~Callie's Point of View~

Song: "The Best of You" by Isak Danielson

*******

I stiffened and spun around, stumbling back away from Sam in a rush, but I knew it was too late.

She and Aaron were staring at us with mouths hanging open and eyes widened in horror.

I looked at Sam and his jaw was clenched, hands in his leather jacket's pockets and narrowed eyes directed at Aaron.

"Callie? Please tell me I did not just see what I think I just saw." Anna says slowly, carefully, all the while glaring at Sam in hatred.

I began to stumble over my words as I tried to explain the situation. "I-I...I'm sorry. It's Saturday. You're never here on Saturdays and...and..." I managed weakly, still in shock from earlier.

"And what about Brandon? You two are together! What would he thing about this?" Aaron demanded.

I stiffened, then said slowly, carefully and with all the courage I could muster up, "Brandon ended things with me today. Since I got hurt during the game three weeks ago, he's been acting like an asshole. Before he was respectful of my space, but after he began to read my texts, follow me places, and ensure he knew what I was doing all the time. He's even followed me to the bathrooms. When I asked him to give me some space, he told me I was his and he could do what he wished. That he was a prince. That he had entitlement to do as he pleased."

Sam was staring at me with an unreadable expression. But his gray eyes burned with a fury I recognized only too well.

"He insisted we spend a lot of time together. All the time. He got handsy. When I wasn't in the mood, he ignored me, saying I didn't know what was right for me. Today I caught him trying to kill Sam. I stopped him. He yelled and hit me and shoved me to the ground. Called me disgusting. And then left."

I felt tears enter my vision and I reached over and grabbed onto my chair for support. Sam slid a half-step closer to me, but Aaron snapped,

"Step away from her."

Sam lifted his hands in the air and said, "If I may-"

"You may do nothing. We're talking to Callie right now. So shut up." Anna growled.

"You do not get to speak to him that way." I said angrily and pushed myself off of the chair and stood between Sam and my friends.

"He killed my brothers, Callie! How the hell else am I supposed to react to that monster in my room?!" Anna yelled and Aaron wrapped his arms around her.

I straightened and said smoothly and carefully, "Arwen. Aragorn. Step inside and close the door."

They both stiffened. "You-" Aaron tried but I raised a hand.

"Step inside. And close the door. Those are your names, are they not?" I said coolly.

He clenched his jaw and closed the door and the two of them walked over to her bed and sat down side by side.

I looked at Baldor and said in a commanding tone, "Sit."

He immediately did so, hands clasped in his lap and head down, shoulders tense.

I leaned back against my desk and crossed my arms over my chest. "Boromir- and I'm going to say your names. I find no point in pretending that your names are Brandon, Anna, or Aaron. Boromir was an abuser. Sam is not. He has done nothing to me. Now. Let's think for a moment. Was it Sauron that killed your brothers, or was it Baldor? Because I've noticed a trend here that Baldor gets blamed for Sauron's actions quite a bit."

Arwen stared at me evenly. "Sauron."

"Alright. Then he's not the murderer of your brothers now is he?"

"No."

"Ok. Thank you. Now that that's cleared up. Baldor and I have been friends for well over a month now. I actually reached out to him because I sought answers about this school that weren't coming from the supposed good guys and my friends. So why don't you explain something to me, then, and tell me why I keep being called an 'heir'? What does it mean?"

Aragorn jutted his chin out towards Baldor. "I believe your answers for that question lie with him. It's not just us that have kept things from you. I'm sorry that we caused you pain, Callie. You're our friend. One of our closest friends."

"I agree with what he said, Callie. You're my best friend and I'm so happy to have had you in my life." Arwen said softly. "That term has only been used for you by the ones that serve Sauron. We didn't know you were being called an 'heir' to anything."

I slowly looked over at Baldor. He had his head down still, shoulders now slumped in a defeated posture. "Baldor? Will you tell me?"

He clenched his jaw and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling, then said, "If I tell you, you could die. Literally die. Because if I voice it... you have to believe me that if I tell you, it'll start something far worse into motion."

"What could possibly be worse than this?" I asked and gestured around the room, realizing my mistake too late.

Baldor's eyes flashed with slight hurt, but then he clenched his jaw and replied in a cold tone, "Sauron wants to rewrite the story. And you can do that. As a Tolkien, you can add or subtract anything, any event, or... any one. And he wants to use you to erase people like the King of Gondor over there, whose destiny is to save Middle Earth or whatever the first Tolkien made it to be. Not all of your family members have become authors. In fact, you're the first since Christopher."

I gasped at him. "You're crazy."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yet you're the one talking to a bunch of fictional characters. And one that was never supposed to exist in the first place. Haven, Imara, and I? As well as a few others in Sauron's court and elsewhere around campus? We're the characters that were scrapped- that didn't make the final cut." He stood and said, "Your movies and books would have had a different ending if I or my sister were included in that final manuscript."

He looked at Aragorn and said, "In fact, I doubt you would have even become king. Or lived to see the day if I was around."

Aragorn stood and growled, "Is that a threat?"

"Maybe." Baldor replied evenly and coldly, eyes narrowing.

"Both of you. Sit down. Now." I growled and they immediately sat down. I pinched the bridge of my nose, then said, "So, you're telling me that if I write something pertaining to all of you, it could come true?"

"Not could come true. Would come true." Baldor corrected and clenched his fists. "That's why my father wants you. To figure out how your ability works. Torture you into submission to work for him. To do what he wants."

"Couldn't I just write him out of existence, then? That would be an easy fix."

"No, don't do that!" Arwen said desperately.

"You'd disrupt all of us here. All of our stories- our lives- revolve around Sauron. From the War of the Ring and on." Aragorn said.

"If you do that, Callie, you'll not only disrupt us all, but Imara, Haven, and I won't exist. We'll disappear. Die. Our origins will disappear with him." Baldor said and looked at me.

I felt my heart twist as he stared at me with almost a look of fear. I sat next to him and took his hand and held it tightly in both of mine. His shoulder leaned into mine.

"Alright. I won't do that. What can I do instead, then?" I asked.

Baldor shrugged. "I... don't know." His hand squeezed mine.

I clenched my jaw and looked over at Arwen and she just stood up and ran over and hugged me tightly and cried, "I'm so sorry, Callie. You've been through such a hard time today, I should have been comforting you! Yet here we are arguing and fighting."

He let go of my hand and I hugged her back tightly and said, "It's ok, Anna. I'm so sorry for not telling you about any of this, I just... thought you'd get angry with me." I pulled away. "I knows none of you would understand that he isn't like any of that. I don't know the whole truth, but I'm going to figure it out, and then we're going to work together to try and get all of you back to Middle Earth. Your home. Where you belong."

She smiled and just said, "You're amazing, Callie. I have no doubt you'll be able to do it. What do you want to do now? Because you need comfort and you need to relax- not try to solve the world's mysteries. It's very selfless of you, but after dealing with all of that... especially in silence... whatever you want. You go do it. Be with whoever you want and I'll support you. Even if I can't trust him completely yet, I trust you. And if you say he's different, I'll try and believe it, too."

I smiled at her and said, "You know, growing up, Arwen was my favorite character. I find it kind of ironic- and amazing- that she's my best friend now."

She beamed at me.

"I think tonight I just want to relax."

Anna nodded and said, "When you're ready to talk, come find me. And if you want, Gabby can come, too and we'll have a girls only night."

I laugh. "How much you want to bet Leland will try to sneak in with us."

"She laughed. "I'm sure if it's concerning you he will. He told me he thinks of you as the sister he never had."

I smirked and looked at my feet. "He'd make a pretty great brother, I think."

Aaron rested a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Come to us with you're ready, Miss Tolkien." He said and winked at me.

Anna went to her wardrobe and pulled a few things out, and after stuffing them into a bag, they left.

I turned around and said, "Sam, I wanted to- Sam?"

He was gone.

I fumbled with my phone and texted him. Where did you go?

No reply.

I called him.

I got voicemail.

Beginning to panic, I looked around the room, then grabbed the drawing of the dragons from off the wall and folded it and slipped it into my pocket and pulled on my sweatshirt, then ran out the door with my phone and keys.

I made my way to his dorm building with purpose and direction, not taking notice now that the sun had already set. Campus after dark, and I was walking alone. Allowing the street lights to illuminate my path ahead of me, I looked for his hall.

"Well, look at this. Are you alone, new girl?" A voice hissed behind me and I froze in place. I was right outside of his hall now. At the steps. If I screamed....

I turned around slowly to find a group of four big guys. I recognized one as the one who jeered at Sam the most. The one Haven liked to try and beat up all the time.

"What do you want?" I growled, giving them a look of disgust.

"To teach you a lesson for siding with that monster, of course, you bitch." The guy at the front said and cracked his knuckles. "How fast can you run? Hopefully faster now than you did during capture the flag when you almost died."

I feared for my life now.

I looked back at the hall, then took off away from it at a sprint, and screamed,

"Sam! Help!"

And I hoped beyond hope and reason that he would hear and that he would come.