Cadance didn't know how long she had been swimming. The already dark sky was increasingly dimmed as storm clouds roiled in the air and unleashed a downpour that prevented the girl from drying off after her long swim. She knew there would be little time for her to rest if she were to escape the black riders, but her arms and legs were tired and she didn't know how long she could carry on. The overal walk to Bree was not long, but to Cadance, it seemed like miles.

Finally, she came to the gate of the town. It appeared to be made of hard wood and there was a rectangle of wood cut out and hinged in place to act as a window for the gate keeper. The girl knocked on the hard wood and listened as the keeper bustled out of his shelter on the other side and peered out at her.

"Ah, another strange visitor! What is your business in Bree, little mistress?"

"My business is my own, but I must inquire if any of your 'strange visitors' would be four hobbits."

"Indeed they would be. I shan't pry, come on in."

The gate creaked open and Cadance walked through it. She was about to begin her search for the Prancing Pony was the gate keeper called to her.

"Seeing as it's still raining and late at night, you might want to wear a traveling cloak or something of the like."

Cadance looked down at herself expecting to see the cloak she was wearing during the beginning of the journey, but it was not there.

"Oh, it seems I don't have one."

"Ah, I see, well... I have one here, why don't you take it. Really."

"Thank you for your kindness, I sincerely appriciate it."

"No problem. You best be off now."

Cadance nodded and, turning, walked down the street. While keeping an eye out for the inn, she wracked her mind for where her cloak might be. The one from the gatekeeper was warm and dry, a great relief, but it was a bit big for her. She had been wearing her cloak right before she jumped into the river. She was wearing it when she threw the rock at the Nazgûl. Cadance shuddered at the memory of how he had almost caught her when the realization dawned on her. The reason she hadn't been caught was because the wraith had grabbed her cloak. Cadance remembered that, from the stories she heard, the Nazgûl were already excellent at tracking and they used their strong sense of smell to help them hunt down victims. It was like a sign pointing them in the direction of their prey.

And now...

they had...

her cloak.

Wonderful.

Cadance pulled the clothe tighter around herself and continued through the street. The cobblestone road was broad and uneven, the water pooling in the many dips and ruts making it all the more unpleasent to walk on. The girl constantly slipped as she walked, due to her fatigue and the slick slone. To a yound traveler like Cadance, the streets of Bree were hopelessly complex. She quickly became lost in the maze of roads, alleys, and identical buildings. She often twisted her ankles in the crevices created by the sloppily made roads. Rats scurried around corners and in the back alley, snatching greedily at any disguarded or spilled food. The streets were mostly deserted, so Cadance proceeded in the eerie silence that befell the sleeping town. The edges of her cloak were wet from trailing on the ground or landing on puddles whenever Cadance tripped. A few times, the cloak got caught under the heel of her boots and the girl fell to the ground, scraping an arm or leg through the fabric of her travel attire. Cadance had lost hope that she could find the inn, so she almost cried in relief when she happened to glance up and see the sign for the prancing pony ahead. Shivering, she entered the warm, well lighted establishment and walked over to the bar tender.

"Excuse me, but would you have happened to see four hobbits come in?"

"Why yes, I did."

"I was suppose to be with them to see Gandalf, did he make it?"

"Now there's the funny thing. They asked about Gandalf the Grey too, but I havn't seen him recently. Mr. Underhill did get a room though."

"Hold on, you said Mr. Underhill? Would you mind giving me a description of the hobbits?"

The bar tender described the four travelers and Cadance recognized them as her friends. She remembered Gandalf telling Frodo not to use his actual name, so he must have come up with Underhill. The man pointed Cadance in the direction of the room, then proceeded to evict several arguing drunkards.

Cadance crept up the long, winding staircase and immediatly saw the door to the room, as the bartender had told her it was the first on the landing. She quietly opened it and saw four beds, two on each side of the room, set up horizontally, pointing into the middle of the room. It appeared that the four hobbits were sleeping, so Cadance sat on the wide windowsill, leaned her head aginst it, and was lulled to sleep by the sound of pounding rain.

The girl woke with a start when she heard a distinctive bang come from the downstairs. Her head snapped up and she looked around the room. The light that had streamed through the cracks inbetween the door and posts was gone, signaling that the tavern was closed. From what Cadance could tell, it was about one o'clock in the morning. She walked over to the beds and decided to check and make sure her companions had not stirred from their sleep. She was very surprised to see that the things she had beleived were hobbits actually were pillows. Cadance thought this very strange that there would be a room full of hobbit decoys. True, they had almost been caught a couple times, but surely there was no reason for this.

Then, Cadance remembered something. On her way to Bree, she had felt the same pull towards the ring that she had felt when Bilbo put it on during his party. She gasped, realizing that Frodo must have put on the ring, and doing that would attrack the Nazgûl. The decoys were there to fool the wraiths, and they bad folled Cadance too. The girl ran to the window and, to her horror, saw four, black steeds with the same saddles and bridles as the other black riders she had seen.

However, she didn't see any riders. Cadance almost breathed a sigh of relief, but her heart almost stopped when she heard heavy footsteps and the creaking of stairs. She ran for the door and, as quietly as possible, exited the room, closed the door, and just made it the doorway of the adjacent room when she caught a glimpse of one of the wraiths. She opened the door to the room she was in and hid with her back to the door post, concealed from the view of the approaching black riders. Four ring wraiths silently filed into the decoy room.

Cadance dared not move from her hiding spot, deeming it too risky to make an escape quite yet. She jumped when she heard the sound of swords piercing through pillows and sheets. Moments later, the angry cries of peturbed Nazgûl filled the corridor and rooms. One by one, the wraiths walked out of the room. The last one was about to begin down the stair when it stooped, and the other followed suit. The Nazgûl, who had originally stopped, turned around and sniffed the air.

The girl panicked as she remembered her cloak. They probably recignized the scent, but somthing must have also caught their attention and alerted them of her presence. Cadance shifted her weight so that she would be able to run if she was discovered. There was a slight pain on her knee when it rubbed against the door post, so looked down and saw the her knee was bleeding from one of the nastier scrapes she had. In the process of moving, she had reopened it, renewing her scent and the smell of blood in the air.

It was a dead giveaway.

The Nazgûl walked back towards the room, closely followed by his brethren. Cadance was about to close the door and find a way to escape when one of the wraiths spoke.

"Princess, I know you're there. Come out from your hiding place in the doorway."

You're welcome. Have fun with the cliff-hanger!