Disclaimer: I do not own Middle-earth or any characters conjured up from the brilliant mind of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Author's Note: This story is a little different from others I've written. I'll be throwing in characters along the way that aren't from Middle-earth and although it might seem strange to see them in the story, they all play an important part to how the story unfolds. Trust me, I have it all figured out in my head. Just be patient! Everything in the story and the Tolkien characters you know and love will all be tied together at the end.

Happy reading!

SUMMARY: With the passing of the man she thought was her father, Ryder Grayson is thrown into another world intertwined with her own. Moving back to England to finish her senior year of college, she discovers who she really is and most importantly, who she can trust.

MIRKWOOD UNIVERSITY

A New Start

This place definitely isn't New York University. Ryder thought while looking at the huge solid structure in front of her. She's not sure if it was common for Universities to look like castles in England. Mansions and building facilities, sure. But a castle?

"Ready?"

Facing the voice behind her, she was reminded that she was enrolled in this institution for the last year of her college career.

"Sure," she nodded.

He walked leisurely down the concrete path to the massive wooden doors. She looked back at his private car with the driver waiting patiently against the passenger side door, unmoving.

Straightening her assigned uniform and tie, Ryder followed, not giving the driver another thought. A few glances were given her way, mostly toward the man leading her inside. It wasn't surprising since he's a handsome gentleman in a crisp business suit. Those who appeared to know him slightly nod as he returned the gesture. He must be known by the returning student body because why else would they interact with him that way.

"Remember, you're more than welcome to come home on the weekends. I can have a car sent for you."

"Thanks."

Home. Could she really call his mansion full of servants a home? Perhaps over time, but leaving her real home—her life—in New York still felt too fresh to call it a place she once knew.

Inside the University, Ryder gaped in awe, feeling like she stepped into Hogwarts. Not really quite like the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but it might as well be. The entrance led to an open courtyard, then the quad, with multiple entryways, corridors and passages.

"Aragorn!" The voice suddenly came from somewhere among the crowd. Ryder turned to see a man with white hair approach them.

Her uncle immediately smiled at him. "Master Gandalf."

After greeting each other and shaking hands, they focused both their attention on her. "I'd like to introduce you to my niece, Ryder Grayson. Ryder, this is Gandalf Grey. He's the Dean, also known as the Headmaster, here at Mirkwood University."

"Hi…it's nice to meet you," she extended her hand with a weak smile.

Gandalf smiled warmly at her with a firm shake. There's something about his light blue eyes that made it seem like they had met before, but the feeling quickly passed.

He's an older man with a long white beard who no doubt had seen things in his lifetime, probably witnessing milestones in his younger years. He had kind eyes and even with his old age, he looked fit with plenty of years ahead of him.

"Welcome to our humble establishment. I do hope you'll be comfortable here," he said. "We have some of the finest instructors and extra circular activities available in this region."

"Ryder has signed up for gymnastics," her uncle revealed. Something about him telling this stranger that information about her sounded embarrassing. It was like a parent showing off their child in the most awkward way possible.

"I used to complete in high school," she felt obligated to add. She was lucky enough to stay in one place long enough to finish high school and join the local team. When Ryder saw they offered the sport here, she jumped on the opportunity.

"That's wonderful. We have some very talented girls in that particular sport." He smiled again, glancing at his pocket watch. "I do apologize but I need to see how the other new students are faring. I trust you can lead young Ryder here to the girls' dormitory wing?"

Aragorn nodded. Some silent exchange passed between them but it disappeared just as soon as it was given.

"It's a pleasure meeting you," Gandalf addressed her again. "Don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything while you are here."

"Thank you...umm…"

"You may call me Sir Gandalf," he smiled again.

"Sir Gandalf," she repeated.

"I believe your roommate has arrived as well. Excuse me."

They watched the Headmaster leave before Ryder turned to her uncle with a puzzled look on her features. "Sir Gandalf? Was he knighted by the Queen or something?"

Aragorn grinned at her comment. "Yes. Something like that. Shall we go meet your roommate?"

x x x

The hallway was full of girls staring at Aragorn. She figured it wasn't a common practice to have a man of his stature in the girls' dormitory. He insisted in escorting Ryder to her room even after she declined the offer. It felt like the first day of grade school all over again when your parents dropped you off to make sure you could handle the pressure of being alone for a few hours without them.

"I guess this is my room," she said, looking at the old-fashioned numbers carved into the door. She knocked lightly to see if anyone was there. The doorknob suddenly escaped from her fingers when someone from the other side opened it instead. The girl behind the door blinked at the two standing in the hallway, glancing at Ryder then at Aragorn.

"Oh, hi! You must be Ryder-Anne Grayson," she smiled after she realized she was staring.

"Just Ryder is fine."

"Oh, right..." the girl smiled again, a little embarrassed, "Welcome to Mirkwood University." Ryder found it odd how she knew her real name. A name she never used. If there was some kind of roommate biography she had on her, she'd like to have one of those for herself. "My name is Emilia Luna. But you can call me Emi."

Emi was a tall girl with bright emerald eyes and shiny ginger hair that fell in waves down her back. She was dressed much like Ryder in a brown plaid skirt and fitted short sleeve shirt with the top button undone, minus the forest green tie.

"May we come in?" asked Aragorn.

"Oh, of course! Pardon my rudeness." She stepped to side to let them into the room.

To Ryder's surprise her belongings had arrived. The chest and two suitcases she owned were sitting next to what she assumed would be her bed. The only thing she carried with her from Aragorn's home was her backpack.

Her uncle told her one of his servants would bring the rest of her things to the school grounds but didn't expect them to show up before she did. Having servants tend to her needs was something of a new experience because she was self-sufficient back in New York. Having someone else do the simplest of things for her like pour her coffee was strange.

"Will you be all right settling in by yourself? I'm sorry I can't stay longer. I have a meeting to run to." Aragorn ceased her exploration of her of the room. "Perhaps we can have dinner tomorrow night? You can tell me about your first day."

"Yeah, sounds good..."

"I'm sure Emi can help you better acquaint yourself with your new surroundings," he smiled at her roommate.

"I'll take good care of her Lord Aragorn," Emi smiled back with a nod.

Lord Aragorn? Ryder raised an eyebrow at her uncle as he walked away. He returned her look with a slight grin and quietly closed the door behind him. She faced Emi with an awkward smile once he was gone.

"So…you know my uncle?"

"Yes. Many of us do who have been around long enough. He's a good friend of Lord Green and his son who graduated two years ago."

"Who's Lord Green?"

"The one who owns the University, of course," Emi chuckled.

"Of course," she replied back dryly.

Before Ryder arrived in England, she looked at the school's website so she knew more about the place and what she was getting herself into. The pictures of the University online did no justice on how it actually looked when you stood in front of it. It was a castle converted into a school full of tapestries, armor, expensive tables and vases that decorate the different rooms in and around the campus. Even her room was like a medieval chamber polished into the 21st Century.

The bio page on the school site never mentioned a Lord Green but explained the founder's passion for education and how it should be opened to all peoples of the World. Upon reading the history of the school, it also said Mirkwood University was built in the countryside in northern England almost 120 years ago in a place that was christened Greenwood. Besides the University, the small town nearby was built by Thranduil Greenleaf. Since the first opening of the doors, his family had taken care of maintaining the school and town.

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Of course you may."

"Do the titles you give my uncle and the Headmaster have some kind of significance?"

"Oh, yes. It's only proper to address them by their titles," Emi answered, tilting to her head to the side. The way she looked at Ryder suggested that she should have known that.

"Proper?" Ryder raised another eyebrow. She thought it might be because they came from money and had nothing to do with being knighted by the Queen of England. The title 'Lord' to the owner of the school made sense since his family basically owned this entire land—but Aragorn?

Emi averted her eyes for a moment. "They come from noble and respected families so...we must. To show respect."

"Oh..." Ryder nodded. Her roommate's explanation caught her by surprise.

Noble and respected families? She wondered now if that's the reason why Aragorn lived in a mansion with more than enough servants at his disposal. Perhaps he's a Duke of some sort who inherited his wealth from a past relative—which would also mean her relative. She knew he was a businessman but didn't know what type of business he was in. Hopefully, the legal kind.

"But enough about them," Emi dismissed the subject away with her hand. She sat cross-legged on her bed, her emerald eyes shining with curiosity. "Tell me about you! I'd like to know you better since we'll be rooming together. Sharing a space with someone you hardly know isn't always easy. I'd like for us to trust each other and feel comfortable in our shared space."

"Umm…okay." Ryder sat down on her own bed, which still needed sheets, pillows and blankets on it. She wasn't used to talking about herself or sharing certain personal things in her life, but she figured if she's going to live with this person for the next year, she might as well share something about herself. "Well, as you know my name is Ryder-Anne Grayson…"

"Yes—sorry about that," Emi interrupted. "I overheard Sir Gandalf talking to Lord Aragorn about his niece attending MU this year so I was looking forward to meeting you." She gave a sheepish smile, "Anyway, please continue."

"Right. Well…I was actually born here in England. According to my dad we lived in the small town in Framlingham, Suffolk but I don't remember much from my childhood there since we moved to New York when I was five."

"I do detect a slight accent from you," Emi noted with a smile. "And what of your parents? Are they still living in New York?"

Ryder sadly smiled at the question, which Emi noticed and wondered if she shouldn't have asked. "My mom died after accidentally consuming some kind of poisonous mushroom growing in her garden. After she passed is when my dad moved us to New York to start a new life, mainly because I think the town held too many memories for him."

Explaining how her mother died to people always sounded like she was covering up the real tragic reason to make her death sound more interesting than it really was. How many people actually died from consuming unknown mushrooms in their backyard? It was still hard for Ryder to believe herself because she remembered how much her mother loved her garden and how knowledgeable she was of the plants and vegetables she grew. She thought her mother would know if there were dangerous mushrooms growing in her garden.

"Oh, my!" Emi covered her mouth. "I am so sorry for your loss. I'm sure your mother was a wonderful woman."

"She was…at least from what I remember."

A memory Ryder had of her mother was a lullaby she sang to her at night to help her sleep. She still found herself humming it when she was concentrating hard on something.

Her mother had a soft beauty about her. She had long, dark hair with piercing blue eyes. She was also tall and walked with a certain grace that she's never seen on anyone else. Wherever they went people always stopped to stare or steal another glance at her just to admire her beauty. She would smile down at Ryder and pretend not to notice those around them whenever her daughter yanked on her dress.

As a small child, Ryder always hoped to be like her one day—kind, loving, soft-hearted…and beautiful. She didn't have her mother's dark locks, born with light-brown hair, but she did inherit her blue eyes and height.

"And what of your father, may I ask?" Emi's voice brought her back to the present.

Ryder shook the memories away with a quiet sigh. "He also just recently passed away. About a year ago."

Emi's frown lines deepened. She moved next to Ryder, giving her an unexpected side hug. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to stir up any sad or painful memories. We can talk about something else."

"No, it's okay," Ryder assured her, gently patting Emi's arm around her shoulders.

She's never met anyone so friendly toward her like her new roommate was in such a short amount of time. Normally, it would be awkward to have someone she barely knew comforting her in such a way, but Emi had a nurturing aura about her that made Ryder feel at ease about opening up to her about her life. Emi finally unwrapped herself, remaining quiet at her side instead of moving back to her own bed.

"My dad said he came from a long line of soldiers so it was in his blood to fight for something he believed in. He joined the army when I was about ten, so we constantly moved from place to place, not staying anywhere for more than two or three years. I've basically lived everywhere—New York, Chicago, Maine, Germany, Japan…and it was something I got used to. It was our lifestyle and my dad was a great soldier. When I was about twelve, he spent a few months in Afghanistan, which during that time I couldn't live with him because it was unsafe for a child to be in a warring country."

"Did you live by yourself then?" Emi could only imagine how hard it was living alone with your only parent away at war in another country.

"We were living in Maine at the time and my dad had a good friend named Gimli who I stayed with until he returned. He owned a small jewelry shop. I remember he used to let me braid his long, red beard," Ryder chuckled.

Emi softly laughed, "He sounds like a kind man. I'm glad you had someone to keep you company."

"Yes, he was very nice. For a stout English fellow he can be loud with his booming voice, but he was always good-natured and had a hearty laugh. It was also around that time when I met Aragorn."

"Your uncle?"

"My dad sent me an email about a man that was in town on business who wanted to meet me. He said he was a distant relative of my mother's."

Before meeting Aragorn, neither one of her parents ever talked about him. Ryder wasn't even aware they had relatives because she never saw any of their family's pictures or even heard a relative's name in passing. She just always assumed it was the three of them and over time, never cared enough to remember to ask.

She remembered that day, sitting in Gimli's living room while Aragorn explained how he was her uncle. He said he attended her mother's funeral but she was too young to remember him. He felt deeply for their loss as she was a kind person and one of his last remaining relatives, aside from her daughter.

It was a brief meeting but Ryder would never forget his face. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt like she knew Aragorn, especially when she looked into his gray eyes. Something about his eyes reminded her of her mother.

"When I finally entered high school we lived in Chicago," she continued, "and I was able to finish all four years there. My dad moved up in rank so he had more of a say so on where he wanted to be stationed and for how long. After high school, I moved to attend New York University, up until my junior year…"

"Is that…when your father passed away?" Emi softy asked.

"Yes. He had to go back to the Middle East and was caught in a small night raid. Aragorn came shortly thereafter to New York when he heard the news to help me deal with the military funeral held in Chicago. Because he's the only living relative I have…here I am."

Losing her dad took its toll. Ryder didn't want to finish school or even think about any kind of future for herself. She was a bright young girl, always at the top of her class and getting praised by her instructors. But after Henry Grayson left her, all the motivation and hard work he instilled in his daughter crumbled. Her grades slipped, she skipped lectures and exams and barely managed to pass her classes.

Aragorn offered her a change of scenery and to finish her senior year at Mirkwood University so he could look after her and get to know her better since all they have left now was each other. After she graduated, he promised to support her in whatever path she chose. She spent a week at his mansion before relocating to the campus for the new school year.

Taking her hand, Emi squeezed it gently. "Again, I'm sorry for the unfortunate circumstance that brought you here, but I'm glad you're here," she smiled sympathetically. "I hope this is another fresh start for you—one filled with happy experiences that will last a lifetime."

"Thank you," she half-smiled at the sincerity in her voice.

Starting over for Ryder wasn't new. She'd done it plenty of times because of her father's career, but with him no longer in the picture, this time felt different. Knowing someone like Emi was around to help her adjust might just be the thing she needed to keep her head up, stay strong, and not let her father down.

"Now…shall I take you on a tour?"

x x x

Author's Note: I just want to point out that I don't really know where army bases are located…I just listed a few places for the purpose of the story. I also wanted to start off with Ryder's background and more of it (even her name) will be revealed in the upcoming chapters. Also the background of the other characters will be explained…eventually.

Hope you liked the first chapter!

Please review!