A/N: I do not own any of Tolkien's characters....The Fellowship of the Ring, Middle Earth, Bree, or anything else including The Lord of the Rings. The only things I own is the new girl/rider.

A/N: This is my first actual fanfiction I've bothered writing down, however, I do daydream a lot and all of those are fanfictions. I've read all the books, although it was along time ago, so sorry if I forget something. If seen the movie, too...

I want to become and author someday, so I hope you enjoy this. I tried getting into the Tolkien-type writing, but sadly, I feel as though my own style comes out more. Ah well, let the fun begin! Please R/R...all suggestions/comments/etc. welcome!

Oh yes, the poems/songs in front of every chapter are mine unless otherwise noted. The beginning of this one: Even one star shines/In the darkest night has been in my head for days, I don't know whether I made it up or if I found it on the internet somewhere. So if someone else made it up before me, they own it. The Anorïa,Anorïa poem IS mine. Thankies!

Oh, yeah...one more thing....this story takes place two years after the Lord of the Rings trilogy!









Chapter I: The Coming



Even one star shines
In the darkest night.

Anorïa, Anorïa,
Even the Sun now cries for
Your return.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The night crept upon Bree, slowly turning the sweet orange-filled sunset into pure darkness. The gates outside of Bree stood locked and watched, silent barriers for whatever evil had started to brew in Mordor again. Nothing moved in the still night, yet the presence of Mordor could now be felt again. For two years Middle Earth had been free, two years which Middle Earth had prospered.

The day, oh the day...in the day everything seemed such at ease. For so many, especially Hobbits, the night's worries did not frighten them. Nothing threatened during the day, and during the night they slept. So the presence went unnoticed.

The wind blew, bringing a new sound with it. A horse's gallop. Seconds later a black horse with a black-cloaked rider came riding up to Bree's gates. The rider gracefully jumped off the horse's back, holding the reins in its left hand, and rapped lightly on the gate. A minute passed, and the rider waited patiently. It knocked again, yet slightly harder this time. The gate's window slid open and an old man looked hesitantly out.

"State your name and business..." The man gasped as he noticed he was talking to a rider dressed in black. He stepped back and slammed the window shut. The gate's extra locks could be heard being put into place.

The rider, seemingly annoyed, finally spoke. The voice that came from it was a strange, fair voice of a maiden...almost elvish. Yet it had too much dryness and sarcasm...the owner of it, the rider, it seems had seen her fair share of harsh times.

"Open the gate, Baret, old man! I come only to seek a friend at the Prancing Pony, then shall be on my way. And if I were a Black Rider, the gate would not stop me."

The locks could be heard being taken off once again, and the window slide open one more.

"The Prancing Pony? And then you'll be off? Very well, then...it's just the night that makes me so skittish."

The old man, Baret, opened the gate and the rider walked through with her steed, only nodding slightly at the man.

Bree was a strange sight to behold at night, for no longer was it full of people drinking and laughing, singing and dancing, and trying to get back to their homes. No, there was not a single soul out on the street...even the drunkards were in their beds trying to sleep away the forewarnings the night gave. The girl's light footsteps barely made a sound as she walked throughout the town. As she came to the Prancing Pony, she left her steed outside to wait for her.

The inside of the Prancing Pony was slightly more friendly than the streets...with low lights, and a few people here and there drinking or playing cards. The rider looked around, and spying another dark-looking figure by the window, started to approach it. The figure had been facing the window, yet when the girl approached it, it turned around, already knowing the girl had come.

"So, you did trust the message I sent to you," the figure spoke. The voice was female, yet deeper and rougher than the other girl's. It spoke of evils the world knew not of, could never know of, and worry for the future.

"I could not see of any reason to doubt it," replied the rider.

A chuckle came from the other figure. "Always doubt, always doubt..." She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts for a second, then came back quickly. "Have you noticed the night?"

The rider nodded. "Indeed I have."

"And do you not worry?"

"I worry, Sai'an.* I worry. Yet I know not of its origins, though I have a notion."

At that moment, the candle by the pair went out, leaving both of them in darkness. The figure beside the window looked around in suspicion, almost as though someone could be listening. She shook her head and motioned the rider to follow her outside.

Outside, the figure looked up at the stars, seeming as though she were looking for a sign. "There is no other explanation," she said, looking back down at the rider.

"But it does not make sense for it to appear so suddenly."

"In times like these, Ra'si** sense is not what you must rely on."

A harsh wind blew, making the rider draw her cloak even closer to her.

The figure whispered quickly and harshly. "Saroshder has come. Now we shall see Middle Earth's fate…Haste! This is the time you must go!"

With that, the rider jumped on her black horse and quickly rode out of Bree, knowing where her path would lead her.
Behind her, the wind's whispery voice followed her. "Middle Earth...you must go...Saroshder...the fate..."



*Sai'an: 'Elder', 'Wise One'
** Ra'si: 'Little One'