Chapter 5

Annelise's heart pounded in her chest when she realized just who was on the other side of the door and it took her a moment to notice that the three Hobbits had already burst through the door themselves.

"Let him go!," she heard Sam shout as the sound of a sword being drawn echoed through the room. "Or I'll have you, Longshanks."

There was a moment of silence. Then Annelise heard a familiar voice and her heart leapt in her chest.

"You have a stout heart, little Hobbit. But that will not save you," the voice said and Annelise heard a sword being sheathed. "You can no longer wait for the wizard, Frodo. They're coming."

"Who are you?," she heard Frodo question and she quickly put away her own weapons before moving into the room.

She noticed the man tense and move his hand back to his weapon at her appearance but she made no move to do the same.

"Hello, Estel," she said quietly, as a smile identical to her own grew on the man's face.

"Annelise," he breathed before moving across the room and wrapping his arms tightly around the woman, lifting her slightly from the ground. "It has been far, far too long, my friend."

Annelise couldn't help the small laugh of relief that escaped her as she clung tightly to him for a moment, before he placed her back on the ground and released her. Annelise smiled up at him brightly, before turning to the confused Hobbits that were standing watching the pair.

"There is no need to worry, my friends. I know him very well. He goes by Strider in these parts but Frodo would recognise him best as Estel from my stories," Annelise explained to them, and could see the look of awe on Frodo's face as he finally met the man that was the hero of almost all the stories he had heard from her as a child.

"Oh, so you've told them stories about me?," Aragorn asked her with a teasing look in his eye before he glanced back to the Hobbits and grew serious once more. "I received word from Gandalf a few days ago that you would be accompanying a Mr. Underhill from the Shire to Bree. He asked me to meet him here two days ago to watch for your arrival, but he has never shown up. I don't believe it is safe to wait here any longer."

"You're right," Annelise sighed, growing worried about what could have delayed the wizard. "We encountered three Black Riders a few days ago at the Brandywine, they will be making their way to Bree now."

"You employed rooms at this inn, correct?," Aragorn asked, turning to Frodo suddenly and the Hobbit nodded.

"Take the Hobbits to the inn across the road. I have a room there," Aragorn said to Annelise, handing over a key.

"And you?"

"I'm going to create a little ruse in case those riders show up tonight," he answered and Annelise nodded, beginning to corral the Hobbits toward the door.

"Do you think they'll really come here tonight?," Pippin asked Annelise, fear shining in his eyes.

"With what happened in the dining room earlier, I would say it's almost certain," Annelise answered frankly, not wanting to downplay the seriousness of their circumstances. She saw the young Hobbit physically gulp in fear before he turned and hurried after the others.

When she reached the open door, she turned her head back over her shoulder to look at Aragorn and was surprised to find that he had followed closely behind her and was smiling gently down at her.

"Be careful," he said softly and surprised Annelise when he leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her temple.

"You too," she answered breathlessly before shaking her head and following after the retreating backs of the Hobbits, her heart beating erratically in her chest.

An hour later, the six were settled in Aragorn's room. The four Hobbits were huddled in the large bed, catching a few hours of sleep while the two Rangers were near the window.

Annelise was standing looking out of it as Aragorn occupied a chair to her left. She noticed him looking off into the distance and moved to sit at his feet so she wouldn't have to speak too loudly and risk waking up the sleeping Hobbits.

"Gandalf told me you were at Sarn Ford," she said quietly, drawing his attention down to her.

"What didn't you tell me you were so close? I would have come and visited."

"I know you would have," he answered quietly, reaching out to play with the single braid and bead in her hair out of habit. "I wanted to, but I knew you were needed elsewhere. I didn't want to be selfish and pull you away from your duties."

"You could never be selfish, Estel."

"I don't know about that," he chuckled softly, before moving his hand slowly toward her left collarbone. Annelise understood right away that he was thinking of the injury he had heard about and moved her scarf and tunic aside to reveal the still tender scar. She couldn't help the slight shiver that ran down her spine as his fingers lightly swept across the sensitive skin.

"I was so worried when Elrond informed me of the extent of your injuries, though he of course didn't tell me until after you were out of danger. I nearly came to Rivendell myself, but I knew from his letter that you would have been gone by the time I could get there."

"I'm sorry to have worried you," she said apologetically, reaching up to squeeze his hand but he just shook his head in dismissal.

"I always worry when you're away from me," he stated softly.

"So do I," she admitted, before folding her arms across his knee and resting her head on them. "So, what has Gandalf had you doing that has kept you so busy these past ten years?"

With this question, Aragorn launched off into stories of his duties over the last decade and asked her questions about her own. After a while, his hand unconsciously moved to rest atop her head on his knee and he began to run his fingers slowly through her hair. After a few minutes of telling another story, he noticed the young woman's eyes beginning to droop tiredly and he stopped talking.

"Rest, Annelise. You have had a trying time the last few days. I will watch over you."

She smiled up at him sleepily, before shutting her eyes completely.

"Goodnight, Estel."

Annelise was pulled abruptly from her sleep against Aragorn's leg as shrill screams echoed through the night.

"It's alright," Aragorn said, placing his hand reassuringly on her head again. "They're across the street."

She looked around the room and saw that the Hobbits had woken up as well, though it looked as though Frodo had been awake for some time.

"What are they?," Frodo asked, as Aragorn stared out the window and Annelise stood from the ground to do the same.

"They were once Men," Aragorn answered seriously. "Great kings of Men. Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them nine rings of power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question. One by one, falling into darkness. Now they are slaves to his will."

"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."

Annelise watched silently as the four Nazgul rode off into the night, before moving to sit in the chair across from Aragorn.

"Try and get some sleep," she said softly to the Hobbits. "You too, Frodo. We must leave in the morning and we will have a long journey ahead of us."

She watched as Frodo nodded before reluctantly joining the others in the bed. After a few minutes, the four hobbits had once more fallen asleep, though she could see that they were restless even in their sleep.

"You should sleep, as well."

Annelise looked up at Aragorn's softly spoken words. He continued speaking before she could try to argue with him.

"I have spent the last three nights in this inn, getting plenty of sleep. You've been traveling in the wild the past week, and I'm sure you hardly slept the entire time. I'll be fine tonight, and we can take shifts in the days ahead."

"Oh, very well," she said, giving into his logic and settling back into her seat. Within seconds of closing her eyes, she could feel herself succumbing to the draw of sleep and just before she slipped into unconsciousness, she felt a warm blanket settle over her body and a hand gently move some hair out of her face. She could have sworn she also felt a pair of lips brush against her forehead, but by that point she was more asleep than awake. But she definitely heard the whispered words that rang through the air close to her ear.

"Sweet dreams, dearest Annelise."

Annelise was awoken a few hours later by a hand gently shaking her shoulder. She smiled when she saw that it was Aragorn standing next to her, and stretched her arms above her head before moving to stand next to him. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the soft look and smile he was giving her as he watched her movements.

"Good morning," she whispered, spying the four hobbits still asleep on the bed.

"Good morning," he responded, equally as quiet. "I am going to see if I can procure a pony for the journey. In the meantime, can you rouse the Hobbits? I'll meet you in the stable behind the inn in half an hour. We should leave before the sun rises to avoid as many eyes as possible."

Annelise nodded her head in agreement and Aragorn reached up to squeeze her shoulder in gratitude before slipping from the room silently. She stretched her arms above her head once more to get the lingering stiffness out of her back, before moving toward the bed and waking up the Hobbits.

Frodo and Sam got up with minimal grumbling and moved around the room quickly to gather their things, but it took her a little longer to coax Merry and Pippin out of bed. Once they were up, she stepped over to the basin of water on the washstand and splashed some water on her face before grabbing a brush out of her bag and redoing the braid in her hair. Once that was done, she wrapped her scarf back around her neck, pulling it up to create a hood over her head.

She then turned and saw that the others were ready as well and began leading them to where Aragorn had instructed her to meet him. She saw him right away upon entering the stable and noticed the rather sad looking pony that he was brushing down and saddling.

"Bill here was the only pony I could get," he explained when he saw her expression. "All the others bolted after the attack last night."

Annelise nodded her head and began helping the Hobbits put what little they had on the pony's saddle, next to the few bags of supplies that Aragorn had been able to gather. She and Aragorn kept their light packs on their backs to conserve Bill's energy and the group quickly made their way through the dark streets of Bree and into the dark forest beyond.

Upon leaving Bree, Annelise had walked behind the Hobbits, keeping an eye on them as Aragorn led Bill at the front of their line. They had stopped for a few minutes after dawn so the Hobbit's could eat a quick breakfast, before they began their journey once more with Sam now leading the pony, who had formed a quick attachment to the blonde Hobbit. It was now mid-morning and they had been walking for nearly three hours since leaving the town.

Seeing that the hobbits seemed to be doing fine for the time being, she decided to run up and join Aragorn, throwing encouraging glances at each Hobbit as she moved past them. Aragorn smiled when he saw her approaching and the pair walked in silence for a while.

They were walking through a particularly rough part of the forest and Aragorn had her proceed him up a slight incline as he looked back to check on the Hobbits before moving to her side once more. They walked for a few more steps in silence before they could hear the Hobbits talking quietly to each other.

"I know Annelise knows him, but I don't like the look of this Strider," Merry was saying quietly.

"I think a servant of the enemy would look fairer, but feel fouler," Frodo replied.

"He's foul enough," Merry shot back and Annelise had to hold in a chuckle as Aragorn threw her an offended look.

"I told you that you needed to bathe more often," she teased quietly and he shot out a hand and poked her in the ribs in retaliation.

"Where do you think they're leading us?," they heard Sam ask the others and Aragorn startled them when he responded to the question himself.

"To Rivendell, Master Gamgee. To the House of Elrond."

"Did you hear that?," Sam said excitedly. "Rivendell. We're going to see the elves!"