a/n: oop. it's been a while. two chapters! yay! (insert standard disclaimer here)

::: Chapter 5 ::: Close Your Eyes and the Glory Fades

"Nope, nope, I'm absolutely fine!" I'm not sure if I was trying to reassure Legolas or myself with that particular statement. "No imminent mental breakdowns here!"

"If you're sure, but—"

"Appreciated but unnecessary, my elvish friend, I'm allllllllll good. Promise. Promise? Promise." The last bit was mumbled into my very stylish, fashionably ripped, reddened, and rumpled bedsheet dress, but I think he heard me anyway.

So maybe I lied. No big deal, happens all the time. See, the thing is, I am not okay with all of this. I didn't want to get shoved into some dead lady's body in an unfamiliar world, no matter how much I may have studied it. I didn't want to deal with so many near-death experiences in less than twenty-four hours, and I certainly didn't ask to help kill living creatures. I mean, they are orcs who wanted to eat me, but I wasn't ready to kill them!

If I'm being completely honest, I just want to curl up and cry. I don't know how the Mary Sues do it! I've had enough stress to last me two lifetimes, thanks, and I... I just want to go home. To my normal body, my own family, and the best friend a person could ever ask for. I want to be anywhere but here. Riding through the gates of an elven city, in a world so alike, yet so different from my own. I want my home.

But, well that's not really happening right now.

Right now, the gates are closing behind us, and we're riding towards the central palace place. Elfy seems concerned.

"Really," he said, "I could get you a calming tea from one of the healers when we arrive if you should need it?"

"I'm fine, Legolas. I'll be alright."

So, as Uncle Jim always used to say, suck it up, buttercup. And buckle up too, cause life on the struggle bus is never, ever, smooth.