A Light From the Shadows Shall Spring

It was raining now and we were all quickly becoming soaked. I pulled my hood up, but it didn't help much. We peered through the trees to make sure there were no black riders anywhere in sight before we walked up to a rickety looking wooden wall. I stood back as Frodo knocked on the door and saw a small, square shaped door open above Frodo's head and then quickly close. A moment later another small, square shaped door opened, and this time it was at Frodo's eye level and was just big enough that I could see a man's face on the other side.

Frodo called out a few words to him and then the door opened. The only words I heard were, "We wish to stay at the inn. Our business is our own." The man ushered us in and mumbled something about having to ask because there were strange people coming around. He looked at me curiously as I passed him and I hurried to keep up with Frodo and the others.

I felt bad for the small men while they were walking in the street. Almost everyone came close to running them over, so I walked protectively in front of them when I could. Frodo peeked around me and pointed at something as he said, "There! The Prancing Pony." We made our way over to the door and I was happy to get out of the rain. My hair was soaked and I desperately needed a change of clothes. I was so mad that my bag had been lost.

Frodo went up to the man at the counter and began to speak with him. Looking around I saw that I was receiving some strange looks from a few people, but most people just turned and went back to minding their own business.

I continued to look around, catching little tidbits of Frodo's conversation with the man. He mentioned something about Hobbit-sized beds, and I wondered what a Hobbit was. Frodo then asked the man to tell Gandalf we'd arrived, and the man seemed confused. Then finally he said, "Oh! Gandalf! An elderly fellow? Big grey beard, pointy hat? I haven't seen him for six months."

My head snapped up to look at the man and then at Frodo, whose face fell immediately. He turned to Sam, Merry and Pippin and looked at them. Sam asked, "What do we do now?"

We ended up sitting at a table and I could tell the boys were nervous. Especially Frodo and Sam. I was getting nervous too. What would happen to me if this man never showed up? Who else could possibly tell me what was going on? I zoned out for a while, thinking about what the hell I was going to do. I had to find a way to get home. Or, at least back to New Zealand, if what Frodo said was true. I looked up from the table as Pippin got excited about something and ran off to the bar. Then I saw Sam point across the room and say to Frodo, "That fellow's done nothing but stare at you since we arrived." I followed his finger and glanced over to a dark corner of the room where a man sat, his face concealed by his hood. For a second, my heart jumped and I felt my stomach drop. Was that the man that had followed us on horseback? One of the black riders?

Frodo quickly got the attention of the man from the counter as he walked by with food in his hands. "Excuse me," he said politely, "That man in the corner. Who is he?" The man followed Frodo's gaze and then turned back and said darkly, "He's one of them Rangers. They're dangerous folk, wandering the Wilds. What his right name is, I've never heard, but 'round here he's known as Strider."

As the man quickly walked off, I turned my gaze back to Frodo and noticed him twirling a golden ring between his fingers. I stared at it for a second and suddenly felt strange. I felt like I wanted to grab the ring and throw it out the window. I didn't like looking at it. It made me feel very uneasy. Frodo's eyes began to close and he looked strange. From somewhere, maybe the ring, I heard a strange whispering, and then I heard Pippin begin to speak loudly about knowing a Baggins. Frodo Baggins.

Frodo looked up in alarm and quickly ran over to where Pippin was sitting at the bar. I followed him with my eyes, suddenly very alert. Frodo tried to pull Pippin away from the bar but tripped over someone's foot and fell backwards. As he fell on the floor, the ring he had been holding was tossed up into the air and I followed it with my eyes. Miraculously, Frodo caught it on his finger, but the second he did, he vanished. He was gone. Everyone in the bar gasped loudly and I felt my eyes go wide. Sam and Merry and I looked at each other in confusion. The whole bar was in a frenzy for a moment and the three of us stood up, looking around the tavern for Frodo. A few moments later, I saw him reappear across the room, closer to the man known as Strider. I grabbed Sam's arm and said, "Look!" He followed my gaze and we watched in horror as Strider grabbed Frodo and shoved him up the stairs.

Sam looked determined and said, "We've gotta go after him!" and ran up the stairs. Merry grabbed a three tiered candelabra and Pippin grabbed a chair, following Sam up the stairs. I quickly followed them, not knowing how I could possibly help.

Sam barged into a room and put his fists up to fight as he yelled, "Let him go! Or I'll have you, Longshanks!" I reached the room just as I saw the Ranger holstering his sword as he said, "You have a stout heart, little Hobbit. But that will not save you."

I entered the room and he looked up at me. His face fell into a perplexed gaze and was fixed on me for a moment. I began to get nervous. Why was he staring at me like that? He took a step towards me, and Sam, Merry, and Pippin tightened their ranks in front of me. I stared back at him and mystified, he said, "Lady Aegliriell? Is it possible?" I was taken aback and took a step away from him. I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head as I said, "I'm sorry... I think you're mistaken." He continued to stare at me, and it looked as if he was thinking hard. His face suddenly turned passive and he retracted saying, "Yes, I must be. You have my apologies." He then quickly turned to Frodo and said, "You can no longer wait for the wizard, Frodo. They're coming."

Strider quickly ushered all five of us out of the room and down the back stairs of the building, and across the road to another inn. He lead us up to the second floor and we stood silent for a moment. "You will stay here tonight." he said, and then went to sit by the window. I timidly shut the door behind me and noticed there was one big bed in the middle of the room. Merry, Pippin, and Sam all looked relieved at the sight of the beds, but Frodo went to sit across from Strider. I pulled down my hood for the first time that night and I felt Strider looking at me but chose to ignore it. I watched as Sam, Merry, and Pippin all walked towards the bed, obviously ready for sleep.

"You have my apologies yet again, miss," Strider began, still looking at me. "I did not know the Hobbits would be traveling with a lady in their company. I could arrange for another room for you to stay in if you'd like?" I quickly noticed he'd also called the men Hobbits, and committed the term to memory. I also noticed how incredibly old-fashioned he was being.

I shook my head, trying to force a smile onto my face. "Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I don't know that I'd be able to sleep now anyway. And I don't think the Hobbits expected to be traveling with me either." I looked to the four of them and managed to get a timidly grateful smile on my face, silently thanking them yet again. They smiled back and Strider looked away as I looked around for a chair to sit in. My knee was absolutely killing me now.

I found a chair behind the door and pulled it over to the opposite side of the door. I sat down gingerly and peeled off my soaking jacket, reaching over and hanging it on the door knob. I was wearing a black v-neck t-shirt underneath that was slightly baggy. Looking over myself I noticed I had scratches everywhere. But I had no time to fuss over those right now. I needed to look at my knee and assess the damage. I pulled up my pant leg and saw that my knee had swollen to twice the size it was supposed to be. Merry walked over to me and studied the off-colored flesh with me. "Will it be alright?" he asked quietly. I looked up and gave him a half smile. "I certainly hope so. It just needs to rest, I think. And so do you. Go get some sleep, Merry." He gave me a small smile and walked over to the bed, climbing in after Sam and Pippin. Frodo sat down on the edge of the bed, looking out the window.

The three Hobbits fell asleep quickly and Frodo laid at the edge of the bed, but he was obviously not asleep. Strider turned to look at me briefly, but again I ignored him and continued studying my knee. I poked and prodded to see where it hurt the most, trying to hold back my wincing.

Strider silently made his way over to me and kneeled down in front of me, studying my knee. He looked up at me and gestured to my knee, indicating he'd like to take a look at it. "May I?" he asked quietly, and I nodded, silently giving him the O.K.

He poked and prodded as I had and as I flinched every now and again he would look up apologetically. Eventually, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask, handing it up to me. "Drink this." he said quietly and I looked at him curiously. "Will this help it?" I asked in a voice barely above a whisper. He shrugged slightly and said, "Not necessarily. But it may help ease the pain. There is nothing I can do for you here, unfortunately." I gave him a confused look but opened the flask and took a drink anyway. I quickly felt the familiar burn of alcohol in my throat and winced, handing the flask back to him. "Yup," I cringed and choked out, "That is definitely whiskey alright. Thank you very much." He pocketed the flask and chuckled softly, getting back up to go look out of the window.

I propped my right leg up on a nightstand that was in the corner and felt myself slowly drift asleep. However, I was quickly woken when I heard the familiar screech of the black rider, except this screech was ten times as loud. As I sat up to look out the window, I saw Sam, Merry, and Pippin gasp awake and Frodo sat straight up, looking incredibly frightened. Strider was staring out the window, an unreadable expression on his face. I walked over to the window and stood behind Strider's chair as Frodo asked, "What are they?"

Strider looked at him, and then back out the window. The screeching continued. He said, "They were once men. Great Kings of men. Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question. One by one, falling into darkness. Now they are slaves to its will."

Down in the street below, I could see them, obviously furious that they had not been able to find what they were looking for.

Strider turned to look at Frodo and the the Hobbits. "They are the Nazgûl. Ringwraiths. Neither living nor dead." As he spoke, I felt a chill go up my spine. He continued, "At all times they feel the presence of the Ring. Drawn to the power of the One. They will never stop hunting you. "

Frodo looked absolutely mortified, and I suddenly realized that although I didn't know where I was, this was very real. There was no way anyone could make this up. Frodo it seemed, was being hunted for the ring that he carried. I didn't dare ask why, because it was none of my business and Frodo had not decided to tell me out of free will. I wondered what I was going to do. Would this Gandalf man ever show up here? Was Frodo going to go look for him? Was I welcome still to go along with them? Sighing, I went back to the chair and sat down, mulling everything over in my mind. I felt as if my brain were going to explode.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Frodo get up off the bed and go over to Strider and whisper something to him. For a moment, Strider did not respond to Frodo. And finally he said quietly, "Yes, it will be important for her to meet Gandalf. She must come with us." I knew instantly they were talking about me. I felt a small wave of relief wash over me. They were going to look for him and I was to come with. At least I had the answer to a few of my many questions now.