I was astonished. I had, many a time, dreamed of somehow falling out of my time and place, into somewhere else, anywhere else. And now, I was sure, it had finally happened.
"What is your business here in Rivendell?" the man asked again. I could see that the rest of his company was on edge. On one them, whom I had barely glanced over before, reached towards the axe that lay ready on his lap. He seemed ready to strike me at the first possible sign that I was a threat to them.
"I…uh…I'm…" I stuttered, then blushed. They were all staring at me like I had lost my mind.
"Why is she dressed like a man?" asked one of the little people whom I had mistaken as children. I had to laugh a little at that.
"You want to know the truth? I have no idea what I'm doing here. I fell asleep in a forest near my home, which I have a feeling is quite far away from here. This is what everyone wears at home. I don't know how I arrived here, but when I woke up, here I was. So please, someone, if you can pause my interrogation for a few moments and tell me where I am?" I begged.
One of the men, the one with the darker hair, glanced towards the old man among their group. "Her words have the ring of truth," He mused, "perhaps it was Sauramon that brought her hear. One thing is certain, it was definitely magic the caused you to be transported here." His gaze turned inward, and he appeared to be deep in thought. He didn't speak for several more moments.
"Who are you?" I asked. If they were going to ask me so many questions, and puzzle over my predicament, then I figured that I should at least know their names. The man with the dark hair answered me this time.
"I am known by many names, Strider among them. This is Gimli of Glóin , Legolas of Mirkwood, Peregrin Took, Samwise Gamgee, Frodo Baggins, Meridoc Brandybuck, Gandalf the Gray, and Boramir of Gondor. And you are?" he gestured towards me with his eyebrows raised.
"I am… Nawae." For some reason, I didn't trust them enough to give them my real name. Instead, I decided that I would use one that had been a character in some of my stories long ago. I would become Nawae, for now, until I could figure out what I was doing here and how I got here. And what exactly "here" was.
"If she was brought here by Sauramon, then we must look after her. She might have something of value. Perhaps we will be able to use that to our advantage." Gandalf muttered, his brow creasing in concentration, "we shall bring her with us!" he announced to the group. Boromir gave him a look of stark disbelief, which did not pass unnoticed. "You have something against this, Boromir?" Gandalf fixed him with a scrutinizing look. His cheeks reddened slightly, but then he returned to what I assumed was his traditional haughty look.
"You cannot be serious Gandalf!" he managed to keep a moderately respectful tone towards the old man, while appearing skeptical, "She is but a woman! She would be nothing but a burden to the fellowship. We have an important task to accomplish. A woman would only slow us down. Why, she has no weapons! How would she defend herself, unless we were to do it for her? The Orcs would kill her in an instant!" he leaned back in his saddle, apparently quite satisfied with himself, convinced that he had persuaded the others to leave me behind. Not if I had any say in it. These people appeared to know where they were going, and that was good enough for me. Especially if the blond young man was going with them. I blushed slightly at the thought.
"I can fight." I said. I didn't like Boromir. There was something about him that I didn't trust, something that made him seem like one of the corrupt politicians that I always saw on TV. He seemed like he could turn against the rest of them any second. I wouldn't let him put me down like that.
Boromir looked taken aback. Apparently it's unusual for a woman to be able to defend herself.
"What is you weapon?" Strider asked, after a period of silence.
"Bow and arrow." I held my head high under the scrutinizing gazes of the men.
"A woman fighting in war. What madness is this?" Boromir muttered under his breath.
"Where I come from, it is rare that women do not fight for themselves. Every woman wants to be able to defend herself from the evils of the world. And there are many dangers. Although," I added, "probably not the same kind you have here. Wherever here is."
A long moment of silence greeted me as they absorbed my words. Legolas smiled slightly.
"You will never fit in here, wearing that," Gandalf said, with a smile on his face. I was grateful for the change of subject. "You might be able to find some clothes to make you…fit in."
"What's wrong with my clothes?" I asked looking self-consciously down at myself. I wasn't dressed like a slut, like most of the other girls at my school did. Which I now was eternally grateful for.
"You will draw to much attention to yourself. If you are to travel with us, you will need to be quite discreet."
I eventually agreed to change, but refused the very idea of a dress. Instead, I adopted the tunic that many of the others were wearing, cinching it at my waist with a leather belt, and traded my jeans for a pair of soft green leggings. I kept my boots. They were much more hardy them the ones that were offered to me, and they fit much better. When it was done, I looked as if I had lived in this strange world all of my life.