A/N: I'm so sorry I haven't updated in SO long. I recently moved and almost lost everything in the process. My computer didn't work for so long, I thought I was going through withdraw! Anyway, here is chapter 11 and 12 will be right up! They are longer then the others to make up for lost time. Enjoy!!

:: Aoura Maiden ::

Ch. 11

"What?" Pippin exclaimed as he saw the true face of their enemy. A man. "Who are you?" Pippin's shaky voice asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." The stranger said in a deep and powerful voice. Yet, it was not a voice to be frightened of. It carried a tone of authority and compassion that reminded Merry much of Aragorn's. Hearing the voice, Sam look one last look at Frodo, then looked up at Rosie.

"Take care of him, Rosie. I'll be right back." Sam said softly, making sure that Frodo was comfortably resting against the wheel of the cart.

"Sam, no." Rosie pleaded, reaching out to grab his arm. Whatever was out there caused Mr. Frodo to go into some sort of state, and now Sam wanted to go out and face it head on! "Please, what if..."

"Rosie, I can't just leave Mr. Merry and Mr. Pippin out there." With one dirty hand, Sam reached out and brushed away the large tears that were falling from Rosie's eyes. "I promise everything's going to be alright." Nodding, silently taking her husband's promise, Rosie stepped back and took Eleanor back into her arms. Breathing deeply to prepare himself for whatever was ahead, Sam took a semi-confident step out from behind the cart.

"More hobbits?" The man inquired in a surprised tone as he caught sight of Sam. Although it was still very dark out and the rain kept coming, Sam could easily see that the cloaked stranger was smiling. 'Who was he?' Sam kept asking himself.

"What do you want with us?" Merry demanded, never taking his eyes off the man and keeping his sword steady. "We are simple travelers. We have nothing of value." When Merry was with the Rohirrim, he heard countless tales of evil men who travel the roads of Middle Earth, preying on weary travelers by stealing anything and everything they had.

"That is a pity," the man said, taking a step towards the armed Halflings. "I am guessing, then, that you will be needing some supplies for your journey?" Taken aback by the comment, Merry lowered his sword slightly and Pippin just stood there, his jaw hanging open. "Perhaps we could go inside and have a formal introduction?"

"Inside where?" Sam asked quickly, not daring to follow this fellow wherever he wanted to go.

"My home." He answered, leading his horse away from the hobbits, around the fence and into a nearby stable. Then, walking past Merry and Pippin, he opened the gate and bowed as a signal for the hobbits to follow him inside. Sam came up and stood besides the pair of cousins, unsure of what to do.

"What do you think, Merry?" Pippin whispered so that the man couldn't hear. "Should we go?" Merry looked around. They probably won't find another house for miles. The four male hobbits probably could take it but Rosie and Eleanor were something different. Wait, there was Pippin, Sam and himself. Where was Frodo.

"Sam, where's Frodo?" Merry asked urgently, realizing that his elder cousin was no where in sight.

"He fainted, Mr. Merry. The sight of him must have set him off." Sam explained, jabbing a thumb in the man's direction. "Rosie's taking care of him. They are hiding behind the cart."

"We need to get them inside. Eleanor will catch her death in this weather." Pippin protested. Sam looked at the young hobbit with gratitude. Bless his heart, Mr. Pippin really cared for Eleanor, and that meant more to Sam then he could say.

"He's right." Sam finally agreed. "We need to get everyone inside. Keep your swords ready, though, just incase this character tries to pull anything." Merry and Pippin nodded and took up their swords again. Agreeing that Merry and Pippin will escort Eleanor and Rosie inside, it was left to Sam to confront the man.

"Thank you, sir." Sam started as he approached the gate yet still kept a safe distance from the stranger. "We have been traveling for a long time and we could use some supplies." His voice was dry and almost harsh as he spoke. At his sides, his arms hung, tight with tension and his hands balled up in fists of anticipation. The man looked down and smiled at the hobbit. He could tell that the Halflings did not trust him and he found that quite amusing.

"Anything I can do to help." The man said, bowing again. Sam's narrowed gaze never left the strange man as he spoke. He then looked back to make sure that Merry and Pippin were still guarding Rosie, Eleanor and Frodo. They were behind the cart and out of Sam's sight and earshot.

"Just one more thing," Sam said, taking a step towards the very tall man, trying to look intimidating, "there are more then just the three of us."

"More?" The stranger had only met one other hobbit before this time. Now, after thinking that three was all there was, he was finding out there were more!

"Yes," Sam pushed all of his fears into the pit of his stomach and stalked right up to the man, "and they are the most important people in my life. Understand?" His eyes burned with rage. Not wanting to offend this already suspicious hobbit, the man simply nodded in understanding.

"Wait here," Sam ordered and headed back behind the cart. He wanted to make sure Rosie, Eleanor and Frodo were still alright. When he got there, he saw that Rosie was holding Eleanor close to her chest while Merry and Pippin supported the still unconscious Frodo between them. With one arm around each of their shoulders, Frodo's feet hung limply underneath him.

"Ready?" He asked, reaching out to take Eleanor from his wife. Everyone nodded and waited to follow Sam's lead. "Let's go." Stepping out into the open, the man got his first glimpse at the most important people in Sam's life.

"Oh!" He exclaimed as he laid eye on first Eleanor in Sam's arms then Rosie and finally, the incapacitated Frodo. "Is he alright?" He asked quickly, rushing over to Merrys' side.

"He's unconscious." Pippin said, stating the obvious.

"I may have something to help him. Please, allow me to help." The man reached out to take Frodo from his cousins. Merry and Pippin looked apprehensive at first, but quickly let him take the limp body from their arms. Carefully, holding him like a sleeping child, the stranger quickly brought Frodo into the house, with the band of hobbits not far behind.

"Get them warmed up." He said to Pippin, motioning to Rosie and Eleanor as he took Frodo into another room and placed him in a bed. After covering him in several warm blankets, he returned to the other room. "Here." He added, passing around towels and blankets to all the freezing, shivering hobbits. Within 10 minutes, everyone was bundled up in extra large blankets and sitting around a growing fire.

"We thank you greatly, sir," Merry started, as he rose from his chair and bowed low to the man, who was busily getting a pot of tea ready, "for your kindness."

"The pleasure is mine, master hobbit." The man replied, as he turned around. "Allow me now to introduce myself. My name is Henna, son of Hanne. You are most welcome in my home."

"I am Meriadoc Brandybuck, knight of Rohan." Merry introduced before tuning to his right side. "This is my young cousin, Peregrin Took, Guard of the Citadel of Gondor." Henna was surprised at the titles that followed the hobbit's names. Rohan? Gondor? How do these Halflings hold such high honors?

"I am Rosie Gamgee," Rosie said politely. Eleanor sat quietly on her mother's lap, her thumb stuck tightly in her mouth.

"And this beautiful lass?" Henna asked, kneeling down in front of Rosie and covering Eleanor's shoulder with the piece of blanket that had fallen off.

"My daughter, Eleanor," Rosie explained.

"Eleanor," Henna repeated, "a beautiful name for a beautiful lass." Eleanor turned her gaze to the man and looked at him with some curiosity, then quickly buried her face in her mother's shoulder. Looking around, Henna realized that there was a hobbit missing; the obvious leader of the group.

"Where is the other hobbit? Your leader?" He asked, with a hint of concern in his voice. Everyone glanced up at him with confused looks. Had he said something wrong? There was an awkward moment of silence when suddenly, Pippin burst out laughing.

"What's so funny, Pip." Merry asked having no idea what caused his young cousin's outburst.

"I think...he thinks....that....that...." Pippin was laughing so hard, he was having difficulty stringing 2 words together. His face was bright red as he fought to breathe in deeply and speak at the same time.

"Pippin! What is it?" Merry demanded, beginning to run low on patience.

"He thinks Sam is our leader!" Pippin finally spit out before rolling over with another laughing fit. Henna had absolutely NO idea what was so funny about what was being said, but Merry must have, because he let out a short laugh as well.

"I guess they don't call him Samwise the Brave for nothing, now do they." Merry said, remembering the events that had just occurred outside and how the man could have made the mistake.

"The other hobbit you are referring to Sam Gamgee, my husband," Rosie explained. "If you are looking for him, you will find him at his master's side." Now this confused Henna even more. Who was she talking about? Seeing his confusion, Rosie continued. "Sam takes care of Bag End, where Mr. Frodo lives."

"Who is Mr. Frodo?" Henna asked, trying to get everyone and everything straight.

"He's the unconscious one." Pippin said, after finally calming down.

"Pippin!" Merry exclaimed very seriously.

"What?"

"At least try to sound concerned about your cousin's health!"

"I am concerned! I was just telling the truth!" As the two cousins went back and forth, Rosie decided to take the opportunity to try and explain things more clearly.

"Come with me and I'll try to help you understand." She said softly, setting Eleanor down on the chair where she curled up in a ball and continued to sleep soundly. Henna followed her out of the sitting area and to the back room where he had placed Frodo. Standing outside the door, she looked inside, with Henna copying her action. What he saw nearly broke his heart. Standing there, besides the bed, was the suspicious, tough leader of the hobbit group; holding the unconscious hobbit's hand tightly with tears running down his face.

"Is he alright?" Henna asked Rosie quietly and he pulled his head from the room.

"They have gone though much together. Sam refuses to speak of most of it, but I know that it had a lot to do with the magic ring of Mr. Bilbo's and a journey that they went on. After they finally returned, Sam became just as protective of Mr. Frodo as he is of Eleanor and me." Henna had to laugh at this, remembering Sam's threat earlier that evening. Suddenly, a light went off in his head.

"Wait, you mean these are the hobbits of the War of the Ring? The great warriors and saviors of Middle Earth?" Henna couldn't believe it! He had real life heroes in his home.

"So you've heard of us?" A voice startled both Henna and Rosie. It was Sam. "Thank you, sir," Sam said, bowing low to the man, "for helping us." Henna still couldn't believe it. So if this was 'Samwise the Brave', then that mean the other Halfling must be the former Ring bearer.

"Mr. Frodo suffered greatly while bearing the Ring of Power. He has never forgotten anything that had happened, and I fear he never will. Seeing you ride up, as you did, cloaked and hooded on the horse, reminded him of the Nazgul. That is why we all reacted the way we did."

"But the Nazgul were all destroyed along with the Ring, weren't they?" Henna asked.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean they still don't haunt us in our minds and in our dreams," Sam answered sadly, bowing his head. Rosie entered the room and wrapped her arms around her husband. Looking at her lovingly, Sam gently pulled back and kissed Rosie's soft forehead.

Soft groans could be heard from the room and Sam quickly rushed back inside, followed closely by Henna and Rosie. Frodo lay in the oversized bed, tossing and turning like a child having night terrors. Cold sweat soaked his brow as small groans of pain long since past escaped his lips every few minutes.

Suddenly, Frodo sat straight up, panting as if he had been running forever. His eyes were clouded and darting everywhere, never really seeing anything. Sam was at Frodo's side in a second, taking his cold, shaking hand into his own.

"It's alright, Mr. Frodo. Your Sam's here." Sam cooed, attempting to calm Frodo down from his state. As Frodo glanced around franticly, his free hand reached up and began clutching at his shirt near chest, where the ring once lay. His eyes became wide with fear as they fell upon Henna and he flung himself backwards towards the headboard of the bed.

"Mr. Frodo! It's alright! He's here to help us." Sam reassured him as he quickly scrambled up on the large bed. Merry and Pippin, after hearing the commotion, rushed into the room to see what was happening. Everyone watch in silence as Sam slowly calmed Frodo down. Until his breathing had returned to normal, his body stopped shaking and his eyes finally cleared.

"Wh...what happened? Where...where are we?" Frodo asked slowly, trying to take in his surroundings. "Who is this?" He got out once he collected himself to the best of his ability.

"My name is Henna, son of Hanne. I came across you and your traveling companion outside and offered my home to you for as long as you need to rest." The man spoke smoothly and caringly. "How are you feeling, Master Baggins?"

"How long have I...." Frodo wasn't sure what had happened or how long they had been staying with this man. All he wanted were answers.

"Not very long," Merry replied, stepping forward. "You collapsed as soon as Henna rode up, not even an hour ago." Frodo looked at the man again and started to remember that evening's events. The Nazgul. That's what had frightened him so. No, not a Nazgul. They were no more in existence then the One Ring itself. How foolish he felt! Frodo tried to sit up so he could explain himself to Henna, but found it was near impossible.

"Oh!" He cried out in pain and fell back onto the mound of pillows that he had been resting on. His hand went immediately from his chest to his left shoulder. "The blade," he whispered to himself.

"That's enough for tonight. Mr. Frodo needs his rest." Rosie finally intervened, stepping forward to block anyone from approaching Frodo's bed. "We've all had a long day so I think that everyone should get some rest." So, being too tired to argue, (and knowing that she was right), everyone, including Henna, left the room and got ready for some much needed rest.

TBC......