A/N: It's another lazy day so bear with me for this chapter.
Disclaimer: If I owned anything that had to do with LotR, Tolkien would be rolling in his grave.
Italics thoughts
Bold Italics mental conversation
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Chapter 2
Road Trip
Bilbo really was gone for good. He would never return to the Shire. And the same would soon be said of Gandalf. Before the wizard left to consult Sarumon, he had asked that Aisling remain in her animal form until they reached Bree. Both Sam and Frodo would be completely defenseless so her ability was needed.
Aisling gave him a reassuring smile and ruffled Sam and Frodo's hair affectionately, indicating that she would take care of them. Or at least she'd try to; it got to be a little more difficult after Merry and Pippin decided to go crop-raiding. And of course the little tumble off the hill had her yowling in pain. Frodo was sitting on her tail while Pippin was using her head as a cushion.
"I think I've broken something."
I'm right there with ya, Merry. Aisling thought as the hobbits disentangled themselves to scurry after mushrooms. It was Frodo who helped her to her feet, patted her head, and apologized for using her as a pillow. She had given him an indignant snort before her entire body went still. She felt her hackles rising and she lowered herself to the ground, the beginnings of a snarl trickling from behind her bared teeth.
Taking in her reaction, Frodo felt a distinct sense of foreboding and told his friends to get off the road. Aisling helped by nudging and pulling on their clothes with her teeth. They hid beneath the roots of the trees, Aisling's body pressing them as far back as possible.
When the Nazgûl crouched down to search for them and the insects of the earth moved to escape its presence, Aisling had to fight her baser instincts not to leave their hiding spot and attack. The urge was so great that it had her muscles taught with tension and it took both Merry and Pippin to hold her down. It wasn't until Sam grabbed Frodo and Merry tossed the sack of vegetables that her body went lax, but she had yet to drop her guard.
They moved even further away from the road so Merry could drop down to ask, "What was that?" When Sam was about to reply with something along the lines of: "Oh, just a servant of the Dark Lord," Aisling nipped at his hand and shook her head to stop him. They had to keep moving; she could feel the presences of the other Nazgûl. A little worried, she led them deeper into the forest and kept watch as they scurried from tree to tree.
"Anything?" One of them called out.
Frodo looked to Aisling, who shook her head. He replied with a breathless, "Nothing."
Merry came to his side and stated the obvious, "That Black Rider was looking for something. Or someone. Frodo?"
If Aisling was in her human form she would have given them all a good kick in the rear. What part of they were in danger did they not get?
"Get down!" Sam whispered/shouted.
They all hit the deck, or so to speak, but kept their eyes on the Ringwraith.
"I have to leave the Shire," Frodo spoke quietly even though the Rider was a good distance away, "Sam, Aisling and I must get to Bree."
"Right. Huckleberry Ferry. Follow me."
From Aisling's point of view it had to be the most desperate run of their lives so far. The hobbits' lives, of course, would be filled with lots of running. And, she suspected, hers too.
She didn't have to hear the wailing screeches to know the enemy was practically on their heels, oh no…Just its very presence kicked her fight or flee instincts into overdrive, and with the ones she had to protect, her inner animalistic thoughts were screaming at her to flee.
"Run!"
What did they think she was doing? She had to move at a slower pace just so she could keep an eye on all of them; a difficult task when one is running for her life, but she managed.
She was so distracted by her thoughts that she nearly brained herself against the fence that the others managed to jump over. Mentally cursing any deity above who was listening, she came to a skidding halt when she realized it was just Sam, Merry and Pippin on the dock.
Frodo!
She did an about-face and shot forwards in the direction of the Wraith. She wasn't the proper type of cat to take down the Wraith without being slaughtered, but she settled for burying her teeth into the horse's neck so that it reared slightly, buying time for Frodo to make it to the others.
Aisling may have been successful in her diversion, but her small victory came with a price. Just as she released the horse, the hilt of the Nazgûl's sword came down above her left eye and she could have sworn that she saw stars.
"Aisling!"
She vaguely heard the hobbits' frightened cries and some fervent splashing before she realized they were trying to go back for her.
No!
Her protest escaped her muzzle in an agonized yowl. Move, you bloody fool! She scolded herself and forced her body to move at full speed towards the ferry. Her vision was blurry, but she could still maintain her sights on the four hobbits that were steadily floating away from her.
"Jump, Aisling! Jump!"
Easy for them to say. She had barely caught the edge of the ferry with her claws and the shock of the below freezing water that enveloped half of her body would have had her slipping beneath its depths if not for the four pairs of hands that hauled her on board.
"How far to the nearest crossing?" Frodo asked.
"The Brandywine Bridge. Twenty miles." Merry replied while Sam helped Frodo to his feet. Pippin cradled Aisling's larger, feline body close to his and petted her fur soothingly. They had quite a ways to go and he could see that her eyes had slid shut. They had all seen the blow to her head she had received, so Pippin thought it best to let her rest as much as she could. According to Sam, they needed her in her human form when they reached Bree.
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Aisling woke with a raging headache and blinked wearily up at Frodo, who had shaken her awake.
"Aisling? We have to go. We're almost at Bree and we can't leave without you."
She nodded in understanding and shakily got to her feet.
"Easy there, Miss Aisling," Sam helped catch her when she nearly fell forward. It was quite an amazing feat for even a hobbit to keep a hundred and thirty pound leopard on its feet.
They were almost at the rendezvous and she couldn't risk the little ones being caught because of her slowing them down. Pushing the pain to the back of her mind, she took a few wobbly steps forward until she got her bearings.
With a flick of her tail, she returned to Frodo's side and licked the back of his hand to let him know that she was thankful that he let her recover somewhat before they continued on their way.
Sam and the others patted her back as they flanked her sides. Even though they knew she was there to protect them, they wanted to be the ones to protect her after what she had done for them.
They made it to Bree in little to no time at all. Aisling had shifted to human form at the tree line and quickly found herself shivering in the cold night air. She chastised herself for leaving the Shire in such a plain lavender dress. Luckily, Sam withdrew a spare cloak from his pack and handed it to her. After pulling up the hood, Aisling was surprised to find that it fit her perfectly. She looked to Sam with a question in her eyes.
The portly hobbit finished adjusting his pack and took her hand. "Oh, the cloak? Gandalf told me to give it to you."
They followed Frodo to the front gates of Bree where he knocked hurriedly. A sour looking man demanded to know what they wanted and Frodo replied that they were on their way to the Prancing Pony.
The gate/door swung open and Aisling was nearly blinded by the lantern's light swinging in their direction.
"Hobbits. Four hobbits and a woman! What business brings you to Bree?"
Again, Frodo spoke for them: "We wish to stay at the Inn. Our business is our own."
Of course Merry just had to open his mouth with: "And our friend is hurt. She needs rest."
"All right young sirs, I meant no offense." He stepped back to let them enter the village. "It's my job to ask questions after nightfall. There's talk of strange folk abroad. Can't be too careful."
Aisling nodded her thanks to the old man, whose eyes softened at the sight of the bruise at her temple. His gaze shifted over to Sam who was guiding her to join the others, "You get your friend some help, you hear!" He called after their retreating backs.
The Prancing Pony warmed Aisling like nothing else could. It also made her painfully aware of the swelling at the corner of her forehead. And the news that Gandalf had not arrived yet was quickly creating a massive headache.
They got a table thanks to Sam and quickly got down to drinking and eating. They all felt the stares on them; especially Aisling, who knew it must have been strange to see a woman accompanied by hobbits. She felt one particular stare that sent shivers down her spine. Her memory of the storyline was a bit hazy, but she knew who was staring so intently at them. Or, to be more specific, at Frodo.
Apparently Sam noticed as well since he mentioned it to him. Aisling tuned out the rest conversation about the discovery of the Ranger in the corner. She didn't want to even look in his general direction; the man's stare alone had her adrenaline rushing on full blast. And he wasn't even staring at her, but at Frodo!
She always thought that Strider had an unnatural liking to the hobbits. She shook her head. She was confusing the movie with the actors. But she still had to wonder…she deftly recalled that in the appendix of the extended third movie there were scenes of Sam's future wedding where Viggo Mortensen was in a disturbingly attractive lip lock with a certain Billy Boyd.
"Mr. Frodo?!"
Sam's panicked voice brought her back to reality. So Frodo already pulled his disappearing act? She frowned. She really had to stop zoning out like that. She had barely realized that she was once again zoning out when Pippin grabbed her hand and nearly had her doing a face-plant over the table.
Peregrin Took! She wanted to snap at him, but settled for giving him a withering glare. A glare that had him gulping and nervously stammering out an explanation.
"It's F-Frodo, M-Miss Aisling. The R-Ranger…he t-took him…" he was still pulling her insistently towards Sam and Merry. He heard her sigh heavily and felt himself being led towards their friends.
They barged into the Ranger's room, candle holders blazing. Or would that be candlesticks? Oh well…ack! No! Bad Aisling! She had caught her wayward thoughts before she would miss anything eventful.
Unfortunately, the only eventful event was Merry accidentally swinging his candle holder and clipping the side of her head…right where she was previously injured.
"Merry!" Pippin scolded and helped Aisling to sit on the bed. He completely ignored the blank stares the Ranger and the other hobbits were giving him. He gently brushed aside a few stray locks of Aisling's hair, his fingertips just barely grazing her injury. Tears sprang to her eyes and he apologized profusely.
Sam turned to Merry and smacked the side of his head. He then shoved him towards the teary-eyed changeling.
"Oh, Miss Aisling. I'm right sorry about that. It was an accident, I swear." He was ready to start groveling if it wasn't for the tender ruffling of his hair that told him she understood.
Strider watched the exchange between the bruised woman and the worried hobbits. He sighed. The only way he would at least earn some of their trust would be to help their female companion.
"I think it would be best if you and your friends remain in my room. The Black Riders won't find you here." He saw their suspicious stares and held up both hands. "I'll not try anything harmful towards anyone. All I ask is that you let me help your friend."
Frodo knew sincerity when he saw it so he reluctantly agreed that they would stay with Strider for the night.
Aisling let out a relieved sigh but flinched when Aragorn inspected her injury.
"Be at ease, lady. This is quite some wound you have. How is it that it originally came to be?"
She opened her mouth as if to speak, but she pressed her lips together and gestured for Sam to help her. He immediately understood her predicament and turned to look up at Strider.
"Miss Aisling would tell you if she had a voice, but she wants me to explain." He started from when they had gotten off the road and were being chased by the Black Rider. Of course, explaining that Aisling was a changeling took several minutes to sink in. But after Strider saw the truth for himself, he found himself shaking his head in disbelief.
"Even for an animal of your size, lady Aisling, what you did was extremely dangerous. You're lucky it was just the hilt." He studied the bruise and found it to be merely bluster—meaning it wasn't as bad as it looked. Using cold water and a piece of cloth, he held it to her bruise until she reached up to do it herself. She mouthed the words "thank you," which he acknowledged with a nod.
When the swelling had gone considerably down, she resumed her animal form and moved over to the window where Strider sat.
"Why don't you sleep, little one?" He looked down at the strangely beautiful predator who gave him a shrug or a rippling of muscles that could pass as a shrug. He settled his hand on the back of her head and ran his palm along her back, absently petting her.
Her purring was a comforting sound in the quiet room. That was up until the soothing purrs turned into a low growl. It quickly shifted to a nearly muted snarl because of Aragorn's fingers scratching behind her ears to keep her from getting too wild.
"What are they?" Frodo asked what the others were thinking.
"They were once Men. Great kings of Men."
Aisling snorted at that, but continued to listen to the Ranger.
"Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question. One by one, falling into darkness." He turned to watch them through the window, his hand holding Aisling by the scruff of her neck since her snarls were not as muted as before. "Now they are slaves to his will." He turned his attention back on the hobbits. "They are the Nazgûl. Ringwraiths. Neither living nor dead."
Aisling happily tuned out the next part of the conversation. She wriggled out of Aragorn's grasp and settled herself on the floor to sleep. She had a feeling that they would be leaving in a few hours.
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Aisling didn't mind following Strider into the Wild. He even brought her a friend, Bill the pony. Bill was an alright pony; not too chatty but great with the occasional conversation. Plus it helped drown out Sam's suspicious-sounding questions and comments.
"So Bill, were you raised in Bree?"
"Actually, no. I was born just outside of the Shire."
"I thought you didn't look like the other ponies."
"Well, I'm not as bad-tempered as they are. Blimey, we've been walking forever."
"I don't think it'll be long until we reach Rivendell."
Her own words stopped her in her tracks.
"Ah, I heard it's a nice place. Also heard there's somethin' right unnatural going on over there."
Aisling felt her eyes bug out.
Her mission. Holy crap, how did she forget? Hm, well, being scared out of your mind for several days can be quite distracting…
She sighed heavily and she knew she must have looked absolutely pathetic. She certainly felt that way. She knew that the Fellowship would take care of the hobbits so she wouldn't have to but…she couldn't just let them replace her position as the hobbits' protector. And just how was she going to protect them and manage to keep the Mary Sue's under control when the journey really began?
As her favorite cartoon bear would say:
Oh, bother.
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A/N: I'm starting the next chapter on Weathertop. I could just go the Suethor way and skip to Rivendell but I just can't do it. I always rush through chapters and for once in my Fanfiction writing life, I want to take my time.
Review please.
