Aragorn made straight for Elrond's house, ignoring the stares of the elves in the streets. He knew his appearance- ragged and dirty and following an absence of over sixty years- would be the talk of many. Yet, despite the fact that it had been many years since he had last stepped foot in the valley of Imladris, he remembered the way perfectly. Inside Elrond's house he dashed up the stairs, picking a direction and starting down the corridor.
He knew immediately when he had found the right room. That most likely was because Mithril was sitting protectively outside the door, Orcrist resting in her lap. Leaning against her shoulder was Pippin, and Minriel sat on the hobbit's other side with Sam and Merry.
Before Aragorn an elf stalked down the hall, clutching a bundle of blankets. The elf paused just outside the doorway, staring at the blade that had suddenly appeared in his way. Then his gaze travelled slowly down the length of the sword until it came to rest on its wielder- Mithril.
She had fixated a smile on her face. It was a pretty smile, but there was a certain baring of the teeth to it, as well as a gleam to her eyes, that gave the girl a wild, dangerous look. Quickly the elf took a step back.
"Mithril," called Bilbo from inside the room. "Don't terrorize the elves."
Mithril's smile didn't waver as she responded. "They won't be terrorized so long as they stay away from my cousin."
The elf gulped. "I- I have only come to bring Master Frodo more blankets," he pleaded.
Aragorn resisted a small chuckle at the sight of the cowering elf, hiding himself in the shadows at the end of the hall.
"Pippin, take the blankets," ordered Mithril.
Obediently Pippin took the blankets from the elf, and Mithril only lowered Orcrist once the elf had fled down the hallway. Pippin disappeared into Frodo's room, and when he reemerged he sat beside his cousin again, resting his head on her shoulder. Mithril's hand came up to stroke his curls gently, and a kiss was planted on his head.
Aragorn cleared his throat, stepping out of the shadows. Immediately the assembled family glanced up, and Mithril again brandished Orcrist. As her eyes fell on the ranger she grinned and fit her sword into the sheath on her back.
"Strider!" she greeted him.
Minriel threw herself at the ranger, substituting the title 'Da' for a warm hug. Mithril watched as Merry, Sam, and Pippin's eyes went back and forth between the three.
"You know him?" asked Sam.
Minriel nodded, detaching herself from her father. "He was the ranger who escorted us to Erebor when I was a baby," she told him. "And he has visited Erebor several times since. Why?"
Sam bit his lip, a guilty look on his face, and Aragorn chuckled.
"No need to feel ashamed Sam," he told the hobbit. "I admire your loyalty to your friends."
Sam nodded, a pleased smile touching at his face. All his doubts about the ranger were now falling away; if his older cousins trusted Strider, surely he was an honest man.
"How is Frodo?" asked Aragorn.
"Asleep," Minriel told him. She sighed. "He arrived just in time; if he had come but a few minutes later he would have been lost."
Beside her Mithril tensed, and Minriel reached out to take her cousin's hand.
"But he will live?" pressed Aragorn.
Minriel paused, but then nodded. "He will live," she promised.
Aragorn's shoulders relaxed, and he nodded. "Might his bodyguard allow me to see him?" he asked, slanting an amused look to Mithril.
The girl grinned, and her hand automatically went up to touch the hilt of her sword.
"You may," she allowed.
Aragorn smiled softly and slipped into the room, and Mithril resumed her guard's position outside the door.
It was some days before Frodo woke. Bilbo had retired to his room at that point, exhausted and sore from sitting by his nephew's side. Mithril had not budged from her position by the door. Minriel had taken Pippin's place, stretched out along the wall with her head on her cousin's shoulder. Merry, Pippin, and Sam spent the hours playing a card game beside the two cousins, and though Minriel occasionally joined, she mostly sat silently with Mithril when not attending to Frodo's wound. Together, the five cousins took up most of the space in the hallway. When Gandalf had come he had been hard pressed to tiptoe around them, but had at last managed.
Minriel sat up as she heard soft murmuring from within the room. Mithril turned to her, and as their eyes locked a signal passed between them. Immediately they sprang up, pulling the others with them.
"Frodo!"
Frodo yelped as his cousins all barged into his room at once, crowding around him. Plied with questions about how he was feeling, he could only switch his gaze back and forth between them.
"Slow down, slow down," chuckled Gandalf. The wizard was now pressed to the wall to escape the five cousins, though he didn't look at all upset. "One at a time," he commanded.
Minriel was the first to speak. "How do you feel?" she asked. She gently pushed Merry out of her way as she unwrapped the bindings around Frodo's shoulder.
Frodo winced. "Not very well," he admitted.
Minriel nodded. "That is to be expected," she informed him. She quickly applied a fresh salve and bandages, her normally fumbling fingers working the cloth bindings with ease. She then leaned down to press a kiss to her cousin's forehead.
Mithril was next. First she too kissed Frodo, then crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze. "What were you doing in the wilderness?" she asked. "What happened to you? Do you realize how close to death you were? Never do-"
The rapidly increasing volume of her voice was cut off as Minriel's hand clamped over her mouth, though she still continued to rant.
"Mithril, hush," commanded Gandalf. The wizard sighed. "Frodo was journeying here when he was attacked, and you should be glad he was on the road when it happened. The ring wraiths that came for him would have done so in the Shire, where he would have been too far from Rivendell to seek aid."
Mithril's face paled, and she all but threw herself at Frodo, forgetting his injury in her worry and haste to hold him. The hobbit yelped as his shoulder was disturbed, and Mithril quickly detached herself.
"Let's go," Gandalf said. He took Mithril and Minriel's hands and led them from the room, all but shoving them at Gimli at the bottom of the stairs. "See to it that these two eat," he ordered. "I must find Lord Elrond."
Gimli steered his cousins to the kitchens, and soon food had been brought. He scowled at the green stuff on the plates, picking at the food. All three cousins looked up as a man with dark brown hair and grey eyes appeared in the doorway. He wore a sword and white horn strapped to his belt, and an emblem of a white tree was on his breastplate.
"Pretty design," muttered Minriel absently, staring at the tree.
"Where might I find Lord Elrond?" asked the man.
Mithril was on her feet instantly, putting herself in front of Minriel and Gimli as alarms went off in her head. Her nerves hadn't quite calmed with Frodo's waking, and when she closed her eyes she still heard screams in the bloody air of the past.
She wouldn't let any more of her family get hurt. Not even from this stranger, whoever he might be.
"What is it to you?" she asked, barely resisting the urge to reach for Orcrist. "What is your name, stranger?"
The man's eyebrows rose. "I am Boromir, son of Denethor the second, who is Steward of Gondor," he claimed. "Who are you to challenge me?"
Mithril raised her chin. "Mithril, daughter of Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield, who is King Under the Mountain."
Boromir blinked, and then bowed. "Forgive me, my lady," he murmured. "I had not realized who you were. Who are your companions?"
Mithril didn't give either of her cousins a chance to answer for themselves. "My two cousins," she told him. "Minriel, ward of Lady Tauriel and Prince Kili, who is the second heir to the throne of Erebor, and Gimli, son of Gloin of the royal family of the mountain."
Again Boromir bowed. "Greetings," he began. "I meant you no disrespect; I have simply travelled many miles, and must speak to the lord of Rivendell."
Mithril nodded, but it was Minriel who stepped forward, nudging Mithril gently to the side.
"Follow me," she declared.
Boromir analyzed the three cousins carefully as Minriel led them through the house. Gimli, he decided, was a sure, strong dwarven soldier. Mithril, though young, held a fiery passion and bull-headed stubbornness within her, a trait which reminded the man of himself. At the head of the group Minriel all but skipped along the corridor, and Boromir couldn't help but notice how Mithril's eyes always strayed to her. Combined with the sad look deep within Minriel's eyes, as though some great burden weighed upon her shoulders, Boromir was reminded of his younger brother Faramir.
Minriel knocked softly on her grandfather's study door, and so, with her hovering in the background, Elrond was able to fix a pleasant smile on his face to welcome Boromir. The cousins quickly left, deciding to find Tauriel.
"Shhh." Mithril pressed a finger to her lips as she crouched behind a pillar. Beside her Minriel rolled her eyes, but did as she was commanded. The secret meeting soon began, and the girls watched as the council discussed the fate of the One Ring– the very same ring that Bilbo had carried for many years, and was now carried by Frodo. Soon those assembled descended into bickering over who would bear the ring to Mordor.
"I will do it!" Everyone stared at Frodo in shock as he stood, lifting his chin as he addressed the crowd. "I will bring the ring to Mordor- though I do not know the way."
As Minriel felt Mithril tense behind her she resisted a groan, knowing that there was a firestorm of alarms going off in her cousin's head. All the same, both her and Mithril's heart beat in unison at the prospect of the quest; a chance to prove themselves. They were children of the mountain, trained by both dwarf and elf. Surely, they thought, they could handle the quest. Minriel even went so far as to reckon it would be fun.
Minriel curiously watched the group, wondering who, if any, would volunteer to help Frodo. Surely her da would.
Gandalf was the first to react. At Frodo's declaration he had closed his eyes in what seemed like grief- Minriel wasn't quite sure why- but now he straightened, wiping the sudden weariness from his face as he turned to Frodo. He fixed a benign smile on his face.
"I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear."
He approached Frodo slowly, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
With that, the rest of the circle seemed to be roused. Aragorn stepped forward next, and Minriel ignored Mithril's groan beside her.
"If by life or death, I can protect you, I will," he said. He knelt before Frodo and looking him in the eyes. Though Minriel was at a bad angle and couldn't see his face, she knew her da had that calm, steady look in his eyes. The same look he always had when he left her, promising that he would be back again. The look that Minriel had always trusted. "You have my sword."
Yet, as he stood and took his place behind Frodo, Minriel felt her heart twist in worry that maybe, this time, he wouldn't come back.
"And you have my bow," stated Legolas. He strode forward, coming to stand next to Aragorn as he took his place beside Gandalf. Minriel couldn't help but wonder what Thranduil would say about his son volunteering for this quest.
"And my axe!" shouted Gimli. As he stomped forward, shooting a scowl toward Legolas, Minriel couldn't help but chuckle- especially as Mithril let out several colorful curses to her right.
For several moments the council was silent. Just when Minriel thought the volunteering was over, Boromir stepped forward.
"You carry the fate of us all, little one," he said slowly. He paused several steps away from Frodo, and Minriel watched the man curiously. There seemed to still be some bitterness in him that the ring could not be used for Gondor, but also a nobility, a desire to help.
Boromir shot a look around him as though weighing his next words. "If this is indeed the will of the council, then Gondor will see it done."
He stepped forward and took his place among the volunteers.
"Alright," Minriel whispered to Mithril. "Not too bad. Frodo should be safe enough with them."
"He will be once I'm there," Mithril growled back.
Minriel chuckled. "Well of course."
She glanced up in surprise as someone gave a small shout, drawing everyone's attention. Sam popped up from behind a couple of bushes, darting forward and all but latching himself to Frodo's side.
"Mister Frodo's not going anywhere without me," he declared.
Beside Minriel, Mithril made a choking sound.
Elrond's eyebrows lifted in amusement as he looked down on Sam.
"No indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not."
For a moment Sam looked sorry, and then he lifted his chin in a look of stubborn determination that Minriel knew Mithril had taught him.
"Wait, we're coming too!"
Minriel wasn't sure what was funnier as Merry and Pippin darted out from behind pillars across the courtyard: Elrond's rapid glances back and forth between Frodo and the two younger hobbits, or the tirade of curses Mithril was choking out beside her.
Upon reaching Frodo, Merry crossed his arms in a cocky look, and Pippin quickly copied his stance.
"You'd have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us!" announced Merry.
Minriel thought Mithril might just do that.
"Anyway," Pippin added. "You need people of intelligence on this sort of mission, quest… thing."
Beside him Merry sighed as Minriel giggled. "Well that leaves you out Pip," he shot from the corner of his mouth.
Pippin elbowed him in the ribs, and Bilbo had to clear his throat before the two could start to wrestle on the stone ground. Still chuckling, Minriel looked toward Mithril and gestured with her head to the courtyard.
"It's time we join them," she whispered.
Mithril shook her head slightly. "They will refuse us," she told Minriel. "It would be best to just follow in secret."
"They didn't refuse those idiots," objected Minriel. "Glass half full, remember!" With that she shot Mithril a grin and stepped out from behind their pillar.
"Don't forget about us!" she shouted. She rushed forward to join the council, tripping in the process, and Mithril followed with a sigh. She and Minriel stood on the edge of the group, fixing determined glares on their faces that dared anyone to refuse them.
"You don't really think I'm letting my little cousins go to Mordor without me, do you?" asked Mithril.
"No!"
The shout came from Aragorn, Elrond, Bilbo, Tauriel, Gimli, Legolas, and Boromir all at once. Aragorn's eyes had bugged out of his head, and he and Bilbo exchanged horrified glances.
"What are you doing here?" Aragorn asked. "Elrohir and Elladan are supposed to be watching you!"
Minriel shrugged. "They experienced a slight problem with their boots," she supplied. "Somehow they got tied together."
Aragorn groaned, imagining the twins tripping around Rivendell, bound together at the ankles. "Go back to Lord Elrond's house," he commanded.
The girls both raised their chins in a glare that only Dis could have taught them.
"No," they chorused.
"This is not a mission for little girls," stated Elrond.
Mithril snorted. "Who are you calling little?" she asked.
Minriel's eyebrow rose as she glanced down at her cousin's small frame. Mithril, for her part, simply locked eyes with Elrond and attempted to glare him down, her muscles tensing as she readied for an argument Thorin would be proud of. Behind Elrond, a couple of elves looked away. Minriel suppressed a grin at the sight.
Small but mighty, she thought.
"You are not going!" objected Bilbo. "Go back to the house!"
Still, the girls didn't budge.
Elrond sighed. "So the nine of you shall journey to Mordor together," he stated. "The Fellowship of the Ring, you shall be called."
Mithril frowned. "Eleven," she corrected.
"Nine," affirmed Elrond. He pointed to the house. "Go. Now."
The girls' objections were cut off as Elrohir and Elladan rushed into the courtyard, and Mithril was yanked into Elladan's arms.
"Put me down," she ordered. "Elladan-"
"Lock them in their room," ordered Bilbo. "We'll need to stand guard outside the door until the fellowship leaves, or they will sneak off after them." He sent an accusing scowl to Mithril. The girl didn't see, too busy trying to squirm out of her uncle's arms. It was of little use, and soon she and Minriel were shoved into their room, the door locked behind them.
It was some hours later when Gandalf slipped into the room. The two girls turned away from him, crossing their arms and glaring out over the balcony. Gandalf chuckled and sat beside them on Minriel's bed.
"Come now girls," he pleaded. "I didn't object to you joining us."
At that the girls turned to him.
"No," mused Minriel. "You didn't. Why was that?"
Gandalf chuckled. "Because it would be of no use," he stated.
He was rewarded with matching grins.
"Why have you come?" asked Mithril.
A twinkle played in Gandalf's eyes. "I came to give my farewell to you." He shot a glance back at the door, where no doubt at least two guards were listening. "The path we shall take is a dangerous one. Saruman will be watching the high pass, so we will have to travel the Pass of Caradhras. It is much more dangerous, and I would not chance it before saying goodbye."
The girls exchanged gleeful looks as they absorbed the information Gandalf had parted to them.
"Don't worry," offered Minriel. "You will be fine, and we shall see you all again shortly." She stood and hugged Gandalf, and he squeezed her shoulder warmly.
"Good luck," Mithril said. She too hugged the wizard, but there was a grumpy tone to her voice that had Gandalf pressing his lips together in amusement. Mithril's eyes darted to the door, and she then gave Gandalf a wink. "I want my cousins back in one piece," she warned.
"Of course," said Gandalf. "They shall have the best bodyguards in all of Middle Earth."
He slipped from the room then, leaving the girls to their plotting.
Bilbo chuckled as Frodo pulled the shirt of mithril over his head. It was odd, he decided, seeing his armor on someone else, but he was glad that it had gone to Frodo.
"Wear it well," he told him. "I hope you don't need it –or this." Bilbo hefted Sting from the bed, and with wide eyes Frodo accepted the sword. He drew the blade, and Bilbo felt a pang in his heart as the light flashed on the metal surface. Oh, such memories had been caught up in the graceful curve of that sword.
Frodo sheathed the sword at last and buckled it to his belt. "Thank you Uncle," he whispered.
Bilbo nodded, pulling Frodo to him in a hug. Frodo had begun to back out of Bilbo's room, tears watering his eyes, when Bilbo called him back.
"Might I see it?" Bilbo asked. "The ring? Just one last time."
Frodo bit his lip, but then nodded. Gingerly he pulled at the chain around his neck, and the gold band dangled between his fingers. For a moment Bilbo simply stared at it, enraptured, and then he leapt at Frodo. His face had somehow hollowed out, his eyes widening until the heavily veined whites were prominent in his skull. His hair receded, becoming hardly more than greasy strings on his head, and Bilbo snarled, shockingly sharp teeth bared.
Frodo all but screamed as he jumped back, shoving the ring back under his tunic. As it vanished Bilbo again regained control of himself, and his features returned to normal.
"My boy," he gasped. "I am so-"
"It- it's fine." Frodo gulped as he slowly inched away, his heart pounding in his throat. "It's fine Uncle." He gulped again, now at the door. "Farewell," he whispered. Before Bilbo could respond he was gone, dashing through Elrond's house to join the rest of the fellowship.
Minriel glanced up as she heard the gates to Rivendell creak open, and Mithril followed her gaze.
"They have left?" she asked.
Minriel nodded. "How long should we wait?" As she spoke she shoved the last of her clothes in her bag, hiding it under her bed in case someone came in.
Mithril pursed her lips. "A half hour," she decided. "And we'll have to be quick; we still have to stop at the kitchens."
Minriel nodded. As they waited Mithril pulled her hair back and carefully secured it in a braid, then copied the plaiting on Minriel's hair. The half elven girl scowled and undid Mithril's work.
"You're horrible at making braids," she commented.
Mithril scowled as Minriel began to re-braid her hair. "Shut up."
Minriel chuckled, and as she finished with her hair she undid the messy braid that had been worked into Mithril's hair. Her cousin sat patiently as Minriel's fingers wove in and out of her curls, and as Minriel finished the two sat quietly.
At last it was time, and the two girls did up the laces on their boots. They then pulled on the arm greaves that their Uncle Fili had gifted them the previous year, Mithril's supplemented with two small daggers hidden against her wrists. She also had two large daggers strapped to her waist, and Minriel scowled as her cousin swung Orcrist across her back. She didn't see why Mithril insisted on so many knives; a bow was much simpler.
Both set a letter on their beds; one addressed to Bilbo, the other to Arwen.
"Ready?" asked Minriel.
Mithril nodded, and Minriel jumped over the balcony to their room. She landed easily below, for once not stumbling, and stood waiting for her cousin.
Mithril eyed the drop beneath her warily. Minriel had covered it easily enough; surely if her cousin could manage it then so could she. Still, images of broken bones kept flashing through her mind, and her breaths grew labored.
"Mith," hissed Minriel. "Come on. Frodo is waiting."
Mithril blinked, clearing away her doubts. Taking a deep breath, she clambered onto the railing of the balcony, then, squeezing her eyes shut, allowed herself to slip off. She had to bite her lip to keep from screaming as she fell downwards, and it was only when Minriel had set her gently on the ground that she dared to look around her again.
"Let's go," Mithril ordered.
The two made first for the kitchens, and Mithril, being the quieter of the two, snuck inside. She quickly stuffed the remaining room in their packs with food and water, and then met Minriel outside. The half elf had settled in a cluster of bushes to wait, and was in the middle of braiding flowers into her hair.
There was a back entrance to Rivendell; Elrohir and Elladan had made the mistake of showing it to the girls once. Together they slipped silently through the streets of Rivendell, and it was without incident that they escaped.
They moved in a wide arc around Rivendell, taking care that they were out of sight of the city before attempting to follow the fellowship. Soon they had found their tracks; Gimli's large footprints were unmistakable, and they set off after them.
Bilbo sighed as the sun faded beneath the horizon, and he glanced over to Tauriel.
"I suppose at this point it's too late for them to have snuck off," he commented.
Tauriel nodded, and Bilbo went to free the girls from their room.
"Any trouble?" he asked. From outside the door four elven guards shook their heads, and Bilbo sent them away with a few words of thanks.
"Girls?" he knocked lightly on the door. "It's time for supper."
He received no answer, and sighed. He should have expected it, he realized. He wondered how long Minriel and Mithril would be giving him the silent treatment.
"I'm coming in," he warned. He pushed open the door, eyes scanning around the room. "Mithril?" he called. "Minriel?"
Only silence met his ears.
The others were just sitting down to eat when Bilbo arrived. Elrond sat at the head of the table, Arwen on his right and Elladan and Elrohir on his left. Beside Arwen there were two empty chairs for the girls, and Bilbo and Tauriel were to sit beside the twins. Each glanced up as Bilbo stormed into the room, two slips of paper clutched in his hands.
"They're gone," he declared. He thrust one of the papers at Arwen, and with growing panic she skimmed over her daughter's words. Nearby Tauriel was muttering a stream of curses as she took Bilbo's letter from him, no doubt written by Mithril.
"How did this happen?" demanded Elrond. "There were four guards outside their door!"
Tauriel sighed. "That has never stopped Mithril in the past. Did you put guards in the garden below their balcony?" she asked.
"No, it seemed unnecassary."
"Then that's how they got out."
Bilbo cast a glare around the table, studying the faces of everyone there. Elrond's eyes were widened slightly, though, as always, he was keeping his composure near perfect. Tauriel was pacing back and forth, muttering angrily to herself, and Arwen and her brothers looked half panicked.
"Did you help them?" Bilbo asked.
The twins' faces paled as they realized Bilbo was speaking to them, and they shook their heads vigorously.
"Of course not!" said Elrohir. "We would never."
Elladan nodded. "We may have done some foolish things, and we may encourage their pranks, but we would never have permitted them to go running off to Mordor." The elf's words descended into curses, and beside him, Elrohir threw himself in his chair.
"Well, what do we do now?" asked Tauriel. "Can we go after them?"
Elrond shook his head. "It would draw too much attention to the Fellowship," he warned. "The girls will be safer if we allow them to continue. Once they join with the others they will be kept safe."
Bilbo frowned. "I don't like it," he decided.
"Neither do I," stated Arwen. She sighed, knowing that her father was correct in his predictions. "But Ada is right; it is the only way. To go after them would only draw Saruman's eye to them, and to Frodo."
Bilbo ground his teeth, but eventually had to admit that the elves were correct. He settled down at the table and placed his head in his hands, unsuccessfully fighting back a headache. A terse silence had long since fallen over the table when he glanced up again, panic on his face.
"Oh Mahal," he muttered.
Tauriel glanced over. "What?" she asked.
Bilbo gave her a horrified look. "I have to tell Thorin," he stated. "He's going to kill me."