Element Mage: I'm glad you like it. : ) This is the last chapter, but I'm planning a sequel, so I hope you'll read that, too!
IwishChan: If you read this chapter, I think you'll get some answers to your questions. . . ; )
randomrohanfreek: Thanks for your comments. : ) If you continue reading this chapter and the sequel, you'll see why she can do a lot of unnatural stuff, and why she may seem 'Sueish' to a lot of you.
BETSY: Don't worry, I will: )
Disclaimer: I don't think I've done one of these so far, so I'm doing it now. I don't own Middle Earth or any of the characters. I do own Olivia, and Lina! hugs Lina
A/N: Next chapter soon! Thanks for all your reviews and support: )
"Come on, everybody!" called Olivia over the chattering of fifty-odd children, all under the age of twelve. "To the caves!" Looking around she tried to find Lina, but the crowd was just too big.
"I hope she's around here somewhere," she murmured. Lina had seemed pretty attached to her mother; she wondered what her reaction to having to be separated from her would be. "At least it isn't forever. It's just important for the children to be safe."
Olivia lead the children as far back into the caves as possible, then ran as fast as she could back to the front area of Helm's Deep.
"I did it!" she called to Eowyn. "The children are all taken care of!"
"Excellent," Eowyn smiled at her. "Come on, we'd better get back there ourselves."
"All right." Olivia, obediently following Eowyn to the line of other women heading into the caves.
"Olivia!" Olivia whirled around to see Legolas standing about fifty feet away. He motioned for her to go to him.
"I'll be there in a sec," she told Eowyn, then pushed her way through the crowd to him. "Did you want me for something?" she asked.
"Yes, I actually did." Legolas smiled warmly at her. "I just wanted to thank you for helping Aragorn. If you hadn't ridden after him the way you did, I fear he wouldn't have arrived until it was too late."
Olivia blushed. "Oh. . .it was nothing. Really. It was the least I could do. . ."
Legolas studied her. "I also have something else to say."
You've suddenly realized that I'm your true love and you want me to stay here forever and get married. . .oh, snap out of it, Liv! Olivia reprimanded herself. He's waaaay too old for you! Despite the fact he only looks about twenty in human years. . .
"Ever since we found you, you've been asking us to take you more seriously, and stop treating you like a child."
Oh, great. He's going to scold me because he thinks I was too young to do what I did.
"Ever since earlier today, I thought that we were right; that you are fourteen, and just a child. But after what you did, you have proved yourself Olivia. You are right. You are not a child."
Olivia beamed. "Does that mean that you're going to let me fight?"
"No." Legolas said in a firm but friendly tone. "We don't even let adult women fight. But the truth is, you're not really an adult, either. You're a. . .um. . .you're in the middle."
"A teenager?" Olivia offered helpfully.
Legolas frowned, confused. "I am not familiar with this word, 'teenager'. But if that is what you would like me to call you, then I shall."
"Wow. That's awesome. Thanks, Legolas!" She ran up to him and gave him a quick hug, then rejoined Eowyn.
"What was all that about?" she asked, puzzled. Than a slow smile spread across her face. "He didn't. . ." she paused. "Did he?"
"No!" Olivia said, playfully shoving Eowyn. ". . .though I wish he had." They both laughed. "No, what he really wanted was just to say that after what I did today-" she paused to glance pointedly at Eowyn- "he doesn't think I should be treated like a little kid anymore."
Eowyn looked thoughtful. "I suppose he's right. I'm sorry about how I treated you."
"No problem." Olivia grinned. "But no offense, it was pretty unfair. You're letting ten-year-old boys fight, for God's sake!" then she mock-glared at Eowyn. "And don't you DARE say that's because they're men, and stronger than women!" Eowyn laughed.
"When I was a girl, I always told myself that they didn't let women fight because they were more important, and should be protected better." Olivia grinned.
"I should have thought of that!" The two of them continued to talk and joke all the way back to the caves. Olivia smiled. I'm glad Eowyn and I are getting along again. I hate fighting!
Olivia thought that if she had to endure one more moment of listening to crying children and wailing babies, she would scream. I can't take this. She gritted her teeth. It's a nightmare. She had been sitting in the caves for almost three hours, waiting for the fighting to stop. At one point, the orcs had almost broken through the barrier, but the men had stopped them just in time. That had been the only exciting point of the entire battle for her (though she did feel sort of guilty about thinking of the battle as exciting- everyone else was scared to death!).
All of a sudden, a great cheer rose up outside the barrier. Olivia jumped up. Was the fighting over? Were they finally free?
"Helm's Deep has not been taken!" a joyful cry came from a woman near the front of the room.
"Yesssss!" Olivia ran towards the front of the cave. "We're free!" The barrier was pulled away, and she, along with about a hundred other women and girls, streamed out into the cool night air.
"Liv!" she looked to her left to see a little girl running towards her.
"Hey, Lina!" she grabbed the little girl and hugged her close. "We're safe!" then she pulled away and held her at arm's length. "Wait, you didn't loose you're mother again, did you?"
Lina giggled. "No! She's right over there, see?" Olivia looked in the direction she was pointing, and indeed, Lina's mother stood there, smiling. Olivia smiled back, walking over.
"So we meet again, Olivia." Lina's mother smiled warmly. "I am glad that you have made it through the battle all right."
"Same to you." Olivia grinned back. "And same to Lina. You're lucky to have such a sweet little girl as a daughter." She put her arm around Lina's shoulder.
"I like you, too! You're a great friend!" Lina wrapped her arms around Olivia's neck and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Then she drew back, looking puzzled. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Who's Orlando, and why did you kiss him?" Lina wrinkled her nose. "Boys are gross!"
Olivia groaned loudly. "He's nobody. Never mind."
"Okay." Lina gave her another quick hug, then ran off to rejoin her mother. "Bye, Liv!"
"See ya!" Olivia smiled, watching the little girl walk away with her mother. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with a wave of homesickness. Ever since she had gotten used to being in Middle Earth (which was basically right after the first time she saw Legolas), she had barely thought of home. Now, she was suddenly missing all of it: her house, her school, her friends. . .even her parents and her sisters. All of a sudden, Olivia just felt like crying.
"Olivia!" she sighed. Why are people always calling me? Turning, she saw Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli standing over by the bridge. . .with Gandalf.
"Ohmigod!" she cried. She had completely forgotten about how Gandalf came with an army and saved everyone. Now she could finally ask him where he had been in Edoras!
She raced over to them. "Gandalf?"
Aragorn looked puzzled. "That's right! How did you. . ." But Gandalf didn't look surprised in the least that she knew who he was.
"Never mind, Aragorn. All will be told in time. Now, we need to get some place where we can talk." He glanced around at the throngs of people milling about, looking for loved ones and surveying the damage done during the battle. "In private."
The six of them headed into the hall, and under Gandalf's instructions, into a little-used room that contained a table and- as luck would have it- six chairs. They all sat down, instinctively turning to Gandalf. When he spoke, his words were directed at Olivia.
"Olivia Morris." She started, looking spooked.
"How. . . how did you know my last name?"
Gandalf smiled gently. "Oh, I know a lot of things about you, Olivia. Even more than you do."
"Let me get this straight. You claim to know more about me. . .than I know about me?" Gandalf nodded. "Uh-uh, no way! How could you know anything about me?"
"We'll get to how I know later. Now, I suggest, we had better stick to what I know, and what it has to do with the future of Middle Earth." Olivia was so speechless, she couldn't do anything but sit there with her mouth hanging open. The future of Middle Earth? What could I possibly have to do with the future of Middle Earth?
"But what could she possibly have to do with the future of Middle Earth?" Legolas asked, echoing Olivia's thoughts. "She's only fourteen!"
" 'Sometimes the smallest people can do the most extraordinary things,'" quoted Gandalf. "Sound familiar, Olivia?"
"Yes. . .Galadriel said that to Frodo in Lothlorien. But what does that have to do with me?"
"Hold on a second." Aragorn said firmly. "How did you know that, Olivia? You weren't there!" She didn't have an answer for him, but Gandalf did.
"True, she wasn't there. But she heard it. And saw it. Right, Olivia?" Olivia felt as though the world was being turned upside-down.
"I. . .I don't know what you mean." She said shakily. There's no way Gandalf can know about Earth. There's no way Gandalf can know. . . she chanted to herself silently.
"It's all right," he said gently. "You can tell them. It is vital to the future of Middle-earth that you do." There he goes again, with that 'future of Middle-earth' stuff. . .but I still don't know what it has to do with me!
"Okay. . ." she started slowly. "Um. . .I'm not really from Gondor." Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli looked indifferent.
"Is that all?" Legolas said. "Olivia, it doesn't matter whether you are from Gondor or not."
"Yes, it does. . .and no, that's not all." She swallowed, looking over at Gandalf. "I can't do it." She whispered to him. "I can't tell them that I'm not from Middle Earth. Can't you do it?" she pleaded.
Gandalf looked at her sternly. "No, Olivia. You say you want to be treated like an adult, so you must act like one. You must take responsibility for yourself." Olivia sighed. He was right.
"I am not from Gondor." She repeated. "I am really. . .I'm really from. . ." C'mon Liv, you can do this. . . "I'm from Earth."
"Earth?" echoed Aragorn, confused. "Not Middle Earth?"
"No. Just plain Earth. Far away from here. In fact, in my world, Middle Earth doesn't exist." This brought outbursts from Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli.
"Not exist?"
"Impossible!"
"This makes no sense!"
"But it's true." Olivia said slowly. "In my world, Middle Earth only exists in movies."
"Movies?" asked Legolas. "Where is Movies?"
"Movies isn't a place. 'A movie' is this thing where. . .well, never mind. I'll tell you later. The important thing is, no one in my world knows Middle Earth is real. They think it's made up." She took a breath. "I did, too. Until I landed in here, that is. And then you found me in the forest." She looked at Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli, then back at Gandalf. "That's all I know. I don't know why I'm here, or what it has to do with the future of Middle Earth. I also don't know why you didn't show up in Edoras. You were supposed to get Saruman out of Theoden!"
"Wait a moment." Aragorn interrupted. "We never planned for Gandalf to come with us to Edoras! We met him just before we found you, and he was going to go after Merry and Pippin!"
"Well, that's not the way it happened in the movie." Olivia said. "And I have a feeling that the reason it didn't happen that way now is because of me." she turned to Gandalf. "Right?" He smiled.
"Right. You're very smart, Olivia." Olivia beamed. "But unfortunately, I don't know the whole reason why you're here." She groaned.
"Can you at least tell me what I have to do with the future of Middle Earth?"
"No." Gandalf said. "All I know is that you have a big part to play yet, young lady. But it won't be for a while. Until then. . ."
"Yes?" Olivia asked eagerly. As much as she loved Middle Earth and the people she had met there, she wanted, more than anything, to go home.
"You can choose what you want to do. You can either stay here, or go home."
"Go home!" Olivia answered immediately, then turned to everyone else. "I mean. . .no offense."
"No offense taken, of course." Legolas said gently. "We will all miss you."
"I'll miss you guys, too." She said softly, tears in her eyes. "But I miss my home, too. And if Gandalf is right, which I'm sure he is, then I'll be back someday."
Olivia walked over to Gimli. "Thank you for finding me in the forest." She said. He smiled.
"It was our pleasure, lass." Next, she turned to Aragorn.
"Thank you for letting me come with you to Edoras." He nodded respectfully at her.
"I was glad to. And thank you for saving me after the orc attack. You're a wonderful girl, Olivia." Slowly, she turned to Legolas. This was going to be the hardest for her.
"Thank you for everything that you have done for me since I got here. And for treating my like a teenager." Instinctively, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. To her delight, he hugged her back.
"You were always my favorite character," she whispered in his ear, before letting go. She squared her shoulders, then went back to stand next to Gandalf. "I'm ready." He smiled warmly at her.
"Then let's go." he took her arm, and picked up his staff. Saying some words in a language that Olivia didn't recognize, he turned the staff in slow circles around them, leaving a glowing green light in it's wake. Then, the room they were in, along with Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli began to fade slowly. . . slowly. . .until Olivia could see nothing but vague shapes and splashes of color. The colors began to move, creating a swirling vortex. The rainbow-colored vortex got bigger and bigger, as if they were moving closer. Olivia suddenly realized that she couldn't feel Gandalf's grip on her arm anymore. The swirling color engulfed her, pulling her, and all of a sudden she could see stars. She was speeding, back through space and time, faster and faster and faster. . .and then everything went black.
"Olivia? Olivia! Olivia Morris!" Olivia opened her eyes to see a stern-faced Mrs. Partridge looming over her. Olivia instinctively shrank back.
"Olivia, I'm surprised at you. I never thought you'd be the one I'd catch napping in class!" glaring at her once more, she whirled around and headed back to the front of the room.
"Ohmigod, I'm still in science class!" she breathed.
"Um, yeah, where else would you be?" Bethany asked.
"Just. . .never mind." Olivia was examining her clothes and hair, amazed to find that there were no grass stains, no dirt smears, and every strand of her wavy light brown hair was perfectly in place. Even her makeup, which had long since smeared off while she was in Middle Earth, was intact. "This is amazing," she murmured.
"What's amazing is that you conked out in class!" Bethany whispered. "I've never seen you do anything like that before!"
"How long was I out?" Olivia whispered back.
"Just a few minutes." Came the reply.
Olivia sat back in her seat, awestruck. What had seemed like days to her had in reality only taken place in a few minutes. She couldn't believe it. She felt like she had aged years.
As Mrs. Partridge started a lecture on the anatomy of frogs, Olivia let her mind wander back to what Gandalf had said just before she left. You are vital to the future of Middle Earth. . .could it be true? Could she, average teenager Olivia Morris, play an important role in the future of another world? If Gandalf was right (and she had a sneaking suspicion he was) the she was obviously not just plain old Olivia Morris. She was obviously someone more important, much more important.
"Who am I?" she whispered to herself. "Who am I?"
To be continued. . .
