I'm not dead.

Maya breathed fresh air into her lungs as if for the first time. She gasped and tried to inhale as much air as possible.

Once she had caught her breath, she had realised that she was laying in a soft bed of orange leaves. She felt no need to sit up, she just wanted to appreciate this new air she felt she had been deprived of. The trees that sheltered her were thick rooted and winding. Pushing herself to a seated position, Maya was relieved to see she was still in her own clothes. What a weird dream.

Her fingernails dug into the soft mud beneath her palms. She felt the soft breeze caress her cheek which then whispered against her ear. Birds sung their lyricless poetry to their own tune and the trees danced with the wind. Captivated, Maya hadn't realised before how much beauty there was to mother nature. She felt her senses had enhanced. Perhaps the dream was some kind of epiphany, she thought.

"I'm not dead," a smile slowly worked it's way on to her face. Maya felt she had to speak in order for it to be true.

Suddenly she furrowed her eyebrows. Where the hell am I? Her mind held many questions, that being the most obvious one. She didn't recognise this place, it wasn't one of the dog walking paths from her village, that's for sure. It was too... eerie, but beautiful at the same time. Then she noticed the debris of branches, leaves and even whole tree trunks surrounding her. There was a distinct circle drawn by the mud and torn up roots. Weird, she thought, some of these leaves are burnt to a crisp. Was that me?

Her ears pricked at the sound of a snap nearby. Picking up the first weapon-like thing she could find, she sprung to her feet, "Who's there?" only then to realise she was holding out a mere broken twig as a sword. Feeling embarrassed she threw the twig over her shoulder and raised her fists to a defensive position.

"Calanon, there's a lady here. She's one of us too," a child's voice came from somewhere above her, amongst the trees, "she just threw a twig at me." Maya spun around to see a boy, beautiful blonde flowing locks that nearly reached his hip were braided into two simple plaits either side of his head. She then noticed the pain in her neck from looking up so high as she noticed he was stood perfectly balanced in a crook of the tree nearly fifteen feet above the ground.

"Oh my goodness, don't worry I'll get you down! Where are your parents?" Maya shouted a little too loudly, scaring away a few birds that rustled in the trees.

"My Ada is-"

"Legolas! Stay clear of her. She will need to see the King and be questioned for her trespassing... And her destructive nature...," Maya frantically searched for a face to the voice when a thrilling whoosh came from behind her. She spun around and was greeted by a much too close stunningly beautiful man. She couldn't help but notice how smooth his porcelain skin was, how brightly his red hair shone against the sunlight that sprinkled through the dense leaves, "Your name?" He demanded.

Maya blinked twice and brought herself out of the gaze, "Hm?"

"Your. Name?"

"Oh! It's Maya, nice to meet you," she held out her hand to him to introduce herself formally whilst his hand darted to the hilt of his... sword. As soon as Maya realised what it was, she jumped back and was almost knocked out of the trance she seemed to be in, "where did you get that from?! Where am I? And who are you?"

"This is far too many questions for a trespasser. Now if you'll-" the man that must've been called Calanon went to grab her by the elbow and escort her back to the gates but she quickly stepped back.

"Trespasser?! I haven't done anything wrong! It's not a crime to walk my dog up some path! Speaking of, where am I? And have you seen him? He's called Pip and..." It all came back to her then. The fire. The great eye. The black smoke. And her mother... Tears were clouding her vision then and it's as if her whole body became weak. As she recalled more and more of the events that occurred, she suddenly realised when did that happen? How long had she been dead? The memories began frantically overlapping.

NO! I'm not dead. I'm NOT.

Maya hadn't noticed the firm grip of the strange man she had just encountered that was now guiding her further into the forest. Her head hung low as they walked, there was too much to focus on and her eyes felt heavy, her vision was so blurred from the unwavering tears. A light patter of feet could be heard as the young boy caught up to them. He was now in her line of sight, he was so small. He noticed her sobs and gently smiled to her, "it's alright, the King is really nice. Well, he usually is to elves. Are you a half-elf?"

"Legolas. Go on ahead but stay close. Maybe you can practice your jumping whilst we head back," Calanon's voice never faltered in being stern and it sent a shiver down Maya's spine. Why she ever felt the need to argue with this man in the first place was beyond her. He was incredibly intimidating despite his natural beauty. Legolas's head snapped away and he ran from them both.

"Miss Maya, do you perhaps realise the damage you have inflicted upon our forest?" Calanon's tone switched from intimidating to accusing, something Maya didn't appreciate.

"No," she was not in the mood to defend herself. It was enough that she had no clue where she was, why this man was so amazingly handsome or why he had better hair than her that she didn't want to be accused of anything criminal right then.

"That little 'path', as you previously named it, was not a path at all. This forest only has one path and you're lucky I know this forest well, or we could have been lost in here for days. You destroyed several of Greenwood's trees and I'd like to know how considering you hold no weapons or magical properties-"

"I fell," Maya choked in between quiet sobs.

"Ha! That must've been some fall to create such a mess!"

"And yet that's the only explanation..." she trailed off as she remembered the licking flames of the eye kissing her cheeks, "there was a fire. I remember flying and then... falling."

"Please, save this information for the King and his advisers," and just like that, the conversation was over. Maya could tell Calanon was not a conversational man, making it a very long and quiet walk.

"Alyan! I found this woman at the edge of the forest training grounds. It seems she knows something of that 'meteor' you saw at dawn. Take Feredir and inspect the damage," Calanon's order was obeyed instantly, "Open the gates!"

"Meteor?" It was hard for Maya to stay transfixed by her recent memories when Calanon's booming voice interrupted her train of thought.

"So you do speak elvish. What kind of elf are you?" Calanon's head almost snapped to look at her.

"No, I... wait-" Before she could finish her sentence and process what he had just said, he pushed her through the tall gates she had only just noticed.

Before her lay a bridge without rails made from a wide tree trunk. Beneath it lay... nothing. It was an open cavern and nothing but balance would keep her from falling to her death. The chasm, she decided to call it, was so big she couldn't see the other end of it. Great trunks wound their way up through the chasm creating walkways where buildings resided on the thicker parts of the trees.

"What the..." Maya found her jaw had dropped preventing her from allowing any other sound leave her mouth. She felt relieved that Calanon's grip was so tight on her arm otherwise she was sure to drop to her knees out of fear of the emptiness beneath her. Whilst feeling so terrified of falling, she couldn't deny the beauty of the craftsmanship. She could make out the perfectly carved leaves against the sides of the buildings and the archways made entirely out of wood. It was the most wonderful piece of art she had ever seen.

"You will soon be in the presence of our King. You will give him the upmost of respect for he is both older and wiser than any of us here. Be wary of using that attitude you previously showed to me. The King does not like to be questioned," that was an order, Maya knew.

"If this King is even the tiniest bit nicer than you, he will be getting all of my respect. I'll save my 'attitude' for those who deserve it," Maya snapped. She felt a small pinch under her arm and managed to forcefully pull her arm out his grip, "I can walk by myself. It's pretty obvious where we're going," and it was obvious. They had walked the length of that first huge path and at the end of it resided a throne, sheltered by the biggest archway she had seen so far. Show offs. She thought to herself. Upon the throne sat the King, as previously mentioned. He was indeed older, and definitely upheld the reputation of wiser.

Maya continued walking until she reached the centre of what might as well have been called a platform held up by no more than the other carved pathways. The thought of it made her knees weak. She stopped, making sure to root her feet in place in order to remain calm. Whoever this King was, she didn't care, but she knew she was out of her depth so she dropped onto one knee and bowed her head.

A great bellowing laugh sounded from in front of her, "Calanon, you are funny. But you must stop instilling fear into our fellow brothers and sisters. Please, child, arise. I merely wish to talk to you. You've created quite the commotion within these halls," the King's tone was incredibly lighthearted and certainly surprised Maya. She half stumbled to her feet and shot an icy glare at Calanon who was now badly containing a laugh.

"Forgive me for the misconception that the Captain of the guard has given you, I am King Oropher of Mirkwood. And you are?" King Oropher seemed much kinder now.

"I'm Maya. It's very nice to meet you. If you don't mind I have a lot of questions that I think you can help me with," she made sure to gain back what little confidence she had left which caused both Calanon and the few guards surrounding the King to gasp.

Suddenly, the King's face dropped. Maya had clearly overstepped some boundaries here and she began to apologise before King Oropher interrupted her, "Maya? What a... familiar name. Where are you from, child?"

"Well, that's the thing. When Calanon and I were walking here, I had a lot of time to think and...," Maya glanced to the three other men within earshot and realised they were listening intently, "well, your Majesty, I don't think I am from this world. Something happened-"

"Maya, would you mind if we spoke privately in my chambers? I know it may not seem appropriate but this seems to be a very important matter that you've bought to my attention."

Maya looked to Calanon for some kind of clue as to whether this was normal. His response did not fill her with confidence. She was on her own for this. She needed to know what was going on before her brain imploded on her. Maya inhaled deeply, "yes that would be preferable, your Majesty."

"Please, follow me," the expression on the King's face was now that of worry, causing Maya's stomach to turn.

Dear King Oropher,

I have had a vision that it is of the upmost importance to you. There is no easy way to explain it so I shall just begin and hope that you understand. As you know, there are other worlds beyond our capability of reaching. There will be a woman who will come to you named Maya. She appears to be of no danger to you but my visions are unclear past a certain point.

I will update you with any further information I have. You must take care of her for I know she will play an important role in Middle-Earth.

Once she is in your presence, I will know.

-Lady Galadriel.

"Middle-Earth... Galadriel... Mirkwood... I know these names," Maya searched her brain for any kind of logic. She knew this was no prank, no hallucination or dream. This was Middle-Earth. The Lord Of The Rings.

"I received this letter almost twenty-five years ago," King Oropher added.

"Twenty-five? I'm twenty-five years old... or I was before I..."

"Lady Maya, you must tell me all of what you can remember of your last moments on Earth."

Maya dropped the letter she had read several times to the desk in front of her and began slowly pacing, "I'm dead, aren't I?" She heard him sigh behind her from where he sat.

"I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me. I would like to offer you a room to stay in. You may tell me whenever you are ready, but you must tell me. Whatever reason you are here for, it is-"

"Important, I know. I'd like to rest. Please," all of a sudden, Maya's head began to spin and her mouth tasted bitter. Whatever the King said next, sounded like he was underwater.

She let herself fall, once again, in the hopes that someone would catch her, this time.

Please review! I will be releasing chapters in batches. I don't have a schedule as of yet but if you like the story so far then be sure to follow to be updated!