Chapter 4

Annelise woke the two hobbits before dawn the next morning. She had sat up the entire night keeping guard of her sleeping companions. A thick fog had descended across the countryside in the early hours of the morning and a foreboding feeling had settled in Annelise's chest with it. Frodo and Sam seemed to sense the female Ranger's anxiety and traveled swiftly and quietly behind her.

Around mid-afternoon the next day, the trio passed into a corn field that the hobbits informed Annelise belonged to a Farmer Maggot. Within the relative cover of the tall corn stalks, Annelise's anxiety fell away for the moment and she slowed down to walk next to Frodo. She noticed Sam slowed down a bit as well and felt a pang of guilt, knowing that she had been pushing the two Hobbits harder than they were used to that morning.

As they walked in silence, Annelise's thoughts turned once more to Aragorn and the other Dunedain stationed at Sarn Ford. Worry gnawed at her as she wondered if the enemy had already passed through the ford and made its way into the Shire. She could only pray that Gandalf would have some news when they met with him in Bree. She was startled from her troubled thoughts when Frodo began speaking all of a sudden.

"Gandalf had news of your Ranger friend?," he asked quietly, as if he had been reading her thoughts.

"Yes, he is stationed at Sarn Ford with the other Rangers," she said, smiling down at the Hobbit's curious expression. Although Frodo had never met the man, as a child he had always enjoyed hearing Annelise's stories about her friend, Estel, and the adventures that the pair had been on together or apart.

"You are worried about him," Frodo stated, knowing from the look on his companion's face that he was right.

"I know he can take care of himself, but the enemy is moving against us. And it's been so long since I've seen him," she sighed wistfully. "I don't think I'll be easy until I see him again."

"I'm sure you'll see him again soon," Frodo said, trying to comfort his companion. She smiled softly down at him, but he knew she would continue to worry no matter what he said.

Frodo and Annelise tensed suddenly when they heard Sam's frantic voice calling out their names. Annelise turned around and realized that Sam had slowed down more than she thought and they had lost sight of the blonde Hobbit.

The pair quickly turned back and walked in the direction of his voice and finally saw the panicked Hobbit when they turned one last corner.

"I thought I'd lost you," Sam sighed in relief, as Frodo came into his view.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's just something Gandalf said," Sam answered walking closer to the pair.

"What did he say?"

"'Don't you lose him, Samwise Gamgee.' And I don't mean to."

"Sam, we're still in the Shire. What could possibly happen?," Frodo said skeptically, but Annelise tensed up as he said the words and turned to her right. She could hear something crashing through the corn stalks quickly in their direction and began moving her hand to her sword, when two small figures suddenly burst through the corn and landed on top of Frodo and Sam. She couldn't help but roll her eyes in exasperation when she saw just who was laying on top of her charges.

"Frodo!," Pippin said in surprise when he saw who he was laying on. "Merry, it's Frodo Baggins!"

"Hello, Frodo!" the aforementioned Hobbit said as he stood from his position on top of Sam.

"Get off him!," Sam said angrily, ignoring the greetings and pulling Pippin roughly from his friend.

"What on earth are you two doing?," Annelise said, putting her hand on her hips testily as she looked at the vegetables the two young Hobbits were thrusting into Frodo and Sam's hands.

"What's the meaning of this?," Frodo questioned also, but was similarly ignored.

"You've been into Farmer Maggot's crop!," Sam accused as he looked down at the produce in his arms.

"You've got to be kidding me," Annelise muttered under her breath, as the sound of barking dogs and an angry man's voice echoed across the field.

Merry and Pippin were quick to pull Frodo into the corn stalks with them and Annelise decided she had no choice but to follow them.

"Hurry up, Sam!," she yelled over her shoulder when she realized he was still standing frozen with the stolen vegetables in his arms.

"I don't know why he's so upset," she could hear Merry saying in front of her. "It's only a couple of carrots."

"And some cabbages," Pippin threw in and Annelise rolled her eyes once more. "And those three bags of potatoes that we lifted last week. And then the mushrooms the week before."

"Seriously?!," Annelise shouted in disbelief.

"Yes, Pippin," Merry answered in annoyance. "My point is, he's clearly overreacting."

With these words, they burst through the edge of the cornfield and Annelise stopped quickly when she realized there was a cliff in front of them. The three Hobbits didn't notice it quick enough however, and barely stopped in time to keep from going over it.

Annelise allowed herself a little sigh of relief but tensed up again when she noticed Sam come barreling out of the field, looking behind himself and running straight into the other three.

"Valar, give me strength," she huffed in annoyance as she ran to the edge of the cliff and saw the four Hobbits sprawled in a pile at the bottom. She quickly made her way down to them and cursed under her breath when she realized they had landed on the edge of the road that she had been avoiding.

"Trust a Brandybuck and a Took," She heard Sam mutter to himself as they began picking themselves up off the ground.

"What?," Merry said, sounding offended. "That was just a detour, a shortcut."

"A shortcut to what?"

"Mushrooms!," Pippin said excitedly from his place still on the ground and the three moved off to inspect their discovery.

Annelise was looking around at the forest warily and noticed Frodo standing off to the side looking down the lane.

"I think we should get off the road," he called back to the others, before his and Annelise's attention was drawn back down the road. A cold dread filled both of their hearts and Annelise moved urgently to the three Hobbits knelt on the ground.

"Move now!"

"Get off the road, quick!"

Annelise pushed the four Hobbits down into the roots of an old tree by the road, before taking her own shelter in another tree nearby. Her breath was stolen when she saw a cloaked rider on the back of a black horse come down the road and stop near the place the Hobbits were hiding. She felt completely helpless as the rider dismounted and knelt next to the Hobbit's tree. She looked around frantically for some way to draw the rider away and was about to dart from her hiding place and draw the creature away when she saw Merry throw their bag of mushrooms across the road. The black rider quickly remounted his horse and rode off in that direction. Annelise moved as fast as she could and signaled to the Hobbits to follow after her into the wood.

"What was that?," she heard Merry question the others and saw that Frodo had stopped.

"Not now," she said frantically. "Move!"

Annelise led the four Hobbits through the forest for hours as quickly as she could, not allowing them to stop for a moment. The sun had long since set and she could tell that they were getting tired.

"Anything?," Sam asked from the back and Annelise decided to stop for a moment so they could catch their breath.

"Nothing," Frodo answered, looking through the trees.

"What is going on?," Pippin asked, coming to a stop next to Annelise.

"That Black Rider was looking for something. Or someone," Merry said, coming to stand next to them as well. He looked up to Annelise, knowing that she wasn't telling them everything.

"Get down," Pippin said suddenly, and the group dropped to the forest floor where they were standing. Annelise moved over to a tree and crouched down, looking around the trunk. In the distance, she could see the silhouette of a cloaked figure on the back of a horse and knew the enemy was still too close for comfort.

"I have to leave the Shire," she heard Frodo whisper. "Annelise is leading us to Bree."

"Right," Merry said, nodding his head in understanding. "Bucklebury Ferry. Follow me."

The other Hobbits began following Merry's lead and Annelise took up position at the back of the group, knowing Merry was leading them in the best direction. They were nearly to the crossing when one of the Black Riders burst through the trees in front of Annelise, cutting her and Frodo off from the others.

"Keep going!," Annelise yelled to the other three as she grabbed Frodo's shoulder tightly and pulled him away from the horse's hooves. She pushed him ahead of her into some tight trees, hoping it would prevent the rider's horse from following them. They burst through the trees and were back on the road. Ahead, she could see the other three Hobbits aboard the ferry, already loosening the ropes and beginning to move slowly.

"Come on!," she could hear them yelling and she grabbed onto Frodo's shoulder again as she heard the sound of hoofbeats gaining on them.

"Go!," Frodo yelled to the others, and they began pushing off from the dock as they urged the two to run faster. They made it to the dock and Annelise fell back to make sure Frodo made it onto the ferry before she jumped herself. She landed heavily on her feet and turned quickly to make sure the riders weren't able to follow them.

"How far to the nearest crossing?," she heard Frodo question behind her.

"The Brandywine Bridge. 20 miles."

Annelise sank to her knees slowly in exhaustion and fear as she watched the single rider begin riding away, only to be joined by two others. She shook slightly as the rider's chilling call rang through the night and felt dread when she realized just what had been chasing after them.

'Where could the other six be?,' she thought to herself and her fear only grew when she understood that this was the enemy that would have crossed through Sarn Ford as well.

'Valar, please let him be safe.'

Over the next four days, Annelise led the Hobbits through the forest toward Bree, stopping only when absolutely necessary. They had no more sightings of the Black Riders and Annelise assumed they were keeping their searches to the road. However, she knew they would likely begin searching the forest when there was no sign of the Hobbits after a few days. She managed only an hour or so of sleep each night, and by the time the group reached the outskirts of Bree, she was exhausted and anxious. Not to mention, cold and wet from the rain that had started falling heavily a few hours prior.

When the outer gates of Bree came into view, she saw Merry and Pippin's shoulders drop in relief and quickly grabbed them before they could make their way across the road to the gate.

"Wait," she said, pulling them back within the trees before turning to Frodo. "I think it would be best for the four of you to go on first. A group of four Hobbits traveling with a woman would be far too conspicuous and we need to keep as low of a profile as possible."

At this, Frodo nodded in understanding but she could see the nervousness flash across his face.

"Make for the inn," she continued, "and find Gandalf. I will stay here and watch for any signs that we've been followed and come to the inn in an hour, but I'll keep my distance."

"I understand," Frodo said with false confidence, before motioning to the others to follow him as they broke from the cover of the forest and passed to the gate.

Annelise watched as the group spoke to the gatekeeper for a moment, before they were allowed into Bree and she lost sight of them.

After an hour of watching and listening, Annelise was content that, for the moment, they were safe and moved toward the gate. She was let in with very little hassle as the gatekeeper recognized her from her past visits to the town. She moved swiftly toward the inn, anxious to get her eyes back on the Hobbits and to speak with Gandalf, though she was sure her companions would have already filled the wizard in on the details of their journey.

She couldn't help the small smile of amusement when she thought of the wizard's reaction when he saw that somehow Merry and Pippin had gotten tangled up in this mess. She knew that Gandalf was fond of the two Hobbits, but even she could agree that they tended to find trouble without trying.

As this thought passed through her head, a sharp feeling of darkness and dread came over her and she broke off into a sprint toward the inn, knowing in her heart that it was connected to Frodo and the Ring. She slowed as she came to the entrance of the inn and slid in through the door, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

She found the establishment abuzz with activity and could see that many of the patrons were agitated for some reason. She spotted Sam with Merry and Pippin speaking frantically near the entrance to the hall that led to the inn's rooms and quickly made her way over to them. Her anxiety grew when a quick scan of the room proved to her that Frodo was indeed missing.

"What happened?," she demanded as she came upon the trio, her sudden appearance causing the Hobbits to jump in surprise.

"Long story short, Mr. Frodo accidentally put it on and disappeared in the middle of the dining room," Sam spoke quickly and Annelise couldn't help but bring her hand to her face. This was the worst thing that could have happened.

"And where is he now? With Gandalf?," she asked.

"Gandalf was never here," Sam said sadly and Annelise gasped as she felt her dread grow deeper. "When Frodo reappeared, I saw him get grabbed by a man that had been watching us since we got here. Merry was just about to leave to come find you when you showed up."

"Why didn't you tell me he was taken right away? Where did this man take him?," Annelise whisper-yelled to the trio as her panic grew.

"His room is just up here," Sam said and led them up some stairs to a door.

"What can you tell me about the man?," Annelise asked quietly, wanting to have some idea of what she might be facing when she went through the door. She watched as Merry and Pippin picked up a nearby candlestick and stool, before standing together behind Sam and Annelise.

"He just sat in the corner staring since we walked in. I couldn't get a good look at him, he was wearing a dark hood. A very unsavory character, if ever I saw one," Sam said with slight disgust.

"Was he armed?," she asked finally, silently drawing a dagger and resting her other hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Yes, he was," Sam confirmed, and Annelise saw as fear entered his eyes at the thought of his friend being hurt. She watched as he began moving toward the door but she quickly held him back.

"We can't just barge in there without a plan," she hissed, but could see from the looks on the Hobbits faces that she wasn't going to be able to hold them back for long.

"Mr. Frodo could be hurt already," Sam argued, pulling out of her grasp. She moved to grab him again but her whole body froze as she heard his next words.

"This Strider character could have killed him already."