The silence of the marching Fellowship was as thick as the underbrush through which they trudged. December had almost come to an end when the Company of the Ring set out from Rivendell. That was almost three weeks ago now, and the weary travelers were drooping into a worse depression than they'd been in when they left the last homely house.
For hundreds of miles the group had walked by night and slept in little hollows by day. Few words were spoken, and those that were held no joy or laughter. The feeling was altogether as cold as the icy weather around them.
Frodo found himself glancing around at the group during one of their many pauses along the way. His mind wandered back to the Council of Elrond and the events that had transpired there. He remembered Galdor and the other sea elves. Never had he dreamed of meeting one of the high of the fair. Elves born in the Undying Lands were lords of their people by nature. Even those that had been sent to the council—merely messengers and servants of their master—even these would have been considered Elven Lords to the fair ones who remained in Middle Earth.
With this knowledge, Frodo looked to Shadow. The dark, mysterious man had been instantly recognized by Galdor despite his apparently strange garb, and was regarded as a noble. Perhaps he was the advisor to the Lady Daiel that Galdor had referenced? Frodo wondered if he'd ever get to know the answer to that question.
Frodo's eyes went to Sam, sitting next to him on a log, laying out what would be dinner for himself and his master. Frodo thought fondly of how when he had announced to the bickering Council that he would volunteer to take the Ring, Sam had jumped up without hesitation to go with him. Such loyalty was to be admired.
After Sam, Gandalf had declared that he would be the one to show Frodo the way to Mordor. Aragorn had quickly stood, bowing before Frodo.
"My sword is yours," the Ranger had told him, "for so long as you desire it."
"You will have my bow as well," Legolas of Mirkwood had announced from where he, too, knelt before the overwhelmed hobbit.
"And my axe!" Gimli, the son of Gloin had interjected.
"I will be making for the halls of Minas Tirith," Boromir had said, "and until such a time as we reach them, I offer my sword to you as well, Ring-Bearer."
"Well," Elrond had nodded, standing, "seven companions we have here—"
"NINE!" Pippin and Merry had cried, springing from their hiding places in the bushes.
After shaking off his surprise, Elrond had smiled fondly, yet grimly, at the group before him. He knew the danger into which they now walked, but he knew also that nothing would convince them to turn away from this quest. Nothing yet, anyways.
"Very well," he'd said, "Nine walkers of the light against the Nine riders of the Dark Lord—"
"And one more for the Dark Lord himself," another voice had spoken up. Elrond did not turn to look at Shadow when he stood slowly behind the Elf-Lord. He did not acknowledge the horror on the faces of the sea elves as they murmured in their own tongue in disbelief. Instead, he bowed his fair head and sighed, then looked upon the group before him again.
Frodo couldn't mask the joy he'd felt knowing that Strider, Shadow, and Gandalf, along with all three of his friends would be among those who accompanied him on this terrifying journey. The road didn't seem nearly as daunting as it had when he'd first stood and spoken alone. Perhaps it was this joy that Elrond saw, and perhaps that is what caused his fair lips to turn ever so slightly upward into the smirk that adorned his face when he said,
"The Fellowship of the Ring. May the stars shine upon your faces even in the darkest places of the earth."
Now, though, all that joy had seeped away along with the heat of his body as Frodo and the others had traversed ever southward from the hidden vale. From his place on the ground, Frodo watched Gandalf and Aragorn, leaned over an old, tattered map, studying it by the dim light of Gandalf's staff. Legolas sat perched upon a rock, inspecting the feathers on his elegant arrows. Gimli was opposite the fair elf sharpening his axe. Boromir reclined against a tree and appeared to be sleeping. Pippin and Merry sat picking through a pile of provisions they'd brought.
"And after all that talk of being safe here in this…Hollin…place," Pippin complained, "I was so looking forward to a feast! I've almost forgotten the feel of hot food in my mouth with all this sneaking through the cold without a fire!"
"And I would love a pipe to smoke and something to warm my feet," Gandalf retorted, "but comfort was not in the description of this quest, I'm afraid, master Peregrin!"
Silence fell again for a moment before Shadow stirred. The Jedi had been sitting off by himself observing the countryside in the moonlight when he heard the small scuffle. Now, he moved into the center of the circled group with his arms over his chest.
"A warm meal, a pipe, and something to soothe Master Gandalf's feet," he spoke as though making a shopping list, "Any other requests for this evening's accommodations?"
Thinking the Jedi was calling for a cease to the bickering, everyone fell silent…except Sam.
"A spot of ale wouldn't be turned down, Mister Shadow," the hobbit spoke with all seriousness and without looking up from his pack. "And perhaps a bit of rope if you can manage. That's the only thing I forgot to pack…"
There was a moment of silence while everyone stared at the little hobbit before all of them burst into laughter. Sam looked up, at a loss for why his requests were humorous.
"Very well, Sam," Shadow said with laughter in his voice, "I'll add that to the list."
With that, the Jedi was gone. Disappeared into thin air. In an instant, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, and the two younger of the hobbits were on their feet.
"What just happened?" Aragorn demanded of no one in particular.
"He's just gone!" Merry gasped, rubbing his eyes. "He was there, and then he wasn't!"
"He's gone to get what we asked for," Sam replied casually, as though Shadow had done nothing more spectacular than strolling out of the circle.
"He can travel through time and space with as little as a thought," Frodo added.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by anything that man can do," Aragorn shrugged, calming considerably. The other five were not so easily quelled.
"Then he is a sorcerer?" Boromir looked as though Shadow had cast a curse upon him.
"He is a Jedi Knight," Gandalf sighed.
"They're from another galaxy," Sam went back to rummaging in his bag.
"That feat you just saw is but an effortless trick to him," Gandalf, too, returned to his previous activity. "Much like jumping or throwing a pebble for you and I. God only knows where he went…or when…but he'll be back in a moment or two."
Almost as soon as Gandalf had finished speaking, Shadow, laden with bags and boxes and looking like a demented Santa Clause, reappeared in their midst.
"What the devil?" Gimli rushed forward, inspecting the Jedi, poking him to be sure he was a solid person.
"Sorry, there's not really a way to prepare people for that," Shadow laughed, laying down his treasures. He hurriedly opened one large box, and the entire area became filled with the most glorious smell they had experienced since Rivendell. Inside the box were ten smaller packages. Starting with Pippin, Shadow handed each member of the company a steaming container.
"Here you go, little one," he said when he handed Pippin his dinner, "I believe you'll find the hot meal you requested in there." Opening the boxes, which were constructed of a strange material they had never seen before, they found what could have passed as a plate from Christmas dinner complete with roast turkey, mashed potatoes, steamed, candied carrots, stuffing, green beans, and buttered rolls. Each box included a fork and spoon of the same strange material as the boxes, only a harder, sturdier version.
Rummaging through a large bag again, Shadow pulled out a pipe with some of the Shire's famous Longbottom Leaf and a strange looking measure of cloth. Going over to Gandalf, he handed him both articles and instructed the wizard on how to turn on what he called a "heating blanket" that worked thanks to chemical reactions in something called "batteries".
"Oh! This is lovely, my good fellow!" Gandalf chuckled happily as he wrapped the toasty cloth around his frozen feet. "If only we'd thought to send you off sooner!"
Finally, going back to his bag, Shadow pulled out a measure of rope and tossed it to Sam. He then reached in both hands and pulled out two crates filled with bottles.
"It's not exactly ale…but this was easier to transport and will have much the same effect," Shadow continued giddily as he handed each member of the company a "Captain Morgan" before settling down to his own refreshments. He used a "bottle opener" on his own rum as a demonstration before tossing it to Sam who passed it on to the rest of the group in turn.
The hobbits, by now completely accepting of Shadow's oddities, were happily chatting as they stuffed their faces while Aragorn and Gandalf sat back to watch Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli look at each other with befuddled expressions.
"Don't think about it too much," Aragorn laughed, "With him around, it makes life easier just to expect the unexpected, and don't ask questions when the impossible happens."
With that, Gimli shrugged and dug greedily into the glorious food laid before him. Legolas reacted in kind, starting a soft, but happy song with the hobbits. Only Boromir still hesitated, poking warily at his turkey like it might bite him back.
Shadow looked around him at the faces of his companions. All were smiling; even Boromir once he finally got the nerve to try a green bean. He relished in the sound of Gandalf's mirthful laugh and Aragorn's proud chuckle. He watched Sam and the other hobbits dance to Legolas's song with renewed vigor while Gimli told stories of the little hairy women of his homeland that made Boromir cringe, trying to keep his recently ingested food where it belonged.
Even this first part of the journey southward had been difficult, and Shadow knew well the dangers that lay ahead of these people. Even though from their perspective they'd only just met him, as Shadow looked upon each of the faces around him, he loved them, and he vowed to do everything in his power to help each and every one of them see the end of this quest. It would be a long road, the hardest he'd ever faced, harder even than he with all of his future knowledge could imagine, but no matter how dark the road became, Shadow would always look back on this night and remember how even then, at the beginning of their journey, when untold danger and fear lay before, behind, and around them, he had made them smile. In the midst of misery, cold, and dark, with nothing but cheap carryout, a blanket, a pipe, and some rope, he had reminded them how to laugh.
Perhaps they would survive this after all.
~#*ITS*#~
A/N: Hello Hello! Look at me, all updating on time and stuff like a big girl! This one's pretty lighthearted, and very much needed, methinks. =) Our heroes are about to face some pretty intense stuff, so it's nice to see them get to enjoy a night. You know the drill! Reviews and other such comments/PMs muchly welcomed! Cheers! *clanks Captain Morgan against whomever is willing to toast*