The Return of the Ring

Hi people, here we are with chapter 2. Sorry for the wait. It's harder then I thought doing a co-authored fic. Lot's of different things to go over and consider. I know some of you are like hey isn't Aya a Elf name. To answer that question the name has to do with a family member of mine. That's all I'm gonna say on that. This chapter things start to get interesting. I wont say anymore though, if you wanna know you'll just have to read and see for yourself.

frodofreak88: Glad you liked. On your fav list huh. /Takes a bow/ But the big part of this fic goes to Crazzymonkey.

lindahoyland: Thanks for reviewing. I hope to keep your interest up.

Elwen of the Valar: Thanks. :P I hope you enjoy this chapter.

infinity101488: I did review your fic. I guess you don't check your reviews much. Lol. And DO not sic Pookie on me. /shudders/ What is Pookie you reviewers are probably wondering? Trust me ya don't wanna know.

LunarPikachu: Thanks and glad I could be of help. Kill me huh? Yea right. In your dreams maybe.

Disclaimer: Neither Crazzymonkey nor I own LOTR. /stares off to the side then dashes away/ Crazzymonkey sighs then follows. lavaangel: Oh my God! /drool/ Crazzymonkey: What? lavaangel: /stutters and points/ A naked Legolas in a field a wildflowers. Crazzymonkey: Wake up and finish the disclaimer! lavaangel snaps awake. lavaangel: We don't own them, no money made., that's it. /goes back to her daydream. Crazzymonkey: /looks anoyed/ Whatever.

Chapter 2

Aya groggily climbed back through her window. It had been a long three hours. Faramir, Liz, and herself had spent most of the three hours talking. The last hour however they had sneaked into the Maggot's place. They had taken a container of flour and carefully spilled it over most of the floor, then proceeded to tie yarn all throughout the house.

Aya yawned as she slowly climbed into bed, before looking at the golden ring she now clutched in her hand. When Faramir had shown it to her she had felt this overwhelming desire to have it. It was almost like it was the most important thing in the world. Sighing as she pulled the covers over herself she thought back to their earlier conversation.

three hours earlier

"Wow," Liz breathed. "It's beautiful. Can I see it?" Faramir nodded and handed her the ring. She twirled it around her fingers, examining it with a keen eye. She heard it whisper her name. Startled, she dropped it and it landed with a clunk onto Faramir's bedroom floor.

The three hobbits jumped and caught their breaths, waiting to hear Faramir's parents wake. About a minute passed and all was silent. They let out a sigh of relief and Aya bent down and picked the ring up.

She held it out on her palm, examining it for herself. It seemed familiar to her somehow, even though she could have sworn that she had never seen a ring like this before.

"Have you shown this to your dad?" Aya asked. Faramir shook his head.

"No, why would I?"

"I think you should," Liz cut in. "I think it's a magic ring." Her friends looked at her questioningly. She shrugged slightly. "I don't know, perhaps I was just imagining things. But I think we should tell someone about it."

"Magic?" Aya muttered to herself. "That's where it seems familiar to me. It reminds me of the picture of the ring in my book. You know, the one that tells the story of our parent's adventure." In her hand, the ring whispered something in a different and ugly language, and this time all three of them heard it. They eyed the ring warily and it spoke again but now in the common tongue.

"Ringbearer . . . Baggins . . . "

back in Aya's bedroom

After the ring had spoken her name, it had just seemed natural for her to keep the ring. That was when Faramir had suggested they go up to the Maggot's place and have a bit of mischief. Plus Aya and Liz had been wanting some mushrooms for a long time now. And they had needed to relieve a little of the stress the ring had put in them.

Aya sighed and closed her eyes slipping into a troubled sleep. She had dreams although she could remember very little of her dreams when she woke.

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly through her window as Aya woke in a cold sweat. She got out of bed, dressed quickly and went to grab a bite to eat before deciding she would take a quick walk to the edge of town.

On horseback, galloping wildly, Vana and Nori made haste to get to the Shire. Vana's hobbit friend, Aya, is expecting them in a couple of days. But the events of what had happened a few days ago had made them change their plans.

"Nori!" Vana gasped. "Please don't squeeze me to death!"

The dwarf smiled slightly but only relaxed his grip a little. He was riding behind Vana, and in all honesty, was scared out of his wits. He had a hard enough time trotting. A few years ago, the first time Vana wanted him to ride with her, it took her several days to merely get him close to the horse never mind get on it.

They eventually came to the borders of the Shire, and stopped for the watchman on guard.

"What business does a Lady Elf and a Master Dwarf have in the Little Country, eh?" he asked politely but still suspeciously. "Especially in such a great haste?"

Vana smiled down at the hobbit. "We are just axious to visit a good friend, my dear sir! She resides in Hobbiton, and it has been a while since we have last seen each other. No harm done with that, now is there?"

"No, no! None at all, milady! It's my job to ask questions, meaning no offence, of course. We have to be careful, you know. We don't want some bad things to happen again in our country, if you catch my meaning," he explained.

"Aye, of course. I understand." Nori cleared his throat impatiently, and Vana rolled her eyes at him before continuing. "Well, we must be off, good day to you, sir!" She picked up the reins once more, and trotted the horse onward, at a slower pace through the little roads.

"Polite little fellows, aren't they?" Nori remarked. "Never really met any of them before."

"Aye, I wouldn't have met any of them either - and probably wouldn't have met you as well - hadn't it been that the Fellowship stopped in Lorien. My father and his troops found them along the outskirts of our borders," Vana said. "That was when I first met your father and first became aquauinted with halflings."

"What are they like again?" Nori questioned. "I would like to be prepared. From what my father has told me, all they seem to do is eat, drink, smoke, and cause trouble."

The elf laughed. "Yes, you pretty much hit it to a tee. But Gimli was really only close to the four in the Fellowship; he's never been in these parts.

"They keep to themselves. They don't trust outsiders, such as you and me, and they dislike anyone who meddles around with them or with the world outside of the Shire - claiming that they're 'cracked'.

"Though that's starting to change now somewhat. When the four from the Fellowship returned and helped defeated Sharky, they gained a lot of respect, especially from the youngers. Even most of the Elders turned around as well, except for a select few. Oh yes, and they love to gossip, and to party," she added.

They trotted past a market, getting odd stares as they did. It wasn't often that you saw an elf or a dwarf in these parts, never mind the combination traveling together. Little hobbit children were awed. They stared in wonder, recieving smiles as the strangers past, and some even ran after, their minds in far away lands wanting to go on an adventure like the legendary Bilbo.

Aya couldn't believe her eyes. All she had wanted to do was take a nice relaxing walk, and then Vana shows up on horseback with a dwarf who she assumed was Nori - who she had heard many stories about but had never actually met. This was certainly a nice surprise. She wasn't expecting her friend to arrive for a few more days.

"Vana! Vana!" Aya called. She made her way through the mass of hobbits to get to her friend. Vana slid off of the horse just get hugged tightly around the legs. "It's been too long!"

"Aye, that it has, my friend," the elf replied. Aya released Vana from her squeeze and Vana helped Nori down from the horse.

Nori bowed low. "Nori, son of Gimli, at your service." Aya giggled, recalling her great uncle's expirience with dwarves. She curtsied.

"And Aya, daughter of Frodo, at yours and your family's," she replied. "You're here early! I was expecting you later in the week, Vana. Plus you brought along your great friend which I have heard much about. Two very nice surprises at once! I hope your trip went well?"

By the looks on both their faces Aya guessed that it hadn't. Her smile faultered. Nori glanced at the elf and she sighed. "Come on, Aya, my dear friend. We have to talk. Our visit isn't all that pleasant, I'm afraid."

Back at Aya's house, the three sat at the small kitchen table. Aya's mother was out, supossedly to get some things before their relatives arrived.

Vana sipped on some tea with the hobbit, while Nori had some of Bilbo's old stash of wine, which was now about as old to rivel the Old Took himself.

"Well, I don't really know how to begin . . . " Vana sighed.

"I do think that it would be best if you started from the beginning," Nori commented. Vana rolled her eyes at the dwarf and proceeded to tell Aya of what had happened in the past few days. Aya was shocked at the news.

"King Aragorn . . . dead? . . . " Nori nodded sadly and a tear slid down Vana's cheek. The king had been somewhat of a fatherly figure to Vana (even though she was much older than he was), ever since her real father, Haldir, had died at Aragorn's side at the battle of Helms Deep. The elf wiped the tear away quickly.

"Do you still have the Red Book?" Vana asked. Aya nodded and ran to her room to get it. She came back and started flipping through the pages.

"I wanted to ask you something . . . " she found the page she was looking for and held it out to Vana. "What does that elvish say above the picture of the Ring right there?"

"It's the wording that was inscripted on the Ring itself. It's only a small verse of a poem. It says: 'One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them. One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them'."

Aya shuddered involentarily. The ring that Faramir had found was still in her pocket, and after Vana had recited those words, it seemed to grow heavier somewhat. the elf put a comforting hand on the hobbit's shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Vana asked.

Aya nodded and said quickly, "Oh, yes, I'm fine." Maybe even a little bit too quickly for the elf's liking. Nori gave Vana a disbelieving look, but she just shook her head, telling him to keep quiet.

"Listen, Aragorn said something right before he died that has been plauging me. He basically said that we thought the war was over, but in reality it isn't. He wanted us to rush here and get 'the hobbits'. He said that the Ring wouldn't have a change against the Ringbearer's blood," Vana said quietly.

"Wait, are you trying to tell me that the Ring th - that it's not destroyed?" Aya stuttered.

Nori nodded. "Aye, that we are lassie."

"But - But that impossible! It was destroyed! Sauron was destroyed!" Aya said in disbelief. "That's why my father had left for the Gray Havens! He carried too many scars from his task of detroying it, which he succeeded in doing so! It has to be! It fell into Mount Doom! It has to be . . . "

Aya trailed off, a bit freightend of the thought of it still being around. The fact that Vana believed her father, Frodo, might have gone through all that pain for nothing. And the fact that she didn't have him now because of it hurt even more.

"I'm sorry," Vana said and hugged her friend. "I'm so sorry this has happened, Aya. But we have to find the Ring. We have to get it before our enemys do."

"Speaking of which," Nori cut in. "What do you think happened to Sauron? His tower and Barad Dur fell after Frodo threw the Ring in Mount Doom. Surely he can't still be around now, can he?"

Vana shrugged. "I really don't know. And honestly, I'm afraid to know."

"Why are you afraid?" Aya asked.

"Because we supposedly 'defeated' him twice already. If he still does exist, how are we going to be able to get rid of him finally? Or is it impossible?" Vana shook her head. "Silly questions that run threw my mind is all they are. But they still scare me."

Aya nodded to herself in unserstanding. She was almost sure now that she had the One Ring in her pocket. After all, it said her name, it was given to her - it had even chosen to be with her. And now, this elf and dwarf want to steal it for themselves? After all, it was her father's. Why shouldn't she just run off and keep it?

Aya stopped in her tracks in horror. Why was she thinking like this? She put a hand to her head to steady herself. "I'm afraid I'm not feeling that well at the moment, I think I'm just going to lie down and rest before my relatives arrive."

Without waiting for a response, the hobbit turned on her heel and made haste to her room. Nori and Vana exchanged a look.

"She's acting awfully strange," Vana said.

"Aye, that she is," Nori replied. "I think that she's hiding something if you ask me."

"And I'm afraid to know of what that thing is," Vana said.

"You wouldn't think . . . no! . . . " the dwarf breathed.

"Aye," Vana nodded. "I sincerely hope it's not, but there's a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that's growing."

"But wouldn't she have told us?"

"That's the thing, I never told her what the Ring was capible of, I didn't think it was neccicary. It's probably already telling her lies and making her not wanting us to find it," the elf replied.

"Well, at least there's one good thing about that she might have it," Nori said.

"And what would that be?"

"It's not in the hands of Sauron," he said simply.

lavaangel: Well, that's chapter two. I'm gonna have to say goodbye and review from myself and crazzymonkey. She is temporaily out of service. Some little hobbit sneeked her some pipe weed. Although I wont say his name. /cough/ Frodo /cough/. Lol. Anyways, be kind and review people. /Picks up crazzymonkeys hand and waves it in the air./ Wave bye bye. Crazzymonkey just mumbles incohairently. Umm...right. Bye all, til next chapter.