CHAPTER 5
I woke up with a headache and a stomach pain. The film was still on. Had this all been a dream? It didn't seem like time had moved, except I wasn't wearing my red sweat suit. I was armed with a silver suit, a sword in my hand, and I was dirty with dried blood and dirt all over. I sat up properly. I looked around. My room was messier, like someone had been looking for something. But if time hadn't changed? How did someone have the time to go through my stuff? I got up and realized that the film The Return Of The King was on. I had been watching the first one, who put the third on? I rewound the film to the end, almost expecting to see myself dying. Of course I wasn't in the film, but it must have happened, I must have really been there. I had to be sure of that.
I went to the bathroom. My jewelry box was messy too. It's like someone would be looking for a necklace, or a ring. I looked down at my hand, the rubin ring was there. It was like someone had been looking for the ring. I thought back to what Lady Galadriel had said. She had said that someone intentionally placed the ring for me, but he must have known I would get back in time. Why would he be looking for the ring if he knew I would take it with me in time? Maybe there were more people involved in this? I didn't want to think about it anymore. I tossed the ring out of the bathroom's door, and it landed somewhere in a corner of my bedroom. I instantly regretted what I had done. I went to pick it up. I didn't want to put it on my finger again so I picked up a necklace and replaced it with the item attached. I refused to cry at the thought of Legolas. I got out of my heavy clothes, got a shower, and putted on a red T bar dress that almost reached up to my neck. Maybe a night out in the bar would help me?
I was sitting at the bar, drinking a tequila sunrise I got from my fake ID. A man approached me and sat down.
"Can I get a tequila sunrise?" I heard the man say. I turned my head to see who it was and he looked strangely familiar.
"Harry?" I questioned and I realized it was him.
"You look so much different. You cut your hair, you're wearing a black suit and you've dropped the glasses. You also look so much older, so handsome" I said surprised by this new look, he didn't usually look like this.
"That's because I am older, and you forgot to mention one thing. I'm not gay" He said as he paid for his drink.
"I don't understand" I said shocked and confused.
"I'm 23 year old agent. I screw girls on tequila. Now, let's get down to business." He said and I was still in shock.
"Where's the ring?" he asked, his face serious and unfriendly. The necklace was hidden under my dress against my chest, and I felt the ring get heavier. I needed to protect this ring.
"I don't know what you're talking about" I lied and got my purse and walked out. I saw he was following me and I walked faster. I couldn't lead him to my apartment, I needed a distraction. I headed for the direction of the library, where I worked. I opened the door and was about to close it as he got his foot in the way.
"You didn't think it would be that easy running away from me did you?" he said and I noticed he had a gun in his hands.
"I might have seen a ring here in the library the other day" I said as he came closer to me.
"I must have put it in the lost item section, let me have a look" I said, my voice shakened, not knowing what else to say. The library had been closed, and it was dark in there. I walked over to the wall.
"What are you doing? Let me have the ring" He said with his gun attached to my back.
"I'm just going to put the lights on, so I can see well enough to look for the ring" I said trying to sound calm, hoping someone would see us through the window shop. It was a really small library, like a coffee house. We even sold coffee and sweets here too, mostly cupcakes and coffee from the machine. It was all store bought.
"Show me the ring, leave the lights off" He demanded. This was so not my friend Harry. This Harry was a lot more controlling and unfriendly. I walked over to the section and looked through. I felt sweat build up, I was breathing heavier.
"It doesn't seem to be here, maybe the owner got it back" I said nervously.
"Do not screw with me. I know you have something to do with it, because I noticed activities from the ring in your apartment" He said angrily, with his finger at the trigger as he continued ranting.
"You were the one who searched through my apartment," I stated, feeling dumb I hadn't realized it back at the bar.
"What happened Harry? You were my friend." I said almost crying.
"We were never friends. I knew that your boss would give the ring to you. That's why I convinced you to move to New York with me, and as a precaution I befriended you so that I could get my hands on it. I've been tracking this ring for years" I cried at that, I couldn't believe our friendship for years had been a lie. My only real friend wasn't real at all.
"Is the little girl crying?" he said, laughing.
"Pull yourself together" he suddenly said suddenly seriously.
"Says the man who's lousy enough to track the ring for years, and still not be able to get your hands on it," I snapped at him.
"And why do you think you are in a position to insult me?" He wondered, showing me his gun. I realized it was a mistake, but I still had leverage. He didn't know where the ring was, I did.
"I know where the ring is. But first I need answers" I said straightening my back, trying to sound convincing.
"Fair enough" he said sitting down on a chair, and I sat down at the other side, in front of him.
"Why did my boss Henry give it to me?" I asked, wondering why my boss had been dragged into this.
"Henry had the ring for years. I've been following his work and he knew. He knew that someone was tracking the ring and getting closer. He needed someone to blame it on. He isn't all that bright, so he left it for you as soon as he knew he could trust you." He informed me.
"How did he know that I would take it?" I asked. There were still a lot more to know.
"You're the Lord Of The Rings expert. The ring speaks to you, not physically, but enough for you to want it" He explained further more.
"The ring doesn't have a power like Sauron did" I said.
"It might not have that kind of power, but all rings need an owner, especially a ring you can go back in time with" Harry said.
"You must have known the ring comes with the body as someone disappears back in time. Why would you search my apartment if you knew I would be gone?" I asked.
"Because the activities happen as once you put the ring on your finger. I was able to track down the source to your apartment. You hadn't put the ring on before you had gotten home. At first I thought you had left without the ring somewhere, but then noticed after I had made a mess that you must have fallen asleep with it and moved back in time" He explained.
"I slept back in time with the ring on my finger. How come I didn't get back here in my time before I died?" I said, a little surprised I just said I had died so calmly, because the truth was, I did die.
"Because you can only fall asleep back in your own time to be able to move back in time, or die. When you've already been moved back in time, the only solution is to die to get back, but you have to have the ring on you as you do" he explained once more, and it all made sense. I had fallen asleep with the ring, and died to get back.
"I have one more question. How does it work going back in time? Does it only go back in time to one place?" I asked.
"Technically that was two questions, and it works by your desires. Henry, your boss, was sent back in time to World War II, because that's what he was passionate about. He was being mugged and got shot with the ring still attached, that's how he got back in time. He had figured out the truth about it. He also learned about the consequences. If you die too many times in a short period, you won't be healing yourself up. It would have been healed enough to stay alive for a few hours but that's it. We tracked him down and prayed he would come back in time so we could get the ring, but he was bright enough to know we were tracking him down. He hid it for years until we figured him out." He answered me.
"What do you want with the ring?" I asked once more.
"We have another copy. There were made two of them, one in gold with a rubin stone, the other one in silver with a sapphire stone. We already have the first one, and done experiments with the ring. We were able to go back in time with the silver ring but the ring didn't allow us to interfere. The ring is useless, unless we had the other main one. We can figure out a specific time in our personal timeline and change it too, but only with both of them," He explained, and I realized I really had to keep it from him. He could not get his hands on it; otherwise he could change time massively. The ring I had was so much more important and dangerous.
"Now I've got a question for you Kierra. Where is the ring?" Harry asked, getting closer to me, intimidating me.
"It's in my jewelry box at my apartment" I said not knowing what else to say.
"Good. Thanks for your help, but you're not any use for me anymore" He said and he pulled up his gun and shot me. I coughed a bit.
"You shot me," I yelled.
"Like I said, you're no use for me anymore. I know where the ring is, and I can't risk you stopping me" He said and once more pulled the trigger, and I blacked out. This time in a room that was light and beautiful. It was big. I had to almost climb down from the huge bed.
"Miss Lady you are awake, may I come in?" an elf girl said. She had beautiful brown hair, and wore a really nice white dress.
"Yes of course" I said as she stepped in.
"Legolas is here. I am sure he would like to see you. Get dressed and come outside" She said as she gave me a white dress. I got dressed like she said and stepped outside. I was most likely in Rivendell, the air had become bright, and the sun was shining. Frodo and the war of the rings must have been over. I saw him stand down by the steps and I smiled, I ran down to him, giving him a hug.
"When Elrond sent word of your existence, I could not believe it. I had to see it with my own eyes. He told me they found you at the spot where you had died" he explained
"How did you survive? You disappeared" he asked, suddenly.
"When I died I woke up in my own time. My friend Harry tried to steal the ring. He killed me, and I woke up back here, but not before he explained why. The ring can change time if he gets his hands on it. I can't let him have it" I explained, still on the verge of crying. I was still nervous from the situation.
"We should have Elrond know about this" Legolas said as he went to get him. We sat down at a table, and I explained everything that had happened since I got back home.
"I cannot get back to my own time without him trying to steal it from me again. I can't let him have it" I said as I had explained to Elrond.
"We could try to destroy the ring. It would be no use for him if it is destroyed" Elrond advised me.
"If I destroy it, he might kill me again, and then I would really be dead" I said, afraid that it was true. Harry wouldn't spare me; he hadn't even been my real friend.
"If you destroy it here, you would not be returning home, but you would be safe" Legolas spoke up.
"What purpose do I have here?" I asked, almost seeing his heart breaking.
"I mean why should I be here?" I asked in a different way. He didn't answer at first, but he took my hand.
"I love you" He told me. I loved him too, but would it have been right to tell him? Why did he want to become mortal for me? Why let that pain in? I had taken a long pause before I took his other hand.
"Is this right?" I asked sad and exhausted.
"I have not been so sure of anything before" He said, smiling, but he lost it when I saw I was crying.
"I love you too Legolas, but I cannot do this. I don't belong here. I belong back home, in my own time" I said, crying at how much the words hurt me, as they hurt him. He didn't protest as I thought he would. He simply nodded in understanding. This was my burden; I was the ring bearer now. I had to destroy it. I just needed to make a choice, stay in Middle Earth, or go back home.
"Miss Dawn" I heard a man shout, with three men behind him. They were all dressed in black suits, except for the man that shouted. He had a grey suit. I guess it was a sign of leadership; he was also older and had grey hair. I figured they were all after me, and the ring. I started to run, and Legolas and Elrond held up their bows. As I ran I heard a gunshot. Shocked as I was, I ran back. But nothing had happened. Legolas and Elrond only looked shocked; the sound of the gun had been enough to startle them. Harry had said the silver sapphire ring didn't allow them to interfere. Then the man with grey hair shot me. I looked down. Blood was streaming down my chest, and it hurt. Legolas ran up to me and held me in his arms
"How?" I asked whispering and confused.
"You mean how we could interfere?" The man spoke up.
"It's because we come from the same time, and we both use the ring, that's why" He said. I struggled with breathing because of blood in my throat. Legolas looked at me as he held me in his arms.
"What do I do?" He asked me, whispering.
"Just hold me" I said weakly, and I felt myself black out again.
I woke up. The pain was less painful; the blood in my throat was gone. My chest was still bleeding a bit, with the bullet still attached. Then I noticed Legolas arms around me.
"Legolas" I said confused as I shot back up, flinching because of the pain.
"Kierra" He said even more confused than me.
"Where are we?" He asked me, looking around.
A/N: Review on your opinions, and tell others about the story if you liked it :)