ababababababababababababababab

Part 1

The Lost Girl

The ground felt cold and was covered in wet leaves. The smell of them hung in the air, but it wasn’t as disgusting as it sounds. A small spider crawled along my hand, but I really didn’t care. My hair was sprawled messily across my face my body felt as if it had someone holding me down from getting up. My arms felt like lead weights, but eventually I was able to push myself to sit up on my knees. My clothes had mud stains on them, and I could feel the tangled mess of leaves and small twigs in my hair.

At first, I thought I was dreaming, but after looking around at the multitude of trees, I knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. I struggled at first to stand up, but after a few wobbles of the knees I took a few steps around. My car was nowhere in sight. In fact, I knew I wasn’t even at home. There were no huge forests around Phoenix that I knew of.

“This is ridiculous,” I said to myself. I’m dreaming; it must be a dream. The crack of a stick and a flock of black birds overhead startled me. Then there was silence once again.

Figuring that I’d wake up when my alarm clock sounded, I’ll just spend the rest of my dream walking around the woods. Why not? Maybe I’ll even find prince charming. Yeah right.

My thoughts, however, came to a halt when I heard something that wasn’t what you heard on the streets of a city—the loud thumping of hooves on the hard ground. I turned around quickly and saw the worst thing you’d see in a movie. Soldiers in black holding weapons above their heads while riding large black stallions.

I could feel my heart skip a beat and my eyes got wider as they rode towards me. What the heck? If they kill me, the dream will be over sooner, right?

Then I realized that this wasn’t just a dream. I could actually feel the fright in my body, and the cold wind hit my wet face. The loud yells of the men coming towards me rang in my ears. Even a dream couldn’t be this real, could it?

That’s it, I thought, I’m running for my life. And that’s what I did. I saw out of the corners of my eyes the soldier’s faces, as they were almost right next to me. They weren’t men at all. In fact, I don’t know what the hell they were. Their skin was yellow or black, or even both. Their eyes were yellow or red and their teeth were sharp and hideous. They were like some sort of monsters right out of a horror movie.

I ran as fast as my feet would carry me, jumping over any small obstacle I could. It didn’t stop the monsters though. They were right on my tail the whole time.

“Help!” I screamed several times in a high-pitched voice. “Someone help me!”

Something told me to duck my head, which I was thankful I did because one of their swords would’ve chopped it right off my shoulders. They were riding next to me. The only thing I could do was stop and run the other way.

I continued to scream and run as the horses turned around sharply and continued their assault. “Damn it!” I was able to get out of my mouth when I tripped on some stupid tree root buried beneath the leaves.

My hands rolled my body over to look up at the approaching monsters. One of them jumped off its horse and walked over towards me with his teeth sneering and the dagger it held in its hand. I did a quick crab walk backwards until I slipped and couldn’t move another inch.

This was it. I was going to die in a dream. So after sixteen years, I’m finally meeting my final fate. As long as it’s quick…

The sharp yelp of the monster before me opened my eyes. I saw him fly towards the ground, no longer moving. An arrow was sticking out of his back. The other monsters turned on their horses, but it wasn’t long before an arrow hit them off those black beasts. Soon, all four were dead on the ground and the horses ran off into the forest.

I could feel my chest rise and fall with my deep breaths, and my heart was pounding harder than it ever had. I heard the rustling of leaves, as someone was walking towards me. This time, I didn’t take the time to look at the face, which I was sure was just as hideous as the others were. I started to make my way to my feet, but stupid me turned around into the tree.

My nails slowly scratched at the bark of the tree as I held my face tight, my closed eyes starting to feel tears. “Just kill me!” I yelled out.

“Kill you? I just saved your life,” said a masculine voice.

Somehow I could tell that he was only a few feet from me. My eyes slowly opened and I turned around to see who my “savior” was. Never in a million years did I expect to see what I saw just then. A young man, perhaps around my own age, stood about six feet tall, with very long blonde hair, and green eyes. His face was gorgeous, I might add. Like someone from a Romeo movie.

Then my eyes took the rest of him in. I almost laughed. He wore a forest-green colored tunic on top of a white long sleeved shirt. His dark gray pants were fitted, although not spandex, and on his feet were black boots that went halfway up his shins. I noticed a belted strap across his chest that was holding on whatever was holding the arrows on his back. On his forearms were dark brown leather guards and in his left hand was a bow, and the other hand held an arrow.

“I get it, I must be on a movie set or something, right?” I asked him. He reminded me of Robin Hood, actually.

“A movie? My lady, I do not know of what you talk about. You are just off Old Forest Road, outside of Mirkwood,” he said calmly in his smooth voice.

“Where? I never heard of it. Look, whatever game is going on, I don’t want to play anymore. Just tell me where I really am, and how to get back to Phoenix,” I practically demanded.

He looked at me very uncertainly. “Phoenix? Who is Phoenix?”

I let out a small chuckle. He was rather amusing. “Its not who, its where. You know, Phoenix, Arizona? The city of Phoenix?” He shook his head. “Ever hear of the United States?”

“I can’t say that I have,” he replied.

“Look, this is all great. I mean, you did a great job on the Robin Hood get-up, but I’m tired of this. I just want to go home.”

“I know not of a Robin Hood get-up, and I assure you that I don’t know where you’re from.” I could tell that he was looking me over. At first I thought it was because he might’ve actually found me attractive or something. But then I realized that I was wearing a white hood-sweatshirt, blue jeans, and sneakers.

“What? Never see modern clothes?” I asked.

“I assure you, my lady, that those are far from modern attire. Would you mind telling me who your family is? Perhaps if I have heard of them, I might be able to escort you back to your home.”

“Well, first would you mind putting that thing away?” I pointed to the arrow. “I feel like I’m being held hostage.” He laughed for a brief moment and put the arrow with others behind his back.

“And just to let you know,” I informed him, “I don’t have a family. My parents died when I was four. I’ve lived in an orphanage since then.”

“I’m sorry to hear of your loss. What is your name then?”

“Fae Smith.”

He looked at me as he thought. “I never heard of the name Smith. Except for the men that make horse’s shoes. However,” he said. “You must be from an Elven community, for your name means little Elf, of which then I have no problem helping you find where you must go.”

“Wait a second,” I said holding up a hand and raising my left eyebrow. “Elven community? Look, I’m impressed that you know what my name means, but to let you in on a little secret, there are no such things as Elves.”

I could see the look of resentment in his eyes as he straightened up. His brow furrowed and he looked at me with a sudden hatred. “How dare you say such a thing. I, madam, happen to be an Elf,” he said quite harshly.

“Say what?” Then I looked at his ears. I’ll be damned…they’re pointy. “That’s impossible though! Elves are mythical people, only in a fantasy world.”

“My people are not from some fantasy world. We are as real as you are, which I can now tell you are from a human community. No Elf would ever insult another.” He obviously saw the confusion and nervousness in my expression, for his own relaxed and began to look more thoughtful. “You really don’t belong in this world, do you?”

“I do belong on planet Earth, if that’s what you mean. Whatever country I’m in now, is a different story,” I said softer than my other sentences had been.

“Planet Earth? You mean Middle-earth, don’t you?” He tried to correct me.

“Middle-earth? Elves? Monsters attacking me from out of nowhere?” I could feel my voice choking out the words. “What’s happened to me?” I sunk down to my knees and looked at some kind of bug walking around a small stone.

The Elf knelt down before me and put his warm hand under my chin. “I promise to help you if I can. But you must trust me, Fae Smith.”

“What else is there to do until this dream ends? Not a dream,” I corrected mysElf. “This nightmare.”

“This isn’t a dream, I’m afraid.” He stood up and took my hand with him, pulling me back to my feet. “I’ll take you back to the Woodland Realm. Perhaps my father and his assistants would be of some use to your problem.”

“Wow, you’re really nice, you know that?” He smiled at me. I started to follow him, past the monsters that still lay dead on the ground. “What are those things, anyway?”

“Orcs,” he replied. “I hear they used to be Elves, until the dark side overtook their minds and bodies.”

“The dark side? You mean like Star Wars?” I joked, but he didn’t get it.

The Elf pulled the arrows out of all the dead bodies. He wiped off the blood onto the leaves and put the stick-like weapons with the rest he had.

“You’re keeping those?!” I asked shocked.

“Of course. Why waste perfectly good arrows?” He laughed as he led me up a small hill.

“That’s just gross, you know?”

Then he bent down and picked up something else. “Is this yours?” He held up a familiar looking navy blue bag.

“Yeah,” I said amazed. It was my purse. I couldn’t believe that my purse followed me into this dream. I do remember that when I left my apartment, I had crossed the purse’s strap over my shoulder and sat in the car like that. I always hate fumbling around the passenger side for my purse.

Taking the bag from him, and crossing it over my shoulder we continued on. I was silent for the rest of the time. Until, that is, I heard a small nay coming from behind a tree. It belonged to what I feared. A large white horse, saddled and ready to ride stood waiting for its owner.

The Elf went to the saddle and opened up a small bag that hung from the back. “This is yours?” I asked taking a step back.

“Of course. How else, besides walking, do you suppose we’d get to the Woodland Realm?” He pulled out a small clay container from the bag. Taking the lid off, he held it out before me. “This is for you cut on your arm there.”

I looked at my right arm. I never even realized that my sleeve had a rather large tear and my skin was shedding blood. “Great,” I said as I inspected it.

“Here,” he said. He took a small cloth from the bag as well and wiped away the fresh blood that seeped through the cut. Taking his index and middle fingers, he spread some of the cream-like substance directly onto my cut, then using the cloth to wrap around and make a bandage so it wouldn’t bleed anymore. “Give it a few hours and you’ll never know it was there.” He returned the container to the bag and mounted his horse. The horse snorted and shook its head, the reins making a jingling noise.

“Well?” He asked me. “What are you waiting for? Come on.”

I chuckled. “Sorry, no. I don’t ride those things. Bad experiences in the past.”

In fact, I had a terrible experience with horses. Back when I was thirteen, I loved these beautiful and magnificent creatures. So much, actually, that I told one of the orphanage’s coordinators that they should take some of us to a farm where we could go riding for a little while.

After a week or so, they finally agreed and took me and a bunch of other kids to this ranch. I remember being so excited that I’d get to ride a horse for the first time. The ranchers even let us pick out any horse we wanted. I got to brush them and saddle them up and everything. I was in my absolute glory. Unfortunately, when I was on the horses back, Zeus was his name, I had kicked his ribs a little too hard. And these horses weren’t used to getting started like that. Well, needless to say that the animal took off like a bolt of lightning. Once it reared up onto his back legs, I didn’t stand a chance. I was thrown off and went home with a broken arm and fractured shoulder. I was lucky that it didn’t kill me. Ever since, I’ve hated those terrible beasts.

The blonde Elf laughed and held out his hand towards me. “I assure you, Artami is quite safe. Unless, that is, you prefer to walk while I ride.”

I thought for a moment. I really didn’t want to give in. “How far is it to where we’re going?”

“Not far. Three miles, perhaps,” he responded looking up for a moment. “Would you prefer that I walk and you ride?”

“Its not me riding with you, its him altogether. I don’t like horses.”

“I see,” the Elf said. He almost seemed disappointed. I mean he was trying to help me, so I guess that I should go along with him. I finally took his hand.

A smile spread across his face as he pulled me up behind himself and onto the horses back. I was a little uncomfortable; it wasn’t because I was back on a horse. Actually, the saddle wasn’t made for two people; so lucky me was practically sitting on the top edge of it.

“Hold on tight,” he warned me. I wrapped my arms around his torso and interlocked my fingers. I felt his legs move against mine as he gently kicked the horse’s ribs. Like Zeus had, Artami took off like the wind in a nice gallop.

“Alright?” The Elf asked me, as I tried to avoid his long hair hitting my own face.

“Oh sure,” I said sarcastically. “By the way,” I started. “What’s your name?” I noticed that my voice had involuntarily risen to overcome the noise of Artami’s heavy hooves stomping on the ground and the wind whooshing by.

“Legolas,” he replied, turning his head a bit to look over his shoulder at me.

The horse jumped over a fallen tree trunk. My arms automatically tightened around Legolas. I hope he didn’t mind, but I was scared half to death for the second time today.

òòò

The horse ride wasn’t as long as I thought. We passed for most of the time along a wide river Legolas said was known as the Great River of Wilderland. We then passed into the thick mass of trees, following a path that led to a great city.

“Welcome to Northern Mirkwood, the Woodland Realm,” Legolas announced when Artami’s legs slowed to a canter.

I was amazed, to put it lightly. This place was nothing I had ever seen before. All of the buildings looked to be hand carved, with spiral staircases cascading tall tower-like buildings. Everything seemed to be in full bloom, giving an array of color to the scenery, (which surprised me because it was October).

Legolas brought Artami along a wide road that went into the heart of the Elven city. I was appalled at the number of Elves, who all looked at me curiously. Many of them were saying “Welcome home Legolas.”

Finally Legolas jumped off Artami and held out his arms to catch me when I jumped. More like fall off, I should say. But he caught me just the same and I stood on my own.

“Aren’t you going to put him in the barn or anything?” I asked the Elf as he started to walk away.

“He’ll be fine. The caretaker will take care of him when he’s available. Artami will just stay there until he does.” He started to walk up the steps that led to a path towards the largest building in the city. “Come with me.”

I looked back at the horse and then followed the Elf up the stairs, down the path and through the large wooden doors of the enormous house. Everything inside was extremely clean, although made of wood. And most of the designs in the architecture seemed to portray twisting vines of some sort. It was beautiful though.

I followed Legolas down a hall with a narrow blue carpet spread on the floor. “Legolas,” I practically whispered. “Where are we going?”

“To see my father, of course. We’ll ask him what to do with you.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said after his last statement. Finally we turned off to go outside onto a large and long balcony that seemed to stretch around the entire building. I didn’t realize until now how high up we were from the ground. You could almost see everything from here. Really spectacular, this dream was starting to become.

As I was admiring my surroundings, I failed to notice that we had stopped in front of more Elves. Actually, there were only two, but one was dressed as if he owned the place. He wore a tunic that was much more detailed than Legolas’, and a velvet blue robe trimmed in gold that hung over his shoulders. On his head wasn’t a crown or tiara, but it was a sort of goldish vine that circled the top of his head, almost as if signifying he was some noble.

“Legolas! Welcome home, son,” he greeted in a cheerful voice. He looked much like his son, only older. He had the same long blonde hair that hung over his shoulders.

“Thank you father,” Legolas returned, giving a small bow in respect for his father.

“You have brought a friend, I see…” The elder Elf looked me over. I knew that I was a mess, but he didn’t have to sound so unpleased.

“I found her in the forest being attacked by orcs. Her name is Fae Smith, however she doesn’t seem to have any place in Middle-earth,” Legolas explained.

“No place? Whatever do you mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I said, which I wish I hadn’t. They all turned to look at me with their green eyes. “I’m not from around here. I’m from Phoenix, Arizona, not Middle-earth.”

“There is no such thing as this Arizona,” the father said.

“Well, no offense, but where I come from there aren’t monsters and Elves, but I think somehow I was sucked out of my own world and into this one.”

Legolas’ father looked at me for the longest time before saying anything. “So, what do you suppose I do, son?”

Legolas shrugged his shoulders. “I had hoped, father, that you’d be able to recognize the name or even the place she comes from. She’s lost and has no way of getting home.”

His father walked over to the balcony railing and looked out into the distance for a brief moment. Then he turned around and smiled at me. “Well, Lady Fae, you are welcome to stay in my kingdom as long as you must. My people will assist you in any way they may.”

At first I thought I heard him wrong, but did he said kingdom? Nah, he couldn’t have. “Thank you, sir,” I said humbly.

The man turned to the other Elf behind him. “Bring Lady Fae to a guest room. Tell Nyssa that she is to help her clean up and find suitable attire.” The Elf bowed and looked towards me as if saying to follow him.

I looked at Legolas who gave a small nod of approval. It wasn’t until I realized a leaf was hanging next to my head from my own hair that I needed to get washed up in the worst way. I followed the Elf up another set of long winding steps and up onto another balcony. We re-entered the house and walked through it until we came to a hand-carved wooden bridge that led to another building.

I found myself now, in a building similar in design to the one before with a great many doors on both sides of the hallway. He opened one at the end and motioned for me to go inside. When I did so, I saw a bedroom like I’ve never seen before. The entire room was lit with natural sunlight. It had an open balcony, and just before you went out onto it, you’d pass three thin twisted pillars. The furniture was all handcrafted, by the looks of it. The bed itself was the size of a normal Queen bed back home, with an awesome headboard, which had roses carved all over with vines.

When I turned around, I noticed that the Elf was gone, but only for a brief moment. He soon returned with another Elf. Only this Elf was a woman. He hair was a beautiful golden color that hung down to her waist, with a few braids on the sides. “Good afternoon,” she said with a smile. Her green eyes had a friendly sort of twinkle in them. “I am Nyssa. King Thranduil wishes me to assist you.”

“King? You mean that guy I met downstairs?”

“But of course. Surely you know. His own son brought you here, as so I’ve heard.”

Word obviously got around fast in this place. She already knew that Legolas brought me here. “Legolas…” I thought out loud. “You mean, that his father is this King Thran-whatever? But that makes Legolas…”

“Our prince,” Nyssa finished for me. “You were quite fortunate to have been found by him. He’s an expert archer, and was able to defend you from those terrible orcs.”

“You know about that already? We just got here for goodness sakes,” I said sitting down on the end of the bed.

Nyssa laughed as she went an armoire near the door. “We Elves have our ways,” she said. She pulled out a dress similar to the one she was wearing herself. I had to admit it was pretty. It was made out of some sort of soft material that was laced at the bust and flowed down like an open robe towards the bottom, showing what seemed to be some kind of skirt underneath. It was a maroon in color, and had white spiral designs outlining all edges.

“You’re not suggesting for me to wear that, are you?” I asked.

“What did you have in mind? Surely not your present clothing that you have on now,” she said looking at my dirty jeans and torn sweatshirt.

“Well, no, but I don’t like dresses much,” I admitted. Which was the truth; they never were my cup of tea.

Nyssa placed the dress next to me on the bed. “First you should get washed. A bath is being prepared for you now. Follow me.”

She led me a little ways down the hall into this bathroom that was practically the size of the bedroom I was just in. I was relieved when I saw there were no balconies. No, instead a million mirrors. There were a lot of plants, some being on tables or just the floor. In the center of the room was almost like a small pool in the floor. I could see the steam rising from the water’s surface, and I wanted nothing more at the moment than to get in it and relax.

“We have laid out soaps for you,” Nyssa said. “Do you need any assistance?”

I looked at her as if she was kidding. “I think I can take a bath by myself, thanks.”

“Very well, Lady Fae. I shall be waiting for you outside.” Nyssa turned and left, closing the door behind her.

The hot water felt great, I might add. It was so long since I had so much dirt and junk on me. It took me forever to get it out of my hair, seeing that my hair was so long, (it went halfway down my back).

It wasn’t until I was done that I realized there were no towels. How the heck do they expect me to dry off? “Nyssa?” I called. “Hello? Anyone?”

The door opened and Nyssa walked in. “Did you need something, my lady?”

“A towel, please,” I told her, covering my upper body.

Nyssa turned red, remembering now that she forgot that part. She handed me a thick piece of soft material. It wasn’t a towel, but it served the same purpose.

With it wrapped around me, I quickly followed her back into my guest bedroom. She helped me get into the dress. She tried to tell me that I looked lovely in it, but the fact that it was so tight from the waist up made me wonder. She assured me, though, that it was supposed to be like that.

“So, now what am I supposed to do?” I asked her while she was fixing my hair.

“I have been told to bring you back to the king and prince. They want to see you.”

“And have a good laugh, I’m sure,” I said to myself. I didn’t care if she heard me anyway.

I followed Nyssa back to where I first met the king. It was hard to walk down stairs in this thing. The shoes weren’t that bad, though. They didn’t have a big heal on them, so at least I wasn’t twisting my ankles.

The first person I saw was Legolas, thankfully. I caught that smile he gave me when I entered the room. The king stood up from his chair and took a few steps forward. “An improvement indeed,” he said with a smile.

“Indeed,” I barely heard Legolas whisper from next to me.

“Well, if I walk weird, it’s because I’m not used to these things,” I told them, getting a laugh out of all of them.

King Thranduil motioned me to sit down on a bench while he and Legolas sat across from me. Another Elf, with that same blond hair (only shorter this time) joined us. I thought at first this was Legolas’ brother, but it wasn’t. His name was Odrofel and was a supposed expert on the outer unknown lands.

“Describe to us, Lady Fae, your home. Where is it exactly?” The king asked me.

I thought I’ve been through this twice already? “Alright, I’ll tell you the exact location, but I don’t think it’s going to help much.” I thought for a moment to think out how I’d explain this. “I live in a city called Phoenix, in the state of Arizona, which is in the country called the United States of America, on the continent of North America, which is in the Planet Earth.”

They all looked at me a little strangely. Especially this so called philosopher of theirs. He took out a large piece of rolled up paper and unrolled it. “This city you talk about…” he started looking over his map. “What race is it?”

“The only actual race my planet has, which is the human race.”

“So, you were born from Man.” Odrofel confirmed. He was a brilliant one. He spent a few minutes studying his maps. Finally, he rolled the last one up and looked up at me and then the king. “I’m sorry, sir, but I have no records of this Phoenix. I cannot be of any help.”

I saw Legolas shift in his chair and sigh while looking at his father. “What is left to do then?” He asked.

“Thank you, Odrofel,” Thranduil said. He turned to me. “I don’t know what else there is to do. Perhaps if you took her to Rivendell, Lord Elrond would be able to figure something out.”

My eyes widened when I heard that word. “Rivendell? I know of Rivendell!”

Legolas practically jumped out of his chair. “You do? This is good news then!”

“Well, it’s a pizza parlor where I work, actually. I’m a waitress.” I shouldn’t have sounded like I knew what they were talking about. But hey, it was the first place that sounded familiar to me.

Legolas sank back into his chair. “No, actually. Rivendell is were Lord Elrond and his Elves live. Its another Elven city.”

“Oh,” I said a little disappointed. It was worth a try, I guess. But then I reminded myself that they probably don’t know what pizza even is, seeing they’re still using swords for weapons and horses for transportation.

“Tomorrow you will take her to Rivendell,” the king told his son. “If Elrond does not know, then no one will and she will be forced to find a permanent home.”

After he said that, I was so depressed. I didn’t want to stay here, for God’s sakes! I wanted to go home, curl up on my sofa and watch an old movie with popcorn and a big glass of soda. But all of that was in the past, I guess.

King Thranduil got up out of his chair and started to leave. Legolas stood up as well. “You will join us for dinner, won’t you Lady Fae?” He asked.

I was stunned. I’m being asked by a king to eat dinner with him and royals. “I’d be happy to, your highness.” The kind smiled and walked away.

Legolas remained behind. “You must feel terrible,” he said as he put his two hands on the railing and looked out into the distance much like his father did before.

I joined him at his side, only I looked at him. “I’m scared, to be honest. I’ve never been in a world like this. I mean, Elves, those things you called orcs. What else is there that I should know of and watch out for while I sleep?”

Legolas stood turned and looked at me with serious, yet sincere eyes. He took a step closer and continued to look down at me. “I promise you that you are safe here. Nothing will get you while you sleep. And when we travel to Rivendell, I’ll have my bow ready for anything that comes. You needn’t be fearful. You have my word.”

I felt as if I was dreaming at that moment, if this whole thing wasn’t a dream, that is. He really was what a little girl thinks a prince is—brave, fearless, admirable, and what a cutie he was. I couldn’t help but just think of what it’d be like…

“Lady Fae…Lady Fae?” Legolas had been trying to get my attention, but somehow I let mysElf fall into a trance. My eyes focused back on him. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine.”

He seemed a bit unsure with my response. “I’m going for a walk after dinner. I’d be honored if you accompanied me, Lady Fae.”

No way…was he asking me to spend some extra time with him? “Sure. I’d love to.”

He smiled. “Until then.”

When he started to walk away, I was astounded. “Hey! What about me here? What am I supposed to do until then?”

“Whatever you want to. You’re not a prisoner, you know. I’ll see you later.” He bowed every so slightly and left me there standing on this balcony in a city I had no idea where.

“Yeah, I’ll see you later!” I yelled after him and I stormed off. I have no idea if he heard me, but I was royally pissed off. What kind of gentleman does that…or should I even put it as gentlelf!

òòò

All right, maybe I was being a little harsh against Legolas. I mean, this was his home and stuff, and I’m sure he did have better things to do than hang around me when he’d have to take me to this other city, which is who knows how far away. And he did want me to go wherever with him after dinner, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

I was able to amuse myself anyway by walking around this really neat garden. Some of the fountains that were in there were something else, I’ll tell ya.

It wasn’t until dinner that my “benefit of the doubt” for Legolas seemed to go down hill the minute I entered the room. One of the Elves found me in the garden and showed me to the dinning hall. I was shown to my seat, which was next to two Elves that I had never seen before, obviously. But when I looked around, I saw Legolas talking away a storm with some other Elf girl. I mean it wasn’t jealousy or anything. But they looked like they were more than friends.

“A brief announcement before we feast,” King Thranduil said. “I’d like to welcome my son home from Lórien, where he spent three days on retreat. And visiting us this night is Lady Fae, who became lost in her travels and rescued by Legolas. May we all make her feel welcome to Mirkwood!” All the Elves in the room clapped and looked at me.

Although, I did notice that the girl sitting next to Legolas wasn’t looking at me in quite the same way the others were. It was almost a belittling look, as if I wasn’t good enough for her. Excuse me if I’m not a slutty Elf. And yes, I’ll admit that I’m starting to become crude towards the Elves. Not all of them, I should just say that girl and Legolas. It was obvious they had something going on between them. It’s not normal for some girl to feed some guy a piece of meat when they’re not involved with the other.

The meal was good, thankfully. I was a little afraid that it might be really weird seeing that I’m being fed by Elves. I mean, who knows what sort of concoctions they could come up with.

When the meal was over, I went outside and down the long stairs. I learned that the best way up or down stairs was to hold the dress up a bit. Fancy that, I didn’t trip!

“Lady Fae!” I turned around slowly to see Legolas jogging towards me. He had a smile on his face, but I didn’t return it. “Are you still up for a walk? I thought of the perfect place to show you.”

“Do me a favor, alright? Don’t call me ‘Lady’,” I told him continuing down the path to where I found that garden before.

Legolas had caught up with me. “I hope I have not offended you in anyway,” he said.

“Me? Offended? Why would you think such a thing? I mean, this is your life that I’ve intruded in on, and I wouldn’t want to upset anything…”

He stopped for a moment and then caught up with me once again. “What in the world are you talking about? I assure you that nothing is your fault.”

“Yeah, well, your girlfriend sure didn’t seem to like me. I saw the look she gave me at dinner.” I finally saw the garden entrance up ahead. The only thing lighting my path now was the occasional torch and the stars and moon.

I think it finally dawned on Legolas what I was talking about. “Are you inquiring about Grennecial?” He chuckled. “She’s nothing more than a childhood friend. I’ve known her for hundreds of years…”

“Hundreds of years?” I asked mockingly.

He looked at me funny. “Didn’t you know that an Elf is immortal? We only die if we suffer from a serious wound, or chose to become mortal. I myself am nine hundred and thirty-six years old.”

“And I just turned twenty, so we have a little age problem, I see.”

“Nonsense,” he said jumping in front of me. “My age is equivalent to a mortal’s age of twenty-four. Besides, Grennecial has told me several times that sometimes I act no older than an eight year old.”

I couldn’t help but let out a small smile. “Feel better?” he asked me eagerly.

“I guess so,” I said turning away.

“Good,” he said grabbing my arm and pulling me to follow him. “Keep up!” He laughed.

“Where are we going?” I beckoned as I fumbled to grab my dress up before I pulled both of us down to the ground.

“You’ll see,” he said letting go of my hand and slowing down his pace. We walked up at least five flights of stairs that turned a 90-degree radius every ten steps. Not that I was beginning to count. Legolas walked beside me as if he climbed the stairs everyday.

“Up here,” he said after we reached the top, “is the best view in all of Mirkwood. You can see for miles from this very spot.”

The sight was stunning. If anyone thought the garden that I found today were pretty, then they’d find this one nothing more than miraculous. Hundreds of white and blue flowers were everywhere, along with benches, a beautiful looking gazebo and at least a fountain at every corner. The edge was a cliff I figured, which was cut off by a four-foot stonewall. With the full moon above, this place was the most romantic place I’d ever been to my entire life.

I walked up to the wall and looked down at the lighted city below us. We were at least two hundred feet above it, which I didn’t even realize I climbed that high. “Legolas, this is nothing less than amazing. I’ve never seen anything so breathtaking in my life.”

I was startled by his hands gently resting on my shoulders. He leaned over so his face was right next to my left ear. I could only hope he didn’t notice my scar. “Look straight ahead into the stars. The heavens are singing this night, and I think they sing for you.” I don’t really know why he was saying such things, but I wished he’d go on. No one had ever sounded so romantic towards me…ever.

Legolas must have seen it coming. I looked where he said to and the first thing that caught my eye was a shooting star. It almost seemed to have paused as it flew by, just long enough for me to make a wish. I guess it won’t hurt to tell you what I wished for, seeing it already happened. The first thing that came to mind was that I’d be more than just another Grennecial to Legolas. Really corny, I know, but what was I supposed to say? I wish this dream would never end? Yeah, that could’ve worked too, now that I think of it.

I felt my hair leaving my shoulders as Legolas picked it up and played with it. I’m not sure what I felt on my neck, but it was either his fingers, or mouth. Hard to tell, but whatever it was was warm.

Eventually we made our way over to one of the fountains and sat down on the edge. He took my hands in his and was saying something in a different language. I didn’t, and still don’t, know what he was saying. All of the sudden, he finished the sentence with ‘beautiful as the moon goddess above.’

“Legolas…what is to happen to me?” I finally asked.

He seemed a little surprised that I changed the subject. “We’ll leave for Rivendell tomorrow. What happens after that, I do not know. But I don’t want to think about the future. Let’s just think about now.”

“What about Grennecial?” I asked, but he ignored me. The next thing that happened was straight from a dream. The first time I had ever experience such a sensation. Legolas, Prince of the Woodland Elves, was kissing me. His lips on mine was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I always thought that my first kiss would be a total mess up, knowing me that is. I never thought I’d have instincts to kiss.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, we parted, but he didn’t pull his face away from mine. His eyes bore into my own, as one hand raked through my hair and the other sat on my shoulder. Damn, why couldn’t I just wake up from this dream before I never would want to? Then again, it’s already too late. I wanted this to last forever.

“Legolas,” I said after a while, my eyes never leaving his. “Aren’t we,” I thought for a moment. “Aren’t we rushing into things? I barely know you…”

“Do you regret what you just did?” He asked me calmly.

I thought for the longest time. And every time I came up with some absurd reason that I should have regretted it, I went back to the same answer. “No.”

“What do you think about me, Fae? Do you feel that I’m using you?”

I looked at his face up and down. “No, I think that you’re very true to your feelings. I don’t think…I’d hope you wouldn’t use me. Especially when I’m not even like you…”

“You mean because you’re not an Elf?” I nodded. “I see people through their hearts and souls. I do not judge on heritage or appearance. The ugliest of all creatures can be the most loyal. The most beautiful is more likely to stab you in the back.”

“Then…what am I?” I feared his answer. Many people told me throughout my life that I was a pretty girl, although I reasoned to argue. However, does he find me ugly enough that he will make commitments?

“You, Fae Smith, are like no other. You possess great beauty, however. I see pureness in your heart. You are loyal because of the way you had to live your life, and you use your good instincts to make the right choices. Your beauty reflects your spirit. My little Elf.” He placed a kiss on my forehead.

I actually don’t remember how much longer we spent up in that mystical garden. All I know is that I’d give anything to experience it all over again. Legolas was like no other man I’d ever met. Perhaps its because he’s an Elf, but its hard to say, seeing that I don’t know many other Elves, or didn’t at the time.

Legolas escorted me back to where my bedroom was. He kissed me goodnight and left me to get a goodnight sleep, as he put it, because we had a long ride ahead of us. I had a bad feeling that I’d have to ride a horse by myself. Although I love being close to Elven prince, riding in a saddle made for one isn’t as wonderful as it may sound, I learned that the hard way.

Upon entering the room, I found that Nyssa must have left me a nightgown to wear to bed. It was very silky, yet heavy to keep me warm on the cooling night. After I changed out of that dress, I found my purse lying on the table across the room. I sat down and started going through it, just to see what I happened to stuff in there before I left home that morning.

I found the usual items, a brush and comb, hair tie, Advil, tissues, make-up, and then something I completely forgot about; a disposable camera that I had bought for taking pictures at the museum. I smiled, thinking that why not try to get a picture or two of Legolas and the scenery before I find my way out of the this crazy place. But I shouldn’t call it crazy. This place is like a dream. A dream come true.

ababababababababababababababab