PhilosopherStone909 Yeah, I know James is silly. But that's his character. He's very hot-headed. :) As he developed I accidentally began to mold him after my own brother and his friends... Little protective terds, those men. XD I meant to explain James's side of the story more in an earlier chapter, but I completely forgot!

SilverAshlotte I just got all of the comments you posted! I was at an all nighter, and I just kept getting more and more emails. I was like, "DANG! I love this person!"

So, like I said, Sophie's gonna be up on my profile, once I understand technology! Also, I've got a new story coming up, soon. :) It's taken a while, but I'm finally getting it done.

Please review, and tell me what you think! How do you see these characters? I'm curious to know. :)

I don't own Lord of the Rings.

(Kristy)

My jaw was practically on the ground. Here I was, freaking out about finding this Theodred guy, and he's the first person I meet. It's extremely convenient.

No, it's a miracle.

Here I am in this giant city, and I just so happen to stumble upon their prince on my first day?

Oh, crap... He's a prince...

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my lord." I curtsied and gave him a polite smile. I don't want to get on this guy's bad side, Elrond told me that the men of this world can be paranoid and hasty to act. Theodred chuckled and bowed, all the while giving me a strange, eyebrow raised look.

"It's a pleasure, milady. Forgive me, but I never thought that a friend of Sophie and Collin could be so... formal. Then again, I suppose that one shouldn't jump to conclusions. We've only just met, after all. Please, follow me. It's far too cold to be standing about."

While Theodred escorted me up a long, uphill road (he even held his arm out for me), I used my imagination to slap myself in the face. How could I be so stupid? Of course I don't have to be so formal with this guy! That was one of the main things Sophie told me, 'Don't be a stick in the mud, Kris! These people aren't elves, they actually know how to have fun.'

Psh. I never thought I'd say this, but I should really pay more attention to what Sophie says. She actually knows what she's talking about... Occasionally...

The prince led me to a large building high up in the city. It had a sign outside, displaying a crescent moon. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this one out... It's an inn.

"I hope that you won't mind staying here, for the time being." Theodred sighed as he led me into the old, rustic building. "I would offer you a place in my own home, but due to... an unwanted presence... I do not believe that Meduseld is quite fit for guests, at the present." He walked up to the main counter, spoke to the owner, and handed him a small bag of coins.

"You don't have to do that..." I've always been uncomfortable when people pay for me. That's not going to change because I move to a new place.

Still, Theodred smiled and shrugged. "It is no problem."

This was all quite hard to believe... This man just met me, and he's already taking care of me as though I was an old friend. I didn't even receive such a warm welcoming in the Shire.

"If you do not mind me asking, milord, why are you being so kind to me? I do not mean to sound ungrateful or anything, I'm just simply... Taken aback by such hospitality."

He gave me a small smile. "I can imagine. You may be surprised to find that not all the men of this world are paranoid and unpleasant. Please, understand that Collin and Sophie are dear friends of mine... And as dear friends of mine, they would happily kill me if I did not give you proper care. You said that they sent you here for safety; might I ask why?"

I looked around the inn, not quite comfortable with just standing in the lobby, talking like no one could hear me. "If you don't mind, can we go somewhere more private?"

"Of course."

Theodred led me upstairs to my room, which was actually quite nice. The bed was small, but it had a lounge chair, a fireplace, and a separate washroom. On the walls hung large tapestries depicting warriors of old and quite a few horses. Quite decent.

"Sophie asked me to give you this." After digging through my bag, I finally found the letter, which I handed to my new acquaintance. "She said that it would explain everything. I'm not quite sure what there is to explain, but I believe that she may have simply written it as a precaution."

Theodred took the letter and quickly skimmed through it. A small smile crept up on his face, and he turned the letter for me to see.

"Our friend is quite the artist, no?"

My eyes narrowed at the strange little ink drawing. Sophie had clumsily dripped random blotches of ink all over the paper, but her drawing was quite clear. To be honest, I'm surprised she took the time to draw it at all. Ink isn't the best media to use, anyways.

It was a carefully doodled me, in all of my blonde glory (I don't know how, but she'd managed to color my hair a hideous yellow color). I was sitting on a horse, wearing a big crown. Behind me was a relatively difficult to decipher drawing, but after a long moment of squinting, I finally figured it out. It was Edoras.

Sophie drew me as the Queen of Rohan.

I'm gonna kill her. Just as soon as I stop blushing enough to get on a horse and go hunt her down.

"Can we burn that now?" I asked, handing Theodred his letter. I was half tempted to tear it up right on the spot.

Theodred took the letter back and shook his head. "If you don't mind, I'd like to show Eomer and Eowyn, first. This is most impressive..."

Yeah, and most humiliating... Now I'm gonna be the foreign lady who's trying to hook up with the prince...

Lovely.

Y'know, you don't have this problem with elves...

(Sophie)

Wolves.

Lots of 'em.

Nearly lost my life.

All for this wall.

This big, giant, lonely wall... That Gandalf is trying to open.

They say it's a door, but I'm not buying it. Just because something has a lot of glowing letters, that doesn't mean that it's a door.

Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just grumpy after the events of the past few days... This all really is amazing. Door or not, I'd be happy just to stare at it for hours. That is, if those around me weren't exhausted.

It was last night. We were all chilling around the campfire, everyone moping about at the thought of going to Moria. No one wanted to go, yet somehow, everyone agreed upon it. Personally, I blame Gimli, for not letting the topic go. Then again, it's not like we had much of a choice... Caradhras was a definite no-no, going back meant defeat, and all other paths were either too dangerous, or ten times longer than our current path. Moria will only take about three days... Hopefully it won't be too bad.

Still, it's not the wolves that bothered me, nor the fact that I'm about to spend three straight days underground in a place that could be crawling with evil monsters. No, what bothers me is what Gandalf has said about the Gap of Rohan.

I know that it's all said and done, but I can't help but feel guilty... If Kristy did go to Rohan- I believe she did- then I evidently put her into a lot more danger than I initially thought. Unfortunately, it seems as though I didn't know as much about the situation as I thought.

Although I was at Isengard the day that Saruman turned his back on Gandalf, I have failed to realize something.

Saruman is now bad, and Isengard is full of orcs and whatnot. Y'know where Isengard is? The Gap of Rohan... Rohan... The place where I, for whatever reason, decided to send Kristy.

I found myself more and more desperate to find out if she's okay, as well as more hopeful that Gandalf is wrong.

"I do not care if Saruman has turned his back on us..." Boromir sighed from his place on the ground beside me. "Surely, the Gap of Rohan cannot be worse than these mines..." His eyes shifted once more to the glowing door, where Gandalf was stubbornly reciting every spell he knew. "There are dark things drawing near... I can feel it..."

The urge to run back to Rivendell grew more and more with each second I spent listening to this group.

I frowned and clicked my shoes together in boredom. "You see, when you talk like that, you make this trip less fun."

Boromir tensed up and shook his head. "This journey is not meant to be fun. Gandalf is wrong in bringing us to this place."

My frown deepend as I quickly turned my sights to the ground. The tone in his voice stung me a tad more than it should have.

Boromir slapped a hand against his forehead and let out a deep sigh. "Forgive me, Sophie. I did not mean to sound so impertinent."

I gave him a small smile and shrugged. "It's cool, I guess. This place gives you the creeps, I get it."

"No, it's not 'cool...'" Boromir fell back against the rock behind us tiredly. His eyes sifted about our surroundings, a definite tiredness in his posture. "It's just that... This place... This entire journey... I find myself growing weary of it all."

You can say that again... A rather large part of me wished that this all was just a camping trip. That's the state of mind I was aiming for- the one that didn't make me fear for my life. Such a state of mind would definitely make this all much more enjoyable.

"I understand, Boromir. I don't like this, either." Love the people, hate the situation.

Boromir looked to me, a new spark of hope in his eyes. "Then let us be rid of it!"

My eyebrow shot up as I looked at this madman before me. "Say what?"

"No oath binds us to this fate..." Boromir smiled, as though he'd just discovered a cure for cancer. "We could leave, and head for the Gap of Rohan. The two of us would have no trouble there, and we could travel to Edoras to search for Kristy. We have come this far; we have fulfilled our duty."

I don't know what you're talking about, sir, 'cause I have no duty, here. Heck, I should call it a privilege, being here. I looked around the campsite to see if anyone was listening to our conversation- they weren't.

"I do not know how you feel about traveling within these mines," Boromir continued. "But if you say the word, then we can be off for Edoras at the break of dawn."

I was silent as I contemplated what had just been said. Although I'm not too keen on going into the mines, I will admit that I trust Gandalf enough to lead us through to safety. Besides, who knows when he'll get that door open. On the other hand, I really want to get back to Edoras. I miss the people, the air, the smells... Plus, I need to see if Kristy has found her way to the city.

And then there's another thing...

My eyes shifted across the clearing, where James and Collin were sitting on a large boulder. They were talking quietly to one another, and the sight made me smile. There they were with their beards and swords, looking just as medieval as Boromir and Aragorn. While Collin's hair was finally beginning to grow out, James's dark hair was hanging in waves down to his shoulders. He was dressed in an elf's travel gear, while Collin looked much like a ranger.

It made me smile.

Even after all of these years, and all of our hardships, those two men can still sit around and laugh. Despite their age, their smiles still reminded me of those two goofy teenage boys from so long ago.

And Collin... After all he and I have been through together... I couldn't leave him, even if I wanted to.

"No." I answered Boromir. "I don't think that we're done here. Not yet."

Boromir nodded. "As you wish, then."

(Collin)

"And then she went flying into the Thranduil!"

The look in James's eyes as he talked about his daughter was priceless. He had the biggest smile on his face as he continued on with what must have been the millionth story about little Faelwen. But I didn't mind. Being a father is a blessing.

"Oh, I about had a heart attack." James continued, his face red with laughter. "The look on Thranduil's face was priceless, but he just laughed and gave her a pat on the head. I don't think that anyone could be mad at Faelwen- not with those big, beautiful eyes of hers. Just like her mother, I tell you."

Honestly, it's kind of weird hearing James talk like this. Not the kind of weird you get when you go to the zoo and you witness something... Intimate... Among the lions. No, that's really weird. This weird is nice and pleasant. It's almost like I get to meet James all over again. I don't care how oddly romantic that sounds, 'cause it's the truth.

"Faelwen sounds like a lovely girl." I smiled and continued to fiddle with this rock I'd picked up, for whatever reason. "I can't imagine how it feels like to be a father. Must feel similar to that feeling you get in your stomach when you fall, only in your heart, and constant."

James chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, man. It's even better than that. I wish that I could describe it to you, but I can't." He looked up at me with a curious expression. "I must say, I'm a bit surprised that you haven't settled down, yet..."

Oh boy, here we go. Y'know, you'd think that falling into another realm would have gotten rid of that question, but it seems as though my mom's spirit has affected James.

"Why would I need to settle down?" I'm only twenty... Something... Close to thirty... Awh, it's no use, I lost track. Note to self: ask Sophie about age. Perhaps I should get married? A wife would come in handy; she could remember all of the silly things, like my birthday.

My old friend rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me that no girl has caught your eye in these past years?"

My eyes narrowed on my friend; I knew exactly what he was trying to do. He's terrible at hiding things... Well, that, or I'm just incredibly good at finding things. Either way, it all leads to the same thing. The way his eyes are flickering back and forth between me and the only woman in this group was incredibly obvious.

But trickery doesn't work on me.

"James, knock it off."

"Knock what off?" His eyes widened with innocence- incredibly bad acting.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

James sighed and looked around, carefully checking to see if anyone was listening. Finally, he leaned in and whispered quietly.

"Look, Collin. We could die tomorrow. Do you want it to be without telling her?"

I looked over to her. The girl I've been best friends with for my entire life.

"You're wrong, James..."

"Collin!" James moved closer to me, and put a hand on my shoulder. He looked me straight in the eyes, looking far more frustrated than usual. "You could die. There's no telling what we may face today, a week from now, hell, even months from now something could happen."

Sigh... "I could kill you now, if that'd make you feel better."

The look in my friend's eyes nearly made me fear from my own life. I could have sworn that he was about to punch me, right there, but he didn't. Instead, he took a deep breath and hopped down from his seat.

"You're impossible..." He mumbled, as he walked over to sit by a smoking Gimli. The two had gotten quite close, due to their mutual distaste for a certain elf.

So I was alone...

My eyes shifted once more to Sophie, and my mind flashed back to Isengard, just a few months back. Words can't explain this heavy feeling in my chest, a feeling that grew even more after finding her in the forests after we barely escaped those orcs. There's always been something there, but after almost losing her?

It's almost unbearable.

It's such a cliche... A hero saves a damsel in distress, only for them to fall in love and live happily ever after. This constant beating of my heart is telling me that I'm the hero, yet something is hinting that perhaps such cliches are not as simple as they seem...

(Sophie)

Three hours and a much needed game of charades later... Things finally began to look up for us.

Merry had left our little game to stand by Gandalf some time ago (Not that I blame him, this was the worst game of charades, ever). He looked up at the glowing door with curious eyes until a small grin began to form on his lips. "I think I've got it... Speak, friend, and enter... Why not say 'friend' in elvish?"

Gandalf sighed, impatient with most things, at this point. "No, no, Merry. That's far too simple."

The little hobbit shrugged. "It could not hurt to give it a try."

Despite his current frustration, Gandalf decided to humor the hobbit, and he approached the door once more.

"Mellon..." Gandalf sighed, almost reluctantly. He didn't seem to believe that a young hobbit such as Merry could so easily decipher the door's secrets, especially after he'd just spent ages trying to figure it out, himself.

Yet the doors open, and the wizard stood there in disbelief. A big smile began to light up his tired features, and he gave Merry a congratulatory pat on the shoulder. "Well done, Merry! That was quite simple, yet it worked! Well done, indeed!" He then proceeded to walk happily into the dark and foreboding mines.

"Finally!" Boromir jumped up from his spot on the ground. "I hate this blasted place!" He chucked a big rock into the lake in front of us, and rushed to follow the wizard into the mines.

Frodo eyed the pond with worried eyes. "Why did he do that? There are a lot of things that frighten me, but I must say that this lake scares me the most. There's something lurking in its depths, I can feel it."

Collin gave the hobbit a comforting smile. "Then we'd best be making our exit. Come on, whatever's down there surely can't follow us into the mines. Even if it could, I'm sure that it wouldn't want to."

So, we grabbed our things and made quietly made our way through the doors. Inside it was cold, dark, and a horrid stench hung in the air. It almost made me wish that we would have just stayed on Caradhras.

We'd hardly been in the mines for more than a few seconds before a terrible screech erupted from behind us. Turning around, we all were faced with the image of Frodo, flying through the air. The poor chap was right: there was a monster in the lake, and it resembled a kraken.

As the men rushed to slay the beast, I did something I'm not quite proud of.

I took the liberty of hiding behind Gandalf.

Hey, don't judge me! If I tried to help, I'd wind up getting myself killed. I might as well make life easier for our warriors by staying out of danger. You see? I'm using my head instead of losing it.

Amid the yelling and confusion, I took the time to peek around Gandalf's robes. All I saw was Boromir catching Frodo, and Legolas taking aim before I ran back into the mines. The Fellowship soon followed after, and an angry kraken began to tear apart the doors.

"We're trapped!" James cried. "We shouldn't have come, here!"

"We must move forward, now." Gandalf placed a stone into his staff, which began to give off a bright, white light.

Boromir gently set down a soaking Frodo. "Are you alright?"

We all waited for a reply, but the hobbit couldn't speak. His eyes were fixed upon what was ahead of us, wide with fear. Our eyes followed suit, and we soon discovered what that horrible smell was.

No, we definitely shouldn't have come here.

A/N: Sorry if it seems like I'm rushing through things. I don't like writing the Fellowship parts, especially since I threw three extra people in there. I'm a tad upset with myself for ruining the 9 Nazgul/ 9 Walkers rule, but it was necessary... Anyways, from here on out things are going to be picking up. Get pumped. :)