A/N PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING (It's crazy long I know and I apologize I just wanted to make my position known)
I'm only borrowing the characters of Edward and Bella at the moment and I might use different people from LOTR in the future (none from Twilight) I don't speak Elvish, so if you feel the need to point out that something is wrong I would appreciate it but understand that I know there are mistakes and my aim in writing this isn't to display my knowledge of either series.
Also, as I mentioned the first chapter of this story was an introduction, simply INTRODUCING the Lord of the Rings setting and history to those who might not know it. It is pretty much the same as the real introduction to the LOTR movies so I don't take credit for that.
I've gotten a few people saying that I'm corrupting LOTR or even insulting Tolkein himself, which I find unnecessarily dramatic. If you're dead set on keeping Lord of the Rings pure, then why are you reading fanfiction which changes the story? Twilight isn't my favorite I just saw a few potentials in the connection of Edward and Bella, that's why I use them to write.
Constructive criticism is welcome, it's why I post in the first place. I would love to talk to anyone so if you review I will reply. If you're only going to review to say that you hate Twilight and the characters and that I'm ruining the story, either take a closer look at the story and realize that I'm only using the base of the characters and nothing else or just choose not to read this.
If you stuck with me through that whole rant then thank you kindly
Edward
The rain fell like black obsidian shattering and refracting in the moonlight. The trees wept, the water falling and singing as it hit the brushy floor of the forest. The moons light slithered through the cloud break, only slightly successful in scattering the darkness. I stood under the hedge of the trees, a ghost in the night.
It was twelve days since Bella left; word had come from Minas Tirith, on the seventh day, that I was to leave. I had crossed the Last Bridge on the East-West road three days ago and hoped to arrive in Bree the following day.
Bella's message had not yielded any more information on what my purpose there was only that I 'arrive as soon as possible and wait at the Inn of the Prancing Pony, travel only by day, and be wary of travellers on the road'.
At the edge of the wood, hidden from the road, I waited for dawn. I stood, the ground too drowned to lie and the rain too loud to rest. My mind wandered, considering what I would do when I arrived. Bella had told me of the boy she saw, hobbit actually, before she left. He would be carrying a Ring of gold, I would arrive at the Inn and wait for him to come. I wondered if he would be alone, who he was and why I must find him.
Over the thundering rain there came a noise, only discernible because it was too rhythmic, too repetitive to be the random falling of water onto the ground. A rider on the road.
I pulled my cloak around me and disappeared further into the trees but keeping the road in sight, trying to see the traveller in the darkness, the solitary rhythm of a single horses' hooves telling me that whoever the traveller was, they were alone and approaching from the east. When I finally did see the rider it was only because of the absence of stars where they passed. A black horse bearing a cloaked rider. The steed stopped suddenly and I feared I had been discovered, but they made no move to dismount. I stood silent, an icy realization boiling in my blood.
The horse grunted and I knew it sensed my presence on this passage of the washed out road. It ambled forward a few steps and the rider sat still, listening. After what seemed like a few moments of consideration the rider turned the horse around and I listened to the beat of hooves disappear back to the east, toward the village.
I stood for a moment, listening for the rider but I heard no more disruption to the pelting rain. I recognized the rider, not for who but what it was. One of the Nazgul, they had left Minas Morgul then, but when and for what purpose? I had a feeling that though I had only seen this one the others were bound to be lurking around the village as well. Perhaps their errand was the same as my own, patrolling the roads in search of this boy. Bella had said that I would know the ring that this boy carried by its evil power, the one true evil. So it was true then, what Bella had seen. The Ring had been found, it must have been if the wraiths were here, they could always feel its presence and they must be searching for it. The boy, hobbit, must have the true ring, and they were looking for it. I now realized my purpose in being here; I must find this boy who bore the Ring, Kadeem's Bane. I would find him and take him to Rivendell, protecting him from the Dark Lords servants, and when I delivered him to Rivendell a decision would be made about what to do with that most terrible Ring. I could only hope to find him before the Nazgul.
I had left the village of Bree three days ago heading east to try and find the hobbits and ensure their safe passage to the village. I tracked the wraiths knowing now that they were looking for the Ring which would lead them to the boy. I couldn't know for sure how many there were but I had come upon at least three different tracks belonging to the wraiths. I was careful not to follow too closely behind them, keeping myself hidden in the cover of the trees and only tracking them in the cover of darkness. I had drawn upon the limited knowledge I had of the cloaked riders, they rode horses because they were blind or close to it, they had a keen sense of smell and relied upon that to track their prey. I had been grateful for the rain the previous nights that helped to drown my scent and made them less likely to realize that I was following them.
The moon was high in the sky tonight, though it was hard to see through the cloud cover, I had last found tracks a few hours ago and I knew that they were slowly branching out eastward, hoping to find the hobbit before he reached the village. I too travelled farther east now, hoping that I had gambled right on which path they would approach from, and searched for any sign.
I came upon a narrow path that cut unobtrusively through the trees and finally found what I had been looking for. Four different sets of footprints headed towards the village not yet washed away by the rain meaning that they had passed this way not long ago. The prints were instantly recognizable as hobbit prints because of the toe marks in the dirt, they were not wearing shoes. I allowed myself a smile at my success and sank back into the trees following beside the path. Every several minutes I would go back to the side of the path and look for more prints, as I travelled quickly up the path the prints became more frequent and I knew that I was catching up to them.
A few minutes later I spotted a light up the path, about a hundred yards ahead. The fools had started a fire! They must not know that they are being tracked, or were just unskilled in travelling secretly. I dropped further into the trees and continued towards their camp, keeping silent and hidden. When they had come into my sight I stopped to observe them from a distance. Four companions around a small fire, I noticed that two of them had fallen asleep against the roots of the trees while the other two sat on a log beside the fire appearing to be cooking something by the smell that the wind blew to my hiding place.
Idiots! I scowled, it seemed as though they had no idea what the word secret meant. Did they have any idea of the importance of what they were doing? What they carried?
As I thought this one of the sleeping hobbits got up suddenly and stamped out the fire. Thinking he must have seen something I started to move closer to their camp, scanning the trees for other hidden trackers. I came within thirty feet of their camp and saw them looking around for something that might have seen their fire when I heard what they were looking for. A shriek floated through the trees on the wind, anonymous and unsettling. It was calling to the others and I heard them respond, coming closer to close in around the hobbits, at least four different screeches.
They realized this too and gathered their things quickly and turned to run into the forest away from the path. I followed at a distance keeping my footfalls as silent as possible as I ran scanning the trees and listening for the wraiths calls and trying to decipher how close they were. The hobbits came to a small clearing and stopped, the wraiths had stopped calling to each other, I strained my ears listening for the sounds of their horses but I heard nothing over the misty rain on the trees.
The hobbits seemed to think themselves safe because they sat on the grass now, obviously spent from their flight. I continued to look for their quarry but could see no trace of them in the shadow of the trees. I watched the hobbits from several yards away; they appeared to be discussing something and did so for a few minutes before finally turning and continuing to run through the trees with a defined purpose. I pursued them, keeping back and searching the forest for any sign of their other followers.
It seemed they were headed for Baranduin, and then they would make for the Brandywine Bridge. They would take to the river to lose the wraiths, it was their best option; they couldn't hope to outrun the riders. I would follow them, and keep out of sight, until they reached the village. As I made my choice I heard the footfalls of a horse and realized that I too had a follower. Through the trees several yards behind me I spotted its black cloak fluttering in the wind, its steed's eyes glittering in the moonlight. I scaled the closest tree and hovered silently, hoping it would pass under without seeing me. They came within ten feet of my tree, the horse stopped; I heard the wraith searching the air for a scent. If he found anything he must have decided it was not what he was after and pulled the horse back to follow the hobbits trail.
As the rider disappeared into the blackness once more I scaled down from the tree and followed. The river was not far now, and I hoped that the hobbits would make it there before the riders. I ran through the trees now having fallen behind waiting for the wraith to pass. Up ahead I heard a screech and shouting, I cursed abandoning secrecy and racing ahead. The shouting and screeching got louder and I saw the clearing where the hobbits had been caught and were scrambling to escape from the riders. They ran under the horses bodies and disappeared into the woods, the wraiths turning to follow. Realizing they were still quite a distance ahead of me I cut slightly to my right and darted through the trees hoping to get between the riders and the hobbits.
The thinning trees and brush slightly slowed the horses and gave the small hobbits a tiny advantage as they weaved through the bushes and got ever closer to the river. They would have to emerge eventually and would lose that advantage when they were forced from the trees and had to run to the wooden ferry on the edge of the river. I could hear the quiet rush of the water as I ran and I prayed they would make it.
I saw the path ahead only several meters away now and saw a shadow fly past following one of the hobbits who had fallen behind the others. The rider pulled around the hobbit and stopped in front of him, blocking his way. I leaned down as I ran, picking up a small rock as I emerged onto the path. I hurled the rock towards the shadow around thirty feet away, I missed but I saw its head turn to see what had flown past giving the hobbit a moment to slip around the beast and get out of the trees while it was distracted. I ran toward the creature and drew my sword before it could turn to follow him.
It knew I was there now and drew its own sword to defend itself, dismounting and slithering toward me. From the corner of my left periphery I saw another wraith emerge from the trees and fly toward the river taking up the chase. I ran toward the cloaked figure in front of me and raised my sword to block its attack. Our swords clashed and I pulled back immediately to strike again at its middle. I connected with the center of its body, it screeched once and flew back several feet and looked suddenly toward the river. I looked and saw the hobbit approaching the dock where the others had already gotten into and launched the boat. The wraith was only a handful of feet behind him and I heard the other hobbits yelling 'Jump Milo, jump!'. He reached the dock and the wraith reached out to grab him, its armored hand glinting in the light of the fading moon. The hobbit reached the end of the dock and jumped, the hood of his cloak slipped through the fingers of the wraith. He landed on the ferry and his pursuer pulled the reins stopping its horse that screamed in surprise, hooves sliding to a stop on the wooden dock.
I turned back to my opponent who screeched and remounted its horse disappearing back into the trees; the other followed screeching its defeat. I retreated into the shadow of the forest as well and waited for them to disperse. They would know where the hobbits were headed now, and I knew I must make it there before them and ensure that the hobbits made it to the Prancing Pony safely. The sky began to lighten, night turning into day, as the rain misted down creating a dense fog that would aid in shielding both the hobbits and I as we journeyed to the village of Bree. I sheathed my sword and pulled my hood onto my head keeping the river in my sight and I walked through the forest.
It was twenty miles to the Brandywine Bridge from here, and only a few more beyond that to the village. We would arrive by nightfall, and at the Inn of the Prancing Pony I would make my presence known to them and deliver the Ring to Rivendell where its fate would be decided.
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