We set out west-northwest the next morning, towards the Gap of Rohan. We spent one week crossing huge plains, featureless save for the occasional hut or village. Every now and then we would come upon a band of horses. Nim always sighed lustily as she watched them race away. It was easy to see she wished she was with them and not trapped in a carriage with her two whining sisters, an exasperated mother, and a father who could not stop droning.
One morning, something interesting finally appeared on the horizon: the Tower of Orthanc. It stood erect as a needle, piercing the sky. We had to circle around its outer wall, for the grounds were still flooded. The water was eerily still, darkly reflecting the wreckage around it. At one point Nim grabbed my arm and pointed out into Fangorn Forest. "Look! Look, an Ent!" she exclaimed, leaning out of the carriage and waving frantically. We all looked too, but could see nothing out of the ordinary. Nim was very disappointed that we did not see it, and kept swearing it was real, until Aredhel finally snapped and told her to stop spouting fairytales. This set off a family argument that went on for at least an hour.
Weary and irritable, we finally stopped to camp just outside of Orthanc. Perhaps I was the only one who thought so, but it was quite creepy. I found it hard to sleep, knowing that quite nearby a huge army of Uruk-Hai had been spawned.
The next morning I woke to see Nim glaring at Orthanc with crossed arms. I asked her what was wrong. She told me that Uruk-Hai hadn't attacked. I asked her why in Middle Earth she wanted that to happen. She stared at me with her "Come-On" face. I gave up and went back to sleep.
After passing through the Gap, we started to head north, west of the Misty Mountains. They looked impenetrable, peaks rearing towards the sky. More than once we had to stop to repair a wheel or axle. The ground was rocky and uneven. Soon after crossing the Greyflood, we headed farther west, the Mountains fading in the distance.
We now were on the Greenway. Suffice to say, it was not that green anymore; closer to runny, muddy brown owing to torrential rains and increased traffic. For quite a few days the rain did not let up, but once it did, I started to feel better about the North. Everything around the Greenway was, well, green. The vivid, fresh green that only comes with spring. I found it quite odd that I was thinking these things; I mean, I was teenage boy. This was girly stuff, right? Eventually I began to care less, swept up in the scenery that rolled by.
It began to look more and more homely and less wild. We passed the occasional farm, fields covered with tiny seedlings. One time we were even invited for dinner at a large farmhouse, owned by a middle-aged couple and full of boisterous children. It turned out that they were originally from Gondor, having moved farther north after the War looking for land. The husband himself had stood at the Black Gates with King Elessar. Amazingly, Nim did not start her normal soldier inquisition; she was far too busy playing a rather raucous game of hide and seek with the other kids.
That night, after a supremely delicious and filling dinner, I asked the man how he liked the North. He gave me a knowing smile. "Truth be told, I like it better than Gondor. Life moves more slowly, yet it's richer in some ways. It grows on you, if you take the time to let it work its magic."
As we traveled on towards the town of Bree, I thought about what the farmer had said. In Minas Tirith, everyone rushed by in the streets, heads down, bent on business. Here, however, it seemed every hour or so we passed a farmer in a cart or a walking traveler who always waved and smiled. If someone did that to you in the City, you would wonder what they were trying to sell.
On first sight, Mother and Aredhel despised Bree. Dad, however, was ecstatic. He had booked us rooms at none other than the Prancing Pony. Nim shared his enthusiasm, and even I couldn't help thinking how neat it was to be staying at the same place some of the Fellowship had.
The owner Butterbur was still there, and he greeted us personally, being such aristocrats. It was hard to tell who was happier to meet whom: he or Dad. Nim immediately requested a detailed account of the Nazgùl attack. In our private room, Butterbur sat Nim and Lalaith on his knees and recounted the harrowing tale. For the first time on the trip I felt completely at home; sitting in front of a warm fire, surrounded by family.
The next day, dad told us we were to meet someone that morning. Butterbur led us down the hallway and into another private room. Standing to meet us were two halflings: Samwise Gamgee, the Mayor of the Shire, and his wife Rosie Gamgee, to be exact.
Father greeted them warmly before introducing the rest of us. We had all seen Hobbits before; in fact we had met Peregrin Took himself on one of his many stays at Minas Tirith. He had been extremely friendly and always quick to laugh. Samwise had that same friendliness, though toned down a bit. His face was tanned and kindly, exuding good-nature and earnestness. Rosie was the same, though she had laughter in her eyes.
It turned out that the meeting was about father's jurisdiction and how it coincided with the Shire. Elessar and father had arranged the meeting, wanting Samwise's advice and perhaps anything he wanted Father to do to protect the Shire.
"I haven't had much trouble keeping Men out," Samwise said. "Not many outsiders have come to live around here, and the natives are pretty respectful of Hobbits. We've had one or two trespassers, though our sheriffs made short work of them."
"I suppose we shall have to wait until more start settling here to decide what to do. This land is sure to attract those who want out of the City. In the meantime, do you have any counsel on getting along up here?"
"Keep out of affairs between just a few people. Northerners don't like authority, really. Could take care of themselves," Sam laughed. "Aside from a few outlaws, we don't have too much trouble. However, I do have one piece of advice, 'specially for you kids:" he looked at us very seriously. "Stay off the Downs. Can't say exactly what's there, but it's not good." We all looked at each other.
"Oh, stop scaring them, Sam!" scolded Rosie. She looked at us earnestly. "If you don't journey far out on the Downs, you have nothing to fear. This is really such a wonderful place, and we are happy to call you our neighbors." After a round of farewells, the Gamgees set off for Hobbiton. We continued on our way towards Fornost. As we pulled out of Bree, it seemed we were heading out into a land that had been sleeping for centuries. Here the Northern kings had fought and died; here they now lay buried under mounds of earth in eternal sleep.
I hoped.
Well, this is really just to prove that I am indeed still alive. For an update on TRAS, check my bio. Thanks.
Ainu Laire: I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this fic won't be updated very regularly. I am taking three AP (college-level) classes this year: Biology, English, and U.S. History respectively. I am also a year ahead of my class in math, not to mention I take Japanese. This all adds up to one thing: loads of homework. For example, I have three essays due this week. Yuck. Really yuck. So yeah, life is kinda getting in the way of fic-writing. Eventually, this fic should be longer than TRAS (I actually enjoy writing this one more). But don't hold me to any schedule. Wait for author alerts and whatnot. Thanks.
