"Auta a' Minas Tirith"
-"Go to Minas Tirith,"- Morantwen commanded Astalder. Days past. She stopped only to rest and eat. A fortnight came and went. Morantwen started to become dizzy from the blur she saw for hours at a time. The border of Gondor approached. After a couple of hours, Morantwen reached the glowing white Tower of Guard and reached upon the entrance. There, on each side, was a guard, clad in Gondorian armor. A silver tree, impressed onto the armor, lay upon the breast. The tall, silver helmets upon their heads were laden with two small raven's wings on the sides of a small circlet with a star in the middle. Under their shoulder armor, a full-length cloak draped down.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. I was...in the area, one could say, and I was just wondering if you happened to recently see a Gandalf the Gray."
One of the men spoke up, "Very sorry, M' lady. You just missed him. He left just a couple o' days ago."
"Do you know where he went?"
"Sorry again, M' lady. That's alls I 'no."
Morantwen sighed heavily with exasperation, "Thank you very much. I must be going now."
Morantwen and Astalder turned away from the gates and its ornate guards and faced their path back to the Shire. "Oh, Astalder, why did I ever do this? It is the strangest thing but what Frodo was saying, about how he somehow felt he could trust me and confide in me, is stuck in my head. Because I had a similar feeling. I felt a power in me, and a need to protect him. I do not understand what is going on. I just have to forget about the fatigue and focus on the goal ahead. Let us go. Again."
Once again, Morantwen and her mount set off for another three weeks of nonstop riding. After a fortnight, they reached realm of Eriador. Morantwen sighed, "I may be an elf, but I am getting a bit tired and I swear if Gandalf isn't there, I'll strangle him when I find him."
Again, Morantwen reached the border and guard of the Shire.
"Who goes there?"
She stopped abruptly, "Morantwen, I have to go Bag End, please."
"Oh, yes. I remember you. Go on."
Astalder bolted down the road through Whitfurrows and past Bywater. Morantwen suddenly jumped as she heard a low, booming voice with her sharp ears, "Confound it all, Samwise Gamgee!" Gandalf, she thought. They sprinted down the road right in front of Frodo's home. "What did you hear, speak!" she heard Gandalf again. She leaped off Astalder, who was in mid-sprint, and bolted toward the door. She stumbled on the stairs. Strange, she thought, oh, well, shows my elven grace. She reached out, turned the knob, and swung through the entrance.
Gandalf, Frodo, and another younger hobbit, all turned their heads, bewildered, toward her.
"Morantwen!" Frodo exclaimed.
"Sorry, I'm late."
Frodo smiled. Gandalf looked stunned. The young hobbit didn't know how to feel.
"Morantwen Ariamor?" Gandalf said.
She nodded and smiled, "Now wait, before you bring up old memories, who is this?" She pointed toward the hobbit.
Frodo answered, "This is Samwise Gamgee, my best friend and...my gardener."
Samwise blushed slightly, "Most people call me Sam, M' lady." Morantwen laughed, "So you are the one I heard Gandalf yelling at." Sam turned bright red before he turned around.
"What are you doing out of Aridan?" asked Gandalf. Morantwen told Gandalf the story of the trance, the stables and the orcs. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam, quietly had tea in the kitchen, listening and talking in whispers. Morantwen told Gandalf what Frodo said he was feeling and how she had felt. She told every detail, every thought that went through her mind.
"Hmm. Strange. Well, I was going to send Frodo and Samwise to Bree alone. But, it seems if you go along with them, you might figure out more about this and personally, it would probably better for their safety," Gandalf whispered with a smile.
"Now wait just a minute!" yelled Sam from the kitchen. Both Sam and Frodo came out of the kitchen with smirks on their faces.
"What makes you think that we can't protect ourselves?" Frodo questioned with a laugh. Gandalf glanced over at Morantwen.
"Hmm..."smiled Morantwen sarcastically. All of a sudden, very far away there was a unique sound. There was silence in the hobbit-hole. Everyone stared at Morantwen.