Chapter 3
They had been walking for about an hour, and even though she was still scared, Lexi had to admit the scenery was beautiful. Mountains loomed in the distance with a silvery fog lingering over their tops, and endless fields of green were dotted with a few colorful flowers. All of them had stayed silent for most of the journey, not knowing what to expect when they got to Rivendell. Finally, after a while, they took a short break.
"So, um, what's your name again?" Lexi asked the man, who seemed to be thinking. He blinked, as if snapping out of a memory, and looked at her.
"Strider," He answered.
"Ok," She whispered timidly. She noticed how the three little men kept curiously glancing at her and her friends, then looking away again.
"Excuse me," One of them said to the three in a Scottish-like accent, "Are you Elves?"
"Pippin!" One of the other halflings hissed, "Of course they're not! Can't you see their ears?"
Lexi, Allie, and Louis all grinned.
"No, we're not elves," Allie told them, "But, what are you guys?"
"We're hobbits," The one named Pippin said proudly, "Or Shirefolk if you will."
"Wait, hobbits?" Louis said, "Isn't that from Lord of the Rings?"
"Yeah...it is," Lexi realized, "Maybe we somehow got transported to Middle Earth, and are in the story now!"
"That's crazy," He shook his head.
"I wish we actually knew what the whole story was about," Allie said, "We've never even seen the movie, or read the books. I've just heard names and stuff, like Middle Earth...and Frodo."
"You know Frodo?" One of the other hobbits asked excitedly. Allie shook her head no.
"Do you?" She asked.
"He's my cousin," The hobbit answered, "I'm Meriadoc Brandybuck, or Merry."
"I'm Allie," She said, "This is Lexi, and Louis."
"Hello," The hobbits said.
"This is Pippin," Merry said, "And Sam."
Sam blushed and muttered a 'hullo'.
"Where are you from?" Merry asked the three, "I've never heard names like yours before."
"We're from Illinois," Louis told them, then at their confused faces, "Um, the United States...Earth."
"We're from the Shire," Pippin spoke up. Louis opened his mouth to say something, but looked up at Strider, who had come over.
"We should continue on," Strider told them, "The day is getting darker."
They started walking again, the three teens and the hobbits talking along the way. Finally, after a long and tiring journey, they reached Rivendell. Once they approached, everyone but Strider's jaw dropped. It was nothing like they've ever seen before! Giant but beautiful palaces loomed overhead, and gorgeous streams and waterfalls glistened in the sunlight. Elves wearing long flowing gowns greeted them, walking like on air and holding their heads proudly.
They made their way through the city, going up stones steps until they reached what Strider said was Elrond's palace. The huge wooden doors opened as they reached the last step, and a dark-haired elf let them in, closing the doors behind them.
"Welcome," Elrond said in a smooth, calm voice, outstretching his hands and looking at each of them, "Frodo is awake and healthy, his shoulder is healed. I have your rooms prepared, if you will follow me."
He led them through the medieval-looking palace and up a set of stairs, through the halls until they stopped.
"This will be your room," He said to Strider and the hobbits, opening the door so they could go in.
"This is where you three will be staying," He told Lexi, Allie, and Louis, opening the door across the hall, "I will give you a few minutes to settle in, then I will explain everything."
He gently shut the door, leaving them in their new room. It had three single beds, a bookshelf, a chair, a bedside table with a bowl of clear water in it, and a window overlooking the beautiful forest.
"Nice place they have here," Louis commented, looking around.
"It's so pretty," Lexi breathed, "It's like nothing I've ever seen before."
"I want to know what's going on though," Allie said, "Let's go find that Elrond guy and get some answers, please? He was so brief with us."
"Yeah, ok," The other two said, and went out into the hallway.
"Which way should we go?" Lexi asked, looking around.
"How about the way we came?" Louis grinned, and Allie giggled.
"Oh, shut up," The blonde playfully hit him, and they started walking.
"Ok, it's deserted now," She said, "This is creepy."
They wandered around, looking for Elrond or anyone else that could help them. The palace was dead silent, and the only sound was their footsteps and voices echoing off the walls.
"Helloo," Allie called, followed by a faint helloo, helloo, "Ok now I'm freaked out. Where did everyone go?"
"Hey, what's that?" Lexi said, pointing to a room at the end of a short hallway. A faint glow was coming from a crack in the door, and she approached it, peeking in.
"Lexi, what are you doing?" Louis came up behind her, "We can't go in there."
"Why not?" She gave him a weird look, "There's no one in there." She slowly opened the door, and stepped in.
"Is that a crystal ball?" Allie asked, following her in and staring at the ball on top of a small round table. A purple mist clouded around inside, and they could faintly see something moving beneath it.
"Yeah..." Lexi answered, peering into it, "I can't tell what's in there though."
"Did they have crystal balls in Lord of the Rings?" Louis wondered.
"I guess so," The two girls said, confused, "Otherwise it wouldn't be here, would it?"
The purple mist suddenly parted, and they could clearly see inside...but what they saw was themselves, looking into a crystal ball. Lexi moved her hand, and the Lexi inside the ball did the same. All three of them were too shocked for words, until Allie suddenly spoke, her voice soft and shaky.
"So this guy's been watching us through this?"
"Yes, I have." A deep voice said, making them jump and whip around. Elrond was smiling at them and standing in the doorway.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry, we just found it, and..." Lexi started to explain, but he stopped her.
"I'm glad you found it," He told her, "Now I can tell you everything."
"Yeah, what's going on?" Allie demanded. He sighed, and shut the door, looking at each of them in turn.
"I brought you here to Middle Earth," He explained, "...To help with destroying the Ring of Power."
He told them the entire story of the Ring, and Middle Earth, while they listened closely, taking it all in.
"So you want us to take this Ring to a place called Mordor?" Lexi asked him, "But...we're only 18. How can we fight off orcs and stuff?"
"You won't take the Ring," Elrond told her, "At least, I don't believe so. I am having a meeting to decide who will, but you three must go with."
"Why?" Allie asked, "What can we do?"
"I cannot tell you that," He said, "It's not clear even to me. You will find that out later in the quest."
"Ok, so let me get this straight," said Louis, "You want us to go along on some quest to destroy an evil Ring, when we don't even know how to get to Mount Doom?"
"You won't go alone," Elrond explained patiently, "We will decide everything at the meeting in five days. Tonight I am having a welcoming feast for everyone that is coming, including you three. Meet in the courtyard at half past the hour, I have already had servants bring appropriate clothing to your room."
"I'm still confused," Lexi said, "Why did you choose us?"
"You will have a signifigant role in the War of the Ring," He said, "I do not know what that is though."
Lexi studied his eyes; what was he hiding from them?
"I must go prepare for the feast," He told them, "I will see you there, any other questions can be answered later."
Bidding them farewell, he swept out of the room.
"I can't believe this is happening," Louis shook his head, "I still don't get why would he pick us to help with something this big."
"We should get ready," Allie said, "He said we can ask him more questions later, right?"
Lexi nodded, and the three of them went back up to their room to change for the feast.
