An intricately designed, wrought-iron gate swings open for you as if you've been expected, which of course you were, and you pass into the exquisite gardens. Roses of every color climb the walls and grace the flower beds, mingling its scent with that of several other breeds of flowers and filling your nose with their pleasant aroma as you walk along the winding pathways. A grand castle looms overhead, but in spite of its size it's hardly asintimidating as it is entrancing and you continue on. Birds whistle in the trees around you and you just begin to notice that you are not alone in this enchanting location. A prince and his companion practice their swordplay off to the side, beautiful music drifts down from a tower room in the castle(played by none other than our beloved Erik, the Phantom of the Opera), pirates swing from ropes on their ship below, but you carefully mind your step and don't fall off the cliffs as you peer down into the bay, enchanters experiment with various magic "tricks" as they might call them, considering their feats as nothing particularly noteworthy, as we are prone to believe. Various characters from books and movies also grace your path, but you don't stop long because you know that you are expected further on. Somehow, your feet guide you to where you are supposed to be going, and you find quite unexpectedly a white gazebo laced with flowers perched atop several stone steps. Inside you see a young woman, quite intent on her reading(The Return of the King), her hazel eyes sparkle in delight and with the rays of the sun that is illuminating her little corner of the gazebo. Her long, curly, dark brown hair has been allowed to hang loose around her and all of a sudden they shift a little as her eyes meet yours, her mouth forming a wide smile.

"There you are!" She closes her book and heads straight towards you with a cup of tea, "please sit down and make yourself comfortable."

She sits down across from you, "why of course we've met! What on earth do you mean?" is her response to your statement. Then realization crosses her fair-skinned face, "Ah! You must forgive me, perhaps you have never met me. I know all about you though," her eyes twinkle with amusement, and you think for a fleeting moment that this woman is probably one who enjoys this sort of thing, that making mischief and having the upper hand however unwittingly would give her pleasure.

"Well then, perhaps I should enlighten you." She hands you a roll of parchment, sealed with red wax.

You unroll it and read the following:

Hello my friend! So good of you to drop by and take the time to read this. Here is a bit of information about me that may or may not interest you, but I will list it for your perusal. smiles

I was homeschooled most of my school career, but the last five years I attended a private school. I graduated highschool in June, 2005, and I am attending a community college for my general education before transferring to Christopher Newport University and spending a spring and summer at Oxford University with their foreign exchange program. That's the plan anyway. grins I plan on majoring in Drama and minoring in Creative Writing.

My hobbies include writing and reading, of course, riding, hanging out with my friends(including my best friend Kates _~), shopping, listening to/writing/singing/playing music, acting, sewing, going to the theatre, etc. I also love spending time at my church(I'm a strong Christian, if you hadn't guessed that by my e-mail address grins).

My music tastes vary; I like almost everything, but most of my music consists of soundtracks. Evanescence, Muse, Secret Garden, Sarah Brightman, Enya, Celtic Music, Loreena McKennitt and Josh Groban are also to be found among my collection, but of course, I have much more! Music is life...

I love to read, as I said before, so here are some of my favorite authors: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Liz Curtis Higgs. My favorite books include the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Pride and Prejudice, The Chronicles of Narnia, and the Thorn in my Heart series. My, how I've condensed this list!

I love theatre, so naturally I love Broadway. Some of my favorite musicals are The Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserables, My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls, Kiss Me Kate, Annie Get Your Gun, and many others of course!

My favorite movies include TheLord of the Rings, Batman Begins, Equilibrium, Chocolat, Beauty and theBeast, Sense and Sensibility, StarWars, Indiana Jones,Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Titanic, Star Trek: Nemesis, Little Women, The Phantom of the Opera, You've Got Mail, The Last of the Mohicans, The Matrix, The Patriot, The Chronicles of Riddick, Newsies, My Fair Lady and many more. I'm rather fond of movies...

I have an equally vast array of favorite actors, including Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Orlando Bloom, Robert Duvall, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, Keira Knightley, Monica Bellucci, Miranda Otto, Sean Bean, David Wenham, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Russell Crowe, Harrison Ford, Tom Hardy, Eric Bana, Mel Gibson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gerard Butler, Rose Byrne, Emmy Rossum, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Heath Ledger, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Caine, Jason Isaacs, Jude Law, Alan Rickman, David Thewlis, Ewan McGregor, Ioann Gruffud, Madeleine Stowe and, like the movie list, many more.

I also list my original stories on fictionpress.com under the same pen name, if you care to check out more of my writing. I also have the joy and honor of writing with Kates on a story called "The Storytellers", posted in a joint account with the penname Lady Kates and Lady Adrienne.

But listen to me gab on, that's not what you came here for at all is it? On with you then, peruse my stories to your heart's delight, and do leave me a review!

~The Dunadan