It was a dreary, cold day. Ragged grey clouds moved swiftly over the mountains as the icy wind chased them from the white peaks. The pale sun was sitting like a phantom behind the grey mass, reflecting cheerless rays to the marshes below. The landscape next to the mountain was harsh and offered little protection from either foul weather or unfriendly eyes. The ground was covered with dead streaks of grass and littered with boulders and rocks. Occasionally the over-flooded rivers left the ground sodden and formed marshes of muddy ground. It was a difficult and miserable place to trek through.

Sierra wrapped her cloak tightly around her body and tucked her hands into the pockets. Even though her hands were securely wrapped in wool mittens, the cold seemed to cling to her fingers, gnawing at her bones. Her boots squished and sloshed in the muddy soil, occasionally sending splatters of dirt to cling to her cloak's hem. The only sound for miles was the howling wind through the cliffs and Sierra's wet footsteps.

Sierra has been travelling in the unforgiving terrain for almost a week now. Her days mostly consisted of stumbling over rocks and underneath tangled thorn bushes. At night Sierra would seek out a dry hollow to sleep in, enfolding her brown sheepskin blanket over her body, shielding her from the cold.

She risked little to no fire, in fear of attracting unwanted creatures. Sierra heard tales of orcs, goblins and wargs, thing unheard of in her world. She was not sure how they looked, but did not want to risk finding out. Her uncle told her of the Battle of the five armies and Sierra was happy that she missed that even before she left.

She had little combat skill with ancient weaponry and her only armament was a long silver knife secured to her hip. Sierra's meals consisted of dried meats and fruits, neatly packaged in see-though vacuum-packed bags. Her clear glass bottle contained fresh water, regularly obtained from small streams leading from the snowy mountains. Even though her satchel was very large and uncomfortable to carry, Sierra would not part with any of its contents. She just prayed that no-one would come across her bag and rummaged through it. She tried to conceal most of the modern-day commodities to look like object obtained in Middle-Earth, but there was a couple of things that just would require some explaining to do.

One such thing was a large, printed and laminated map of Middle-Earth, which she was currently busy studying. She traced the spot from where the portal in the mountain was, to the section marked Rivendell. She randomly tapped a place in the middle, next to the mountain where she assumed she currently was. If she kept the pace she was travelling now, she should reach Rivendell in two weeks.

Her food supply would barely last her one week. She will have to set up a snare sometime soon in hopes to catch a hare or some other small animal. She wished she had learned to use the bow like her uncle did. It would have made her feel safer to have a range weapon against enemies and predators, plus it would have made hunting a little bit easier.

Sierra tucked a stray brown curl that escaped unearth her hood back to where in belong. She decided that keeping her hood in place served against the cold and prevented her hair from becoming a tangled mess. Even though she had shampoo and conditioner in her bag, the water was way too cold to wash regularly.

Sighing she rolled the paper map into a scroll, secured it with a leather band and slipped it into a side pocket of her satchel. She wiped her hand over her face, a sign of frustration, and then massaged her stiff neck. She looked over the miserable landscape before her and wished there was a portal closer to Rivendell that this one.

Sierra travelled to Middle-Earth quite frequently, but have never travelled this far before. There were only two known portals that lead them to this realm. One located in the Iron Hills, the only one they have used in the past to explore the surrounding places such as the Northern parts of Rhovanion, including, Erebor, Lake Town, The Lonely Mountains, Esgaroth and then unfortunately the Easter boarder of Mirkwood. However, Julien and her Uncle have travelled further from the portal than she ever did. They both have visited Minas Tirith twice before, with Julien having stayed there for over a year. Sierra scowled at the thought. That was probably where everything started.

Then there was a portal in the Misty Mountain, situated near a mine called Moria. The only reason they have never used it before was due to the markings next to it: Danger, unsafe passage. Do not use. But Sierra was desperate and willing to face danger for what she needed to do. However, despite the cold and unpleasant terrain, luck seemed to be on Sierra's side since nothing remotely dangerous crossed her path just yet.

Sierra was very fond of Middle-Earth, but due to what happened to her and her brother on their previous trip, her uncle forbade her to ever step foot in the realm again and barricaded the portal in the Iron Hills, not thinking that she would ever dare use the Misty Mountain one. She was however unsure how Julien made it back. Maybe he knows of another secret portal location.

At the memory of her last trip, Sierra absentmindedly rubbed her upper arm where the burn marked her skin from her shoulder to her elbow. She could still smell the stench of smoke and flesh, hear the terrifying screams, feel the heat of the flames and see the deadly mouth of the dragon. But worst of all see could still feel the heavy, frantic shove as her brother knocked her out of the firing line from Smaug's mouth and took the flames that were destined for her. In her life it happened only over a year ago, but here in Middle-Earth it was close to sixty. But it didn't quite matter to her if it was only one year or sixty years, the loss of her brother weighed heavily on her heart.

Sierra angrily wiped at a tear that leaked from her eye and clenched her teeth. She should not be thinking about this!

She quickly retrieved her water bottle and took a couple of mouthfuls to clear her mind. With renewed determination, Sierra continued her trek to Rivendell.

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The next morning Sierra woke to a pleasant surprise. After a week of unpleasant climate, the weather suddenly changed. The swift-flowing grey clouds lifted and melted away, and the sun came out shining bright. Sierra stretched and started massaging her sore and stiff muscles. There are two things she would never take for granted again, her bed and a hot bath.

While massaging her sore legs, Sierra scanned her surroundings. It looked vastly different than it did last night. Sierra noticed that she had reached a low ridge crowned with ancient holly-trees whose grey-green trunks seemed to have been built out of the very stone of the hills. Their dark leaves shone and their berries glowed red in the light of the rising sun.

Are Holly-tree berries edible, Sierra wondered? She wanted to try, but was afraid they could be poisonous, instead she open a small pack of dried meat and nibbled on the little sticks.

After her meagre meal, Sierra unrolled her map again and stared at the markings; by the looks of it she made a lot of ground yesterday and marched through a good part of Hollin. She wished her uncle could see her now. He would be so proud of her. Sierra smiled a sad smile as she thought of her uncle. She hoped that he was all right.

The weather was still too cold to remove her cloak, but at least she was able to leave her hood down. She took her comb and brushed through her tangles and then left it to hang loosely over her shoulders. Happy about the new weather conditions, Sierra quickly repacked her pack, rolled up her blanket and made ready to set off again.

Sierra hardly walked half a mile, when suddenly she noticed two things, smoke and the smell of roasted meat. Her stomach turned, Sierra was not sure if it was of fear or hunger. Maybe both. She hasn't had a hot meal in days.

Out of fear, she quickly pressed her back against a tree, trying to conceal herself into the shadow of its branches and pulled the hood once more over her head. And it was not a moment too soon, at the top of the brink of the dell stood a figure. Sierra could not quite make out his features, since the morning sun was rising behind his back, but by his clothes, his length and shabby hair, she defiantly knew it to be a man. She could see a long sword hanging on his hips and Sierra did not like the sight of it.

"What is the matter, Strider?" an unknown voice behind the man called ""What are you looking for? Do you miss the East Wind?"

The voice was friendly and laced with jest and Sierra could not imagine it belonging to and enemy. However, she still did not move from her spot.

"No indeed," the man answered. His voice did not fit with his shabby appearance "But I miss something. I have been in the country of Hollin in many seasons. No folk dwell here now, but many other creatures live here at all times, especially birds. Yet now all things but you are silent. I can feel it. There is no sound for miles about us, and your voices seem to make the ground echo. I do not understand it."

By his words, Sierra also suddenly noticed how utterly quiet it was. She was so used to the raging wind to block out all other sounds around her. She looked around her, but could not locate a single bird. How strange.

Suddenly another man joined the one on the edge. He looked old and wore a long robe with a pointy hat. In his hand was a wooden walking stick.

"But what do you guess is the reason?" the old man asked. "Is there more in it than surprise at seeing four hobbits, not to mention the rest of us, where people are so seldom seen or heard?"

"I hope that is it," the other man, she assumed called Strider answered "But I have a sense of watchfulness, and of fear, that I have never had here before."

"Then we must be more careful," said the old man again "If you bring a Ranger with you, it is well to pay attention to him, especially if the Ranger is Aragorn. We must stop talking aloud, rest quietly, and set the watch."

With that the old man turned again and disappeared from view.

"Please leave as well" Sierra mentally pleaded with the man still standing there "I need to go"

But, unfortunately to her dismay the man stood rooted to where he was. Soon a small boy joined the man and both of them seated themselves on the rock.

"How odd to take a child with them on their trip" She mused.

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It has been over an hour since Sierra stood rooted to the tree, her legs cramping from the motionless stance. The two watchmen surveyed the area below them and more than once did their eyes unwantedly rest upon her hiding spot. Sierra's heart would beat in her throat and her palms would go sweaty. If they were to discover her, the odds would not be in her favour. She knew already of three people, but the old man did mention that there were others.

The silence was deafening. It sat like a heavy cloud in her mind. It was so utterly quiet that she could hear the movements every time the two watchers moved. On one occasion the little one's head snapped to her when she shuffled her feet, but the tree luckily provided enough protection from his eyes.

There were some other unseen sounds as well. As swishing noise that sounded like a horse's tail flicking and hooves clinking against the stone. Someone was snoring, could it be the old man? There were other shuffling noises as well, but Sierra could not place what they could have been. The sun was also starting to grow hot and Sierra wished she could remove the heavy cloak. She could feel her hair go damp from the sweat as the hood heated her head.

Another hour passed and to Sierra's dismay the sun was starting to eat away the shadow of the tree. With each passing minute the shadow grew smaller and smaller. Sierra was contemplating to move around the drunk where the shadow grew larger again, but was halted when the little one whispered.

"What's that, Strider?"

Both pair of eyes was once again on her hiding place.

"I'm not sure Sam, but constantly my eyes have been drawn to that particular tree. Stay here, I will go down and investigate"

"Shit, Shit, Shit…" Sierra mentally screamed. "What to do? What to do?"

She had two options, be discovered or make a run for it. It took two seconds to make up her mind.

With quick twist of her feet she spun away from the tree and madly dashed away in the opposite direction of the man advancing down. Her cloak bellowed out behind her and with one hand she grabbed her hood to prevent it from slipping. Her legs protested against the sudden movement and begged her to slow down.

"Hey!" came the startled shout behind her and echoed through the cliffs "Stop!"

Soon she could hear the loud footstep running up behind her, quickly followed by other noises. Other people of his group started shouting and rushed down the slopes. The sudden commotion in the dale vibrated against the cliffs and rocks and to Sierra's hears in sounded like a whole army was following her.

Sierra twisted and turned around the trees as she made her way through the glen. The rocky terrain made it difficult for running and Sierra nearly lost her footing twice.

The footfalls sounded awfully close and she quickly looked over her shoulder to see how far off they were. She could only make out to figures following her. The man called Strider and a short sturdy figure swing an axe.

"Fuck!" Sierra shouted "They have an axe! What the hell? Who are these people?"

She turned to face forward again, renewed with more determination to get away from these terrifying people. Adrenaline pumped through her veins and her eardrum thudded. The wind slapped her face with the speed she was sprinting. How proud her PE teacher back in high school would have been if he could see her today.

As she turned around another tree, a lithe figure jumped into her path and Sierra had to break hard, her feet skidding over the ground, in order to prevent her face colliding with the point of an arrow.

"Don't move" the figure said in a deadly calm voice.

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Ok, so a quick note:

The LOTR books do not exist.

Yes, it is a 'girl-from-our-time-landed-in-Middel-Earth' fanfic. (Everyone should get a chance in writing something like this - hie hie )

I apologise for my spelling and grammar mistakes. If you can recommend a Beta for me it will be greatly appreciated.

I don't think my chapters will be very long. It just makes it easier to write.

Thanks for reading and please review. I would love to hear from you!

Love,

Andrea