Chapter 4 Introductions

--Getting to know you, getting to know all about you…..

---Music by Richard Rogers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II; 1951—

A/N Once again, I must thank my wise and wonderful beta, Nieriel Raina. Any errors are my own, and not hers.

Grace kept her eyes closed until she felt the earth under her feet. Instinctively, she raised her hands to pull the offending gag from her mouth. The one that had carried her reached out and circled both wrists with one hand. His grip was gentle, but she knew she could not break it. She glared into his eyes. He returned her gaze steadily and shook his head. The one named Aragorn stood beside him. So intent was she on these two that she literally jumped when a voice spoke on the other side of her. Swiveling her head, her eyes widened when she saw the person standing there.

A tall man dressed in long gray robes stood before her. His hair and beard were long, and they too were gray. What caught her attention were his eyes. The color was blue, but there was wisdom and kindness in them. How was that possible? He was friend to the two men who had just physically restrained her and carried her away against her will. There should be no kindness here. The old man took a step towards her and lifted his hand to her forehead, her first instinct was to pull away from his touch, but she found herself unable to move. She did not know how long they stood there, it could have been only a minute, it could have been hours. She felt as though he was rifling through the attic of her mind, discovering things that were long forgotten and unused. Something stirred within her, an innate ability that had always resided there, unlooked for and unknown, until this gray man awoke it.

He murmured a few words in a language she didn't understand, and then turned to Legolas, "You can release her now." Grace was shocked to realize that she understood the strange tongue he spoke, understood it as though it was native to her. Idly, she wondered if she now could speak it too. Who was this man that carried such power? What did they want with her? She lifted her hands and removed the gag from her mouth and prepared to scream, but then realized she had no desire to do so. The fear and anger were still there, they were just caged in her mind where she couldn't access it, couldn't use it. She felt calm and detached.

The old man smiled down at her, "There that should be better. Now, come and sit, for we will be traveling together, and we should all get to know each other." Before she could blink, she found her feet following him obediently. He gestured to a large rock, and mindlessly, she sat down. Looking around her, she saw there were several other members of the party that had gone unnoticed by her, so intent was her focus on the long bearded man. They were grouped together in a semicircle around her. The gray man came to sit beside her. "Now," he said, "why don't we start with you. Tell us your name child." Before she could open her mouth to speak, she heard the soft tones of the one who had restrained her earlier.

"Her name is Grace…Grace Winters." She turned to look at him, and Legolas smiled and gave her a small nod of his head.

"Grace," the bearded man repeated, smiling as he murmured it, "unusual, but a lovely name nonetheless. Well, Grace," he went on to say, "let me introduce you to the hobbits."

"What on earth are hobbits?" Grace asked. She started as she heard the words come from her mouth. That answered her earlier question, she could indeed speak the strange language; not only could she speak it, but it sounded natural coming from her mouth. This was a puzzle, one she was reluctant to dwell upon right now.

Waving his hand to the first four sitting on her right, he said, "These are hobbits." Grace observed the ones he indicated. 'Hobbits', she thought, 'they look more like children.' Her eyes ran over them, and she revised her opinion; not children, but those feet, the shape of their ears, they certainly didn't look like anything she had ever seen.

The bearded man continued to speak. Pointing to the dark haired one nearest her, the one with the haunted looking eyes, he said, "This is Frodo Baggins." He moved on to the hobbit sitting next to Frodo, a plumper specimen, "This is Samwise Gamgee." Next, he pointed to a thinner one with strangely innocent eyes, "Peregrine Took, and last but not least, Meriadoc Brandybuck."

The names sounded strange to her ears, but she nodded her head at each one of them as they were introduced. This whole situation seemed surreal to her. She felt as though she were in her Grandmother's front parlour being introduced to a circle of her friends. She almost expected someone to ask if she would like a cup of tea.

Frodo looked up at her and smiled. "We enjoyed listening to your music."

"Indeed, we did!" Samwise agreed wholeheartedly. When Grace thanked him, he was quick to add, "Oh, just Sam will do, ma'am."

Peregrin piped up, "Everyone calls me Pippin, and I hope you will as well!"

"Course, she will, Pip," Meriadoc replied. Turning, he added, "My friends all call me Merry, and since I'm sure we will be great friends, I want you to do so too." Then, he gave Pippin a smug look along with an elbow in the ribs.

Although the fear and anger were still present behind the cage the old man

locked them into, Grace relaxed and was beginning to feel as though she had fallen down a rabbit hole. The introductions continued. There was a man named Boromir, son of Denethaor, and a dwarf, a dwarf for God's sake! Gimli, son of Gloin. These people were seriously into genealogy. Boromir nodded to her and gave her a smile. The dwarf stood, bowed, and told her he was at her service.

Before she could stop herself, the words, "I don't suppose there are six more of you around anywhere," popped out. That drew a curious gaze from them all, and Legolas snorted rather loudly.

Finally, the tall gray robed man introduced himself as a wizard named Gandalf. Gesturing to the two who brought her there, he said, "I believe you have already met Aragorn, a man of the North, and Legolas, an elf from the forest of Mirkwood. She turned to look at Legolas when Gandalf said that. "An elf?" she asked with disbelief in her voice.

He nodded, "Yes, Grace, an elf."

Grace was speechless, She had several thoughts running through her head, probably none of which should be spoken out loud. She wanted to know how much plastic surgery it took for the hobbits to get feet that size, and why on earth would anyone want feet that size. Why were their ears shaped that way? Looking at the "elf", she realized his ears where more finely pointed than the hobbits. What was the significance of that? She wondered what shape the "dwarf's" ears were. This was a very strange group. These people were not openly threatening, but they were all armed. It didn't matter that the weapons they carried were primitive, she was quite sure they could easily deal out death and mayhem. The presence of so many sharp pointy things did not make her feel very comfortable.

She became aware that they were all looking at her, and she said the first thing that came to her mind, "Please, just let me go home. I don't care what kind of game you are playing. I don't care where you are going. My brothers are down there looking for me right now. I promise not to tell them or anyone about you if that is what you want. I just want to go home," and at that she lowered her head as tears began to well up in her eyes.

Gandalf dismissed the others with a wave. When she lifted her head, she realized she was alone with the wizard and the elf. She rather wished it was just the wizard; she felt a little more comfortable with him. His brief foray through her mind created some kind of peculiar connection between them. The elf and wizard were talking in another language she couldn't understand. Why did this strange group speak so many different languages, languages she was certain they made up? They were surely not similar to any language she was familiar with.

"She is frightened," Legolas told Mithrandir, "and I want to stay with her."

"There is nothing you can do, Legolas. She must be told what has happened, although I doubt she will believe it, at least not immediately. I believe most of the magic of the world has been forgotten in the time she comes from. We are nothing more than stories to her."

"I care not. She is my responsibility, Mithrandir. She does not know it yet, and I realize that now is not the time for me to act upon it; but my soul recognizes hers, reaches for hers. I want to protect her, to help her."

"And what, young Legolas, do you suppose I will do to her? I only want to help her start to understand what has occurred, and what it will mean to her future." Legolas just looked at the wizard, and finally, Gandalf sighed, "Very well then, stay. Just try to be unobtrusive." Legolas nodded.

Grace watched the conversation with interest; after all, they may have been discussing just how they were going to kill her for all she knew. The elf kept glancing at her and seemed frustrated with the wizard. She really didn't know which one to root for. It was obvious, though, that her request to be let go was not going to be honored. Finally, the elf stepped back a couple of paces, and the wizard turned to look at her.

"Grace, remember the bright light you saw," he began. She nodded. "It was a rift in the fabric of time; you are no longer in the time or place you were before. Your brothers will not find you, and I know of no way to return you to where you belong. You are in a wilderness, and the time you have come to is on the cusp of great change. There is evil abroad in these lands, evil you cannot possibly understand, and to leave you here alone would be tantamount to murder. You may not believe me, but we have your best interests at heart. You will journey with us, until we can find a safe place for you to stay, then if we vanquish this evil, and if I survive, I promise to return and help you. This place and time are now your home."

Grace stared at him. "What you are telling me is not possible; it is not true. My brothers are down there, they are looking for me, and they will be worried. Time travel is a myth, a story, you are lying to me. What do you want with me? I do not want to stay here. I do not want to travel with you. I want to go home!" With each word her voice rose, and by the time she finished, she was almost hysterical.

Gandalf once again laid his hand on her head, whispering words of power that eased her panic. When he drew back, he looked at her and murmured the word "Curious." Once again she felt calm descend.

When she pulled her gaze from Gandalf's, her eyes fell on the elf. He remained silent during her exchange of words with the wizard, but he was watching her intently. He moved forward, until he was in front of her and crouched before her. "All of us here have a task to which we are pledged, but I too promise you, if we survive, if we prevail, I will find you, and I will help you."

She looked into his eyes and saw only kindness and care there. Slowly, she nodded.

A/N I thank all of you who have taken time to review, I appreciate them, save then and enjoy them, Reviews are much appreciated and I love hearing from all of you.