Chapter 2
Among the Little Folk
Leia woke with a start when she heard a small commotion. When she got all the sleep out of her eyes she saw that the sun was just rising above the hills. When she turned to see what the commotion was all about, she gasped. There was a small party of Halflings confronting Luke and what's more they appeared quite alarmed.
"Uh oh, this can't be good." She muttered as she got up to join her brother.
"And I will say it again, and again, until you leave us peace abiding Hobbits alone and go back to where you came from! Big Folk are not allowed inside the borders of the Shire per the King's orders! Now scram, or I'll call the sheriff's!" the leader of the small groups shouted.
Leia put on the sweetest smile she could manage and bent down, so she could be at eye level with the Hobbit.
"Hi, my name is Princess Leia Organa Solo, and I am the Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance. We have only come to aid the Free Peoples of Middle Earth in their fight against the Dark Lord Sauron, for he has returned." She finished with a sad look in her eyes.
At the mention of Sauron's return the group of hobbits all gasped. "Then, it's all true?" the leader gasped.
Leia nodded. "I'm afraid so, dear sir. By the way what is your name?" she inquired.
The hobbit was shaken for a minute, but quickly regained his composure. "My name is Leogrim Half-Baggins. I am a guardian of all that is good. Thank you for coming. We have been sensing some unnamed evil on our borders and are growing restless and fearful. I apologize for trying to chase you all out." He said as he looked each of the travelers in the eye, and gasped as he recognized Legolas.
"Legolas, is that you?" he gasped.
Legolas walked over to the hobbit with a laugh. "Leogrim, it's been far too long! Where's Nobb and Lacnas? " he asked looking around.
"Here," said a high feminine voice behind him.
"Here," said a gruff manlier voice at his side.
Legolas nearly jumped in shock. "I thought I told you two to quit doing that! You two are worse than Merry and Pippin!" Legolas said gruffly.
Jaina laughed in merriment. The two hobbits turned around to look at her. "My word, it's a Jedi, Lacnas! Never in my wildest dreams…" Nobb said in awe.
Jaina chuckled again. "Oh, I'm really not that much of a Jedi, you two. I'm not really worth all the praise or credit." She mumbled as she grew pink in the face.
Leia came over upon hearing that. "Jaina, do you really expect them to believe all that rubbish? After all, you are the Sword of the Jedi and granddaughter of Darth Vader." She chuckled.
At the mention of Darth Vader Lacnas and Nobb gasped. "It's true, then? We heard rumors..." Nobb whispered.
Leia nodded. "Where are we exactly?" she asked after looking around at the beautiful environment.
"You are in what we Hobbits call 'The Shire'. To be more exact, you are in Oatbarton in the region of Evendim." Leogrim answered.
Leia gasped. "Aragorn mentioned this place to me before! His forefathers, the kings of old, resided here ages ago, right?" she inquired.
Leogrim nodded in awe. "Right you are, miss. It appears you know your history quite well for a stranger and one of the Big Folk." He said looking in her eyes with his deep brown ones.
Leia blinked back a tear. "I'm sorry, Leo, it's just that you remind me so much of my son, Anakin. He died a few years back in the War." She said with sorrow.
Leogrim walked over to the Princess and gave her a pat on the back. "There, there, miss; what's done is done. You must not dwell on the past for too long, you know; at least that's what Old Gandalf used to say." He consoled.
Leia smiled at the mention of the wizard's name. "You knew Gandalf? Wow; I knew he visited the Halflings, but he never mentioned you." She said, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Leogrim gulped. "Well I was sort of a behind-the-scenes sort of guardian, you know?" he chuckled.
Leia nodded. "Oh, I get it. You helped the Fellowship while they moved abroad. Sorry, I grew up under the oppressive rule of a Galactic Empire, its better safe than sorry, you know?" she smiled.
At the mention of a Galactic Empire the Hobbits grew fearful.
"Um, Miss Leia, whatever happened to this 'Galactic Empire"? Nobb asked timidly.
Leia chuckled. "Well, Nobb, we defeated it of course!" Leia said as she grew sad.
"Only to have it replaced by a new Empire, led by your son." A voice said.
Leia turned around and was shocked to see her father walking towards her. Luke strode towards his father.
"Anakin, what are you saying? Jacen's our only hope of defeating these Dark Lords! He can't be a Sith!" he cried.
"I've just come from the future, and it is very grim, for everyone. Trust your feelings, Luke." Anakin said as he vanished.
Luke was worried, if Jacen had really gone over to the Dark Side, things would be grim indeed.
"Leia, Jaina, Legolas, we have to move; now!" Luke whispered.
"I have a very bad feeling about this, Luke." Leia whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
Luke gave a slight nod before turning back to the hobbits.
"Well, halflings, I am afraid we are going to have to take our leave, now." Luke said as he waved his hand in the air and used the Force to wipe their memories. But, before he could, the leader, Leogrim, spoke up.
"wait, Master Skywalker! We can help. We hobbits are warriors at heart. We are at your service!" Leogrim urged.
Luke stroked his chin. Maybe they were of some use. He needed to warn Mara about Jacen, but he needed to press onward for the Grey Havens or else the Elves would be on the move.
"Alright, Leogrim; I have a very crucial mission for you. This may prove fatal to all of you, but it must be done. Are you willing?" Luke asked as he eyed the hobbits.
They all nodded their heads.
"I need you to wait here for my wife, who is traveling with my son, and my nephew, Jacen Solo." Luke began but the Hobbits all gasped when they heard his nephew was the Sith Lord Anakin had mentioned.
"Do you want us to kill him?"Leogrim asked stoutly as he pulled out his sword.
"You can't kill a Sith! Only a Jedi can! What I want you to do is to get Mara alone and warn her about Jacen for me, got it?" Luke asked.
The hobbits nodded in unison. Luke was still feeling uneasy about the whole situation though.
"I want you all to promise me that under no circumstances will you try to kill him, alright? When the time comes, I and I alone will deal with him." Luke finished as the hobbits all vowed not to try to kill Jacen Solo.
Luke grew calm once more.
"Well, I guess this is farewell." He said as he turned to leave, but Leia put her hand on his shoulder urging him to wait.
"Luke I believe we need a guide who knows the way to the Havens." She said simply.
At the mention of the Havens, Nobb perked up. "Are you going to the Grey Havens? Whatever for? I thought you came to save Middle Earth!" she inquired.
Luke chuckled. "My dear Nobb, we're not leaving! We're just meeting the Elves! Do you know the way?" he asked with a smile.
"Of course I do! Lacnas and I go there every year! Come Lacnas, we shall be their guides." She giggled as Lacnas skipped over.
"It'll be like an adventure!" Lacnas laughed as he skipped around the Jedi in jubilation.
Jaina rolled her eyes. "Uncle Luke, you can't be serious." She mumbled.
"Well, Jaina, do you have any better ideas? We need to get to the Havens and fast before the Elves create more problems for us." Luke whispered.
The Jedi all agreed that they needed guides who knew the area and all the shortcuts.
"Well, Lacnas, and Nobb, we are going now, come!" Luke shouted as they all mounted their horses.
Within moments they were off! Three horses led by two ponies! Before Leogrim could blink they were mere specks in the horizon. Now he just had to wait for Jedi Grand Master Skywalker's wife.
"Alright, you halflings, you heard the Jedi, we have to warn his wife! Who's on first watch?" he shouted as he marched up and down the rows of his warriors.
A hand shot up down the line of hobbits, Leogrim marched down the line to discover it belonged to Rosie Cotton.
"Rosie Cotton? What are you doing all the way out here in Evendim?" he roared.
"Sorry, Sir! I just wanted to be part of the action, sir!" Rosie saluted.
Leogrim rolled his eyes, he hated new recruits; they were way too chipper for his likings.
"Where's Sam?" He barked.
"Err… Sam, who's Sam?" Rosie lied.
"What in tarnation has gotten a hold on you, lass? Sammie's your husband! Now, tell me where is he?" Leogrim demanded.
Rosie looked down at her feet. "Well, he's sort of on another adventure, you see…" she said lamely as she shuffled her feet, not daring to look into Leo's eyes.
"What?! You better not be lying to me, girl!" Leo roared, growing furious.
Rosie blushed in embarrassment. "My apologies, sir! Old Master Radagast recruited him for another quest with Pippin and Merry. He said something about finding Gandalf, and the One Ring, Sir!" Rosie explained.
Leogrim paled after hearing this. "Why didn't you speak up when Master Skywalker was here?!" he demanded.
Rosie gulped in terror. "Thought never crossed my mind sir!" she answered.
The heated debate was cut short suddenly when the massive portal nearby started dialing an incoming wormhole.
"Incoming traveler, sir!" a young hobbit barely out of his tweens announced as he rushed over.
Leogrim looked at the portal in alarm. "Alright, hobbits; this is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill! Get to your stations, Now!" he ordered.
There was a mass rush and a thunder of hobbit feet as the hobbits all got in position a good distance away from the portal as the wormhole roared out and back in again. The hobbits all aimed their bows at the entrance of the portal. Moments later, a figure shrouded in a great black cloak with their face hidden by its hood walked through the portal followed by a smaller hooded figure, who was followed by a woman with red hair, dressed in the robes of a Jedi Master, and had a great purple cloak clasped to her neck. She as well had a lightsaber attached to her belt.
"Greetings Master Skywalker! My name is Guardian Leogrim of the Shire, and your husband has a message for you and you alone!" Leogrim said briskly pulling her aside from her two mysterious companions.
"Not so fast, Hobbit!" I have every right to hear this message too!" Jacen Solo said as he lowered his hood.
All the hobbits gasped when they saw his face. Jacen turned on them. "What, you've never seen a Jedi before?" he said with a cocked brow.
"Uhh… Run for it Hobbits!" Rosie stammered.
Jacen looked at Mara in confusion. "I don't understand Aunt Mara, if Uncle Luke was here already, why are they afraid?" Jacen whispered.
Mara had a very bad feeling about this. "Leogrim, explain yourself now!" she ordered.
"I'm sorry only you are allowed to hear the full story, miss." Leogrim said again.
"We'll see about that, Halfling!" Jacen sneered as he grabbed his lightsaber.
Leogrim gulped in terror. Mara glared at Jacen.
"Put it away, Jacen, NOW!" she growled.
"Only when he tells ALL of us the message from Uncle Luke!" Jacen growled back.
Mara gasped at her nephew's violent behavior, it was totally unlike him.
"Jacen, I'll handle this. Let me hear the message alone, first and I'll tell it to you later, ok?" she said in an icy tone.
Jacen finally nodded. "Alright Aunt Mara, Ben and I will wait here for your return." he said evenly not showing emotion.
Mara nodded her head in approval. "Very Good, Jacen." She said as he turned on her heel to follow Leogrim.
Leogrim led her to a small encampment near a copse of trees. As soon s they got inside his tent, he motioned for Mara to sit down. Mara sat down, waiting for the message from Luke.
"Well, what's the message, Leogrim?" she asked clearly annoyed at all the secrecy involved.
"Luke wanted me to warn you about Jacen. Well actually, Anakin warned us about him." Leogrim began, but was cut short when Mara gasped.
"Is everything all right, Master Skywalker?" he asked clearly alarmed.
Mara had grown pale, Anakin Solo was dead. He died in the Yuuzhan Vong War ten years ago.
"Anakin Solo warned you?" she asked in shock.
"No, Anakin Skywalker warned us." Leogrim corrected in confusion. "Who is this Anakin Solo?"
Mara gasped again. Things were getting complicated again. Why had Anakin Skywalker shown up again? He had been dead for more than 30 years! This didn't make any sense. She began to fear for Luke and Leia. What if they were walking into a trap?
"Master Skywalker, are you sure you are alright?" Leogrim asked again worried.
Mara nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Anakin Solo was my nephew, brother to Jacen Solo." She replied answering his question.
Leogrim nodded in understanding. "What exactly was the warning about Jacen?" Mara asked.
"Well, Anakin told us Jacen will become the next Sith Lord." Leogrim explained.
Mara nearly fainted at the news. All of a sudden her personal com-link beeped. She picked it up and turned it on to see Luke on the other end.
"Luke, is it true?" Mara said in a whisper.
As Luke nodded, Leia came into view. "Mara, rest assured, I will NOT let my son become like Vader. He will NEVER be a Sith. I'll kill him myself if he even thinks about becoming a Sith!" Leia said with her usual serene smile.
"Mother, you know anger leads to the Dark Side." A voice said behind Mara.
Leia didn't even flinch when she saw Jacen appear behind Mara. "Jacen, you will stop this right NOW! You know in your heart that you will only get death if you go down this path. Now, let Mara guide you back into the light, sweetie." Leia said in a motherly tone.
Jacen just smirked and gave a small laugh. "Well Mother," he said in a deep pitched voice.
"Consider this a warning to you and all the Jedi, if you ever speak to me that way again, you will die!" Jacen grinned eager to kill some members of his family.
Mara's jaw dropped. She thought she had known her nephew so well.
"Only a sith deals in absolutes, Jacen." She smiled as he ignited her lightsaber.
Jacen smiled, all was going according to plan. "Ah, but that's where you and all the Jedi are wrong, dear aunt." Jacen laughed as he took out his lightsaber. But he did not ignite it yet.
Mara cocked an eyebrow. "What in the Force is that supposed to mean, do you think we, Jedi, are weak? Well, you have underestimated us, Jacen. I am sorry that it has to be me to kill you. But I can't have a Sith lord running around, now, can i?" she said sweetly.
"Oh, you will try, Jade, you will try!" Jacen laughed as he ignited his crimson blade.
By now Leogrim had leapt clear of the two and was by the exit of his tent calling for back up. Within seconds Ben Skywalker came dashing through the tent flap with a small group of hobbits behind him to find his mother and Jacen battling in the tent.
"Jacen, why?" Ben cried.
"Ben, get out of here, go to your father and Aunt Leia. Warn the Jedi!" Mara ordered not daring to look away from Jacen.
"Mother, this is not your battle. Please step away from it, thank you." Said a strange voice from the other side of the tent. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look.
The voice belonged to a tall man with red hair, and was dressed in the robes of a Jedi Master. He looked a lot like Ben, actually.
"Ben, honey, is that you?" Mara asked in disbelief.
"Hello mother, it is I, I have come from the future." Future Ben said with a smile as he walked towards Jacen.
"Hello Jacen, you weren't expecting this were you?" Future Ben laughed.
Jacen grew angry. "You can't stop me! If you do, it will mess up the space-time continuum!" he snarled.
"Is it, Jacen?" Future Ben smirked.
Jacen gulped in terror. He started to back away.
"Ben, mom, Run! Get to Luke! Go!" Future Ben ordered as he pinned Jacen to the floor with the Force.
Mara grabbed younger Ben's hand and quickly clipped her lightsaber to her belt and dashed out of the tent with the Hobbits following behind her. She threw Ben up on his horse and leapt on hers.
"Leogrim, where's Radagast and the Hobbits? I need to know now!" she barked.
"Why do you wish to know of my whereabouts?" a gruff voice said.
Mara turned to see an old man in a brown robe walk up with four hobbits following him.
"Radagast, you need to come with us, now! I have no time to explain, but we have to meet my husband at the Havens!" Mara said quickly.
"Why should I trust you?" Radagast said as he narrowed his eyes.
"We're friends of Olorin." Mara whispered.
Radagast's brows shot up instantly. "Right, this way! Follow me! TO the havens!" he yelled as he leapt on his horse, and the hobbits leapt on ponies behind him and charged off. Mara quickly got her horse to dash after them as well.
The company sped off out of Evendim and towards the Grey Havens. The sun passed overhead and soon set. The moon came up and passed overhead and set as the sun came up. They had finally reached the havens.