A shadowen's Past

"Careful, Lady," Samwise said as Meia slipped on some loose gravel. The land had become nothing but rocks and cliffs and gravel. Water pooled in crevices from the rain, but didn't flow so they were reluctant to drink. Frodo walked beside his human love, his blue eyes flickering more than once to her already swelling belly despite the lack of time that had passed since the conception. Sam worried for both his master and Meia so he slowed his pace to walk beside her.

"Lady, may I ask you something?"

"Of course, Sam, you may ask me anything you like," She smiled. Sam swallowed, knowing that the baby wasn't any of his business, but he had to know.

"Lady, did Gandalf tell you anything unnatural about the baby?" She gave him a surprised look, "I only mean that the signs of your condition are showing more rapidly than I would have guessed for a human," They continued to walk in silence for just a moment and Sam feared that he had spoken out of line until she smiled.

"No, your right, Sam," Meia answered, a blissful look on her features. "The baby is developing at a much faster rate than any human, elf, or halfling baby would. He says it's because of the magic in her. Magic from the 'Lorien and, " She paused deciding whether she should say what was on the tip of her tongue, " and the Ring,"

Frodo looked at her startled, "What does that mean?" Meia shook her head.

"My dearest Frodo, if only I knew. All I know is this baby is coming faster and sooner than any of us could predict,"

Frodo gripped Meia's hand, "Not too fast, I pray,"

Sam nodded, "Indeed, Mr. Frodo, it will be hard work to get inside Mordor unnoticed with a caterwauling child," Sam then went very red and dipped his curly head at Meia, "No offence meant, Lady. I'm excited about the child, too, I just-"

Meia smiled again and took the gardener's hand and squeezed it, "My baby and I couldn't be in safer hands than yours Samwise Gamgee,"

* * *

"Where are we going?" Pippin panted as he and Merry tried to keep with the shadowen's tiredless stride. They had gone deep in Fangorn forest, barely stopping or resting. It was morning now, though you could only tell from the breaks in tree that allowed shafts of golden light down.

"We are going as far away from those orcs as we can, Peregrine Took, so please keep up,"

Merry planted his feet and stooped down, placing his hands on his knees, "Marching with you is worse than orcs," He wheezed. Rash turned his red eyes keenly bright in the shadowy woods. Merry straightened and continued, "Please, Rash, we are exhausted and tired. Can't we rest just for a couple of moments, over there by the stream perhaps," He pointed to the small stream they had been following. Their water skins were running low and they had traveled far into the forest. The shadowen gave in.

"Very well, but only for a moment, if we don't continue-" But Merry and Pippin were already gone, bolting to the pretty stream. Rash sighed and made his way over to the stream in his slow slinking manner. The halfings nearly drowned themselves, drinking up the water, and then filled their water skins. Rash watched them a sort of merriment welling in his heart at their expressive antics. The halflings were open-books in their actions, had they no need to hide themselves in their land?

Rash sat in the shade of a large tree. A shaft sunlight streamed through the leaves, blurring the Shadowen's outline in the dappled pattern. Merry and Pippin finally had their fill and sat back resting their wooly feet and drank in the sights and sounds of the forest.

After long moments of a peaceful filling silence, Pippin turned toward Rash.

'Master Rash, where are you from?"

Rash narrowed his eyes to glittering red slits at the young halfling, "Why should I tell you anything?" Merry shifted uncomfortably next to his cousin but Pippin didn't back down.

"Because, you're one of us, a good guy," He turned to the shadowen, his hazel eyes full of questions. "Besides you know all about us, it's only fair,"

"Fair?" Rash scoffed, "Do you call listening to your entire history without your consent through some else's ears fair?"

"We can't help it that you were inside Lady Meia at the time," Merry shot back, trying help his cousin. The dark creature intrigued him himself.

"Please, Master Rash, we won't tell anyone,"

Please, Master Rash, please!" The hobbits chorused and pleaded until gave in.

"Alright, alright!" He spat, "Just stop calling me, 'master!'"

The two nodded and scooted closer to the shade of the great tree and peered into the shadows were Rash glared at them.

"My name hasn't always been, Rash," He growled, "I was human once, like Meia. Until I ran into Rimmer Dal. He promised me power beyond my wildest dreams if I do one simple thing: kill Quickening," The two small halflings watched with a glowing interest, Their eyes shining. "Quickening, as you should know, was Brom's mother. She was the most powerful vessel of magic the Four Lands had ever seen and if she fought Brona, then it was over for Rimmer Dal's plan to rule."

"What was your name?" Pippin asked, interrupting Rash. The shadowen exhaled sharply through his nose.

"Pe Ell, my name was Pe Ell. Now can you refrain from interrupting me? As I was saying, I was to kill her, so I joined Meia and Allanon's little party. The party consisted of Meia, Allanon, another druid and Brom's father, Walker Boh, Quickening and a young elven princess, Ester Shannara. The others you know Bremen, Tay, Risca, Red, and Ryer were working on a different quest, to recover the missing Elfstones.

I finally found my chance when we entered Devil's Pass. A demon had been placed there risen by Brona himself to stop us. We had to defeat him to pass. Meia, being the little she can be, decided to try and write a passage and make the task simple. She failed as usual. She forgot to make the monster weak. While Allanon was battling the monster, in an arm-wrestling match, I attacked. I knocked out both Meia and the little princess and grabbed Brom. He was the most pathetic thing the magic world had created. He had no power to touch the Sword of Shannara, let alone call forth its magic. I told Quickening and Walker to save their son they had to die. They did in a way had not anticipated and spelled my doom. Holding hands they jumped off the cliff. Quickening being a being of the Earth and magic, her body was absorbed into the stony earth. Walker's death was a bit messier. Brom absorbed their magic. The sword of Shannara, which was wielded by Ester, jumped into his hands and he seemed to glow with the radiance of an archangel. The child cut me down, the magic of the sword showing me what scum I truly was. Then he sprang to the demon that Allanon had been battling, and was losing from shock of recent events, and killed the demon. It erupted with the smell of sulfur and ash.

They left me there to die and Rimmer Dal paid me a visit that night. I thought he would pleased. I had done my job. Quickening was dead. I was wrong. Now the First Seeker had Brom to deal with and he was more powerful than his mother and father. My wounds were still riddled with magic from the sword and Rimmer Dal gave me my punishment. He decayed the magic and it turned on my body like a disease, when it was over I was a shadowen. He decided to lie low and see how much of Brom's power had truly awakened. He waited till Brona was destroyed and then when Meia and were returning to Paranor, he sprang me. I infested her body and the rest is history."

Again silence filled the forest as Rash's story ended. The two hobbits watched him with curious eyes and then Merry spoke.

"Why did you turn good, Rash?" The shadowen studied him and then answered, "Jealousy,"

"Jealousy?" Pippin asked and Rash sighed.

"For creatures who have never lost their skins you wouldn't understand. When Meia awoke in the 'Lorien I was transformed by its beauty. I wanted to walk though it on my feet, taste the wind on my tongue, breathe the flowers through my longs, and see the Lady Galadriel's beauty through my eyes,"

"Now you sound like Gimli," Merry teased. Rash chuckled, a deep earthy sound.

"Ah, but the dwarf is right isn't he?" Rash drifted off into silence and turned his eyes to the soft gurgling stream. It was no wonder Meia fell in love with soft creatures. They were honest and open beyond man. It was also the first time anyone asked about his past, tried to get to know him. It made him feel glad, but venerable at the same time. He wasn't sure if he liked it.

"Rash,"

The shadowen focused his eyes back on Pippin. The young hobbit was trembling and he slowly raised a finger to the top of tree. Rash darted from underneath it and looked up. A prick of fear touched his spine. The tree had a face, had eyes, and it was watching them.