Chapter 1: Arrivals

Her head turned to the left, rotated back to the right, her hand whipping around to brace herself on the saddle. Sure enough, she was lost, split from her party, even with a ranger and an elf accompanying her. The odds were impossible, not that Middle Earth played on odds anyway.

Her horse, a strong, black Vladimir Heavy Draft called Ragnorok, had let his swift, trot lure her into a daze. That stall was all he needed to bend his head and lure the nearby plants into his mouth.

She had panicked and took off in a random direction, hoping to rejoin the party without too much embarrassment. She had, in turn, ripped her habit, hit a tree, and lost a few of her saddlebags. Sighing, she turned to her horse. "Ragnorok, do you know where they are?"

His ears went up, pivoting to locate something. She felt his body ripple with a sniff. Cautiously, he moved to the base of a giant tree...and began to feast on the neighboring ivy.

Again. She sighed, and so did the tree.

Wait...

"What the-"

The tree erupted in a flurry of shakes, angrily trying to shoo Ragnorok away. The horse took a lick, a look, and then took to his feet.

As he barreled through the underbrush, Rivers ducked and pressed herself against the length of Ragnorok's back. She heard somewhere in the crackle of timber a voice, but it was dull and faded. Her steed vaulted over something, a squealed when he landed in hoof deep water.

Rivers untangled the brambles from her hair and took the reins, maneuvering her horse around the hunks of Isengard. She could hear the aged voice of Treebeard, thundering his welcome to Gandalf.

She dismounted to let him around a particularly large chunk, and didn't bother remounting for the depth of the water, which now bogged around her knees. Ragnorok parted the water easily, so she let herself lag behind.

When Aragorn caught sight of her, both he and Legolas turned to the back of their line, and rounded with fearful faces on her. She smiled, helping her horse step over some rubble. "It's okay, I made it...shit!"

Her foot fell on an irregularly shaped object beneath the water, and she tumbled. Ragnorok lunged forward and then rested again as Rivers released the reins.

Legolas would have laughed had she not extracted a fiery sphere from the depths of Isengard. Gandalf and Treebeard gasped. "Bless my branches..."

"Lady Brind'Amour, give that here."

She stole a glance at Pippin, whose mouth stopped chewing to gaze upon the palantír before it disappeared behind the folds of Gandalf's cloak. The wizard nodded at her, and turned for the forest. "I trust Saruman will stay under you're control, Treebeard? We make our leave, thank you for your time."

The Ent nodded and settled against the tower, closing his eyes. After they were out of earshot, Gandalf rounded on the hobbits.

"Shire-folk! Worth just about as far as you can throw them!"

Gimli flexed slightly and was elbowed by Legolas. Rivers chuckled.

"Meriadoc, climb up with Aragorn; Peregrin, with Lady Brind'Amour. I'll have no reports of your 'talents' until we arrive at Edoras. Silence plagues you lips."

The hobbits nodded, and Legolas couldn't help noticing how big Pippin's grin was as he scrambled up on Ragnorok. Rivers allowed him to hug her from behind, but shifted uncomfortably when he rubbed his head against her back. She spurred her steed after Gandalf, Hasufeld and Aragorn shying to let her pass.

The progress through the forest was slow, and she could feel Pippin making rude gestures with Merry, a few horses behind. Legolas pulled up next to Ragnorok, making Rivers smile. Her riding boots were killing her, not to mention she was worn to the last shred of energy. Legolas looked at her for a moment, and then let his eyes flow to the trail. "You are silent."

"No i brestanneth anírach tírad vi amar." Be the change you want to see in the world, Sindarin

He chuckled, and Aragorn skipped him in line. Rivers turned to face the elf, and smiled deeply. Pippin made a rude noise and caused Ragnorok to dangerous swish his tail. The Vladimir Heavy Draft picked up his pace and reclaimed his place in line.

break (Yo, peeps: won't let me do long chains of stars to signify breaks.......so you get little break's instead. Sorry!)

After the blessing of the cup, a huge repast followed. Roast pig, wine, ale, berries, chocolate and caramel truffle, stuffed boar, and quail eggs, a fine delicacy, were all seen in the mouths of many. The feast degraded into drinking and singing, setting a positive tone for the rest of the night.

A messy clatter rose from a central table, where two especially drunk hobbits frolicked upon it, beer in hand.

"Oh you can search far and wide,
You can drink the whole town dry,
But you'll never find a beer so brown,
As the one we drink in our hometown.
You can keep your fancy ales,
You can drink them by the flagon,
But the only brew for the brave and true,
Comes from the Green Dragon!"

They smacked feet, kicked mugs, and with a final slam of the cups, chugged the ale to the amusement of the crowd. As Pippin fell laughing from the table, Merry spluttered, "We need a victory song!"

Rivers silently agreed, racking her brains for decent song. None really seemed for the moment, but she had a few ideas-

Wait.

She opened her mouth and began to sing. The first few words were lost in the screams of the crowd, but as she came around to the second part of the first verse, she began to sing louder as people took notice.

"Grandpappy told my pappy, back in my day, son,
A man had to answer for the wicked that he done,
Take all the rope in Texas,
Find a tall oak tree, round up all of them bad boys,
Hang them high in the street for all the people to see!"

Merry filled a mug and handed it to her. She sprang to the table, continuing into the chorus as the crowd back her with a furious rhythm.

"Justice is one thing you should always find,

You gotta saddle up your boys,

You gotta draw a hard line.

When the gun smoke settles,

We'll sing a victory tune,

And we'll all meet back at the local saloon."

She caught Legolas and Aragorn staring at her. Gandalf had begun to bob his head with the clapping, and Eowyn was laughing and jumping like a few others. The men refilled their mugs and plunged them into the air, following Rivers.

"And we'll raise up our glasses against evil forces,

Singin', whiskey for my men, and beer for my horses!"

She threw head back, and took all of her drink in. The cheering was phenomenal. The tavern began the chorus again and let the king finish it out. They drank to it one last time, and then the party was over.