A large bird flew past her, its wings nearly swiping the side of her neck as it passed her, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. The bird flew out a few feet in front of her and landed in the grass. A crow, she thought. Or a raven, she couldn't tell the difference. But it was pecking away at something on the ground. Cringing, she figured it was some dead animal, and moved in to see what it was.
A pale hand was at her feet, unmoving, lifeless. Attached to it was an equally pale arm that led up to the decaying body of...
Hope gasped. There was a dead hobbit laying there!
How long had he been here? How could no one notice he was missing? She looked around, hoping to see that someone was near, but she was alone. She wanted to get away from it. She wanted to run, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the sight. He was laying on his stomach, his face in the ground, and flies had already collected around him.
Knowing she had to know who this was, she lowered herself to her knees and reached for him. Part of her was afraid he would fall apart in her hands, but she overcame that fear, and gently shuffled him over so he was laying on his back. He was cold and clamy when she touched him, but when he rolled over and she saw his glazed eyes staring up at nothing, she couldn't hold back the scream.
Deagol.
There was bruising around his neck, and his skin had begun to peel to reveal a home for maggots that crawled about and made her want to be sick. She could feel herself spinning, growing dizzy and lightheaded. She was going to faint. Her nightmare was coming to life, and there was no one who could help her. She opened her mouth to scream again but no sound came out, no matter how hard she tried.
She looked at the body a final time and in one last effort she found her voice and screamed out for the heavens to hear.
----
A door crashing open woke her up, and she found herself not in her room. She was... she blinked a few times. She was barefooted in the grass, a few yards away from the woods, and she could see the houselights coming on in many of the homes as people bustled about, trying to find out where the scream had come from. Hope looked around again and felt the blood drain from her face. She didn't know where she was! And what was worse, she had been sleep walking! But it had all been a dream... or she thought so at least. Her mind was so confused and panic was so very close to wracking her that when a pair of hands landed on her shoulders, she immediately spun around to fight whoever it was.
"Let go of me!" she shouted, fighting to get lose. Her eyes briefly glanced at the face. He had a dark look to him, a scar on his face, and very unruly hair. Even as he held her he looked almost angry with her, almost as if he wanted to hurt her. It wasn't a hobbit she recognized, and that made her panic even worse. She struggled violently to get free, and after stomping on the hobbit's foot, she was able to release herself, and she backed away from him. She turned to him, and suddenly thought of the one who had been chasing her not too long ago. It was him! Her breathing began to grow intense. "Who are you?" she screamed at him, her breathing growing harder. "What do you want from me! Why can't you just leave me alone!"
The hobbit stared at her completely confused, thinking she had merely lost her mind and was going insane in front of him. There came the sounds of confused voices, and Hope turned around to see half the village running up to her, trying to see what was the matter. When Hope saw how many of them there were, and that they all were looking at her, she couldn't breathe. Her heart was pounding too hard, tears flew down her face, and she felt as if she were going to faint.
Not knowing what else to do, she screamed again, and took off running trying to avoid the crowd. She ran and collided into another hobbit, sending them both crashing to the ground. She got to her knees quickly, but so did he as he grabbed her by the shoulders. Immediatly she struggled to get free and screamed loudly. "Hope-Anne!" shouted the voice.
At once she stopped. Her whole body was shaking, and tears were falling out of control. She couldn't control her breathing anymore, and felt dizzy. Looking at him before darkness could take her, she muttered the name of the one who held her. "Smeagol..." Her body went limp, and she went unconcious.
Looking up at the crowd confused, Smeagol stood up, holding Hope in his arms, and turned to the one who had tried to catch her earlier. "It was you!" he muttered. "You're the one who was chasing her."
"What are you talkin' about, boy?" demanded the hobbit. "I ain't done nothin' wrong! I heard her screamin' and came ter see what was bloody goin' on. She were sleep walkin'."
"You leave her alone!" shouted Smeagol. "I don't ever want to see you touch her again! Just stay away from her!" He turned and carried her away, ignoring the questions that were being shouted from the hobbits behind him. He looked down at Hope who seemed to be resting peacefully now, and kissed her forehead, not caring if anyone saw. Secret or no secret, he wanted them all to at least know that he was her guardian, and anyone who tried to hurt her would have to suffer him.
He carried her back home, and she slept the rest of the night without a fuss.
----