Disclaimer: J.R.R Tolkien owns Lord of the Rings not me!

A/N: Italics are character thoughts.

Chapter 2: Lost

The day had dragged on for Aranel, she had arrived home later than she had planned due to the detention she had received the previous day. As she opened the front door, the sun already sinking below the horizon, she looked around for any sign of life.

Good, they're still out. She thought as she quickly went up stairs. Her mother had gone to her brother's football match, and with any luck Aranel hoped they wouldn't be home for another hour or so, that way they wouldn't find out that she had gone out.

As Aranel packed a small back pack with a jumper and torch and other bits she thought she might need for a walk at night, she felt the excitement building in her at the thought of what she was going to do. She knew her mother would never had let her go after the episode of the mysterious man, it had taken all morning on Aranel's behalf to convince her not to go to the police about it, but now she just had to know. She had been planning it all day at school. Knowing no one would be home she thought she'd have hours to wonder around, just to see if he was still there, just to make sure that he wasn't in fact…. This really is ridiculous. She thought as she finished packing, slipping her silver Lord of the Rings ring on her finger for luck. He wont be there cause he's just some random and even if he is, what am I going to do, just walk up and say 'hey, your not an elf by any chance are you?' She hesitated at this thought. What was she going to do if she met him again? She decided that she'd work that one out in the unlikely case that she actual found him. So with that she started off out the back gate and headed towards the bush that was darkening quickly as the sun disappeared.

Aranel had been walking for a while. She had her torch out, thanking the stroke of brilliance that had made her take it with her and she had her jumper on to combat the increasing cold. In fact it was the increasing cold that she first noticed as slightly odd for that particular time of the year. I told you this was a bad idea, said the logical part of her, now your just cold, hungry and tired and you haven't found anything. Aranel shut out that side of her mind. It had been complaining quite a lot since she had past the fallen log from her previous nights walk, and that had been some time ago.

Aranel stopped walking now, shining the torch into the darkness, trying to decide whether she should go back, after all, it had been a pretty pointless thing to do in the first place. As she stood there, contemplating this, she shone her torch up into the branched above her and it was only after a moment or two that she noticed something very strange. The trees had changed. Where there had once been very distinctive Australian bush there were now tall pine trees that looked like they could have been there since the beginning of time. Aranel shivered as she looked at them, they made her feel very small and insignificant. Maybe some one planted them ages ago and the bush grew around them. She tried to reason with herself. She was very aware of how dark it had grown and the adventure seemed to have seeped out of her walk.

I'll just go a little further, just to the top of the hill, so I can see the city lights. She thought, knowing that seeing the lights below her and the harbour in the distance would reassure her. It was one of her favourite places to come. She was able to find peace in being so far away from it all.

She tried to ignore the increasing anxiety growing in her. Now that she was aware of her surroundings she noticed that it didn't change back to the bush she had hoped for, but if anything appeared to be becoming more and more untamed. She was getting to the point of just turning around and running all the way home again when she saw the clearing at the top of the hill just ahead of her. Thank God! She thought, she had had that horrible feeling of being followed; the kind you get after you watch a horror movie and you think something's going to jump out of the closet and eat you even though you know nothing is there.

As Aranel past through the last of the trees and came to the middle of the clearing the shock seemed to hit her like a physical blow and fear rose up inside her. In front of her was not the familiar scene of tall buildings and twinkling lights, there was no web of roads and no busy harbour glinting in the background. There was nothing. Just the dark shadows of trees stretching as far as her eyes could see.

Your on the wrong side of the hill said a hopeful voice in her head, so in desperation she looked around her. No, definitely not on the wrong side, I'm on the top, there can't be a wrong side! She thought as she managed to stumble to a twisted, wind battered tree and slump down onto its trunk, still not able to take her eyes of the unknown and frightening scene before her. Aranel could think of nothing else to do but to shut her eyes tightly and pray to anything at all that when she opened her eyes her own world would be there to great her, and not this strange, wild place that she had become completely lost in. But before she managed to open her eyes again she felt a sharp jab on the base of her back. Aranel's eyes snapped open as she sprung to her feet and turned quickly on the spot, her heart felt like it was thumping its way all the up her throat and making a bid for freedom.

Behind her stood an oddly familiar elderly man, with a long silver beard and pointed hat and behind him stood a row of what Aranel could only assume to be warriors of some sort, for they were well armed and yet again all weapons were aimed at her.

"Now, stay calm child. We just need to ask you a few questions." The old man said in a voice that was far to stern to be calming.

Aranel again found herself struck dumb and unable to respond.

"Come now, easy does it, we don't want to hurt you if you will just co-operate with us." He was now edging towards Aranel slowly. Aranel started to back away, slightly confused about why they were so nervous of an unarmed girl but nether the less far more concerned by the fact that hurting her had been mentioned.

"Just come here now, child, nice and slowly…" the old man was still talking but Aranel was to busy working out her options to listen. She realised now that she really was at their mercy and the only thing that she had for defence was her torch, so failing to see any other option she decided to take a good look at her assailant, pointed the torch directly at the old mans face and turned it on.

This was a mistake. The old man, momentarily blinded by the bright light threw his hands up to cover his face and took a few hasty steps back, stumbling on one of the roots of the tree. The men surrounding him took this as a sign, and moved forward, surrounding her whilst one moved swiftly to her side, twisting her arms behind her back and bringing her to her knees, making her gasp out in pain.

"Gandalf! What has she done to you! What evil has she used against you!" She heard one man exclaim as he steadied him.

Gandalf!... Aranel thought through the haze of emotion that was running through her. But her thoughts were cut of by a man riding into the light still being cast by the torch which now lay, untouched, on the ground.

"She has used the same magic on you Gandalf, as she did me. Though I think you have had a lucky escape tonight old friend." Aranel watched the man speak, she knew him. He was the man she had run into yesterday.

"Indeed, I think you may be right Legolas, though I do not understand why she has not attacked us. You say she attacked you without having to move, as if she used her mind?"

"Yes, she did." The man Aranel now shockingly recognised as Legolas said, taking a step towards her to analyse her more closely.

"Perhaps we should show her some mercy for refraining to harm us tonight." Gandalf murmured.

Legolas looked back at him saying quietly, almost as if he wished her not to take offence, "You know what my father ordered."

"Yes…yes, alright then." Gandalf said as he started to walk away.

Aranel was still being held, kneeling with her arms behind her back as she tried to take in the reality of the situation and had no time to register the blow that came to the back of her heard, sending her spiralling into darkness.