A Light from the Shadows

Merry awoke with a start in the bed, the coverlet sliding off him to his knees. The dawn was just starting to creep it’s fingers through the window. I opened one eye to look at him as the hobbit looked around the room, piecing together what had happened in the past few hours.

‘Good morning Master Merry,’ said Strider from his position by the window, a space he hadn’t moved from all night. Merry said nothing in response other than a short jerk of his head. Pippin and Sam were still asleep, but Frodo was sitting awake against the headboard.

‘You best wake the others,’ I said opening my other eye, ‘We’ll be leaving soon’

I hadn’t really been asleep, just resting my eyes. My ever sense had still been attuned to what was going on in the room.

‘What about you?’ asked Frodo looking at me, ‘You’re coming too?’

‘Yes, Master Frodo’ I said, ‘You’re with me for a while. After what happened last night, I think you could do with all the help you could get. Right now, however, I’m going to look about securing a pony. If we can help it, I don’t want to have to carry all this into the wild’

‘The wild?’ asked Merry looking nervous.

‘The best place to get lost in’ I said with what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

I heard Strider chuckle darkly in the corner. He had been traversing the wild for a lot longer than I had, and knew this country like the back of his hand. I was familiar with it, but apart from the other issues as to who he was, I would be taking his lead due to the superior knowledge he boasted. I got up off the floor and shook out my slightly stiff legs.

‘I’ll meet you in the stable yard presently’ I said to Strider as Merry shook Pippin awake. Strider said nothing but nodded curtly and for the first time in hours moved into action. I left the room, with my bow and arrows slung onto my back above my meagre pack. The scene in the bar was subdued and dark, compared to the merry scene from last night. Several tables had been upended and some cushions had been slashed. Barliman was in the corner, sweeping up broken glass. He saw me and hurried over.

‘Where are you going?’ he said

‘We’re leaving’ I said curtly, not wanting to divulge too much to the fat, over-friendly barman.

‘The hobbits are going with you, out there?’ he asked looking fearfully at the door as if he expected last night’s visitors to come sweeping back in.

‘Well would you rather they stayed with you?’ I asked testily, ‘Do you think you could protect them?’

‘But why do they need it?’ pressed the barman. I looked carefully into his eyes as he said this, looking for any hint of deceit, but then I shook myself, Barliman wouldn’t have it in him to deceive anyone.

I shrugged nonchantly and ignored his question, ‘Where might I go about procuring a horse?’
Barliman looked worried, ‘I don’t know, the stables have been thoroughly ransacked and all the horses escaped last night’

I had almost expected as much. It was unlikely that everything would still be in place this morning, ‘Well I’ll just have to go out in the town to see what I can find’

‘You’ll be lucky miss,’ said Barliman, ‘People know the horses are missing so they’ll be selling at huge prices’

I shrugged again, ‘I’ll see what I can find’. With that I left the bar and set out into the rain. I didn’t have long, Strider would be expecting me back before long. The streets of the town were potted with holes and I had to dodge as someone through a bucket of slop out of an upstairs window. In the end I had to walk almost to the edge of town to find someone who was willing to sell a horse at all, and then the one I got — from a dodgy looking southerner no less — looked as if it wouldn’t stand up to having much put on it’s back.

‘You better look after my Bill!’ said the man as I lead the horse away back towards the inn. I couldn’t help but think that anything would be better than leaving the poor beast with him. It seemed happier almost instantly as my hand softly stroked it’s face and I fished an apple out of my pocket to feed to it. The horse whickered affectionately after it had finished crunching on the delicious fruit.

I looked around in the street, it was fairly quiet at the moment, people were keeping themselves indoors after the events of the night. I suspected that once our party made it’s way out onto the street and towards the gates then we might have a few more spectators. Having our leaving go unnoticed was very improbable and I knew that there would be those about the town who would be talking to those who pursued us. Whether through fear, or through hope of lining their own pockets it was unknowable, but given the colourful nature of some of the occupants of the taproom last night I could have a good guess.

I turned as I heard the door to the yard open and the four hobbits and Strider spilled out. The hobbits were carrying their packs in their arms. As soon as he saw the pony Sam gave a little cry of joy and hastened forward to stroke the beast’s nose. I don’t think the animal had ever been given so much love and attention in one morning, and it immediately puts its head towards the blonde hobbit. Sam was the one who seemed to be in charge of distributing the weight across the pony’s back and I noticed he was being exceedingly kind. He left some of the heavier items off for himself to carry.

‘Let’s move out’ said Strider glancing around where we were slowly being surrounded by nosy onlookers. I hitched my weapons further onto my shoulder, my bow slung across my back with the quiver, my sword at my hip. My belongs were tied into a small bundle sitting at the base of my quiver. I was travelling light, as always. Strider took the front of the group, as the one who would be leading us across the wild, so I naturally fell in at the back. The hobbits were in between us, Merry and Pippin side by side, Sam behind them with the pony. Frodo was up the front, just behind Strider’s cloak hem. He was keeping his eyes forward and tried to ignore the curious stares of those lining the streets.

The gates of Bree slipped past and I could see and smell the wild in front of us. It felt like freedom. Or at least it would have done if I didn’t know what was out there. I spotted a leering man over the hedge of one of the properties on the outskirts of the town. He spat and before I could stop him, Sam had lobbed the apple core he was holding in the direction of the face. I heard an exclamation as it made contact and Sam chuckled to himself. It matched the smile that graced my own face. He had grit.

‘Where are you taking us?’ asked Merry

‘Into the wild’ replied Strider from the front, repeating what he had said earlier, his voice drifting back.

Between here and Rivendell was leagues of empty space. Marshes and swamps, rocky outcrops and open grasslands. Not many places to hide if pursuers were to find us. That was the reason why Strider was aiming to take us off the road. Horses would find it difficult or impossible to follow the paths we were going to take.

I couldn’t help but feel my spirits lift slightly as we headed off the road, once we were out of sight of the town. I could feel the breeze on the back of my neck, and smell the water of the brook running alongside us. Soon that water would turn stagnant and we would head for the marshes. I grimaced at the thought of the midgewater marshes. I’d been through this area before and been bitten half to death. I wasn’t relishing the necessity of doing it again.

I strode up to walk alongside Sam, who looked like he was lost in his own little world. He looked over his shoulder as I approached, his blonde hair falling in his eyes somewhat.

‘Missus’ he said gruffly, clearly not sure as to how he should address me. I suppressed a giggle.

‘Nara will do just fine Master Samwise’ I said.

‘It’s Sam’ he said, ‘The only person who calls me Master Samwise is Master Bilbo, or my old Gaffer if I’m really in a pickle’

‘Sam it is then’ I said, letting a comfortable silence embrace us.

I saw Sam glance sideways at me again, a quick glance that wasn’t supposed to be observed by me.

‘You’re not used to seeing women acting like men are you Sam?’ I said.

Sam shook his head, ‘In the Shire some of the young hobbits lasses will wear breeks until their older, but then it’s to dresses. To see one as you in breeks…’

I smiled, trying to imagine doing what I did in dresses. The trousers I was wearing at the moment were of soft material, meant for long hours walking, but I was wearing leather close-fitting chaps as well, to help keep them more waterproof, something I would need once we reached the marshes. Whilst it was still early autumn, there was nothing more miserable than being wet at night and having to suffer through ‘til the cold dawn.

‘I don’t think I’ve worn a dress in years’ I mused.

‘You might have reason to when we reach Rivendell’ came Strider’s voice from the front. Clearly he was listening to our conversation.

‘How did he hear that?’ asked Sam, amazed.

‘Rangers’ was the only explanation I offered with a shrug. In light of a Strider’s comment, I actually wouldn’t mind having an occasion to not wear my breeks or some other form of leggings. As I said, I hadn’t had occasion to wear a dress for many years. In fact the last time was when the man at the front had come to the north, some four years previously. Us northmen had little reason to celebrate or frolic.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I nearly walked into Pippin, who had come to a halt beside Sam and Merry who had also stopped. They were fiddling around with the straps on the packs that Bill the pony was carrying. Strider turned to watch them from the front after realising they had stopped.

‘What are you doing? We do not stop till nightfall’ he asked bemused.

‘What about breakfast?’ asked Pippin. Strider and I shared a glance.

‘You’ve already had it?’ I asked.

‘We’ve had one yes,’ said Pippin, ‘What about second breakfast?’

I had heard something of the eating habits of hobbits, but seeing it before me was something new entirely. Strider’s frown deepened a little, but not in a look of anger, just of puzzlement. He heaved his pack further up his shoulder and disappeared over the crest of a small hill.

‘Don’t think he knows about second breakfast Pip,’ I heard Merry say to his companion. Pippin looked positively aghast at the prospect, before being hit by a large apple that had just come flying back over the crest of the hill. I neatly dodged a second one which again hit Pippin in the face. I laughed as he looked skyward, holding the apples.

That night we made camp on the very edge of the midgewater marshes. I had seen them stretching out in front of us as the dark had fallen, the incessant clouds of insects gathering above them. Tomorrow would not be an enjoyable day, or the day after, and that was if we made good time through the bogs.

I found a large rock which to build a fire next to, so it didn’t cast too much light into the surrounding area. I leant Strider a few of my arrows so he could go and hunt something for us to eat. I could have done it myself but he insisted on going to scope out the surrounding area. He came back about an hour later with a deer slung across his shoulders. I was about to say something about transportability of such a thing, but then realised that there were six of us to feed, four of whom were hobbits who had already shown their capacity for eating large amounts. Sure enough when the deer was skinned and cooked, the hobbits managed to polish off most of it, with only a few cooked leftovers being available tomorrow.

After dinner I watched as the hobbits drifted off to sleep. Strider had said he would take the first watch, but I didn’t feel remotely sleepy so I joined him, back against a tree whilst he sat on a fallen log. We were a few metres away from the sleeping hobbits, but I was keeping a close ear to the surroundings. We hadn’t heard or felt the Nazgul all day. It seemed as if they had scattered to the winds after the attack on Bree.

‘It’s been a long time since I was in these lands’ I said softly to him.

‘You have been here before?’ he asked.

I nodded, ‘I came down with some of the men when Elrond called the meeting about the goblins in the mountains’

Strider nodded, he hadn’t been present at that meeting, being away in the east of the world at the time, but he knew what had happened.

‘Was that your last time at Rivendell as well?’ he asked.

‘Yes’ I said, ‘Some ten years ago’

‘Mmm’ he said.

‘Have you been back?’ I asked, my ears pricking up as I heard the cracking of a twig nearby. It turned out to just be a badger, who slunk by in the near darkness.

Strider lifted one shoulder in an apologetic shrug, ‘It’s one of the only two places I can call home. If I have one.’

‘Of course you have one’ I said, stung, ‘The north will always welcome you’

Strider nodded, ‘I know’

I said nothing, but pushed back at the sleeve of my green jacket to rub some dirt off my hand and wrist. I noticed that Strider’s eyes followed the gesture, taking in the surprisingly fine bones of my wrist and the slenderness of my arm. My skin was tanned from being outside so often. I shook the sleeve back down.

‘It’s also her though, isn’t it?’ I asked gently. Strider said nothing, but merely nodded his head. He wasn’t one to discuss his personal feelings at length, even to a kinsman and friend. That did not matter. I knew the depth of feeling he held for the woman at Rivendell and she for him. I shifted my legs, my feet making no noise on the ground.

Suddenly Strider’s warm hand enclosed around my ankle, almost making me jump. He was staring off into the darkness to the left. I followed his gaze and I saw it too, just off in the shadows was what looked like a mass of black clothing on the floor. I could hear ragged breathing, almost as if it was sniffing for something. Neither Strider or I moved, but every muscles in our bodies was as tense as a bow string, waiting to leap into action if needs be. After a few moments the shape withdrew.

‘Now they know we’re with them’ said Strider, his hand not moving from my ankle. I was intensely aware of the way his long fingers were curled around it, until they were almost touching.

A moment later he removed his hand, ‘You should try and get some sleep Nara. They won’t try anything tonight. Not unprepared, knowing we’re here’

I nodded, knowing that whatever sleep I did get would be fitful. Until we reached Rivendell I suspected that I would be sleeping with one eye open.