Well, here is the second chapter of my new story. It's called Into The Shire and is focused on Rei's attempts to begin a new life. Just for the record, this is both book-verse and movie-verse. It's been a long time since I read the books, (although I am skimming through them again for this story) and I've seen the movie more times then I'd like to admit so it should follow along pretty good, but if I mess up bad let me know. It will span all three books (I couldn't bring myself to write a LotR fic without Eomer. One of my favorite characters!) Thanks for all the reviews guys, the mean a lot. Pricilla : Thanks for the praise. And yes, there will be more of both stories, so no baby-kitty attack mode!!!:) And about Mamoru dying instantly, that will be explained in later chapters, but you get a prize, your the only one who noticed that I left him out! Dakki : Thanks. And about Rei's love life, or lack there of. Who knows? Final-Fan : I actually believe (but am not positive) that Frodo is closer to 50. Rei was only thinking that he 'looked' to be about her age., but thanks for the help. If you've read the books let me know, I could always use a little help 'membering everything that went on. Letainajup : No need the threaten my life Jup-Jup, I'll finish both stories, I promise. Oh yeah, did it hurt?....When you fell from heaven. Heheheh. V-babe : Your fav. part was Usagi's death huh. Your are one sick person, but that's why I luv you! Peachy's got it!!! Mars Fire Goddess : I got tired of waiting for someone to do a Rei-centered LotR crossover too. Hope you enjoy the rest. And about Rei and the quest, do you really think that any of the fellowship could really tell her no? Especially once they see how 'hot' she really is. Bleh: Thankies., I've been trying to improve my writing. It's nice that you noticed! Elenhiril : Thank you. I completely agree with you about the fact that most SM/LotR crossovers have not plot. I hope mine turns out differently. This chapter explains where in the timeline she is. And big thank you's to bluejello, Rings of the Cosmos, Black Aura-Sama, Felicia and PrincesGingerGamgee, CrazyJ Girl and RubyRedDragon. Your guys' reviews are the thing that keeps me going. As long as you want more I'll keep writing. Now, On with the story....
Chapter 2 : Into The Shire
Bilbo walked into the room, stopping at the foot of the bed to see if the girl was awake yet. Her eyes were still closed and her face was calm. Bilbo smiled. It was good that she was finally getting some real sleep. For the first few day she was here nightmares had plagued her sleep, allowing her no sanctuary, even in the dream world.
His nephew Frodo had brought her home a little under a week ago. She was unconscious then and had been for the last six days and much to his chagrin she showed no signs of waking any time soon . He had too many things to worry about with his approaching birthday and adding a dead human girl to that list was not something he wanted to do. Although he had to admit, having her here did bring a bit of excitement back into his tired old life. Every one in Hobbiton had been asking about the girl who fell out of the sky, well at least it was said that she fell out of the sky, and perhaps, that was what had everyone in a frenzy. Norman human girls couldn't fall out of the sky, humans possessed no magic.
When she had first been brought into his home Bilbo had believed the girl to be an elf. She was amazingly beautiful, with long raven hair that hung down to her waist and shone lavender when the sun hit it just right. Her skin was pale and her features soft. Light pink lips, pouting even in sleep, a gently sloping nose and perfectly arched eyebrows resting above the most amazing thing about her. Her eyes where dark violet, shining and beautiful. Bilbo had been in the room once when she sat up in the bed and called for a person named Usagi. Her eyes were open and looking around frantically, but Bilbo knew she was not awake, but stuck in a dream she assumed to be real. He had calmed her whispering a few soothing words in Elvish that he had picked up on his journeys. For a few more moments she was fitful but she finally calmed and laid back down, still whimpering and calling for her friend.
But today she slumbered peacefully, her hands resting carelessly across her torso. Bilbo set down the tray of food he brought everyday just in case she awoke and turned to leave when something caught his eye. A small glitter shown on the girls hands and he moved closer to inspect it. Gently raising her hand he saw that it was a small golden ring, set with a ruby cut in the shape of a heart, It was surrounded by light amethyst stones, each one shining brightly. Two ropes of gold wound around each other loosely, leaving holes in the band. A gift he presumed, and what had caused the glitter. Gently placing her hand back down he headed for the door when a soft voice stopped him in his tracks. "Frodo?" she asked.
Bilbo walked back towards the bed. "No," he stated, watching as her body tensed. "I'm his Uncle Bilbo."
Rei nodded, her muscles relaxing slightly. "I'm Rei." she said raising a hand to shield her eyes from the light shining in through the window. Bilbo, noticing her actions moved to the drapes and pulled them shut. "Thank you." she said softly, lowering her hand and looking around the room for the first time.
It was large. A small dresser rested on the wall opposite the bed she was resting on. Two beds actually. She noticed the two beds had been pushed together and the place where they met rested just at her mid-calf. It was then that she noticed that everything in room was proportioned smaller that her. Everything, including the man named Bilbo. "I-" she started, but closed her mouth instantly. 'I'm not from here and I don't know if I'm in hostile territory,' she thought to herself, suddenly aware of the situation she now found herself in. 'perhaps I should fake amnesia.' "Where am I?" she asked.
"Your in my home, Bag End, in the Shire."
The Shire. There was that word again. "Yes, Frodo told me that. But where is the Shire?" she asked, hoping to get more information from him.
"Well," Bilbo spoke, looking at her curiously, " The Shire is in the north-eastern part of the world. Travel by The East Road and you will reach the ruins at Weathertop and eventually the Misty Mountains." Rei sighed. She was getting nowhere fast and her head was beginning to hurt again. How to get the information she needed without raising to much suspicion was proving to much for the tired girl beneath the sheets. She closed her eyes in frustration, an action that Bilbo watched carefully. "You know nothing of this world do you?" he asked suddenly. At Rei's sharp intake of breath Bilbo nodded. "As I thought, you've got amnesia." Bilbo once again walked to the door. "Rest more." he said kindly. "There's food on the stand and drink in the container next to it. Frodo will be home soon and he'll be pleased to know that you've awoken." With one final smile Bilbo left.
Closing the door behind him Bilbo reached into the pocket of his maroon vest and let his fingers gently caress the cool metal lying within. He stood there for a few moments, his eyes glazed over and his breath became ragged. Shaking his head clear Bilbo pulled his hand out and walked down the hall.
*****
Rei sat in the bed, watching the closing door. She stared at it, even after it shut. She was about to turn her head when she felt a shadow fall across her mind, followed by a heat so intense it made her eyes water. She dropped her head into her hands and grit her teeth together to keep from crying out. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, the ache in her head slowly dissipating, but not disappearing.
Leaning back against the headboard Rei's mind began to wander. Back to her home...her friends. They were gone, all of them. Rei couldn't understand why out of all he scouts she had been saved. 'Why not the Princess?' she asked herself. 'I don't deserve to live if my Princess is dead.' She threw the blankets off her legs and swung them over the side of the bed, gently resting her feet on the cool floor.
She tested whether or not she had the strength to stand and when she successfully stood she let out a small sigh of relief. She walked to the small table where the food was resting and looked at the plate. There was a slice of cheese, a few pieces of bread and small apple. She picked up the bread and took a small bite, and upon finding that she liked he taste continued to eat until there was nothing left. Then she looked in the small pitcher next to the plate and lowered her head to smell it's contents. Tea. She poured herself a small glass and sipped it slowly. When her glass was empty she set it down and moved to the window.
'Here I am, eating and drinking my fill when all my friends are dead.' she thought, pulling the curtains back and allowing the sunlight to stream in. She looked at the scenery before her. Small rolling hills, dotted with small round doors and windows. The ground was covered with thick, green grass, swaying gently in the breeze and spotted with brightly colored wildflowers. 'It's so beautiful... my friends would have loved to see it...but they never will...' Tears formed in Rei's eyes and she raised a hand to wipe them away.
"No." She said out loud, determination and hope creeping into her voice. "If Pluto could save me, she could save them, my friends are alive." A small voice in the back of her mind reminded he that she felt her friends death but she dismissed it, refusing to believe that she could be alone in this world. "I'm not alone, my friends will all be okay, and I'll see them all again someday, when Pluto finds where I am...I have to believe in that...I have too..." She rested her head on the window, tears once again shinning in her eyes. 'Come on Rei.' she told herself, 'be serious, there was no way they could have survived that.' She had to admit that surviving that kind of blast seemed impossible by human standards. 'But we aren't human,' another voice in her mind said, 'we're senshi, and we've survived worse, hell, we've died twice already...and Mamoru said it himself...Sailor Moon is invincible...' Rei continued her inner conflict and she was so preoccupied that she didn't hear the door open or that soft footsteps make their way towards her.
"You're awake." Rei turned at the voice and saw that the boy, or whatever he was, that she had met when she first fell into this world. He smiled at her, his soft blue eyes twinkling. "I was afraid you'd never come around."
Rei smiled. It was hard not to return his smile, it was contagious, just like Usagi's was. 'Stop Rei' she mentally scolded, 'Just like Usagi's 'is'' "Thank you, for bringing me into your home."
Frodo smiled. "I couldn't just leave you there..." he trailed off, looking at her with curiosity in his eyes.
"Rei." she finished for him, "My name is Hino Rei."
"Rei." Frodo repeated. "I've never heard a name like that before."
Rei smiled, trying to steer this conversation out of the direction it was headed. "Yeah, I'm not from around here." Frodo raised his eyebrows, almost daring her to tell him where she was from.
"Yes," he replied when he realized she wasn't going to give him any more information, "I know, you fell out of the sky, people from around here can't do that."
Rei's eyes widened. So this boy saw everything, he didn't just find her. " I..." Rei was at a loss, she didn't know what to tell him.
"I know your not from this world." he said slowly, not wanting to frighten or upset her, especially since he didn't know what she was capable of. "I was out in the fields reading and waiting for a friend when a circle of fire appeared in the sky and you fell out of it." He saw her flinch and a sadness enter her eyes. "I wont hurt you or question you anymore, I just want you to know that I know," she opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off, "And your secrets safe with me."
She smiled. She felt that she could trust this boy, at least enough to tell him part of her story. "I am from another world...but my world was.." she didn't want to say destroyed because she didn't know if that was true or not. " It's at war and we have the power to travel through time and dimensions, and I was thrown into a portal to escape from..." From what? She didn't know exactly what she was running from. She looked at Frodo, who had sat on the edge of her bed and was listening intently to her speak. "To escape the enemy" That sounds good she thought to herself. "And it was uncharted and I traveled untracked. I have no idea where or when I am."
Frodo spoke up. "You in middle earth, during the Third Age." Rei ran those names through her mind, trying to connect the names and dates with any that she had learned in school, but she came up empty handed. "Were any of your friends traveling with you?" Frodo asked, but upon seeing the tears form in her eyes he instantly regretted asking.
Rei took a deep breath, once again willing herself to believe that her friends were still alive. "No." she responded slowly, trying to keep her voice steady. "I was the only one that made it out, but I know they'll come for me...they have to..."
Frodo stood and made his way to where Rei was standing by the window. He reached up his hand and placed it on her shoulder. "I'm sure they'll come." he told her reassuringly, giving the girl all the hope he could, "and until they do your more than welcome to stay here."
Rei looked down and into his eyes. "Thanks you." she said. 'I've only just met him and already he is opening his home to me, ad his heart...just like Usagi...' Rei looked him don and took in his appearance. He was short, like she first believed coming up only to her torso. He had a mop of curly brown hair on his head and crystal blue eyes. His smile, which never seemed to leave his face, was comforting in a way she could not describe and a quiet strength seemed to emanate from him. He was so much like her princess it was uncanny. Rei smiled. " I hate to ask, but..."
Frodo noticed what she was looking at. "oh," he smiled. "I'm a Hobbit."
"A Hobbit?"
"Yes, a Hobbit. it's one of the races here on Middle Earth. There are Hobbits, Men, and Elves."
"Men and Elves I know" Rei said, in her mind picturing small smurf like creatures with pointy ears running around the forests making mischief. "I'm in The Shire, in Middle Earth, Your a Hobbit and there are also elves. Anything else I should know?" She asked him.
"Not that I can think of," Frodo told her, "Most humans don' know anything about Hobbits so your lack of knowledge about us wont seem out of the ordinary. We can just tell people that your passing through and when Gandalf gets here I'm sure he'll know what to do with you."
"Gandalf?" Rei questioned.
"Yes" Frodo replied, "Gandalf is a wizard. He's one of Uncle Bilbo's greatest friends. He's coming for the party." Seeing the confusion in her eyes Frodo added, "Uncle Bilbo's eleventy first birthday. It's going to be a huge celebration, the biggest one The Shire's ever seen."
"Eleventy First Huh?" Rei said. "And now there's wizards too." She put a hand to her head, reeling from all the information she had received.
Frodo moved towards the door. "You still need more rest. Tomorrow I'll show you around." he opened to door, but turned to say one last thing. "Don't worry, I'm sure your friends will find you." With that he closed the door, leaving Rei alone with her thoughts.
'He's right, my friends will find me.' She walked back over to the bed and laid down, restin her head against the soft pillows. "They'll be here soon...they have to be...All I have to do is wait." Her eyes drooped closed and sleep took her into it's grasp.
So, what do you think, leave me a little review (or a big review) please, it will be greatly appreciated. It seems like Rei is living in a dream world thinking that her friends might still be alive. Will she continue to believe or will the harsh reality of her friends fate rain upon her. Who knows? Next chapter Rei meets Sam, Pippin and Merry and gets invited on a harmless little trip to Farmer Maggots Fields, Gandalf arrives and mishaps ensue when Rei realizes just how much fun Pippin and Merry can be!
Stay tuned for chapter 3 : Big Trouble in The Little Shire