A Mistake

The river took the exhausted group to Bree, where they abandoned the raft for land.

They made their way up the small town, and Raina whispered for the Hobbits to put their hoods up before she knocked on the gate.

“What do you want?” the gatekeeper asked.

“My siblings and I would wish to stay at the Prancing Pony Inn.”

“What is your business here?” he asked harshly. Raina shrank back in pretend hurt, but the gatekeeper fell for it.

“Oh, come in, come it. It’s my job to ask questions, you know.”

Raina nodded and shepherded the Hobbits in through the gate and to the Inn, where they checked in and sat for a few drinks.

The group sat huddled together as Pippin made his way to the bar to get a pint of beer. Raina laughed at his astonishment that beer came in pints (for Hobbits become intoxicated rather easily, so it is served in smaller serving for them).

Raina sat with her head low, listening to what she could gather from the gossiping men at the bar. Nothing particularly interesting…

“Gandalf will be here, Sam. He’ll get here,” Frodo said, but Raina was starting to wonder. Would he really? It was getting late that night, and the five of them were late, so Gandalf should have gotten there at least two days ago, and…

“That fellow over there has done nothing but stare at you, Mr. Frodo,” Sam said solemnly, and Raina’s head snapped up to look at the man Sam was gesturing to.

“A ranger,” Raina said, resuming her position with her hood raised high enough that no one could see her face, much less tell she was a woman. “Strider’s his name.”

“How do you know?” Sam said, as he and Pippin leaned in.

Raina leaned back. “I have incredible hearing,” she said, dodging the question. She looked up to see the two Hobbits were still watching her.

“Do you not know, Sam?” she said quietly, lowering her hood. After he shook his head, she brushed her hair behind her ears. “I’m not what you think I am.”

Merry gasped.

“All this time… we just thought you had deformed ears…”

“But you’re Half-Elven!” Sam gasped, putting two and two together. “That would explain…”

“A lot,” Merry finished, setting his beer down in revelation.

Raina brushed the skin clumped on top of her ears, which looked as if it couldn’t decide where it should go, with the end result that the tops of her ears looked as if they had been boxed when she was a small child. Instead, it was because the Elf gene for long, pointed ears was mixed with the human gene for average ears, and ended up a mess. But nonetheless, Raina had the amazing hearing of an elf. It was as if her ears were giving her the gift of supernatural hearing as an apology for being so ugly.

“But… why are you growing the same as us? Where’s your necklace?” Merry asked, still not satisfied with the information he was given.

Raina shrugged, her hand reaching slowly into her pocket. “Never liked wearing it, and I am mortal without it.” In her pocket, her fingers brushed the familiar metal, although it was true that she had never placed Lóestel, her Elvenstar pendant, on, but she carried it with her most everywhere.

Sam made a noise of thought. “You really do fit in at the Shire. If you were our height you could pass for a Hobbit, what with your hair.”

Raina smiled, running her fingers through her very curly brown hair. The one thing that she really liked about herself was her hair, which was practically identical to the beautiful hair of the Hobbit girls.

“Thanks. But back to Strider. He seems to be a hot topic of discussion tonight,” Raina said, glancing around the small bar.

“…Baggins!” Raina heard Pippin finish from her seat across the bar. He turned and pointed at our table. "He's my second cousin, once removed on his mother's side, and my third cousin twice removed on his father's side, if you follow me."

“Oh God!” Raina moaned as Frodo leapt up.

“Pippin!” he called, catching the fool by his coat.

“Steady on, Frodo!” Pippin said, just as Frodo slipped on someone’s foot.

Raina jumped up watching as the Ring flew up and out of Frodo’s grasp. Her gaze darted to Strider, who was watching with an eerie interest. As the fell, Raina directed her attention back to Frodo, as the ring slid right onto his finger, and he disappeared.

Raina jumped up, as did Strider. She dashed to where Frodo disappeared, knowing she had to get here before the Ranger did. But Strider was closer, and snatched Frodo up as soon as he reappeared.

Raina groaned inwardly as she sank back into he shadows, hear heart thumping in her chest. She was going to go after him, she thought with a shaky sight. Never before this adventure had so much been asked of Raina, and she was terrified. The Ranger’s gaze slid right past her, and he began to climb the steps to the hotel part of the bar.

She slipped past the men and onto the stairs, following the sound of hurried footsteps and soon the slam of a door.

The girl stood outside the door that had slammed moments before. She pressed her ear to the door, but all she cold hear was muffled voices. The wood must have been thick.

She slid her knife out of her boot once more that night her hands shaking in fright, and brought it up to her face before kicking the door in with all her strength. Fortunately, the door was unlocked; otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to break in.

Strider was towering over her in a moment blocking her view from the room inside.

“How?” he asked softly. “No man should be able to creep up on me.”

Raina pulled back her hood, her curly light brown locks falling down her face. “One, I am no man. Two, you must have been distracted. What have you done to Frodo?”

Strider let out a laugh, and moved out of the way for Raina to enter the small room. She let out her held breath, and moved in. She tried to keep a straight face, but she could not help her fingers twitching every so often from fear.

“You have brave friends, Mr. Baggins,” Strider said to Frodo as Raina sat down on the bed next to him.

Before anything more could be said, Sam, Merry, and Pippin burst through the door once more. Strider obviously wasn’t expecting them, as he drew his sword to meet their faces.

"Let him go! Or I'll have you, Longshanks!"

Strider laughed and shook his head once more. “I take back what I said, Mr. Baggins. You’re friends are rather determined as well as brave.” And he let the three Hobbits in as well.

He then turned serious as he looked upon the group of five. “You can no longer wait for the wizard Frodo. They're coming."