Title: The Road is Destiny
Author: Firefly Lantern
Rating: PG-13 for language and violence
Author Note: [kind of mean, but I'm making a point here] Okay, here it is. I openly admit I have written a Mary Sue type story ::gasp!::. And you know what? I don't care what any "Tolkien Purists" have to say about it. Whine all you would like, but please, if you are going to tell me this story isn't HARDCORE Tolkien or whatever belittling tidbits you'd like to throw my way, please email me instead of taking up space on the review board. Thankies. ^.^. This story is for FUN. I am not trying to create a masterpiece in the style of Tolkien, I prefer creativity and originality to redundancy. Okies? An open mind is a wonderful thing! Have fun on the journey.
Hang in with me here!
Disclaimer: JRR owns the LOTR characters. Any other modern things mentioned here belong
to the makers, etc.
Oh, and P.S. I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER!!! College is eating up all of my author-time. But since I love this story ~and~ everyone who reads it, I've done my darndest to get working on another chapter. Here it is!
_The Road is Destiny_
Julie watched in fascination as the men dispersed through the marketplace as if they were following a strict battle plan. Each soldier manned his post at his stall of choice-Boromir and Aragon checked out weapons, Gimli talked to a robust woman, the Hobbits fondled all the produce they could get their grubby hands on [except for Merry, who walked by Julie's side], and Legolas picked out arrows. Not that she was looking at him. Nope, not her. Julie allowed herself to be distracted by a display of jingly gold and shiny silver jewelry. Eris mewed and flicked her tail.
The point of the arrow Legolas clutched in his hand pricked his fingertip. He muttered curses under his breath and watched a small bead of crimson blood collect over the small cut. Had Julie seen him staring at her? Ogling was a better word for what he was doing... An Elf-Prince does not ogle any woman! After all, he was not a Dwarf. But his growing attraction for Julie would soon drive him to madness if he did not find a way to collect his wits. He continued the ruse of examining second-rate arrows while he watched Julie from the corner of his eye.
Her head tilted to the side as she took her time looking at a rack of scarves. He turned slightly so his eyes followed the line of her bare neck down to where her skirt brushed the ground. Hmmm... He wanted to feel the tickle of the material pressing against his skin.
What?!
Legolas was shocked at his behaviour. True, in the last 177 years or so he had not felt so compelled toward a woman, even though it had been 88 years since he had last . . . His ears reddened. Had it truly been so long? He devoted all of his energies to his princely duties of defending Mirkwood against Orcs and other monsters.
Damn it, he was a prince!
Damn it, he could do whatever he wanted!
And Julie was walking his way...
Damn it!
He turned his back to her so she couldn't see the scitterish expression on his face.
"Aren't these glorious apples, Miss Julie?" Sam jumped in front of her and held up his stash of Snow White-ish ruby red apples bundled in white linen.
"Yup. Old Sam can pick em but he sure can't grow em!" Pippin clapped his friend on the shoulder. The comment was spoken in jest but taken in earnest.
"Thanks, Pip..." His face fell.
"I'm just poking at you, Sam! You know you're the best gardener in the whole Shire! Why would I try to eat all of your crops instead of that turly-hurly stuff Farmer Maggot grows?"
"Because you have the manners of an Orc. An Orc with a toothache."
"Why with a toothache?"
"They're less pleasant to have around."
Merry blushed at Sam's sneaky comment. Oh, payback was sweet! Julie shook her head in amusement and patted Pippin's curly head. She twitched suddenly as a sharp pain jolted through her body like an electric shock. Her free arm went to her stomach.
"Julie-" Merry started.
"I'm okay." She assured as Merry took her hand and rubbed her cold fingers.
"You should rest!" He chided in a clucking motherly tone.
"Cool beans. True dat, chief." Julie replied with a yawn. The Hobbits looked at one another with befuddled shrugs of their shoulders.
"I'll tell Aragorn we're going back to the room." Pippin offered, leaving with a brief nod. Merry nodded and started to lead Julie by her hand. Sam and Frodo followed at her other side. They all knew Merry was only being protective of Julie; he was holding her hand because he cared about her. Not in the romantic way.
But not everyone was so slow to make assumptions...
Legolas blinked twice and yet he did not believe his eyes. Why would Merry... Why would Julie... ? It made no sense. Why would she be interested in a hairy little Hobbit? Legolas bit his tongue. He loved the Hobbits like his own brothers, but he didn't want to see Julie holding one of their hands. Perhaps she was ill? They appeared to be almost huddled protectively around her... His feet were ready to fly; however, his body would not move. He wanted to go to her! Yet... if he did, would anyone catch onto his attraction for her? It would be endless embarrassment from the rest of the guys if they found out that he, the perfectly dispassionate Elf, was perfectly lost in lust. It was not something Legolas found pride in.
Julie kept her chin up as she and the Hobbit quartet made their way through the tavern. Thankfully, they did not attract much attention. Julie suspected most people in the tavern were already drunk, and it was waaaay before lunch time. Alcoholism and whoring seemed to be a big problem in Middle-Earth. People wouldn't be so bored if they could play Nintendo!
Frodo quietly unlocked the door as not to wake up the snoring Gandalf. Julie mouthed "Good night!" as she tiptoed behind the privacy screen. Holey moley, it felt soooo good to lie down and relax! She stretched down onto the bed and took a long, deep breath. Lord, things were so messed up. Would she ever get home? If not, would she ever fit into this world? Did she even belong in her "old" world anymore? The questions distressed her and made her feel hot and helpless.
In a slight panic, Julie rummaged through her purse for Pierre. She rolled onto her side and curled up into a ball. She huggled Pierre to her chest and cried in silence. Somewhere between sleep and awake, in the drowsy place where thoughts scatter like fireflies released from a jar, Julie began to have a strange vision. Scenes that were stuck behind her eyes flashed in random order:
A never-ending stretch of green grass. A chain of snow covered frosty mountains. Winding rivers. Dark caverns. The flash and whisper of clashing swords and flying arrows. Ripples on a dark pond.
Julie made a whimpering sound as the visions became more vivid... and terrible.
The ripples on the pond melted into a glowing red ring of blazing fire. It was that horrible, horrible eye! It called to her by name and said horrible, horrible things... She did her best to fight the voice, but it grew into an almost deafening roar.
"Julie... Julie... Listen to my voice." A feminine voice as soft and smooth as a falling feather spoke as well. The voice was overpowering in its quietness. "The Eye seeks you, Daughter of Phil of Ohio. It is angry for it cannot find you." A white light filled Julie's eyes, this was one cracked out dream! "Your gift is special, young woman. Alas, it can be used for either friend or foe. You are hunted for this gift. I beg you to follow your heart. . . "
"Lady!" Julie cried out, tears streaming down her face. This wasn't happening... This wasn't real.
It couldn't be real...
Author: Firefly Lantern
Rating: PG-13 for language and violence
Author Note: [kind of mean, but I'm making a point here] Okay, here it is. I openly admit I have written a Mary Sue type story ::gasp!::. And you know what? I don't care what any "Tolkien Purists" have to say about it. Whine all you would like, but please, if you are going to tell me this story isn't HARDCORE Tolkien or whatever belittling tidbits you'd like to throw my way, please email me instead of taking up space on the review board. Thankies. ^.^. This story is for FUN. I am not trying to create a masterpiece in the style of Tolkien, I prefer creativity and originality to redundancy. Okies? An open mind is a wonderful thing! Have fun on the journey.
Hang in with me here!
Disclaimer: JRR owns the LOTR characters. Any other modern things mentioned here belong
to the makers, etc.
Oh, and P.S. I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER!!! College is eating up all of my author-time. But since I love this story ~and~ everyone who reads it, I've done my darndest to get working on another chapter. Here it is!
_The Road is Destiny_
Julie watched in fascination as the men dispersed through the marketplace as if they were following a strict battle plan. Each soldier manned his post at his stall of choice-Boromir and Aragon checked out weapons, Gimli talked to a robust woman, the Hobbits fondled all the produce they could get their grubby hands on [except for Merry, who walked by Julie's side], and Legolas picked out arrows. Not that she was looking at him. Nope, not her. Julie allowed herself to be distracted by a display of jingly gold and shiny silver jewelry. Eris mewed and flicked her tail.
The point of the arrow Legolas clutched in his hand pricked his fingertip. He muttered curses under his breath and watched a small bead of crimson blood collect over the small cut. Had Julie seen him staring at her? Ogling was a better word for what he was doing... An Elf-Prince does not ogle any woman! After all, he was not a Dwarf. But his growing attraction for Julie would soon drive him to madness if he did not find a way to collect his wits. He continued the ruse of examining second-rate arrows while he watched Julie from the corner of his eye.
Her head tilted to the side as she took her time looking at a rack of scarves. He turned slightly so his eyes followed the line of her bare neck down to where her skirt brushed the ground. Hmmm... He wanted to feel the tickle of the material pressing against his skin.
What?!
Legolas was shocked at his behaviour. True, in the last 177 years or so he had not felt so compelled toward a woman, even though it had been 88 years since he had last . . . His ears reddened. Had it truly been so long? He devoted all of his energies to his princely duties of defending Mirkwood against Orcs and other monsters.
Damn it, he was a prince!
Damn it, he could do whatever he wanted!
And Julie was walking his way...
Damn it!
He turned his back to her so she couldn't see the scitterish expression on his face.
"Aren't these glorious apples, Miss Julie?" Sam jumped in front of her and held up his stash of Snow White-ish ruby red apples bundled in white linen.
"Yup. Old Sam can pick em but he sure can't grow em!" Pippin clapped his friend on the shoulder. The comment was spoken in jest but taken in earnest.
"Thanks, Pip..." His face fell.
"I'm just poking at you, Sam! You know you're the best gardener in the whole Shire! Why would I try to eat all of your crops instead of that turly-hurly stuff Farmer Maggot grows?"
"Because you have the manners of an Orc. An Orc with a toothache."
"Why with a toothache?"
"They're less pleasant to have around."
Merry blushed at Sam's sneaky comment. Oh, payback was sweet! Julie shook her head in amusement and patted Pippin's curly head. She twitched suddenly as a sharp pain jolted through her body like an electric shock. Her free arm went to her stomach.
"Julie-" Merry started.
"I'm okay." She assured as Merry took her hand and rubbed her cold fingers.
"You should rest!" He chided in a clucking motherly tone.
"Cool beans. True dat, chief." Julie replied with a yawn. The Hobbits looked at one another with befuddled shrugs of their shoulders.
"I'll tell Aragorn we're going back to the room." Pippin offered, leaving with a brief nod. Merry nodded and started to lead Julie by her hand. Sam and Frodo followed at her other side. They all knew Merry was only being protective of Julie; he was holding her hand because he cared about her. Not in the romantic way.
But not everyone was so slow to make assumptions...
Legolas blinked twice and yet he did not believe his eyes. Why would Merry... Why would Julie... ? It made no sense. Why would she be interested in a hairy little Hobbit? Legolas bit his tongue. He loved the Hobbits like his own brothers, but he didn't want to see Julie holding one of their hands. Perhaps she was ill? They appeared to be almost huddled protectively around her... His feet were ready to fly; however, his body would not move. He wanted to go to her! Yet... if he did, would anyone catch onto his attraction for her? It would be endless embarrassment from the rest of the guys if they found out that he, the perfectly dispassionate Elf, was perfectly lost in lust. It was not something Legolas found pride in.
Julie kept her chin up as she and the Hobbit quartet made their way through the tavern. Thankfully, they did not attract much attention. Julie suspected most people in the tavern were already drunk, and it was waaaay before lunch time. Alcoholism and whoring seemed to be a big problem in Middle-Earth. People wouldn't be so bored if they could play Nintendo!
Frodo quietly unlocked the door as not to wake up the snoring Gandalf. Julie mouthed "Good night!" as she tiptoed behind the privacy screen. Holey moley, it felt soooo good to lie down and relax! She stretched down onto the bed and took a long, deep breath. Lord, things were so messed up. Would she ever get home? If not, would she ever fit into this world? Did she even belong in her "old" world anymore? The questions distressed her and made her feel hot and helpless.
In a slight panic, Julie rummaged through her purse for Pierre. She rolled onto her side and curled up into a ball. She huggled Pierre to her chest and cried in silence. Somewhere between sleep and awake, in the drowsy place where thoughts scatter like fireflies released from a jar, Julie began to have a strange vision. Scenes that were stuck behind her eyes flashed in random order:
A never-ending stretch of green grass. A chain of snow covered frosty mountains. Winding rivers. Dark caverns. The flash and whisper of clashing swords and flying arrows. Ripples on a dark pond.
Julie made a whimpering sound as the visions became more vivid... and terrible.
The ripples on the pond melted into a glowing red ring of blazing fire. It was that horrible, horrible eye! It called to her by name and said horrible, horrible things... She did her best to fight the voice, but it grew into an almost deafening roar.
"Julie... Julie... Listen to my voice." A feminine voice as soft and smooth as a falling feather spoke as well. The voice was overpowering in its quietness. "The Eye seeks you, Daughter of Phil of Ohio. It is angry for it cannot find you." A white light filled Julie's eyes, this was one cracked out dream! "Your gift is special, young woman. Alas, it can be used for either friend or foe. You are hunted for this gift. I beg you to follow your heart. . . "
"Lady!" Julie cried out, tears streaming down her face. This wasn't happening... This wasn't real.
It couldn't be real...
