Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings, or any characters/ celebrities mentioned. Please do not use the name Eldarwen because it is a character of my imagination. Please read and review! The more reviews, the faster I update. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

'Riley!' my mother called, 'it's time to call it a day.'

I reluctantly dried off and came into the house. I decided that I should keep my 'super senses' a secret. It couldn't hurt. Right?

'Yes, it won't hurt anything,' I thought to myself.

In the kitchen my mom was preparing dinner and saw me as I entered. Then she continued preparing. 'Dinner will be ready in five minutes Riley.' She took a double take. 'Tawh hanpepd, era yuo turh?* she asked.

'I'm fine,' I replied. 'I'm going to take a shower and go to bed. I'm not that hungry.'

'Okay. Put your towel in the laundry room and bring a banana upstairs with you. You should eat something.'

I grabbed the banana from her and left. I could tell that she was looking at me with concern. As I trudged up the stairs, Vicki started to walk down.

'Dinner will be ready soon.'

'I know. I'm going to take a shower and go to sleep. I'm not hungry. I already told Mum that I would not join you guys for dinner.'

'Okay. But remember, we always have extra,' she said. She started to stare at me for a few seconds, then passed me and went down the rest of the stairs.

I continued my trudge up the stairs. In the room I shared with Vicki, I grabbed my pajamas and walked into the bathroom that all of us siblings shared. I turned the water on and hoped a long shower would help me feel better. As I took my shower I sang "Just One of those Days" by Monica. My troubles seemed to wash away as the warm water stripped me of the sand that had attached itself to my body.

Actually, I completely forgot about my troubles until, 'Agggggghhhhhh! Oh no! Oh good Lord! Why me, why me?!' I wailed. It was a good thing this house had double insulation. How would I be able to explain this to my family if they had heard my wail? The source of my screech came after I looked in the mirror. I had pointed ears! How long could I hide this from my family? As I walked out of the bathroom, I covered my ears with my hair just in case someone was to be outside the door.

I crept down the hall to my room and I got dressed. As I lay down in my bed, I tried to figure everything out. Sure, I would love to have pointy ears like the Elves do in The Lord of the Rings. But I never thought you could have them, well, without surgery anyways. What are people at school going to think? I can't hide this for long. Maybe Mum will let me get plastic surgery even though that would be very painful.

Dong, dong, dong. the clock struck eight o'clock. It would be a while before everyone went to sleep. A few minutes later the door opened and Vicki entered.

'Riley,' she called softly. 'I am going to bed too. So is everyone else. We are going to KK and Bampas early in the morning. We are going to seven o'clock mass. Mum wants to leave the house by six in the morning so we can make them breakfast.'

'Okay,' I mumbled. 'Vicki?'

'Yessim?' she answered as she changed into her pajamas.

'I'm going to sleep in the spare bedroom tonight.'

'Why?' she asked.

'I just want to okay?'

'Suit yourself.'

I walked downstairs and entered the spare room. There, I crawled under the soft comforter and tried to fall asleep. After two minutes, I drifted off to sleep. At three AM, I awoke to hear the waves crashing against the rocks, one of my favorite sounds. Thud!

'Tawh te-* ' I began to say. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding; five o'clock. I crept out of bed and was about to leave the room when I heard a knock on the window. From the kitchen came the sound of the coffee maker, my father must be up. Another knock. Should I look to see who it was? I decided I would, so I took the shade off of the lamp on the nightstand and gripped it firmly. Just a precaution. It was probably someone I knew because a killer would have used the front door or something.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and opened the shutters. Slowly, in reality what happened in seconds, felt like eternity. Instead of some crazy lunatic, it was. Orlando! He was clad in forest green clothing, long blonde hair, and bright blue eyes shining. After the shock, I set down the lamp, slid the glass back, and took out the screen.

'What are you doing here Orlando?' I asked. 'And why are you-'

'Who is Orlando?' he asked, gazing intently into my eyes.

'Come on, stop kidding around.'

'I am not as you say, "kidding around". This is as I suspected. So the riddle has been solved. It came to Elrond in a dream, right before he passed to the Grey Havens. And here, just now you mistake me for another, yet you know me not,' he paused, as if in thought. 'Well, I do not know who Orlando is. But I can tell you that I am not he.'

'Ai! Rangwon-*' I broke off. How can I suddenly speak a language that I have never learned to speak? I continued, 'First of all, if you're not Orlando, who are you and why are you here?'

'Ah, yes. There is much that must be explained. For the answer to your first question, I am Prince Legolas Greenleaf, son of King Thranduil of Mirkwood, leader of the Elven colony of Ithilien. I have come to rescue you, to tell you about your full potential. I-'

'What do you mean, "rescue me"?' I interrupted. 'Rescue me from what? You must have amnesia because Ithilien is in Middle Earth. Ithilien isn't, dare I say it, real.'

'Oh, but it is real. Now you must come with me. I will explain everything in the boat."

'Come where?' I inquired.

'To Middle Earth of course,' he responded. 'Your "parents" are not your parents at all. If you scream and struggle, I will bind your hands and legs and gag your mouth. Then I will proceed to carry you.'

'What will my parents think when they notice that I am gone? Obviously they will notice that I'm not in my room,' I suggested. 'They'll have search parties trying to find me. It will be all over the news. Besides, I can't just leave a family, friends, and a boyfriend whom all love me. Of course I would love to live in Middle Earth, but I can't just leave everyone behind. And if Middle Earth really exists, why are you taking me there? Why can't I bring everyone with me?'

'First of all, the search parties cannot be avoided. The answer to why I am taking you there is this: your real family lives in Middle Earth. Minas Tirith, to be precise. You are needed and have been greatly missed. To your second question: have you not forgotten that now you have pointed ears. Your "family", is not of your kin. Secondly, they would never survive living in Middle Earth. It would tear them apart. But you, you are destined to return to the country you were lost from. You will have no problem adjusting. Before I take you, I have to ask you one question. Do you trust me?' He held out a long slender hand, firm and steady.

I looked deeply into his sea blue eyes and became instantly lost. Yes, I thought to myself, I do trust him. With that look in his eyes, I would have followed him anywhere.

'Do you trust me?' he repeated, firmly, still holding his steady gaze and firm outstretched hand.

I took a deep breath and answered, 'Yes. I do trust you.' I grasped his hand and warmth I have never felt coursed through me.

The next thing I knew, we had climbed through the window.

'Wait a minute! I should leave a note. Even if they don't believe it, they'll know that I wasn't hurt or anything.'

'You must hurry because we have very little time,' he said. 'Keep it simple.'

'I will.' I climbed gracefully back into the house making no noise. Hastily, I rummaged through the desk and found pad and paper. Here follows the note that I wrote to my family:

Dear loving family,

It grieves me to say that I am leaving. I secretly bought a small wooden boat and I have decided to venture down the coastline on a path to self-discovery. I must get off before you wake, so I will keep this short. Do not, and I repeat, do not come looking for me, for your search will be in vain. I am not coming back. Thank family and friends for being supportive of me. I was blessed to have been able to spend 14 years of my life with you as my family.

I love you all,

*Riley Marie*

I put the note on my bed, and for the last time, I crept out of my house. Legolas led me to the shoreline and we climbed on board. He pushed off, grabbed the one of the oars, and started to paddle against the current.

'You can sleep here for the rest of the morning. I will wake you up just in time to get your first glimpse of Middle Earth, if you have not woken up already. You may find that your slumber will become lighter as we come nearer. Once we arrive, you will have fully transformed back into an Elf. Make yourself comfortable. After the boat, we still have many leagues to travel. Eighty-three leagues in a mostly direct path. I can, and will, tell you more when you awake.'

'But I want to know now!' I complained. 'I want answers now!'

'If you do not sleep, I will refuse to tell you anything at all. Is that your wish?' he asked with the slightest hint of a smile. In answer, I lied down on the bed, pulled on my covers, and fell into a deep sleep.

'What time is it?' I asked groggily.

'So you have waken?' he turned to me and said with a laugh. 'It is about 8 in the morning by your reckoning. You have woken up in time. Middle Earth approaches.'

I looked towards the horizon. Legolas had turned and started to paddle again.

'Have you been paddling all night?'

'No, I have not. We had a strong wind pushing us all the way to our destination. And yes,' he said in answer to the look of confusion on my face, 'I do realize that the boat has no sails. We had Eru's blessing. This is as close to "magic" as you get.'

'So, once we get to shore, how long will it take to get to Minas Tirith?'

'It should take about two days if all goes well,' he answered. 'Oh, that flask has water for you. And here,' he pulled out a wafer with a leaf covering,' is lembas, Elvish way bread. One small bite is enough to fill the stomach of a grown man. Eat a little bit when you get hungry.'

I took the lid of the flask of water and took a sip. It tasted clearer than any water I had ever seen. Next, I carefully broke off a corner of the lembas that was showing and tasted it. 'This Elvish stuff, it's not bad.'

'Ah, you like it now. But try traveling day after day with only this to eat. At least it doesn't spoil until it's unwrapped and it is filling.'

'Well, I must say that I have many questions. First of all, what is my name and how old am I?'

'You're name is Eldarwen and you are 43 years old. But for an Elf, age does not matter.'

'Who is my family? If they loved me so much, why did they just now come to find me?'

'Until now, we did not know how to find you. Even then, not many were willing to go on such a perilous mission. When no one wanted to go, your father himself came to me and asked if I could find an Elf willing to go. Being a close friend and ally of your father's, I chose myself. Your father,' he continued with a twinkle in his eye, 'was pleased that I volunteered. He knew that I would stop at nothing to find you. In answer to your first question, your parents are Elessar, King of Gondor, and Queen Arwen.'

'No they're not. I mean, they can't be. But Tolkien made them up. And another Elf named Legolas. How could Tolkien know everything that happened? I'm so confused.'

'Tolkien arrived on Earth, well, the other Earth, the same way you did. Except he came there for a different reason. Do you wonder how you were lost from Middle earth in the first place?' he inquired.

'Yes I do, now that you mention it. How was I lost?'

'It's a fairly simple tale, really. Your father wanted to take the whole family on a trip to the beach, so everyone climbed on horses and traveled to the Bay of Belfalas (which is where we will be docking). You, being newborn, rode on the same horse as your father. There at the Bay is docked all types of ships and boats of all imaginable sizes. When you all arrived, your brother Eldarion and your other sisters were fascinated with the boats. You became curious and somehow crawled into one of the small boats when no one was looking. The next thing they knew, they saw the boat drifting off to sea with you in it. They sent out the fastest ships, but a strong current swept you beyond their reach. Your parents, especially Arwen, wept. For you have the gift of the Eldar, hence the name Eldarwen.'

'I was just going to ask, why do I have the gift and my sisters and Eldarion do not?' I asked getting rather confused.

'You have the gift because your mother wished it that way. She wanted her youngest daughter to be able to take the ship of the Valinor, like she herself was able to do. Tolkien was right when he said she would never take the ship.' Legolas' blue eyes looked deep with sorrow. 'It grieves Aragorn to think about the day she bound herself to him, forsaking the immortal life of her people.'

'Oh,' was the only sound I could make. Just as I began to scan the horizon for sight of land, I saw it. Middle Earth began to loom into sight. I tried to contain my excitement, but it got the best of me. As Legolas set down the oar, I started to laugh loud and clear. His eyes were twinkling with mirth.

'If you take the other oar,' he began, 'we can get there twice as fast.'

We picked up our oars and glided closer to Middle Earth.

* What happened, are you hurt? * What the- * I understand-