My god, sorry about the delay. This chapter was so hard to write. I'm sort of foggy as to where this story is going to lead. It'll take an independent turn from the story as we know it, but our unlikely team will set about causing and stopping events that weren't really explained in the movie. Make sense? I hope so. Once again, sorry the chapter is so short. gulp
"Stay on the dry path and no harm shall befall you" Tom's rich voice instructed, as the two hobbits stood before him in the bright morning. Dolly sported a new green cloak, embroidered with reeds and flowing waves at the edges, courtesy of the fair Goldenberry light touch. The glimmering thread caught the morning sunshine and gave the cloak a beautiful shimmer. Bramblerose's cloak was replaced by a new midnight blue variation. It was thrown over her shoulder and pinned with a silver broach of amber. Their packs were full of bread, honey and wine. Both felt ready to tackle anything.
Goldenberry straightened from adjusting Bramblerose's collar on her father's coat she still wore. Dolly smiled up at Tom before dipping into a curtsey.
"Thank you Mister. Bombadil."
"Yes" Bramblerose chimed in " and you too, Lady Goldenberry."
Those mentioned, smiled warmly down at the two hobbits, before Tom pulled out two long wrapped items.
"For protection my ladies."
Receiving the wrapped item, Bramblerose was surprised at its weight. The sharp tang of metal reached her nose, and she gaped.
"Swords?!"
Dolly jumped and examined it further by pulling off the fabric. A well-worn brown sheath lay underneath.
"Well, not exactly!" boomed Tom, with a laugh " They're short swords to bigger folk, but they'll suit you nicely eh?" The two maidens didn't know what to say and graciously accepted the short swords. Finally, it was time to set off.
"So, taking this path shall lead us to Rivendell?"
"Aye, just don't stray from it."
"Yes sir" Dolly answered, before they finally bid the two kindly people farewell. As the two hobbits walked toward the beckoning cool forest, the plump hobbit felt a shiver of recollection. Her cousin caught this and shot her a concerned look.
"Alright Dolly?"
"Y-yes, of course." Dolly lied, though it did her little good. Bramblerose could probably smell a liar. But to her surprise, the fox-maiden didn't inquire any further….
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile, in Rivendell….
"Are you sure about this Mister. Frodo?"
Startled from his thoughts, the blue-eyed hobbit looked over his shoulder, his pale fingers encasing the band of gold he held close. Frodo took a moment to answer, as Samwise walked closer."Yes Sam…I feel that I must do this"
The gardener smiled faintly, and joined his side, to look out over the enchanting evening. The sun was just setting over the trees, casting the magnificent house of Elrond in a golden glow.
"Its no Shire.." Sam blurted out, before blushing beetroot red at Frodo's chuckle " but its lovely here."
"Yes. Yes it is."
The two friends stood in comfortable silence, until Frodo shifted uncomfortably. His shoulder was starting to throb again.
"Perhaps you should go see Lord Elrond again?" Sam pointed out anxiously, as his friend sat down on a stone bench, face pinched and white.
"No…I'll be alright. Just hurting a little" Sam's face fell, and he turned away, causing Frodo to look concerned
"Is something wrong Sam?"
"Well..no, and yes. I-I couldn't protect you like I promised Gandalf." A gentle smile grew across Frodo's face, as he stood up and reached out. Clasping his friend's shoulder, Frodo turned him around and caught his tearful eyes.
"You tried…and that was enough for me. I'm alright see?" He attempted a silly smile, making Sam laugh at the absurd face he was making.
"Well, it won't happen again" the hobbit said firmly, blonde head nodding. "I'll protect you. Get you home to the Shire…"
Frodo's heart swelled for a moment. He really did have the dearest friend in the world.
"I wonder where Merry and Pippin are?" he suddenly uttered, realizing the two trouble-makers weren't around.
"Probably raiding the kitchens or something"
Frodo looked appalled
"You don't think they'd-"
At Sam's pointed, tired look, he fell short and shook his head
"Yes… they will be"
==================================================================
"Oi!"
"What?"
"What do ye think Frodo and Sam are doing?"
There was a moment of silence, before Merry's voice answered.
"Probably figured out what we're doing."
"Raiding the kitchen?"
"Yes!"
"How DO they guess so well?"
Between them, the two hobbits were carrying two cured hams, a plump chicken, a dozen apples, pockets of nuts and various sweets, and two bottles of wine.
"That elven chap looked rather mad didn't he?" Merry commented as they darted down an empty hallway. Pippin snorted, bending to retrieve a bouncing apple.
"I tried t'explain the concept of 'more than 3 meals a day" but he wouldnae listen!" Eyes rolling, he turned a corner, and collided with someone.
It was as if Pippin's jacket had exploded with food. Scrambling backwards, Pippin looked up to meet the amused gaze of Strider.
"This isnae what ye think!" he howled, scrabbling to gather up his lost snacks (though how a cured ham is a snack, was beyond anyone except fellow hobbits). Strider quirked an eyebrow, and hide his smile.
"And what should I think?" he asked, his voice low with the severity of the situation. Merry, helping Pippin to his feet, suddenly straightened letting go of his cousin who collapsed with a shriek to the floor
"Think…think that you saw NOTHING!!"
And with that, the two hobbits took off at an extraordinary speed, leaving a trail of food behind them. Strider shook his head, laughing and kept walking in the opposite direction, his heart light. His footsteps faded down the hallway…
Far off, in the Old Woods, lay Dolly and Bramblerose. They had finally laid down for the night, and were now staring up at the huge moon that shone down through the leaves. They had tried to count the stars but Dolly had grown bored with this so now silence had fallen between them.
" I wonder how Sweetpea is doing?" Bramblerose mused sleepily, her head buried beneath the cloak she wore. Dolly, wide-awake, puffed out a breath of air and shook her head.
"Livid no doubt."
"We'll be confined to the burrow for eternity." Bramblerose mused, her voice drifting. Her lack of sleep had finally caught up with her, and she was comfortable on a patch of soft grass. Her cousin grumbled at this, and turned over
"You'll be confined. She'll string me up when she finds it was my idea."
Bramblerose muttered something and soon, all Dolly could hear was the spitting of embers from the dying fire, and the warm wind through the trees. The forest was quiet tonight, save the occasional hoot of an owl and cry of insects. Rolling over to get more comfortable, the hobbit lay still and was finally feeling the laziness of sleep drift over her when…
Someone tripped over her.
With an ungainly wobble, the person fell to the ground in a tangle of fabric and fought her way into a sitting position. Glancing at Bramblerose who was also sat up, Dolly looked back at the stranger, and stared. Sitting in front of them was no mortal, but an elf!! A real live elf! She was dressed in a dark brown riding dress, her pale blue cloak muddied and looking rather worse for wear. The elf maiden possessed luminous creamy skin which was smudged in several places with mud and grime, her dark brown hair had attracted some leaves to entangle in its fine tresses.
Over all, Bramblerose and Dolly's first encounter with an elf…wasn't as spectacular as they'd of hoped.
"Alright there?" Dolly asked timidly. The elf seemed to sniff and brush down her already dusty dress.
"Certainly." she answered stiffly, before standing up and all three heard a crack of wood. The elf made a wounded sound and picked up what seemed to of been a bow. She then swore in what the hobbits could only assume was elvish.
"Can we…" Bramblerose had scrambled out of her cloak and was approaching the elf like one would approach a dangerous animal : with caution.
"…help?"
Dark eyes flew up to meet their expectant gazes and she seemed to realize how… short they were. One of them appeared to have a tail. Woodland creatures?
"Ah, no. Thank you, erm, little person" the elf answered, trying to look regal but actually failed miserably.
"Are you from Rivendell?" Dolly asked eagerly, hoping this elf would know if their friends were alright. She nodded shortly, and began looking around in earnest. As though she was…
"Are you lost?" Bramblerose then asked. As though slapped, the elf swung round and glared down at the hobbit.
"NO! Me? Marewen LOST?" she shook her head, braids swinging, the idea disgusting. "No no. I'm scouting the area. Looking for the dangerous sort, you know?"
At the innocent looks of the hobbits, she sighed " You know, orcs, goblins!"
"Aaaah" the hobbits realized, and nodded.
"Well," Dolly offered "We haven't seen any, right Bramble?"
"Well, we did see a black hooded fellow riding a horse."
There was a moment of silence, before the elf suddenly fell to her knees in front of Bramblerose, her pretty face anxious. Up this close, the fox-maiden could see several cuts but overall the elf possessed an elegant face, with dark eyes that were in fact, brown.
"You saw a Ring Wraith?"
"A wassit?" Dolly echoed, but the elf didn't hear her.
"Please! Where did you see it? Was it… chasing anyone?"
Bramblerose winced at the tight grip on her shoulders but shook her head. "We saw it days ago, and, it seemed to be looking for someone…"
"Days.." the elf looked dejected again and rocked back onto her heels. There was silence before Dolly stepped forward
"I'm Dolly. That's Bramblerose.." Both offered friendly smiles, and the elf finally shook off her despair to answer.
"I'm Marawen. Handmaiden to the Evenstar."
"The wassit?"
"Shut UP Dolly!"
It was daybreak before Marawen had explained her story and the hobbits, in all their attempts, were trying to understand.
"So….this…Arwen," Bramblerose began, as her cousin cooked breakfast beside her. "You say you followed her, when she took off and saw her being chased by those hooded people."
"Nazgul"
"'cuse you" Dolly muttered, before receiving an elbow from Bramblerose. "You tried to apprehend them, but they knocked you from your horse…and you've been wandering ever since?"
The elf nodded glumly.
"Well" Dolly added brightly "We know the way to Rivendell!"
Marawen's eyes lit up
"You do?!" The hobbit nodded, as she served herself a plate of sausages. "Yep. We're heading there right now. Been trying to find our friends."
"Small folk like you?" Marawen suddenly guessed, earning her twin glares. "Erm, I mean, hobbit folk like you?"
Bramblerose nodded sadly. "Four of them."
"I saw one."
The two hobbits froze as Marawen continued, casting her memory back "I remember riding toward my lady, she didn't see me, but I saw her holding what seemed to be a dark-haired child"
Bramblerose and Dolly exchanged worried looks, as she continued
"He looked close to death! And then, I tried to drive the Nazgul off and then.." she gestured to the nasty purple bruise on her temple.
Bramblerose had gone white , as Dolly absently ate sausages, eyes wide. "That must have been Frodo!" Dolly exclaimed, before her cousin stood up.
"Come on, lets get going." she ordered,
"But I just cooked break-"
"Now! Rivendell is a day's journey. Remember? Follow the path!" In a flurry of activity, soon they'd broken camp and were walking down the sunlit path, a hobbit, a foxling and a tall, graceful elf…..