Disclaimer: The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of J R R Tolkien, the Tolkien Estate and Tolkien Enterprises. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Betas: Zee, Lenara, SoErl.
Notes: My OFC(s) are mine; the Elves that Tolkien invented (he did, didn't he?) are not mine (what a pity!).
A special "thank you" to the Kronos Quartet / Clint Mansell / Fatboy Roberts for the "Requiem Overture", giving me (and brought me through) several dark nights when writing this. Thanks to Xavier Naidoo and Rufus Wainwright for their music that inspired me.

Thanks to the Goddess for letting me find peace and inspiration. And thanks to my ever-curious and inspiring beta readers, pushing me forward on each chapter.
Dedication: This one is for the two only real Elves on earth; To the Silver One: You will always have a special place in my heart and memories; to the Golden One: You are a legend, a saint and the only true heir of Gil-Galad I know. Let's burn them down! :-)

SPECIAL WARNING: There are real people avatars innocently depicted in this fic. They belong solely to themselves, no harm became of them and no offence is intended. It is just my way to pay the tribute to these real people, for without them, we would not have words and images of the wonderful Elves in our heads.

It was one of these usual, busy and boring everydays while I was sitting in my office, replying emails, when I received the call from my dear friend, Chris.
She was upset as she could be, and believe me, this woman was never upset since I gotten to know her some years ago, when she was still a stranger and just another customer to me.

"I've won it! Dammit, Dana, I've won it!"
"You've won what?"
"That damned quiz... I've won it!"
"Calm down, start again. What quiz, what did you win?"
"Remember that Tolkien quiz?"

I searched my mind and found nothing. "No."

"Where they raffled that Tolkien trip?"
"Tolkien trip?" I could imagine many trips, but a Tolkien trip? Wasn't he dead, after all...?

"That journey to England!"
"You've won a trip to England?" Slowly, my memories of that came back to me. The Tolkien Trip: Wander around through the English countryside, on the footsteps of Tolkien. Nothing I was interested in too much; I always was of the opinion that if God had wanted the people to wander around, he wouldn't have given them cars.

"Yes! Isn't it great?"

For someone who was addicted to Elves, maybe. For me... well...

"Yes, wonderful! When will your trip start?"
"As soon as you have time."

I knew that there would be a problem.

"What do I have to do with your Tolkien trip?"

"Oh PLEASE! Dana, you must come with me, pleeease...."
"You think the Brits will eat you if you go alone?"

Silence.
"Chris... still there?"
"Dana, please, this is a trip for two people and you have always been the only one understanding my... my..."

"...addiction?"

Yes, I knew she was addicted. She was what the "involved" people would call a "Pervy Elf Fancier" in a joke, and continuously complained about the corresponding T-shirt not being available in her size.
I knew no magazine, no merchandise, no book, poster or print that Chris didn't own, pinned to her walls, stuffed in any of the large boards she had at home.
Chris was a Tolkien addict, and the release of the movies made it worse. At that point of time, I had stepped into her life. I could sew, I had ideas; and she "needed" Elven costumes; to attend the cinema, weddings of friends or "just to wear at home". And I made them for her, with the finest imported materials; silks, embroidery, beading. If Chris would have had the usual body shape, she would have been the perfect elf, but her size was over twenty, and so some people looked at her rather strangely when she wore her gowns.
But after all, I have to say that in the way she moved with them, the way they made her proud, she *was* still the perfect Elf to me, with a beauty that came from the inside.

And she passed on some of her addiction to me.

And now she had won a Tolkien trip. And I should be the one to walk around with her through the English countryside.
Congratulations.

"You really expect this from me, don't you? You know how much I hate walking."
"But you are the only one I know that would... that could..."

Yes, I knew that also. I was the only one that she could ask.
And even if I hated walking, even if I didn't really want this; I thought that the three weeks of walking would do my ever corseted figure well. Yes, I am one of the rare humans in the present time still wearing corsets, ever since some back pain attacked me every few months, I got used to wear a corset every day. It was not too bad, as the human figure gets defined much better with a corset - no matter which size you have.

So I agreed.

"Ok, Chris. If you are sure you want me, I will come with you. But don't complain if you find me sitting on the side of the street after two days, without being able to walk any more."

Barely did I know that this decision I made would change my and her entire life.

Excerpt from Chris' Diary

YEAH! I've won! I've won! I can't believe it........I've won!!

A while ago I took part in a Tolkien quiz. Actually I thought it was a fake because the questions were too simple:

1. Who represents the Elves in the Fellowship? Leggy.....erm Legolas
2. Name the March Warden of the Golden Woods? Haldir
3. Name the Kingdom Gil-Galad ruled? Lindon
4. Name the Ring that protected Lorien? Nenya

I still can't believe it! I've won a Trip to England :
Wander around through the english countryside, in the footsteps of Tolkien.

Since the trip is for two, I need someone to come along who would not mind if I was constantly chatting about LOTR and who would understand my addiction to the books, movies, magazines about it......well that left only one person on the planet, if not in the whole universe:
My good friend Dana.

She is the only person who might call me "Pervy Elf Fancier" without making me angry...if she calls me so, I can't help but smile.
She is right, even if I would never admit it aloud, I fancy Elves. No not those little flying something's in strange green garb which are soooo sweet *argl * .
Elves like in Tolkien. The Firstborn, the Elder Children of Ìlùvatar, the Fair Folk,......those ageless, beautiful beings that could only be slain in battle or die of grief. (I bet they don't have weight problems.....*sigh* .....any chances I can change my race? No? Pity.)
Elves that live forever. They have all the time in the universe......*sigh* I envy them.

My granny read the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to me for the first time when I was four years old. When I was five, I began to read it myself and so it started .... Well, today, somewhat 30 years later, I still read the books from time to time...okay at least once a year.

With the movies there where quizzes all over on the internet, magazines and TV- Shows and I attended just one.....and won. I never won a quiz or anything like that.......and I enter a Tolkien quiz and here comes the first price......hmmmmm......maybe a favor from Elbereth herself?

And with this movie stuff all over, I met Dana at some point. I was dying to get a costume from the LOTR movies but none would sew me one, since I'm not your average Elf, when it comes to sizes. I wear over size 20. Hey I'm a mixture of Hobbit and Elf, and Tolkien just forgot to mention people like me. *ggg *

I'm grateful that she shares her talent for sewing with others. And her costumes make me feel as I'm an Elf, those floating silk gowns.....*sigh*.....I wish I had the courage to wear my costumes every day.......

But to the task at hand, to get Dana to England and convince her to walk around for 3 weeks.
I got the tickets, the hotel vouchers, the maps, .....I just have to convince Dana to come with me......and here we go.

And that will be a nearly impossible task. She hates to walk around. If someone was born to drive, that would be Dana. She hates to walk. Plain and simple.
She would complain about walking all the time. At some point she'll just sit on the side of the street wailing like a three-year-old toddler that she would walk no further. ( And Gandalf thought it would be difficult to walk around with 4 Hobbits *gggg *)
I should call her at once.

YEAHHHHH!!! Dana has agreed to come with me!! We will spent 3 weeks wandering in Tolkiens footsteps.

I need my Tolkien paperback books.....all of them.....with me. And of the costumes, we can take pictures of us in elven costumes in the countryside that inspired Tolkien to write LOTR........I need at least three of my costumes, and......and not to forget.............hmmmm I need a laaaaaarge back pack, that's for sure.
Do I really need some street clothing?....Do I? *sigh * Do I? I guess so.