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."
Cadance held her breath, convincing herself that he was only bluffing, but that hope was shattered when another wraith spoke.
"Stop hiding, we can smell you."
The girl figured that she would have to make the best of it, maybe she could buy herself some time by talking to them in order to think of a plan. She took a deep breath and spoke.
"Alright, I'll come out, but only if you back up to the top of the stairwell."
Her request was met with silence, but Cadance could hear them moving away from where she stood. Slowly, she stepped out into the corridor and faced the four Nazgûl.
"What is it that you want from me?"
The wraiths peered at her with interest before one of the replied.
"We are not to tell you our purpose as of now, only that you come with us."
"Were are you going to take me?"
Cadance tried to make her voice sound strong and confident, but she could barely keep out the dread she felt.
"We cannot yet tell you. Come."
"I'm not going with you."
"You have no choice."
The Nazgûl advanced towards Cadance, so she quickly turned on her heel and ran down the hallway. It was very short, but the last door had a vacant sign on it, so she ran in, slammed the door, and locked it. Cadanc knew a locked door was just as accessable as an open one to a ring wraith, so she had to act fast.
There was a large window in this room as well, overlooking the street. Without a second though, the girl opened it and climbed out, easing her self to the ground. As her feet touched down, Cadance heard the wooden door to the room she had just been in splinter. She began to run down the road, hoping she could find some hiding place from the Nazgûl. Rain still poured down from the sky as the girl sped down the street. She often stumbled and fell due to her fast pace on the slick street, but she quickly got back up and continued on. Unfortunatly for Cadance, she had forgotten her cloak in the inn, so the freezing rain easily soaked through her clothes and chilled her to the bone.
Of course, it wasn't long before the Nazgûl mounted their steeds and gave chase. She could hear the hooves of the horses against the stone, but for some reason, the noise it made echoed through the town, confusing Cadance about the location of the wraiths. She could barely tell their location, but she knew enough to realize that they were creating a circle around her and closing in. The black riders were indeed excellent at tracking, and getting their prey to exactly where they wanted them. Through an intensly coordinated chase, Cadance was eventually back into an alley that was a dead end.
The girl could hear the slow clopping of hooves against cobblestone, signaling that the wraith knew she was conered and were taking their precious time to coome around the corner. Cadance desparatly looked around for an escape and spotted a brick wall. Through aging and bad construction, some of the bricks poked out slightly, creating small footholds all the way to the top. Adrenaline coursed through Cadance as she hurried to climb the wal to the roof of the building beofre ghe balck riders reached her and pulled her down. In less the twenty seconds, the girl was on the roof of the house, staring down at the alley in which she had just been trapped. Before the wraiths had a chance to round the bend and see where she had gone, Cadance ran across the rooftops. Most of the were connected, so she had no difficulty making a quick getaway. After going a considerable distance, the girl climbed down into another alley, which was mostly hiden from view, confident that she had thown off her pursers. She nearly jumped out of her skin when someone called to her from behind.
"Cadance?"
It was no Nazgûl, Cadance would have recignized that voice anywhere. It was Aynica, her friend from Tellera. Cadance spun around and embraced her friend.
"Oh, it is you Cadance. Shoot, you were gone so long I thought you up and moved away! What brings you to Bree, last I heard you were in Rivendell."
"It's good to see you to, Aynica. I was suppose to meet someone here."
"In an alley? That's a mighty strange place to meet someone."
"I was suppose to meet them at the prancing poney."
Aynica fixed Cadance with a concerned gaze.
"Ya know this ain't the pranc'in pony, right?"
"Yeah, I know, but-"
"Well, since we're so close to my folks' place, why don't ya come over for a time, or at least till this here storm wears off."
"That would be wonderful, Aynica, thank you."
Cadance was practicly dragged by Aynica to her parents house. They entered in through the back door, and Cadance was surprised to see that the household was still up. Aynica announced their arrival by yelling up the staircase.
"Ma! Pa! I got company with me. Remember me tell'in you 'bout Cadance, well I brought her home for a visit."
Immediately, her parents came downstairs to greet their guest.
"Welcome, Cadance, we're so glad you could visit. I'm Aynica's Ma, but you can call me Cassie."
"And I'm her Pa, but you can just call me Jack. It is such a pleasure to finally meet you."
Both parents vigorously shook Cadance's hand and asked her if she wanted any water.
"No, I'm fine, but thanks for asking."
Apparently 'no' meant 'yes', because Aynica again called up the stairs.
"Charlie, MissCadance says she wants some water, why don't you come on down and get her a glass."
Seconds later, a boy of about seven rocketed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Cadance heard the side door slam and a minute later, Charlie bust in carrying a half-spilt cup of water. His short, scruffy, brown hair matched that of his father's while Aynica's long, bright red locks were identicle to her mother's.
"Thank you, Charlie."
Said Cadance, smiling at the boy. He smiled back and said,
"Miss, Cadance, why don't ya sit down and have upper with us, we just finished mak'in it."
"Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude-"
"Nonsense!"
Butted in Aynica.
"We scarsly have visitors."
Before Cadance could say another word, she was steered into a small dining room where an oval shaped table lay burdened with a warm meal. The family sat down and Aynica patted the seat next to her, requesting Cadance to sit there. The food was dished out in generous portions, but Cadance managed to get away with eating about half of what the rest ate and instead asked some questions and lostened with amusement as the family constantly interrupted eachother to answer.
"Tell me, where are you guys from?"
"Well, we used to live out in more of the country, more towards Rohan."
"We were in a ranch, had the best cattle and horses you ever seen."
"That was 'til a party of orks came and raided it."
"Yea, stole all our animals too."
"Burnt out house to the ground."
"I still don't know why it's called a 'party' of orks, cause it wasn't much fun. You know why, sis?"
"Not that I can think of, Charlie."
Cadance tried to get back to the topic before things got out of hand.
"So, Aynica, how is it that you live in Tellera while your brother stays here?"
"Well, it's a might big story, long short of it is that with Tellera, well, he says the cows down south told 'em that there be a strange thing work'in in the village, cows in the east says ones in the south is cursed, but never tell a lie, so he don't set foot there."
Cadance tried hard to hide the confusion she felt. That explanation didn't help at all, but she didn't want to fluster her friend but asking again. Nearly an hour passed, but the rain had not let up. Cadnace decided to leave so she wouldn't draw any unwanted company to the home. Aynica convinced her to let her come along, so the two set out in the rain. Everything was going alright as they walked until Cadance heard the unmistakable screach of a Nazgûl behind them. She grabbed Aynica's hand and began to run. Her friend caught on to the idea that they were being pursued and started to run too.
The girls dashed around corners and through the streets of the town. They had run for about ten minutes when Aynica pulled Cadance into an alley so they could catch their breath. Cadance was bent over, hands on her knees, trying to steady her racing heart, when she heard a stiffled yelp come from her friend. Looking up, she saw a cloaked figure in the shadows holding her in place in covering her mouth. Aynica's eyes were wide and she struggled in the strangers grip, but it did not good. Cadance stepped forward and glowered at the man.
"What do you want?"
"A little more cation from you. I am a friend of Gandalf, but there is no time to explain here, come inside."
The man gestured towards a door that was concealed in the side of a building.
"Aynica, stop struggling, I think he is an ally."
The girl stilled and the man slowly released her and led the two inside and up a flight of stair to a room on the story. When they entered, Cadance recignized the sleeping forms of the four hobbits she thought she had lost.
"Thank you..."
"Strider."
"Ah, thank you Strider, we are fortunate that you found us."
Aynica nodded in agreement as the man stirred the embers of a fire in the hearth.
"For now, you should get some sleep, we start out in a few hours."
Struder gestured to a small cot set aside. Aynica immediatly pushed Cadance into it and lay down on the floor. She smiled and said,
"I don't mind, you sould rest."
Cadance nodded and closed her eyes. She was exhausted, wet, and cold, but at least she was safe.