Chapter 3

The spinning faded to fireworks, the fireworks faded to sparkles, and the sparkles faded to... trees? Andrea blinked, looking around at the thick forest that had appeared from nowhere.

And there were the tall, blonde, well... not exactly people as in the human sense of the word. They looked almost human, but Andrea had read WAY too many fantasy books to let their unreal features and pointed ears pass for a trick of the light.Really, she wasn't to terribly bothered by their appearance. What DID bother her, however, was the fact that they were all aiming arrows at her. That made her just a tad bit nervous.

"Túl. Hil nev nin." (Come. Follow closely. )

"Er." Andrea glanced at the gleaming tips of the arrow closest to her, and chose her words carefully. If she was lucky, they might just understand her. "I am sure that I would do whatever it is you just said, provided that I could understand it. Given the current circumstances..." She hoped that sounded good and prayed they knew English.

The "being" that apparently was in charge, and who appeared to be male, laughed at her.

"Well spoken, for one so small." He motioned for the others to lower their bows. Andrea let loose a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Come with me and follow closely."

She had really wanted to comment that she wasn't all that short. Well, Ok, so she was rather small and had always seemed young for her age, but still... Self- preservation kicked in around the time she opened her mouth. She managed to squeak out "Whatever you say, sir" instead.

She was lead the thick forest on a narrow trail. 'Enchanted,' she thought to herself as she studied the trees they passed, 'or just really old...or both. I wonder what this place is and how I got here. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the wardrobe. Oh well, no point in worrying now, as long as weapons are put away safely. They were rather pretty bows, though. And this is a nice place, in a severely creepy sort of way.' She was nearly jogging to match strides with the tall beings. "Excuse me... sir? Where exactly are we going?"

"To King Thranduil, so that we may see what is to be done with you."

"Ah, alright then." There wasn't a single light bulb in her memory. She didn't ask more for the moment. Instead, she continued to study her surroundings. Her fingers itched for a sketchbook. 'When traveling to fairy tale worlds, always remember: Pencil, Paper, and good running shoes.' There was a sort of beauty about the place, even if it was the same sort of beauty found in old gothic houses and over- decorated graveyards. Andrea's breath caught in her throat then, they had reached the palace.

Awe is a fairly inadequate word for what it names. "Well Toto, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore. If we had turned at the lamppost, we wouldn't have missed Oz and Narnia. Where do you suppose this road leads now? Never-Never Land? And why on earth did I ever leave without my art set?" She murmured under her breath.

"Pardon?" The being who had been leading stared at her, confusion in his face.

"Nothing." Andrea hadn't meant to speak aloud. The beings exchanged looks of what she could only hope was amusement. Then the leader motioned for her to follow. She did so without hesitation, she still had no wish to get a closer look at any sharply pointed arrows.

The palace itself was actually a lot like labyrinth of tunnels-large richly decorated tunnels with enough windows to light them without need of candle or torch. She followed through the seemingly endless passages of carved, stone trees till they reached the throne room.