A Light From the Shadows Shall Spring

When dawn broke, I immediately woke up. I inhaled sharply and jumped a little when I realized Strider was standing in front of me. He had an unreadable expression on his face and he held something out to me. I blinked a few times to clear my vision and sat up straight. He was holding some kind of cloth out for me and I reached up to grab it, my facial expression held my question as to what it was. He answered, "You'll need these for where we're going. Your clothes are torn and will only get in the way. There is a room you may use next door." There was an urgency in his voice, as if to say I needed to hurry, so I quickly got up and quietly thanked him. I ignored the throbbing in my leg as I went into the vacant room next door.

I changed quickly into the legging-like pants and green tunic that had a belt at the waist. I tied the belt put my boots back on. I saw that there was a basin in the room that was full of fresh water. I quickly washed my face and rinsed my mouth out, leaving the torn articles of clothing behind, but my shirt was still mostly intact, so I kept it. I ran a hand through my hair that had fallen out of my ponytail yesterday and hoped to goodness that it didn't look psychotic. When I got back to the room everyone else was up and I grabbed my still somewhat intact jacket and put it on over the tunic. Strider lead us out of the room and then outside onto the road that led out of town.

We followed the road for a short while and then Strider veered off, leading us into the forest. We all did our best to keep up with his ever quickening pace as we climbed higher and higher up into the mountains. I stayed at the back of the group so I wouldn't hold anyone up with my slower pace. I heard Frodo ask Strider something, but I didn't hear what was said. It was silent for a moment and then I heard Merry asking Frodo how we could be sure Strider was really a friend of Gandalf's.

Frodo answered, "I think a servant of the enemy would look fairer, and feel fouler." Merry retorted with, "He's foul enough." I looked ahead to Strider and it was obvious he had heard Merry, but had chosen not to acknowledge his words. "We have no choice but to trust him." Frodo said.

I had decided that I liked Frodo very much. He was the kind of person who gave everyone the benefit of the doubt, and that was a characteristic I could appreciate. I liked the others too, of course, but they were all very guarded. Although I had no room to talk in that department. I couldn't deny the fact that I was very skeptical of this entire thing, and the sooner I met this Gandalf, the better.

"Yeah, but where is he leading us?" Sam asked as he pulled the small pony we had acquired along. Without looking back Strider answered, "To Rivendell, Master Gamgee. To the house of Elrond." Sam looked at his companions in amazement. "Did you hear that? Rivendell!" he said. "We're going to see the Elves." Hearing this, my eyes went wide into shock. There were Elves here now too? I knew I shouldn't be surprised, but I was.

We walked though heavy rain and overflowing bogs, thick with insects that bit at our skin as if they had never had anything to eat in their lives. We trudged on until I felt as if I could't take a single step more. Finally, when night fell, we stopped and made camp. Strider had killed a deer and brought it back so Sam had enough provisions to make a decent soup, and that was our dinner. It was comforting to have something warm, and I made sure to compliment Sam on his fine cooking.

That night, I found it hard to sleep. I tossed and turned and tried to make my knee stop throbbing, but nothing I did was helping. Strider had not made an attempt to sleep, and it was apparent he didn't plan to. He sat up on a rock, taking watch. I made myself lay still and close my eyes, and tried to imagine being in my own bed. Suddenly, I heard Strider start humming. It was a beautiful melody and I found myself finally drifting off.

That night, I dreamed a Nazgûl had found us and had crept silently up to our camp. He lifted his sword above every one of the Hobbits and I lay there, frozen to the spot. Strider came and tried to fight it, but the Ringwraith was too strong for him and plunged its sword into his chest. I screamed out in horror and watched as he fell to the ground. Just as the tall, dark, menacing figure advanced towards me, I was suddenly ripped out of my dream and opened my eyes to see Pippin standing over me, a worried expression uncharacteristically placed upon his face.

"Are you alright, Cissy?" he asked quietly. "You were crying in your sleep." I brought a hand up to my face and found that I indeed had tears littered across my cheeks and I wiped them away, embarrassed. I smiled up at him and said, "I'm fine, Pippin. It was just a dream." He nodded and backed away so I could get up. I saw the others looking at me with worried expressions on their faces, but ignored them. I quickly packed up my things, not talking to anyone. I saw Strider begin to walk and I made to follow him, knowing he would most likely not ask about my dream. I was surprised to find that my knee felt better today, and I was able to stay a few paces behind Strider for most of the day.

Half way through the day the Hobbits needed a rest so we stopped for a few moments. I walked away from the group and found a good sized rock to sit on. I had been feeling increasingly sad these past few days. For some reason, I felt as if I would never get to see my family again. It wasn't a panicked thought, or a thought made in haste, but it was a truth that I knew deep down. There was some other force at work here that gave me this feeling, and somehow, I knew I probably wouldn't be leaving this place.

I was deep in thought when I heard someone walking towards me and I looked up quickly. It was Strider and I was surprised to see him looking at me in the same way he had the night he first spoke to me. He sat down on a rock across from me and studied me. I was growing uncomfortable under his gaze and shifted slightly.

"What is your name?" he asked quietly, and for the first time, I realized I had not ever properly introduced myself. I felt so embarrassed.

"Oh, how rude of me!" I started. "My name is Cecilia. Cecilia Farrow." I stuck out my hand for him to shake, and he did so lightly. "But you can call me Cissy if you want. Most people do." He smiled slightly and said, "Aragorn." I smiled at his real name and said, "It is nice to meet you, Aragorn."

I retracted my hand and sat back, unsure if he was going to say anything else. He looked away and then looked back to me and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Do you truly have no memory of this place?"

Once again, I was taken aback by his question. I didn't know how to respond, especially since I thought we had already had this conversation. "Look, Aragorn, I'm really sorry, but I've never been here before in my life. I think you've got me pegged for someone I'm not." I looked at him apologetically before I got up to leave. Aragorn didn't speak to me for the rest of the day and I couldn't help feeling as if he was upset with me, even though he had no reason to be.