Into Dragon's Fire (Book 1)

Chapter 16.2

Chapter 16.2

You find yourself back in the room with the thrones, where the girls sit talking, absent are the girl with blue hair, and the girl with the short blonde hair. Sam and Haylee both greet you with a smile and a wave, while Aria beckons you closer where she sits curled up on her throne with a large book in her lap. Behind her stands another girl, this one has black hair and grey blue eyes; she winks at you, before disappearing in a bright light much like the one that had sucked you in before.

" Welcome back." Aria greets as you move closer, leaning back in her chair she motions around the room toward the others that sit watching. " It seems we failed to introduce you to everyone the last time you were here. You've already met Sam-"

" Ciao." Sam greeted.

" And Haylee." She added, and the red head smiled, her green eyes gleaming. " Salve."

" The one who just left was Mari. She wished she could stay, but her job demands constant vigilance and focus. The other two you have already met, but are absent, are Zara and Yuki. You might meet more of us through these sessions, that is if you choose to continue with Alice to the end. Now on to the actually important things- We're quickly approaching the end of book 1." Aria announced to you. " And before we go any further, the author wanted to tell you a little more about the characters and give a recap of everything that has happened."

" About time." Sam grumbled, earning a look from Haylee, Aria coughed pulling their attention back to her before a argument could start, and opened the large book on her lap. " As a quick recap, we will start with Alice," Aria said, flipping through the book to several pictures of Aria. Her saving the unnamed women in the rain, meeting Legolas in the woods, her encounters with the counsel, with the Orcs, and her staring down Thranduil in the throne room with Legolas looking on with narrowed eyes. here were several more pictures, but Aria moved the book away before anything more could be scene.

Haylee snapped her fingers, and Sam grinned as a bowl of popcorn appeared in their laps. Another snap, and your feet were knocked out from underneath you as a large chair were pulled out of thin air, leaving you to stare at the red head in bewilderment. 

" Alice comes from the same world that I do." Aria began." Though an alternate reality to mine, the events to come will be the same. Her father, Jacob, was a nurse who died in a helicopter crash not long before the beginning of the story. Her parents met through their shared love of magic and would often visit shows they came across. Shortly before Alice's birth, Jacob proposed to Melody, and were soon married, it was some time after this that Jacob learned of Melody's origins. Both Melody and her mother, Edith were of other worlds. Edith had fallen in love and married a Dunedain of Middle Earth. It is currently unknown how Melody ended up in another world, but eventually she did return to that land, and aided in the defeat of Sauron."

" A week after Alice's birth, Melody disappeared from their lives. Believing her to be dead, Jacob raised his daughter on his own, and taught her how to survive in an emergency. Not wanting to lose her as he lost her mother, he kept the truth from Alice, and removed any source of magic from her life. At some point, she met her lifelong friend, Peter Parker, who was being raised by his Aunt and Uncle."

" Shortly after entering high school, the two teens both lost the only fathers they had ever known; Peter, his uncle Ben, and Alice, her father. While the loss could have divided them, the two grew closer to the point that Peter revealed his greatest secret to her, but even knowing that he cared about her, Alice never told Peter the truth about going home to an empty house, choosing instead to spare him by lying and telling him that she was living with her uncle."

" It's here that our story began," Aria continued, closing the large book. " In April of 2012, Alice accidently crossed into Middle Earth after saving the life of another person, and nearly dying with them in the process. The two soon met Legolas, the prince of the woodland realm, who killed her companion when she attempted to escape, but not before Alice made the promise to find her brother when she got back home."

" Alice was brought before King Thranduil, who upon not believing her to be lost, and claiming her to be a trespasser, had her thrown in the dungeon for a week so that she could clear her head and get her story straight despite having told the truth. During the long week of her imprisonment, Alice was visited by an unknown figure from the shadows."

" Dont you mean-" Sam started to say but was cut off as Aria repeated louder " An unknown figure from the shadows."

Haylee motioned for her to be quiet, and Sam leaned back in her chair with a huff, her arms crossed as she pouted like a child, grumbling under her breath in Italian. 

" When the week was up, Alice was released into the care of an elven women named Meriel and instructed to look after her during her stay within Mirkwood. After some harsh questioning from Thanduil, she was brought before the white counsel, a group of very powerful and wise people. Alice explained once more how she had ended up in the woods, leading Lord Elrond, the master of Rivendell, to reveal that Alice was not the first like her in their world. Realizing that she had no clear way home, she was given no other choice but to learn the way of Middle earth until she was able to return home."

" Under the guidance of Elrond and Thranduil during their stay in Rivendell, the two lords began her lessons. Teaching her the basics of language, history, and the proper way to address those of higher status. Elrond, showing more patience with the young girl, explained to her that though she wasn't of their world, her mother had left her a birthright that had been passed down from her grandmother's people. She was a direct descendant of the royal line, and one of the only two heirs to Gondor's throne that remained, the other being her distant cousin, who she knew only as Aragorn." 

" After their time in Rivendell came to an end, Thranduil and Alice made the journey back to Mirkwood, during which Thranduil began to teach her how to fight with a sword. Though Alice learned quickly, nothing could have prevented what came next. Upon returning to the woods where she had begun her journey through Mirkwood, Thranduil went on ahead to deal with a threat nearby, leaving Alice in the care of an elven guard. After Thranduil's departure, the two were ambushed, and Alice was captured by Orcs."

" A terrified Alice awoke to find herself a captive, and about to be brutally tortured by her captors, shortly before Thranduil and Legolas came to her aid, killing the Orcs, and setting her free. When they at last returned to Mirkwood, Alice and Meriel began to grow closer as friends through the time of Alice's recovery. During which time I stepped into the story to prepare her for her destiny." Aria said and earning an eye roll from the other two girls in the room, but Aria continued on like she hadn't noticed.

" While dinning with the two elves, Legolas agreed to continue her sword lessons, holding his own unknown motives by doing so. The morning of her first lesson, a mark in the shape of a dragon appeared on her shoulder blade."

" What does it mean?" Sam asked and Aria shrugged." You'll just have to figure it out along with the readers here."

" Aw, not even a hint?" Sam complained but was ignored.

" The story will kick back off in the next chapter, so stay tuned." Aria said before you were sucked back into the void.