Project Rivendell Part Seven

A/N Thanks to the kind reviewers who liked this story. It looks like being an epic, so I hope you'll all want to stick with it.

A/N2: The song 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' belongs to Simon and Garfunkel, I've only written as much of it as I can remember at one sitting. I felt that it fit in with the friendship of the hobbits (and Gwyneth), and carries on the tradition of including songs in the story that Tolkein began.

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Bridge over Troubled Water

It took about a week for Frodo and the other hobbits to arrange their departure from the Shire. Gwyneth, though feeling impatient, filled the waiting time by writing down all that she had learned about the hobbits. Frodo had provided her with a leather bound notebook and some writing implements, which she intended on taking with her on her travels, so that she could write about any other new and wonderful creatures she met along the way. Sam suggested she call it 'My time among the hobbits', but Gwyneth was hoping to come up with a more exciting title than that if she wanted to sell it in her own time.

Finally, on the Saturday, Sam, Merry and Pippin arrived at Frodo's door with four hobbit ponies loaded up with provisions, and a larger sized pony for Gwyneth. She looked at it with some trepidation, as the only time she had ever ridden a horse was at a small riding school as a child, when she had never got above a trot, due to her innate fear of horses. She did not want to appear cowardly in front of the brave hobbits, so she swallowed hard and climbed onto the pony. Luckily, it was rather docile (or it could have been sleeping, she was not sure which), so she was able to follow the hobbits as they rode through the Shire, heading for the Brandywine river. They intended to follow it to the sea, and then follow the seashore towards Gondor.

Gwyneth had managed to persuade the hobbit seamstress to make her a pair of riding breeches, with a matching jacket, though it went against everything the seamstress believed to put a woman in trousers. Gwyneth was nervous enough about riding, let alone riding side saddle whilst wearing a skirt, so she had implored the good lady to heed her wishes. She felt quite comfortable in her riding 'habit', though the seamstress had had to give it a patchwork effect, since she was not used to dealing with such large swathes of fabric. So it was that Gwyneth rode out looking something like a harlequin, in patches of brown, gold and bronze. She was unaware of it, but it looked quite effective with her auburn curls, that had grown longer still.

As they travelled, the hobbits told her even more about the war of the Ring. She had heard much of it, but it seemed every day that something they had forgotten occurred to them. She learned about the elves, and the mines of Moria. At night, when they settled down to eat and sleep, she wrote down everything they had told her in the book, as well as some songs that they taught her.

One night, about a week after they had set out, Sam asked Gwyneth:

"Don't your people sing songs to each other?"

They were camping by the side of the river, the sound of crickets filling the summer air. Gwyneth leaned back against a tree and thought that she could quite happily live here forever. If she were at home now, she would either be digging for artefacts, or spending hours on the phone trying to chase up funding so that she could dig for artefacts. This was a much better type of archaeology, she told herself. Actually living among people from a bygone age, so that they could tell her what different things were for.

"We have people to sing for us. Pop stars or opera singers." Gwyneth told Sam.

"Sing us one of their songs then." Pippin suggested.

Gwyneth had to think for a while. Her voice wasn't brilliant, but she could just about hold a tune. Unfortunately the only song she could think of at that moment was the latest Kylie Minogue song which had been number one in the charts when she left her own time. She thought that the hobbits might quite like the diminutive pop beauty, but she was not really a fan. She remembered a song her father used to sing to her when she was little, and as she sang it, tears filled her eyes at the memory of all the love he had shown her:

"When you're weary, feeling small

When tears are in your eyes,

I will dry them all

I'm on your side, oh when times get rough

And pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

When you're down and out

When you're on the street

When evening falls so hard

I will comfort you

I'm take your part

Oh when darkness falls

And friends just can't be found

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down.

Sail on silver girl

Sail on by

Your time has come to shine

All your dreams are on their way

See how they shine

Oh when you need a friend

I'm sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down…"

The hobbits looked at each other, then surreptitiously wiped tears from their eyes. It was one of the nicest songs they had ever heard, even though it didn't mention food and sleeping.

"Sing it again, and teach it to us Lady Gwyneth." Asked Merry. The other hobbits nodded. Yes, they liked that song very much.

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Elrond, his twin sons, Gandalf, and the ranger Connell were much further ahead than the hobbits, mainly because they had better horses. They had reached Rohan, and were going to settle there for the night before moving on to Gondor.

They were crossing the plain towards Rohan, and the twins were softly singing an elven song.

"Your turn…" they said to Connell, who had promised to sing them a song in return for one of theirs.

Connell cleared his throat, then, with tears in his eyes, began singing:

"When you're weary, feeling small

When tears are in your eyes,

I will dry them all

I'm on your side, oh when times get rough

And pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down…."