Disclaimer: All characters found in this story that can also be found in any of the Lord of the Rings books are not mine, nor will they ever be, sadly because they are ONLY characters and no matter how hard I hope, Legolas ain't becoming real anytime soon. All of the said characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkein, the genius. The only character that is truly mine is Ariana, because she is me.
Warning: This story has no rhyme or reason. I changed certain characters, just because I liked them better, like Gandalf the White is described as Gandalf the Grey because the blue hat is the best. This story also contains some matter referring to God and His existence. If you don't like that kind of thing, I'll totally understand if you decide not to read it.
The Traveler: Chapter One
Ariana slowly picked through her mail as she unlocked the door to her apartment. The little cubbyhole she called her home was nothing more then a bedroom with a kitchen attached to the side. The bathroom was nothing much to marvel at either, just the norm cramped into even less area.
It was all she was able to afford though, on her waitress salary, but it was the only job she'd been able to find that wasn't going to work her to death. Everyday she was tempted to quit, being a professional waitress didn't really get her blood racing anyway. She didn't want to be fifty and be busing tables.
When she wasn't working off bills or sleeping, Ariana spent her time trying to break into the world of writing. Nothing made her happier then the time she could sit on her couch with her laptop and create her own worlds. Worlds filled with life and death, good vs. evil, princesses, elves, wizards, dragons. She had a thing with writing fantasy and sci-fi. More of her stories were about far off worlds filled with aliens and born-to-be heroes then anything else. Sometimes she'd write a scary story about a young girl trapped at home with a killer, but she never loved those stories like the others.
She guessed it was the fact that with her sci-fi or fantasy, she could create anything she wanted. Talking horses, fairy princesses, white knights and in her mind that was all possible. With real life horror, it was too real for her. Then again, if someone was to ask her about any of this she'd have just smiled and changed the subject. Ariana's writing was her own, kept locked away in her imagination or on her laptop, the only thing worth a nickel in her apartment, one of the many bills she was paying off.
Ariana sighed as she ripped open the letter and read the first few lines.
Mrs. Korvec-
Although we found A Bottled World to be an amazing
work of art we cannot publish it at this time. Please…
It was no surprise to Ariana; her last three ideas had been rejected. Each time she went to a new publisher it was the same answer. Sorry no thanks. Not appropriate at this time. No way loser. Each one was the same, a slap in her face. After the second one crushed all her hopes of getting her story published, she finally realized a second job was needed and that's how the waitressing job came about.
She sat the letter down on the counter top and began to massage her temples. Her day had already been pretty bad, she'd dropped a plate at work, which was coming out of her paycheck and she hadn't made very much in tips.
She let her hands fall to her sides and she looked around her crummy little apartment. She'd been there only a few months and hardly had anything to show for it. There were a few pictures of her friends and family on the walls, an old sofa, and a dinged-up coffee table with a few magazines on the top.
Who even knows I'm here? She thought as she sat down at her kitchen table and rested her head in her hands.
Just then something banged against the door. She jerked her head up and looked around the dim room. Her eyes darted around but she didn't see anything, and then she realized the bang had been at the front door.
Ariana pulled herself out of the chair and walked to the front door. She looked out the little peephole and didn't see anyone. She unlocked the door and pulled it open. She looked around the cul-de-sac at the end of the hall but didn't see anyone standing around. Her eyes drew down to the floor, where a brown package laid. She gave it a puzzled looked and bent to pick it up. She paused for a second to listen, while thinking about bombs and explosions, but when she didn't hear ticking, she picked it up.
The package was small and rectangular. It wasn't very big; it fit right in her hands. There was no marking on the outside of the package. Nothing to tell her where it had come from or who it was meant for. She backed into her apartment and shut the door.
"Ok, I give," she said as she began to pull the paper off the package. She thought she might have a secret admirer, but dismissed the thought the moment she had it. She'd never had one and probably never would.
She gave herself a small frown and pulled the last of the wrapping off the package. It wasn't a package anymore; it seemed to be a book. Leather bond, it, like the wrapping, had no marks or letters to tell what it was. It had the look of old leather, the kind of books one would find at a flea market or garage sale, the kind of books Ariana loved.
She opened the inside cover, looking for a name or address of who might have owned the book before but all she found was a small inscription. It was an odd looking language, if that's what it was. She thought it might have just been a few small squiggles on the inside cover. She furrowed her brow and studied the inscription.
She looked around the empty kitchen once more and turned the page of the book. There was no page to tell the title of the story or an author, so she turned to the beginning of the text and began to read.
When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton….
Hobbiton? Like in hobbits? Ariana slipped her finger in-between the pages and felt something on one of the pages. She flipped farther into the book and in-between two pages she found a small silver chain and pendent. The little charm was a criss-cross of silver with a small green marble in the middle. It caught the light in the kitchen and sparkled.
Ariana stared at the necklace. She figured someone was definitely going to be missing this book and necklace soon. 'Finders keepers, losers weepers.' She smiled at the nursery rhyme and slipped the necklace over her head. If they come looking for it, I'll give it up. She then flipped the book over onto the table and stood up. She figured what the hell, she'd give the book a whirl and see what was up with it, but first she needed a shower.
Ariana took her time in the bath, slowly soaking the day away. She closed her eyes and thought about her next story. Her mind wondered back to the plain book sitting on her kitchen table. She suddenly got an itch to read more of the story, so she climbed out of the tub and dried herself off. She slipped on her favorite pair of jeans and a white tank top and walked into her kitchen.
The book was gone. She looked all around her kitchen. She couldn't find it anywhere. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. She wondered if maybe someone had broken in and had stolen it. Why would they steal the book and nothing else? She shivered and fingered the necklace around her neck. The metal was cold against her skin.
She gave a sigh and checked the lock on her front door. It was still locked and the chain was still across the door jam. She didn't understand what had happened to the book. She was a little flustered as she went to bed. She pulled the covers back and picked up her hairbrush off the table beside her bed. After brushing her short hair a few times, she went to the bathroom to take out her contacts.
She stepped up to the sink and looked at her reflection. She could see small bags forming under her eyes. She let out a long sigh and looked down into the sink and noticed it was filled with water.
"What's going on?" She grabbed the plug and tried to pull it out, but it was stuck. "Ok then. That's just peachy." The plug was holding fast at the bottom of the sink.
Ariana placed one hand on either side of the sink and hung her head. She was tired and didn't feel like messing with something like this, this late at night.
She stood up and looked into the mirror on the wall above the sink. Wow, I need to re-dye my hair. The light-blonde highlights in her dirty-blonde hair were beginning to creep down her head. She ran her fingers through it and shrugged. Or not.
Just then she noticed the water in the sink was swirling. Maybe the plug came up. She bent over and looked a little closer. Or… not. The water was spinning around the sink, but Ariana couldn't see anything that was causing it. She watched it for a few seconds and then looked up into the mirror.
"Well, that's weird," she said to herself. Just then the lights dimmed and the water became cloudy. She took a step back from the sink.
She heard a soft rumble begin in the distance. She looked around the room and saw the pictures shaking and the bottles on the cabinet moving dangerously close to the edge. "Oh shit," she whispered to herself. Her eyes came back to the sink. She saw a picture begin to take shape in the mist of the water. Taking a timid step back to the sink, Ariana peered over the edge. She saw flames in the water. Bright oranges, yellows and reds danced across her face.
As she watched the flames dancing in her sink, she felt the metal of the necklace growing warmer against her skin. The glass orb in the middle of the pendent turned from its dark green to a fiery orange. The orange swirled in the bead just like the water in the sink.
Then she saw a face begin to appear in the surface of the water. It was a woman, with long blonde hair and some of the greenest eyes Ariana had ever seen. The woman's eyes were filled with rage and hatred. Ariana couldn't look away from them. She felt entranced by them.
Ariana couldn't understand why the women's eyes were filled with such hatred. There was violence in them. A fear settled into Ariana's heart and she stepped back once again from the sink. She was about to run out of the room when she heard a voice. Ariana couldn't understand it. The words were dark and beautiful, softly flowing around her and pulling her to the sink.
She couldn't help herself. She stepped up the mirror and peered down into the women's eyes. She watched the water and the woman's eyes and as she did, she became dizzy. Strange and frightening images flashed before her eyes. Pictures of fire and death, light and dark danced before her. She grabbed the edge of the sink to keep from falling. She stood there, hanging onto the edge, staring into mirror. Her thoughts became jumbled. What is this?…
* * *
Gandalf sat at the small window, watching the sky and smoking his pipe. The stars had come out earlier then normally, shining their light on all of Middle Earth. The dark night sky was normally a soothing sight to the old wizard, but not tonight. Tonight, the sky had a dark hue, so dark the sky looked like ink, which all but blotted out the small stars. There is an evil is coming.
But that could not be true. The Ring was destroyed. He thought of the Fellowship, of his good friend Frodo Baggins. Frodo and Sam had been successful in destroying the One Ring.
But he felt the evil growing again. That same shadow that had covered Mirkwood long ago was back again. Many whispers of queer happenings were being spread about the dark shadowing.
The old wizard sat back in his chair and concentrated on his pipe. His mind wondered back to the shadows.
Then he felt a pull in his mind. Something he should remember. Sadly, after so many years, his mind was not as sharp as it used to be.
He remembered the great wizard Nahron. Nahron had been neither evil nor good. He'd simply existed with the other creatures of Middle Earth.
Some time ago though, Sauron, the Dark Lord himself, had summoned Nahron before the forging of the One Ring. Sauron… Gandalf furrowed his brow and tried to recall the rest of the tale. He knew this was the key to stopping the new evil that was creeping back into Middle Earth.
Gandalf set his pipe down and closed his eyes. Piece by piece the story came to him. When it was complete he began packing. He had to get to Mirkwood before it was too late, before Sauron's powers reached the traveler.
****Notes****
Ok. So, this is my first fan fic. It needs work, I know. I'm also very aware of the fact this is borderline Mary Sue, and YES, I'M OK WITH IT! If I didn't want it to be Mary Sue, I wouldn't have written it. So, if you have a problem with it, please, PLEASE don't review with only harsh words. Yes, I'm all for constructive criticism, but nothing that's going to hurt feelings, ok?