Carrie sat slumped down in her seat, watching the large screen in front of her. She unfolded her arms for a moment to reach for her soda. After taking a sip and replacing the cup in the holder, she folded her arms back across her chest as yet another preview came on the screen. A deep sigh escaped her lips. Every preview was just prolonging the inevitable. How was it that she was persuaded to come, to subject herself to this torture? She turned to look at the man sitting next to her, the man responsible for dragging her here, the man who had no idea why it was that she had protested so much.
Trevor felt her gaze and turned to face her. "Popcorn?" he asked and extended the bucket towards her. Carrie shook her head no and with another sigh turned back towards the front of the theater. Trevor shrugged, and focused his attention back on the screen.
The movie started and Carrie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Despite all of her protestations, here she was, and with Trevor no less. Ah, Trevor. Good, reliable, decent, real Trevor. She glanced again at him out of the corner of her eye. He was too engrossed in the first scenes of the movie to notice, allowing Carrie the opportunity to observe him. She imperceptibly shook her head. He had been right, she told herself. She was of the age where it was time to settle down, and not hang onto childhood dreams, or childish fantasies. She snorted to herself. Especially when those fantasies were of men that didn't exist.
She uncrossed her arms and put them on the armrests as she looked up at the screen. The scene changed to show several men riding horses through the forest. Her fists gripped the armrests as the screen showed a close-up of the blond elf. As much as he didn't look like the Legolas in her head, she still had to steel herself against the sight of his face. She felt her hands relax, but only slightly, as Aragorn, and then Gandalf came into view. It was even painful to look at them. They weren't real either, just an elaborate dream that her mind had cooked up for no other apparent reason than to drive her mad.
She felt the one side of her mouth curl up in a sardonic half-smile when she saw all of the men who had journeyed to Isengard. 'That's right,' she thought bitterly to herself. 'There's Eomer. He went with them.' The thought surprised her and she pinched the bridge of her nose, worried that she was indeed losing her mind. 'It was a dream,' she told herself again. 'A dream. Not real.'
Trevor made a noise in his throat upon seeing the Palantir underwater, instead of sailing out of a window at the company assembled below. Carrie glanced quickly at him and back at the screen. 'I'm not settling,' she reassured herself as Gandalf and Company rode to Edoras. 'Trevor is a good man. And he is real. Not someone made up in my head.' She folded her arms across her chest again and slouched even lower in the chair. Never mind that she wasn't all that attracted to Trevor, there were more important things than physical attraction. She felt the familiar burning sensation behind her eyes and had to blink several times to avoid the onslaught of tears that were threatening to fall. To halt her train of thought she turned her focus back to the movie, just in time to hear Theoden's line.
"Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country." The actor raised his goblet. "Hail the victorious dead."
"Hail!" the rest of the men shouted back.
"Holy shit!" Carrie's voice was louder than she expected as she sat bolt upright in her seat, ignoring the people around her shushing her. There was Eomer, right next to Theoden, just like she remembered. 'No!' her mind yelled. 'Dreamed, not remembered!'
Trevor leaned over to her, her newfound interest in the movie apparently pleasing him. "You see, it's not such a bad movie. It really sucks you right in."
Carrie exhaled in an ironic laugh. "You have no idea," she muttered back under her breath and curled her lip into another half-smile. She watched the celebration scene intently, trying to catch a glimpse of Legolas or Gimli, knowing that she was with them at this time. Her hands flew to cover her mouth when she realized what she had just thought. 'I was not there! It was a dream!'
Eowyn approached Aragorn and gave him a cup to drink. Theoden came and took his place. Carrie could do nothing but sit dumbly and shake her head. Merry and Pippin got up on a table and started their song and dance.
"This is uncanny…" Carrie mumbled to herself, receiving more shushes and angry glances from several people. The scene changed to Frodo and Sam's perspective and she relaxed back against her chair. Trevor was looking anxiously at her. She gave him a tentative smile, lest he start to worry that something was wrong. Her heartbeat started to slow down to a normal rate but her serenity was short lived.
The scene changed again. Aragorn walked out into the night to find…Legolas standing, gazing at the distance with his hood pulled up over his head. Carrie's mouth dropped open in shock. Her heart started pounding in her chest and it became hard to breathe.
"Oh my God," she gasped. Several people got up and moved their seat further away. "That was the night…that was right after the first time we…oh my God," she stuttered. She tried to swallow and found that her throat was parched. She reached for her soda and realized that her hands were shaking uncontrollably.
Trevor put a hand on her arm and leaned towards her "What is it? Are you ok?" Carrie managed to nod spastically at him and was finally able to control her hand enough to grab the soda and bring it to her mouth. She was barely able to swallow before her mouth resumed its gaping position. She watched Aragorn and Legolas' exchange in stunned silence on the edge of her seat, her back rigid.
"You're gonna catch flies like that." Trevor whispered jokingly to her, apparently very unsettled by her strange behavior and not knowing quite what to do. Carrie slowly closed her mouth as she turned her head towards him, a glare fully formed in her eyes. He caught her look and abruptly snapped his head back towards the screen, silenced for the moment.
Carrie glared at him a minute longer, her annoyance with him successfully calming the anxiety she had been experiencing from reliving a night…'that never happened,' she reminded herself. The movie caught her attention again as Pippin battled with the Palantir. Her hands once again gripped the edge of her armrests. The tension passed onscreen, and Carrie watched, heart pounding, waiting for Eomer and Eowyn to appear, but the camera never left Gandalf or Pippin's faces. The scene ended and time jumped to the next morning as the most bizarre thought popped into Carrie's mind.
'So far, I could have been there.' Carrie's mind reeled. She sat back in her chair, stunned at what she had just thought. So far, wherever she had remembered being, the camera had not shown. She ran her hand through her hair as she reminded herself again that it was not a memory. It was a dream.
Thoroughly traumatized, she leaned towards Trevor. "I have to go to the Ladies' room," she whispered. Before waiting for a reply she jumped up and walked as fast as she could towards the back of the theater, with Pippin's voice ringing in her ears.
"Merry! Merry!"
She got out into the lobby, leaned against the wall and dropped her head into her hands. She stood there for a moment, catching her breath and letting her heart rate return to normal. She put her hand in her pocket to make sure the ticket stub was there and finding it, walked outside the theater to light up a cigarette.
"What is wrong with me?" she asked out loud and ran her free hand through her hair. "I've lost my mind. I think I've finally lost my mind." She took a long drag of her cigarette and tried to clear her head. "A dream, a dream…it was a dream." She paced back and forth in front of the theater. "But how is this possible, the book was different. It was different. How would I know?" She took one last drag and threw the butt in the sewer. "Calm down, Carrie. It's just coincidence. Yes. Coincidence." She nodded her head once, satisfied at that explanation and opened the door into the lobby of the theater.
A hideous scream was coming from the theater as she entered the dark room again. She covered her ears as she walked back to her seat, and noticed that several of the other patrons were doing the same. The fell beast stopped screaming and Carrie sat down next to Trevor. He looked at her, leaned in a bit, and sniffed.
"You couldn't wait 'til the movie was over?" he whispered.
"When you gotta go, you gotta go," she quipped back.
He gave her a skeptical look but let the matter drop. Carrie realized he could probably smell the smoke on her, but she didn't care at this point. She turned back to watch Gandalf and Pippin bustling around about something. Having missed several minutes of the movie, she wasn't sure what was happening. She watched intently, trying to figure out where in the 'story' they were. A gruesome battle raged onscreen and she waited impatiently for something to give her a clue of what was going on.
The scene changed. Pippin was climbing something. She frowned at the screen. Gandalf said something she didn't understand and then a guard yelled about a beacon.
The beacons!
Aragorn burst into the hall. "The beacons of Minas Tirith! The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!" The screen showed Eowyn run up to her brother. The screen showed Legolas' and then Theoden's face.
"And Rohan will answer!" Theoden narrowed his eyes. "Muster the Rohirrim!"
"I will not ride to Gondor…" Carrie muttered and then shook her head. Trevor looked quickly at her and then back at the screen, obviously not even wanting to ask. She saw Eowyn talking to Aragorn onscreen and bit back the string of uncomplimentary words that sprang to mind, lest Trevor think she had really lost it, not that he didn't already.
Eomer's voice rang out in the theater with an all-too-familiar speech. "Now is the hour! Riders of Rohan! Oaths you have taken! Now! Fulfil them all! To lord and land! Yah!"
Trevor leaned over to her and whispered, "I thought you said you had never seen this before."
Carrie turned to him, confused. "What? I haven't," she whispered back.
Trevor eyed her dubiously. "You just mouthed the exact same words that Eomer said."
"Nooooo…." Carrie drawled nervously at him. Trevor was about to pursue the subject when a chorus of angry Shhhhhs erupted from behind them. Grateful for the diversion, Carrie smirked at him and turned back to the movie.
The next fifteen minutes passed uneventfully, with Carrie shaking her head at intermittent times. That was until the Rohirrim arrived at the encampment. Carrie watched as they rode by, men shouting their numbers to the King. She watched as Eomer, Legolas and Gimli spoke about the Dimholt Road. She thought of several choice words for Eowyn as she sent Merry to the smithy. She watched as Aragorn went to the King's tent and met with….
"Elrond!" Carrie gasped.
"I know," Trevor whispered back to her without turning her way. "This isn't how it was in the book."
Carrie shook her head at him; her jaw once again slacked. She opened and closed her mouth several times, feeling her heart begin to race yet again. She missed all of the on-screen conversation, lost as she was in her memories. Too far gone in her thoughts to argue with herself that it was a dream, and not a memory, she raised her hand to her face and touched her lips, feeling the kiss that had most likely been taking place right at this moment. She felt the familiar burning in her eyes and moved her hand to her cheek, which was already very damp. Wiping away the tears that had already fallen, she watched as Eowyn approached Aragorn. And that's when it happened.
It was brief enough that Carrie almost questioned whether or not she had imagined it. But no, no, her mind clung to the image of the people behind Eowyn as she walked towards Aragorn. A brief glimpse of straight blonde hair sitting next to wavy auburn. They were in shadow, but there was no question in Carrie's mind who she had just seen.
"I can't…I…I…" she stammered as she jumped out of her chair. "We have to leave."
"Carrie," Trevor hissed, "sit down. What is wrong with you?"
"Come on. We're leaving."
"Good!" someone snipped from behind them as Carrie turned and walked out. Trevor stared after her in disbelief a moment before gathering up his coat and following.
He caught up with her outside the theater and grabbed her arm. He whirled her around and the look in his eyes was the fiercest Carrie had ever seen him. "What's gotten into you?" he demanded.
As upset as she was, Carrie could only stand there, shaking her head, tears pouring down her face.
"What is wrong, Carrie? Are you not feeling well?" Carrie nodded helplessly at him. His annoyed look turned to concern and he released his grasp on her arm and replaced it with a hand on her back.
"Please take me home," she managed to choke out.
Trevor nodded wordlessly and guided her to where the car was parked. They rode to Carrie's house in silence. As she went to get out of the car, he grabbed her hand. "Do you want me to come in with you?" She shook her head at him and gave him a weak smile. He released her hand and she ran into her house.
She watched from the door as he drove away. As soon as the car turned the corner, she came back out and started to run. She ran down her street to the park where she and Trevor had strolled just a week earlier, and made straight for the small grove of trees on the far side of it. She stopped running in front of a large tree and after giving herself a short moment to catch her breath, began pounding relentlessly on the tree, tears streaming down her face.
"Let me come back!" she sobbed, hammering on the tree. "Please! Please!" she begged loudly, still beating away. "I can't take it! I can't! I want to go back!" If anyone had heard her, they would have thought her mad, but Carrie was beyond caring at this point.
"It was real!" she cried. "I know it was real! It had to be real!" she yelled in desperation. She started sobbing and dropped to her knees, spent from her outburst. Between her sobs she repeated desperately to herself "It wasn't a dream. It couldn't be a dream. It had to be real."
A twig snapped behind her. She jumped up and whirled around, but there was nobody there. She ran into the woods in the direction she thought the sound had come from. After crashing through several bushes and trees, she came upon an abandoned campsite. She stopped and looked around, trying to see if the campers were still in the area, or if they were long gone. Not seeing any sign of people, she would have left the site had it not been for the fact that just then she spotted all the tags still on the tent and sleeping bags. She knelt down to look closer and saw something on the ground that made her breath catch in her throat.
She picked it up and examined it closely, tears once again falling down her cheeks. Feeling utterly defeated and alone; she lay down on one of the sleeping bags, still clutching the precious item. She stayed there for a long time, crying softly to herself, until sleep overcame her.
I'm starting to get sad. This story is almost over. I can't believe it is drawing to a close; my very first fanfiction story. –sniff-- But the good news is that all my scheming has finally gotten me the one thing I have been begging for from the get go. I have my very own elf, well, my very own elf muses. Yes that's right, there are two of them, and it makes me happier than I could have ever imagined. Well, one of them does, you know, the younger cute blond one. The other is a little demanding and overprotective when I start to write smut about his son…
Anyway.
I want to take the time, again, to thank everyone who has reviewed and read. The support has been overwhelming and has motivated me to continue writing and trying to improve. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would get over 250 reviews for this story, which started out as a way to kill time until 5:00 at work…
So thank you, your praise means more to me than you can know. And I can't believe how hard everybody is pushing for "Happy Ever After." Jeez, people, what do I look like, Disney? (Well…maybe in a certain light…)
Lainfaer: I never said I was a nice person…Begging may not work, but like I said before, I accept bribes of chocolate and hot elves.
crimson7319: Yes, poor Carrie. Although, nobody put an arrow to her head and made her drink the thing…
Linda19: Mmm…not telling, precious…Glad you love the fic!
Jack-Sparrow-Lover: Aww, I'm sorry. --hands over a tissue-- There is more…a little bit…
Lopus: Carrie will not become immortal. Sorry. I think if there were a way to turn a mortal into an immortal, Aragorn would have found it first…
The Lady of Mirkwood: Gracias.
Gilraen73051: Mmm…maybe…
Calime07: Thank you. I have written one more (short) story, and there are many others "in the works." Not to mention the WIP I have posted here in the Star Wars universe. But yes, you will hear more from me.
ElvenDragon: My dear, the Grey Havens are in Middle Earth, not America, sorry. And if you are talking about Valinor, the Blessed Realm, well, that certainly isn't America either… trust me, I live here…
SayDee27: Hmm…I'm still accepting bribes…hot elves or chocolate…or both…
moonbunny77: Yes, I am evil. Muah ha ha… There are a few more stories, maybe not exactly along these lines, but somehow everything I write becomes a romance. It is not me, but my muses that are evil.
allgoodfungall247: Aww…--hands over the box of tissues-- Glad you love the story!
Moralinde: Yeah, apparently males of any race are bumbling fools when it comes to relationships…