Chapter 4

Journey to Rivendell

Alena's POV

The path we were to take to Rivendell didn't follow the usual trail. We had to mislead the Ringwraiths before they eventually figure out our route. Though we were more prone to danger or natural made disasters, it was better than facing off the mysterious powers the Ringwraiths possess.

We started our pace at the crack of dawn. We had to cover as much land as we can, but it seemed harder than I thought with the hobbits along. The way Aragorn keeps his place ahead already tells that he wants to go faster. I wanted to go faster too. At this rate, the Ringwraiths will be on our backs by noon. Nevertheless, I slowed down to the same speed as that of the hobbits.

While walking next to the hobbits, I can feel the unsettling feeling they carry; something was wrong. It wasn't they're fear from the Ringwraiths that burdens them. It felt like... doubt. I stared at Merry, seeing him glare at Strider as he walk ahead of us.

"How do we know this 'Strider' is a friend of Gandalf?" he asked to no one in particular. I wanted to tell him to trust on Gandalf, but then I thought about his words. Gandalf may have trusted this man to assist her to Bree safely, but is his trust on this man goes as far as to allow him to carry the dark power Frodo now possess? For all she knew, Strider was just a man Gandalf knew enough to bring her to Bree seeing that he himself was travelling on the same route. The words Merry spoke rang continuously in my head. How can I be so stupid! I've been getting too cosy with a man I hardly even knew.

Thoughts popped in my head: Strider stealing the ring, or Strider going as far as to kill the hobbits for the dark power, or Strider killing her to leave the hobbits defenceless.

The thoughts kept on coming. Unconsciously, I slowed down; I left Merry's side and slowly settling next to Sam at the rear end of the group. The mere thought of Strider hurting me and my friends hurts. Though I've only spent my time with him for less than two days, I felt a companionship I've never felt with anyone. Tears were brimming my eyes; good thing my hair curtained my face from the others'. The sadness that went with the negative thoughts were filling me, but halted when I heard Frodo's next words.

"I think a servant of the enemy would look fairer... feel fouler. We have no choice, but to trust him"

True. In all the times I've spent with Strider, not once did I felt misguided or deceived; he always did act like a gentleman in his own way. A smile crept over my lips. How foolish of me to think so badly of him. Though my knowledge of Strider was limited, it was enough for me to know his true, honest, and good intentions.

"He's foul enough." stated Merry as his glare never wavered from Strider. Even with the mean disposition from the hobbit, I still found myself giggling. Aragorn glance back at us, clearly hearing Merry's rude remark which made me giggle harder. Aragorn smirked at me, catching my eye. He gave me a look as if to say 'Stop it', but the amusement in his eyes made me smile at his failed attempt of a stern disagreement.

He slowed down to allow me to catch up with him, and eventually we walked on side by side, ahead of the hobbits.

Apparently, my slightly puffy eyes from the teary mess I had earlier were noticed by Strider. He looked at me worriedly, his eyes wordlessly asking my distress. Instead of answering him, I took his hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze for assurance of my well being. With a smile we continued on with a comfortable silence, slowly hurrying the pace.

The sun was slowly setting; it was getting hard to scout the surrounding premises. Night was nearing and with the growing weariness of the hobbits, Strider proposed to set up a camp on the grassy area near the foot of a snowy hill. It was a surprise to encounter no attacks from the Ringwraiths; they were getting sloppy and for that I was thankful.

The night was cold. We created a small fire around our circle; just enough to keep us warm and hidden from potential enemies. With that said, it's hard to find sleep in this sort of conditions. Even in my travels, I hardly did get any sleep when I find the temperature too cold for comfort. But it was expected since we were at the base of a snowy hill.

I stood from where I lay and stared at the surrounding area. It was dark and foggy, not much can be seen. On the far corner of the small circle, I saw Strider perched on a small flat boulder with his pipe, taking the first watch. I smiled at his stubbornness to let me take the first watch earlier. Clearly he was growing restless more than me and was in need of more sleep.

Seeing that I can hardly force my mind to shut my eyes close and force me to sleep, I walked up to Strider. He hardly acknowledges my approach; he simply stared out on the black abyss that was the forest grounds while continuously smoking his pipe. I sat next to him, feeling comfortable with just him being there next to me.

After a minute or so, I felt him staring at me on the corner of his eyes.

"You know, it's not polite to stare." I said with a smirk, my eyes still staring ahead.

He chuckled, amused by my careless reaction. "Is it a crime to admire someone from afar?"

I snapped my head to face him. My eyes were wide from shock and flattery. Even with the darkness enveloping us, I knew that my blush would be visible to him.

"Do not say things you do not mean Strider..." I replied quietly, obviously embarrassed by his blunt inquisition as I left his face and stared at the ground instead.

His hands were rough, I observed as he lifted my face to face him. I caught sight of his beautiful blue eyes, the glimmer it shown even with limited light we had.

I was melting inside. His stare said it all; I was happy, but couldn't help to feel fear run around my arms where goose bumps stood erect. I was happy to have a man I may possibly be feeling something intimate with, someone who I knew I liked, but fear was ever present. The fear of hurting or being hurt by the said man was clawing its way into my mind. Though my mind was being clouded by fear, my heart took charge.

I felt him draw my face nearer to him, our lips inching closer and closer. Our nose touched; even with that simple contact, I felt the spark travel from him to me. It was filling me like nothing has ever done before.

We stared at each others' eyes, captivated by the beauty of the other's soul. It was torture; his lips were right there! I was enjoying how close we are now, but I wanted more.

As it seemed, his patience was at its limit as he crashed his lips on mine. Hungrily, he bit on my lower lip as my hands snaked around his neck. I felt him pull me deeper as he wound his arms around my waist. I felt hot. Soon our tongues battled for dominance as we explored each other's moist caverns.

The passion and desire in the kiss was slowly getting to my head. I was feeling weary from lack of breathe and over whelming emotions. As if he took notice of my slowly weakening state, he let go of me with reluctance; he held me close with his arms still around my waist, his forehead leaning on mine. I gasped, breathing in much needed air back in to my lungs. However, gasping wasn't primarily due to lack of air supply, but more on my surprise.

Though I cannot deny the feelings that went through me in that one kiss, the thought still lingers that I hardly knew this man. I can't go on gallivanting around middle-earth kissing handsome men. However, I knew in my heart that this was different, that he was different, but my mind took over me this time.

I pushed myself away from him heavily, quickly missing the warmth he radiated against the cold evening. I was yearning for his touch as soon as I removed my hands from his. The hurt in his eyes was enough to bring me over the edge; tears were streaming by that time.

He hid his emotions of indignant and was replaced by worry from my sudden outburst of tears. He was panicking; he thought he caused me to cry.

Before I can speak to deny his self-scolding, he was too fast for me to say anything. "I'm sorry. I am so very sorry." he blurted out as he stared at me apologetically.

My tear stained face broke in to a smile; I was amused with his unnecessary apology. "I should be the one who is sorry... You just caught me off guard that the first thing I thought was to push you away." The tears were slowly returning.

"I'm sorry Strider." I said as I threw myself back in to his arms, and receiving a comforting hug in return. In his arms, I felt safe. For years, I've lived with myself with no one to depend on but now everything was new. "It's just that I'm sort of new to this whole thing. You deserve better..." I trailed off, staring at the ground beneath our feet as I try to look away from his stare when he pulled me away in arms length.

He grabbed my chin, pulling me up to face him, "I wouldn't want any other. I want you." He pecked my lips softly as means of reassurance. "Besides, with our kiss earlier, I hardly doubt that you've never done that before." His handsome face was disturbed with a smirk.

I blushed at his obvious flattering comment and hid my face on his chest. I felt the rumble of his body as he chuckled at me. Nevertheless, I felt myself smile as I viewed our situation now. I was happy to have Strider officially, but still I fear for what is to happen.

As if noticing my distress, he held me tighter to his body. With the new found welcomed warmth, my eyes grew heavy with sleep. Last thing I felt before slumber took me in was his kiss on my head as he caresses my hair.

The next morning came with a chill; the hill's base was covered with snow. Even so, Strider always kept me warm with his hand on mine and his body close by while we walked ahead of the hobbits.

We were going down slope now. Strider was clearly happy to see how close we are in to leaving this frozen land. He gave my hand a gentle squeeze, his happiness radiating off him. I smiled in return. Just as he was walking away, I pulled his arm back and pointed at the hobbits behind us. Strangely enough, the hobbit was unloading pans and plates from Billy the horse. I stared at them oddly. Didn't we just have breakfast earlier?

Aragorn had the same look on his face. "Gentlemen, we do not stop until nightfall."

"What about breakfast?" asked Pippin as he looked at us expectantly.

"You've already had it" I said, trying to reason out the obvious.

"We had one, yes; but what about second breakfast?"

I giggled at Pippin's ridiculousness, and walked side by side again with Aragorn.

"You know, hobbits are known for their appetites. You can't really blame them." I tried to reason to him.

He stared at me as if I was crazy to even think of having '2nd breakfast' right after we had our first. I tried to plead with him with my eyes as I held his hand lovingly. He chuckled at my look; apparently, I looked silly. Having mercy take side with his rational side, he grabbed three apples off a tree. The two apples he threw back at our little companions and the apple in his hand was handed to me.

"You know, if you were hungry, you could've just told me rather than using the hobbits as an excuse to eat." He smirked at my staggered look with one of his eyebrow raised. I wasn't even hungry! I was merely pointing out the distress my friends were carrying.

I was about to retort his wrong observation, but he caught me off guard as he grabbed my waist, pulling me towards him with a grin; I giggled at his child-like antics. I loved it when he goofs off- wait, love? I wasn't in love! I only knew him for a few days. I can't fall that fast for him... could I?

My trail of thoughts were disturbed when his breathe tickled my neck from behind as he embraced me. I turned around with his arms still on my waist and smiled warmly at him. We may be taking things a bit too fast for two people who just met... but still.

He let go of my waist when we heard the light thumping of Billy's hooves, and took hold of my hand instead. His thumb was rubbing small circles as he brought my hands to his lips. My cheeks blushed at his romantic gesture. Just as I was creeping my hand out to hold on to his cheek and possibly pull him for a chaste kiss, our moment was ruined when the chatter of the hobbits behind us were heard. Reluctantly, we snapped out of our love-sick reverie.

We continued on our walk; we passed through the mosquito-filled swamp, the misty rocks, and now we found ourselves on Weathertop hill. On the horizon, I saw familiar ruins standing in the middle of the hill.

"This was the great watch-tower of Amon Sûl," said Strider as he stared at the once grand structure, then at me. Feeling his stare bore on my face, I shifted my eyes from the ruins then on to his own. I can see in his eyes that they were tired, but by now, we all were. I looked at him worryingly; the stress of duty on his back was obviously getting to him and the thought of Ringwraiths behind us didn't do any good to him either. I can't do anything about it. I know he felt responsible for the hobbits and me, but I was a big girl! This wasn't the first time I've travelled before. With that matter on mind, I always travel alone and am still able to live 'till now.

My look of worry changed in to a reassuring smile. I want him to know that he was doing a great and that there was nothing to worry. I know it was an ill attempt to relieve him, but his smile told me it worked... even if it was little help.

"How about we rest here for the night?" I asked the hobbits, but my eyes still lingering on Strider's. I heard Sam give a sigh of relief when the prospect of rest was just a few meters away.

Near the top of the watch-tower, we settled our things on the ground. Our location was in the open, but if we lay low and with the shadow on our side, we can keep ourselves hidden. I looked back at the hobbits that were slumped on the ground, completely exhausted, and couldn't help but giggle. Last I've seen them like this was when they ran halfway across the Shire away from Bilbo's fuming face once he caught them steeling his cupcakes.

Merry, who was off his high from exhaustion, glared at me playfully which I return with just as much 'venom' as him. I heard the other three hobbits snicker at our exchange, and soon, Merry threw his head back with defeat.

A chuckle came from my side. Apparently, Strider was amused by my juvenile actions. I slapped his arm light-heartedly; I was not going to let him just stand there and be entertained on my expense. Though, I didn't mind. I just like fooling around.

I sat on the edge of the tower and noticed the sun slowly setting. The heavens looked entrancing; the beautiful hues of colours danced around the slowly blackening sheet of sky. My admiration was cut short when I noticed Strider approach the hobbits with a huge bundle; I approached the small group, curious of what it was. He knelt in front of them and unrolled the bundle. Laid out on the ground were four long daggers.

"These are for you." He said as he threw them each a dagger. Judging from the size of the hobbits and the weapons they carry, it seemed more like swords to them. "Keep them close. I'm going to have to look around." He stood up from where he sat and turned around to walk away, only to be blocked by me.

"And where do you think you're going? I don't know if you've noticed, but there isn't much to 'look around' in these parts." I said as I held my ground with my arms crossed, trying to seem intimidating.

"I have to scout the perimeter. The Ringwraiths may not be the only ones who can do harm on this place." He reasoned out as he tried to side-step my blocking stance.

He was stressing-out again. He had to relax. "Strider, you have to rest. You are too tired to do anything, let alone walk out and fight whatever there is out there. Why don't you let me look around instead?" I reasoned out as I placed my hand on his chest, trying to halt his restrain and push him down.

He looked at me with wide eyes filled with incredulity, "And let you go off to unknown danger? No. You will stay here where you'll be safe with the hobbits." Tone of demand was clear on his voice.

I was appalled! Who does he think he is to order me around as if I was his servant. Does he think of me so little that he thinks I can't protect myself? Anger was searing off me, and I made sure he knew.

We bickered for what felt like hours, but with the sun still displayed, it was only minutes. No one was winning from what I can see; and I can see the hobbits watching us worriedly with our shouts and screams popping off. Honestly, this was no time to fight something trivial, but I wasn't going to let Strider walk off to near collapsing.

Seeing no way to win our heated argument, I turned around to scout, leaving no choice for Strider but to stay.

Not long after I left, I heard a nightmarish screech; my face grimaced at the sound produced by the Ringwraiths. I quickly turned around, running back to my friends. The sprint up to the highest point of the tower was exhausting- my thighs and lungs burning- but I didn't stop. The thought of the Ringwraiths taking the ring or worse, killing my companions, was too much to think of. Then I thought of Strider.

He would protect them even if it would kill him. That's what I feared, him dying. I left him with and angered pretence; I am not going to let him die with him remembering our last conversation like that. I am not going to let him die, Period.

I reached where the area where the hobbits thought of as refuge. There, towering above them were five Ringwraiths holding out their swords. Not a moment to lose, I ran toward them with my own sword unsheathed as I attacked the first cloaked figure closest to me. The fight was futile; my swings, whether to their neck or chest, were not killing them. Just then, a thought ran through my mind... Where was Strider?

I can't believe he left them alone!

My swings were getting sloppy from the momentary distraction. At that point, I was thrown to the ground roughly with my sword tossing away. The Ringwraith towered over me with his sword ready to plummet over my heart. I can't say I wasn't scared. Here I was defenceless on the ground with no ways of escape as I was cornered between two adjacent walls.

Seeing my faith coming to an end, I closed my eyes and gulped my last breathe.

Time felt longer when you know that you're about to die. In fact, it felt too long. I opened an eye slowly, thinking twice if it was wise to see how I would die.

Nevertheless, what I saw made me gasp as I saw the sword falling towards my body...

hehe... cliffhanger :]]

My new dorm sucks. I had 0 net this week, =-= explains the late update. Sorry :((

But at least I updated :)) and that's what's important. Hope you guys enjoy and R&R!

I'm really enjoying your reviews. I hope I get more :D