us to the story room?" "Of course, does Natalie wish to go there too?" Nat blushed, "Please call me Nat. Yes, I would like to go there too" "Follow me then," said Ceovern, leading them along the maze of gleaming corridors. They followed him to a bright room where many elves were sitting. Not just elves though, there were also men and children. Jennie and Nat sat down next to a tall man with a beard. Then an elf stood up and everyone fell silent. He smiled warmly and said, "Welcome to Rivendell, my friends. Today I shall tell you the tale of the lonely mountain, and how the treasure was won back from the evil dragon, Smaug" Jennie and Nat listened intently, they had read this story a lot of times, but somehow it seemed different when someone told it out loud. When the elf had finished everyone clapped loudly. Ceovern came in and tapped them on the shoulder. "You are called for," he said. They got up and followed him through to another grand hall. He took them to the hall and said, "Lord Elrond, Nat and Jennie are here" Then he bowed and left the hall. Elrond smiled at them. Heawood and Steph were already there. Jennie and Nat sat down next to them. "Now," Elrond began, "I know that you know nothing of sword skills, or how to use a bow and arrow, so my friends and I have agreed to teach you the skills you need to complete your quest" "Thank you" they said in unison. Elrond smiled warmly. "I have given it some thought and some elves are already out looking for the two keys, the book and the page. But there is something that you must know. There is a ring, a ring that was forged by the Dark Lord Sauron years ago..." "We know, we know. And Frodo Baggins has to carry the ring to Mount Doom and destroy it or else Middle-Earth will fall into darkness." Steph said in a dreary tone. Elrond stared at her and Jennie and Nat held their breath. Elrond eventually broke the silence, "How do you know all this?"
"It's written in a book called the Lord of the Rings. Nat has a copy. That's how we got here. Nat got out her copy of The Lord of the Rings and Jennie put the page together and BAM, we end up here" Elrond turned to Jennie, "You told me that you did not know the name of the book" "I'm sorry, Lord Elrond. I didn't think you'd believe me if I told you that the book was called the Lord of the Rings and it had you in it" "It had me in it? What does it say? Does Frodo complete his quest?"
"Yes. He does. But Borromir dies" "Who's Borromir? I do not know him yet. When do I meet him?" "At the council you call to determine the fate of the ring" "So this means that you can tell us everything that happens, what will happen?" "I guess so" "And can you prevent deaths then, if you tell us when it will happen?" "I suppose we can yes" "But will you need the book?" "Yes, I cannot remember everything that happens" "Then we must get that book! Middle-Earth depends on it!" Ceovern suddenly appeared in the doorway, "Lord Elrond! Lord Elrond! They found it, they've found the book!"