§ This will be a series of stories from my favorite books and movies

§ Like in The Chronicles of Narnia, it will only be minutes in the real world while she lives an entire lifetime in the story/movie world

§ Each venture will have its own story

§ The character profiles for all the stories is entitled- Profiles for the Traveler (how creative) and is in my stories section

The Traveler- Prologue

I yawned as I closed my book, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Wistfully running a hand over the worn cover of one of my favorite books, I shut my eyes and tried to imagine what it would be like to live the adventure, to explore the Shire, Imladris, Mirkwood, and Lothlorien, to meet Lord Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir, Lady Galadriel, and the Fellowship itself. Opening my eyes again, I rolled over onto my back and stared up at my star covered ceiling, the plastic stars and moons glowing faintly in the dim light of my lamp. Thoughts like these often crossed my mind; what would it be like to live the adventure, to be part of the story. It was my deepest wish, to escape this mundane existence and venture into the worlds of my favorite books and movies. I yawned again as I flicked off my lamp, my eyes heavy with drossiness as huddled under my numerous blankets and surrendered to my fatigue.

I will never be completely sure what woke me, but I was pulled from my slumber by something some hours later. A quick glance at my alarm clock revealed the time to be 1:30 AM. A groan escaped my lips as I threw myself back against the soft pile of pillows on my bed. I was about to close my eyes when I noticed the faint glow in my room. Normally I would have passed it off as the stars on my ceiling, but even in my half-asleep state I knew that glow-in-the-dark stars don't retain light for that long. I sat up slowly, becoming more awake by the second. My eyes drifted around my room and then I saw her.

I don't know what she was, or even if she was a she at all. The figure seemed to be floating a few feet off the floor, an ethereal glow surrounded her, her unfathomable eyes bored into mine, and I found I could not look away. I suddenly heard her voice, though her mouth never moved.

"I am here to grant you your wish."

I stared was this a trick, did she really mean what I thought she meant?

"I will give you a gift no mortal has ever received, it is unprecedented, and you shall decide whether it is a gift, or a curse."

I continued to stare at her, was she serious, was this real, could I finally become a part of my favorite stories? Then her last words hit me, a gift or a curse, how could it be a curse? And then I began thinking. If I got to go to these worlds, how would I like being ripped away from them? If I fell in love, how would I enjoy heart break over and over again? These depressing thoughts swirled inside my mind. I was being given the chance of a lifetime. I looked up at her again and made my decision.

She bade me to hold out my hands, and into them fell a delicate looking necklace, intricate patterns were formed by a bright metal encasing a glass container that held a swirling mist, glinting in the faint light she cast off. Whispered instructions rang inside my head as I gazed transfixed on the pendant in my trembling hands. She was suddenly beside me, her glow warming me, and then she was gone.

I placed the glittering necklace around my neck and wondered where I would go first. The cover of one of my favorite movies caught me eye and with a grin I focused on my destination.