Walking In Worlds Beyond (A Lord of the Rings Fanfic)

Chapter 1

Disclaimer for the entire story: I do not own anything that is obviously Tolkien's in this story. I claim my OC's only and admit to playing unashamedly in this wonderful sandbox of imagination. Thank you.

Prologue:

In rural Ontario, the topic of 'the weather' has a time-honored place of importance in the conversations of farmers, which is why it is only fitting that we begin our story by discussing said topic. After all, it does begin on a small farm... with the weather...

The weather was downright nasty, though not in the least bit unwelcome by the local farmers and Emily did have to agree that the rain was something to greet with joy after such an abnormally hot spring. However, she really wished that it hadn't been during the four days she was home alone or that the worst storm of the season hadn't hit. Not only that, but the storm had finally blown in off the Great Lakes at about the same time she had to do the barn chores.

Dark storm clouds rolled overhead and flashed with light. The wind howled, ripping leaves and branches off the trees as though the world was having a temper tantrum. Emily hurried through the downpour of rain towards the barn and tried not to think about tornadoes.

Usually, if someone else was home, like her mum or dad, or occasionally one of her two older siblings, then she wouldn't even worry about the storm. In a weird way, having someone else around to worry about the weather and bad storms made her less anxious. In truth, she actually really loved storms most of the time.

The wild, fierce beauty of them made her hair stand on end, filling her with wonder at the thrilling forces of nature.

But, this was not the case now.

Right now she was just a worried fourteen-year-old trudging alone through a violent storm and trying to be a responsible adult while her parents were gone. She didn't have time to enjoy the storm. What if something went wrong?! What if the barn's roof blew off? What if the barn collapsed!? Would it catch fire if it was struck by lightning? Probably...

Oh, shut up, you idiot! Dad says it isn't helpful to ask 'what ifs' and if we are going to survive the next few days we need to grow up!

Resolutely ignoring the prickling sensation of foreboding in her gut, she made it under the overhang where three horses were looking at her distastefully. They were quite obviously displeased over having to stand outdoors and she was late feeding them.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry! Just wait, you'll be inside in a moment." Emily said in her best business voice. It made her feel more confident when she talked a loud and pretended she was calmer than she really was.

She moved towards the door to unlatch it, only to note that the hook was not in its place.

"Lady...have you been opening doors again?" The girl scolded. The issue was swiftly dropped when a gust of wind shook the entire barn and Emily thought she heard a weird whistling and ringing noise. The horses snorted, quivering, and pawed the ground, ears flicking an indication that they too had heard the noise.

Freezing, the teen's instantaneous thought was, Oh crap! Tornado! But then the faint noise faded away again and then there was nothing. The beasts calmed down again with the departure of the sound and then just stared at the door of the barn with interest. It was easy for Emily to assume they wanted in, so she warily pushed the disconcerted feeling in her gut aside and slipped through the door into the barn.

"No! Lady! Oohff!"

Lady, her large pushy mare, tried to shove in as well, nearly knocking Emily over as she attempted to barge past. With great effort, Emily caught the big mare by the nose and then sternly urged her backward again, smacking her great chest a little so the large creature would pay attention to her. This was an ongoing battle between them. You see, Lady was the top boss of the little herd and was used to throwing her weight around. Literally. She was big, she knew it, and Emily knew it. In truth, the girl was actually a little afraid of the horse when they were on the ground. Being pushed around by a horse is scary. It had to stop.