A/N: All I ask is that you do not judge a book by its cover...or a story by its first chapter for that matter. In my humble opinion this story gets better as it progresses. So please give it a shot. And thank you to those that will.

This is my first story so I apologize if it's a little rough. The first chapter is going to be kind of long and a little vague perhaps, as I am still trying to figure out exactly what direction I want this to go in. I will be upfront and say it is a Legomance, however I have tried to keep it from being a MarySue, or a horrible version of one anyway. I am aiming for a mix between the books and the movies. Wish me luck. I respect constructive criticism and would appreciate it. But please don't send me reviews that are rude or nasty because I fail to see how that is productive.

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Lord of the Rings; that all belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien. The same can be said about the movies, except that the rights belong to Peter Jackson, New Line Cinema, and the likes. But everything else is mine! Mwahahahaha-cough cough-alright, enough with the evil laugh. On to the story!

Chapter 1- Bad Day

Have you ever had one of those mornings when you just know it is going to be a bad day? You wake up with the utmost sense of dread knowing it's going to be one of those days where absolutely nothing goes right; there's no hot water for your shower, your clothes are either wrinkled or dirty, no milk for your cereal, late for school, etc.

Well, this wasn't one of those days. In fact, it was the day after my high school graduation. I, of course, chose to celebrate this by sleeping in as late as possible. So by the time I got out of bed it wasn't even morning and the chance of worrying about whether I should get out of bed and begin readying myself for what could possibly be the worst day of my life wasn't even relevant, or so I thought. Boy was I in for a surprise.

Seeing as it was the day after graduation, just about the entire senior class was throwing some sort of graduation party that Friday night. I decided I did not want to go for the look that screamed, "I'm the lead singer of a grunge band," and promptly rolled out of bed to take a shower and get ready to go out that night.

Needless to say, by the time I made it downstairs my mom was just a tad put out, which would explain the sarcasm.

"Decided to join the realm of the living?" she asked.

Not to be outdone I responded, "I figured I shouldn't deprive you lesser beings of my exalted presence for too long, lest you forget how amazing I am." This, apparently, was not the right response because my mother began to ream me out about how much I had to do before I left with my father and stepmother to stay with them in southwest Virginia for the summer. (Yes, my parents are divorced. No, my stepmother is not evil.) I resisted the temptation to be particularly nasty and comment on how glad I was about my impending freedom, and instead focused on nodding and saying, "Yes, ma'am" in all the right places.

Once my mother was done, I was allowed (barely) to go out to retrieve a few last minute graduation gifts. I returned home to discover my sister, Jessie, had gone to a friend's house and my mother was out with friends. "Great, I finally have the house all to my self and I'm not even able to enjoy it. Blasted graduation parties. Which reminds me…" I checked the time and realized I was going to be late if I didn't hurry up and wrap my recently purchased gifts.

Weighted down with gifts, my purse, and a suitcase (I would be staying with my dad while he was in town before we all left for southwest Virginia) I barely managed to make it out to my car. Before I got in the car, I took a moment to look up at the stars. It's kind of a habit of mine; I have always favored the nighttime because everything seems more peaceful. And lately, my life was anything but peaceful. I had a lot to do in preparation for college, especially since I was moving from one coast to the other. Which just made it even harder on my family, and I could tell my mom was having a hard time adjusting to the fact that I would be on the West Coast. As a result, things had been a little tense at home between the two of us. I took a deep breath, and without really thinking about it, whispered, "I wish I could just escape." (Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Note to self: Never, ever make another wish again. No birthday candles, no shooting stars, nothing. Nada. Zip.)

And just like that, without any warning, I blacked out.

I woke to the sounds of a forest (you know chirping birds, wind in the trees, etc.) Wait a second; sounds of the forest? I didn't live near the woods. With that thought, my eyes flew open and I sat up fast, too fast.

"Oh, man, my head. I should not have done that. Definitely should not have done that," I moaned while slowly lying back down.

"Does your head hurt? Are you injured?" said a voice from somewhere on my left.

Needless to say, the sudden revelation that I was not alone scared the hell out of me. Once again I sat up a little too quickly. Ugh, I had to stop doing that.

Once I got my dizziness under control, I looked up and noticed It. Oh no. Oh, hell no. It can't be. Staring back at me was utter perfection, utter Elven perfection. This could only mean one thing. "Do you have any idea where we are?" I asked her.

I assumed I was in Middle-Earth. It was either that or something like Dungeons & Dragons. And I was seriously hoping it was the former because I knew next to nothing about the latter. At least nothing I was willing to admit. Seeing as she was an elf, I figured we were in one of the Elven realms (if we were in Middle-Earth at all) but I had no idea which one. It's been awhile since I read the books and God knows if you can trust the movies. Let's just say Peter Jackson took some liberties.

"Duh, we're in Middle-Earth," she replied. True, but not exactly what I was looking for. Let's try this again.

"More specifically…?"

"Um, a forest."

Nothing got by her, did it? Let's try this one more time. You know what they say, third time's a charm. Hell, I'd even give her a hint.

"I was wondering if you knew what region we are in."

"Uh…"

Oh, for the love of God. "You're an elf right?" She just rolled her eyes and nodded. Jeez, no need to get sassy. "Ok, so where do you hail from- Mirkwood, Imladris, Mithlond, or Lothlorien?"

"I'm not from here. I'm from the United States of America," she cried, clearly frustrated at my lack of understanding.

And to be honest I was getting quite frustrated as well. I mean, what the hell? She had pointy ears; how the hell could she not be from Middle-Earth? Then I noticed her dress. It was white, simple, and at first glance looked like something an elf would wear. But when I took a closer look, it seemed really familiar. It looked like a summer dress I had seen at the mall earlier that day. No, that was impossible. It was just a coincidence. She was an elf; there was no way she could be from Earth. Right? This made no sense. I could feel myself becoming incredibly uncomfortable with the whole situation which did nothing to improve my mood.

"How is that possible? Last time I checked there weren't any Elves in the United States." My frustration must have come through in my voice and I'm pretty sure that came out more sarcastic than was probably necessary because all of a sudden her eyes narrowed and her voice had an edge to it that wasn't there a second ago.

"I don't know, you tell me," she sneered.

Alright, I was starting to get really pissed. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Feel your ears."

As I brought my hand up to my ear, I instantly started contradicting her statement. "Look, I'm a human. If I were an elf I'd know it. You don't just switch species and not realize it." It was at this point that the fact that I was feeling a pointed tip instead of a rounded one actually sunk in. "Oh, fuck. This is not good." It was at that moment that I knew I was going to severely regret ever getting out of bed that morning. I mean, I was in Middle-Earth with someone who looked suspiciously like a life-size Palm Beach Midge Barbie doll. Not to mention the fact that I just switched species. Yeah, this was definitely not good.