Chapter 14

Sorry about the long wait for an update; if you knew my schedule, you'd understand. I have almost no free time. Also, I'm REALLY sorry for all of you Plain Jane readers. I've been working on a chapter, and it should be up shortly. :)

IMPORTANT! Not really, I just want your attention. I have a request! Any of you draw? Well, I would love for you to draw my characters in this story! :) Tell me if you're interested, and I'll send you my E-Mail for you to send the drawings to. OR. I'd love for you to send them to me on here, if that's even possible. Please please please? :)

Anyhoo! Send me your ideas, what would you like to see happen? If I don't get any ideas, I'll just use the few I have (very few) and skip a couple of years and be right at the Fellowship. So. Seriously, send me anything and everything! I'm open to ALL suggestions. :)

All of them, no matter how crazy or ridiculous.

You just tell me whatever your little heart desires.

On with the story...

I don't own Lord of the Rings.

(Sophie)

Wandering, wandering, wandering... Yepp. That's me. In Rivendell. Wandering around!

... Sigh...

Okay, so I'm lost. Most elves only speak their language, so I can't ask for directions. So, I've been wandering around this place for the past two hours, trying to find someone, anyone who could help me find my way home. Home, being my room.

Yeah, Collin abandoned me. He met some guy named Glorfindel and ran off to go practice his sword fighting. Honestly, I don't know how he does it. Why don't we just drop him off in Mordor? I'm sure he'd become quick friends with that mean Sauron guy, no problem.

Huh... Not a bad idea...

It's not like I have any idea what's going on, anyways. All that I know is what Gandalf and Strider have told me, which isn't much. They've told Collin way more, which makes me feel a little insulted. This was definately a sexist world, and that's no mistake. But hey, like I cared. Less work for me to do, and less things for me to worry about!

As I strolled through the beautiful gardens of Rivendell, I admired the extraordinary architecture and foreign plants. There were flowers of every shape and color, and the trees and bushes were stunning, even in late November. It was like someone threw Leonardo da Vinci in here and he just went crazy. I wished that I had a person to share my amazement with, but my so called 'friends' were having adventures of their own in this land of elves. I should have gone with Collin when I had the chance...

Hey! There's someone, now! Dang, it's hard for me to find elves in these gardens, for whatever reason.

"Hello!" I ran towards the elf, who was turned away from me. Hopefully, this elf spoke my language.

As the elf turned, I became a tad bummed.

"You're no elf..." I sighed as Strider faced me.

"Sorry to disappoint you." He smiled. "What are you doing, wandering around on your own?"

"Well, I was just admiring the scenery. The birds, the trees, the-"

Strider cut me off. "You're lost, aren't you?"

I sent him a glare that could kill an elephant. "Shut up."

He laughed. "Perhaps I should leave you here, then? To fend for yourself?""

My jaw dropped. Did I just hear an unchivalrous joke come out of his mouth? Never have I ever heard a single man in this world even JOKE about mistreating a woman. Ever. Not even from Collin. It's like all women were goddesses here, and to even suggest something about one is to sign your soul to the devil.

Okay, so that is a MAJOR exaggeration. I don't even know why I went on that rant. My jaw didn't even drop. But still, it is very unheard of, an unchivalrous man. Of course, I have been fortunate enough to be around high-class people 99% of the time. Maybe that's why?

Anyhoo.

"Well, I suppose you could do that, but I don't think that Gandalf would be happy with you..." Or maybe the wizard would be glad to get rid of me? I am kind of a burden. But a happy burden! "So, hows about you help me find Collin? He ran of with some Glorfindel fellow and I haven't seen him since."

He's probably off getting his butt kicked by people older than the Roman Empire.

"Collin!" Strider's eyes lit up at the mention of my friend; they'd gotten pretty close on our trip here to Rivendell. "He's off at the training grounds, testing his skills with the bow."

Ahhh goodness. I knew that he'd practiced with a bow before, but I couldn't imagine that child having any skill with it. "How's he doing?" I asked, the image of Collin with an arrow in his foot clear in my mind. I hope he'd get that on his camera.

"He's doing very well, actually."

Huh. Maybe I shouldn't underestimate Collin so much? He always seems to do well.

"Of course," Strider continued. "He could still use some work... His form is absolutely terrible. I don't know how he even manages to do well, for a beginner. It's quite a sight, actually. He looks rather like a bird..."

"A bird?" Oh my, this will be good. "What are we waiting for? Get going!"

Let me tell you, there's nothing better than seeing your friend try to use medieval weapons. Nothing.

Except for homemade waffles or pancakes on a Saturday morning. And staying out all night with your friends. And root beer, which I miss dearly.

But other than that, there's not much that can compare.

I only wish that you could have seen Collin. Honestly, it's one of the funniest things I'll ever see. He was poised and ready, pointing his arrow at the target. His shoulders and elbows were at awkward angles, making him look like he had chicken wings. He had his legs spread out and in an awkward stance, like he was about to karate chop something. His eyes were squinted, and he looked like he was having issues pooping.

It was wonderful.

The arrow was released, and it nailed the target, a little bit to the side, but hey! It hit!

"Wooo! That's my man!" I ran to Collin and gave him a hug. Elladan was off to the side, catching everything on camera. Collin turned to the elf.

"Thanks, Elladan! Now, give me back my baby." He reached for the camera.

The elf shook his head. "I am not Elladan."

Collin's eyes widened and he snatched his camera back. "Are you a clone?"

Not-Elladan shook his head again, eyebrows furrowed. "No?"

"Zombie?"

"No."

"Alien?"

"No."

"Huh..." Collin eyed the elf. "Well, I'm out of ideas."

Wow, Collin. "They're twins, Ollie."

Realization flushed into Collin's eyes. "Ohhhh..." He shrugged. "I'd prefer him to be a clone."

"Sophie, Collin." Strider stepped in, next to the mystery elf. "This is Elrohir. Elrohir, you've already met Collin, it seems, and this is Sophie. They are to be staying here until Gandalf and I return."

Elrohir gave us a smile and bowed gracefully; it's gonna suck living with elves if they're always so graceful. "Pleasure."

"Speaking of; when are you guys leaving?" I was curious. With the rush they took to get here, you'd think that they would've just dropped us off at the gate and sped off.

"We will be gone at sunrise, tomorrow."

Crap.

Collin and I gave each other knowing glances.

"You know what tomorrow is?" I asked.

Collin nodded sadly. "James and Kristy's birthdays."

(James)

Today's the day. My twenty-first.

Every year back home, Mom and Dad would throw us a party in our backyard. They'd invite our entire family, including Collin and Sophie (to us, they were family, even my grandma loved them). It was always like a family reunion. Adults males would sit around in lawn chairs, drinking beer. The women would typically sit under the tent, gossiping or whatever it is ladies do these days. Collin and Sophie would be inside playing video games, or they'd come outside and climb the bare trees. There'd be this big fire and we'd cook pretty much anything that we could get our hands on. Those were the days...

But not anymore.

There's a tradition in my family for when you turn twenty-one. All of the cousins take you out to a bar, and if you don't come back home hammered the next morning, you're the joke of the family for the rest of the year.

Terrible tradition. Very irresponsible. Don't do it.

I never intended on getting completely wasted on this birthday; I was never one for splitting headaches.

Still, I'd gladly go through a thousand hangovers if it meant that I could have my sister here with me.

Kristy.

She was always the quiet one in our large, crazy family. In our group of friends, she was always the reasonable one who told us when we were being idiots, or when we were about to get killed doing something ridiculous. Although she could be shy at times, she could be ballsy, if she wanted to be. It's not so much that she's shy, really. I'd just call her an introvert. Throw her into a situation that entertains her, and she'll go crazy.

I always thought that I'd have my twin sister here with me on this day. There was never a doubt in my mind. After all, how often do you get thrown into another world?

Then again, I'm dead in our world, of that much I'm sure. In the car crash that sent me here, I hit my head on the steering wheel with such force, there's no way that I could have survived. We were traveling way too fast on a highway overpass; Kristy had told me to slow down, but I wouldn't listen. We were in a hurry to go see some superhero movie that Sophie and Collin had been so set on seeing, and we were already late. It seems so silly now... Why would I risk our lives for a silly movie? I can't even remember the name of it, now.

And what about the others? Were they still alive back on our world? Or did they get eaten by giant spiders? Either way, I'll never forgive myself if they died; in this world, or the other. Sophie was just nineteen, the youngest of us all. We were practically children, I know that now.

Now, I'm sitting by a small stream outside the walls of the city, holding one of the last flowers of the year. I was surprised that some flowers were still alive so late in November, but I'm no botanist. I don't know anything about flowers; I couldn't even give you the name of the flower that I was holding, now. All I know is that Kristy, Sophie, and Collin love nature, especially flowers.

So, I set it into the flowing water and it slowly drifted away.

"Happy birthday, Kristy... Wherever you are."

(Kristy)

"Love bug?" Sophie popped her head into my room early that morning.

It was dark, the sun had not yet risen. On a normal day, I'd be ticked if someone woke me up so early, but I'd been up all night, as it was.

"Aren't twenty-first birthdays supposed to be happy?" I asked quietly from where I was curled up on my bed.

I could see Sophie's expression soften in the dim light that came from the candle she held. She opened the door fully and stepped inside. After setting the candle down on my bedside table, she sat down on the side of the bed and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"I know... I miss him too."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, until Sophie finally spoke once more.

"Do you want to go say bye to Gandalf and Strider? I don't think that we'll be seeing them for a while."

With a sigh, I sat up and stretched my arms. "I guess. I'm already up, anyways."

Sophie smiled and stood. "Check your closet. Elrond's lending us some winter dresses, since we have none." She lit some more candles around the room. "I hope you don't mind, but I volunteered us for some kitchen work. I figured that we might as well pay the elves back by doing some work around here. It's not much, we're just clearing the tables and such after meals."

"Are you really Sophie?" I asked while searching through my closet. The clothes here were absolutely beautiful. "My best friend would never offer herself up for work if she had the choice." Sophie was about as lazy as it gets.

My friend smiled slightly and shrugged. "Things change."

I could tell. Although she was still the same silly Sophie she always was, there was something slightly different about her. She'd become more mature since coming to this world, I guess that she's seen more than me. After all, she was in the dangerous world of man the whole time I was in the happy, innocent world of hobbits. I know that she had met several friends in Rohan that were killed fighting orcs. Sophie wasn't terribly hurt by these losses, but still, who wouldn't be upset at losing a friend in such a way? Back in America, we lived in a wonderland, for the most part. There was far more death here, and death has a funny way of changing people, even if it's only a slight change.

Eventually, I just settled for a winter dress that I had brought from the Shire. The colors made me happier than the pastel dresses that the elves had to offer, even though I was extremely grateful, and they were beautiful gowns.

Once I was changed and ready, Sophie and I walked to the front gate of Rivendell, where Collin was already waiting with Elrond, Arwen, the twins, Glorfindel, and a couple other elves that I had yet to meet. Naturally, Collin was already lightheartedly joking with the whole lot, shedding a bright light on a situation that would typically be serious. After all, Gandalf and Strider were about to go on a mission that apparently held a great deal of importance. That was Collin. Our little light beam.

As we approached, everyone turned to us, smiles plastered on their faces, thanks to Collin and his impressing ability to make anyone smile.

"There she is!" He approached me with outstretched arms. "Twenty-one years old, and you've never looked more beautiful!"

I gave him a half-hearted smile. "Thanks, Collin."

Collin stopped and feigned disappointment. "What the long face, Kris?"

Shrugging, I avoided eye contact. "I'm just not feelin' it today, I guess."

I didn't have to make eye contact to know that Collin had a mischievous look on his face.

"You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips..." He began to sing off-key.

"Collin, don't make me hurt you."

Still, my friend continued. "And there's no tenderness, like before in your fingertips..."

"I'll kill you." I threatened.

He moved closer with a cheesey smile. "You're trying hard not to show it..."

"Babyyyy." Sophie sang the background vocals, just as off key as Collin. But her off-key was sincere; Collin was an amazing singer, he just found it fun to sing off-key.

"But baby!" Collin closed his eyes and sang loudly and intensely. "Baby I know it!"

I sighed and tried to ignore my friend, which was hard, because he was now kneeling down in front of me, as if he were pleading for something.

"You've lost that lovin' feelin!" Both of my friends were now singing, loudly and terribly. It was hard to keep a straight face. "Ohh that lovin' feelin'!" A smile began to crack out on my face, especially when out of the blue, Strider joined in, having heard Collin sing it before. "You've lost that lovin' feelin' now it's gone, gone, gone... Woahhhh..."

"Stop it, guys!" I shoved my friends off of me; they had been clinging onto me for the last bit of the song. I was laughing, along with the other people who had been standing by, watching. "I get it, I get it! It's my birthday, yaddayaddayadda, be happy, blahblahblah. Okay, okay!"

"Ahem.." Gandalf cleared his throat. "Although your poor singing amuses us all, I am afraid that we must be off, now." The old wizard gave me a smile and a friendly half-hug. "Happy birthday, young one. Be careful, you three. Collin, don't get yourself killed..."

Collin smiled and saluted. "No promises!"

Strider said farewell to Arwen, and Sophie and Collin silently 'awed.' With one last glance back at us, our two travelers waved and set off for their journey.

"So." Collin spoke after our friends were out of view and the elves had returned home. "What do you guys want to do first?"

I do not own the song, "You've Lost That Loving Feeling." It was performed by the Righteous Brothers, and belongs to the respectful owner.