A/N: I am so sorry for taking this long! Homework has been absolutely crazy as we just came back from our half term holiday. We hope that you will forgive us.

Disclaimer: We no own, you no sue

P.S. a link for the song Seph sings is here, it is called 'wild mountain thyme'

watch?v=nBrOLYrIDmI

Chapter Twenty – A Muddy, Wet Marsh

Kels POV

I sat silently by the window as we waited for the nazgul to come. The hobbit's lay sleeping on the bed and Aragorn sat, back to me in a chair by the window staring intently at the room which the hobbits had booked. A shrill cry filled the air and I covered my ears against the terrible noise. The sound in the movie never prepared me for this. It was like the shouts of a thousand dying men, it was like death itself filled the room when they screamed. I closed my eyes and pulled my knees up to my chest and rocked back and forth. A pair of thin, strong arms wrapped around me and I leant back into Seph's chest.
"It is alright. I am here," she whispered and I could hear her muttering encouraging words. Aragorn turned and his eyes locked with mine. They were silvery grey filled with a depth of emotion and knowledge I doubt I will ever have.
"Are you well little one?" I gave half smile and removed my hands from my ears.
"I'm not that short Aragorn, Seph is the short one," he laughed and I felt Seph tense slightly.
"One more comment about my height and I am going to gut you from throat to abdomen and feed your innards to the nazgul for breakfast.," she hissed.
"You wouldn't do that."
"Try me." I knew she was smiling though and I could hear her laughing.
"Your friend is amusing," Aragorn commented, turning back to the window.
"If we were not sisters she would have gutted me on the spot. All hail the man who can insult her and get away with it (other than the hobbits of course)."
"Milady, I somehow doubt that," Aragorn said.
"Really?" asked Seph and turned me around. "I don't think you would hear that from most of the men I have met."
"You would not do that to a man," Aragorn insisted but he was beginning to look unsure.
"Aragorn, Trust me on this one and just don't upset her," I said and Aragorn shook his head slightly before staring out of the window again.

Suddenly, the screech of nazgul filled my ears and I felt my heart contract. It felt like my head was splitting in two. I squeezed my eyes shut and muttered prayers in elvish. I felt Seph tense beside me and her own hands rose to cover her sensitive ears.
"They found the decoys," whispered Seph.
"Well naw, they just get angry like that for no reason,"I spat back, keeping my eyes tightly shut.
"Wow, you are in a terrible mood!" she joked lightly through gritted teeth.
"Ten points for that astute observation."
Opening my eyes I saw the hobbits jolt awake.
"What are they?" asked Frodo quietly.
"They were once men," Aragorn said, "- great kings of men." I watched him intently as he continued to talk. "Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question and one by one, fell into darkness."

I gave a slight shiver and Seph put a gentle arm around my shoulder and squeezed.
"Now they are slaves to his will," I concluded, looking up to see Aragorn staring at me again. He nodded slightly before shifting his position to be fully facing the hobbits.
"They are the Nazgul, ringwraiths, neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the ring, drawn to the power of the one. They will never stop hunting you." The hobbits were all shivering and I removed my boots and sword, climbing into the bed. They all snuggled up and I saw Seph smile as she began to sing an Irish lullaby that we always sang back in the Shire.

"Oh, the Summertime is a coming
And the trees are sweetly blooming
And the wild mountain thyme blooms along the purple heather
Will ye go, lassie, go? And we will all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme from around the purple heather
Will ye go, lassie, go?

I shall build my love a bower near yon pure crystal fountain
And in it I shall pile all the flowers of the mountain.
Will ye go, lassie, go? And we will all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme from around the purple heather
Will ye go, lassie, go?

Well if my true love will not go, I shall surely find another
Who'll pull wild mountain thyme from around the purple heather
Will ye go, lassie, go? And we will all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme from around the purple heather
Will ye go, lassie, go?"

The gentle breathing of the hobbits beside me indicated that they had fallen asleep. Seph rarely had nightmares anymore but she still feared that she might. However, she would need all of the sleep possible for the upcoming days. She sat in the chair across from the bed and rested her head back, a satisfied smile on her lips as the two of us drifted off into the land of dreams.

***
I woke early the next morning, just as the first rays of dawn were touching the sky, to see Aragorn still staring out of the window and the hobbits still asleep. The chair that had housed Seph was now empty. The door creaked open and I watched as she pattered in with a several bags of food hanging over her shoulders.
"I have the supplies," she whispered to Aragorn and he nodded as I stood from the bed.
"Get them up, we leave immediately." There was a short rush as we got the hobbits up, collected our things and headed outside.
"We need a horse," muttered Aragorn as he walked through the town in search of a suitable animal. I however headed straight around the back of the inn to the stables. Most of the stalls were empty as the horses had been scared away by the nazgul but there was one stall which caught my attention. Inside was none other than Thor. Turning quickly to the stable boy I paid him and removed our large stallion from his small stall. Thor nuzzled at my neck affectionately and I rubbed a hand over his head. I lead him around the front to where Aragorn stood with a forlorn and sickly little pony which had been loaded with our supplies. Seph ran over and threw her arms around Thor's neck, laughing into the thin fur that covered him.

Aragorn's eyebrows shot up as he looked at the horse.
"And how did you come by such a fine beast? I could find no other horse that would be sold other than this one." Seph laughed and fed Thor a carrot from the supply pack.
"He is our horse, we rode him here on the day we first met you." She laughed gently. "He doesn't look a day older. That would be Gandalf's doing though." I moved some of the packs onto Thor and smiled at Aragorn.
"Off we head then, I would hate to miss a single moment of the mud that is to come." He flashed me a smirk before taking Bill's reigns and heading off towards the hills that lay behind the village of Bree.

"Well then, come on."

As we walked through the trees after Aragorn, Frodo became increasingly nervous. The hobbits tripped over various roots while Seph and I leapt along in the branches hanging above.
"Where are you taking us?" Frodo questioned, trying to keep up with Aragorn.
"Into the wild," he whispered, before hurrying off again. Aragorn kept a stern expression on his face as he strode ahead of us, sniffing the air every once in a while. I leapt down next to him as we walked with Seph taking the rear, leading Thor, to make sure none of the hobbits fell behind or became lost in the thick brush.
"How do we know this strider is a friend of Gandalf?" whispered Merry, a sound I easily picked up with my enhanced hearing.
"I think a servant of the enemy would look fairer but feel fouler." Frodo whispered and I heard Seph snort lightly.
"He's foul enough." muttered Merry and I turned to look at Aragorn. He looked slightly miffed and I realised that he had heard their conversation. I placed a hand daintily over my mouth to prevent myself from laughing which made Aragorn turn to me with a slight scowl on his face.
"But where is he leading us?" I heard Sam ask no one in particular. Aragorn smirked and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.
"To Rivendell master Gamgee, the house of Elrond." Seph burst into fits of laughter and I turned to see the hobbits expressions as they realised that he had heard them. Sam however was staring wistfully into the distance with a smile on his face.
"Did you hear that? Rivendell! We're going to see the elves!" I smiled fondly and dropped back so that I was walking beside Frodo.
"Worry not, you can trust him little brother." Looking back up at Aragorn I saw him throw a thankful smile over his shoulder before it was replaced by his usual emotionless expression. It was a shame, he looked nice when he smiled. Smiles always made a person seem more alive and kinder.

We walked through the rain that began to pour down on us and the hobbits were soon shivering, their bare feet scraping on the sharp rocks hidden in the dry grass. The rain soon turned to snow and I kept Sam and Frodo under my cloak, sharing my warmth, while Seph took care of Pippin and Merry. We continued all through the night, had a short breakfast at dawn and started walking again.

"Hey Aragorn." He turned around to look at me.
"Aye."
"Why so serious?" he raised an eyebrow and turned back.
"This is not something that should be taken lightly."
"Yes," Butted in Seph, who walked up beside me, Thor in tow. "But you are lowering the already dreary mood of everyone here and it is not doing anything for morals." Aragorn just shook his head and increased the pace. Glaring at his back Seph leant down and formed a snowball in her hands. Aragorn was a way off but we all trusted her aim. She flung the snowball and we all watched as it sailed through the air and smacked Aragorn on the back of his head. He whipped around to find us all doubled over in laughter. His face went red, not from anger but from embarrassment.
"Who threw that?" he asked and a smile spread across Seph's face as the two of us stood up.
"Catch me if you can!" She yelled, leaping up a tree. Aragorn threw several snowballs but they all missed her. I picked up my own one and threw it. I was rewarded with a thunk as it hit Seph.
"Whose side are you on?" she yelled as she dodged the icy projectiles. A genuine smile split across Aragorn's face and he laughed lightly as Seph jumped down from the tree, throwing a snowball at me as she went. It hit me square in the chest and I laughed. We continued like that, the hobbits throwing snowballs at anything that moved, until we were rather tired.
I dropped to the ground exhausted and Seph walked over to Thor, muttering words in elvish.
The hobbits stopped and began to unpack the cooking supplies from Bill, gaining a bemused expression from Seph.

"Gentlemen," Aragorn announced, a slight smile still on his face. "We do not stop 'till nightfall."
"What about breakfast?" asked Pippin.
"You've already had it," Aragorn said with a look of confusion.
"We've had one yes, what about second breakfast?" protested Pippin like he had just won the whole argument. Aragorn just gave him a funny look and started walking again. Seph and I came up beside him, smiles on our faces.
"I sometimes forget that not all societies have second breakfast," I commented randomly.
"Well I was never a fan of second breakfast, I was normally either hunting or just outside when it was happening," Seph added. Aragorn stared at us both with raised eyebrows.
"You know about their eating habits?"
"Of course, we've lived with them for the last five years. They are little brothers to us," Seph said fondly, reaching into one of Thor's saddle bags and pulling out an two apples. She threw one over her shoulder, closely followed by the second which hit Pippin in the head.
"So you have lived with them?" asked Aragorn, clearly interested.
"That is what we said is it not? It has been fun. Seph liked to cause a bit of trouble though." She chuckled and nudged my arm.
"But you were always there to get me out of it." Aragorn laughed and smiled at the both of us. I nudged him with my elbow and grinned up at him.
"Keep smiling, it's a good look on you." Part of me realised what I had said and I felt my cheeks warm as I began to blush. I was saved, however, when Seph slung an arm around his shoulder and said, "Yeah, you're much more fun now than you were earlier."
"Oh really?" he asked, dumping a pile of snow on her head.

The terrain soon became a marsh, muddy and wet with flies and midges everywhere. We all struggled to keep moving, weighed down by the water in our clothes and slightly preoccupied with the blood sucking insects that refused to leave the hobbits and Aragorn alone. Seph and I didn't have a problem with them, elf was clearly not a popular meal.
"What do they eat, when they can't get hobbit?" wailed Merry as he slapped the flies away with his hand. Pippin fell over and got a mouth full of bog water. Seph quickly fished him out and put his shivering form up onto Thor's back. Dry ground was a welcome reprieve as we arrived at the other side. The sun had set and darkness had stolen over the camp. we stopped and Sam got a fire going as Aragorn went off to hunt. He came back with a deer slung over his shoulder and quickly got to work skinning it and cutting up strips. I placed a hand over my mouth in disgust and horror. Of course I had seen Seph skin a rabbit but this was different. Even Seph was pulling a slight face at it and put an arm around me when she noticed my unusually pale and slightly green pallor.

When our stomachs were filled we unrolled our bedrolls and lay down by the fire. Seph was lying next to the large sleeping form of Thor and I was lying up against a large mound of dirt. Aragorn had refused to let us take watch and had taken his place on a log next to the fire. He sang in a low, monotonous voice which drifted through the air. I could feel his eyes on my back and pretended to be asleep though I was actually wide awake.
"Who is she?" I heard Frodo ask and I tensed. It was Arwen, I knew it. I sighed gently and plucked at the grass next to me. I had been foolish to hope that I could have possibly gotten close to him when it was blatantly obvious that he would never give a damn about me. I listened as Aragorn spoke to Frodo of the song. The story of an elf maiden who gave her love to a mortal man. Opening my eyes I saw Seph staring at me. She gave me a gentle smile and an air kiss before turning over to sleep. Following her example I closed my eyes and allowed my breathing to even out and slow as I too fell asleep.

A/N: I personally find it funny that they don't know about Arwen, but anyway, please R&R!

P.S. Here is the link, so far we only have the first picture up but the rest will follow in time!

art/Seph-358012238?q=gallery%3Aseph-the-awesome&qo=1