Chapter Two
"...iss…Miss?" A voice called out.
"What?" Mariah thought.
"My Lady?" The same voice called out more clearly.
"Hm…?" Mariah mumbled.
She slowly opened her eyes and even blinked a couple of times. She realized it was night time. The stars were glowing bright, brighter than what they should be. Usually the city lights glow makes the stars more faded. Mariah felt around her, feeling grass poking at her bare skin.
"Grass?" Mariah thought to herself. "It should be cement! Or if someone got her out of the bathroom then maybe sand."
Mariah sat up fast and looked around her. There was a short old lady, dressed in old clothing. The clothing reminded her of the renaissance period. The lady stood right next to Mariah with a worried expression on her face.
"Are you alright?" The short lady asked.
Mariah nodded and then covered herself up a bit more when she felt the wind blow on her bare skin. She is still in her bathing suit and towel. Okay this is weird. Wasn't she just at the beach? Wasn't she in the bathroom?
She looked around again and spotted her bag that was right next to her. Mariah dug through her bag and found the baggy with her phone in it. She pulled out the phone and went to call her mom but there was no single at all.
"Um…" She held up her phone in the air and still no signal. "Ma'am?" Mariah asked the lady. "Do you have a phone I could use to call my mother?"
"Phone? What's a phone?" The old lady asked with a frown.
"Oh…are you Amish? I'm sorry, I guess I'm lost and I don't know what's going on…"
"Amish? You speak such weird words…well, lucky you Gandalf is here in town. Actually he's in that house over there." She pointed to a house that was partially underground. There were lights on so that meant they are awake. She could even hear a lot of commotion. It sounded like a party.
"Oh, great…a lot of people…" Mariah thought. "Thank you!"
"Good luck, Miss."
"Y…Yeah, thanks…" Mariah stood up and noticed she was a few inches taller than the lady. Weird, from down there she thought she would have been taller that the lady. Maybe she did hit her head too hard.
Mariah made her way to the house, through the gate and gently knocked on the door. She made sure the towel was covering her up from the chest down to her knees. So at least she wasn't too showing.
"No…no, no! No more dwarves in this house! I swear if-" The small man opened the door with an angry face but when he saw it was a woman his face turned into confusion. "Oh, hello! Can I help you?"
"Um…I'm sorry if I'm interrupting a party…I was told by a lady that someone here could help me. I'm lost and…um…" Her body was shaking due to being afraid and cold.
"Oh where are my manners? Come in! You must be cold!" He let her in but gave her a weird look. "Child, where are your clothes?"
"They are in my bag. I was swimming with my family…then…I don't know. I woke up here and-" Mariah was cut off by a very old man talking.
"You…" The tall man came over to her and eyed her suspiciously. "You're not of this world are you?"
As he stood and walked to her, she noticed that he was much taller than she and the Mr. Grumpy is. Mariah heard footsteps over beside her but didn't really pay much attention to them.
"What are you talking about?" She looked around and seen there were a bunch of men looking at her.
There was a man who was bald on top of his head but had hair that went from the sides of his head to the back. On top of his head he had tattoos. His hands were covered in these metal things so when he punched something or someone, well let's just say it would hurt a lot.
Next to him stood an old man with white or a very light shade of grey, beard and hair. His robes were blood red and he even had pointy boots on that flipped at the end just like his beard.
Another man was old as well, but ad black and white hair. It reminded her of a skunk. On top of his head he had part of an ax in his head. Ouch.
Onto man number four, he had a silly looking fur hat that flipped out on the sides. His eyes sparked with a glint of niceness and cheerfulness.
There stood even more men, one being very, very fat, another with grey hair and a beard. Next, there was a man with brown hair but had a reddish tin t to it. Then stood another grey haired and beard man with a sheepish looking male behind him. Beside the sheepish one stood a brunette hairs man with a starfish looking hairdo.
Pushing a bit to see past the bundle of men, two more males came out. Both of them were very handsome. They were staring at Mariah as if she was alien or god.
One had blonde hair and facial hair. He had a mustache that was braided out around his mouth. It seemed to match him very well. He had eyebrows that arched in a way that made you think he was questioning you or judging you.
The other male, well he looked so much more different than the blonde one. He had dark brown hair that went a little past his shoulders. His face was scruffy. The scruffiness of his face made her want to touch it. His eyes seemed to draw her in. They are a dark drown color, from what she could see from the lighting, and had this sort of spark to them. Mischievous yet soft are what his eyes told her. His nose wasn't big like all the others, just like the blonde man. His dark brown hair framed his face and he even had some bangs over his forehead. His dark brown hair framed his face and he even had some bangs over his forehead. The brunette smiled a dazzling smirk that removed her from her thoughts.
"Great! He knows I was staring at him for who knows how long!" She covered up a bit more while blushing. "Where am I?"
"Child…I'm sorry to say…you are in the past." The old man in a robe said with a very saddened look. "I've seen this happen once before…" He looked at her necklace and that made her hold onto it tightly. "That necklace looks familiar…"
"Okay, stop. Let's get you changed first and then we can discuss what the hell is going on." The grumpy man, from before, said. "Come." He put his hand on her back and made his way to a bedroom. Mariah could hear deep murmurs from behind her. They were talking about her, she could tell.
She came back to the dining area after she was dressed. Her t-shirt is plain and dark grey and jeans are dark blue that had faded touches around the thighs. Her hair was brushed and up in a ponytail.
"Here, let me take your bag." The grumpy man who wasn't so grumpy anymore said as he took it.
Mariah looked around and seen that the men were eating, a bit grossly though. Food was stuck on their faces and beards. Some even had their drinks staining their face.
"My dear," Spoke the old man. "My name is Gandalf the Grey." He bowed his head.
Some men, including the good looking ones, stopped eating and stared up at her. Mariah started to feel her heartbeat pick up. Before replying to Gandalf, she started to play with her fingers.
"My name is Mariah Elizabeth Haywood." She said with a sheepish smile.
"Well, you are very far away from home." He replied with that sad expression again.
"I see, and you said before that you've seen something like this happen?"
He nodded and then spoke. "They eventually went back to their time when their journey here came to an end. I have no idea why it happens…I am sorry I can't be more of a help."
"No it's okay…" She sighed and crossed her arms. "So, I have a reason for being here?"
"Of course you do. Perhaps you were brought here to go on the adventure!" Shouted someone.
"Adventure? Oh , I'm not someone who does that sort of thing…" Mariah replied and turned to see someone standing behind her.
"Are you hungry?" The grumpy man came back with a plate. "I can get you some food."
"I'm not that hungry, thank you."
"You're skin and bones!" Shouted another man. Judging by his tone he was grinning.
She turned and seen it was the blonde good looking one. Oh, great so he's a trouble maker huh?
"Oh, um…I guess I can eat some bread. I don't know." Mariah hugged herself a bit. "My nerves are all jumbled up."
"Well, do you like fruit? I have apples." The grumpy man said.
"I like apples!" She said with a bit of a happier tone to her voice.
"Oh, by the way, the name is Bilbo Baggins." He said and bowed his head a bit.
"Mariah…"She greeted and blushed a bit. "So, you said I am in the past…" She said towards Gandalf, making him nod. "So are there witches, wizards, knights and royalty?" She asked with a smile.
"Yes. I am a wizard. Bilbo is a hobbit." He then pointed to the men. "These men are dwarves."
Some dwarves stood up and bowed as Gandalf told her their names.
"This is Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Oin, Gloin, Dori, Nori, Ori, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur. We are waiting on another dwarf whose name is Thorin."
Mariah touched her forehead as she tried to remember the names. "I apologize if I don't quite remember your name. There are a lot of you…"
"That's quite alright, my lady." Said Dori or was it Bofur? "Just remember that these two lads are Fili and Kili and they are a bunch of idiots and troublemakers."
Mariah couldn't help but giggle at the faces the two younger men made.
The night went on and Kili and Fili even had Mariah sit between them. She was intimidated by them. Who wouldn't be? They were very handsome, especially the brunette haired one. He has these adorable brown eyes that felt like she could stare at them forever. Instead of that she made little eye contact. She even found out who was related to whom and remembered their names now.
The dwarves really loved to give Bilbo a hard time. All of them started to toss and throw around forks, knives, and plates while singing a song.
Kili began to sing, then Fili, and then they all chimed in.
"Blunt the knives bend the forks
Smash the bottles and burn the corks.
Chip the glasses and crack the plates
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!
Cut the cloth, tread on the fat
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat
Pour the milk on the pantry floor
Splash the wine on every door!"
Mariah was standing in the kitchen, smiling and giggling while they sang. She even saw Kili look at her with a very charming smile. He winked at her before he continued to torture Bilbo.
"Dump the crocks in the boiling bowl
Pound them up with a thumping pole
When you're finished if they are whole
Send them down the hall to roll
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"
Everyone but Bilbo was smiling and laughing. Some men were smoking their pipes. The dishes were clean and stacked high on each other. Mariah bit her bottom lip as she thought how different this world is. It's all a dream perhaps. There's no way that a handsome man, like Kili, would ever wink at her. He probably had something in his eye.
A knock was heard on the door and everyone stopped cheering and frowned.
"He's here…" Gandalf spoke.