Chapter 7

***Elvish***

Annelise and Aragorn jumped apart and began sprinting toward the abandoned tower. 'Fools,' Annelise thought to herself when she noticed the light glowing in the distance, which could only be a fire that the Hobbits had lit. With the height of the watchtower, that light would be seen for miles.

She noticed Aragorn fall behind before bending to grab a large branch on the ground. She began to slow as well, but he was quick to wave her on.

"Go! Don't wait for me!"

Annelise didn't like the idea of leaving him, but knew that they needed to get to Hobbits as quickly as possible. She made it to the base of the tower and began making her way up the path leading to the top, now able to hear Sam yelling at someone to stay back. She pushed herself even harder as she heard the sound of metal clashing and made it to the top of the tower in time to see one of the Black Riders push Sam out of his way. A flash of pride went through her as she saw Merry and Pippin close ranks around Frodo behind them, and she quickly drew her blade.

The Rider easily pushed the two Hobbits aside before Annelise jumped between him and Frodo. The wraith was quick to meet her blade and Annelise was able to put some distance between Frodo and the five dark figures. But her attention was pulled away when she heard scuffing behind her and she shifted her head slightly to see that Frodo had fallen over against a rock.

The Black Rider in front of her took advantage of her distraction and punched her solidly across the face. Annelise felt the skin break below her eye from the metal gauntlets on the wraith's hand and the force of his blow knocked her off her feet.

She felt her head crash sharply against a rock and her vision faded to black.

Annelise felt a hand jostling her shoulder and she quickly sat up when she saw the fear in Merry's eyes as he leaned over her. She scanned her surroundings and saw Aragorn fighting off the Black Riders with his sword in one hand and a flaming torch in the other. Nearby, she heard Frodo groaning in pain and rushed to his side as Aragorn threw his torch into the hood of the last wraith, before moving to join Annelise next to Frodo.

"Help him, Strider!," Sam begged as the two rangers began inspecting the deep wound in the Hobbit's shoulder.

"Aragorn…," Annelise spoked with concern as she passed him a sword that was lying next to Frodo.

"He's been stabbed by a Morgul blade," he spoke in disgust as the blade disintegrated and he threw the hilt to the ground. "This is beyond my skill to heal, he needs Elvish medicine."

Aragorn quickly picked up the small Hobbit and they moved back to the temporary camp they had set up. As the other Hobbits packed up their things and began readying to move, Annelise and Aragorn attended to Frodo, doing what they could to treat the wound. Aragorn sighed once he finished attending to the Hobbit, wishing he could do more before he turned to Annelise.

"Your turn," he stated, reaching toward her face.

"It's nothing-," she began, moving away from him.

"Just let me see it," he interrupted sternly and Annelise gave in.

She hissed when he gently brushed his fingers across her cheek and he looked at her pointedly as he wet a cloth and began wiping away the blood to see the wound better. After a few moments, he removed his hand and began putting away his meager healing supplies.

"You don't need stitches," he informed her, "but the bruise is already developing. You'll be in pain for a few days."

She nodded and shot him a grateful smile as he gave her his hand and pulled her to stand. She immediately moved to herd the three other Hobbits together as Aragorn gathered Frodo in his arms once again.

The following days were tense as the group traveled as quickly as possible, taking very few breaks. The near constant calls through the night confirmed that they were still being pursued. With each passing day, Frodo's condition continued to worsen and the others grew increasingly worried.

"Hurry!," Aragorn called to the Hobbits, as they passed into the Trollshaws days later.

"We're six days from Rivendell," Sam shouted back with worry. "He'll never make it."

"He'll be alright, Sam," Annelise spoke, moving to the Hobbit's side. "We'll make sure of it."

But just as Annelise finished speaking, they heard Frodo yell out in pain, "Gandalf!," and Annelise's heart sank.

Later that night, they reached a clearing occupied by three stone trolls and Annelise felt a pang of sadness go through her heart at the memories that were brought back to her. Aragorn had informed them that they would rest there for a few hours. As he passed by, he shot her a look of compassion and placed his hand gently on her cheek before he moved to lay Frodo gently on the ground.

The Hobbit began to stir soon after and Sam quickly moved to his side, as Aragorn passed torches to Merry and Pippin and instructed them to keep their eyes on the forest surrounding them.

"Look, Frodo, it's Mr. Bilbo's trolls," he said with false cheer, but Frodo did not respond.

"Mr. Frodo?," he asked with concern, moving his hand to place it on his friend's forehead.

"He's going cold!," Sam yelled, drawing Aragorn's attention from the forest.

"Is he going to die?," Pippin asked, his voice coated with worry as he looked between the two rangers imploringly.

"He's passing into the Shadow World," Aragorn answered, knowing it was best not to sugarcoat the situation. "He'll soon become a wraith like them."

With these words, Frodo began to gasp and call out hoarsely and a shiver ran down Annelise's spine as responding calls echoed through the night.

"They're close," Merry spoke, as the group closed ranks and moved closer to Frodo.

"Sam," Aragorn spoke suddenly, "do you know the Athelas plant?"

"Athelas?"

"Kingsfoil."

"Kingsfoil. Aye, it's a weed."

"It may help to slow the poisoning. Hurry!," he instructed and the Hobbit moved off into the forest.

"Stay with the others," Aragorn instructed, moving to Annelise's side.

"Be careful," was all she whispered in return and the man pressed a firm kiss to her temple before disappearing into the forest.

Annelise moved over to Pippin's side, taking the torch from him and instructing him to stay with Frodo as she joined Merry in keeping watch around the clearing. As she walked among the trolls, she couldn't help her thoughts moving back to her first experience in this clearing.

'So many years ago,' she thought to herself and her vision began to blur with tears as memories flowed of the family that she lost on that journey. She tensed suddenly as she was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of hoofbeats approaching. She moved her hand to the hilt of her sword, but relaxed as soon as she realized that she recognised the woman on top of the horse. She was even more surprised to see that the she-elf was leading a second horse behind her.

Arwen quickly dismounted and moved to Frodo's side and Aragorn soon joined her with a bundle of athelas in his hand. The ranger quickly placed a sprig of the plant in his mouth, chewing it slightly before setting it in the Hobbit's wound.

"Frodo," Arwen called to the Hobbit before turning to speak to Aragorn. "He's fading. He's not going to last. We must get him to my father."

Aragorn was quick to obey his adoptive mother and moved to place Frodo atop her horse.

"I've been looking for you for two days," Arwen spoke as Annelise joined them.

"Where are you taking him?," they heard Merry ask but he was ignored.

"There are five Wraiths behind you," Arwen continued. "Where the other four are, I do not know."

Aragorn acknowledged her information with a nod before turning to Annelise. "Stay with the Hobbits - I'll send horses for you. We'll draw away the Riders."

"You know I'm a faster rider, Estel," Annelise protested and Aragorn shook his head pulling her slightly away from Arwen's side.

"The road is too dangerous."

"What are they saying?," she registered Pippin asking but she ignored it, focusing on the man before her.

"We just have to get across the Bruinen, the power of the Elves will protect us then."

"Annelise…," he breathed, bringing his forehead to rest against hers. "If something were to happen to you, and I wasn't there…"

"I know," Annelise responded gently, placing a hand on his cheek. "But I need you to trust me."

"You know I do," he answered and grabbed her hand, placing a soft kiss in the center of her palm before sighing and whispering to her, "As you wish."

They moved back to the horses and Aragorn looked between the two women. "Look after each other."

The two women nodded and moved to mount up. Aragorn walked to Annelise's side and grasped her hand as she grabbed hold of the reins and Arwen moved to his other side.

"Ride hard," he instructed, looking between the two of them and squeezing Annelise's hand before releasing it. "Don't look back."

"Noro lim, Asfaloth. Noro lim!," Arwen spoke and both horses darted off into the night.

Annelise forced herself to follow Aragorn's parting instructions and resisted turning to look back one last time. She knew it was best for someone to accompany Arwen, but she hated parting from Aragorn so soon after their reunion. Especially with how things seemed to be shifting between them recently.

They rode fast and hard, almost never stopping thanks to the Elven horses they were riding. Annelise was exhausted but the tension permeating through her was very effective at keeping her going. The few times they did stop were only for a few minutes to allow the horses a moment to drink and rest, before they were off again.

They never spotted the Black Riders, but the calls that continued getting closer let them know they were still being hunted. When they were only a few miles from the Ford of Bruinen, Annelise allowed herself to hope that maybe they would reach Rivendell without the Riders catching them.

But Annelise swore under her breath when she saw a flash of black through the trees over her right shoulder soon after having that thought. In a matter of seconds, the two white horses found themselves surrounded on all sides by five Black Riders. Arwen and Annelise quickly began dodging between the trees, trying to pull away from the black horses. But they soon had all five following closely on their tails.

Annelise tried to put herself between Arwen's horse and the wraiths but it grew difficult as the Black Riders continued to close the distance. And then suddenly all nine Wraiths were behind them. Annelise was able to pull up on Arwen's right flank, blocking that side from the Riders reaching Frodo. But one of the Riders was able to draw close enough to the she-elf's left side to reach out its hand toward the Hobbit that was bent over the horse's neck.

"Noro lim, Asfaloth!," Arwen yelled and Annelise echoed the command, thanking the Valar silently as the two horses began pulling away from the Wraiths.

They had to quickly dodge through more trees to remain out of reach of the wraiths and Annelise released a sigh of relief once they finally reached the waters of the Bruinen. Once they neared the other end of the river, Arwen urged Annelise to continue to the bank as the elleth turned to face the nine approaching riders.

"Give up the halfing, she-elf," the leader rasped and Annelise shivered at the eerie voice.

"If you want him, come and claim him," Arwen answered, drawing her sword threateningly. Annelise moved her hand to her own sword when the Nine responded to the threat by drawing their own weapons and began moving into the river. But then Arwen began speaking and Annelise loosened her grip slightly.

"Nîn o Chithaeglir lasto beth daer; rimmo nín Bruinen dan in Ulaer!," the she-elf chanted before repeating it again.

Annelise was awestruck when she noticed the river responding to the woman's words, and a tidal wave rushed down the canyon. She was even more awed when she saw the shapes of horses form at the head of the wall of water.

The nine Black Riders began moving to try and escape the torrent but they were all quickly swept away by the force of the water. Annelise breathed a sigh of relief until she noticed Frodo slump over in Arwen's grip.

The elleth was quick to move to the shore and dismounted, pulling the Hobbit down from the saddle.

"Frodo!," Annelise shouted, dismounting as well and moving to the small Hobbit's other side.

"Frodo, no! Frodo, don't give in! Not now!," Arwen begged, before pulling the Hobbit into her arms and closing her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks. Annelise recognized the woman's actions, having seen Elrond do the same in the past and joined the woman in asking the Valar to save the brave Hobbit.

After a moment, Frodo's breathing seemed to grow minutely stronger and they quickly moved to place Frodo back in Arwen's saddle and rode the rest of the way to Rivendell as fast as they could. As soon as they passed the gates of the Elven city, Arwen shouted out orders for her father to be informed of their arrival and for his immediate assistance in the healing wing.

Annelise waited outside Frodo's room and slept for a few hours. Once Arwen came out and informed her that her father had done everything he could, she grabbed some bread from the kitchen and made her way to the stable, eating her food on the way.

She was in the middle of saddling two horses when two identical voices echoed through the stable.

"We're coming with you," one voice said and Annelise turned to see Elrond's twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir, moving to saddle their own horses.

"Before you protest," Elladan spoke next, "Father said you were not to go alone. Those Riders could still be out there."

"Very well," Annelise huffed in false exasperation, wanting to leave as soon as possible to make sure Aragorn, 'and the others' she reminded herself, were alright.

With her words, the two elves smiled and mounted their horses and the trio flew from the stables and out of the city.