:shine: I am just so excited because this is my first ever fan fic! Don't worry, I do have some writing talent, I've just never written a fic before.
*Takes breath*
Ok, this is called Collide (you will see why after a few chapters) and I would say that it is rated PG-13...yeah, the worst thing is violence (which isn't even graphic) and you will probably find the substitute swear words amusing. You could put this in the action/adventure/comedy category, but since I am a girl there will obviously be a little romance too. :yay:


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the LOTR characters that I mention in this fic. I do, however, own the plot, the main character (Rosalyn), and other minor characters (Alex, Audrey, nameless characters).

All right then, here's the prologue: (feedback would be appreciated)

~Prologue~

The world was calm. Birds flew gracefully overhead, coming to rest in the branches of a giant willow tree. A slight breeze tickled the fingerlike branches, sending leaves floating to the forest floor. The sound of water gurgling in a nearby brook mingled with the chattering of the birds, and would have soothed even the most troubled soul.

One of the birds suddenly gave out a chirp of alarm - something was not right. The rest took notice of the call, and they sensed it too. The whole flock rose up at once, fleeing in a panicked horde. Seconds later, a crack sounded, and a man in his early twenties came tumbling out of the tree to land on the ground in a jumbled heap.

He was what would be considered "lanky", his torn jeans and beat up t-shirt hanging off of his skinny frame. Picking up his broken glasses off the ground, he cursed under his breath. He stopped and took in the sight around him. Then he began to shout and run around excitedly, barely escaping a unwanted meeting with the tree trunk.

"I can't believe it worked! It..I just...my god...I made it!" he exclaimed breathlessly. He turned around, checked the wind direction, and headed toward what he best guessed to be south. Everything had gone perfectly, and he would be expected. His next great adventure had begun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It probably won't make sense until later on in the story...heh heh, prologues are so much fun for that reason :yes:

Comments? "Anyone, anyone?" - Ferris Bueler's Day Off :yay:

*sighs, then starts singing* "Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I'll eat some worms..." eww :huh: , maybe not that extreme, lol

well, I WAS going to post the first chapter (which is a heck of a lot more interesting) after people started reading/replying...I guess it will just have to wait a bit. :lalala:

GAH! i'm here I"M HEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRREEEE i wuv you WEE-SHA!!!

:shine:

but of course, i've already read the prologue (which is just plain EVIL with suspense you bum lol) ^_^

MORE!!!! please???? and i'd recomend posting ur chappys in part, if they're as long as you've implies (makes em last longer lol ;-) )

alright, i gtg, loves fris, cu morrow :bye:

See, everything's ok as long as Jewelz still loves me...
Yay! One person is reading it...wait...not so yay...more people?

*sings* Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll post it (ch 1) tomorrow, it's only a day awaaaay...

:cry:
No one else...hmm, it is probably because this isn't in "The Lads" and everyone and their mother (lol) reads stuff in there. Well, here's hoping that this interests more people...I am going to post the first official chapter:

~Chapter One~
One year later...

"And according to our recent numbers, production has gone way up, which I believe to be caused by the change in the infrastructure of the marketing team. Their invaluable contributions have invariably...blah blah blah blah, blah blah... Blah?..."

Rosalyn Swift wondered at what point she had stopped caring as she chewed on the end of her pen thoughtfully, casting her gaze out the window of the ten-story office building. The sun was shining and the sky was a striking shade of blue, much like the eyes of the bored twenty-three year old. Here she was, stuck listening to Sir-Yawns-a-Lot discussing the effectiveness of increased stapler use in the office, when she could be doing something much more, well, interesting. Like sitting in a coffee shop reading one of her favorite books.

She had left her family and friends in California to move to New York City a year ago, in the hopes of figuring out what she was going to do with the rest of her life. With her business major from a prestigious university, she had come to New York with high hopes, and all she had found was a position as an intern in an office supply company. Her job consisted of writing reports that no one really appreciated and talking to self-absorbed CEOs in numerous phone calls. It was a nowhere job and boring as heck, but it paid her bills.

"Don't you agree, Ms. Swift?" Her boss had noticed her sans-attention look and decided to pick on the junior employee.

"Um, yeah...what he said," she mumbled, pointing to the man sitting next to her. He normally gave everyone a piece of his mind and that response had saved her many a time, but unfortunately he had fallen asleep and had obviously said nothing for a good half hour.
"Oops, I mean that...I uh...staplers...they, um..." she stumbled clumsily over her words at being put on the spot.

Her boss sighed. "I thought so. Well, I guess that concludes our meeting for today. Johnson -" he poked the sleeping man until he woke up, "remember to get that numbers report on my desk by Friday. And Swift, please see me in my office."

"Yes sir..." Rosalyn groaned as she trudged into Mr. Smith's office.

Mr. Smith sat down at his desk, folded his fingers on top of a stack of papers, and gave her a look of disappointment. "I've been noticing lately that your performance has fallen. Is there anything you would like to talk to me about?"

Yeah, she was stuck in this crappy city with too many people, thousands of miles away from people she knew, had only really made two friends, was going nowhere occupationally, and wanted to be anywhere but here at the moment. She couldn't go home empty handed, as it would only prove to everyone that she was a complete failure. And she desperately needed coffee. But she couldn't tell her boss that.

"No, sir, I have just had a lot of things on my mind lately, that's all. Maybe it's the knowledge that not enough people are using staplers in today's offices," she said jokingly, mimicking the meeting presentation.

Mr. Smith put on a weak smile of amusement. She had spunk, that was for sure. He could remember when she had come in for her interview, nervous and quiet, but she had something unique that had prompted him to hire her...a sense of great potential, as if he could see her doing great things in the future.
"Are you sure there is nothing you need to tell me?"

She shuffled her feet and pretended to be very interested in the choice of carpet selection. "Yeah, I'm sure. I'm fine...I admit I have been slacking off a bit lately, and I apologize, sir..."

"Well, you know you can do much better than that. I knew that from the first day you stepped into my office. So here's what I'm going to do. If you were any other punk kid, I would have either fired you or sent you to the Brooklyn office to let them kick some sense into you, but seeing as you just need some breathing room, I'm going to move up your two week vacation to tomorrow."

Rosalyn's face fell. She had planned to go back to California next month to visit family, and she couldn't go any sooner due to other people's schedules. Now she would have to wait until the 4th of July to go home, which was in two months.
"But Mr. Smith, I am right in the middle of that important inventory sales report and -"

"-and you will give the report information to Miss Markham. She will have to finish it up for you, and you will take her next report to make up for it. In the meantime, you will rethink your priorities and come back with a better understanding of corporate responsibility."

"---but, I..."

"You will need this to get back on track, and I think it is for the best. I had expected you to thank me, but I guess I was mistaken. I'm sorry to have disturbed your schedule. I will see you in two weeks, Miss Swift."
With that, he sent her out of the office.

Rosalyn shut the door angrily. He hadn't fired her, which was good, but he had done the next worse thing. She was already homesick, and she had nothing to do for two whole weeks. No doubt she needed some R&R, but that was what going home was for. And there was no way anyone could call New York peaceful.

As she stalked over to her cubicle, Audrey Markham, the only person who gave her the time of day in that office, flagged her down. Her green eyes possessed a look of concern and puzzlement.
"So, what'd the old geezer get mad at you for this time?" She gasped in mock horror. "Did you steal his stapler?"

Audrey was the closest person in age to Rosalyn, and they had become good friends after a copy machine incident on Rosalyn's first day at work. They never really talked other than at work though, because they lived on opposite sides of the city and it took 20 minutes to go 10 blocks on a good day.

Rosalyn laughed, but then made her hands into fists and slammed them on her desk.
"No, though I wish it had been that dumb. He's basically putting me on suspension, sending me to the proverbial corner to "think about what I've done"."
Prompted by the puzzled look on Audrey's face, she explained what Mr. Smith had said, but not without showing her disgust with the situation.

She began hastily throwing her things into her purse to leave, not before taking a big swig from her recently filled coffee mug.
"Aahh, that's a little better. Tell the coffee guy I love him right now."

Her friend smiled at the last comment, but it turned into a frown.
"Aw crud...I have MORE work and the only person who keeps me sane in here is leaving for two weeks?!" He's punishing me too, you know. Well, at least you can go do some things for yourself now, and spend a little time with Sam." With her mention of the name, she grinned.

Rosalyn sighed amusedly and socked Audrey on the shoulder.
"Ha. Ha. Ha...Yeah, I guess you're right. And it is only two weeks. At least it's not forever. But I will miss shooting paper clips into Johnson's cubicle and then pretending to have an intense discussion by the water cooler as he looks around acting all paranoid." she responded with a giggle. Being able to let off some steam with Audrey made her feel just a little better.

"And alas, I must leave you now, because they aren't paying me to stay and bother you. Adieu,"
She gathered her things and looked with mock importance upon her coworker. Not without bursting into laughter and drawing annoyed glances from the other employees, Rosalyn waved dramatically and walked toward the elevator to go home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

:shine: I hope you guys like it...

I'M HERE!!!
Sorry it took me so long to get here weesha, but I've been so busy...

I love it so far, very descriptive. And very realistic too....gosh, I hope I don't end up with a job like that....staplers i ask you? hehehe, lol, rofl, and all that good stuff.

Great start licia...je l'adore! :laugh: :yes: :king: :bloom: :Sapphire:

i'm reading! me likes!

and i'm planing to kill a so called friend so; :anger:

BYE!

:shine:

Thanks, guys...
Well, two people love me enough to read my story...never mind that both of them are my friends :lalala:

Um...I think I shall post the first part of chapter two tomorrow. :yay:
I can't get online much today because my internet is acting all funky :anger:

*goes off to finish writing ch 5, start ch 6* Heh heh, I want a bit of cushion for when I can't write as much...

I need to advertise more...

ok, posting first part of ch 2 real quick, my mean sis is yelling at me to get off the internet (I've been on for only 15 min...:anger:):

~Chapter Two~
Rosalyn sat in her beat-up Toyota Corolla, wondering if the light would ever turn green. She was stuck in traffic, again. It happened every day, and she figured that she would get home faster by walking, considering that she lived only a mile and a half from her office. Her radio hated her at the moment, and had decided to play static.

Just then, a taxicab swerved into the lane right in front of her, barely missing her front bumper. Rosalyn honked her horn in irritation and yelled out her window.
"Jerk! Learn how to drive correctly! Didn't your mother ever teach you to stay in your own lane?"
She sighed and muttered in frustration as the moron flipped her off and swerved into the other lane just in front of another car.
"I am surrounded by idiots. And even worse, they are controlling 2,000 pound vehicles. God bless America!"
Fate, thy name is sadistic irony, she thought. Why had she come to this place, of all the places in the country, to "seek her fortune"? She had no idea at the moment. Everything happens for a reason though, she reassured herself. Something good had to happen in the near, no, most likely distant, future. And now she had two weeks to do what she had been daydreaming about since the start of that day's meeting: nothing. Well, that, sleeping, and meandering about the busy city.

She glanced out her window to see two gangs sizing each other up. Two of them were a little less than obviously engaged in a drug deal on the side. More than half of the group were very drunk. Horns echoed mercilessly throughout the traffic-laden streets, and a police siren could be heard not very far away.

The radio had changed its mind and turned to a comprehensible station. The sound of Rosalyn's favorite band came drifting through her car, breaking the annoyance of the outside noises. She turned it up and sang along with the song, one of her favorites due to its randomness factor:

When the toast is burned and all the milk has turned,
And Captain Crunch is waving farewell,
When the Big One finds you, let this song remind you
That they don't serve breakfast in Hell!

"The Newsboys have obviously never been to New York City..." she retorted, casting a thoughtful gaze at a nearby Bernie's Bagels/Krispy Kreme Doughnuts/Starbucks. She was in a rotten mood, which rarely came for her, but being practically alone in the midst of all these people was starting to take its toll on her.
Suddenly, the traffic started moving again and she was able to travel the two extra blocks to her apartment building.

~song credit: "Breakfast" by the Newsboys~

just letting you know i'm still reading!

great chappy!

bye! *runs of to do one of the other five million things she has to do* lol

:shine: Thank you Jewelz! At least you two appreciate me...anyways, here's the last part of that chapter (you get to meet your favorite character, Jewelz! :yay:):

****************
The door to apartment number 426 opened and Rosalyn trudged in. It had taken her forever to find a spot in the parking garage, and it had been 2 stories above her floor. She sighed with relief as she gently closed the door behind her, tossed her keys onto the counter, and looked around the apartment. It seemed too calm and quiet compared to the chaos just outside the building.
"Sam...SAM?" she called impatiently. "Aren't you going to say hello? Or are you deciding to hate me too?"

A tiny gray kitten came bounding out from her bedroom and sat down in front of her, looking up cheerfully with his inquisitive lavender eyes. She had bought him for her Christmas present that year, and he was the smartest cat she had ever seen. He always seemed to know when something was the matter with her, and he had been an easy one to teach. She could have sworn that she saw him refill his food bowl by pushing it off of the counter and tugging on the opening a couple of times.

"Well good afternoon, sleepyhead. Guess what? I get to keep you company for the next two weeks. Aren't you excited?" Sam yawned as she said this, showing off his tiny white teeth.
"Uh huh, I thought so..." she mumbled as she collapsed on her couch, too tired to move.

"Hey Sam, anybody call me?" Rosalyn asked faintly.

The kitten, who had perched himself on the top of the couch, leaped onto the counter and pawed at the answering machine. He sat down triumphantly and listened as it turned on.

"YOU HAVE ONE MESSAGE...BEEP!"
"Hey Rose, It's Alex..." She smiled at the mention of her nickname and the friendly voice.

"I just called to see how you were doing and all that...I had hoped to talk to you in person, well, on the phone, but I'm stupid and I called you when you're supposed to be at work...duh!"
He laughed nervously. He was never really that good with talking on the phone.

"Well, Scotland's great, and yes, to answer your question, it is very green. Oh, and this guy kept asking me if I knew what time it was...I almost died laughing because it reminded me of your whole "Pippin saying 'not this time'" thing. No sign of the Loch Ness monster yet, but I don't expect to see it anyways, I just have to write a convincing "sight encounter" for my thesis...aka B.S."
Alex laughed again, but then his tone turned more serious.

"I just wish you were here too, it gets kind of boring having Movie Marathon Mondays by myself...I know it's only been a few days, but I miss Sam already, you know? Tell him hi for me, will ya? Thanks, you're a doll. Oh, and I miss you too, of course." he snickered.
He was lucky that he was too far away for her to slug him, but it was cute, so she let it slide.

"We still have to go check out Stonehenge and some "suspicious cairns", so I won't be back for another week and a half. Oops, this is international, so I probably spent like twenty dollars talking to your answering machine...oh well...aye, I guess I will see you later, lassie. Good lord, I'm talking like them too now..."
She could hear him smack his head against the wall, laughing softly. "Bye, see you in a couple weeks!"

Rose grinned and laughed too, which she had been doing throughout the message. She could always count on Alex to care. Alexander Milton (he had cruel ancestors for having a last name like that, which she had never let him forget) was a twenty-four year old mythology major who was working on his master's degree. His professor often had random "field trips" that sent him off around Europe researching different legends and myths, and she knew Alex loved it. She had (literally) run into him in an old run-down bookstore, as he was poring over an ancient book, two days after she had moved to New York. After laughing hysterically and helping each other up, they had started talking as if they had known each other forever. He was like the best friend that she never had back home, the kind of guy she could tell anything to, have intelligent conversations with, and have random silly string fights with all in the same day.

"Well, at least we know who he likes better then, eh? Well, you ARE cute, I don't blame him." she said as she got up to eat something, mussing up Sam's fur. He responded with an innocent "Mew?" and hopped down to join her at the table.

After enjoying a bowl of Spaghettios and perusing the newspaper, she returned to the couch and laid down. Her fingers wandered over to the remote and she turned her stereo down enough so she could just barely hear it. As always, the gray ball of fur was curled up in her lap seconds later and purring away contentedly. Rose stroked his soft fur and smiled.

"Don't you leave me, Samwise Gamgee..." she whispered. His name had been a result of her ever-present obsession with the Lord of the Rings. The kitten reminded her of Sam because he never left her side, which at first she thought bizarre for a cat, but then she got used to it.

"Guess we'd better get started on that nap then."
She yawned and closed her eyes. Within minutes she was fast asleep, and all that could be heard were broken fragments of the song lyrics playing quietly on the stereo.

We were meant to live for so much more, have we lost ourselves?...somewhere we live inside...
Dreaming about providence and whether mice or men have second tries...
Maybe we've been living with our eyes half open, maybe we're bent and broken...
We want more than this world's got to offer...we were meant to live...

~movie credit: The Fellowship of the Ring~
~song credit: "Meant to Live" by Switchfoot~

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Sam's so cute! I just have this mental image of this tiny gray kitten with these BIG lavender eyes and fur that poofs in every direction! :wub: kitties are the cutest! lol

and ALEX! woot! *does the happy dance* me liiiiiiiikes Alex... ;-) I mean :blink: Alex? Alex who? Alexander H. Milton? hehehehehe

oh yea, THAT Alex ^_^

so, i'm confused, is my fav character Sam the kitten or Alex the super cool guy friend :huh:

lol ;-) jk jk (but Sam's a close second!! lol hahaha)

ur stuff's great licia; why didn't you do this b4 hmm? lol

laters :bye:

lol, I don't know, I didn't have an idea for a story before now...or when I wrote it... :huh:
Thanks, by the way...you're my only faithful reader... :cry: I am so grateful that at least one person is reading it, better than none <_<

Speaking of, where the heck did Nefuldiniel go? *looks around confusedly* oh well, she'll come back sometime...I hope...

Anyways, I think I might post the first part of chapter 3 tomorrow :yes:

And for those of you (if there are any) who are reading this but don't leave comments, and are expecting to see Legolas anytime soon due to the promise in my signature, you're going to have to wait until chapter 5 *grins mischeviously*

Maybe no one likes my story but Jewelz and Nefuldiniel... :cry2: so unloved, lol just kidding...or maybe I should do the whole "if you write it, they will come" thing...*sighs*

Here it is, the beginning of the fun chapter...heh heh..."the plot thickens" :shine:

~Chapter Three~
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE…
Rose groaned as she rolled over and turned off her alarm clock. Sam got up from the foot of her bed, stretched, then turned and hissed at the evil machine. Neither of them were very morning-friendly.

“You can say that again…” she mumbled after Sam’s unfriendly response.
She turned to go back to sleep, but thought better of it since it was already 9:30 in the morning.

Rose rummaged through her closet and pulled on a pair of jeans and a tank top. After stumbling into the bathroom and spending some time to look somewhat presentable, she groggily made her way to the kitchen and fixed herself a cup of coffee. Sam followed and watched his owner with a newfound amusement as Rose sprang to life with the aid of caffeine.

“Ok, you…” she said absent-mindedly as she kept walking between the kitchen and the living room, trying to get ready.
“I am going to go out today and find the most interesting places to go in this city to mark the beginning of this so-called vacation. Now you be good and take care of yourself while I’m go…agh!”
Rose fell on the floor after a failed attempt to put her shoes on while balancing on the arm of the couch and reading the newspaper at the same time. She picked herself up and laughed while Sam just sat there with a quizzical look in his eyes. It was a surprise to Rose that he put up with her sometimes.

“Um, heh, while I’m gone.” she continued, munching on a Pop Tart. “And I want you to stop scaring the old lady downstairs by sitting on the balcony and making those weird caterwauling noises.”
He gave her a “Who? ME?” look.

“Yeah buddy, I know about that. Very funny.”

Finally ready, Rose made sure all the doors were locked before she picked up her bag and headed towards the door.
“I don’t know when I will be home, so don’t sit here crying for me expecting me to be back, ok? Clinginess does not become you, as a cat, you know. Jeez, I swear, you should have been born a dog…and look what you’re doing to me - I am talking to my cat - something people would consider borderline psychotic.”

She was almost out the door when she heard a strange “Mrrmphh?” that caused her to turn around.
There sat Sam, with her car keys dangling from his mouth.

“Whoops, those would be a good thing, wouldn’t they? What would I do without you?” Rose grinned proudly as she patted the kitten on the head. She then turned and went out the door to start her day of relaxation - a thing she most desperately needed.

**********

awwwwww ^_^ Sam sure is handy to have around lol

okay, here's the rest...this is where stuff actually happens, lol. The other stuff was just intro/establishing characters etc. Heh heh, I had FUN writing this part :shine::

**********
“Flowers! Buy our fresh-cut flowers! Perfect for any occasion, only $12.50!”

The vendor stood on the corner of a busy street, trying to get the equally busy people’s attention as they hurried this way and that down the sidewalk. All except a young woman with blond hair that somewhat resembled a rock star’s seemed to have somewhere important to be. She slowly made her way down the street, gazing into the windows of the small shops and sipping her caramel frappaccino.

“Excuse me, miss? Would you like to buy a flower?” He shoved his inventory under her nose for her to see. Rose looked up at the realization that he was talking to her, and blushed slightly.

“Oh, no thank you…I’m just wandering around, not planning to buy anything really.”

The vendor wasn’t about to give up. “But a pretty girl such as yourself deserves a flower…here, take a look at this. It’s a new breed, recently discovered growing right here in new York.” He plucked an exotic-looking flower from his basket. It was by far the most beautiful plant she had ever seen.

“Wow…” she seemed entranced by the strange flower. “You say this grows here? It’s amazing…”

“Yes, it is a wonder…so…you interested?”

“Sorry, I don’t really have a need for one. Plus, my cat is allergic to flowers…thanks anyway.” she said as she continued down the sidewalk and went back to her dreamy window shopping.

“But miss! Oh, forget it…Flowers! Buy your fresh-cut flowers here!…” his voice faded as she got farther down the street. She yawned slightly after finishing her frappaccino and tossing it into a nearby garbage can. Rose hadn’t really been to the downtown section of New York City before, and she found it all fascinating. They had the coolest little shops just sitting there, waiting for her to explore them. She just had to find the good ones that were hard to find.

As if on cue, she caught sight of a small run-down place called the “Curiosity Shoppe”. Rose would never have noticed it if she hadn’t been paying attention - it was scrunched between two large stores and from the shabby looks of the display window, it appeared as if it had just been a storage room. The only clue that it was a store was the fact that a man (who obviously was a tourist) had just left the store with a look of wonder on his face. The look fell, however, when he noticed that his car had a flat tire, and he began cursing angrily.

Rose felt sorry for him as she got nearer to the store entrance and saw the look on his face. As the man bent down to nurse the tire, she noticed something very odd. The cause of the flat was protruding from the tire, and after a couple seconds she realized that it was an arrow.
“Huh…weird…”
But hey, this was New York, so hardly anything surprised her anymore.

“Man, I have got to get out of this psycho city soon…” she muttered as she entered the store.

“Be careful vat you vish for.” a creepy Romanian female voice replied.

Rose shrieked in surprise and jumped back, but then began to laugh when she discovered that it was only one of those cheapo fortune teller robot machines that little kids would stick their change in to get their fortunes told. She had walked right in front of it and it had triggered the motion detector voice chip. This caused her to make a mental note to pay attention to where she was going. Rose turned around to look at the room she had walked into, and her jaw dropped.

And what a curiosity this shop was…

From the ceiling to the floor, the walls of the store were covered with medieval-looking paintings and suits of what she guessed to be armor. All kinds of axes, swords, spears, and daggers were either on stands or displayed on tables around the room, but none like she had ever seen before. The designs on some of the armor and weapons reminded her of Celtic ones.

Maybe it was some kind of neo-military surplus store or something, she thought. Several people had also stumbled into this odd place and were looking around in awe at the bizarre inventory. A strange looking old man stood behind the counter in a sort of brown cloak, and appeared to be studying a huge manuscript.

Rose made her way around the store, looking in amazement at all the different weapons. This was definitely the highlight of her day. She looked over an intricately carved spear. Nah, though it would be ridiculously random and cool to have in my apartment, the landlady might be a little suspicious of my sanity if she saw me carrying around a huge spear, she told herself.

By this time, only a couple of people were left in the store, but Rose ignored them. What had really caught her attention was a single long dagger lying on one of the tables. It stood out from everything else - a leaf-shaped blade with serpent-like forms snaking across it, inlaid with red and gold. The hilt was set with several fiery stones and had the most detailed artwork that Rose had ever seen (of the few weapons she did see, that is). She drew the dagger out of its black sheath and was surprised by how light and yet how strong the metal was.

As she was looking at the dagger, it seemed to come to life in her hands. Ancient letters looking to be made of fire appeared, danced across the mirror-like surface of the metal, and came to rest as if displaying a message. Rose blinked and stared in disbelief.
“Whoa…” She squinted as she studied the letters. Her eyes lit up as she recognized them.
“It appears to be some form of elvish…” she quoted amusedly. She felt kind of like Frodo when he was staring at the One Ring, minus the whole “my precious” part.

Using her knowledge of the elvish alphabet (which she had learned in high school when she decided she wanted to learn how to write in it) and a good ten minutes, she managed to piece together what it said. It made no sense to her though.

“Whence comes knocking from each side…and on each to escape holds intense desire…then the two realms will collide…and a stranger’s dreams will be reached ever higher…oh great…a rhyming riddle…” she said under her breath. Rose repeated the rhyme over several times thoughtfully, but still didn’t understand what it could mean.

Taking a moment to look around, she realized that she was the only one left in the store, and it had grown strangely quiet. Even the old man running the store was gone, most likely in the back getting something.

No…it wasn’t exactly quiet. She could hear what sounded like whispering, and it was getting louder. Straining her ears, Rose realized that it was elvish that she was hearing. She couldn’t understand a word of it, but she knew that something strange was happening.

A gust of wind surrounded her as the whispering turned into chanting, spinning around her like a tornado. She barely had time to give a yelp of surprise when the room also began spinning. All Rose heard was a strange “whoosh” noise before she was knocked over and tumbled onto uneven ground, the dagger still clutched in her hands.

~movie/book credit: The Fellowship of the Ring~
(Disclaimer: The dagger is not my creation, but J.R.R. Tolkien's. I got it from the book The Fellowship of the Ring. However, the way I described it is my own, I only got the general idea from the book.)

:blink: :huh:

hmmmmmm *ponders*

what was with the flower anyway? hmmm

great chappy, laters!

Great chapters Licia! Sorry I haven't responded in so long, but I've been tres busy...lovin' the story though....:D

:woot:
You're back! Yay!

I'm glad you guys like it. I don't think I will post any more this week...I think that if another person comments (other than you two, lol), it might put me in a good enough mood to post chapter 4...

cool...:runs off to get Lessy and Matt: I'll force them to read your story....:D :laugh:

...uh...I don't want to force anyone to read it...but ok...I guess I won't feel as bad if you do it :lalala:

Hmm, someone wants to read the next chapter...lol heck, I wrote it and I would want to...it's where - - - oh, I don't want to spoil it, heh heh :yay:

sorry if I sound whiny or annoying to anyone...I just would like feedback from people other than my two friends (they wouldn't be able to break it to me if they thought it sucked, lol)

Licia, you can rest assured that if your story sucked, I'd be the first to tell you. But it doesn't, so you don't have anything to worry about :D. You need a confident booster...

Thanks dude(tte) ^_^ ...I'm glad it doesn't suck...

Argh, I am in a kind of block right now because I have to finish a part with lots of talking and though it is important, it is tres boring :blink: . I want to get to the fun part! :yes:

More soon, I don't know exactly when...but soon my friends. Possibly Sunday...

:lalala: I am feeling generous at the moment, so I will post more just because I care. :shine:

~Chapter 4~

Rose slowly and painfully lifted herself up off the ground. As she stood up, she noticed that she was no longer in the store, but standing in the middle of a clearing. It was nighttime and pitch black outside, but once her eyes adjusted to the faint starlight, Rose saw that the forest around her was dark itself. The trees were close together and looked very old.

“What the…? Well Rose, you’re not in Kansas anymore…” she said with a puzzled look on her face. Picking up the dagger, she began to wander in a circle, trying to figure out in her mind how the heck she had ended up here.

At first the only sound that she could hear was that of crickets, but after Rose had paced back and forth for a good five minutes, the sound of a snapping twig startled her. It sounded like she wasn’t alone.

“Um, hello? Is anybody there?!?” she called out nervously.

The sound of leaves crunching got closer and closer. There was definitely more than one thing out there. Rose peered into the darkness and saw many dark shapes moving towards her. Too afraid to move, she waited to see what it was. As the shapes got closer, she could hear grunting and the clank of metal.

When they got close enough for her to see, Rose gasped. They were extremely ugly, monster-like creatures with matted hair and fearsome teeth. They were dressed in gray and carried crude bows and swords. Unable to believe her eyes, she realized that these things were Uruk-hai. She estimated there were at least fifty of them.

Rose stared in amazement, but then noticed that they were still moving closer and meant to harm her somehow. She turned and ran in the opposite direction, but they were coming from behind her too.
“Agh!” she shrieked as she whirled around and ran in another direction, any direction…but it was too late.

They had surrounded her, and were closing in slowly. Terrified, she stuck out the dagger to defend herself, but she had no idea how to fight. She sunk to the ground and curled up into a ball, hoping they would just leave her alone.

“Help me! Someone…anyone!” she called out hopelessly, then raised her head. The Uruk-hai were almost upon her, smiling evilly as they reached out to get her.

All of a sudden, an arrow shot out from the darkness and hit one of the ugly creatures right in the chest. It gave out a startled cry before it slumped to the ground, dead. The rest stopped and looked around in confusion for the unseen attacker.

There was a strange whistling sound, then a figure dropped from the tree right above her, took her by the shoulders, and rolled with her out of the dangerous circle. She was then picked up and put behind a huge shrub several feet away. Rose had no time to see who her rescuer was because the person jumped right back into the circle of Uruk-hai and began fighting them off.

She squatted behind the bush and peeked out from the leaves, still in shock. She couldn’t see much in the dark, but could hear cries and the clash of weapons. Letting out a sigh of relief, she counted her blessings that someone had been there to help her. She hated feeling weak, but there was no way she had a chance against those big ugly creatures.

Suddenly a large shape darted out in front of the bush. It was a white horse…strangely familiar, though she couldn’t place where she had seen it before. The rider took it right into the middle of the battle and began swinging away at the enemies.

“I’ve got to get out of here…” she said under her breath as the fighting continued. After finding a safe-looking direction far away from the battle, Rose began to run as fast as she could, dodging branches and jumping over rocks. One of the Uruk-hai that had better hearing jerked its head in her direction and took off running to pursue her.

Rose ran until her lungs and legs burned like fire, then stopped from exhaustion. Surely she was safe now, for she could hear nothing but the faint sound of fighting. She had stopped in a denser part of the woods and now leaned sideways against a tree, gasping for air.

“This has got to be some sort of nightmare,” she tried to convince herself. But this was too real…

Rose started to get up, but the last thing she knew was a dull blast of pain on the back of her head from where the Uruk-hai had just hit her with the butt of its sword. Then everything went dark.

:eeeek: GAHHHH NOOOOOO :anger: lemme at em!! *punches air menicingly*

ohhhhhh if only i could spell *dreamy sigh* hehehe

interesting chap fris....hmmm *ponders* where could she possibly be :rolleyes: i wonder lol

That was a great chapter Licia! Very interesting...

:cry: I don't like that Rose gets hurt... I can't stand the pain...

2 PAGES!!!!!!!!! :woot:

Lol, those little kinds of things make my day :shine:

As for the Rose getting hurt part, I didn't like it either, but it had to happen. Sorry. :cry: But fear not, I couldn't possibly kill off the main character in the fourth chapter, so at least you know she isn't dead...if that comforts you at all...:lol: haha, that last statement was a bit ironic...oh well.

Well, it is comforting to know that she isn't dead, but I still don't like her in pain...:(
But, then again, I make the characters in ATS go through some painful expierences, so I can't talk...

yeah, you have people get hit by cars and go into comas :neene:

:lol: I'm not bitter, I swear...haha, just kidding Jinx-y...

*sighs* I am almost done writing the first part of another chapter, so as soon as I finish that, I will post the next chapter. :yes: And trust me, it will be a good one. :yay: It's long though...lol, why am I regretting that? It just means more of the story for you guys. :doh:

Don't be bitter...at least he isn't dead...he's just a vegetable :D
And Lessy and Sean aren't dead either, though....never mind...don't wanna give anything away :devil:

:cry: but he can't be a vegetable...hobbits aren't vegetables, lol...

Yeah, I know...Sean and Lessy are going to get hurt now too. <_<
Can't they end up like I said and land on a big pile of mattresses? :shine:

:shine: Okay, here's where it gets interesting...we finally get to meet the boys...or whatever...here's a sample of chapter 5 for ya:

~Chapter 5~
Rose moaned softly as she drifted slowly back into consciousness. Her head hurt badly, and she could barely open her eyes because she felt so dizzy. What she could tell was that it was light, wherever she was. It must have just been a bad dream…but then she opened her eyes a bit more and saw the horse from the battle standing next to a tree, looking at her thoughtfully. This was definitely not a dream, either that, or she was still having it. She had seen that horse before, but where…?

Asfaloth…Asfaloth…

The whispered name echoed in her brain, but still she could make no connection. She moaned again and closed her eyes tight, hoping to block out the pain. A cool, damp cloth was being pressed lightly to her forehead, easing the throbbing a little.

“There, there, lassie. That brute hit you pretty hard. It was lucky we found you.” a heavily accented man’s voice said soothingly.

Rose opened her eyes to see an odd little man with a thick red beard, dressed in a gray cloak and metal helmet leaning over her. She sat up in surprise and began screaming.

“Aaah! Aaah!” she continued as she backed up against a tree, eyes wide with fear. She had been lying on a makeshift bed made out of several blankets.

“Aaah!” The man screamed in surprise too. This young woman, who had been unconscious seconds before, had jerked awake and started shrieking. It had almost given him a heart attack.

Rose let out a few more screams before stopping and looking more closely at the man. She tilted her head to one side as she peered at him. He seemed familiar too. Suddenly, a confused look of recognition appeared on her face.
“…Gimli?” she said cautiously, trying to confirm what she was seeing.

“A-aye…that’s my name…how do you…?” he looked at her strangely. He honestly had no idea who she was or how she knew his name.

“Gimli! Is everything all right? How is she?” a voice called from a little ways off, accompanied by the sound of running.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

:tsk: hehehe *evil snickering* hmm, i wonder who THAT could be ;)2 hehehe

:lmao: hahahahha i can so see that *shakes head* lol, funny funny...

:lol: That is so freaky...I knew you were going to say that when I posted it yesterday...lol

I know, I was laughing as I wrote it. Actually, in my mind the way Rose did it was more like this, but I couldn't do it this way:
"Aah! Aah! Aah! Aa-...Gimli?..." :laugh:

Ok, before I post the rest of part 1 (of ch 5, lol), I have to post the Sam banner that I love so much:

...I'm not double posting, I swear... :noangel:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A very tall young man dressed in a tunic and carrying a bow came out from behind a boulder and looked upon the two worriedly. His face lit up when he saw that Rose had woken up.

“You have awakened! It has been almost half a day that you have been unconscious. Are you all right, my lady?” the man said as he got closer and held out his hand to help her up.

Rose blushed. No one had ever called her “my lady” before. She looked up at him and smiled as she grabbed his hand and stood up.

“Yeah…I’m all right. Your short friend just surprised me…I didn’t think there was anyone else here.”

Looking at him again, Rose noticed his pointed ears and realized that this guy was the very arrow-wielding Legolas that she had read about and watched in the movies, except he was different somehow. He seemed to give off an angelic aura, as she had guessed all elves to do, but the fact was that there was nothing wrong with him. He was astoundingly handsome and stood with an air of immense wisdom. She noticed with surprise his muscular frame - the movie gave the impression that he was more of the tall and skinny type. And he also had a pair of amazing blue-gray eyes. He was perfect…too perfect, she thought. The only factor she could never forgive him for was the long blond hair…that was just wrong on any guy.

“W-w-wow…” she stuttered as she looked him up and down, “Orlando Bloom hardly did YOU justice…”

Legolas looked puzzled. “Who?”

He studied her for a moment as she gawked at him. She was dressed in the oddest clothing (blue pants and a pink…he didn‘t know what it was), but it still complimented her, for he thought her very pretty. Her lovely blue eyes had a depth to them that he had never seen before. It was very strange because she seemed to be part of everything around her, as if she was woven into the very fabric of Middle Earth.

Rose laughed nervously. “Oh, never mind…you must be Legolas…” she said as she held out her hand to shake his.

He stared at her in surprise. How did she know who he was? Maybe Gimli had said something…that dwarf hardly had a loss for words. Then he looked at her hand in confusion. Did she want something? Realizing that she was greeting him, he took her hand and turned it over, placing a kiss on the back of her hand as he had seen Aragorn do to greet the women in the courts of Edoras and Gondor.

“Yes, I am Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood. My companion is Gimli, son of Gloin…of the Blue Mountains. It is a pleasure to meet you. And what fair name might you have, my lady?”
He grinned as he turned on the old elvish charm.

She blushed again after being greeted so formally, then responded in an equally polite tone with a smile.
“It is a pleasure to meet you too, noble sir, and thank you for rescuing me…my name is Rosalyn, but you can call me Rose…of New York..” she said slowly, as if unsure saying where she was from. She had never truly felt like she “belonged” anywhere.

“Uh, where am I?” She glanced around at her surroundings.

“You’re in Mirkwood forest, young Rosalyn,” Gimli said matter-of-factly.
“New York…never heard of it…is that a new village in Rohan, perhaps?” he asked Legolas, who shrugged and looked just as confused as he was.

Rose sat down, overwhelmed as she heard where she was. “Mirkwood…I’m in Mirkwood, talking to Legolas and Gimli…no, Rose, this is perfectly normal…” she said to herself, trying to make herself believe what she was hearing and seeing. She jumped up suddenly.
“Waitaminute, Mirkwood? Please, can you tell me, what age is it? Of elves, or men?”

“Well, ‘Rose of New York‘, it is of men, the third age…” Legolas stated, caught off-guard by her question and stepping back to give her room.

“Third age, third age…oh! How long has it been since Frodo destroyed the ring? And Aragorn was made king?” Rose was gradually piecing together her current situation. The elf and the dwarf had obviously already left the Fellowship…but she had to know how long it had been.

Gimli looked in amazement at this girl who remained a mystery and yet knew so much about them. But she asked so many questions…surely she hadn’t grown up in a cave…but everyone knew when the Ring was destroyed. Nothing flew as quickly as news in Middle Earth.

“It has been four years since Strider first sat in the throne of Gondor, why?”

“So Frodo’s already left for the Undying Lands, right? Gandalf as well?” Damn, she thought. He would have been the only one who would understand her situation and be able to help her somehow.

“Yes…it was a month ago that the ship sailed for the West…why do need to know this, and how did you come to be in the forest, alone, in the dark of night?” Legolas asked curiously, but continued after Rose just gave him a helpless look.

“You were lucky that we heard you, you know, it is not very good for a lady like yourself to be picking a fight with a band of fighting Uruk-hai. You could have been killed.” Legolas said with a look of concern.

“Oh, we found this near the place where we rescued you.” Gimli held up the dagger and looked at it. He had seen the dagger before, but not with this girl, someone else…

Rose held her head as she tried to process everything. She began pacing back and forth, looking for the right words.

“Uh, this is really hard to explain, but I don’t really know how I got here. You see, I’m not exactly from around here…and that isn‘t mine. I found it, and…I ended up here…there were words that appeared on it…I read them, and…I fell down…then those things tried to kill me…” she said as she tried to recall the events from the day before. Nothing made sense anymore.

Gimli leaned over to Legolas as she finished her puzzling explanation. “They must have hit her harder than we thought.” he whispered. Legolas laughed at his friend making light of the situation. She definitely was unique.

Rose’s mind reeled with disbelief at all she had experienced in the last twenty-four hours. As she thought through everything that the two of them had told her and tried to make sense of things, Rose came across something that was very wrong. She whirled around to face Legolas and Gimli.

“Wait, wait…Uruk-hai? But if this is the third age, they aren’t supposed to be here…it’s impossible…oh!” she swooned and held her head as a burst of pain came beating down on her skull. Legolas rushed forward and caught her, gently guiding her down and setting her back down on the makeshift bed.

“We shall tell you everything we know tomorrow. For now, you need to lie down and rest. That Uruk-hai gave you a nasty bump on your head. Gimli seems to think that you have a concussion.” He gestured toward the dwarf, who nodded and put the damp cloth back on her forehead.

“Mmm…okay…I am tired, come to think of it…thank you…” she mumbled contentedly as she trailed off. Legolas and Gimli were concerned about HER, giving HER their undivided attention. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to run into, much less meet them…considering she only thought they were storybook characters before now. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected anything like this to happen. Rose fell asleep minutes later into the deepest sleep she had ever known.

:lmao: darn straight lol

hmmm, well, i think Orli's kinda scary, but still, if he didn't "do this guy justice":
:faint:

lucky rose!

but, no Frodo? DANG *sighs* hmph... ah well ^_^

:no: sorry, but no Frodo... he never entered any of the ideas for the story, and it would have complicated things too much (it would have made about 4 main characters *shudders at thought*)...I could somehow work him in if I thought about it, but if I did he would only be in one chapter :huh: . Sorry to dissapoint you. However, there are other hobbits in the story later *grins* :shine: , just thought I'd say that in hopes of cheering you up :yay:

Oh, I almost forgot, here's part of a song that goes with the end of that chapter (pretend like it plays after you read that Rose falls asleep):

Twenty-four oceans
Twenty-four skies
Twenty-four failures
In twenty-four tries

Twenty-four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
With twenty-four dropouts
At the end of the day

Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I'm singing,
Spirit, take me up in arms with you
And I'm not who I thought I was
Twenty-four hours ago
Still I'm singing,
Spirit, take me up in arms with you

~from "Twenty-Four" by Switchfoot

I love that song! Granted, I love all Switchfoot songs (or at least all the ones that I've heard) Anywayz, I digress, that was a very good chapter...I love the way Rose has your quirky "personal wit" (as Mr. Fredeking would call it)...:lmao: tres amusant...

Here's the next part for you guys...sorry if it doesn't make any sense at first. It's one of those "Meanwhile, back at the ranch..." sections, except it's not a ranch :lol:
So anyway, I will shut up now and just post it:

*********************************************************

The fortress was bigger than the young man had pictured it. He was cold, hungry, and exhausted from his journey, and he had gotten lost on the way so it had taken him twice as long as he had estimated. With much effort, he managed to push open the giant doors and stagger inside. Two barbaric-looking men escorted him to what appeared to be a throne room, but it was frigid and empty - any warmth that had been in that room was a faded memory.
An old man sat in the rusted throne, clutching a wooden staff and looking quite upset. “You’re two days late. I believed that you were the only one of them who wasn’t completely absorbed in their own pointless little lives, but I guess I was terribly mistaken.”
“I’m sorry…I got lost. You don’t exactly have signs pointing me here anyway…nice to meet you too..” the young man grumbled.
“You should thank me for not punishing you for your insolence. You shall refer to me as Master from this point forth, because that is what I am to you now.” the old man said gruffly as he stood up.
“…but…I got…” the man stuttered at being treated so rudely.
“But nothing. Do you want me to give you what you want or not? We did agree to help each other, you know…come, I will show you the beginnings of a great new revival.” The old man walked out of the fortress with the younger man trailing him like a dog beaten into submission. They came to a giant pit where several more of the wild men were poking sizable lumps of mud with poles.
The young man peered into the pits curiously, but then was silenced after a gasp of horror. The lumps were moving as if alive, like too much energy trapped in a film-covered egg. All of a sudden, two limbs stuck out of one of the nearby “eggs” and a hideous creature burst forth out of its filthy prison. The young man jumped back in surprise. The creature stood up and shook slime off of its muscled body, revealing its zombie-like skin and mutated face. As the mucky pit gave birth to more of the same hollow-eyed mutants, the old man’s smile grew wider and wider. It eventually evolved into a hearty laughter that appeared to show his satisfaction with what was occurring. The young man watched in shock as he cowered behind the old man, trying to put as much between him and the monsters as possible.
“You don’t mean…those aren’t…are they?” he asked, trembling.
“Oh yes, they are. This will do very nicely…” his master replied as he grinned, sending a chill down his new servant’s spine…

…Have you done as I asked?…”Yes, master, we are ahead of schedule. We are very close to achieving the goal of your first phase. Nothing has gone wrong, and I expect it to stay that way.”…

Several images flashed at once…almost too quickly for him to recognize. A figure bounding through the forest toward the sound of a cry for help. A woman, terrified, running through a dark forest as she clutched something that he could not make out. A street, empty and dark, sitting in the silence of the night…then, a car, hurtling down it at breakneck speed, its headlight beams blinding and getting closer. He braced himself for the impact but still hoped that it would miss him…his heart pounding so hard it seemed to burst…he could feel the wind of the car nearing him…it was almost upon him…he could almost see the driver…
The young man jerked awake with a gasp as he panted for the air that he thought he would never again breathe. The girl, the cry, and the car had just been a dream. He was drenched with sweat and his heart felt like it was in his throat. The sheets on his bed were twisted around his legs haphazardly, and it looked like he had almost fallen off of the bed. Something had happened…he could feel it. The atmosphere felt disturbed or changed somehow…

His door opened and one of his servants, a burly savage guard, poked his head into the room cautiously.
“Are you all right, my lord? I heard screaming…”
The bedded man looked as if he had seen a ghost. He wiped his moist forehead and sighed, clearly annoyed by his lack of peaceful sleep. “Yes, I’m all right…just another nightmare…though all my dreams are nightmares nowadays…”
The guard sighed nervously, then when he got up the courage to speak again he added, “and I am terribly sorry to bother you my lord, but it’s Krumwakh and Guttrak, they’re here with a report, sir…”
The young man sighed and nodded. “Fine, send them in.”
The door opened wider and two bedraggled Uruk-hai (if they could look more bedraggled) stumbled into the room. One (Guttrak) was wounded on his shoulder. The other (Krumwakh) spoke.
“My lord…we come from the forest…we were attacked…only the two of us escaped alive…we ran as fast as we could…” he grunted in broken English, a scared look plastered on his ugly face.
“What? Who attacked you?” the young man asked in disbelief.
Guttrak looked up from his wound and managed to spit out a cohesive response.
“We couldn’t tell…two of them…one short and the other tall…we were trying to catch a strange woman we found there…it was fifty of us to two but they were too strong…they slaughtered the rest of the troop…” he growled.
A surprised look came across the man’s face. “Wait, you say there was a strange woman?” Could it be? No, not the one from his dream, er, nightmare…but still…
“I expected such inadequacy to come from Uruk-hai…you’re all a bunch of bungling idiots. But this woman…interests me. Go back and find her, and bring her to me…alive and unharmed.” he ordered. The two Uruks looked at him angrily as they had just barely escaped death the day before.
“But m-my lord, the attackers, they took her…” Krumwakh protested, but the man raised his hand as a sign that he had made his decision.
“I don’t care. Kill them if you have to. Bring me that girl. Now go.” he said angrily as he shooed them out the door with a motion of his arm.
Krumwakh and Guttrak hurried out of the room fearfully with whimpered grunts of “Yes, my lord, right away”.
It was surprising how easily and fearlessly the young man dealt with them. He had become accustomed to their grotesque appearance and gradually came to treat them like the scum they were instead of hiding from the Uruks.
The young man lay back down in bed with open eyes as he wondered what his nightmare had meant. Oh, how long it had been since he had been given the peace of a full night’s rest. But everything came at a price, and he had not come here for sleep. Power had a way of keeping him alive enough without that luxury. He shut his eyes and eventually fell back into his abstract dream world, hovering just between consciousness and sleep.

hmmm...who could he be? :huh: *wonders*

briana lost my gutterflower and dizzy up the girl cds, and she didn't even care. i don't even have anything to say to that...*sighs*