Okay, I may have left out some rather important information in the summary and the first chapter.
This story will have OC pairings: Aragorn/OC, Arwen/OC, Faramir/OC, Ėowyn/OC, and Legolas/OC. Please don't beat me up for it. You've been fairly warned.
This also takes place a year or so before Frodo embarks on his quest.
Anyway, please enjoy!
Update 3/17/12: I have actually decided that this will NOT have any pairings. Just good friends. So, yeah, enjoy!
Chapter 2: So It Begins
"Downsides went up - hey!
Outsides went wide.
As the fiddle
Played a twiddle
And the Moon slept 'til Sterrenday!"
Hope Adkins hummed merrily on her way home from school. It was an old folk song that her mother taught her. She didn't really know the meaning of the lyrics, especially the word "Sterrenday", but she liked the tune. It was catchy.
Finally, after quite a few minutes, Hope arrived at her house. It was a small, one-story house, built right next to the woods. A tall, dark-haired woman was sitting on the lawn, reading. "Hi Hope!" she called.
"Hey Mom!" Hope replied before marching into the house. She immediately went into her room. It was relatively small and unadorned, the only decorations being a silver hawk near the window. A bookcase sat beside her bed, filled with books all by J.R.R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Children of Húrin, and the like. Hope threw her backpack on her bed and snatched her hiking stick from the corner. "I'm going for a walk!" she shouted, heading for the back door.
"You have everything?" her mom shouted in reply.
Hope grabbed her canteen and belted her pack around her waist. "Yep!"
"What about your necklace?"
Hope rolled her eyes. "You know I don't go anywhere without it!"
Her mom sighed. "I know, I was just checking. You know you're great-"
"-great-grandfather had it, yes I know. Now may I please go?"
"Alright. Stay safe."
"I will!" Hope called as she exited through the back door. She swiftly jumped the fence and began to stroll through the woods. The forest was somewhat of a second home for her. It just felt so right to wander through the trees. Soon, Hope began to sing quietly to herself.
"Upsides went west – hey!
Broadsides went boom.
With a twiddle on the fiddle
In the middle by the griddle
And the Moon slept 'til Sterrenday!"
Suddenly, the woods around her began to spin. She abruptly stopped singing. "What in the world?" she muttered, shaking her head in the hopes it was just an illusion. That's when she noticed that the purple star pendant she always wore was beginning to glow. The pendant shone brighter and brighter until it seemed warm in Hope's hand. The forest continued to whirl around her, becoming a blur of greens and browns. Hope tried to run, but her feet seemed to be rooted to the ground. There was a bright white flash of light, and then darkness.
~o*o*o*o~
Aragorn quickly rode through the forest, eager to meet with his good friend and kinsman Halbarad. Suddenly, a bright white light flashed through the trees. The Ranger shielded his eyes, trying to stay atop Roheryn as he reared in surprise. Once the light had faded, Aragorn dismounted and led his horse to where he thought the source of the light was located, curious to see what had caused it. Eventually, he reached a clearing. A young girl lay there alone, apparently unconscious. The maiden wore very peculiar clothing: dark blue pants made of some inflexible material and a plain purple shirt with very short sleeves. Beside her lay a walking stick. Aragorn immediately rushed to her side. She didn't seem to have any injuries of any kind. As he gently brushed her dark hair off her chest, the Ranger noticed the strange pendant around her neck. It was a six-pointed star carved out of the deepest amethyst. Aragorn's eyes widened. "It cannot be true," he breathed, examining the necklace more closely. He had only heard about a pendant like this once before, in the legend of the Elenmîr. But that's just a tale, he thought.
With a great thundering of hooves, a horse crashed into the clearing. "Aragorn, where were you?" asked the grey-cloaked man from atop the steed.
"My apologies, Halbarad," Aragorn stated, looking up. "But I seem to have run across a more pressing matter." He gestured to the unconscious young girl on the forest floor. "Look." Gently, Aragorn picked up the pendant, careful so that the necklace wouldn't slip off.
Halbarad gasped. "But, that is only in legend!"
Aragorn shrugged his shoulders. "I do not know." He carefully lifted the young lady onto Roheryn, placing her stick next to her. "I must see Lord Elrond for that matter."
Halbarad nodded. "I understand. Farewell."
"Farewell, Halbarad." Aragorn leapt onto his horse, spurring it into a swift gallop.
The sun sank below the horizon sooner than Aragorn expected. The Ranger was forced to make camp; beads of sweat were rolling down Roheryn's flank and he was foaming at the mouth. Gently, Aragorn laid the young girl on the soft forest ground, and then he began to kindle a fire.
~o*o*o*o~
Hope blinked several times as she awoke. The pale moonlight filtered through the treetops. Groggily, Hope propped herself up on her elbows, taking in her surroundings. She was still in a forest, but the trees here were quite different from the ones near her house. A campfire was crackling merrily before. "I am glad to see you awake," a voice stated. Hope could barely make out a figure in the shadows. Quickly, she seized her hiking stick, ready to attack if necessary. The figure in the shadows stood up. "Do not be afraid. I do not mean to hurt you." The figure stepped into the firelight, revealing a tall man who had dark hair and stormy grey eyes like her.
"Who are you?" Hope asked, tightening her grip on the stick.
The man crouched down near her. "I am known around here as Strider."
Recognition flashed through Hope's mind, but she quickly dismissed it. "I'm Hope."
Suddenly, a horn blast sounded in the distance. It was deep call, accompanied by the sound of many marching feet and loud, throaty cries. Strider and Hope turned towards each other, both their faces clouding with dread. "Orcs!" shouted Strider. Hope nodded her head and immediately began clearing their campsite. But it was too late. The foul, slimy creatures flooded the clearing, waving their crude scimitars high in the air. Strider drew his sword, and Hope hefted her hiking stick high above her head, holding it like a baseball bat. Quickly, she swung at the nearest orc. With a resounding thunk, the stick made contact, and the creature fell to the ground. Hope looked at her hiking stick in surprise, and then rushed into the battle, swinging as hard as she could at the orcs. A loud neigh alerted the two humans that Roheryn had joined the fray.
Within a few moments, all the orcs were either dead by Strider's sword or Hope's stick, or rather, club. Strider turned to Hope, who was panting. "You are quite a skilled fighter," he commented, beads of sweat dripping from his dark locks.
"Thanks," Hope replied, wiping the sweat from her brow.
Strider walked over to Roheryn, who had remained uninjured. "Come," he instructed, gesturing for Hope to mount. "We must leave before more come." Hope nodded and clambered into the saddle, Strider springing on behind her.
They two of them rode hard and fast through the night. As the sun rose, the valley of Rivendell came into view. It was lush, many colored flowers covering the fields. The rosy dawn sparkled in the many waterfalls and streams.
"Lord Aragorn!" voices cried as they rode through the gates. "Are you alright?" "What happened?"
Strider, or rather, Aragorn, brushed them off, merely stating, "I must see Lord Elrond immediately." He turned to Hope. "Come with me. I believe Lord Elrond may also want to speak to you."
The two walked through the halls of the city in silence. Finally, Hope spoke up. "Why didn't you tell me your real name when we first met?"
Aragorn sighed. "I did not know if I could trust you. Forgive me."
Eventually, they reached a large set of oaken doors. Aragorn gently pushed them open, revealing a relatively large study, filled with bookshelves and various papers. At desk in the middle of the room sat a dark-haired man – no, elf – intently studying a scroll. "My Lord Elrond," Aragorn greeted.
The elf looked up from his papers. "Estel," he replied. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?" Aragorn walked closer to him and began quietly conversing with him. Hope sighed and sank down into a chair beside the door. There was no hope in eavesdropping; they were talking in Elvish, and despite her reading all the Tolkien books several times over, she could not speak or understand it fluently. Suddenly, Elrond turned and faced her. "May I see your necklace?" he asked.
"Sure," Hope answered, standing up and walking over to the desk. She gently removed the pendant from around her neck and handed it to Elrond. "Could you be careful with it, though?" she asked. The elf-lord raised his eyebrows quizzically. "It belonged to my great-great-grandfather, so it's kind of special," she explained. Even though she acted flippant about it around her mom, she deeply cared for it and didn't want it to get damaged. Elrond nodded his head in understanding and then proceeded to examine the pendant. The memory rushed back to him, clear as day. In his hands he held the very same amethyst star he had seen Galadriel give Eradan over 450 years ago. After a few moments, Elrond handed the pendant back to Hope. "Thank you. You both may leave." Aragorn nodded and bowed slightly in respect. Hope soon followed his example before exiting the study with Aragorn.
A few moments later, Gandalf entered the study. "Well?"
Elrond sighed. "Aragorn's suspicions are correct."
"You mean to say…"
"Yes. The young girl who rode in with Aragorn is indeed one of the five Elenmîr of legend, specifically the bearer of the Forodgîl."
Gandalf's eyebrows knitted together. "How do we know that this not some trick of Sauron's?"
"I have seen the pendant for myself," Elrond retorted. "It is indeed the same pendant that the Lady Galadriel gave Eradan. The amethyst star emits a pulse of Elven magic unique to only the Elenmîr."
"You do know what this means, Master Elrond?" Gandalf asked. "The darkest times of Middle-Earth are approaching."
"Yes," Elrond replied. "But there is still a light for this world. The return of the Elenmîr had begun."
Gandalf sighed. "So it begins…"
So one has returned, four more have yet to arrive.
PLEASE REVIEW! It makes me smile! :)