AN: Ok, here's the next chapter! Thank you guys so much for all the reviews, favorites and follows! It makes me so happy.
Review responses:
Will zona: Thanks again! That sounds like a great story idea, although maybe you should consider writing it yourself, since it was your idea! Plus I have never read/watched Percy Jackson, so I don't know much about it. Thanks for the idea though!
Borys68: I started to read "Don't Panic!" and it seems like a very good story, but as this is my first fanfic I didn't want to make things too complicated. I apologize for getting the Rivendell thing wrong, but you have to cut me some slack since I am a rather new Tolkien fan. In fact, the first time I ever read the books/watched the movies was just last winter in preparation for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". So although I may be learning all I can as fast as I can, I still haven't had enough time to learn everything, including that which is in the appendixes. I have only started reading appendix A, so I still have a while to go. Thanks for telling me though!
As for the rest of the reviews, thank you all so much for telling me how much you love my story! Also just so you know I try to update every day, or at least every school day, but sometimes I get too busy (especially on weekends).
Anyway, here's chapter 4!
The next morning Elena woke to see Eldarion stirring something in a small pot over the fire. It smelled like stew, which sounded like the most delicious breakfast ever to Elena, who hadn't eaten a real meal since the pack lunch from yesterday.
"What's in the stew?" She asked when he noticed she was awake.
"Rabbit, mushrooms, wild onions, and a few seasonings I keep with me for flavor. My father says I take after an old hobbit friend of his who would always have salt and a frying pan with him wherever he traveled."
He must be talking about Sam. Boy it will be awesome to meet him. "It sounds delicious. When do you think it will be ready?"
"You can have some now if you want. It has just been simmering for a while to keep it hot and to bring out the flavor. I already ate earlier."
Elena grabbed a tin cup that was sitting near Eldarion's supplies, and then filled it with the steaming stew. She knew she had to eat it slow since it was hot and it wasn't good for her stomach after being empty for so long, but it was a challenge not to gulp it down. Seeing how hungry she was, Eldarion offered her more, which she gladly accepted. She finally felt better after four heaping cups.
"Shall we get going?" Eldarion said as he began gathering up his things. "We can wash the pot and cup at the river we will cross in an hour or so. Also we can refill our water bags there."
Elena threw a bunch of dirt on the fire, and then put her sweatshirt in her backpack. Then they set off in the general direction of the sun, which was barely starting to peek over the mountains in the distance. After walking in silence for a few minutes, Elena thought she should say something.
"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you doing here so far from Gondor? I mean, shouldn't you be in the country your father rules?"
"I'm here to deliver a message to all the people on this side of the Misty Mountains. You see, war is coming after such a long time of peace. New forces are rising up and building an army inside Mordor, although the exact amount of the threat is still to be discovered. All we know so far is that the remaining orcs have multiplied again, and that they are forming an allegiance with something we never thought to see again. You see, when Frodo and Samwise, who were the hobbits sent to destroy the Ring, returned after the war ended, they told my father and his companions the story of how the creature Gollum had led them up the staircase of Cirith Ungol and through the cave of Shelob. Sam told them that he had stabbed Shelob and she had crawled back into her dank hole to die. But now it seems that she didn't perish immediately, and that before she died she managed to lay hundreds of eggs in the furthest corners of her lair, far out of sight of any being that might come through her tunnels. Now, rumor has it that those eggs have hatched and that her offspring has joined the orcs for revenge of both Sauron and Shelob. As I said, we don't know for certain how much of a threat this will be since they haven't shown themselves in full force, but just in case this proves to be too big for us to control, I was sent to warn the people of Bree and the hobbits of the Shire, and they would pass the message on to everyone in Eriador. It also gave me an opportunity to see how Sam, Merry, and Pippin are doing, who are the three hobbits remaining from the Fellowship my father was a part of. "
"Wow, that's a lot to take in." Elena realized just how dangerous the times were when she got here and wished she could have come at a more peaceful time. "What about the other countries to the East of the Misty Mountains? Are they going to help Gondor?"
"Rohan has agreed to help if the need arises, as well as the remaining elves in Mirkwood. We hadn't yet heard a response from the Dwarves living in Erebor when I left, but even if they agree to join us I'm afraid they won't be a great help since most of their kind have left north to the Grey Mountains to live in their impregnable caverns and there remains only a few hundred dwarves in Erebor."
Hearing the news that there were still some elves left in Mirkwood made Elena happy, but she was still terrified of the fact that she could end up right in the middle of a war. This definitely isn't anything like I expected it would be.
AN: Ok! How did you like it? Leave a review please! Oh, and sorry if I got the reference to Eriador wrong, it just looked like that is what the land to the west of the Misty mountains was called on the map and I didn't know who else lived over there besides the hobbits and the people in Bree. Anyway, thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, or any information from other books from J. R. R. Tolkien. I do not own any of the Lord of the Rings or Hobbit movies made by Peter Jackson.