I do not own the Lord of the Rings, or it's characters or places. I only own Mÿne
The rain poured over Bree as Mÿne walked to the biggest inn of the town, the Prancing Pony. Her hair was plastered all over her face and her clothes were soaked, but she was smiling nevertheless. She liked rain, it made her feel fresh and it washed away her worries. Her wet cloak swished around her feet as she turned around the corner and saw the inn.
Aragorn had asked her to keep a little look out at the maingate for two hobbits.
"They will be mere childeren in your eyes, with big hairy feet." he'd said with a sinister grin on his face.
So there she went, but she hadn't saw any hobbits. She walked up the wet stairs of the inn and gave a strong tug to open the big wooden door. She was instantly greeted with a warm gust of wind, music and roaring laughter. Her smile widened, that's what she loved the most about inns, everybody seemed so carefree and relaxed.
Mÿne pulled back her hood and shook her head, sending waterdrops everywhere. She gave a short nod to the owner, Barliman Butterbur. He frowned shortly at her and seemed to be lost in thoughts. Mÿne shrugged, he always had been absentminded so she didn't really pay attention to it. She walked to the back of the inn, to a dark corner where Aragorn sat. He made quite a strange impression, sitting in the dark, his eyes only lit by his pipe. She sat down next to him and lowered her voice to a small whisper.
"I didn't see them at the gates, they might be still on the road." she said.
"No. they're here." he said stern.
Mÿne frowned, "How do you-"
"They're over there." he said, cutting her off and pointing with the end of his pipe toward a table in the middle of the busy room with four little boys at it. Mÿne's frown deepend. They were told to wait for two of them, besides: boys this age drinking these sizes pints of beer? She looked better at the boys and noticed the hairy feet and some stubbles at one of the boys' chin. One of them got up and walked up to the bar where he ordered another, bigger, pint. He began chatting to other customers and laughing loudly.
The other three boys remained a bit unsure, eating and looking around, sometimes whispering to each other.
Mÿne could tell Aragorn was waiting for a sign to give away the identity of the hobbits, so they wouldn't guide the wrong hobbits to Rivendell. After all, it seemed this tavern wasn't unusual for other hobbits to find.
"The one with the dark curls said to Barliman that his name was Underhill, but I think that's the hobbit we are looking for." Aragorn said.
"He fits Gandalfs description perfectly. As does the other one." Mÿne said, refering to the fatter hobbit next to 'Mr Underhill'.
Aragorn extinguished his pipe shoved it back under his cloak.
"I still wonder what he's carrying." she said, thinking back at the conversation they'd had with Gandalf.
"I have send Frodo on a dangerous journey." Gandalf sighed as he brought his pipe back to his mouth. The light of the fireplace made him so much older and worried. Aragorn ordered another pint and looked at Gandalf.
"I guess that's why you wanted to talk to us." he said. Gandalf nodded and the smoke made him cough.
"He is carrying something of great value which he needs to take to Rivendell. I might not be in time here to guide him, Aragorn." he coughed again, "Would you-"
"We'll wait here for him." Aragorn said grabbing his new pint and taking a big gulp of it.
"Good. I knew I could count on you two. But be careful, black riders might be chasing him." he said, and he continued with the despcription of him and his friend, the gardener.
Mÿne looked at Gandalf and putted her pint down. "What does he need to take to Rivendell? I mean, if black riders are hunting him..." she said, dropping her voice.
But Gandalf hadn't answer her question. In fact, after she'd asked it he wanted to speak to Aragorn in private. She went to get a room in the Forsaken Inn, across the Prancing Pony and when she came back Gandalf was talking about fireworks and some weird guy named Bilbo and his birthday.
Mÿne's attention was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the hobbit at the bar laugh.
"Sure, I know a Baggins! He's over there. Frodo Baggins! He's my cousin form me mums side." the young hobbit at the bar said loudly, pointing at the hobbit who called himself 'Mr Underhill'. The hobbit at the bar took another big gulp of beer. That's when Frodo got up and made his way the the other one and grabbed his shoulder.
Mÿne watched him fall and then something very strange happened.
He vanished!
The small amount of people who saw it gasped and grew quiet. Mÿne blinked her eyes a few times, as every one of the customers who saw it but Aragorn sat up immediately. Suddenly the hobbit reappeared. He looked bewildered and the customers gasped again. Aragorn got up and rushed over to him, grabbing him by his collar and dragging him upstairs. Mÿne looked around the room to look if someone noticed, but the customers were drunken and soon distracted by a song that was sung in a corner of the inn so she guessed it went unnoticed. She turned around and quickly got up the stairs, pushed open the door where she heard Aragorn talk and got in.
Aragorn had drawn his sword. Mÿne frowned and looked confused from him to the shuddering hobbit, who turned around at her entry and backed away a few more steps. He had big blue eyes that were looking scared at her.
"I'm not going to harm you." she said shortly, shooting a curious and wary glare to Aragorn.
Mÿne hadn't even said that or the door flew open again, revealing the other three hobbits, armed with a candle and a frying pan.
"Let him go, or I'll have you Longshanks!" the fat one yelled.
She had to admit, he looked pretty funny when he was angry, but he also looked very serious. Aragorn putted away his sword and looked at Mÿne. She caught his look and turned around to the hobbits and their poor 'weapons' in their hands.
"We do not intend any harm. I'd put that away if I were you." she said to them. They first looked at each other, unsure, but put their things on a nearby table. She found them somehow cute, those little guys with their curly hair and big hairy feet.
"I know what you carry with you." Aragorn said, and everyone looked back at Frodo again.
Mÿne saw the poor hobbit grow pale and instantly grab something on his neck.
"I also know what hunts you and they won't stop until they have it." he continued.
Mÿne thought about the black riders and then it struck her. Black Riders out to Bree? After this hobbit carrying something valueable? It couldn't be...
She stepped forward, grabbed Frodo by his collar, he yelped and the other three hobbits came in action immediatly, they picked up their weapons and ran over to her. She quickly pulled up the necklace Frodo wore and looked at a small golden ring dangling before her eyes. She stared at it, as it swayed from right to left. A heavy feeling was rushing over her. Her eyelids dropped a bit and she felt drawn towards the Ring. Was she imagining or did the Ring actually whisper her name and asking her to take it? She frowned, released the necklace and putted Frodo down. The other hobbits surrounded him immediatly, pointing the frying pan and the candle at her.
"So I was right." Mÿne muttered, falling back a few steps and looking at Aragorn, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Aragorn sighed, "I promised Gandalf I wouldn't."
"Gandalf?" Frodo said, jumping as he heard his name. "We were waiting for him! Where is he? Is he alright?"
"I don't know where he is. He told us to come and wait for you here and guide you further if he couldn't be here himself." Aragorn said.
"How can we trust you?" the fat hobbit said, glaring at Mÿne.
"You cannot." Mÿne said, "But we will guide you to Rivendell and back if necessary. Trust needs to be built... Frodo, I sincerely apologize for what I just did. I just had to...confirm something. Tell your bodyguard to take it easy." Mÿne said, looking back at the glaring hobbit.
"His gardener." he mumbled.
Suddenly a high pitched scream-like sound was heard. It was still far away but it had send shivers down Mÿne's spine.
Black riders.
"Mÿne, take them to the Forsaken Inn, this place is not safe. I'll come after you." Aragorn said to her, looking around the room.
She nodded and pushed Frodo out of the room. The other hobbits bumped off the stairs after them. Mÿne pulled up her hood as she waited for all of them to be complete with all their belongings. She ushered them through the crowd, pulled open the big door and pushed them out in the rain. She led them to a little, dark and sinister inn at the other side of the road.
"Where are we going?" the youngest hobbit asked in a high voice, "Where are you taking us?"
Mÿne pushed her index finger on her lips to make them shut up. The heavy rain of earlier was reduced to some light veil of mist and coldness. Still, she could sense that there was more to it than rain. As if someone was watching and casting this weird misty and cold rain. She pushed open the heavy door of the Forsaken Inn and let the hobbits get in. It was nothing like the Prancing Pony. This inn was nearly dark, lit by a few candles, almost empty and seemed cold. The owner, who was playing cards with one of the few customers, gave her a disturbed look. Mÿne looked at him, cocking one eyebrow and he nodded. She had been here before and knew the owner. Not really a nice guy but he wouldn't betray a paying costumer. While pushing the hobbits up the creaky stairs, she thought about Aragorn and what he was doing.
They came at a dark hallway, she looked at the light underneath the doors, found one door without light and pushed it open.
By the light of a few candles, the hobbits plopped down there bags and cloaks and took place on the beds that were standing in every corner.
An uncomfortable silence fell. Mÿne settled the candles in its holders, next to the door.
"Barliman told me that man was a ranger, called Strider." Frodo began, breaking the silence, "But who are you?"
"My name is Mÿne." she said shortly, "I'm also a ranger. Aragorn is my teacher." she gave them a look. They looked so scared and unsure, shivering on their bare hairy and dirty feet.
"Why don't you go and wash yourselves? We can talk later." she said, nodding towards the bathroom. The four hobbits nodded in agreement and went to wash their face, hands and feet.
Mÿne took place on the windowsill and looked at the road beneath her. She thought about the ring. The One Ring...here! She grinned slightly. Her mind drifted off thinking about what would happen if she'd took the Ring for her own. What power would the Ring have? Maybe she could use it against Sauron. Maybe she could use it to wash away all evil in the world and rule herself! She would ask Frodo to let her hold the Ring agai-
"Mÿne!"
She jumped and looked around bewilderd. Aragorn was looking at her, worried. She blinked her eyes at him, feeling dazed and confused.
"It's the Ring. It's getting to you already." Aragorn stated, looking at her, fear in his eyes, "Now that you know it's here..."
"N-No, it's nothing. I'm just a bit tired." she lied. Aragorn saw through it, he knew her better than that.
"Mÿne, think of Gollum. He used to own the Ring. It consumed him and poisened his mind. Look what has become of him! Don't get seduced by the Ring, Mÿne." he said, voice full with concern.
With huge eyes, Mÿne looked at him. Gollum, that nasty, skimpy and ugly creature? Is that what happened when someone owned the Ring? She didn't want that! She could already see herself as a Gollum, rinsing and mumbling, with only three strands of hair plastered around her skinny face.
Aragorn stood up again, making a fire in the fireplace to warm the room. Guilt washed over Mÿne as she saw the hobbits come in.
"Why are there four of you anyway?" Mÿne said to put her mind at something else. She might have sound a bit harsher than she intended to but only Aragorn noticed it.
"Well, we actually bumped into each other on the way here." the youngest hobbit said, "I'm Peregrin Took, but you can call me Pippin!"
"Or just 'fool of a took'." the other one said grinning, "I'm Merry. We went to raid farmer Maggot's vegetable field, but we got caught so we fled and we bumped into good ol' Frodo and Sam here."
Mÿne nodded and looked at Aragorn, who was standing next to her, looking at the road. He seemed tense, and she didn't blame him. If Black Riders weren on their way to Bree... Bree, of all places.
"You might want to get some sleep while you can." he said grimly.
