Chapter 6.

You know, I actually almost like this story as much as Plain Jane... Almost. And so I don't understand why it's not getting as many views. :( Oh well. Maybe it's the fact that the summary sucks. Oh. Annnnddd on another note.

I'm kind of looking for someone who I can throw ideas at. Someone trustworthy, who won't take my ideas. I would totally just post my ideas out here and be like, hey! What do you think?

But... That's not gonna work.

So, if you're intrested, message me or review if you're one of those people who doesn't have messaging on here!

Anyhoo...

You want to know the song that I think of every time I'm writing this? A Day Without Rain by Enya. Beautiful music, check it out. That woman and her collaborators are amazing.

I don't own Lord of the Rings. I did quote some Lord of the Rings in here, but only a little bit. I'm not one into quoting the movies or books much. Any quotes in here from the movie belong to those who wrote it, and the movie company that released it. I do not take credit for any of it.

(James)

Okay, so training to be a soldier isn't that bad. THAT bad.

So, I wake up, eat the vegetarian elf food (they have a tendency to stray away from meats), go to training, eat some more veggies (mother would be so proud), train some more, spend time with Maerwen, eat fruit and drink elvish wine (be careful with that stuff... I had to learn the hard way), sleep and repeat.

What a life, right?

Well, sort of.

Legolas has been extremely kind as far as paying me; I haven't earned enough for a house, but I'm getting there. I've saved ever spare penny, and I've even taken up a bunch of random side jobs for some extra cash. All for Maerwen.

I'm telling you, there's nothing I wouldn't do for that woman. The more elvish I learn, the easier it is to communicate with her. Of course, my elvish still sucks, but I'm getting along. Maerwen has learned a lot more common, now, so we're slowly filling in the communication gap.

It's a strange thing, to have fallen in love with a woman who I can't fully communicate with. But that's the beautiful thing; we don't mind it. Actions speak louder than words. Anyways, it was definately love at first sight, for me.

"Good, Adan!" Legolas and I were sparring for the millionth time that week. In case you were wondering, Adan is what they call me. It means 'man' in elvish. Original, right? Not to mention, slightly racist. "I believe that you are almost ready for the test."

Crap. That can't be good. "What test?"

Legolas and my friend Ainion gave each other a knowing, humored look. That's got to be bad.

"Seriously, guys, what test?" I was beginning to grow nervous. Those two were nothing but trouble.

Ainion gave me a strong pat on the back, a smirk on his lips. "Don't worry, Adan. It's only the warrior's test. Every new soldier must go through it. I took mine about two thousand years ago."

Still, I wasn't convinced. Ainion was Maerwen's cousin, and he was equally as ridiculous as Legolas. Don't let the whole prince getup fool you.

"What do I have to do?"

Legolas shrugged and turned to walk away. "You'll see."

Definately not good.

Ainion stood watching me for a moment, enjoying my panic. "On the bright side, Adan, Legolas plans to help you buy a good house if you pass this test."

"Really?" I can't say how I felt about that, really. It was an odd mixture of pump-tastic and guilt. Legolas, no matter how much he liked to mess with me, has done a lot for me. There's absolutely no way for me to pay him back, either, because all I can ever be in this world is a soldier. "Why is he doing all of this? Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it to no end, but what have I done to deserve it?"

"Nothing, really." Ainion shrugged. "That's just Legolas. He likes to help people. I think that you remind him of Estel."

Who's Estel? Isn't that a woman's name? If I remind Legolas of a woman, I'll be pissed. He's the one with Barbie hair.

Although, it does suit him.

Anyways.

"Who's Estel?"

Ainion looked at me with complete shock. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of him! He's best friends with Legolas, a Dunedain ranger. Actually, he's the heir to the throne of Gondor, but that's another story. You do rather look like him, though. Especially now that your hair's grown out, as well as your facial hair..."

Oh, yes. My hair. It'd grown several inches, and it's falling in waves down to my chin now. As for my facail hair, I kept it nicely trimmed, so I only had a little stubble. Nothing serious.

"The point is," Ainion continued. "Estel is in love with Lord Elrond's daughter, Arwen. Just like you're in love with Maerwen." I began to argue, but Ainion shook his head and put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't deny it, yes, she's my cousin, but I'm not protective of her. She's older than I am by several centuries, she can do as she pleases."

"Ah... Well, did Estel marry Arwen?"

"No, not yet. He must reclaim the throne before Elrond gives them his blessing."

"Wait, reclaim? What happened?"

Ainion sighed and motioned for me to sit down on one of the benches in the training grounds. This was going to be a long story.

"Let us say that Estel's family does not have the happiest past. It all starts with Isildur and the One Ring."

Oh, boy. Here we go. This world has the strangest stories. "Please give me a summary. I don't want to sit here for hours when I could be talking to Maerwen."

Ainion gave me a frustrated look, but didn't roll his eyes. Elves were too cool for that. "Alright, then. Sauron's bad, you know this. He made a ring of power, extremely tempting and corrupting to everyone and anyone. Isildur fought Sauron, cut his finger off, Sauron practically exploded, and the ring went to Isildur. He should have destroyed it, but he fell to his temptation and didn't. Now we don't know where the ring is, and so on and so forth."

"Huh." I thought about it for a moment and tried to think about what it all meant. "And that keeps him from returning to the throne, how?"

My friend shrugged in a very un-elf-like manner and leaned back against the wall casually. "I don't know. I've never cared much for Gondor."

"Oh, that's such an elf thing to say." Truely, it was. "I'm going to go find Maerwen, now. Have fun basking in all of your elf glory."

.

"Suilaid." I walked happily up to Maerwen, who was lounging on a library chair, reading a book written in common. I told you she was improving.

"James, speak common. You are not an elf." Maerwen had something against me speaking elvish, for whatever reason. If I had to guess, I'd say that it had to do with the fact that I wasn't very good at it, and she didn't like seeing me embarrass myself. Kind of like when you see someone dancing when they should never step foot on a dance floor. You just have to look away.

"Okay, then. What are you reading, there?"

She slammed the book shut and tossed it onto the table beside her. "I do not know. Common is not easy to read. I have tried all day. Only one book in common here and I can not read it." She sighed and shook her head in frustration. "How was training?"

"Good! Legolas said that I'm almost ready to take the test." In an attempt to look really cool, I leaned back and folded my arms behind my head. "It's a warrior thing."

Maerwen looked like she could die laughing. "Is that what they told you? Pure madness, in my mind."

Okay, my cool factor just died. "What is it, then? They won't tell me."

Maerwen shook her head, a smirk playing across her features. "Wait and see, James. I hope you do not die."

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh goodness.

(Sophie)

"Sophie, wake up!" Collin shook me awake. Sometime last night, I had fallen asleep leaning on his shoulder, and now I awoke to the sounds of Gandalf's shaky old wagon rolling down the road. My eyes opened to a bright, shining sun. "Sophie, look." I followed Collin's gaze and saw perhaps the most beautiful landscape I'd ever seen in my life. Collin was wearing a wide smile, and his eyes were bright with excitement. "Maybe we did fall into Heaven..."

I could believe it. Rolling hills covered in the greenest grass were spread out far and wide. Brightly colored crops covered the land, and flowers of every color were scattered around the road. The only thing that made me think we weren't in Heaven was all of the little people out farming the fields. Everyone looked so cheerful and happy, with big hairy feet and curly hair. What surprised me, though, was their pointed ears. So these were the hobbits that Gandalf had told us about!

"Sophie, Collin, welcome to the Shire." Gandalf was gazing about the land with cheerful eyes and a fond smile. Clearly, he loved this place very much.

We rode along, enjoying all of the beautiful scenes around us, until a light voice cut through our daze.

"You're late."

Gandalf stopped the wagon and we all turned to look up at a cute young hobbit standing on top of a hill.

"A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."

My eyes shot open and I just gaped at Gandalf. Did he just say wizard? Wizard? I could hear Gandalf and the hobbit Frodo laughing at whatever the heck was going on, but I couldn't focus on reality... WIZARD?

The hobbit hopped into the wagon and gave Gandalf a big hug. Collin watched the scene with a smile, like he hadn't noticed anything amiss.

"GANDALF!" How could I be traveling with a wizard and not know? "Why didn't you tell me you were a wizard?"

The old man and the hobbit turned around, the hobbit eyeing me curiously.

"Frodo, meet Sophie and Collin. Sophie likes to speak her mind, and Collin likes to change the subject often. They're from another world."

Frodo's eyes grew wide and his jaw almost dropped. "You're Kristy's friends!"

"Kristy? You know her?" I hadn't heard that name in such a long time. I had come to the conclusion that she was still in our world.

The hobbit nodded eagerly. "Yes! She's been living with me for the past six months! She's been missing you both terribly!"

I could have cried. Kristy was here! "Is James with her?" Surely, if Kristy was here, then James must be here, too.

"No, I'm afraid not... But she'll be overjoyed to see the two of you! She speaks of you almost nonstop!"

There wasn't much time to think of James, for I was too happy to hear of Kristy's well being.

"What are you waiting for, Gandalf! Let's get this thing on the road!" The fact that he'd avoided telling me he was a wizard slipped from my mind. I was going to see Kristy!

.

Frodo had left us a while back, but we continued riding through the Shire until we reached a house carved into a hill. When the wagon stopped I practically dived out and ran up to the tiny door in the hill. Of course, I had to be polite and wait for Gandalf and Collin to take their merry old time strolling up the path to the house. Gandalf knocked on the door and had a short conversation with someone on the other side, but I didn't hear any of it. I was squeezing Collin's hand and shifting excitedly from foot to foot. I hadn't seen Kristy in such a long time, and I could barely contain my happiness.

The door opened to reveal a tiny little man. He smiled at the sight of Gandalf and gave him a huge hug. This must be Bilbo! Now, where's Kristy?

"Bilbo, I'd like you to meet my friends, I believe you've already heard of them... Sophie, Collin?"

Collin squeezed my hand and we stepped into the hobbit's view. Bilbo's smile widened and he stepped forward to give us both hugs.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you! I feel as though I already know you both!" He turned into the house and called out. "Kristy, come see who's here!"

"Who is it?" I heard the familiar voice of my best friend from somewhere in the house. The sound of footsteps grew closer and closer, until finally Kristy turned the corner. She stopped at the sight of Collin and I, and my eyes grew wide.

She looked so different. Her blonde hair fell in curls down her back, and she just looked so much like a woman. She looked like she was glowing, like she was so much happier here than she ever was back home.

"Sophie, Collin?" It was like she couldn't believe we were there, but then she ran to us and nearly tackled us to the ground. "I can't believe it! You're alive! Where have you been? Where's James?" The questions were thrown out in a mass jumble of words, and she was laughing, too. We all were. To be thrown into a different world and be separated for six months from your best friends, it's so hard. I'm just sorry for Kristy; she didn't have anyone, and at least I had Collin.

"Kristy, you look great!" I tried to avoid the James thing, not wanting to be the one to give her the bad news.

"Shut up! You guys look amazing!" She took a step back and smiled brightly at us. "Nice beard stubble, Collin!"

He rubbed his stubble and smiled proudly. "Thanks!"

Kristy looked around us. "Where's my brother?"

"He's not with us, Kristy..." Collin was the one to take the fall. "We thought he'd be with you."

Kristy frowned and looked distressed. "Then where is he?"

(James)

"I'M NOT READY FOR THIS!"

Seriously, if I survive this, I'm going to kill Legolas and Ainion.

That warrior test? Yeah, I'm running away from a giant spider right now while my 'friends' sit high up in the trees laughing their hearts out.

Evidently, it was customary for a soldier to slay their own giant spider! I sure hope Maerwen loves me after this.

"Keep running, Adan!" Ainion would've fallen out of the tree laughing if he wasn't an elf.

I hope they all fall out and get eaten by giant spiders. THEN WE'LL SEE WHO'S LAUGHING!