The night was rainy and half the men in Bree had turned out in the Prancing Pony. A side room, smaller, but better lit than the main area, had been closed off, awaiting the arrival of its occupants. Gandalf had requested they meet in private.
Four hobbits came in the door, soaking wet from the continuing downpour. I sat on a high stool, next to the door. Underhill, one claimed was his name. But no, it was Frodo Baggins, and four companions, by the names of Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck. I hid my face behind my brunette hair. The innkeeper spoke to them, then they hesitantly sat at a small table, towards the back of the main room. Strider sat at the corner table, surrounded in darkness. He watched them, and the light from his pipe lent a sinister air to his presence.
Peregrin had given Frodo's real name, and Frodo had fell into the realm of the ring. I moved to another seat, across from the door of the private dining room, as Strider grabbed Frodo and took him upstairs. Pippin, Merry, and Sam ran after, carrying a chair, a candle, and brandishing their fists. I rose from my seat, and kindly said to the innkeeper, " A room please, next to the hobbits."
" Yes, miss," the mustached keeper said, " and here is your key." I climbed to the first landing, and walked to my room. I was next door to the hobbits. I listened all night, to the sound of conversation, to the rustling of the hobbits in their beds, but never grew tired. I could simply close my eyes and feel myself gaining energy. One could be walking and still be able to sleep, to a degree.
The morning dawned and passed, I staying in my room, then going downstairs to help the innkeeper. I exchanged my service for a place to rest. The hobbits remained in Bree, but word of Black Riders spread through Bree, until it reached The Prancing Pony. Strider hardly moved from his place in the always shadowed corner.
Night came, and with it another torrent of rain. The main area was crowded and now the private dining room was being put into service. A lone group of Elves had rode into Bree, just before the sky darkened for night. I hid behind my hood, wishing not to be seen by the comers. They disappeared into the dining room, joining the hobbits and Strider. Whispers could be heard, when I leaned forward in my seat. I, along with many of my people, possessed very precise eyesight, and acute hearing. When one of the hobbits came out, mistakenly leaving the door open and walking past me, I grabbed his arm.
" Master Pippin, keep your mouth shut and eyes open," I whispered. I brushed him gently aside, and lowered my head as I walked into the dining room, taking Peregrin's seat. Merry looked at me, wide-eyed, from across the table. I sat next to Strider, knowing him only from brief conversation. When finished talking to the Elf visitors, he leaned over to me. I had my eyes fixed on Merry, who had visibly grown uneasy. His eyes darted from me, to Strider, then to the elves, and once and a while looking to Frodo or Sam.
" Why have you come, Maiden of the River-Glenne?" he asked. I lowered my hood, and Merry's eyes grew even wider. Pippin at last returned and laid a drink in front of Merry and himself. They must have been surprised indeed, to see an Elf-maiden in the midst of men and elven-wanderers. I stared at last into each of the eyes of the Mirkwood Lords. One, the prince by account, stared equally hard into my eyes. They contrasted his light cerulean blue ones, being of a dark, russet color.
" It matters not why I've come, but why I'm coming," I said. I stared into the greenish blue eyes of Aragorn, while I let the lengths of my cloak fall to the floor next to me. It revealed the pale green riding dress that was my normal garb.
" Lady, why is it that you wish to go, when it isn't even clear to us where our destination lies," Aragorn said, gesturing at the map placed in front of him. The paper was faded, and the writing hardly noticeable, but I knew the lands well.
" Prince Legolas and his companions will depart, and you and the hobbits will flee, after the Black Riders have come. You will depart for Rivendell, and the first safety of your trip." I had a keen disposition for reading the thoughts of people.
"Ae im tera, elye nar I Hiril Seraniel," the prince of Mirkwood said in Elvish. If I'm correct, you are the Lady Seraniel.
" Elye nar tera," I said. You are correct. The hobbits stared, and a confused look passed over their faces.
" You aren't coming," Legolas's companion, whose name had not yet reached my ears, said. I laughed, and all looked at me strangely.
" Sleep well tonight, Master Elf, for tomorrow you and your companions will ride in haste," I said, standing and speaking to the Elves. " And you, hobbits, take care of the pipes you so enjoyably smoke, for they will soon be your only comfort." I grabbed my cloak, pulled it over my shoulders, and then walked out, closing the door behind my back.
" Good day, Mr. Butterbur, I shan't need the comforts of this host any longer, at least in this year," I said, passing the innkeeper. I was walking to the stables, when I glanced over to the opposite side of the muddy, hole filled, rock strewn road. A large black figure returned to the shadows of a building. My horse, Dagetheld, tossed his head and neighed.
" Ride swift, to Imladris we ride," I whispered into his ear. Dagetheld, his charcoal mane flowing behind him, sometimes beating my face, raced from Bree, to the east and south. I was to warn Lord Elrond of the imposing threat. He too possessed an extraordinary gift for foresight. But I saw the near death of the ring bearer. The threat of the knife of the Witch King grew with each passing minute. The Elven riders would soon be leaving, for they would have by now sensed the presence of such an evil.
I had reached Weathertop, and was resting after riding over land and walking through marsh. I pulled a piece of Lembas bread from my pack, and started chewing the flaky, stale bread. I had taken a liking to the rich, mortal food of the people of Bree. I had kept the bread in my pack for nearly eight weeks while I had stayed at The Prancing Pony. I was sitting on the ledge of the southern tip of Weathertop, amid the ruins of the once large, watch tower. I peered down to where my horse was hidden in a small thicket of trees. Three white horses, each wearing a thin gray-blue saddle blanket, were tethered outside the copse. I jumped up and back, and ran into something. Two hands grabbed me around the mouth and around my stomach. I was fussing out of the person's arms, when the Prince of Mirkwood stepped in front of me.
" What do you think you're doing?" he asked, smiling. His companion, Eledorbren, let me go. Legolas and his other companion were blocking the passage from the crevice.
" I'm resting." I pushed past Legolas and the other, and made my way down, towards Dagetheld. Legolas, Eledorbren, and Norbidian, the other, followed me down. I had gotten up onto Dagetheld, when Legolas laid his hand on the horse's neck.
" It's too dangerous. Two of the Black Riders passed by us. They've probably reached the Ford by now," he said. His friends had mounted, and he was given the reigns to his horse.
" They are waiting for Frodo, not for some wandering rider," I said. Legolas mounted. I spurred on Dagetheld. He was swifter than the other three horses, owing to the fact that I was lighter. Legolas and his two companions remained at my heels until I decided to rest the next day, before dawn broke.
" We can out run them, for sure, but Frodo, Aragorn, and the other hobbits won't be able to," Legolas said. I sat, with my eyes closed, against the trunk of a large tree. The hood of my cloak shadowed my eyes as I rested. We were perhaps two days away from Rivendell, at our rate of travel.
" We'll send Glorfindel out to search for them when we reach Rivendell," Eledorbren said. ' There isn't enough time,' I thought to myself. My eyes flew open, and I stood up, unnoticed by Legolas, Eledorbren, and Norbidian. I pulled Dagetheld into the shadows of the trees and mounted him.
" Swift," I whispered, and he sprang off, through the woods, and at last arriving onto the road. He slowed where the Ford loomed in front of us. Everything was silent, and I could have sworn I heard a soft, eerie, hissing sound. I spurred him faster, and we leapt through the calm waters of the river.
I galloped into Rivendell, and left Dagetheld outside the central houses of Lord Elrond. I rushed inside, meeting Glorfindel in the main hall.
" Seraniel, what are you doing here?" he asked.
" You need to go to find the ring bearer; the Black Riders will find him and his companions. Where is Lord Elrond?"
" He is in the library, but I can't leave without his consent," Glorfindel said. I grabbed Glorfindel's hand and started off toward the library. When I arrived, Elrond stepped out from the doorway.
" Go, Glorfindel, ride in haste to Frodo, and let him ride your horse here," he said. Glorfindel bowed, then turned on his heels and left. Lord Elrond led me to a table, where we both sat in hard-backed chairs. I pulled off my cloak, which was dusty and slightly torn along the hem. I sighed as I sat back. I stared at the map of Middle Earth. I felt weary, and hungry, but knew I wouldn't find anything but the light, dry food of my Elven Kindred in Rivendell.
" Have you any need of sleep or food?"
" I am tired. And I haven't eaten in four days." Elrond called to his daughter, Lady Arwen, who was lying on a small sofa in the adjacent connected patio.
" Take her to a room and provide food and a draught." Arwen took my hand in hers, and led me out of the library. We walked into a long corridor, narrower than the main hall.
" Seraniel," she said. I looked at her. Her bright blue eyes seemed to have dimmed since the last time that I had saw her, nearly three years since. Her long, dark hair flowed behind her.
" Yes, M'Lady?"
" How is it that you can long only for the dust-ridden road, the rich food of the mortal peoples, and a clear sky? How is it that you never have fallen in love?" Her questions shocked me. She led me into a small room, with a single bed pushed against the wall. The bed pillows faced the large, stone pillars that ran around the out-facing wall.
" I know not, Lady Arwen. It could be that I have not met the right person." I couldn't describe how it felt to be the only Elf-maiden to have strayed from tradition.
" How will you know when you love someone, if you never stay in one place too long?" Arwen was trying to tell me something. I said, " Not to be rude, but why do you ask these questions, when you never have before?"
" If you go on the journey, which we all know will be starting here," she said, bringing me a tray of food, with a tall goblet of clear-looking drink, " you will be traveling with men, dwarves, and halflings. And it has reached my ears that Legolas of Mirkwood is going along, to defend the Ring bearer."
" Lady Arwen, there is nothing but friendship between I and any of the companions of Frodo," I said, and laid on the bed, after drinking the draught and eating a piece of lembas cake. Lady Arwen left, closing the door behind her.
Four hobbits came in the door, soaking wet from the continuing downpour. I sat on a high stool, next to the door. Underhill, one claimed was his name. But no, it was Frodo Baggins, and four companions, by the names of Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck. I hid my face behind my brunette hair. The innkeeper spoke to them, then they hesitantly sat at a small table, towards the back of the main room. Strider sat at the corner table, surrounded in darkness. He watched them, and the light from his pipe lent a sinister air to his presence.
Peregrin had given Frodo's real name, and Frodo had fell into the realm of the ring. I moved to another seat, across from the door of the private dining room, as Strider grabbed Frodo and took him upstairs. Pippin, Merry, and Sam ran after, carrying a chair, a candle, and brandishing their fists. I rose from my seat, and kindly said to the innkeeper, " A room please, next to the hobbits."
" Yes, miss," the mustached keeper said, " and here is your key." I climbed to the first landing, and walked to my room. I was next door to the hobbits. I listened all night, to the sound of conversation, to the rustling of the hobbits in their beds, but never grew tired. I could simply close my eyes and feel myself gaining energy. One could be walking and still be able to sleep, to a degree.
The morning dawned and passed, I staying in my room, then going downstairs to help the innkeeper. I exchanged my service for a place to rest. The hobbits remained in Bree, but word of Black Riders spread through Bree, until it reached The Prancing Pony. Strider hardly moved from his place in the always shadowed corner.
Night came, and with it another torrent of rain. The main area was crowded and now the private dining room was being put into service. A lone group of Elves had rode into Bree, just before the sky darkened for night. I hid behind my hood, wishing not to be seen by the comers. They disappeared into the dining room, joining the hobbits and Strider. Whispers could be heard, when I leaned forward in my seat. I, along with many of my people, possessed very precise eyesight, and acute hearing. When one of the hobbits came out, mistakenly leaving the door open and walking past me, I grabbed his arm.
" Master Pippin, keep your mouth shut and eyes open," I whispered. I brushed him gently aside, and lowered my head as I walked into the dining room, taking Peregrin's seat. Merry looked at me, wide-eyed, from across the table. I sat next to Strider, knowing him only from brief conversation. When finished talking to the Elf visitors, he leaned over to me. I had my eyes fixed on Merry, who had visibly grown uneasy. His eyes darted from me, to Strider, then to the elves, and once and a while looking to Frodo or Sam.
" Why have you come, Maiden of the River-Glenne?" he asked. I lowered my hood, and Merry's eyes grew even wider. Pippin at last returned and laid a drink in front of Merry and himself. They must have been surprised indeed, to see an Elf-maiden in the midst of men and elven-wanderers. I stared at last into each of the eyes of the Mirkwood Lords. One, the prince by account, stared equally hard into my eyes. They contrasted his light cerulean blue ones, being of a dark, russet color.
" It matters not why I've come, but why I'm coming," I said. I stared into the greenish blue eyes of Aragorn, while I let the lengths of my cloak fall to the floor next to me. It revealed the pale green riding dress that was my normal garb.
" Lady, why is it that you wish to go, when it isn't even clear to us where our destination lies," Aragorn said, gesturing at the map placed in front of him. The paper was faded, and the writing hardly noticeable, but I knew the lands well.
" Prince Legolas and his companions will depart, and you and the hobbits will flee, after the Black Riders have come. You will depart for Rivendell, and the first safety of your trip." I had a keen disposition for reading the thoughts of people.
"Ae im tera, elye nar I Hiril Seraniel," the prince of Mirkwood said in Elvish. If I'm correct, you are the Lady Seraniel.
" Elye nar tera," I said. You are correct. The hobbits stared, and a confused look passed over their faces.
" You aren't coming," Legolas's companion, whose name had not yet reached my ears, said. I laughed, and all looked at me strangely.
" Sleep well tonight, Master Elf, for tomorrow you and your companions will ride in haste," I said, standing and speaking to the Elves. " And you, hobbits, take care of the pipes you so enjoyably smoke, for they will soon be your only comfort." I grabbed my cloak, pulled it over my shoulders, and then walked out, closing the door behind my back.
" Good day, Mr. Butterbur, I shan't need the comforts of this host any longer, at least in this year," I said, passing the innkeeper. I was walking to the stables, when I glanced over to the opposite side of the muddy, hole filled, rock strewn road. A large black figure returned to the shadows of a building. My horse, Dagetheld, tossed his head and neighed.
" Ride swift, to Imladris we ride," I whispered into his ear. Dagetheld, his charcoal mane flowing behind him, sometimes beating my face, raced from Bree, to the east and south. I was to warn Lord Elrond of the imposing threat. He too possessed an extraordinary gift for foresight. But I saw the near death of the ring bearer. The threat of the knife of the Witch King grew with each passing minute. The Elven riders would soon be leaving, for they would have by now sensed the presence of such an evil.
I had reached Weathertop, and was resting after riding over land and walking through marsh. I pulled a piece of Lembas bread from my pack, and started chewing the flaky, stale bread. I had taken a liking to the rich, mortal food of the people of Bree. I had kept the bread in my pack for nearly eight weeks while I had stayed at The Prancing Pony. I was sitting on the ledge of the southern tip of Weathertop, amid the ruins of the once large, watch tower. I peered down to where my horse was hidden in a small thicket of trees. Three white horses, each wearing a thin gray-blue saddle blanket, were tethered outside the copse. I jumped up and back, and ran into something. Two hands grabbed me around the mouth and around my stomach. I was fussing out of the person's arms, when the Prince of Mirkwood stepped in front of me.
" What do you think you're doing?" he asked, smiling. His companion, Eledorbren, let me go. Legolas and his other companion were blocking the passage from the crevice.
" I'm resting." I pushed past Legolas and the other, and made my way down, towards Dagetheld. Legolas, Eledorbren, and Norbidian, the other, followed me down. I had gotten up onto Dagetheld, when Legolas laid his hand on the horse's neck.
" It's too dangerous. Two of the Black Riders passed by us. They've probably reached the Ford by now," he said. His friends had mounted, and he was given the reigns to his horse.
" They are waiting for Frodo, not for some wandering rider," I said. Legolas mounted. I spurred on Dagetheld. He was swifter than the other three horses, owing to the fact that I was lighter. Legolas and his two companions remained at my heels until I decided to rest the next day, before dawn broke.
" We can out run them, for sure, but Frodo, Aragorn, and the other hobbits won't be able to," Legolas said. I sat, with my eyes closed, against the trunk of a large tree. The hood of my cloak shadowed my eyes as I rested. We were perhaps two days away from Rivendell, at our rate of travel.
" We'll send Glorfindel out to search for them when we reach Rivendell," Eledorbren said. ' There isn't enough time,' I thought to myself. My eyes flew open, and I stood up, unnoticed by Legolas, Eledorbren, and Norbidian. I pulled Dagetheld into the shadows of the trees and mounted him.
" Swift," I whispered, and he sprang off, through the woods, and at last arriving onto the road. He slowed where the Ford loomed in front of us. Everything was silent, and I could have sworn I heard a soft, eerie, hissing sound. I spurred him faster, and we leapt through the calm waters of the river.
I galloped into Rivendell, and left Dagetheld outside the central houses of Lord Elrond. I rushed inside, meeting Glorfindel in the main hall.
" Seraniel, what are you doing here?" he asked.
" You need to go to find the ring bearer; the Black Riders will find him and his companions. Where is Lord Elrond?"
" He is in the library, but I can't leave without his consent," Glorfindel said. I grabbed Glorfindel's hand and started off toward the library. When I arrived, Elrond stepped out from the doorway.
" Go, Glorfindel, ride in haste to Frodo, and let him ride your horse here," he said. Glorfindel bowed, then turned on his heels and left. Lord Elrond led me to a table, where we both sat in hard-backed chairs. I pulled off my cloak, which was dusty and slightly torn along the hem. I sighed as I sat back. I stared at the map of Middle Earth. I felt weary, and hungry, but knew I wouldn't find anything but the light, dry food of my Elven Kindred in Rivendell.
" Have you any need of sleep or food?"
" I am tired. And I haven't eaten in four days." Elrond called to his daughter, Lady Arwen, who was lying on a small sofa in the adjacent connected patio.
" Take her to a room and provide food and a draught." Arwen took my hand in hers, and led me out of the library. We walked into a long corridor, narrower than the main hall.
" Seraniel," she said. I looked at her. Her bright blue eyes seemed to have dimmed since the last time that I had saw her, nearly three years since. Her long, dark hair flowed behind her.
" Yes, M'Lady?"
" How is it that you can long only for the dust-ridden road, the rich food of the mortal peoples, and a clear sky? How is it that you never have fallen in love?" Her questions shocked me. She led me into a small room, with a single bed pushed against the wall. The bed pillows faced the large, stone pillars that ran around the out-facing wall.
" I know not, Lady Arwen. It could be that I have not met the right person." I couldn't describe how it felt to be the only Elf-maiden to have strayed from tradition.
" How will you know when you love someone, if you never stay in one place too long?" Arwen was trying to tell me something. I said, " Not to be rude, but why do you ask these questions, when you never have before?"
" If you go on the journey, which we all know will be starting here," she said, bringing me a tray of food, with a tall goblet of clear-looking drink, " you will be traveling with men, dwarves, and halflings. And it has reached my ears that Legolas of Mirkwood is going along, to defend the Ring bearer."
" Lady Arwen, there is nothing but friendship between I and any of the companions of Frodo," I said, and laid on the bed, after drinking the draught and eating a piece of lembas cake. Lady Arwen left, closing the door behind her.
