Hello to all. First time I've written in a while. The idea for this fic was spawned a while after watching the Animatrix. In this fic, the Lord of the Rings books and movies never existed.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Lord of the Rings (cries) or the quote from which this story is based on.

"Why does everything feel more real when I'm asleep?" --The Animatrix

Between Two Worlds

By Jordy

Chapter One

The seasons had brought pleasant weather in recent weeks. Sunlight shone uninhibited upon the land called Ithilien, which had been choked with the smothering overshadowed presence of Mordor until the fall of Sauron. Since his fall, the evil persistence seemed to be just melting away, the land restoring itself to some of its former glory.

But the land was not alone in rebuilding itself. The elves that had established a colony there had greatly aided Ithilien with their mere presence. Even though the ships were sailing west and the elven population was ever dwindling, some had chosen to follow Legolas Thranduilion to Ithilien to erase one more remnant of Sauron's reign that had overflowed across the mountains from Mordor.

Legolas looked out over what he had accomplished from atop a large hill about a league from the borders of the colony. Several settlements had been erected in Ithilien in the years since the destruction of the One Ring. He himself had been named Lord of Ithilien, since he had been the one to take it upon himself to restore the land.

He then looked the other direction, towards Gondor. He had been traveling frequently between Ithilien and Gondor to meet with Aragorn and to notify him of the progress being made in obliterating the shadow over what used to be such a beautiful land.

The setting sun was bright as he gazed west. He knew that beyond his immediate destination was his ultimate one. He had been longing to go to Valinor for some time now, to visit once again with loved ones that had already sailed West. But instead he sighed and turned back towards his horse.

He leapt up onto the mare's back and softly spoke that there was still time to journey onward before they could stop to rest. He knew he should have left earlier, but his duties had delayed him a bit. Apparently a few straggling orcs had been sighted close to his colony's borders and he had ordered a patrol sent after them. He glanced upward and thought that maybe in two more hours the stars would begin to show themselves. All his life he had admired the stars and had taken great joy at basking in their presence. Legolas heaved a sigh as his mount cantered at a steady pace. He imagined that he should pay Gimli a visit soon. Perhaps he would come across the dwarf while he was at Minas Tirith; Gimli had gotten into a habit of visiting Aragorn fairly regularly. He always had an excuse as to why he was there. The south wall of the palace had to be rebuilt. He was contemplating building a more battle- worthy gate.

Legolas chuckled to himself. He knew that Gimli would never outright admit to just wanting to stay in touch with the former members of the fellowship. Legolas had to confess that the same was true of him. He recalled one incidence when he had found a unique flower in his forest and had brought it to Gondor to add to Arwen's garden. But truly he merely wanted to see his friends again.

The sun continued to sink towards the horizon. Before long it was too dark to travel safely by. Legolas guided his mount to a nearby copse of trees near a small stream that branched from the Anduin. He let her wander as she pleased, as long as she didn't stray too far. He built together a fire to keep nighttime predators at bay and dug in his pack for something in the way of sustenance.

He brought forth some lembas and sat on his bedroll. He nibbled on the waybread and stared at the fire, occasionally glancing at his horse. Feeling well nourished, he placed the remainder of his bread back in his pack and lied down and prepared to sleep. He threw one more look at his horse and reminded her once again to stay near. Legolas then released his hold on wakefulness.

"Keith," a voice said.

He tried to ignore it, but it persisted.

"Keith!" Louder this time. A hand on his shoulder accompanied it this time, followed by a firm shake. "You need to wake up or you'll be late for class."

But he didn't want to wake up. He never wanted to wake up. He much preferred dreams to reality. If it really is reality, he always added mentally.

He sat up in bed and glanced around. The sheets and comforter lied on top of him, barely rumpled. His roommate Mike always said that he slept like a rock.

Speaking of Mike, he was still standing in front of him, staring down at him. Keith blinked at him. The other heaved a sigh and crossed to the other side of the small dormitory. "You barely answer to your own name anymore," he mumbled.

Keith didn't respond. Instead he swung his legs over the side of his mattress and stood. He looked around once again and tried to remember where he was. Gone was the stream and trees, gone was his horse. He was back in the bland world he sought escape from every day. He trudged into the bathroom and picked up his toothbrush. "Aren't you gonna eat something?" Mike said from the other room.

"No," Keith answered. He felt like he just ate. "Not hungry." He heard the door open and shut. This was routine: Mike would wake him up and then leave for class. Both benefited from it. Mike did his good deed for the day, and Keith made it to class on time.

He stuck his toothbrush under the running water and lazily ran the tube of toothpaste across the brush. He stuck it in his mouth and looked at the mirror as he swept it across his teeth.

His long blonde hair was in only slight disarray. Keith would admit that he was a constant victim of bedhead, a result of his constant napping. He recognized the dull and blank look in his bright blue eyes. It wasn't anything new. Whenever he found himself back here, he always felt disoriented and lost, or like he just wasn't really here. Sometimes he wondered if this world was the dream one, and the other one that he visited so often was his reality. He wished it was.

He bent over the sink and spit out the toothpaste, rinsed his toothbrush and ran a hairbrush through his hair. He left the bathroom and bent to pick up a pair of jeans off the floor that probably hadn't been washed in a week. He glanced around for a shirt. His eyes fell on the shirt he had thrown on his bed last night after he took it off. He grabbed it and put it on. It was college; nobody cared if he was wearing the same thing he did yesterday. Half the students here did the same thing.

He made a mental note to get all his laundry together and go visit his parents. At least they let me use their washer for free, he thought.

Keith then grabbed his backpack and exited.

After leaving the dorm building, he walked across the community college campus. He wasn't in any hurry. As long as the day ended swiftly, he didn't care how it went. His destination wasn't far; he entered the classroom just as the professor of English, Mr. Brink, was telling people to shut up so he could get on with his lesson.

Keith walked to the back of the classroom, found a desk and took out his textbook.

"Open to page four thirty-seven," Mr. Brink announced. Keith flipped open the book, and stared at the words. After a moment they all seemed to blur together, so he looked up at the professor, who was already on his daily rant. He tried to listen to the lecture, but about five minutes later those words blended together and seemed to lose all meaning. Keith glanced at his book again. He couldn't muster the effort to try to comprehend what he was looking at. He lowered his head to the desk. The smooth surface felt cool against his forehead. He sighed, tried to listen to Mr. Brink again. Making no sense of it, he let himself drift off back to sleep.

He woke up to the sound of light scuffling. It was still dark, maybe an hour after he had lied down to sleep. His horse was pawing at the dying embers of the fire, and the sounds of nocturnal animals were obvious in his ears. He sat up and crawled over to the ring of stones surrounding the ashes and remaining weakening flames. He grabbed a nearby piece of fallen tree branch and tossed it into the fire pit.

Digging in his pack once again, he drew two stones and began striking them together, trying to make them spark. Finally a flicker of flame fell on the wood. After a couple more attempts, Legolas let it be. He picked up a small stick and prodded the ashes and tried to stoke the fire. Within minutes, he had a small fire once again.

He sat back and tilted his head up. He could see the night sky through gaps in the trees. They shone beautifully, sharing the sky with the giant glowing orb of a moon. The elf sighed in contentment.

This was where he really wanted to be.

TBC

So to clear up any confusion, Legolas and Keith are the same person. I'd appreciate a review... It keeps my morale up. Yeah... Let me know what you think!