A/N: I know, I know. I'm a cruel author. This chapter isn't even very long!
Oh well. I'd explain the WHOLE thing, but it'd take forever. So, you'll
have to settle with knowing that the reason it isn't long of overly
interesting is that I had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day that
just kind of threw me off for a bit. But I'm back now. . . enjoy!
By the way, "Nalia" is a Wood Elf that I added to the story. She actually belongs to Risa and I'm very sorry for not mentioning that the first time that I posted this chapter. Forgive me? *Gives Risa puppy dog eyes and, when she realizes that Gimli isn't helping by sulking next to her, smacks him on his helmet until he gives Risa puppy dog eyes too. "Hey, Nalia, you have to do this too! Why didn't you remind me to give credit to Risa the FIRST time?!" Nalia pouts and gives Risa puppy dog eyes.* Better?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Six - The Road Must Begin Somewhere
Riley lost track of time after Gandalf left. Not that time really mattered in Hobbiton - the Hobbits took the days just as slowly as they pleased. Riley easily fell into the rhythm when she was with the others, but when she was alone, she would pace the room and fret over the future of her friends.
Somewhere during the next few weeks, she realized that she actually had been there for a longer period of consecutive time than she had before. As much as she would have loved to stay and journey with the Fellowship, she knew that she could very well find herself back in her world before Gandalf even came back.
Then one night, Frodo and Sam decided to go down to the pub, and Riley, not having anything better to do, joined them. She had been many times, and usually didn't drink. If she did, she made sure it was no more than one tumbler-full. Everything that night seemed like the normal visits. Until, that is, Merry and Pippin, obviously a little tipsy, jumped up onto a table and began to sing. Frodo ran around the table they stood on over and over, and Riley vaguely wondered if he knew how stupid he looked just running around the table. But more than anything, she was now on her toes, reviewing where she left everything in her room so that she could pack quickly. There was no way she was going to let Gandalf send Frodo and Sam off without her while she was in Middle-Earth.
Riley laughed with the rest as Merry and Pippin sang, and tried to pay attention. After all, this might be the last time she saw Hobbiton, or the Hobbits in it, for that matter. Everything seemed to go in slow motion: Sam would glance at Rosie, Frodo spun in circles around the two mischievous singing Hobbits, thoughts of the evil they would have to face miles away from entering their minds. Riley suddenly felt a wave of protectiveness hit her; they shouldn't have to suffer through that!
Riley closed her eyes and reached out towards the calm indifference that she had always held towards the whole War of the Ring that was coming. After a moment of fighting within herself, she grasped the feeling and pulled it around her like a blanket. As long as that was her shield, nothing could touch her. It was the old mask that she had struggled to wear during high school to keep her thoughts hidden. And it worked.
Her heart was beating rapidly as Frodo finally decided to leave and he, Sam, and Riley walked out of the pub. Ignoring everything else that was going on, Riley concentrated on the air around her and chanted in her mind, "Almost there, almost there, almost there...."
As they neared the front door of Bag End, Riley was nearly choking with excitement. She was going to go to Rivendell later this morning. She was going to see her friends. Just a few days until she met up with Aragorn in Bree. "Strider," she corrected herself. She mustn't call him Aragorn around the Hobbits until they reached Rivendell. "Okay, Strider."
Though Riley tried to keep herself calm so that Gandalf's sudden presence would not startle her, she still let out a yelp and jumped backwards when he reached out and grabbed a hold of Frodo's shoulder.
Before he could utter the famous "is it secret; is it safe" words, Riley snapped, clutching at her rapidly beating heart, "Oh, gee whiz, Gandalf, don't lurk in dark corners like an alien from 'Signs'! Gaw!" She slumped against a doorframe. She laughed as the wizard's brow furrowed, probably in frustration that she had taken his best line. "No, wait. It was his most famous line. His best line is the one about not choosing what happens in your time, just what you do with the 'time that is given you'. Okay, now that I've gotten that straightened out, back to the present!" Riley supposed that she had developed a serious problem of amusing herself in her own mind, causing her to giggle manically during serious situations. Yup, that could be a problem.
In a desperate attempt to redeem herself, Riley fixed her face into what she hoped wasa cute "I'm sorry" look and pointed towards the chest where Frodo had hidden the Ring. "It's in there."
After watching Gandalf explain the Ring to Frodo a thousand times, Riley had become rather bored with it. She did, however, stay long enough to glimpse the writing on the Ring over Frodo's shoulder. It was beautiful, and Riley recognized a few of the characters as similar to the ones she had studied in Rivendell. But at the same time, she felt the ominous pull and equal disgusted repulsion that she had always felt when near the Ring. "Stupid little thing causes more trouble than it's worth. I could have bought one at home for around one hundred dollars if I'd felt like it."
Riley went to her room to pack after that. She really didn't have much to pack, but she packed all the same. A few very nice lady Hobbits had taken it upon themselves to supply Riley with new clothes (although they had had a hard time understanding why Riley preferred a male's clothes rather than the pretty, flowery dresses), and so into the pack they went. She paused for a moment when she came upon her account of her past, but finally decided to bring it along. She chose a book that she had borrowed from Frodo and tucked the parchments carefully inside the cover. By the time she was finished packing, she could hear a faint slamming of drawers, and guessed that it was about time to leave her room. With a fond glance around her room, which she had really grown to love, Riley stepped out of the place that provided the only comforts that would be left for a very long time.
Gandalf accepted her resolution to accompany Frodo with a quiet understanding, and a raised eyebrow when his eyes swept over her inconspicuous Middle-Earth clothes and spotted her blue Sketchers. Riley gave him an exasperated look and said, "What? I'm not a Hobbit; I can't go barefoot!"
Frodo had tried to argue with her, but Riley refused to be swayed, saying, "Frodo, I can fight better than you can. Do you want *me* to take the Ring?" She relied on the possessiveness over the Ring to cause Frodo to back down.
Suddenly, there was a shuffling outside the window, and Gandalf commanded them to get down. Frodo immediately dropped to the floor, but Riley leaned back against a wall and bit back a giggle as Gandalf hit something in the bushes with his staff. "Turn him into a horse. Turn him into a horse," she chanted in her mind.
"Confound it all, Samwise Gamgee, have you been eavesdropping?" Gandalf demanded, slamming the poor Hobbit onto a table, sending papers and other writing supplies flying.
Sam had a fixed look of terror on his face. "I ain't been droppin' no eaves, sir, honest. I was just cuttin' the grass under the window there, if you'll follow me."
"Turn him into a horse, turn him into a horse."
"A little late for trimming the verns, don't you think?" Same just trembled in fear. "What did you hear? Speak!"
"N-nothin' important! That is, I heard a good deal about a ring and a dark lord and somethin' about the end of the world. Please, Mr. Gandalf, sir, don't hurt me; don't turn me into anything. . . unnatural."
"No?" Gandalf said, glancing up at Frodo and Riley. "I've thought of a better use for you."
Riley couldn't resist. "Turn him into a horse, Gandalf!" She quite enjoyed Sam's look of horror. Frodo glared at her and she grinned right back. Gandalf couldn't hide his amusement.
***
Somewhere along the line, Riley noticed that she had been up all night, which is why, when Gandalf was saying his last words to Frodo, Riley closed her eyes and leaned heavily on the horse, who, fortunately, was not Sam. She hadn't realized how deep of a doze she had gone into until Gandalf was pulling her gently away from the horse and leaning her on Frodo. Riley gave him a sleepy, hopefully encouraging smile and slumped over the Hobbit's shoulders. The pounding of hooves signaled Gandalf's departure.
"Riley, we're starting off. Are you coming or would you prefer to stay in the grass and sleep the trouble away?" Frodo asked gently, a hint of teasing in his voice.
Riley snorted and pushed herself up off her friend, shaking her head to wake herself up. "Don't be a donkey, Frodo, let's go." And she started tromping off in the general direction of Bree. Or at least, she hoped that was where she was headed. No matter, Frodo and Sam seemed to agree with her sense of direction, since they began following her without complaint.
The first couple days were exciting and, quite frankly, a lot of fun for Riley. She was able to explore much of the Shire that she doubted that she would ever see again, and the walking was amusing, since she could call upon her vast amount of knowledge about hilarious things that were done in movies, and she frequently teased and tackled Sam from behind bushes.
However, after the first few days, she had to focus on the passive spirit that allowed her to accept pretty much everything without much resistance. So the days simply passed. None of them were extraordinary, they just were, like the Tucks in "Tuck Everlasting".
The greatest thing that happened was the day when they saw the Wood Elves. Frodo and Sam ducked behind a log to watch, Frodo talking softly about where the Elves were going, but Riley could not seem to stay away; she felt drawn to them, most likely because she had not seen Elves since the last time she was in Middle Earth.
Riley walked slowly down the hill, and it didn't take long for the Elves to notice she was there. They stopped, obviously waiting for her to approach them and introduce herself. Riley took a deep, slow breath, trying to calm her nerves, which were waiting anxiously for something. She paused in front of an Elf who studied her with an aloof curiosity. Riley bowed her head for a moment, and murmured, "Hello."
The Elf raised an eyebrow and glanced behind him. As if on cue, a she-Elf nudged her horse forwards until it was right in front of Riley. "Greetings, young one. What is your name?"
Riley had the mad urge to giggle. Only Legolas had ever called her "young one". Instead, she smiled calmly and replied, "My name is Riley Ashton. May I ask the name of my Elven friend, and what land she hails from?"
The Elf's face seemed to brighten. "You are the Elfin Child, then? Legolas spoke of nothing else for weeks after his return from Rivendell! I am happy to finally meet you. I am Nalia of Mirkwood."
Riley couldn't help grinning. "So you are Nalia! Legolas mentioned you several times during those few days that I knew him. And now, Lady Nalia, tell me: what has made you decide to leave these shores for the Havens?"
Nalia brushed a strand of light brown hair away from her face, and she gazed off in front of her as if she could see the ocean through the trees. "It is time. Although I am grieved to leave my family and my friends, they will join us soon. And the evil grows in this land; I cannot stay here during the time when it will nearly consume all corners of our world." She turned blue eyes to Riley. "Legolas said that you know the outcome of this evil. I do not wish for you to tell me all, but please, can you not say anything?"
Riley smiled softly, and stepped forwards, reaching up for Nalia's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I accompany the Ring-bearer. I will not let any harm come to him. I cannot tell you much, but let me tell you this: have hope."
Nalia nodded. "We will leave you to gather strength, then. Thank you, my friend. I do not think that we shall meet again, but it was an honor to know you, even for this short time. Namarie."
Riley bowed her head again, and said farewell, then stepped back, and watched the Elves continue their walk through the forest. Sighing, Riley whispered to the Elves, and to herself, "Have hope."
***
That was pretty much the last day that is was just the three of them. As they entered the field of corn, Riley had a mad urge to giggle incessantly, and so had to walk along biting one of her fingers to keep from making too much noise. Sam seemed to think she had actually gone mad, but Frodo was obviously having a difficult time keeping from laughing himself. Riley wondered whether the Ring was really weighing on him much yet. If it was at all, she was glad that she could offer some source of amusement.
"Frodo? Mr. Frodo!" Sam called. Riley looked over Frodo's head to see Sam rushing towards them with a frightened look on his face.
"What's the matter," Frodo asked.
Relief flashed across Sam's face. "I thought I'd lost you."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's just something Gandalf said."
"What did he say?"
"Don't you lose him, Samwise Gamgee, and I don't mean to." Riley bit her finger again and look a giant step away from Frodo, trying her best not to grin.
"Sam, we're still in the Shire. What could possibly happen?" Riley had clearly heard the crunch of approaching feet, but apparently Frodo and Sam were too oblivious in their conversation to notice. They did notice, however, when two Hobbits shot out of the corn and plowed them over. Riley had to squash down the idea of yelling, "CHILDREN OF THE CORN!" and run, screaming, away. Of course, that just made her want to laugh more.
"Frodo!" Pippin exclaimed, staring at the Hobbit he had just fallen on top of. "Merry, it's Frodo Baggins!"
Merry was already on his feet and was pulling Sam up. "Hullo, Frodo."
"What's the meaning of this?" Sam snapped accusingly, but had to shut his mouth to keep a piece of cabbage from shooting down his throat as Merry loaded his arms with vegetables. "You've been into Farmer Maggot's crop!"
Pippin waved at Riley excitedly. "Hullo, Elf-Girl!"
Riley finally allowed herself to laugh. "Hi, Pippin."
A dog's bark pulled them out of their greetings.
Riley didn't bother to wait for Sam, she just followed Pippin as he sprang into the corn and began running. Being able to run faster than someone gave Riley a thrill, and before she knew it, she pulled ahead of Pippin. Big, but simple, mistake: one that she hadn't expected to make. She'd forgotten about the sudden lack of ground that awaited them.
Riley was able to skid to a halt at the edge, muttering, "Uh oh" before Sam crashed into all of them and Riley found herself tumbling down a hill.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I PROMISE that it won't take this long for the next chapter to come out. In the mean time, REVIEW! Hee hee (
By the way, "Nalia" is a Wood Elf that I added to the story. She actually belongs to Risa and I'm very sorry for not mentioning that the first time that I posted this chapter. Forgive me? *Gives Risa puppy dog eyes and, when she realizes that Gimli isn't helping by sulking next to her, smacks him on his helmet until he gives Risa puppy dog eyes too. "Hey, Nalia, you have to do this too! Why didn't you remind me to give credit to Risa the FIRST time?!" Nalia pouts and gives Risa puppy dog eyes.* Better?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Six - The Road Must Begin Somewhere
Riley lost track of time after Gandalf left. Not that time really mattered in Hobbiton - the Hobbits took the days just as slowly as they pleased. Riley easily fell into the rhythm when she was with the others, but when she was alone, she would pace the room and fret over the future of her friends.
Somewhere during the next few weeks, she realized that she actually had been there for a longer period of consecutive time than she had before. As much as she would have loved to stay and journey with the Fellowship, she knew that she could very well find herself back in her world before Gandalf even came back.
Then one night, Frodo and Sam decided to go down to the pub, and Riley, not having anything better to do, joined them. She had been many times, and usually didn't drink. If she did, she made sure it was no more than one tumbler-full. Everything that night seemed like the normal visits. Until, that is, Merry and Pippin, obviously a little tipsy, jumped up onto a table and began to sing. Frodo ran around the table they stood on over and over, and Riley vaguely wondered if he knew how stupid he looked just running around the table. But more than anything, she was now on her toes, reviewing where she left everything in her room so that she could pack quickly. There was no way she was going to let Gandalf send Frodo and Sam off without her while she was in Middle-Earth.
Riley laughed with the rest as Merry and Pippin sang, and tried to pay attention. After all, this might be the last time she saw Hobbiton, or the Hobbits in it, for that matter. Everything seemed to go in slow motion: Sam would glance at Rosie, Frodo spun in circles around the two mischievous singing Hobbits, thoughts of the evil they would have to face miles away from entering their minds. Riley suddenly felt a wave of protectiveness hit her; they shouldn't have to suffer through that!
Riley closed her eyes and reached out towards the calm indifference that she had always held towards the whole War of the Ring that was coming. After a moment of fighting within herself, she grasped the feeling and pulled it around her like a blanket. As long as that was her shield, nothing could touch her. It was the old mask that she had struggled to wear during high school to keep her thoughts hidden. And it worked.
Her heart was beating rapidly as Frodo finally decided to leave and he, Sam, and Riley walked out of the pub. Ignoring everything else that was going on, Riley concentrated on the air around her and chanted in her mind, "Almost there, almost there, almost there...."
As they neared the front door of Bag End, Riley was nearly choking with excitement. She was going to go to Rivendell later this morning. She was going to see her friends. Just a few days until she met up with Aragorn in Bree. "Strider," she corrected herself. She mustn't call him Aragorn around the Hobbits until they reached Rivendell. "Okay, Strider."
Though Riley tried to keep herself calm so that Gandalf's sudden presence would not startle her, she still let out a yelp and jumped backwards when he reached out and grabbed a hold of Frodo's shoulder.
Before he could utter the famous "is it secret; is it safe" words, Riley snapped, clutching at her rapidly beating heart, "Oh, gee whiz, Gandalf, don't lurk in dark corners like an alien from 'Signs'! Gaw!" She slumped against a doorframe. She laughed as the wizard's brow furrowed, probably in frustration that she had taken his best line. "No, wait. It was his most famous line. His best line is the one about not choosing what happens in your time, just what you do with the 'time that is given you'. Okay, now that I've gotten that straightened out, back to the present!" Riley supposed that she had developed a serious problem of amusing herself in her own mind, causing her to giggle manically during serious situations. Yup, that could be a problem.
In a desperate attempt to redeem herself, Riley fixed her face into what she hoped wasa cute "I'm sorry" look and pointed towards the chest where Frodo had hidden the Ring. "It's in there."
After watching Gandalf explain the Ring to Frodo a thousand times, Riley had become rather bored with it. She did, however, stay long enough to glimpse the writing on the Ring over Frodo's shoulder. It was beautiful, and Riley recognized a few of the characters as similar to the ones she had studied in Rivendell. But at the same time, she felt the ominous pull and equal disgusted repulsion that she had always felt when near the Ring. "Stupid little thing causes more trouble than it's worth. I could have bought one at home for around one hundred dollars if I'd felt like it."
Riley went to her room to pack after that. She really didn't have much to pack, but she packed all the same. A few very nice lady Hobbits had taken it upon themselves to supply Riley with new clothes (although they had had a hard time understanding why Riley preferred a male's clothes rather than the pretty, flowery dresses), and so into the pack they went. She paused for a moment when she came upon her account of her past, but finally decided to bring it along. She chose a book that she had borrowed from Frodo and tucked the parchments carefully inside the cover. By the time she was finished packing, she could hear a faint slamming of drawers, and guessed that it was about time to leave her room. With a fond glance around her room, which she had really grown to love, Riley stepped out of the place that provided the only comforts that would be left for a very long time.
Gandalf accepted her resolution to accompany Frodo with a quiet understanding, and a raised eyebrow when his eyes swept over her inconspicuous Middle-Earth clothes and spotted her blue Sketchers. Riley gave him an exasperated look and said, "What? I'm not a Hobbit; I can't go barefoot!"
Frodo had tried to argue with her, but Riley refused to be swayed, saying, "Frodo, I can fight better than you can. Do you want *me* to take the Ring?" She relied on the possessiveness over the Ring to cause Frodo to back down.
Suddenly, there was a shuffling outside the window, and Gandalf commanded them to get down. Frodo immediately dropped to the floor, but Riley leaned back against a wall and bit back a giggle as Gandalf hit something in the bushes with his staff. "Turn him into a horse. Turn him into a horse," she chanted in her mind.
"Confound it all, Samwise Gamgee, have you been eavesdropping?" Gandalf demanded, slamming the poor Hobbit onto a table, sending papers and other writing supplies flying.
Sam had a fixed look of terror on his face. "I ain't been droppin' no eaves, sir, honest. I was just cuttin' the grass under the window there, if you'll follow me."
"Turn him into a horse, turn him into a horse."
"A little late for trimming the verns, don't you think?" Same just trembled in fear. "What did you hear? Speak!"
"N-nothin' important! That is, I heard a good deal about a ring and a dark lord and somethin' about the end of the world. Please, Mr. Gandalf, sir, don't hurt me; don't turn me into anything. . . unnatural."
"No?" Gandalf said, glancing up at Frodo and Riley. "I've thought of a better use for you."
Riley couldn't resist. "Turn him into a horse, Gandalf!" She quite enjoyed Sam's look of horror. Frodo glared at her and she grinned right back. Gandalf couldn't hide his amusement.
***
Somewhere along the line, Riley noticed that she had been up all night, which is why, when Gandalf was saying his last words to Frodo, Riley closed her eyes and leaned heavily on the horse, who, fortunately, was not Sam. She hadn't realized how deep of a doze she had gone into until Gandalf was pulling her gently away from the horse and leaning her on Frodo. Riley gave him a sleepy, hopefully encouraging smile and slumped over the Hobbit's shoulders. The pounding of hooves signaled Gandalf's departure.
"Riley, we're starting off. Are you coming or would you prefer to stay in the grass and sleep the trouble away?" Frodo asked gently, a hint of teasing in his voice.
Riley snorted and pushed herself up off her friend, shaking her head to wake herself up. "Don't be a donkey, Frodo, let's go." And she started tromping off in the general direction of Bree. Or at least, she hoped that was where she was headed. No matter, Frodo and Sam seemed to agree with her sense of direction, since they began following her without complaint.
The first couple days were exciting and, quite frankly, a lot of fun for Riley. She was able to explore much of the Shire that she doubted that she would ever see again, and the walking was amusing, since she could call upon her vast amount of knowledge about hilarious things that were done in movies, and she frequently teased and tackled Sam from behind bushes.
However, after the first few days, she had to focus on the passive spirit that allowed her to accept pretty much everything without much resistance. So the days simply passed. None of them were extraordinary, they just were, like the Tucks in "Tuck Everlasting".
The greatest thing that happened was the day when they saw the Wood Elves. Frodo and Sam ducked behind a log to watch, Frodo talking softly about where the Elves were going, but Riley could not seem to stay away; she felt drawn to them, most likely because she had not seen Elves since the last time she was in Middle Earth.
Riley walked slowly down the hill, and it didn't take long for the Elves to notice she was there. They stopped, obviously waiting for her to approach them and introduce herself. Riley took a deep, slow breath, trying to calm her nerves, which were waiting anxiously for something. She paused in front of an Elf who studied her with an aloof curiosity. Riley bowed her head for a moment, and murmured, "Hello."
The Elf raised an eyebrow and glanced behind him. As if on cue, a she-Elf nudged her horse forwards until it was right in front of Riley. "Greetings, young one. What is your name?"
Riley had the mad urge to giggle. Only Legolas had ever called her "young one". Instead, she smiled calmly and replied, "My name is Riley Ashton. May I ask the name of my Elven friend, and what land she hails from?"
The Elf's face seemed to brighten. "You are the Elfin Child, then? Legolas spoke of nothing else for weeks after his return from Rivendell! I am happy to finally meet you. I am Nalia of Mirkwood."
Riley couldn't help grinning. "So you are Nalia! Legolas mentioned you several times during those few days that I knew him. And now, Lady Nalia, tell me: what has made you decide to leave these shores for the Havens?"
Nalia brushed a strand of light brown hair away from her face, and she gazed off in front of her as if she could see the ocean through the trees. "It is time. Although I am grieved to leave my family and my friends, they will join us soon. And the evil grows in this land; I cannot stay here during the time when it will nearly consume all corners of our world." She turned blue eyes to Riley. "Legolas said that you know the outcome of this evil. I do not wish for you to tell me all, but please, can you not say anything?"
Riley smiled softly, and stepped forwards, reaching up for Nalia's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I accompany the Ring-bearer. I will not let any harm come to him. I cannot tell you much, but let me tell you this: have hope."
Nalia nodded. "We will leave you to gather strength, then. Thank you, my friend. I do not think that we shall meet again, but it was an honor to know you, even for this short time. Namarie."
Riley bowed her head again, and said farewell, then stepped back, and watched the Elves continue their walk through the forest. Sighing, Riley whispered to the Elves, and to herself, "Have hope."
***
That was pretty much the last day that is was just the three of them. As they entered the field of corn, Riley had a mad urge to giggle incessantly, and so had to walk along biting one of her fingers to keep from making too much noise. Sam seemed to think she had actually gone mad, but Frodo was obviously having a difficult time keeping from laughing himself. Riley wondered whether the Ring was really weighing on him much yet. If it was at all, she was glad that she could offer some source of amusement.
"Frodo? Mr. Frodo!" Sam called. Riley looked over Frodo's head to see Sam rushing towards them with a frightened look on his face.
"What's the matter," Frodo asked.
Relief flashed across Sam's face. "I thought I'd lost you."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's just something Gandalf said."
"What did he say?"
"Don't you lose him, Samwise Gamgee, and I don't mean to." Riley bit her finger again and look a giant step away from Frodo, trying her best not to grin.
"Sam, we're still in the Shire. What could possibly happen?" Riley had clearly heard the crunch of approaching feet, but apparently Frodo and Sam were too oblivious in their conversation to notice. They did notice, however, when two Hobbits shot out of the corn and plowed them over. Riley had to squash down the idea of yelling, "CHILDREN OF THE CORN!" and run, screaming, away. Of course, that just made her want to laugh more.
"Frodo!" Pippin exclaimed, staring at the Hobbit he had just fallen on top of. "Merry, it's Frodo Baggins!"
Merry was already on his feet and was pulling Sam up. "Hullo, Frodo."
"What's the meaning of this?" Sam snapped accusingly, but had to shut his mouth to keep a piece of cabbage from shooting down his throat as Merry loaded his arms with vegetables. "You've been into Farmer Maggot's crop!"
Pippin waved at Riley excitedly. "Hullo, Elf-Girl!"
Riley finally allowed herself to laugh. "Hi, Pippin."
A dog's bark pulled them out of their greetings.
Riley didn't bother to wait for Sam, she just followed Pippin as he sprang into the corn and began running. Being able to run faster than someone gave Riley a thrill, and before she knew it, she pulled ahead of Pippin. Big, but simple, mistake: one that she hadn't expected to make. She'd forgotten about the sudden lack of ground that awaited them.
Riley was able to skid to a halt at the edge, muttering, "Uh oh" before Sam crashed into all of them and Riley found herself tumbling down a hill.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I PROMISE that it won't take this long for the next chapter to come out. In the mean time, REVIEW! Hee hee (