"It's your turn to pick up the bedroom!" I yelled.
"No! It's your turn!" My little sister Stephanie screamed. Stephanie and I were fighting, as always, when one of us knocked my Lord of the Rings books to the ground. Thinking it was no big deal, I picked them up, but when I put them down, they opened, and we were transported into them.
We found ourselves in a dim, crowded room. The last strains of a familiar
song rose into the air -- then there was a roar of surprise. We both knew what just happened. Frodo had tripped and the Ring had fallen onto his finger.
We ran over to where we knew Frodo was, or just had been. Then just as we got there, Frodo reappeared --but then a man we had seen sitting in the corner of the room came and took Frodo away. We followed...
We came to the door where the man had taken Frodo.
Putting our ears to the door, we heard the man say, "I know what you carry."
Stephanie and I looked at each other.
This really was Middle-Earth! And the man really was Strider! But where were Merry, Pippin, and Sam?
Just then, we heard someone coming up the stairs. Not surprisingly, the pounding feet belonged to the three hobbits. Out of breath, they rushed up and grouped around us, armed with candelabra, stool, and fists. "Where is 'e?" Sam asked.
Stephanie and I stood still. We were in shock, never thinking we would ever really get to see a Hobbit! Sam asked again, this time louder. "Where is 'e?"
That brought me and Stephanie back to our senses. We both pointed at the door where Frodo and Strider were.
We decided that we had to find a place to go. I said that we should make
for Rivendell. She agreed only
after a lot of yelling and screaming.
A few days later, we had reached Weathertop. I was trying to take the same route as they had in the book. Stephanie and I had just lay down to sleep when we herd yelling and unearthly screeching. We raced over to the source of the noise -- and saw the Nazgul.
We hid behind some rocks, out of the way of the fight. Soon it was over. We started crying. Strider, of course heard us and found us.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "And why are you here?"
Suddenly, the hobbits noticed us.
"They were in the Prancing Pony!" Pippin shouted.
"Why are you following us?" Strider said. "Speak!"
Stephanie started to cry even harder.
I just sat there trying to think of something.
"Speak!" Strider said again, this time so sternly that I almost start crying as hard as Stephanie.
I finally told the truth. "Don't hurt us Mr. Strider, sir," I stuttered, trying to sound as brave as possible.
"My sister and I were lost..and still are. We heard you talking at the Prancing Pony. We had heard of you trying to get to Rivendell. We also know what Frodo is hiding."
He gave us a surprised, incredulous stare.
"Don't worry, we aren't going to tell anyone. Please don't hurt us," I pleaded.
Strider looked at us a moment, and his face softened a little. "Alright. You seem to know what you are doing. Will you stay here with the hobbits?"
We both nodded.
"I'm going to try to find something to slow the poisoning. Sam!" he called. The two went off separately to find something called "athelas".
Stephanie and I go and sit by the remaining Hobbits. "Hi," I say. "I'm Heather, this is my sister Stephanie.
You must be Merry, Pippin and Frodo."
"Nice to meet you two" Merry and Pippin say at the same time. They seem rather frightened - you can tell it in their voices.
Frodo groans.
"What happened?" I asked, knowing perfectly well what had happened.
"He was stabbed by a Black Rider," Pippin said, his voice quivering.
I thought for a moment of what I could say to comfort them. "Don't worry, Frodo is going to be all right. Everything is going to work out."
They stared at me, wondering just how I knew that everything was going to be alright. "How do you know? How can we be sure we can believe you and - and trust you?" Merry asked.
Just then Strider came back.
I could see a man behind him who seemed to be glowing a bit. "Here they are," said Strider. "How is...?"
"Not good," says Merry, who is kneeling over a moaning Frodo. "Where's Sam?"
"He went to get some stuff called alth - atha -"I said, tripping over the word 'athelas' as I tried to say it.
"Athelas," said Strider, as he bent over Frodo. The man behind him, I decided, is definitely an Elf.
"Who's that?" said Stephanie.
"It's Glorfindel," I whispered to her.
"I've been looking for you for days," Glorfindel told Strider. "You must get the Ringbearer to Imladris."
"Imladris?" Merry interrupted.
"Rivendell," explained Strider.
Glorfindel brought his horse over to where the moaning Ringbearer lay. "This is Asfaloth," he said, patting it.
"Is Frodo going to be alright?" asked Stephanie.
"He will be, once we get him to Rivendell," said Glorfindel grimly. I heard him whisper to Strider, "Why do you have two young Dunedain girls with you?"
"They are not of the Dunedain. I do not know where they have come from or why they are here. They may be Peredhel, for all I know."
Stephanie hid behind me, scared of the Elf for a reason that she has still not yet told me.
"Wow," I said to Glorfindel. "You were able to scare her a lot better then I have ever been able to."
Stephaine pulled my hair. I pushed her to the ground.
"Stop it, you two." said Strider, with a very angry look on his face.
"Sorry," Stephanie and I mumbled.
Glorfindel looked at us curiously. "Who are you?"
We introduced ourselves.
"Why are you here?"
"We don't really know..." I said.
"And you're coming to Rivendell with them?"
He tilted his head in the direction of Strider and the hobbits.
"Yes," I said.
Stephaine came up behind me. "Why are you ears pointed?" she asked.
I rolled my eyes. "That's how Elf ears are supposed to be," I say, before Glorfindel had time to answer.
"Well, I didn't know," she said.
"Yeah, well, now you do," I said back.
"Do you two always fight?" Glorfindel asked us while setting Frodo on Asfaloth.
"Yeah, pretty much," I say, laughing.
The hobbit clutched at the horse's mane and swayed back and forth. Merry and Pippin stared. Sam looked terrified.
"You cannot work your disagreements out any other way?" Glorfindel asked us, adding, "Oh, and don't worry, Sam - he's not going to fall off."
Me and Stephanie looked at each other and said, "Nope," with smiles on our faces, thinking it was quite funny to bug the Elf.
"You better get going if you're going to get Frodo to Imladris before the Nazgul come again..." I say, looking behind us to make sure they weren't already gaining on us.
"How do you know about the Nazgul?"
Glorfindel says sharply as we begin walking in the direction that will lead us to Rivendell.
"Ah..." I say, "We know what's happening. We know about the Ring and all..."
"You wouldn't happen to be related to the Lady Galadriel, would you?"
"No, we aren't." I said. "But you have to trust me, I know what's going to happen, but only about certain things." I know that he still doesn't trust us. "Just ask Elrond when we get to Rivendell. He will tell you."
"Now go hurry up."
We found it fairly easy to keep up with the group. Although Strider and Glorfindel could go much faster than us, they didn't, because of the hobbits who were on foot. Stephanie and I found time to talk to them. They were all greatly frightened.
"What's it like in the Shire?" I asked. Although I knew a bit about it already, I wanted to hear about it from the hobbits. Plus, I was trying to make them a little less frightened.
"Well there are many forests and little rivers," said Merry.
"There's lots of food," said Pippin.
I smiled at this, remembering how all hobbits had a huge appetite.
"And there are lots of gardens and fields," added Sam.
"It sounds like a nice place," I said.
"Yes...it is. It is."
Suddenly, there was an unearthly shriek. "Black Riders!" cried Pippin.
I said to Glorfindel."You have to let Frodo ride the horse to Rivendell from here."
"Without us?"
"You must believe me when I say that he will make it. I promise that he will."
Glorfindel studied my face, trying to see if I really knew this,
or if I was saying it so the Black Riders could get Frodo. His mannerisms relaxed, and I sighed in relief. He finally believed me.
I watched Frodo ride out into the distance on the enormous white horse.
One of the Hobbits - I was not sure which one - shouted.
I turned around. Merry was pointing into the distance, where a line of black dots was becoming clearer.
"Run!" shouted Strider. "Break for the Ford!"
It is then that I realized Stephanie and I didn't have swords.
While we are running, I said to Stephanie, "We must try to stay by Strider, or Glorfindel. If the Black Riders catch up with us, we are doomed. We're defenseless."
Stephanie nodded.
Ahead of us, a silver break in the landscape was the river, and behind us, the shapes of the Ringwraiths were becoming clearer.
"Draw your swords!" Strider shouted to the hobbits.
All three pulled out small blades. We kept running. By the time we reached the ford, Frodo was nearly across -- but the Wraiths were coming up quickly. They rushed past us, ignoring the drawn swords and the fury of Glorfindel.
"Frodo!"
I saw Frodo reach the other side of the river.
The Wraiths paused a moment before riding into the river themselves.
Moments went by. I knew what was going to happen. The river would flood and drown them.
But when?
Then I saw it. The water started to sink, building up power.
Then it happened. The river flooded, and the Ringwraiths washed away.
We saw Frodo faint.
"Frodo!" Sam shouted. He tried to run into the water, but Strider held him back.
"You can't."
"I can!"
The water subsided and a figure stepped out of the woods.
It was Elrond. He picked up Frodo and told us to come. We followed.
When we had come into the 'house' an Elf-maid came to me and Stephanie and showed us to our rooms so we could rest, wash, and get new, clean clothes.
Stephanie was in awe. So was I. I couldn't believe I was actually in Rivendell.
Several days passed. Frodo was still unconscious, and we saw very little of Sam. However, Merry and Pippin, now that they had been reassured that Frodo would survive, were quite the companions. But before we knew it Frodo was awake and well...
Word was going around about the Council that would be held that day.
Apparently only certain people were invited.
Stephanie, me, Merry, and Pippin were discussing it when Merry put forth the idea of going to the Council.
"But you haven't been invited!" I protested. "You're going to get in trouble."
"No we won't," said Pippin.
"And beside that, even if we did get in trouble, we will get out of it, like always," said Merry.
I sighed. I guessed that I'd better not stop them. If they didn't go, then a lot would change.
The Council was about to begin,
and I found myself hiding behind what looked like a large potted Elven plant.
"What are we doing?"
"Spying," Merry answered. He had, by then, become the leader of the group.
"Why?"
"Because it's fun and we have nothing else do to," said Merry matter-of-factly.
"Sounds good to me." Stephanie and I said at the same time.
The Council went on for hours. Stephanie and I had fallen asleep
when we were woken up by "Hey! We're coming too!"
"Is anyone else hiding?" asked Elrond.
"We are," said Stephanie.
I hit my forehead. "Shhh!"
But by that time everyone at the Council knew we were there.
The Fellowship stared. Elrond glared angrily at us. "And?"
"We...were... It was Merry's idea!" said Stephaine.
"Don't go blaming the hobbit!" someone said.
"Well, I suppose that now you're going to ask to go with, are you?"
"Well..." I said. "Do you think it's wise that me and Stephanie go with them, Lord Elrond?"
"I think we should leave the decision up to the Fellowship. I do not know where you have come from and I do not know how simple it would be for you to return. If they wish you to come - so be it." Elrond turned to the group.
The hobbits immediately began to argue that we should join the group on their quest. The argument ended when Frodo said that we had to come. I smiled what could have been the biggest smile that anyone had ever seen. Everyone at the Council laughed.
Stephaine looked as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
I knew that it was not going to be a relaxing trip, and I told Stephanie this as we prepared to depart the next day.
"How long is this going to take?" she asked.
"A year," I said simply.
"A YEAR?"
"Well, yes. You didn't think that we could get that far in a month or something?"
"Well... I..." stuttered Stephanie.
"You know, if you don't want to go, you can stay here. I'm sure that Elrond wouldn't mind. So, go ask Elrond."
She goes off, and I remain there alone, until someone begins to bang on the door.
"Come in."
The hobbits troop in, followed by a somewhat-disgruntled Legolas.
"Hello!"
Merry tosses me an apple. Legolas sits down gingerly on the edge of the bed.
"We're leaving tomorrow, you know."
"I know," I said, giving the apple back to Merry. "I don't like apples that much. Thank you, though."
"So how did you know about the Ring and all?" asked Legalos.
"Well... you see, I'm not sure how to answer to that," I said.
"What do you mean?" asked Pippin.
I sighed, shaking my head. "I will tell you later," I said.
Luckily, Stephanie chose that moment to reappear, saving me from a strange explanation. "I've talked to Lord Elrond."
"And..?"
"He said that I should go."
I sighed. Why did Elrond say that she should go?
"Said that maybe it will help us not to fight so much any more."
Stephanie and I laughed. "I don't think it will help much," I said.
"Well...you never know," said Legolas.
An apple core sailed past my ear and flew through the window.
I glared at Pippin, who grinned impishly back.
"Pippin, if you keep doing that you're probably not going to be allowed along. Elrond already tried to send you home once," I said to him, going to the window to see if anyone had been hit with the flying apple core.
"Oh," said Pippin. "I never thought of it that way."
After satisfying myself that there were no angry, bruised elves outside the window, I returned to the hobbits, Legolas, and Stephanie.
"Are you ready to leave?" asked Legolas.
"Yes, I have been for a while," I said.
"I just got done a few hours ago," said Stephanie.
"She wasn't sure if she wanted to go or not," I explained.