~Callie's Point of View~

Song: "Bad Liar" by Imagine Dragons

*****

"What was that all about in class today, Callie? You want the school to hate you? Why were you defending him?" Leland asked at lunch that afternoon.

I picked at my salad and merely replied, "It's bullying. It doesn't matter who he is. I think it's bullshit, so I called it out."

"Yeah, but, don't you know who he is? What he's done? Defending him like that's going to have consequences, Callie." Anna said, looking concerned. Aaron sat next to her silently, but seemed to agree.

"You could get hurt. And I don't want that." Brandon said gently, fingers squeezing mine.

I looked at him and smiled gently and kissed his cheek. "It's ok. I'll be ok. I'm not afraid of him."

"Girl, you should be." Leland said with a raised eyebrow. He pointed his fork at me which was loaded with lettuce and said, "He's no good. We're telling you this not to be mean or bullies like you seem to think, but he's killed people."

"Yeah. So have you. And you. And you. And you." I pointed to Leland, Gabby, Aaron, and Brandon. "I know who each of you are in the books, so don't go preaching about murder when you've all done it, too."

"War is different, Callie." Aaron says carefully, his fist clenching.

"Mhm. So is running from your responsibilities, I guess." I said plainly and Aaron's jaw clenched, a scowl crossing his face. "Apparently it's rude to say your real names, but I'm not sure I care at the moment."

"Callie you're being ridiculous. We're trying to protect you, and-" Anna began but I interrupted her.

"Why do you hate him so much? And a valid reason other than he's the son of the Dark Lord." I said angrily.

Anna's jaw clenched, her eyes watering as she said, "He killed my brothers. Last year. In front of me. He tortured Leland's father and he still isn't recovered. He attacked Brandon's brother and hurt him, too. And he's living with Saruman and that man has done far worse. He's not someone you want to get close to, Callie, and I don't know what else to say to you about that. He deserves every piece of scorn he's getting. He's a murderer and a coward."

I stiffened and looked at Leland and Brandon. "I...had no idea..." I breathed. I leaned into Brandon and wrapped my arms around his waist. He merely kissed my head and said,

"It's ok. My brother is healed now and safe."

"My father is healed as well, but...not in the mind." Leland said softly. Gabby rested a hand on his shoulder.

I shook my head, not finding it in me to believe them. Brandon stroked some hair from my face. "Hey. We didn't want to scare you, that's all. You'll be safe with us."

"I feel like the longer I'm here, the less I know." I sighed and turned and kissed Brandon's cheek and said, "I'm going to head back to my dorm. I'm tired and need to lay down for a bit."

"Ok. Whatever you need." Brandon said and offered me a small smile, squeezing my hand as I stood.

I stood and took care of my cup and plate at the dish room and headed outside. I shivered a little in the cold autumn air and wrapped my jacket around me a little tighter. It may not snow and the leaves may not change here, but it still got a little cold in California. I got back to my room and closed the door behind me and walked over to my desk and sat down, putting on my headphones and pulling out my drawing things.

Then, my phone buzzed.

An unknown number came up with the words, Why did you do that?

Who is this? I messaged back.

You know who this is

I sighed heavily. No. I don't.

It's Samuel. You gave me your number. Remember?

I scowled and typed back, Oh yeah. And told you to text me when you felt better. So do you?

A few text bubbles came up and disappeared as he began to type back. Finally, he replied, I'm fine. What I want to know is why you felt the need to stand up and defend me like that today.

Because you seemed to need it.

I don't need you to stick up for me, Callie. You just put a target on your back by doing that today.

A flash of anger flared in my chest. What do you care? You told me we weren't friends. Chased me away.

I care because now you might get hurt. And it will be my fault.

I faltered in my next reply and stared at the message with mouth hanging open.

Did you only text me to tell me you cared about me? I asked and waited for his reply.

It didn't come.

I saved his number and went back to my art when all of a sudden a rock hit my window.

I stood and walked over to the window and looked down.

Leland was standing there, bouncing a stone in his palm and looking up at me. Confused, and having expected Samuel, I opened the window and leaned out.

"Can I help you?" I called down.

"Yeah, actually. Do you play capture the flag? I need to even out the teams. Or are you still resting?" He grinned up at me and I sighed heavily.

"Be right down." I grumbled and closed the window.

I changed into jeans, sneakers, and pulled on a jacket over my red flannel. I pulled my ponytail into a baseball hat and slipped my phone into my pocket with the room key and headed outside.

Leland grinned ear to ear and said, "Great! Let's head to the woods."

"The woods? I thought we couldn't go in there."

"At night, no. The beasts are nocturnal, don't worry. And besides, we'll have weapons."

I stared at him as if he had two heads. "What?"

"Uh, yeah." He says as if that was the most logical thing. "How else would it be played?" He asked as he tied his long blond hair into a bun.

"With jerseys of two colors, and a game of tag?" I said and raised an eyebrow. "Please explain to me what the hell capture the flag with weapons is."

He chuckled. "It's capture the flag, but there's two armies. There's the offensive, the defensive, and the spies. The offensive keeps the enemy group from getting to their flag. The defensive is a group that stands around the flag guarding it. And the spies? They wear dark clothing and are usually good climbers and very fast. They cross the boarder and to the other team's side to clear a way for the offensive to try and get in."

"That sounds... fun, actually. Are we assigned our parts? Because I'm really good at climbing. I took rock climbing lessons and I am also pretty small. And not everyone knows me yet."

Leland pursed his lips. "Hm. That is a good point. Just tell me... do you have any abilities?"

"Other than climbing, being able to run really fast, and being quiet? I don't think so." I say as I walk into the woods with him.

He turned and helped me step over a particularly big log and said, "That's not what I meant, but that's good. Just know you'll probably see some weird things. There's only one rule with this game, and that's no killing. Also, there's one more thing I think you should know. We take on the forms of who we were in Middle Earth. The woods do that. They serve as a one-way portal. So you might be surprised at some of the things you see."

As he was speaking, his round ears began to stretch out into a point and his blue eyes looked sharper.

I grinned. "And am I allowed to call you Legolas now?"

He grinned back at me and said, "Sure. But only if I can call you Tolkien."

I laughed. "I don't really care. It's a cool nickname."

He ruffled my hair and chuckled. "Then it's yours."

We arrived at the clearing and I almost had a heart attack.

Standing in two marked groups were people I had only ever dreamed of seeing. Elves, dwarves, and men alike were all gathered on one side talking.

On the other side, humans and...orcs. I picked out Haven standing next to a girl with black hair. She had kissed Samuel. He also didn't seem to like her at all and always looked really uncomfortable around her. I wondered if he would join the game.

Leland- Legolas- led me over to a familiar group. Aaron stood talking with Brandon and Anna. Aragorn, Boromir, and Arwen. The names flashed across my mind's eye.

"Ha-ha! The lass is here!" A gruff voice boomed to my right and I looked down to see a stout red-haired dwarf standing before me, hands on her hips and a full red beard.

"I-Gabby?!" I exclaimed in confusion.

She let out a boisterous laugh. "Indeed, lass. It's funny, eh?"

I gave her the best smile I could muster and said, "I guess so. In my great-grandfather's books, you were Gimli- a, uh, male."

She laughed even harder than that. "That Tolkien was a crazy one. Dwarf women have beards, too!"

They all wore clothes from Middle Earth, but I remained in my modern ones.

Brandon was grinning at me, hands on his hips. He was possibly one of the only ones that hadn't changed as much. I smiled back and walked over to him and he took my hands in his gloved ones and kissed them both.

"Hello, Miss Tolkien." He said with a wink.

"Hello, Boromir of Gondor." I replied with my own sly smirk.

He leaned in closer and kissed me. I rested my hands on his face and he wrapped his arms around my waist.

I pulled away first and rested my forehead on his and I tugged at the straps of his armor and said,

"You look like a knight."

He grinned. "I'd hope so. I am a lord's son."

I wrinkled my nose. "No offense, but Denethor's an asshole."

He laughed, crinkles forming near his eyes and he kissed my cheek. "None taken."

I smiled at the joy in his expression. They all looked truly happy here.

A hand fell to my shoulder and I looked up to see Aaron- Aragorn- smiling at me. Anna... Arwen held his arm. 

This was the real-life Fellowship. I wondered where the hobbits were, and where the Ring would play into this Fellowship.

The clearing suddenly went silent as a figure approached them and stopped in front of our group.

There was a sword at their waist, and dark armor glinted under a black cloak. The hood was pulled back to reveal Samuel.

I searched my mind for his real name. What had that necromancer called him?

Boromir pulled me into his side as Aragorn said, "So you are playing, then, Baldor?"

Baldor. His gray eyes flicked to Aragorn, then he said, "Why not? There's no rule against me playing, is there?"

The others shifted nervously.

"Not that I'm aware of. And if there is, well, you might want to rethink the rules. There are ugly-ass orcs over there." I said seriously, speaking up.

The orcs growled and Baldor glared daggers at me, but I meet his glare with one of my own.

The orcs on the other side all began to snarl and wave their weapons at me, the girl pushing them back. Haven, however, was grinning at me and began to laugh.

"You, Miss Tolkien, are very funny." He said as he stepped forward, the orcs stepping aside.

"I've been called the class clown before." I say and cross my arms over my chest and raise an eyebrow. "But I know who each and every one of you are. Your stories. Your pasts. There's very few things my great-grandfather's gotten wrong so far. I'm not afraid of Baldor."

"Well, maybe you should be." Baldor hissed, gray eyes flashing red and I froze.

Boromir pulled me back and Aragorn side-stepped in front of me. "Leave her alone." He snarled.

Baldor gave a wicked grin. "You never know what happens in a game of capture the flag."