"Cora?"

She turns and smiles. "Ben, aren't you a welcome sight!"

"Look at us!" he exclaims. He's been outfitted similarly to her, with a short axe rather than a bow and arrows. "What the hell?"

"I don't know," she admits. "But I did figure out we're in Fangorn."

"Like the Lord of the Rings?"

"Exactly like."

Ben frowns. "But that makes no sense. How did we—why? There aren't otherworld visitors to Middle-earth, right?"

"Not generally, no," Cora says. "Who dressed you?"

"Dressed me?" Ben shakes his head. "I woke up, I was naked, and there was a pile of clothes on the ground, so I put them on. Who dressed you?"

"A family of talking raccoons," Cora replies, and laughs at the absurdity. "What is this, Narnia?"

"Cora? Is that you?"

"Lily!" she calls into the forest. "We're over here!"

The other girl stumbles into the opening, wearing an outfit similar to Cora's. "What the hell is this place?" she gasped out. "And why the hell were we naked?"

"So we could get dressed and blend in, I guess," Cora shrugs. "Have you seen Thomas?"

"I'm right here!" he calls out, joining them in the clearing. "Nice bow," he grins at Cora.

"We're all here," Ben says. "What's our game plan?"

"Why are you looking at me?" Cora demanded.

"You know where we are! We all know you've read those books cover-to-cover. Seems to me like you're supposed to be our guide."

"Wait, where are we?" Lily interrupts.

"Fangorn Forest," Cora replies, biting back her gleeful smile.

Thomas notices the glee on her face. "You're over the moon right now. Wait, how do you know it's Fangorn?"

"Some talking raccoons told me," Cora says casually. No big deal.

"Right. We're in a fictional world." Lily sighs heavily. "I'm completely in over my head. What should we do, Cora?"

They all look to her again. "Um," she says articulately. "I guess…head south? That's where civilization is, from Fangorn. I guess."

Thomas rummages on his belt. "I've got a compass here," he says excitedly.

Cora can't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. "Then lead on, MacDuff!"

They hike for most of the afternoon, single-file like Indians. Cora brought up the rear, keeping an arrow on the string at all times. Even in Fangorn, you never know. She hoped to spot some Ents, but they are conspicuously absent. That probably means we're close to the edge, and that's good, she reasoned.

At sunset, they burst out of the trees and confront the wide plains. The sun spreads golden and red limbs across the sky, as if embracing the world. The breath catches in Cora's throat. Of course Middle-earth would be this beautiful.

"We should spend the night here, under the cover of the trees," she decides. They retreat a few feet, keeping the sun in sight. "Did we all get traveling rations?"

They rummage in their bags and each comes up triumphant. "Is this lembas bread?" Thomas asks her, picking at the loaf.

"It must be," Cora says, taking a generous bite.

"Who put all this together for us?" Lily wonders. "We're very well-prepared for…whatever."

"I don't know." Cora frowns. "Why are we even here? People don't go to Middle-earth from our world. It just isn't done."

"Rules are meant to be broken," Thomas says flippantly.

"This isn't a field trip," Cora snaps at him. It's the first time she's gotten mad at Thomas, ever. They're both surprised. "Middle-earth is about as dangerous as fictional worlds get. You realize that."

"I do," Ben jumps in, bless him. "So which way are we headed tomorrow?"

"I think south, still." Cora frowns, trying to recollect the map she has pinned to her wall. "I think our best bet is to get to Edoras. It might not be the safest place, especially if Wormtongue's there doing…you know, Wormtongue things, but it's better than being in the middle of nowhere, right?"

Lily nods. "I don't remember exactly what you're talking about from the movies, but I trust your judgment."

"Thank you," Cora says. "Now—we should set a watch, right?"

"Let me try something first," Ben says. He extracts his cloak from his pack. "I'd be willing to bet money," he says, swinging the cloak over his shoulders, "that these are like the cloaks the Fellowship has. Don't they camouflage?"

He hunkers down underneath the cloak, and suddenly he resembles nothing more than a walk. Lily blinks in surprise. "Jesus Christ," she says fervently.

"I'm not convinced he can hear you, here," Cora says drily. "Ben, that's brilliant. It wouldn't hurt to cover ourselves in leaves, either."

They settle down for the night, Thomas and Lily curled together like cats. Cora looks away, but it's more a habit than anything else. We've only been here a few hours, she muses. Why do I suddenly not care? The idea hits her like a bolt of light: Because whyever we've been brought here, and by whoever, it's bigger than the guy I like dating someone else. Plus…we're in fucking Middle-earth! She wriggles with glee under her cloak. My favorite books come to life and I'm wandering around in them!

Another thought pulls her up short: What if this isn't the books? What if we've just been dumped here in the Second Age or something?

She decides that she doesn't care and settles into sleep. Being here is enough.