Chapter 3- Welcome
I groggily opened my eyes, expecting to see the familiar white ceiling and lavender walls of my bedroom. Instead, I saw an open sky and trees all around. I sat up with a jolt, making two very short people run over to me. "She's awake!" one yelled. Everything came flooding back to me when I saw the blond guy.
"W- where am I?" I asked nervously.
"You're on the road to Lórien, lassie," answered a short guy with a massive red beard.
"What's that? Who are you guys?" I was starting to feel a bit panicky.
"Lórien is a beautiful wood. Some of my people- the elves- live there," the blond guy explained. Elves? That explains the pointy ears, I thought. But there are no elves on Earth…
"Am I still on Earth?" I questioned shakily. I had a bad feeling about the answer.
"No, miss. You're in Middle-earth," interjected a kind-faced tiny person.
I have no idea where that is.
I may never see my mom again.
Or Olivia, my little sister.
Or Tom, who's only ten and thinks I'm cooler than all his friends' siblings, because I've been driving for seven months now.
I may never get back home.
Those thoughts swirled around in my mind like the stupid whirlpool that had brought me here. Tears welled up behind my eyes and dripped onto the blanket covering me. "Don't cry," said a Scottish-accented voice behind me. I had to smile. It was another little person. This one had a pointed sort of face and mischievous green eyes. "What's your name?" he asked softly.
"Alize," I whispered, still recovering from the shock of being stranded in 'Middle-earth.'
"Mine's Peregrin Took, but most people call me Pippin," he responded. A few minutes later, I had learned all their names and races. Apparently the tiny people were called hobbits.
The man called Boromir spoke up. "Aren't you all forgetting something? We are on a journey. We must hurry if we want to get to Lórien, let alone Mordor! Alize, you must choose to leave us now or stay."
"Stay," I said quickly. I don't know anything about Middle-earth. Judging from these guys' weapons, I would probably get killed in a second if I left.
"Can you defend yourself?" asked Aragorn. "We will encounter Orcs and possibly worse things. You will need a weapon if you are to stay."
"And we walk miles upon miles each day," Boromir added. "Are you sure you want to stay? You are a mere girl. I am unsure if you can handle staying with us."
"I can't defend myself yet, but I'm a fast learner and a fast runner. I did cross-country back home," I replied smartly. "And don't be so sexist, girls are just as strong as boys."
"What's cross-country?" the hobbit called Merry asked me. At this point, I was completely unsurprised. I knew nothing about Middle-earth, and they were equally clueless about Earth.
I sighed. "It's running as a team and on your own. It's really fun."
Merry sighed back. "Sounds like something we would do in the Shire. That's where hobbits live," he added.
Aragorn smiled grimly. "Here, running is usually for survival." I gulped.
"Welcome to Middle-earth," said Legolas, a smile dancing in his eyes. Sam helped me up and all my blankets fell off. I was still wearing my bikini.
"Uh, does anybody have any extra clothes?" I asked. They all shook their heads. I tied two blankets together around my body as a makeshift dress while the others cleaned up camp. They each put their possessions and sleeping bags in a pack and slung it around their shoulders. Sam's looked especially heavy, as he had all the cooking pots. I offered to take some, but he refused. We started walking after a few more minutes, and I was glad I hadn't taken on any extra weight. I was going to have to walk all the way to 'Lórien' barefoot. This was such a wonderful welcome, I thought sarcastically as I stepped on yet another rock. I put my brain on autopilot and focused on just walking, putting one foot in front of the other.
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