Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or any of the languages spoken in the books or movie. I do own Nicole, Susan, Jake, their parents (Lara, President Howard, Tom Daniels, Fred Nox), Matt Thompson, and Bill.

Chapter 3

Nicole slowly opened her eyes to an ivory ceiling. She blinked a couple of times until the intricate carvings came into view. She was in a soft bed with white, silk sheets that felt like a warm summer breeze on her skin. The sun's beams were flowing into the room, giving it a warm glow. Beautiful wooden statues and furniture decorated the area, giving it the most natural feeling, like she was in the woods.

The sound of soft crying came to her ears, and she looked up. Susan was at the end of Nicole's bed, crying into her hands. She wore a dark green…. gown? Nicole rubbed her eyes. Susan was wearing a gown!

"Hell must have frozen over," said Nicole. Susan jerked her head up.

"You're okay!" she yelled, and launched into Nicole's arms. Nicole hugged her friend, but then released her to look at her face.

"Susan, what's going on? Where are we? And what the hell happened last night?"

Susan got of the bed and sat back down in her chair, wiping her eyes. "Remember when those really popular movies came out? About the strange little creatures trying to destroy this piece of jewelry? And you asked if we should go see them, and I said no cause they looked really stupid?"

Nicole slowly nodded her head.

"I was wrong," mumbled Susan, bowing her head. "We should have seen them."

"Susan," said Nicole slowly, "Where are we?"

"Rivendell, apparently."

Nicole fell back into her pillow. "What day is it?"

"October the 24th. 8 o'clock in the morning," Susan sighed.

"We're… in… the story?"

Susan paused and looked out the window. "Yep."

Nicole sat up and buried her face in her hands.

"And you wanna know what the worse part is?" asked Susan. Nicole just groaned.

"I think midget tried to hit on me."

"You didn't beat him up, did you?" Nicole muttered into her hands, but Susan understood.

"Well, there were three. The other two looked like they would have killed me."

Nicole sighed and dropped her hands into her lap. It was that point that she realized she was still wearing her clothes. "So… what happened last night?"

Susan sighed and began to recall the events…

Jake sat by the riverbank with the unconscious Nicole in his arms as three riders on white horses approached them. Susan began to back away in shock as Jake tried to cover Nicole.

"Man le?" the leader shouted at them on top of his horse.

"What?" Susan whimpered.

"Pedich i lam edhellen?" he shouted again.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!" Susan screamed, scarring the horses. The leader glanced at Nicole's limp form and dismounted the horse. The others followed his actions and approached Susan, while the leader kneeled next to Jake and Nicole.

"I am Erestor," the person who approached Susan said, "Chief Counselor of the House of Elrond of Rivendell. That is Glorfindel." Erestor pointed to the person now checking Nicole's pulse at her neck. "You are at the boarders of our country, what is your business?" Susan was so stunned by Erestor's present, that she could barely find her voice.

"We were lost, and Nicole got sick," she whispered. "Please help us!"

"What is your name, my lady?"

"Susan."

"And who is your father?"

"Tom Daniels… did you just call me your lady?" questioned Susan, finally regaining her courage. Glorfindel said something to Erestor in a strange language, and he responded. Erestor turned back to Susan.

"We must take your friend back to our healers. If we don't, she will surely fade." Susan could only nod and stare at the ground. As Erestor turned around, Susan grabbed his arm.

"Wait, what do you mean 'fade'?" she asked in panic. Erestor grabbed Susan's arm and dragged her to his horse. His grip was so strong that Susan didn't dare to struggle.

"What do you mean 'fade'?" she asked again.

Glorfindel picked up Nicole with ease, much to Jake's protests, and whispered something in her ear. He mounted his horse and rode off with Erestor and Susan, while the other rider had to knock Jake out to keep him from fighting. Susan was surprised that he did it with such ease and lifted Jake onto the horse as if he was nothing. Jake was a hard man to beat and lift.

They rode until the entered a stone archway. Susan guessed it was near midnight, and was surprised that when they entered, the people walked around as if it were day.

They came into a courtyard of beautiful plants and stone statues. Two more people came to Glorfindel and Nicole with a stretcher, and carried Nicole into one of the many buildings.

"Where are you taking her?" she yelled, struggling to get off the horse. "WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HER?" Erestor fought with Susan, until she grew tired and began to sob.

"Calm yourself," a stern voice said. Susan whipped her head to the left and saw a tall man with long brown hair, wearing a silver circlet and regal robes. Next to him was a beautiful woman wearing a pale lavender dress. She also had long brown hair, but with pearls and ribbons braided in.

Susan stopped crying, and dismounted with the help of Erestor. With a kind arm, he led Susan to the two people waiting for her. Few words were exchange between Erestor and the man, three that Susan recognized as her name and her father's.

"Welcome to Rivendell, Susan, daughter of Tom Daniels," the man said with open arms. "I am Lord Elrond, and this is my daughter Arwen Undomiel." Susan was calmed by their presences, and didn't feel threaten like she usually did with new people.

"It's… nice to meet you both," she said hesitantly. Susan shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Where are you taking Nicole?"

"Nicole will be fine. She has been sent to our healing quarters." Susan's attention was caught by a faint light and bit of smoke out of the corner of her eye. She turned to the left and saw a man leaning against a stone pillar, dressed in black and smoking a long pipe.

"Do not worry about Strider," commented Elrond. "He is merely intrigued by your clothes, which I must say are very bold." Susan turned back to Elrond and gave him a death glare.

"Look buddy, I will wear whatever I want, that's no concern of yours. I want to know where I am, how long it will take for Nicole to heal, and how I get back home!"

Elrond's posture straightened even more and his face froze into a stern glare. "You will not demand such things so rudely. All your questions will be answered. But know this. I am master of this land, and you will respect me. And you will follow our laws of conduct, do you understand?" Never in a million years had anyone talked to Susan like that.

'So this is what a parent is like,' she thought to herself. She simply nodded her head and bowed it to the ground. Elrond's face became warm and welcoming again.

"I bid you goodnight then, Lady Susan. Arwen will lead you to your chamber." With that, Elrond left, followed by Glorfindel and Erestor. Susan looked back to the stone pillar to find Strider gone as well.

"Come," Arwen spoke, "You must be tired." Arwen led her through many halls. Susan noticed the dead leaves in the open hallways and they walked silently. It can't be fall…

"What day is it?" Susan asked.

"October the 24th, and it's nearly past midnight," she replied in a sweet voice. They finally came to what Susan assumed was her room. Arwen opened the door and showed her the room. It was ivory and beautifully designed, but small. Susan didn't care though; she just wanted sleep.

"This is your room. Nicole is across from you, and your escort is next to her."

Susan nodded and smiled politely at Arwen.

"Do not fear for your friends. They will be fine in the morning."

Susan smiled again and wiped a tear away. Arwen put a soft hand on her shoulder and walked down the hallway.

The blond girl laid in her bed, dressed in the nightgown they provided. Even though she wanted sleep, she could not find it, for her head was running over everything that just happened.

'Strider… Elrond… Arwen… Rivendell… Why do they sound so familiar?' Then it dawned on her. She shot up in bed.

'That movie! Oh what was it called? There were three of them and were based off of books!' She began to hit her head in a near by pillow. They weren't in United States anymore; they weren't even on planet Earth anymore! They were in some strange land filled with pretty blonde boys, and midgets! Susan collapsed back into her pillow, and with some tears, fell into a deep sleep.

Nicole sat in amazement as Susan finished her story.

"And that's what happened."

Nicole sighed and began to rub her head. "Do you know if Jake ever read the books?"

"Why would he?" asked Susan.

"Cause he likes to read!"

"But he only reads about vampires, and werewolves, and freakish monsters that come to life!"

"No, I haven't read them."

Nicole and Susan looked to the doorway and saw Jake standing there. He wore a white baggy shirt and black… leggings?

"Where the hell did you get those?" asked Nicole.

"They were laid out for me." Jake walked over and embraced Nicole. "I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. "I should have never driven so far. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Nicole whispered back, rubbing his arm. "I'm okay. I feel much better."

"Do you really?" asked Susan.

Nicole looked at Susan and nodded her head. "Yeah, I do."

Jake moved to sit next Nicole, and Susan sat on her other side. Nicole grabbed Susan left hand and placed her left on Jake's knee, while Jake massaged the back of Susan's neck. The girls titled their heads so they touched and sighed.

"What are we going to do?" Susan whispered.

"I don't know," Nicole answered.

A few minutes later, a woman came into Nicole's room. "Lord Elrond would like to speak with all of you. Please dress and follow me."

Jake and the woman left the room, while Susan helped Nicole get into a white and silver dress. Nicole loved the feel of it. It was so light, but she felt so warm, even as the cold autumn wind blew leaves into her room. She moved to the washbasin and quickly cleaned her face.

She looked up into the mirror to see that her hair was still considered gnarly and nasty by some, but she liked it this way. She pinned it back with a sliver comb to get it out of her eyes, and smiled at her reflection. Her dark brown hair and dark eyes were a nice contrast to the white and silver dress she wore. Susan had also kept her hair the same way: starched and bleached. Her dark green dress matched her green eyes.

'I wondered if they planned that…' thought Susan.

Nicole and Susan walked through the hallways until the spotted two really short men smoking and eating on a bench.

"Those are the ones that tried to hit on me!" Susan pointed out.

Nicole laughed. "They must like tall women."

"That's not funny," Susan scoffed. They finally came to Elrond's study, and Nicole softly knocked on the door.

"Enter, please."

She carefully opened the heavy oak door, and walked in to find Elrond and Jake conversing quietly. The study had shelves packed with books and instruments of all kinds. The windows did not have glass like all the other windows in Rivendell, and they looked out onto the waterfall that glistened in the sunlight.

Elrond smiled and beckoned them to sit. He then looked to Nicole.

"Welcome, Lady Nicole, daughter of Fred Nox, to Rivendell of Middle Earth."