Chapter Four

There was movement near the campfire. The warrior hadn't slept much last night for there was much on his mind. He had gone through all of the strange woman's belongings and instead of answers he only found more questions. His conclusion so far was that she was not from these parts. She was not from any settlement or kingdom he knew of at least. He also found her ill prepared for any kind of journey. In her bag there was no appropriate provisions for travel.

There was what resembled a cap, of some sort, colored black. It had a small hole on the back and an extended half crescent shaped piece on the front. Another item he was able to recognize was a small brown brush, made from smooth polished material and simple in design. Though he could tell the purpose of the item it was apparent that this too was foreign in make. There was one solitary apple and 3 small rectangular objects wrapped in material that crinkled when handled. The objects each had a drawing of a fruit on it and strange writings. Runes perhaps? And what was it? Surely not food. Another odd painting?

He snorted lightly when he thought about the lone apple she carried. He looked to her sleeping form near the fire and thought to himself 'Is this woman daft to not have appropriate food for such a journey? No weapon, no means to obtain food, no escort. She must be daft.'

He thought about the other items he found in her bag. There was a container that held the same purpose of his water skin. It was hard and clear. He had discovered the contents to be water upon inspection. Then he found a few circular bands. Each stretched unusually when pulled and he learned how durable they were when one snapped him in the face upon being stretched too far causing him to curse. He was glad she was not awake to witness that. He found another rectangular object that was shiny and had metal square plates covering its surface. The purpose of the object was one he could not figure out so he had simply moved on to the next item, keys. This was easily recognizable, though they were smaller and very much thinner then the ones he was familiar with.

He remembered this small square "pouch" that unfolded like a tome and had thin slits on the inside. Each slit held a "card" made not of parchment but hard material! They were engraved with inscriptions that shined like silver on one side and the on the back was a black strip across the top. There were 3 similar card by his count and one that was white and held a very small portrait of the woman sleeping near him. More inscription laid next to the portrait and it confused him as to why this woman carried so many "paintings" instead of proper provisions. The pouch then revealed another compartment at the top that held thin green parchment of yet another portrait! This time of a older man. The paintings started to frustrate him and he set the object aside. He had gotten no answers as of yet.

He thought of the most unusual items among her belongings. Not that some of her belongings were not unusual, they all were, but these were more so. Like the small cylinder containers, orange in color, with white parchment stuck on the surface and more strange inscriptions he could not read. Much to his frustration he was not able to open the cylinders no matter how hard he twisted but, he could see tiny "pebbles" inside.

He remembered accidentally spraying himself in the face while he examined a red irregular shaped object. It had sprayed him when he attempted to put the object back together after pulling it apart. There was a faint taste of medicine and he worried that he had inadvertently poisoned himself. But hours had passed since then so he was assured that it was harmless. He had made a mental note to handle said objects with more caution. After the spraying incident he was a bit more hesitant to continue to touch the other items but, he was no coward. He pressed on carefully and found unusual thin sticks with metal points. It seemed to be an object used for writing he deduced when he touched the point and his finger was marked with blue ink. She had a handful of these "sticks".

Next was a tome that confused him greatly. The binding was far superior to any tome in these lands. Inside he noticed inscriptions similar to the ones he saw previously written neatly in a language he could not read. It was not Westron and it was not Elvish, he was fluent in both tongues. It did not look similar to the foul language of Orcs or Black Speech. He couldn't speak those languages, neither did he wish to, but he had intercepted enough messages from these fell creatures to recognize it's likeness.

There were two other languages, that he knew of, that were a possibility but her appearance made him greatly doubt the likelihood that she could be kin to these people. One was Rohirric, the language of Rohan. But her clothing was not of Rohan's fashion, she was without an escort and her belongings were too foreign to have come from that kingdom. The other was Dwarvish. He knew them to be secretive so maybe she was kin to dwarves and these strange belongings are of dwarf make. She was short for a human but, taller than an average dwarf. He had never seen a female dwarf before. In fact, it was common belief that there were no dwarf women and that dwarves just sprout out from stone. Even so, her clothing did not look similar to that of dwarves and secretive or not, her belongings were just too peculiar. Her facial features did not look dwarvish either even though he couldn't compare her to a dwarf woman. Nonetheless she looked human and he doubted that dwarves would allow one of their women to travel alone like this.

He moved onto a rolled up parchment and found it to reveal a map when unscrolled. This map was in Westron and he saw two locations circled. One location was the Old Forest and the second was Bree. A line was drawn in between both locations. Did she come from the Old Forest? He didn't know people to live there. No that did not seem likely. Perhaps she came from Bree? No, there was none like her in Bree. She was too much of an oddity. Traveling to Bree then? He turned the map around to see drawings of stars and more strange writings. What was this?

Before he had the chance to look through the last of her belongings he heard the woman begin to stir. All that was left to check was a smaller bag a bit larger than his hand. It was nearly dawn now and the air was crisp. She was still asleep but, if she was stirring he knew she would wake soon. He quickly figured out the mechanism used to close the bag and pulled the metal piece to one side. Opening the bag he searched carefully and with haste for any weapon. He found none. With no time to examine each item inside he simply placed her belongings back inside her bag. From what he found she was harmless..so far.

The Warrior rose from the ground where he sat and crouched near the woman. He checked for a fever one last time and then her breathing. Her temperature was fine and her breathing regular. She looked well and showed no remnants of what ailed her before. He moved to the fire and poured water from his spare water skin into the pot and prepared the tea he gave her a few hours ago. Checking the perimeter around the camp he was sure she would be safe while he walked a short distance to relieve himself. He glanced at her sleeping before he left. He wouldn't be far from camp or gone too long…but he still wasn't sure how logical or intelligent this woman was. Hopefully she wouldn't do anything stupid in his absence.

"Ugghhh…" Andie groaned, while stretching her legs out with her eyes still shut. Why was her bed so uncomfortable? It was like sleeping on rocks! Her whole body ached badly and felt heavy like stone in water. She simply laid there awake with her eyes closed.

"Why does everything hurt?" She said to no one.

She took in a deep breath and felt the telltale pain of a bad asthma attack. 'When did I have a asthma attack?' She thought hard as she pulled up the covers closer to her.

'Why is it so cold? Did I leave the window open?' She wondered.

She could feel her eyes slightly swollen but, not from sleep. She thought hard about what had happened before she went to bed. She couldn't remember at first. She had gone to work just like every other day but, had left work early for an appointment for her headaches. She remembered meeting this new doctor and their conversation regarding her intense headaches. He had recommended a herb that could be brewed into tea since other medication did not seem to be working. She decided to give it a try. While waiting for the doctor to give her the medication and instructions, she decided to do some research on the remedy. She didn't get to read much on the herb but, once she saw enough worthy evidence to say it was safe she didn't give it much thought.

She remembered going into Starbucks and ordering a croissant and a grande cup of hot water. She remembered the weird look she received from the barista and him asking her if what she wanted was hot water, making sure he had heard her correctly. Next, she recalled opening the small box the doctor had given her and saw tea bags! All she had to do was dunk one bag and allow it to seep. She had given it a few minutes, then drank the tea and made sure to eat her croissant while taking this medication. It had a strong bitter taste but she powered through it. Then she started on her way home. It was only a 30 minute walk from the train station to her home. She began to feel the annoying throb of her headache give way and was happy to finally have relief. 'Drinking the tea wasn't so bad and hey it worked!' She thought happily to herself.

While walking the remainder of the way home she thought of the option to walk through the small park instead of taking on the crowded sidewalk. She lived in New York and she disliked walking in crowded places. It wasn't Manhattan but, the Bronx still got crowded here and there and the people were less than considerate most of the time. She decided to take the path in the park. It was quieter and much more spacious. She remembered texting her mom that she was on her way home and telling her about her doctor visit. Her mother had asked about the herb and she sent her the link to the website she had used to learn more about it. And then…

'I got lost' she recalled. 'I got lost and I was walking…I met Tom…and…'

GASP!

Her eyes shot open and she quickly sat up straight. The quick and harsh inhale made her cough hard. Her chest and ribs hurt with each cough. When she finally caught her breath, Andie took in her surroundings. She wasn't in her bed. She wasn't home. She wasn't anywhere she recognized. Andie looked around, her head turning every which way fast. There were no buildings, no cars, no people! Only a campfire, her bag and…another bag?! It wasn't hers, she was sure of it. Andie didn't care about the bag. Her mind was focused on that creature.

"El Cuco! The monster. Whatever the hell that thing was…" she said scared out of her mind. "It wasn't a dream?!" She pushed up her right sleeve and was horrified to see a dark bruise in the shape of a large hand wrapping around her wrist.

"My asthma attack! It was because of that thing! And there was another…" she continued trying to make sense of her memory.

"No…was it?….the eyes were different."

Andie couldn't sit on the ground any longer. Then she noticed the blanket that was draped over her. 'This isn't mine' She thought. She stood and left the blanket to lay in a bundle on the ground. Andie shivered from the cold morning air and remembered "El Cuco's" eyes.

"They were so cold and empty…lifeless…"

Then she remembered the second set of eyes she saw. "They were different. I could see them. They weren't empty. They were grey….and the voice…" The monster's voice was chilling and garbled. It sounded sinister. But Andie thought hard on the second voice. It was different.

"A man?" She said unsure. She stared into the campfire and remembered the orange flame that had rescued her from her doom. "He- he saved me?" Lost deep in thought Andie did not notice the approaching person or hear his steps behind her.

"Mea Domina", a gruff voice said.

Andie gasp and jumped at the sound. She turned in the direction of the voice and her wide eyes met the form of a tall man. In fact Andie had to look up in order to see his face. He stood before her, mindfully staying an arm's length away, with his hands held up in front of him.

"Pax" he said calmly while maintaining the distance. He waited for a response and didn't rush her.

It could have been because of stress or disbelief but Andie was dumbfounded and speechless. There was so much to process from the previous day and the present. Her mind didn't know where to start. She stared at the man before her and one thought popped up in her mind immediately.

'Damn he's tall!', Andie gawked.

She could see that he towered over her. If they had been standing side by side Andie would only reach just below the middle of his bicep. He was broad and solid. His clothes were dull and dark colored. He wore an outfit that looked similar to what she would image Robin Hood would wear. The man looked grim and it made her nervous. Why was he dressed this way? She continued to stare at him like a deer in headlights. His face was serious and inquisitive. He was observing her quietly. His grey eyes examined her.

"Mea Domina? Sunt tibi bene?" He said breaking the silence between them from where he stood. Andie realized that he was asking her something from the tone of his voice but, couldn't understand what he was saying. Her eyes focused on his and her face held a look of confusion.

"I-I don't understand."

The man's face now reflected her own, confusion. Could he not understand her either?

'Great. Just great.' She thought sarcastically.

"Do you speak English?" She asked.

"Or Spanish?" She added hopefully.

The look of confusion didn't leave his face. It became clear to Andie that communication between them would be extremely frustrating, not to mention difficult. He took a small step towards her and moved his hands to rest flat on his chest as he began to speak once more.

"Mea Do—"

"No! Stay where you are!" Andie shouted with her hands held out towards him in a universal gesture for stop. A bit surprised by her raised voice the man stopped in place with his hands still on his chest. She could see him hesitate to speak as he seemed to think what to do next. Andie wasn't even sure what she should do either. She knew now that he had saved her and by the looks of it he had even taken care of her afterwards. But, he was a stranger to her and so much had happened that she still couldn't make any sense of. She felt overwhelmed and even though he was her hero a few moments ago that didn't change the fact that he was still a stranger.

"Te potest ad respirare?" He said while making gestures with his hands. He pointed at her and then placed a hand on his chest and breathed in and out exaggeratedly. The man then pointed back at her while asking once more.

"Te potest ad respirare?"

Andie stared back at him blankly. What was he asking? Her head tilted to the side as she watched him repeat the gesture once more followed by him speaking the same strange words. She silently tried to work out the meaning thinking of each gesture.

"Me?" she said unsurely while holding pointing to herself. Then she thought about the breathing gesture he made and how he had pointed at her again afterwards. "Me… Breathing… Me.." The man watched her repeated each gesture. He was patient and awaited her answer. A look of realization shown brightly on her face as she understood now what he was asking.

"OH! You want to know if I can breathe? My asthma attack… Did you help me with that too?"

The words were lost on him. It was apparent by the bewildered look she was met with, that they would have to communicate with gestures like a game of charades. The only thing was that Andie was never good at charades and she never felt comfortable with the whole acting things out aspect of the game either. She would just have to ignore the social embarrassment for now and try to communicate with this man.

"Te potest ad respirare?"

This time Andie responded in the affirmative with a nod of her head and said "Yes."

"Yes" he copied her nodding his head as well. His accent was heavy. His grey eyes moved from her face to look at the campfire. He pointed near it to a pot that was settled near by it and then to her.

"Remedium potum" he said and he pointed back to her.

Andie's brows furrowed close together. Seeing her silent question he slowly moved towards the campfire and picked up a bowl nearby and poured the liquid from the pot into it. The man then turned to face her, held the bowl near his lips with one hand and pointed to her with his other.

"Bibe" he says as he extends the bowl out to her.

She was still wary of him but, she took the bowl from his hand anyway. Andie stared at the liquid and thought about what to do. Could she trust him? He did save her. Why would he poison her or drug her after going through the trouble of rescuing her? No that didn't make sense. Was this bowl clean? What is this anyway? Andie never shared drinks, cups, or any utensils. Her reason was simple, germs. She didn't want to offend him by refusing. She was torn by this decision. Would he be offended? Would it upset him? It had happened in the past when Andie refused to share a drink. Seeing her hesitation the man spoke again.

"Bibe" He told her. He made the exaggerated gesture of breathing again. "Respirare."

Andie figured that the first word must have meant he wanted her to drink. He had said it when he gave her the bowl. The second word had to do something with breathing. Was he still not sure if she was well? She thought over the gestures again and she understood.

"Is this medicine?" She asked.

"Bibe."

Andie could tell it was a command. He wanted her to drink it and he was insisting on it very adamantly. She could see he wasn't going to take no for a answer. She didn't feel comfortable drinking it but, she reasoned in her head that he must have given it to her earlier to help with her breathing. Why else would he be so insistent on her drinking it? Andie looked at the bowl and then back up to the man. Sighing she held the bowl up to her lips and pretended to take a sip. She hoped that maybe he would back off if it had looked like she drank some of the mystery liquid. She gave him a small smile and held the bowl back in his direction. Andie couldn't tell if he knew she had pretended or if he was just a very insistent man but, all hopes of not having to drink that concoction were dashed when he gently held her hands on the bowl and pushed them her way. His face was serious and his steel grey eyes looked into hers.

"Bibe" he said firmly.

For a few seconds she stares into his eyes. She noticed nothing else. She had tensed up at his touch. He saw it in the way she flinched slightly when he held her hands. He saw her tension in the way she stared at him. The man then smiled at her. It was a small and soft smile. His expression had soften just a smidge. He didn't look as grim and yet that did little to ease Andie's nervousness. It was clear to see that Andie did not trust this man and he knew it. He released her hands and pointed to himself.

"Idhrenor"

The man tapped his chest with his hand and said again, "Idhrenor." He then pointed at her and waited expectedly. Andie was confused. What was he saying now? Andie pointed to herself and said "I—I-hee-nor?"

Idhrenor laughed lightly and shook his head no. He then pointed to himself and said again, "Idhrenor." When he saw her continued confusion he then gestured to all of himself and said it one more time. Andie's eyes followed the hand gestures and her eyes looked at all of him. They moved from his face down to his boots and then back up to his face. Thinking on the meaning it finally dawned on her.

"Idheenor! Your name is Idheenor!"

He smiled at Andie when she pointed at him and said his name for a third time. She was butchering his name, she couldn't say it the same as he did. Andie tried again.

"I—drener…I—heener…Iherner!" She struggled with the name.

Andie was so focused on his name that when she looked up from the bowl in her hands she was embarrassed to see Idhrenor smiling widely at her. He looked to have been holding back a laugh as he watched her stumble with his name. Andie could feel heat in her cheeks and she knew she was probably blushing. Andie gave the man a mock glare. Upon seeing the look she directed towards him, Idhrenor began to laugh.

"Sic, Idhrenor." He said as he bowed his head slightly with one hand over his heart. Idhrenor then gestured a hand out to her with a questioning look.

"Andie" She said without thinking.

'Damn it!' She thought.

Andie was careful enough to give Tom the shorten version of her name but, this time she wasn't cautious enough. Did it even matter? He was telling her his name. He was helping her. Pushing aside all of her doubts and fears, Andie mimicked Idhrenor's gestures and tapped her chest with her hand.

"Andie."

"Andy" he said with a smile still on his face. His voice said her name clearly and correctly. His smile wasn't overly smug but, it was there. Andie huffed and nodded her head.

"Andie." She pointed at herself and then pointed at him,"Iheener."

He chuckled lightly and reached for the bowl in her hands. "Idhrenor" he said correcting her. He then took a gulp of the liquid, making sure she could see that he did drink from the contents in the bowl. Idhrenor placed the bowl back into her hands firmly and took two small steps closer to her. He towered a good foot, maybe even more, above her. She had to crane her head up to look at his face. Steel grey eyes stared into chocolate brown ones.

"Andie bibe" he said with his hands still covering hers.

His expression was warm and Andie understood what he meant. Andie sighed. He wanted her to drink it. He wasn't backing down. She acknowledged his gesture of goodwill as he was showing her why she could trust him. He had introduced himself and drank from the bowl before her to show that it was safe to drink from. The only problem right now was the idea of drinking from the same bowl. Germs was all she could think of.

'It's fine. Everything should be fine. Just drink it and get it over with' she thinks to herself.

Idhrenor lets go of her hands as she pulls the bowl to her lips. Andie looked into the bowl as she drank, watching the liquid shrink away with each swallow. When she was done she showed him the empty bowl. Idhrenor nodded with a smile and took it. She watched him walk away from her in the direction of the sack on the ground. He was packing away his belongings. She stood awkwardly in place as she watched him roll up his blanket. Andie realized that she never thanked Idhrenor for saving her. It then dawned on her that he had actually saved her twice. Once from El Cuco and then the second time from her asthma attack. How could she thank him? What kind of hand gesture could show the words thank you? She knew how to say them in sign language but, she doubt he knew this language either.

Andie fidgeted with her fingers for a moment while she thought of ways to say thank you. How does one act out saying thank you? She couldn't think of anything other then one way. She wasn't very comfortable with it on the count of having just met Idhrenor but, it was all she had. Andie winced silently as she walked up to where he was crouched near his bag. There was a pain in her left leg where the monster had grabbed her. Nothing too serious, it felt like the reminisce of a charley horse. The blister in her foot didn't help either.

"I—…I—herner?" She said softly.

Idhrenor looked up at her silently. He waited for her to speak.

"Iheener" Andie said more confidently while pulling on his sleeve gently. Idhrenor stood when she gently tugged on his sleeve again. He looked down at her questioningly. She felt so small compared to him. Her heart beating loudly in her chest and she could feel the heat burning in her cheeks. She searched his face quickly. Only now did Andie notice his shoulder length dark brown hair. He had a beard that covered his jaw and chin with a mustache to match. It wasn't long and made him look rugged.

"Thank you Iheener," she said as she hugged him tightly. She didn't let go even as she felt him tense up slightly. He didn't hug her back, he just stood there. After a few seconds of awkward silence she then released him. She could hear him clearing his throat and she looked up at him.

"Iheener… thank you" she said again hoping he understood.

Idhrenor remained silent. Did he understand? Should she say it again? Idhrenor then composed himself and offered her a small bow of his head along with a smile. Andie smiled back at him brightly.

"Necesse est ut simul eroque socius itineris" he said seriously.

Idhrenor reached behind her and picked up her bag. He straighten up and handed it to her. The words went right over her head and she obediently grabbed her bag. She understood this to mean that he was getting ready to leave. Idhrenor moved swiftly around the campsite. With everything packed away and the fire snuffed out, Idhrenor looked to Andie to see if she was ready. Andie wore her backpack on her back and was looking around at her surroundings as she waited for him. She was still lost and after what happened last night she felt strongly attached to Idhrenor. She didn't want to leave his side, not anytime soon at least. Even with all her doubts she felt somewhat safe with him.

Idhrenor reached into his pocket and pulled out a dark rectangular object. Andie's eyes widen when she saw what he held out in front of her.

"My phone!" She exclaimed.

She gladly took the phone from his hands and checked to see if it had any damage or power. It was dead but, thankfully it wasn't broken. Idhrenor watched her carefully. His demeanor had shifted from friendly to cautious. Now it was his turn to scrutinize her trustworthiness. Feeling his intense gaze, Andie looked up from her phone to see him staring. Had she done something wrong?

"Thank you" She said with a smile as she put the phone away in her back pocket.

She saw his eyes follow her phone as it disappeared behind her. He looked tense and the grim expression he wore earlier had returned. Andie shuffled her feet and fidgeted with her hands. He was intimidating again. She was nervous as she was reminded that even though they seemed to have shared some sort of understanding a few moments ago, she still knew nothing of him.

Trying to shake off whatever was occurring between them, Andie called out to him unsurely.

"Iheener?"

His expression soften just a tad. Had he seen her uneasiness? Was there a misunderstanding? What happened? Idhrenor looked out to the direction right of where she was standing and pointed.

"Bree" he said.

A/N: Hello everyone! It's been awhile. Sorry for not posting sooner. I ended up having to edit a bit from this chapter and then it was getting too long. How do you think I did with the dialogue? I struggled with it especially because it was between two characters who don't speak the same language. This may continue for a few chapters so we'll all share in Andie's frustration. Just keep in mind that Andie isn't magical as Idhrenor believes her to be and wouldn't be able to learn a new language so quickly. Lol. But, Andie's resourceful. :) Let me know what you think about Idhrenor. What do you think about Andie's and Idhrenor's interaction?

In regards to the language difference between the two of them, I wrote it this way because Westron isnt exactly English. I was trying out different ways of dialogue to show this. The language used for Westron was english translated into Latin from google translate. The translation isn't accurate. It is just a means to an end to show that they are not speaking the same language. Here in the author notes I will try to remember to include the translations for what Idhrenor and anyone else speaking Westron is saying while Andie doesn't understand. Don't worry she will learn Westron.

Mea Domina: My lady

Pax: Peace

Sunt tibi bene?: Are you well?

Te potest ad respirare?: Are you able to breathe/Can you breathe?

Remedium potum: Remedy drink/medicine drink

Bibe: Drink

Necesse est ut simul eroque socius itineris: We must be on our way/ It is essential that we be on our way.

Thank you to all who have favorited and followed this story! Thank you everyone who has reviewed and given me feedback. It is greatly appreciated and helps me a lot. :) welcome to all new readers! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Welcome to WyldwoodFaye! Thank you for the follow and reviews!

-DreamingGalaxies

Disclaimer:

Everything belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien except my OCs and the unrecognizable parts of the plot.