Disclaimer: If I owned it I would be an old man… who died in- oh I don't know… maybe 1973! (And how could I update if I was dead?)

Stuff in bold is straight from the book… maybe not completely but it's not completely ME writing… so if it sounds professional or old fashioned its not me- that's how it was written.

Recap:

"Wait," she turned and looked questioningly at Strider, "I expect you will want new clothes- take these. They may not be the nicest and you might not like dressing like a man but they are better than nothing." He tossed her a small bundle of clothes, which she caught with ease. Looking them over, she smiled.

"Thank you sir, you are very kind."

Now:

As she walked away her smile faded. It would be nice to be in service of these foolish travelers… assuming they stayed ignorant- if they found out she would have a problem. The Ranger though- why was he kind to her? Surely he knew of her! What was his name? Strider? That didn't sound right. Hmm… must have been one of those foolish names the Bree folk had given him.

Feeling the remains of her tunic slipping off she decided to bathe. It would feel so much better to be clean. Choosing to wash her new clothes first she knelt by the stream and shook out the clothes. She almost shrieked when a stiletto fell out of the bundle. How could she have not noticed? Oh well. She would just return it to him when she saw them again- probably soon; maybe in a few hours even. Laying the wet clothes on a rock she stripped down, strapped the stiletto to her waist and jumped in.

She scrubbed quickly and got out, wringing out her strawberry blonde hair. Slipping into the damp clothes she grimaced, hoping she didn't have to fight while she was wet. As she relaxed in the sun she felt a tingling in the back of her mind. 'Oh no… I was hoping I would have to see them for a while…' she silently grumbled. 'I really didn't want to have to deal with those idiot wraiths for a few more hours really. Drat. I should get ready for the fight.' Quickly she stretched and warmed up with her dagger before setting out towards where she remembered the travelers staying.

"Look!" said Merry. "The moon is rising: it must be getting late."

The others looked up. Even as they did so, they saw on the top of the hill something small and dark against the glimmer of the moonrise. It was perhaps only a large stone or a jutting rock shown up by the pale light.

Sam and Merry got up and walked from the fire. Frodo and Pippin remained seated in silence. Strider was watching the moonlight on the hill intently. All seemed quiet and still, but Frodo felt a cold dread creeping up over his heart, now that Strider was no longer speaking. He huddled closer to the fire. At that moment Sam came running back from the edge of the dell.

"I don't know what it is," he said, "but I suddenly felt afraid. I durstn't go outside this dell for any money; I felt that something was creeping up the slope."

"Did you see anything?" asked Frodo, springing to his feet.

"No, sir. I saw nothing, but I didn't stop to look."

"I saw something," said Merry, "or I thought I did – away westwards where the moonlight was falling on the flats beyond the shadow of the hill-tops, I thought there were two or three shapes. They seemed to be moving this way."

"Keep close to the fire, with your faces outward!" cried Strider. "Get some of the longer sticks ready in your hands!"

For a breathless moment time they sat there, silent and alert, with there backs turned to the wood-fire, each gazing into the shadows that encircled them. Nothing happened. There was no sound or movement in the night. Frodo stirred, feeling that he must break the silence: he longed to shout aloud.

"Hush!" whispered Strider. "What's that?" gasped Pippin at the same moment.

From the shadows stepped the girl from earlier, Hanani, her dagger unsheathed. "Hello. I thought you might want help with the stupid wraiths." She glanced at Frodo, "I wouldn't put on that ring if I were you, little mister. You'll get stabbed."

At that moment the five wraiths stepped into view. Suddenly Frodo couldn't help himself. Ignoring Gandalf's message and all warnings he had received he slipped on the Ring. The wraiths straightened then quickly advanced toward him. Panicking, he looked around at all of his companions for help. They seemed to be flitting shadows, except Strider who seemed to be solider and brighter, and Hanani who looked as though he hadn't even put on the ring.

She frowned at him in disapproval before stretching out her hand towards the wraith about to stab him. As the sword came speeding towards him he closed his eyes then felt ice cold, slimy water splash him. Surprised he opened his eyes to find the wraith's sword had turned into water. He was dimly aware of the wraith turning towards his companions before he blacked out.

"Go," she hissed at the wraiths, "go tell your master that they are no longer alone and have my protection. He'll be thrilled to hear that, don't you think?" The wraiths shrieked in fury before fleeing when their weapons dissolved into a slimy mist. She walked over to wear they had seen a wraith stab what appeared to be the air. She grabbed at something and suddenly Frodo appeared and she had the Ring. She quietly returned it to the chain on Frodo's neck. The hobbits and Strider stared at her as she turned to them and smiled weakly. "I told you, you would need my help," she whispered before fainting.

They quickly rushed over to Frodo to make sure he was ok and were shocked to see he didn't even have a scratch. "How's that possible Strider? This is right where that wraith stabbed… shouldn't he be hurt?" Sam asked.

Strider looked at the girl thoughtfully. "I think I know why Frodo was untouched. You might want to thank that girl when she wakes up. She's going to be answering many questions when she comes to."

"What did she do?" asked Pippin. "I saw her look towards where the wraiths were going and stretch her hand out. One of their swords turned into water and they started to go to her… then she started talking to them, their weapons vanished into mist and they fled."

"You just told us what we are going to ask her about Pippin. But you forgot two important things- how did she know where Frodo was? And how could she know exactly where the Ring was? (Let alone how she even knew he had it)" Strider said. Sam, Pippin and Merry looked at each other, shifting uncomfortably, not wanting to think of such things. 'No', Strider pondered, 'what the real question is is what she meant when talking to the wraiths. She almost seemed to know them…'

Stiletto- a slender dagger with a blade thick in proportion to its breadth (No I wasn't talking about shoes)