Anna did not have to pretend to sleep for long. In the middle of the night, a disturbance woke the rest of the camp up bringing all its focus on a hobbit and a globe. Anna caught snatches; Pippin had looked into the glove, his usually curiosity and the spells first calling finally had taken its toll. They had found him lying on his back with the wizard trying to revive him since the hobbits scream had woken all up.
By the time Anna was able to catch up with what had happened, Gandalf had packed all of Pippin's and his things and had Aragon put the hobbit on Shadowfax. Before Gandalf could mount the horse, Anna stepped in front of him. Finally, he would slow this madness enough to know what to do herself. She did not want to be swept into a crowd; she wanted to know exact what she should do.
'I have not the time to inform you personally of the happenings, Anna,' Gandalf warned but Anna only set her shoulder more resolutely.
'You are going to Minis Tirith with Pippin, while Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, the Rohan King and his captain will go to Helm's Deep at daybreak and the rest follow when they can,' she explained stiffly and quickly what she had already observed. 'I need to know where I should go.'
'It is not my duty to tell each individual where they should go,' Gandalf replied hotly. 'Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli will make their way to Minis Tirith when they can. It is time you make you own decisions.'
'And why are you going to Minis Tirith straight away?' Anna asked indignantly.
'Because it is the center battleground for the war and it is the only place safe for Pippin. In a few hours, there will be Nazgul here looking for him. We must flee before they have the chance of meeting.' Gandalf hoped he had smarted Anna's feeling. 'And they have an enormous amount of information within their books, perhaps even ought for you inquisitive mind.'
But Anna was already sold with the safety of Pippin. 'Of course I will be coming.' She looked around for the other hobbit and walked over to him. 'Be safe, Merry,' she said in his ear as she kissed him on the cheek. 'You are strong and have not yet been exposed to Sauron. Use you secrecy as a weapon against him,' and she hoped onto Dagnir, settling herself close to Shadowfax, her hurt arm enduring the pain of use, which was far less than past injuries done to it.
Of they set into the night, faster than Dagnir would have been able to keep up without Anna's words of encouragement. In a way, Anna was glad to put some physical distance between herself and the others which were constantly on her mind. Yet still, the parting was like ripping a bandage off a fresh wound.
When they reached Helm's Deep to inform the others of what was going on, Pippin seemed to be in a fit of sleep and fevers. Anna would catch glimpses of him which only made her more unsteady about his welfare.
She noticed that when a Nazgul screech passed over head and as she pressed herself against a wall so as not to be seen, while the men wilted in fear, Pippin had scurried himself into a corner. Anna had to grab Gandalf's elbow to give him take a break from his orders enough to help Pippin, or he was the one who faced Sauron one on one and who was being hinted. Soft words were given to him and he slept uneasily, still in that corner.
While seeing him sleep there, Anna felt an impulse to go over to him. Drawn to him, she knelt down beside the small hobbit and placed her hand on his cheek. Stroking the cold damp skin, she tried thinking of Hollin, the one place in all of Middle-Earth that she would constantly gravitate to because of its beauty, and tried projecting that image to calm Pippin. Though, suddenly, as her eyes closed, the lands seemed to sweep away, past the Shire, past the Grey Havens, through to the sea. The wind revived and cooled and the sound of the surf calmed as the sight of the twilight reflected on the water gave a sense of balance to the soul.
Anna let her hand go and calmly stood. Pippin could be seen to have stopped shivering. She turned around to see Eowyn busily coming over to Pippin. 'He will not be disturbed,' she said firmly in a deep voice, putting herself between the daughter and the sleeping figure.
'Surely he would want a bed to sleep in,' Eowyn patronized, seeing nothing but an elf with odd ways.
'He will not be disturbed,' she repeated, placing herself closer to the woman, pronouncing her presence onto her and suggesting dangerous tendencies. Eowyn backed away with few mutterings as Anna blinked and had a look of daze to the back of the daughter. Anna took a deep breath and looked behind her. He would not remember it when he woke, but tonight would heal his heart from the Eye of Sauron.
Anna trotted back to Eowyn, asking her to stop. 'Please, it is about the hobbit.' Shaking her head as Eowyn checked over her shoulder, Anna went on. 'Merry, the one we left behind.' She lowered her voice as if they were two jabbering women exchanging new gossip but also slowed her speech to show she was entrusting the other with a secret.
'I do not think the two have ever been apart. They will be lonely bit they are strong. This one here had seen the Eye and the other, he had faced and helped topple Saruman, the very man who would have killed all your people.' She paused. 'Please, just take care of Merry when e comes. Let him forget his loneliness.'
Eowyn's face softened as Anna left her, leaving the shield maiden to think again on the she-elf.