A/N: Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great start to your New Year. Things are getting pretty busy for me, but I will not abandon this story. The updates might just be a little less frequent. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review!

Chapter 7

Legolas had watched as Melody fell into yet another vision. The air around him had stiffened and brought great turmoil upon his soul – but why? The elf understood that something strange was at work and it had something to do with the mysterious woman. However, answers evaded him entirely.

What Mithrandir had spoken to him about was something he had never expected to occur – and that's saying a lot considering the quest they were on that this very moment.

Upon first meeting her, of course, he had pondered on her outlandish appearance. From the baby blue top barely held together by two thin straps accompanied by a pair of what he presumed to be black tights sporting various holes, she was quite the enigma. But after merely glancing at her attire, that next day was when he really noticed her. She held the exact same facial structure as Vanya, down to the very bridge of her nose.

Of course, it unnerved him. The closer he got to her, the more he realized who she could be. But nevertheless, he was doubtful for many days due to her strange antics and Gandalf's conclusion that she was not from this world.

That was until the visions began.

Legolas overheard what she had said about 'two children playing in a field' which struck him in a peculiar way. What sold him on the idea was the expression on her face when she had awoken from the dream. It held so much of the same countenance that Vanya acquired when she too suffered from her own visions.

But why would the Valar send her back to him now? And why as a mortal girl? After all these years of pent-up frustration, anger, and above all else sadness, the Elf could not help but feel disdain toward her. Yes, he would most definitely keep an eye on her, but at some point, he too required answers to his myriad of queries. But that would have to wait.

The Prince continued to walk through the mines as his thoughts once again distracted him from the gloomy atmosphere. He stole a glance at the woman who walked slowly amongst the group. Her shoulders were tight with fear and her head craned left and right every once in a while to survey the surroundings – not that there was much to see due to the darkness engulfing them all. Legolas tried his best to feel sympathy for her, but it was hard to whenever the same face had wrought so much pain. He understood that she might not have been responsible for the events that occurred all those years ago, but the body she was in offered him a constant reminder of his torturous past.

He sighed mutely, it probably was not the best idea for him to confront her so early about the numerous feelings she was having. Melody was probably overwhelmed by just her presence within this group of warriors and hobbits; not to mention the two separate visions she had been given.

Gandalf had told her that he would question her about the last one when the group stopped for the night. They would need to cover more ground if they wished to make it to the other side by the fourth day. Legolas was also eager to get on with the journey due to his aversion to the mines and the evil that stirred within. However, that did not quell the ever-growing curiosity in his mind directed toward what she had seen this time. Would it include another detour for the Company to travel along a different route? This time he sighed audibly, he hoped it wouldn't be. They had been veered in several directions and time was definitely not an ally considering this journey.

He could only wait until they sought rest.


That evening, Melody unrolled her small blanket upon a layer of flat rock. They decided to regain their strength after a very arduous day. Due to the severity of the situation, there would be no fires which meant dinner would consist of dried meats and fruits. Melody did not seem interested in the array and even if there was a buffet of all her most coveted foods she didn't think that would sound appetizing.

She mulled over the vision for the thousandth time. It had shaken her so much because it was longer and more potent. Melody felt so much trepidation as she recalled how the forest had been grasped by malevolence. It had not only twisted the once vibrant greenery but her soul as well. There was also so much tangible emotion that bubbled inside of her during it. Everything seemed so real and even the sharp pain brought by the gash on her shin still tingled a bit. Shivers crept up her spine at the memory and she focused on other aspects instead. Who was the boy, or elf, she presumed? Surely it was the same one from the first vision due to the similarity of their faces. But why was he so important in these visions? And above all else, why did he look so familiar?

Melody thought back to his mannerisms; the way his jaw clenched out of concern. Where had she seen that before? Definitely not back in her own world. She had never been in that much danger—save for getting catcalled in the streets of Philly—but if not there, then who did it remind her of in this place? Her brain went straight for the only elf she knew, of course. But something inside her argued on the contrary. Melody had not been around the elf that long, but in this vision, there was some sort of aura around the elf that did not quite match up with Legolas'. Truth be told, she had been barely acquainted with the blonde elf, but nevertheless, she believed that it was someone else that had invaded her mind.

Before she could pry through her thoughts anymore, Gandalf came over towards her. He made a motion as if to ask if he could sit next to her, to which she nodded tiredly.

"Well, it seems we have more to talk about," He said breaking the silence.

"Yeah, definitely," She replied as she wrung her hands together out of anxiety, "It was different this time. Much different. I could actually feel things, Gandalf."

The Wizard rose an eyebrow, "Really? That is quite intriguing."

She continued, "This time I was in a forest with the same boy from the first vision. He was older and an elf, which confused me even more. We were playing in a forest when all of a sudden, this fear took over me and we ran off together…"

Gandalf heeded her words carefully, "What did this ellon look like? And please, do tell me of the forest as well if you can."

Melody swallowed thickly and racked her brain to remember the details, "He had blonde hair, not quite like Legolas. Maybe a little darker? It was hard to tell," She let out a breath, "And the forest, the only word I can think of to describe it is suffocating."

He didn't say anything for a while and Melody thought he might not even reply at all. It looked like the Wizard was stumped by her vision yet again. Frustration began to rise within the woman, but before it had the chance to be released, he spoke.

"Melody, there are many things you have yet to discover—including your purpose for being here," He paused momentarily, as if trying to find the right words to say, "These visions did not happen upon you by chance. They are linked with why you have been brought here, yet I am unable to reveal to you why."

She deflated at his statement, "So you are just as confused as I am. Great." Shaking her head, she brought her hands beside her temples and suppressed a defeated sigh.

"I did not say I was confused," Her eyes widened at his words, "Only that I could not tell you."

Melody wanted to wipe the wry smile right off of his lips, "What?! Why not?"

Gandalf inhaled slowly, "As I said, it would not be right of me to do so. I feel, however, you will not have to wait much longer. You should take comfort in that."

At his last words, she felt his hand rest upon her shoulder, "You carry many unnecessary burdens, child. Sometimes the mysteries of life need to pan out on their own."

Melody fixated her gaze upon a small rock in front of her feet. Kicking it, she watched it tumbled and to her dismay the action did not relieve any of the tension she felt. As she fought off annoyance and fury for her presence in this world as well as the disheartening visions, a lump started to build in the back of her throat.

She eventually found her voice, "I just—" Tears welled in her eyes, "I just don't know why this happened to me. Of all people in my world, I would be sent here without any knowledge about it, save a small bit of information from my best friend."

Melody felt a few droplets cascade down her cheeks, "I just want to go home, Gandalf. This is too much for me and I don't think that the beings who sent me here have some alternate purpose. I'm no good at fighting, I have never been fond of nature, and I have never been so alone before. My whole life there was always someone to lean on whenever things got too difficult and now I'm only met with distrust and subtle pleasantries," She looked up at him, "I don't mean to sound ungrateful—you guys probably saved my life more than a few times—but even being surrounded by so many people I have never felt this much loneliness."

Gandalf saw the distress that painted her features, "That it may seem, but sometimes solitude teaches you more than the presence of your greatest comrades. I will promise you this though: the distrust you speak of will subside as the days pass I know you have already seen the hobbits have taken a liking towards you."

Melody huffed, "Yeah, but I can see that there are some people who will never come to trust me."

"By 'some people' do you by chance mean the elf?"

She shifted her eyes to his to see what resided in them, it was amusement. How could he be amused by that?!

"Yes," She spoke bitterly, "The damn elf all but banished me from the group before we came in here."

The small quirk of Gandalf's lips didn't go unnoticed by Melody, "He has his reasons, but I will not speak further about that. Just know, it was nothing you did. And with that, I would advise you to get some rest. The days ahead will be nothing short of perilous." Melody was even more befuddled by Gandalf's revelation. The question was, what could he actually tell her?

With her lips parted slightly, she wished that he could reveal more to her. Why had Legolas acted so brashly towards her? The Wizard definitely knew many things not just about her purpose, but Legolas' mannerisms as well. Were the two linked somehow? No, how could they be? She had never spoken to him before all of this.

Before Gandalf left to rejoin the others he patted her on the back, "Rest, child."

She let out a sigh and went to find her bedroll. Melody knew that sleep would be the last thing on her mind after their conversation and due to the setting that surrounded them, she didn't quite like the idea of being unconscious to the evils of this place. Her back rested against solid rock and she was aware of every single small pebble that dug into her backside. Wincing as she turned to her side, more thoughts spread through her and there was no comfort found in Gandalf's words; only unease.


The next two days held more of the same for the Fellowship. They continued their travels through Moria in a very silent state to not awaken certain devilry that festered within the mines. It was apparent that the entirety of this once magnificent kingdom was abandoned which brought great distress. Wall after wall of barren rock was all that graced their eyes as they walked onward, but even as the hope of seeing sunlight grew near, the only tangible emotion became fear.

They had stopped in a large room when Gandalf 'risked a little more light' to reveal impressive columns of stone. Melody could not hold back the awe in her expression as she beheld the great city of Dwarrodelf as the Wizard had mentioned. The glow of the staff had allowed muted shades of blue to reflect from the rock. Melody was floored by the intricate detail and craftsmanship of the city.

However, this moment of wonderment was ripped from them as Gimli sped off from the group. Gandalf had called after him and motioned for the rest of the group to follow him toward another room.

The aforementioned malice returned with a vengeance as they all stood in the small space littered with cobwebs and fallen soldiers. Melody's stomach clenched at the sight, but she tried to remain strong in the presence of Gimli's grief.

"Here lies Balin, son of Fundin," Gandalf announced grimly, "It is as I feared."

Pure agony swept through the dwarf as he wept again for his friend. Melody did not know who he was, but assumed Gimli had been close to him considering his reaction. She watched as Gandalf picked up a rather large and dusty book.

With every sentence he read aloud, more dread filled the woman. His cryptic words did nothing to assuage the onslaught of fear that crept into her body. Hands trembling, she felt something more than just the death of Gimli's friend was amiss. But she had no idea why these persistent feelings kept gnawing at her.

"They are coming…" Gandalf finished and then a loud banging resounded from the well directly behind Balin's tomb. The Wizard snapped the book shut when nothing else happened after the harsh sound. He began to reprimand Pippin for his insolent actions.

Melody felt her body ease for a moment until a soft sound permeated their ears. To her horror, Frodo's blade was turning a bright shade of blue that indicated the presence of orcs. Whipping her head around, the enemy's footfalls became rapid and heavier in the once silent mines.

It all happened so fast and she barely had time to realize a small dagger had been pressed into her palm by Legolas.

"Stay close to the Hobbits, and only use this if you need to," He instructed. She searched his stoic expression for any other revelations. Why was he being nice to her? Sure, they were in imminent danger, but one of the others surely could have offered her a weapon. Melody found no trace of an explanation, but heeded his words and retreated back toward the small creatures. They held their own weapons with shaking limbs. On one part, Melody was glad to be by them because she did not feel that her reaction to these creatures was out of the ordinary.

She watched as the others prepared the door and barricaded it. Once that was finished, they all stood in a line with their respective weapons readied. Gimli roared as he stood atop Balin's grave and then chaos ensued.

It was louder and fouler than anything Melody could have watched in a movie or seen in real life. Guttural sounds pierced the air as numerous blackened and grotesque creatures violently busted through the door. Some of the arrows shot by Legolas and Aragorn finished a few of them, but there were too many. How could they fight off so many and still win?

With her fingers still quivering, she observed how the door began to crack until it all but exploded open as the force of Orcs thrashed into the room. Bows were forgotten and replaced with swords that slashed through many foes. Melody's grip on the small dagger tightened, and she heard the Hobbits next to her yell as they too pursued their own enemies.

She was frozen yet again. What was expected of her in this situation? Did they really want her to go into this battle without any previous training? Only armed with a small knife?! The crease of worriment between her brows did not falter. If she did decide to fight, it would probably end in her demise. She knew enough about this world to understand that these beings would stop at no end to retrieve the Ring; even if that meant killing anything and everything that stood in their way.

This brought her to her next realization. There were two orcs nearly twenty feet in front of her who had caught her gaze. She gulped and tried to steady her wobbling legs as the beasts targeted her. Should she run? Hide? No…there was no place of refuge here. She would have to attempt to defend herself until one of the others caught on to her distress.

She screamed as the creatures lunged at her. Melody was thankful for her small stature at this moment, which let her dodge the blows of heavy iron-forged weapons. However, she knew that they would catch on to her lack of skills in battle; even if they were orcs.

Terror shot through her soul as one of them vehemently raised a sword to stab her side. She quickly sidestepped in the opposite direction, but that was exactly what they had wanted her to do. The other orc grabbed the wrist that held her dagger and pain flared through her whole arm at the motion. She yelped and heard the small weapon clatter to the floor; the only thing she had to defend herself with now was her hands which were immeasurably small compared to the orc's.

With widened eyes, she watched as the one who strongly held her arm twisted his lips into a cruel smile before preparing his free arm to strike her with his sword. The woman plied through her brain to decipher a way out of this situation. Her screams were barely audible amongst the cacophony of sound that echoed through the expanse. Suddenly, she decided to try and kick the orc with all of the force her leg could muster.

The beast stumbled back only a few centimeters which freed her arm. With a violent snarl, he looked back into her eyes and fixated it with a gaze of undiluted rage. This time, his hand caught her neck which made Melody gasp loudly.

The air in her lungs wheezed out on short, fleeting breaths. It was only a matter of seconds before she would pass out and probably leave this world. She noted that he still held his weapon and mentally prepared for death as the blade began to stride towards her with force.

A/N: Ooh! What will happen next? And who did Melody see in her vision? Will Legolas try to talk to her again? What does Gandalf know about her purpose? Stay tuned to find out.