Chapter 21 Ring Wraiths

The town was quiet, cold air seeped into the Inn from the rains and the black of night. Sam, Pippin, and Merry slept on under warm blankets while Frodo sat in a Man sized chair with Maliah on his lap and a blanket covering them. Neither could fall into a deep sleep, their minds both in turmoil from what they had heard and seen, making them doze lightly in the comfort of one another. Strider watched them all from his seat next to the window as he smoked his pipe, watching as four, black robed riders made their way into the Inn. As he listened for a sound, nary one could be heard except for a door banging opening. A minute passed and Strider looked to the sleeping hobbits and dwarf, waiting for the riders. Suddenly, shrieks filled the air and Maliah was the first to wake up, covering her ears with her hands. Frodo woke and was holding her, looking to the window as the other three hobbits woke up to the continuous shrieks.

"What are they?" Frodo asked.

"They once were men," Strider answered glancing at Frodo and then back outside. "Great kings of Men. 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. Now they are slaves to his will." He watched as they galloped down the streets of Bree before turning back around. "They are the Nazgûl, Ringwraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the Ring, drawn to the power of the One. They will never stop hunting you, neither of you." Strider's grey eyes fell to Maliah who was staring up at him with wide eyes, her hands still over her ears.

Frodo frowned lightly but it was Sam who asked, "What do you mean 'either of them'?"

"They aren't just looking for the Ring now, but for the one who can speak their language. You can understand them, am I right, Princess?"

All eyes in the room when to her and Maliah nodded. "Why me?"

"I'm not sure. We leave at dawn, everyone get some sleep." Strider nodded to her and took up a seat at the window again.

True to his word, all of occupants were woken and dress before dawn, saying goodbye to the Innkeeper as the first light crested over the horizon. Strider stopped by the barn and they discovered all the horses had disappeared last night, whether by thief or themselves, the ending was he no longer had a horse. Through some discussion with the Innkeeper, they discovered there may be one man in town with a horse left and were given directions to his home. Fortunately, and unfortunately, the man had one horse left and Strider wasted no time in buying him. Bill was the name and he was quickly ladened with a fair portion of their baggage after a feeding.

Their group of five was now six, with Strider in the lead marching them through a gloomy overgrown forest. Sam was at the rear leading Bill. Having no idea where they were going, they chose to follow Frodo and Maliah who seemed to trust the strange man they had met last night.

"Where are you taking us?" Frodo called to Strider.

"Into the Wild."

Frodo watched uneasily as Strider moved off into the cover of trees. Merry came up to his side and whispered in his ear.

"How do we know this Strider is a friend of Gandalf?

"I think a servant of the enemy would look fairer and feel fouler." The dry response made Maliah smile, she knew Frodo trusted Strider because she did.

"He's foul enough."

"We have no choice but to trust him."

Sam closed in on them and cast a wary eye on the man who had reappeared. "But where is he leading us?"

Strider stopped and casted a glance back at Sam. "To Rivendell, Master Gamgee, to the house of Elrond."

Excited took over the chubby hobbit's face. "Did you hear that, Bill? Rivendell! We're going to see the Elves!"

Chuckles ran out from his friends and Maliah looked to the sky to get her eyes off the gloomy forest. She squinted at two black dots she thought to be birds. Maybe one was Raanan, it was about time for him to be returning to the Shire unless he decided to stay longer. Careful with her steps, she continued to watch the sky as the two dots came closer and were indeed birds. It wasn't until they were almost to them did Maliah fully recognize them. One was indeed Raanan, and the other was Daemyn. A frown furrowed her brow and she stopped walking to wait for them to come to her. One by one, the others noticed her falling behind and turned to look at her. Frodo was the first to realize why followed by Strider who was now at his side.

Daemyn nose-dived unceremoniously at Maliah, trilling loudly making Frodo assume it was the Queen talking through her bird; not that anyone knew what the robin was saying. She waited for Raanan to land on her arm, Daemyn on her shoulder, and focused her attention to the raven. Frodo was never sure how much Maliah understood the raven, but it always seemed enough to know what was happening. Right now was a perfect example, with the frown still lining her face, she stared intently at Raanan while Daemyn chattered.

"There's a meeting at Rivendell, a big one."

"What? Why?" Frodo and Sam asked at the same time.

"I don't understand fully, something about a council?"

Strider stood and watched the young dwarf Princess listen to the birds. She was unusual, not a typical dwarf and her reactions to the Ring wraiths was peculiar itself. "We will find out soon enough, we should continue."

Frodo nodded, "Yes." He placed his hand on Maliah's elbow to get her walking again. When she did, both birds took to flight and stayed above them, flying silently.

It was midmorning when Merry and Pippin stopped walking, holding back Bill the pony as Sam made to walk by them. Frodo and Maliah also stopped and watched them confused for a moment until they saw utensils to cook with being unpacked. Strider had turned to see what had happened and shook his head.

"Gentlemen, we do not stop till nightfall."

"What about breakfast?" Pippin asked genuinely.

"You've already had it"

"We've had one, yes, what about second breakfast?"

Strider stared at Pippin blankly, then to Maliah before turning away, shaking his head.

"I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip." Merry told him as he took a step.

Pippin stuffed what he taken out back into his bag. "What about Elevenses, Luncheon, Afternoon tea, dinner, he knows about them, doesn't he?"

"I wouldn't count on it." After his words, an apple came flying at Merry who deftly caught it before handing it to Pippin before slapping his shoulder. Another, aimed at Pippin, caught him on the forehead and dropped to the ground. Merry, having walked ahead, called out behind him, "Pippin!"

The other three smiled and followed their friends, all hungry and took the fruit Strider was throwing at them.

The third day after leaving Bree became more miserable as they trudged through rain, looking tired, hungry, and miserable. The ground now became damp, and in places boggy and here and there they came upon pools, and wide stretches of reeds and rushes filled with the warbling of little hidden birds. None of the hobbits had been on a trek and were wolefully unprepared to struggle through the dense swamplands of Midgewater, bugs swarming around them. They had to pick their way carefully to keep both dry-footed and on their proper course. At first they made fair progress, but as they went on, their passage became slower and more dangerous. The marshes were bewildering and treacherous, and there was no permanent trail even for Rangers to find through their shifting quagmires. The flies began to torment them, and the air was full of clouds of tiny midges that crept up their sleeves and breeches and into their hair.

Merry slapped at the swarming insects. "What do they eat when they can't get Hobbit?"

None answered him as they were busy swatting their own bugs away, Pippin losing his balance and fell face first into the muck. Maliah was barely thankful for her leggings under the skirt she wore, mostly for the protection against bugs but not for how hot she was getting. Unfortunately, they had to stop for the night still in the marshlands, camping on the damp and cold ground. No one got much sleep.

Thankfully, they left the marshes behind them the next day and walked onto firmer, drier land just before nightfall. Strider urged them a little further towards some trees for coverage, picking up firewood as they went. When the full moon was high overhead, Strider kept watch by the dying embers of the fire while everyone else slept, singing quietly to himself.

"Tinúviel elvanui, Elleth alfirin ethelhael O hon ring finnil fuinui A renc gelebrin thiliol."

Frodo stirred awake as Strider's song carried over to him. "Who is she? This woman you sing of?"

Strider turned, momentarily startled. He relaxed, a soft look taking over his face. "'Tis the lady of Lúthien. The Elf-maiden who gave her love to Beren, a mortal."

"What happened to her?"

A moment of silence. "She died." His face bore remorse as he turned back to the hobbit, his eyes drifting over those still sleeping. "Get some sleep, Frodo."

Frodo nodded and laid back down, running a hand over Maliah's arm when she rolled into him.

Strider turned back to his vigil and looked up at the moon, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Anyone feel bad about not taking Frerin with us?"

"No."

The twin's chorused answer made Flori bite back a laugh. She didn't per say feel bad about not asking their cousin to come with them, but if they were going to cause trouble she was sure he would have had joined them. Right now, they were in the forest of King Thranduil, just off the path and a little behind the group containing the one woman who would probably catch them. None of the three were sure how long it would take to get out of the trees, but they were certain of the fact it was going to get harder to hide from the Queen after.

"Isn't there supposed to be Elves tagging along to ensure they make it through Mirkwood?" Kori asked from his tree branch.

"Yeah, so?" Kali muttered back from a branch above him.

"Where are they?"

Kali cracked one eye open and peered down at her brother. He had a point. "Maybe they chose not to make an appearance."

Flori hung upside down from her branch and looked at Kali upside down, her long hair tickling Kori's face who swatted the long strands away. "You think they know we are here?"

"I don't know how they couldn't. You've seen how well Aunt Tauriel's hearing is, I just wonder why they haven't said anything."

"Probably think it's funny to hold one over on some dwarves." Kori flicked the pale hair away again. "Would you move?"

Shaking her hair once more in his face, Flori swung herself up onto her branch again and cradled the limb on her stomach. The forest was quiet and they could hear the party of Erebor talking with the crackle of a fire. The cold air of the night was trapped outside of the canopy, making their own need for warmth less and they could just sleep under their cloaks. After Mirkwood was open prairie according to the map her mother had given her, almost to the mountains. She doubted they would be able to continue following them without being noticed. But they could try. Digging into her pocket, Flori pulled out a flint knife and turned it between her fingers. Wonder if Gimli knew it was gone yet?

Tinúviel the elven-fair, Immortal maiden elven-wise, About him cast her night-dark hair, And arms like silver glimmering.