Chapter one
Groaning slightly I rolled over and hit the wall. I reached up and tried to run a hand through my hair but it got caught in the pony tail. Normally I didn't take it down to go to bed so Thank God I left it up or I'd be going to class with catastrophic hair. And the cute guy who'd sat next to me all year was finally talking to me. Tina said sounded promising. Was I really thinking about boys so early in the morning? Jeez, I'm turning into Julia and Tina. What time was it anyway? And why are all my friends on the floor?
"You know you are absolutely pathetic."
"Huh?" I was totally lost.
"Do you realize you just voiced all of you thoughts out loud?"
I rolled back over tangling myself in the blankets even more. Seated on the one clean spot of carpet was Kelly; her khakis were the same ones she wore yesterday and her make-up and hair were intact.
"Did you eve go to bed?" I asked. My voice sounded funny from lack of sleep. My lips felt thick and I was parched.
"And you have been mumbling in your sleep all night," Kelly informed me skipping over my question and sounding slightly annoyed. "In ELVISH!"
"Oh. Sorry. It was a good dream." I said still half asleep. I couldn't pull all-nighters like she could. I'd been out at around three in the morning. And falling asleep on my immense textbook didn't help either.
"I only read the chemistry books five times because of you. I'm cramming six times by skimming them. Do you know how much information I'm missing out on? It isn't easy to study when your friend is clawing the air above her and moaning in her sleep." Kelly said in her typical morning mood.
I thought about that a while before answering. "That was a bad part of the dream," I said cringing at the thought of what had happened.
"Don't even tell me what part of The Lord of the Rings it was about. I don't want to know. Why don't you just major in that, huh? Do you know the only way to study is the read the book! I have finals today!"
"We all do. Chill out Kelly. You'll to fine. You always do."
"I will not do fine! I have to make summa! Just to show my stupid parents that I really am better than my stupid sister." She had always been slighted and compared to her sister. By making summa she would be above what her sister had achieved. Her sister had barely pulled a special honor.
"I think you need some caffeine." Caffeine was my solution to just about everything. If you were pulling an all-nighter, drink lots of black coffee. If you were getting over a nasty cheating boyfriend (like Tina had been a month ago), drink lots of cappuccinos instead of drowning yourself in booze. If you, well you get the point. Caribou and Dunn's bros. must make a lot of money off me. Starbuck's would too if they were closer.
"I don't need anything. You need help my psycho friend."
"What is everyone yelling about?" Ivy asked sleepily.
"She was talking in her sleep in Elvish." Kelly said snappishly.
"Oh."
"Don't you find that a little odd?" Kelly prompted trying to prove to me just how crazy I was.
"As her room mate, no." Then Ivy turned to me. "You always do that Rhiannon dear. I can actually sleep those nights."
"Really?"
"Yes. It's rare that you don't."
"Well she's dreaming about having sex with Frodo and Aragorn all the time. I'm not that obsessed with them that I dream about then and I didn't teach myself Elvish!" Kelly said.
"Actually you've got the wrong characters." I said ignoring the point.
"Chill out Kelly. You know they're good." Ivy said calming her down a little. Ivy was good at that, she was a people-person and knew what to say in every situation.
"Yeah so? I'm not as bad as all of you guys."
"What about guys?" Julia asked looking up from her paper that was covered in drool. Her mascara was running in dark-blue streaks down her cheeks and her hair was mussed and frizzy and there was a red mark on her cheek from the mechanical pencil she'd fallen asleep on.
This was a boy device. Apparently if you wanted a guy to notice you all you had to do was knock a pencil off your desk and he would pick it up. Julia claimed that mechanical pencils were louder when they hit the floor so he was more likely to notice when it fell. However it never worked for me.
"Already thinking of guys Julia? You're up early aren't you?" Kelly asked even more snappishly than she had addressed Ivy.
"Good morning to you to. Who put a stick up your ass?" Julia was awake now and already swearing. She seemed to think it made her more attractive to guys or something. I don't believe it does, I swore and it's not like I ever got any guys. Not that it mattered too much, it just would have been nice to have some hot guy look at me like I was a human and not a toad.
"The teachers. Its finals, remember?" Ivy said.
"Oh yeah. Oh crap! Does anyone remember if I studied for French?" Julia's eyes were wide and she frantically looked around her for her notes. She spent too much money on clothes to buy books.
"You did." I said. I really had no idea where her notes were but I knew she had studied.
"Thank god! I almost had a heart attack."
"Anyone would after all the junk you ate last night." Kelly said sourly.
"Yeah, you're so lucky you never gain weight." Ivy said wistfully. Ivy wasn't fat but she wasn't thin either. She was more on the chunky side even though she watched her weight like mad. All the food in our tiny dorm refrigerator was fat free or at the very least fifty percent less fat.
"She'll be fat later." I said stretching my arms and knocking the books off Ivy's bed. Why am I on her bed anyway?
"Thanks a ton Rhiannon." Julia said sarcastically. It didn't matter to her if she gained weight (heck she'd probably get guys anyway); in fact she ate so much because she was constantly trying to gain a little weight. Julia's pet peeve is people thinking her bulimic.
"No problem—o."
"Would you all shut up so I can read my chemistry book? This is my major. It wouldn't look very good if I got a horrible grade." Kelly said reminding us of the finals today.
"You get straight A+'s as it is. Why are you worried?" Julia asked.
"Don't answer that Kel." Ivy said smoothly.
"What time is it?" Tina said finally pulling herself awake after almost fifteen minutes of our talking. She isn't a morning person either and is always the last one to wake up.
"Um," Ivy looked at our clock closely. She squinted her eyes and leaned her head back and then closer to try and read it. Finally she grabbed her glasses and announced, "It is quarter to seven."
"What!" we screamed in unison.
There was an instant pandemonium as we tried to grab our own books junk food wrappers, and soda cans off the floor. Julia flew into the air and made a beeline for the bathroom.
"Damn!" Ivy said. "This isn't even her dorm!" From the bed I shrugged. Tina, Kelly, and Julia had a twenty minuet walk to their dorm and none of them had bothered to drive over last night.
I would get up but I was going to take my time. A girl needs her beauty sleep and your first year of college can really take it out of you. So there I was watching my four best friends trying to make themselves (not my room I might add) look decent.
Tina was looking through my closet at such a speed I wondered if she even knew what color some of my things were. She found my only skirt but gave up on the shirts and turned to Ivy's closet, which was far more trendy than mine. Having found an outfit she hammered on the bathroom door.
Kelly hadn't moved and was still reading her text, practically oblivious to what was going on. The only difference now was she had started reading her a different chemistry book.
Julia had come out of the bathroom and was looking through my pants. Tina bounded into the bathroom and slammed the door as Julia looked in Ivy's drawers for tank tops. She was thin so they had to wear my pants.
Tina had the curves I didn't and only was able to fit in my skirts. I bought boy jeans for less money and better quality. Boy jeans had no hips in the. And they looked cooler and were baggy.
Ivy was trying to find her other contact and refusing my advice to give up and wear her glasses. She had refused to get her contacts tinted and it was pretty near impossible to find them without it. Mine were tinted brown although I always slept in them.
Finally I pulled myself out of bed only to trip on the blankets and come crashing to the floor. A cold turtle mocha I'd gotten from Caribou the last night spilled on the clock cord and my beaten up copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The book was open to page 154 (or 155 depending on how you looked at it) and the copper wire of the cord was exposed. A blinding spark of golden light flashed and the room went black. Judging by the shouts that I heard throughout the dorm building we'd blown their power too. Oh well, they could live for a few minutes with out a curling iron. I heard Kelly cursing, Tina and Julia screaming, and Ivy crying out my name but suddenly I heard nothing.
With the force of a speeding taxi something slammed into me and I felt like I was falling through water unable to swim back up. The blackness swirled around me as I tried to scream, but nothing came out. Suddenly I was no longer sinking deeper into the water…I was standing…on stone steps…surrounded by dead bodies…in the middle of a battle.
chapter two
I screamed but it did not draw attention to me. Over the heavy downpour of rain and sounds of fighting and killing no one heard. The place I was standing was like nothing I had ever seen before. For some strange reason it reminded me of something out of Tolkien but I wasn't sure why until I looked around.
Everywhere strange and disgusting creatures were falling to the ground. They had the general build of a human but they were much larger and tougher looking and not to mention their rank smell was beyond revolting. I narrowed my eyes and tried to look through the rain. The creatures were grimy and had evil looking yellow eyes.
With a closer look I noticed that every now and then tall, thin, graceful figures were also falling. These things reminded me of elves. Elves fighting orcs at Helm's Deep.
How the hell did I get to Helm's deep!?!? I was dreaming. I had to be dreaming. There was no other logical explanation. But as I felt the icy rain soaking my clothes and smacking my skin and I smelled the blood and death around me my throat closed up. Tears blurring my eyes I stumbled backwards and off the stairs onto bodies. Hard armor plated the orc bodies and beautiful cloaks covered the Elven bodies.
Some of the orcs looked at me and started to charge. I stood in front of them praying I would wake up.
"Look out!" a male voice yelled. If I hadn't been standing in the middle of a bunch of slaughtered bodies facing my own death I may have turned to see who had such a sexy sounding voice but owing to the circumstances I couldn't bring myself to.
"Move!" The voice yelled. I started to but something slammed into my upper chest. Again I screamed, but this time out of pain. As I started to fall four orcs closed in. They were felled by arrows at the same instant.
"Got you!" The male voice said again before I hit the ground. Why didn't it just leave me alone? At the same time though I was comforted by this mystery person snatching me off my feet and running to rope that had been thrown down to him from a high wall. He grabbed it in a very graceful way and we were pulled up swiftly.
The last thing I saw before I was swung over his shoulder and the darkness flooded my eyes was a handsome face. A very handsome face. The most handsome face I had ever seen, to be exact.
Chapter Three
A great pain in my chest woke me. And the voices that seemed to come from a distance. But upon realizing they were male hot tears burned the back of my eyelids knowing the girls weren't here with me. Where were they? More importantly, where was I? The interior of Helm's Deep? Was I in the caves with the women and children? Was the battle over? Did Rohan and the elves win even though someone had to take the time to save me? What is going on!?
I forced my heavy eyelids open and instantly a face loomed over mine. It was old and wrinkled. Not even the smile and the hair falling over it could hide the sorrow in his eyes. This wasn't the handsome face that owned the sexy voice was it? For the love of Tolkien, I'm loosing my mind. Kelly was right. Kelly… Tears welled in my eyes again and I choked up.
"My heart tells me you cry not out of pain from the arrow in your breast. I know not who you are but do not grieve now, we have won the battle and there is hope yet. Haldir and Legolas will tend to your wound." the old man said kindly.
Thoughts of winning the battle and where I was vanished immediately. Legolas Greenleaf? My favorite character of all time? "This isn't real," I said. My voice came out horribly coarse and quiet.
"Do not worry child." the old man said. He wore a beautiful white cloak and carried a staff. This was Gandalf, my second favorite character, for his wisdom. Only he looked quite real and nothing like the actor who had portrayed him. This Gandalf looked, well, more Gandalfish.
"No. This isn't happening. None of you are real. For the love of Tolkien, you are in a book!" I said getting exasperated. Who hadn't heard of Tolkien?
"These times will one day be known as the Great Ages no matter who wins the war but these days are not over yet; nothing will have been written of them." Gandalf spoke gently but wearily. I decided not to bother him anymore. He'd just fought in the first of the Great Battles. "Rest now child." Gandalf returned to the circle of men on the opposite side of the room.
But to say they were men was incorrect. There was a short, stocky someone who was, without doubt, Gimli. It didn't take me long decipher who the rest of them were. The tall ragged man who looked ready to drop must have been Aragorn. He always stayed on his feet when he needed to sleep; my third favorite for his bravery, tied with Gimli. A young man with long wavy blonde hair was helping an older, well dressed and heavily armored man sit down. This was King Théoden which meant the younger man was Eomer.
A woman burst through the door and raced to Théoden barely touching the stone floor. "Uncle!" She dropped to her feet knees at his feet. "Are you hurt?"
"No, no, I'm fine. 'Tis only a scratch." Théoden said. Eowyn paid no head and started un hooking the armor on his torso. His left shoulder was bloodied.
"You're hurt! Legolas! Haldir! My uncle, he is hurt." she cried. Two elves stepped from the door and walked swiftly to the king. I was shocked, normally I notice everything; but perhaps being silent went with being an elf.
I recognized Legolas instantly, he being the thinner, lankier, and, not to mention, hotter elf. He had gorgeous brown eyes and high cheek bones. Other than that he didn't' look anything like Orlando Bloom. He was exactly how I had imagined him, only better looking.
"Do not worry about me. Tend to her wound, it is more serious." Théoden said. Haldir and Legolas stood unsure of themselves. Not really unsure, for they were elves, just waiting for orders.
I noticed Legolas's hair was braided differently on the sides than in the movie. That was not surprising, the movies suck. Being a die-hard fan of Tolkien and most specifically a fanatic of Lord of the Rings I had despised the movies. Considering that he makers hadn't known anything about the books the movies were only a little nauseating. And I mean the acting wasn't terrible but they cut out so many important parts. Why would they skip Tom Bombadile? He is my favorite minor character. Oh ok, so I love all of the characters to no end and couldn't live without them—but Legolas has always remained my favorite. Partly because he is an elf and just the word suggests wonderful, fanciful things. I've never known how to explain it but it's just this feeling.
Just the Legolas cut into my analysis of Lord of the Rings. I often started thinking like that didn't realize it until someone appeared awfully close to me. Legolas was very close to me.
Across the small room Haldir was inspecting King Théoden. Legolas looked me in the eye and murmured something I couldn't catch. Looking at my body for the first time since I'd woken up in this nightmare/dream and I saw an arrow embedded in my chest.
Carefully Legolas ripped my shirt away from the arrow. As he did so a pink tinge appeared in his cheeks. This surprised me slightly but thinking back on the books I knew he had never had an interest in a woman or elf maiden. He left the big t-shirt covering my breasts—not that they would have impressed anyone.
Covering my eyes with one perfect hand I felt him grip the arrow. Pain jarred through my body like a million white-hot knives being stabbed into me all over. I took his hand away and held it tightly before putting my other hand over the one that was holding the arrow. Together, with courage I didn't know I possessed we ripped the arrow out. My body arched and I tried to bite back a scream but it came out.
Later, Legolas's hands moved swiftly as he wrapped my wound. Haldir's hands made the same motions on Theoden, over my shoulder, under my arm, over his shoulder, under his arm.
Aragorn turned to me with a weary but very confused face. "Who are you lady?"
"Are you a friend of Saruman's?" Gimli asked suspiciously.
"Never! I'm not a friend of Saruman, or Wormtongue, or Sauron." I said indignantly.
"Who are you a friend of then?" Eomer asked. Oh dear, I knew this would happen. Who was I a friend of? Technically speaking I was on their side but all they had been to me originally was fictional characters of Tolkien.
"Let's just say I know of your quest and of Frodo and Sam, I'm not on the side of the enemy."
"What's your name?" Aragorn asked again.
"Rhiannon, Rhiannon Aubry."
"Goddess…witch," Legolas murmured the meaning of my name in Elvish.
"I am not a God! Nor am I a witch! I'm a woman and I am not from your world. I don't know how I got here but all I want to do is get back home." I said loudly in Elvish. Even as I said it though I wondered; is that really what I want? I am finally with Legolas Greenleaf and now I want to go home? Am I loosing my mind?
"You speak Elvish fluently," Haldir said surprised. I hadn't realized I was speaking in Elvish. Kelly always hated it when I did that, Ivy found it funny and responded in Elvish.
"I hadn't realized I had started speaking in Elvish. My friends hate it when I do that; they can't speak like I do."
"Child you make little sense to me. Perhaps you should start at the beginning of your tale, it would do us a great favor."
Sighing I got ready to tell the what had happened, "It all started two nights ago when we were studying for out finals and trying to pull an all-nighter. But everyone fell asleep in my dorm—well I actually share it with Ivy—and so when I woke up and got out of Ivy's bed I knocked over my Turtle Mocha and it spilled all over the clock cord and on my copy of The Two Towers and there was this huge force like slamming into me. Then I felt like I was falling through water but then I was in the middle of the battle and I almost got killed by some arrow and some orcs and then someone grabbed me." I stopped my rapid talking. I always spoke fast when I was nervous and just thinking of last night made the memory of the handsome face come back. "Who did grab me outta there?"
"I did." Turning to the voice it all began to make perfect sense. The handsome face was Legolas's, the one who had rescued me was Legolas and finally, the one who had removed the arrow was Legolas.
"Oh." God that was pathetic. Oh? that's all I could think to say in front of him? Eowyn studied me closely, as though she was sizing me up. She was taller than me, prettier, and incredibly fair where I was dark haired.
"What will she wear? We brought no extra clothes, they weren't needed." she said. I looked down at myself. My baggy jeans could stay but I really needed a different shirt. I couldn't walk around everywhere holding this one up so it didn't fall off of me.
"Women in my world wear pants so all I need is a shirt, doesn't anyone have one extra shirt?" Everyone looked toward the ground or the ceiling clearly stating they did not have an extra shirt. Theoden might have, being king and all, but I highly doubted that he wanted some girl wearing one of his probably magnificent shirts.
"Alright then, I'll just walk around like this," I said yawning. I hadn't realized how wiped out I was until now. My eyelids felt heavy and lean back against the cold stone wall. The men around me were exhausted too, fortunately Gandalf came to our rescue.
"Now rest your weary bodies my companions. Show Rhiannon where she may sleep." he said and left the room with theoden. Eowyn lead the way out of the room.
As I stood the room swam and blurred before my eyes, I swayed and threatened to fall over. Disoriented I placed my hand on where I thought the table I was laying on was but misjudged and leaned into nothing. When I started to fall Legolas took my arm firmly but gently and let me lean on him as we left the room. We followed the rest of the warriors, with me stumbling along at Legolas's side as he strode gracefully, into a tiny interior room with wooden tables and supplies for bedding. It was lit only with candles and the light from the open door.
"You can stay here. I'm going to my uncle." Eowyn said and left the room, her skirts making a loud swish, swish as they went down the corridor with her.
Aragorn laid out a set of blankets closer quit separate from theirs and Legolas lowered me onto them. "Sleep well, Lady," he whispered under his breath in Elvish. I crumpled the worn covers and was out almost before I hit them.
Chapter Four
It was dark when I woke and the candles had been blown out. At first I didn't have a clue where I was but when my eyes had adjusted to the dark I realized I was in the tiny room at Helm's Deep somewhere in the middle of Tolkien's book. Oh for the love of J.R.R.
Getting up slowly I felt my way to the door and slipped outside into the dark hallway. It must be night. As I turned toward the moonlight to the left my shirt slipped to my waist. Quickly I ripped it down the seam and tied the corners above my breasts. My stomach showed as I stepped onto the steps and climbed to the outer wall. It was partially destroyed from the gunpowder Saruman's orcs had brought.
Off to the right a lone figure stood with his arms crossed facing the East. I approached him silently but he knew I was there before I reached him.
"Should you be up? You need your rest after being wounded." Legolas said quietly. The wind carried his beautiful voice back to me. I sat down on the jagged edge where the rock had been blown away, unafraid of being cut in pants. He sat beside me and I shivered, partly from being so close to him partly from the chilly air. Legolas whipped off his cloak and wrapped it around me. "You'll get chilled, the wind is from the North."
It was strangely peaceful on the wall even though there were slaughtered bodies on either side of it. They would remain uncounted. The massive death would remain the only sign of the terrible struggle Rohan had won.
"Where are you from Rhiannon?" Legolas asked this time in the tongue of man.
"Earth, a different world," I smiled faintly but being an elf he had probably caught it. "There are not elves there, or orcs, or dwarves."
"None?" Legolas said disbelief in his voice.
"Nope."
"How strange…how did you come to learn Elvish then?"
"I taught it to myself. My friend Ivy and I did when we didn't have much homework in middle school."
"Middle school?" he asked confused.
"Never mind." It would be impossible for me to explain it and I was horrible at explaining things already. We were silent for a while and I snuck glances at Legolas. Twice he caught me and twice I caught him.
"We'll have to continue our quest soon. Go back to Edoraus and then on to Mordor to…" he trailed off having said too much.
"To destroy the ring of power. I know of your quest."
"How? It was a secret."
"Let's just say I know of it. Frodo and Sam are taking the ring to Mordor to destroy it and rid this land of evil once and for all."
"Yes," he breathed.
"I need a drink," I said trying to ignore the throbbing pain in my chest, "But I don't suppose you have caffeine in Middle Earth."
"What kind of drink is caffeine?" Legolas asked confused, but thankful we were off the topic of the ring. Once again I had lost him.
"I need a really big Honey Almond coffee."
He blinked at me and nodded vaguely. "Your world is very different from ours."
"Yes, in a lot of ways I guess it is. But we still have war and death and love. Your world doesn't have coffee or computers or girls in pants."
"So what's Mirkwood like?" I asked unable to contain my curiosity any longer. Tolkien had described Fangorn Forest beautifully but he hadn't gone into depth on Mirkwood which fascinated me even more. Even in The Hobbit it wasn't described in great detail.
"How do you know I'm from Mirkwood?"
"You're Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood. Tell me about the silver tree and everything else. I wanna know everything about it."
"Yes, well, alright." Deep into the night Legolas spoke of his home in the silver tree with his parents, whom he rarely saw, and of his adventures and the plants, trees, and the quest. His words were soft and they caressed my skin and seemed to heal my throbbing wound. As the stars were beginning to go out and a faint light was creeping over the horizon like pale pink and gray ribbon I slumped onto him and was out.
It seemed only a millisecond that I had been asleep when I heard a voice in my ear. "My lady?"
"What happened?" I asked groggily pushing myself into a sitting position.
"You fell asleep."
"On you?" I was rather stunned that he hadn't done anything about it. On the other hand I had practically been laying on the elf my friends and I were in love with. His pale skin tinged bright pink.
Hearing the light footsteps I could not he turned and I did so a moment later to see Eowyn approaching us.
"There you two are, we didn't know where you'd had gone off to." Something about the way she said it made me shudder.
"Lady Rhiannon wasn't there when I woke so I came looking for her and found her here looking over the field of death. Is there food enough for breakfast?" Legolas cut in quickly.
"Yes," Eowyn said slowly. "There is, but you'll have to eat inside today. They are holding counsel amongst themselves and want you both present."
We nodded and followed her through the wide hallways without a sound. The few refugees that were up got down on their hands and knees as we passed them.