[Mithadan]

Chapter XIII

FLIGHT BY NIGHT

The days became weeks and the mild winter seemed ready to yield to a kindly spring. Gimli did indeed have opportunity to tell of the fabled Kingdom under the Mountain. The old dwarf spoke with emotion of the vast sculpted halls and chambers carved out of the living rock of the Lonely Mountain. The clever dwarves had opened all the halls and entrances of old, diligently scouring all the dragon stench from them long ago (though some old timers like Gimli, claimed they could still smell it faintly in a place or two). These halls had been extended and gilded and lit with great lamps, illuminated by means known to the Dwarves alone. And still more halls had been carved out of the mountain, delving far below the works of old, and ascending high above them until reaching the mountain's peak. The wizard nodded sagely and his praise of the skill and craftsmanship of the dwarves and the wisdom of their defensive works pleased Gimli mightily.

At times Pallando seemed wise and wizardly indeed, though he had never given any obvious manifestation of magic of any sort. At other times, he still seemed somewhat cracked (as Turry quietly agreed with Ellie), talking to the birds and other creatures, delighting absurdly in the few spring flowers in the flat plains, and otherwise acting in amusing and strange fashions.

"Caw CAW ka-caaw!" Pallando cried at a vulgar crow flying east. Gimli laughed.

"What did he say?" Furry asked, riding alongside the cart on his black pony. Thunder kept pace with Bill, who was pulling the cart. The proud black pony showed off with a fancy step as they went along. Bill nickered to show that he was not much impressed and continued pulling his weight.

"I think he called that crow a buzzard!" laughed the dwarf, happy to show off what little he knew of the language of crows.

"Something like that," the wizard laughed.

The smooth brow of Legolas creased and there was a briefly quizzical look in his eye at Pallando, but the elf said nothing and returned to his reminiscence. The elf would look often at the great forest on their left hand, but he seemed distracted at times, as if thinking of another place entirely.

"Let's find supper!" cried Turry, as Lightning picked up his step and carried the young hobbit ahead of the company. Furry and Thunder followed swiftly, and soon the Twins were lost to sight. Cairduin wordlessly followed behind so that at least one of the rangers would not lose sight of them.

This was, by now, a familiar routine. The Took Twins would set out to find game, one of the rangers would follow them, and the rest would catch up sometime later to make camp. They had reached regions where there were still no settlements of men and where, in the wild, anything might happen.

Around the campfire that night, after as fine a supper as one could make on the trail, the company talked far into the night. Ellie enjoyed listening to the others, and often used these pleasant times to keep up entries in the journal that Queen Arwen had given her. Most every night on the trail, they would laugh and join in songs or stories until someone, usually Gimli, would decide it was time for sleep.

Late that night, for some reason, Elediriel woke. Whether her dreams were troubled, she could not say, but she awoke uneasily.

Only Cairdur stirred in the third watch, for the rangers took watches every night. Ellie could not fall back asleep right away, so she got up and drew near the fire to speak with the young ranger.

Legolas was lying still, his eyes dreamily open and peering into the moonlit sky above. The other hobbits slept easily and peacefully. Gimli was snoring loudly (which the hobbits had grown accustomed to). The wizard dozed, turning restlessly from time to time. The other rangers slept lightly nearby. Ellie noticed that their weapons were unsheathed and lying close to hand. She thought she heard a wolf cry far in the distance, but she hoped it was only her imagination.

"Cairdur, are there many wolves around?" she asked softly and urgently.

"Not close to here, Ellie. And yet not terribly far! We are traversing the northern vale of the Anduin. There are still wolves in this region north of the lands of the Beornings," the young Ranger answered. "They are driven by hunger at times to seek unwary travelers, for men have grown more numerous and the taste of the wolf packs for sheep and other such livestock has increased, but so has the vigilance of the shepherds and farmers. When they can't have mutton, beef, pork, fowl, or even venison, the wolves will prey on what they can. And there are other things that have lived in regions that are not far away. Tomorrow, if the weather is clear, we may actually see where the goblins dwell in Mount Gundabad, far to the northwest. But I am frightening you!"

"N-no," said Ellie untruthfully. "It's just that, well, wolves ARE frightening! Turry and Furry's grandfather, Thain Peregrin, can make a howl just like a wolf, and I thought I heard one just then." The bookish little hobbit girl looked about the moonlit landscape with wide eyes.

"Oh ho! Is that it?" Cairdur laughed quietly. "Well, I shall be vigilant. Fear not! No wolf will take us unaware! Likely enough, if there were any around, they would be afraid of our fire and afraid to attack so many. They are cowardly creatures, and do not like to hunt prey that might fight back. Besides, they are rarely, if ever, reported east of the Anduin, and we shall not cross the river anytime soon. You may rest easy, Little Mistress."

The little hobbit lass smiled at the tall young ranger, and comforted, went back to her blankets, burrowed in, and fell asleep.

***

The next afternoon, after the Twins had ridden ahead with Aradhel following, Ellie, riding behind Madrigal on Cider, pointed out another crow.

"Oh, you're always seeing or hearing something," said Maddie.

"But I think this is the same crow," Ellie insisted. "I'm sure it has been following us."

"Then it's probably bored," said Maddie.

"But what would it want?" Ellie persisted.

Maddie was just about to say something a little sharp, for she was tiring of the long rides in the flat wilderness with nothing but trees on the one hand and barren plains on the other. Though the Misty Mountains drew closer every day, the pretty hobbit thought they could not arrive fast enough to suit her. She also wished, more than once, that Ellie would get back on the wagon to ride, but her timid friend was still not entirely comfortable around the wizard. And she had also noticed, if Ellie had not, that Turry was taking an unusual interest in the bookish hobbit girl. Much as she loved her less noticeable friend, Madrigal was just a little jealous of this! Realizing it, made the Beauty of Buckland a bit irritated with herself and with Elediriel. Knowing this was foolishness was still more irritating! But before her pretty mouth could form words she would have immediately regretted, Maddie heard the light elven voice of Legolas agreeing with the other hobbit girl.

"It is indeed the same crow, and he has been following. I have seen great flocks of birds, following great hosts to war, hoping to dine upon their leavings or their dead. This is one of their sort," said the elf, striding lightly beside the mounted hobbit girls.

"But we aren't riding to any battle," said Maddie.

"We aren't, are we?" asked Ellie.

"Of course not!" snapped Maddie.

"Yon crow does not know that," said Legolas. "But whatever his hopes, he is content to pick at the remains of our camp each morning, and then to find us for another meal the next day. This is the fifth day he has shadowed us this way."

"That doesn't make me feel any better about him," said Ellie. "I don't like him. I think he has more on his mind than a free meal!"

Madrigal rolled her eyes and Legolas did not say more.

***

At last, they rounded the northwest corner of Greenwood the Great and entered the broad valley of the northern course of the River Anduin. Now the landscape was more pleasing to them all. Ellie felt ill at ease, for the following crow had been joined by not a few more.

Still, everyone, even Maddie, was glad of the change of scenery and was looking forward to a speedy ride down the beautiful vale. Camp that evening was more cheerful and even Ellie forgot about the noisy crows that followed them with increasing anticipation.

It was in the second watch of the night that Aradhel urgently awakened the hobbits. The other rangers, Cairduin and his son Cairdur, were alert, with swords drawn. Legolas had strung the great bow given him long ago in Lothlorien. Gimli was bleary-eyed but had his axe gripped tightly in his fist. Turry and Furry were quick to string their bows as well.

"What's going on?" asked Elediriel with a frightened squeak.

"Wolves," answered Legolas. The tall elf had an arrow fitted to the string of his curved bow and looked with keen vision upon the moonlit plain. Ellie stared in the direction the elf looked and thought she saw dark shapes moving toward them.

"I see them," said Furry. "But they don't look like wolves. More like people riding ponies. There are a bunch of them."

"There are two score of them," said the elf, shading his eyes from the moon. "They are wargs of the mountains. They are ridden by orcs. They are followed by many more orcs on foot."

"Let's go!" cried Cairduin. "There's no time to lose!"

They threw their gear quickly onto the wagon without order or care. Poor Bill could not pull the wagon much quicker than he normally did. Clearly, the running wolves, even carrying goblins on their backs, would overtake them all too soon.

"Unhitch that horse and let us hitch our own for greater speed!" cried Cairduin. As fast as he could, Cairdur unhitched Bill and helped hitch the horses of the elder rangers to the wagon. Cairdur then rode Bill bareback, almost in elf fashion, though the young ranger did use the reins. They could leave the orcs that pursued them on foot well behind, but not the goblins on wolves.

"They are still closing the gap, and we lost ground when we stopped," cried Legolas, looking behind. He was running as swiftly as the horses pulling the wagon, but not even the fleet-footed elf could maintain such a pace all night.

"We cannot leave the wagon for we haven't mounts enough for all," Aradhel called back. Cairduin drove the ranger's horses hard and the wagon bumped and rattled alarmingly behind them. The wizard and the dwarf and the baggages were bumped and rattled with it.

Turry and Furry rode even with the wagon. Cider ran ahead with Maddie and Ellie. Turry shouted to Cairduin, "If we can stop the wolves, we can outdistance the goblins on foot!"

"Then let us wait until they draw nearer, so that the orcs afoot will be that much farther behind!" Cairduin shouted back. "Then we shall give them a fight and run again if we can!"

"There are too many of them!" cried Furry.

"There is no time for a better plan!" replied the grim ranger. "You young hobbits will have to ride on while we deal with them. Head south, following the river until you reach the Carrock. Don't stop there! Keep going until you can go no farther and then wait for us. If we do not find you the next day, seek what help you can find among the Beornings and go on to Rivendell without us."

"No!" cried both Turry and Furry together.

"Do not argue!" shouted the ranger, sternly. "Cairdur will ride with you!"

"They are almost upon us," cried Gimli.

Madrigal checked the pace of Cider and was about to join the Twin's protest but the dour ranger cried aloud, "Cairdur!" His son checked the pace of Bill and without a word, but following his father's pointing hand, sharply swatted the hindquarters of the proud pony with the flat of his sword, and then rode after as Cider sprang forward in startlement. Maddie and Ellie were carried swiftly away, with the young ranger following hard on Bill.

But the black ponies Thunder and Lightning were galloping the other way, as the Took Twins circled back. Legolas stopped, turned, and shot high. The great bow of Lorien sang as its missile soared high over the mounted hobbits and pierced the chest of the lead wolf. The orc on its back tumbled to the ground and the rest of the pack ran around them.

It had been many years since a Took had ridden to battle against goblins, in fact it had not happened since before the time of the grandparents of the grandparents of old Thain Peregrin, the grandfather of Furry and Turry. But even the legendary Bullroarer Took would have been mightily proud of his fearless posterity. Well, perhaps it is exaggeration to call Turry and Furry fearless, but what fear they felt they did not show, at least not in front of the wolves and goblins!

There had been no time for the Twins to prepare the Dwarven arrow points for use, but each hobbit had many arrows that they had not lost hunting. Riding to and fro on Thunder and Lightning, Turry and Furry loosed arrow after arrow into the pursuing wolf pack. Some shafts hit goblins and others hit wolves and others missed every target altogether. The Twins found steady shooting in battle a different matter from hunts or games. The fell riders on wolfback yammered and yelled in fury but still they came.

Up ahead, as Maddie was trying to rein in Cider, Cairdur rode past her on Bill, snatching the reigns from her little hands and shouting "HYAH!" Cider, who was already upset, didn't think much of Bill outrunning her and so the steeds ran ever faster and farther from the following wolves and goblins, striving each to outpace the other. Poor Ellie could only cling tightly to Maddie and try not to fall off!

The elder rangers stopped the wagon and quickly unhitched their steeds and remounted. Legolas had already shot the next nearest wolf out from under a goblin rider, sending the orc spilling to the hard ground. Two dozen more of the wolf riders bore down upon them.

The Twins soon loosed every shaft they had, and Legolas shot not a few, but still a dozen wolves each with a goblin on his back were now upon them, and such orcs as were uninjured were following quickly and the greater number on foot was not far enough behind them for anyone's comfort.

There was no time to think of that!

"Fall back behind the wagon!" Aradhel cried to Turry and Furry, who obeyed this time! "Follow the girls! There is nothing more you can do here!"

They looked at one another, but lacking swords themselves, and freshly out of arrows, there was nothing more they could do. Furry thought of Maddie and Ellie, with only the young ranger to protect them and his pleasant face was hard and grim as any ranger's. Turry had tears in his eyes for he thought he looked his last upon the others. The Twins both looked back many a time, but nonetheless goaded Thunder and Lightning to ride hard after Cider and Bill. Ever farther and farther behind them, their friends stood between the fleeing hobbits and the band of goblins.

***

Madrigal was dry eyed until she felt Ellie sobbing behind her on Cider's back. They had ridden far into the night and still maintained a good pace. Cairdur no longer had to hold Cider's reins to make sure the headstrong hobbit followed. Turry and Furry had long since caught up. Now, the moon had finished his course for the night, the sun had not yet cast her golden rays into the dawn, and the darkest hour of their journey was upon them.

Finally, after the girls had had a good cry, and the ponies were beginning to stumble, the sky began to brighten and one by one the stars faded away.

"Did anyone bring anything to eat?" asked Turry, as they stopped at a small brook.

"I think everything is back there with..." Furry began, but couldn't finish his thought.

"Our goods are all in the wagon," said Cairdur. The young ranger had led them grimly through the night, and only allowed a brief halt so that the hobbits and the horses could have some water.

Fortunately, Ellie had some dried fruit in a little bag she carried on her waist. She did not even remember grabbing it. As she shared it all out, she realized that not only was all of their other food and baggage on the wagon, but so was her journal, the one that Queen Arwen had given her for the journey. Thinking of that, only made her the more miserable. Mentioning it made Maddie realize they had also left all the dwarven gifts behind as well. Ellie thought to herself, that she didn't really want to write another word in the journal anyway.

The Twins had at least carried the daggers the dwarves had given them, but the arrowheads were left behind with all else.

"Not that you have time to make shafts for them anyway," said Cairdur. "We must get past the Carrock before nightfall. Then will be time enough for grief and regret."

They ate their scant breakfast silently after that. Ellie thought that she would gladly lose all the treasures of the Kingdom under the Mountain, if only they could see their friends again.

Suddenly, she felt herself in a strong grip and moving fast! She woke to find that Cairdur was hoisting her up behind Maddie, who was already in the saddle on Cider's back. She had fallen asleep in just the few moments she had taken to sit leaning against a tree by the brook as she ate a morsel of dried apples.

They rode through the day, stopping only for water and to briefly rest the horses. The young ranger did not think that the orcs and wolves would pursue them in the daylight and he wanted to take full advantage of that. Furthermore, he was anxious to put the Carrock behind them before nightfall.

Late in the afternoon, they came upon the Carrock, a great stone of immense size, almost a small mountain, thrust into the rushing course of the Anduin. Turry and Furry and Maddie, tired and hungry and grieved as they were, wanted to explore, remembering the history of Bilbo Baggins. But Ellie, perhaps, remembered better, and did NOT want to be there after dark!

"She is right," said Cairdur. "The Beornings are a good people, most of them, but this place is sacred to them, and to the great bears of this region. We will not stay. But neither will the wolves pursue us through this place. Let us be on our way."

And so they continued. Along the way, they came across one of the very men of whom the young ranger spoke. Then the hobbits came to understand exactly what Ellie had feared. He was a big man, the biggest the hobbits had ever seen, taller even than the rangers and his shoulders half again as broad. He was a hairy man and dressed in a rough woven garment. In his gnarly fist he carried a stout staff that looked like a flagpole to Elediriel's eyes. He looked at them with a glowering stare and bid them stop to speak.

"Hold! What have we here? A fine company that travels through our lands. Well be off! You will not like it here after sundown! You may find things more to your liking three leagues south of here." said the burly man.

Turry and Furry were of a mind to protest, but young Cairdur said, "We thank you for your advice, Beorning. Though we would camp where we will, know that this was already our plan, and you would do better to speak more kindly to the stranger in your land."

"It is my land, and I will speak as I please," said the man, his deep powerful voice booming in his chest. "Declare yourself! Who are you and why do you travel here now?"

Surprisingly, before Cairduin had drawn breath to speak, Madrigal spurred Cider forward, with poor Elediriel clutching Maddie tightly around the waist! The pretty hobbit lass, perched on her fine pony, paid no attention to Ellie, but looked up dauntlessly into the big man's eyes (for he was still taller than she was, though she sat atop her mount).

"We are hobbits of the Shire, sent to the Master of the Beornings as heralds of Elessar and Arwen, King and Queen of Gondor and Arnor. My name is Madrigal Brandybuck and this is Elediriel Cotton and here are Turgon and Fingon Took, and this is the Ranger Cairdur. Our traveling companions are lost behind us, the Rangers Aradhel and Cairduin, and Legolas, son of Thranduil the elven king, and Gimli the Renowned, son of Gloin, and the wizard Pallando the Blue! We were ambushed by wolves and goblins! We are weary and hungry and our friends may be dead. Now who are you? A friend of orcs and wargs?"

The big man laughed in her face, but looked upon the lass with a little more respect in his scoffing eye. When his laughter subsided (for his mirth broke forth anew when he looked upon the pretty hobbit's angry countenance) he answered her, "I am Feorn, and I am the Master of this land. You are in the wrong place at the wrong time! Otherwise, you might have found me with more time to waste than I already have. Hasten away, little boy and fearsome little bunnies! Go where I told you and all will be well! There are no goblins or wargs here! You will find food and safety if you ask for it. And if you stay long enough, I will see you again."

Then the big man walked right through them, instead of around them as anyone else might have. The hobbits' ponies docilely (but without fear) stepped aside for him, and Cider even nickered with pleasure as his rough hand casually patted her neck when he passed. He did not say another word, but left them behind him with long ground-eating strides.

"Let's go!" Ellie insisted. And they traveled at least the three leagues Feorn had told them, though it meant they made camp late. But the moon was full when it rose over Greenwood, so there was plenty of light for traveling and for moving about. They came upon a farmhouse, much too small to house them all, and so they asked leave of the old man and woman within if they could make camp. Soon the camp was cheered by a blazing fire and true to Feorn's word, they passed the night safely, and filled their empty bellies with the plain food of the rustic farm (which was most delicious to the hungry hobbits) and they were troubled by nothing more than dreams and sorrows.

Elediriel awoke from a dream of bears dancing in a lumbering circle under the moon by the great Carrock, with an immense bear looking down upon them from its heights. It leapt down among the other bears and led them away, up the river. But Ellie saw no bears about their camp with her waking eyes by the light of the moon.

She looked around and saw the young ranger's head in his hands as he stared into the fire. Fearing she might embarrass Cairdur, she said nothing. Tears started in her own eyes as she thought of how she missed her own late father, not to mention the fresh stabbing loss of Legolas, Gimli, and the rangers. The hobbit girl quietly turned over and wept softly until she fell asleep again.




Chapter XIV

SNARES AND ARROWS

The next day, none of the hobbits were in any mood to continue. They really had no hope that they would see the others again. But they had no desire to continue their journey, either. Besides, they couldn't, for Cairdur had left early, not waiting for breakfast or for the hobbits to wake. Their breakfast was eggs and porridge, provided by Greta and Mark, the old couple who lived in the farmhouse. The hobbits thanked the old couple kindly for the simple food. Ellie noticed that the old folks must have eaten their own breakfast earlier, or perhaps did not eat any breakfast at all.

Afterwards, when she mentioned it to Madrigal, Ellie was surprised at the pretty hobbit's angry response.

"We have no food of our own, no money..." Maddie complained. "We can't even afford to repay these folk for hospitality they can't afford to give! What good was this journey? What good was any of this?" She stomped off to be alone. Ellie felt that this was going to be a miserable day. If they stayed, they would eat the old farmer and his wife out of house and home. If they went on, they might miss any chance of seeing the others again. If there even was such a chance.

Rather than mope around the old farm, Turry and Furry set out to find materials to make some arrows. Turry told Ellie (for she was worried about them leaving) that the word of Feorn was good enough that they would be safe there.

Ellie did not even have her journal, though there was nothing she wanted to write in it anyway. Maddie was no company at all, and made it plain that she didn't want any herself. Ellie thought that perhaps this was the first hardship her friend had ever known and she felt sorry for her. Nevertheless, Ellie herself felt utterly miserable and alone and wished that she had never left her mother's snug little hobbit hole. Adventures were not really much fun, she reflected, even if one lived to tell about them.

This observation, to which her mind often returned, would only set her weeping again, as she thought of how their friends had stayed behind with no hope of escape for themselves, to secure that very hope for the hobbits and the young ranger. What had she done to deserve their sacrifice? Elediriel did not feel like lunch (imagine that for a hobbit!) though she knew her mother would disapprove. She was alone when the old woman came looking for them at noon, and she did not know where the others had gone. She promised to let Greta know if she were hungry. She noticed that the old woman did not seem very upset that no one wanted lunch. It only made Ellie all the more miserable to think of the poverty of the old couple, compared to the fine places she had been and the wonderful things she had seen.

That afternoon, she found Maddie filling pails of water at the well. The buckets were heavy for a little hobbit girl to lift herself from the depth of the well, and Maddie looked thankfully at her friend when Ellie helped her haul it up.

"How do they do this everyday?" Maddie asked. "I don't think I would like living like this."

"It's not so bad," said Ellie. "My Mum and I use smaller buckets than these Big Folk. And I don't think they've have had any livestock or horses or ponies or oxen around here in a long time."

"Ellie..." the pretty hobbit began. She drew a breath and pushed curling waves of brown hair from her face. "Ellie, I'm sorry I've been so cross lately. I've just been thinking of myself. Poor Cairdur. This must be hardest on him. Have you seen him?"

"No," said Ellie. "But he left Bill, so I don't think he meant to go far. Have you seen Turry or Furry?"

"Not all day. I'm sure they'll be back for supper, though." This thought made Maddie upset all over again and hot angry tears streamed down her face. "What are we going to do for these poor people, Ellie? The Brandybucks have plenty of money, but my family is far away. We don't have anything to give them, and they have precious little food left until the harvest. If we stay here waiting... Well, they may go hungry this summer because of us! And what are we waiting for anyway? That nasty Feorn fellow to come back and order us to leave?"

"I don't know, Maddie," said Ellie sadly. Her own eyes were finally dry and she felt so numb that she might never cry another tear for anything. But weep again she did, when she saw her beautiful friend crying her own eyes out. Eventually, their tears ran their course and they said words of comfort to one another that neither really themselves believed. Soon enough, they got back to work and the hobbit girls together made four trips to lug the heavy buckets of water one by one for Cider, Thunder, Lightning, and Bill. The watering trough by the well was old and broken and clearly would hold no water, so the ponies had to be watered from the buckets.

Maddie thought they should wash and refill the buckets and bring them to the farmhouse, and at least do that much for the old couple. Ellie agreed, and by the time they were done, the girls were tired indeed. Old Greta thanked them and then told them that there was really nothing more for them to do, unless they wanted to help chop vegetables for a stew. Of course they were glad to help. Ellie saw that it would be a stew of herbs and carrots and potatoes and beans. She wished there were some meat to put in it, but said nothing.

Maddie was not much help at this, since Greta only had two knives, none too sharp, and the pampered hobbit lass had never done much of this sort of thing. She was glad to help Ellie on the trail, but truthfully, Ellie did much of the work of cooking for the camp, helped often more by the rangers or the Twins than by Maddie. Ellie had learned at her mother's side, and actually started feeling a little better doing the familiar tasks of the kitchen as the old woman talked with the hobbit girls about the homely things of a farm, even a rundown old farm such as she and old Mark tended.

They had moved out there when there was nothing else nearby, indeed, there were now a few farms within a few leagues down the river, and many more the further south one traveled. But Mark and Greta wanted a life out away from the bustle of a growing community. ("And out from under the paw of the Beornings," Mark grumbled.) They had built this little farm some years ago but now only had a little vegetable patch each year and some haphazard fields of untended grain for the chickens. Greta was glad of a little company, though old Mark was not very social and only grunted when spoken to. He didn't seem unkindly, just not very talkative, Ellie decided. Indeed, Greta seemed to be able to speak enough for the two of them.

"Goblins and wolves! Well you are the lucky ones, you are, though you might not think so today," the old woman said. "Pass those here, deary. Thank you. But Master Feorn will check it out. Don't you worry about that. There haven't been any such creatures in these parts for a long time. Bears keep 'em away. We used to keep more livestock here, but it only went to the bears. The Beornings care more about them bears and other animals than people, they do. Finally we decided we wouldn't do no more farming or herding for bears. We would do just enough for ourselves and then the bears wouldn't come around. Now we don't have enough here seemingly to tempt them."

"More to it than that," said Mark, speaking for the first time that day, as far as Ellie could tell.

"Hush," said Greta. "There's no cause to talk of that!"

"The Beornings are skin-changers," he said, and spat in the fire. "You know what that means?"

"Yes," said Ellie. "They change into bears and back."

"That's right," said the old woman, disregarding her admonition to her husband not to tell them. "And they have the same appetites and tempers, seemingly. Now there's Beornings, like Feorn, who are good enough if you don't cross 'em. Then there's others that are as mean as can be. Like some bears. They say if a bear eats too much meat, it gets meaner and more savage. Otherwise, they can be as sweet as honey. Well, as sweet as a bear gets anyway."

"Feorn keeps 'em in line," said Mark. "Well, pretty much. So in the land of the Beornings, you won't find any bacon or chicken or beef, though you can get all the vegetables, honey, milk, cheeses, fruits and breads you could ask for. But don't ask for meat. They try not to let folks have anything to do with it down there. That's one reason why we moved out here. Greta comes from Laketown, and just couldn't stand doing without a little meat once in a while. My folks have lived in this valley for a long time, and we hunted and farmed and never answered to no skin-changers."

"That's as may be," she said. "I just know if we try to grow enough livestock to sell, it goes missing. Maybe there would be meat in the pot tonight for our guests if you had done some hunting this morning."

"That young man said he would bring something. Asked me where there might be game. I told him." And Mark said nothing more for quite a while.

"Might be for the best!" said Greta. "The Beornings don't hold much with hunting or keeping livestock to eat, even out here, though they don't bother with us if we only do a little. I guess they'll let your young man get away with it, as long as there's nothing in the pot when Feorn comes by. Maybe this will be a better meal than I thought. Can your friend hunt?"

Ellie let Maddie do the talking (not that she could have stopped her) and kept her attention on the vegetables she was chopping.

"I'm sure he can do anything like that," said Madrigal. "He's a Ranger of Eriador from the other side of the Misty Mountains."

"A ranger? Now what is that?" asked the old woman.

And so Maddie told her what she knew of the Rangers, the renewed remnant of the Kings of Men, and of their leader, King Elessar and his Queen, Arwen Undomiel, the Half-Elven. Ellie thought her friend made a good story of it, and obviously so did Greta and even Mark. The old couple had not had much news of the outside world, and Ellie was not sure if they even believed the fantastic descriptions Maddie gave of the Queen of Arnor and Gondor, and of the hidden valley of Rivendell.

"Well!" said the old woman finally. "You little people do get around don't you?"

"Not as a rule," said Maddie. "But this is a special occasion. We were sent by the King and Queen to announce to the other kings of the lands that their Heir will be born on Mid-Year's Day."

"And how do they know that? They must have midwives indeed among the elves!" Greta exclaimed.

"I've been trying to figure that out myself," Maddie laughed.

Ellie realized that it was the first laughter she had heard in nearly two days. She managed a little smile and finished chopping her vegetables. The hobbit girls went outside then, not really caring to stay inside the shabby little house while the day was so bright and golden outside.

It was a beautiful afternoon, which the girls could not help but notice, despite their melancholy. Ellie remarked that she wished she could do a little hunting, or at least walk through the fields for a bit. Maddie laughed a little and said, "Have you ever gone hunting?"

"No, and I don't really think I could," Ellie admitted.

"I could, I just don't want to," said Maddie. Ellie must have rolled her eyes because Maddie got a little indignant.

"You don't believe me!" she cried. "Well watch this!" Maddie took a sling from her pocket, found a small stone, pointed at an ant hill that was not terribly nearby, and, as quick as quick, flung the stone directly into the heart of the little hill.

"Goodness!" exclaimed Ellie. "Why haven't you been hunting with Turry and Furry?"

"As I said, I just don't want to. I don't think I could kill anything!" Maddie replied. "Unless I was just starving or something. And what do you do with it after you kill it? Eeeeew! Besides," she smiled, "why make the boys feel any more useless than they are?"

Ellie had to laugh. The girls had not been outside long, before Turry and Furry returned, each carrying a goodly number of long straight sticks. They had also found some feathers and told the girls that they would try to make some arrows that evening, though neither of them had done such a thing before.

Old Mark, who by that time was scratching up some newly sprouted weeds in his garden, overheard this, laid down his hoe, and came over. "I've made a few arrows in my day," he said. "Tisn't hard but you'll not get it right the first time. Let's get a pot of water on to boil and we'll get started." It was the most enthusiasm the girls had seen from the man all that day.

The girls wound up fetching the water, as the Twins built the fire back up. Mark sorted through the wood they had brought, throwing out more than half of it and leaving only a couple of dozen pieces that he thought would make decent shafts for their little bows. He showed them how to soften the wood over the steaming pot of water so that the shafts could be straightened. He left Turry to do this, while he taught Furry how to sharpen the points and harden them in the fire.

"It not as good as your dwarven arrow-points," he said, after Furry described what they had lost. "But this is the old way and will do until you can do better. Only good for small game, and you'll have to get close to it, for they'll not fly far nor fast. Now let's get these shafts fletched."

He put the Twins to work with their sharp dwarven knives, which he greatly admired. They slit the ends of the shafts and inserted the feathers, and bound them tightly with wet leather. "When that dries, it'll pull together and be secure enough. You can try 'em out tomorrow."

As the Took Twins thanked old Mark for his help, and were examining their handiwork and suggesting improvements to one another, Cairdur returned. Tied to a stick he carried on his shoulder were a number of rabbits.

"How wonderful!" Maddie cried. "However did you catch them?"

"I set snares for them in the morning near their burrows once I had found them," the young ranger said, smiling despite himself. "The rest was just waiting."

Dinner that evening was much better than they had hoped for, and was better than the old couple would have had on their own. Ellie no longer felt so badly about the hospitality of the old farmhouse and their ability to pull their weight until it was time to go.

"When are we going?" she blurted out at one point to Cairdur, before she realized that leaving the farmhouse would also mean leaving behind even the illusion of hope for him that his father and their friends still lived. The young man suddenly looked grim again, and resembled dour Cairduin so much that Ellie almost cried to look at him.

"If our hosts do not mind, perhaps you can stay for a few days more," Cairdur said. "Turry and Furry can hunt and learn to set the snares. For myself, I will take Bill and head north again in the morning, to see what I may. If I am not back in four days, then you must head on to Rivendell on your own."

Maddie and Ellie both began to protest. Turry and Furry said nothing, but looked at one another and quietly assessed whether or not they were up to the challenge of getting themselves and the girls back safely on their own. But Cairdur calmly said that he must know what became of the rangers and the others and if he had not returned by then, he would catch them up on the trail.

"Besides," he continued, overruling their protests, "south of here, parts are more inhabited and there is much traffic on the Old Forest Road these days. You may meet other messengers of the King, and sooner or later a ranger will be sent to find you and guide you back to the hidden valley. Now do not argue! Turry and Furry will take care of you."

At this, of course the Took Twins valiantly agreed that they would see the girls safely home and that Cairdur was quite right to find out what had happened to their friends. They stopped short of mentioning his father, and the conversation was over.

The rest of the evening was spent planning their journey alone to Rivendell, if it came to that. Cairdur assured them that he should be able to return in time, but that they must leave soon to have a chance of returning by Mid-Year's Day. They slept again in the open by the fire and the next morning, once again Cairdur was gone, but this time he had taken Bill with him.

Turry and Furry left right after breakfast and returned before supper with only two rabbits, but many more (and better) limbs for making arrow-shafts. Maddie and Ellie spent the day hauling water, grazing the ponies, talking with Greta about Laketown and Dale and all the places of her childhood, and looking North for Cairdur to return.

The next day was spent like the first and boredom mingled with anxiety as they waited for the young ranger to return with what would no doubt be a terrible report. The third day was spent in the same fashion, as was the fourth. The hobbits knew that the very next morning they must leave on their own.

That night, Ellie found it hard to sleep. The moon was no longer full, but was still bright. She no longer heard the cry of wolves, real or dreamt. But tired as she was, she still could find no rest that evening. Maddie was slumbering softly, as were Turry and Furry. The ponies were also still. So she got up from the fireside and walked a little way since that was better than lying restlessly listening to everyone else sleep. When she reached the well, she leaned upon its walls and looked down the shaft. Far below, she could see glimmering in the still water, a single star, reflected from directly above. She looked up as high as she could hold her chin to see the bright star far above and sighed for its solitary beauty, gleaming a pure and radiant blue, though the moon shamed other stars to dimness.

"It's a lovely night," said a voice behind her.

Startled, she whirled around with a gasp, but it was only Turry.

"I'm sorry," he laughed softly. "But I couldn't sleep either. I saw you get up and I followed. I'm sure it's safe enough, but you really shouldn't be alone out here."

"Oh, it's all right," she breathed with relief. "You just scared me a little. I guess I woke you."

"You don't mind a little company?" he asked.

"No. No, not at all," she answered. "The truth is, Maddie and I have talked about almost everything there is to talk about, and I think she's a little tired of me."

Turry chuckled, "Maybe you're a little tired of her."

"Maybe just a little," Ellie admitted. "But this has been hard on her. None of this was supposed to be this way."

"No. It wasn't, was it? But it could have been worse," he said.

"Oh, how could it be any worse than this?" Ellie exclaimed, looking back down into the well. The star twinkled in the dark water.

"Well, we might have been captured by the goblins, like poor old Bilbo and the dwarves in the story," he answered. "I'd rather be killed than enslaved."

"I guess you're right," she said. "But poor Cairdur. He's lost his father!"

"That's hard, isn't it Ellie?" Turry asked her softly.

Surprised that he understood her own loss, for she never spoke of it, she looked up at his handsome face, wreathed by moonlight, and answered him, "Yes. Yes it is hard. I guess I've mainly been crying for Cairdur. And for poor old Gimli and Legolas and the rangers, and even that useless old wizard." Her eyes were bright again with new tears and as one trailed down her cheek, Turry lifted a hand to wipe it gently away.

Ellie never really understood what happened next, but she found herself in the arms of the strong young hobbit, shuddering and sobbing anew as if she had not cried for the last two days already. For his part, Turry did not know what to do really, never having had a lass weeping in his arms before. He held her and stroked her hair and spoke soft words into her ear until her emotion subsided. Still in his arms, she looked up at his face. He was taller and stronger than when they had set out so long ago it seemed. His face, though no older, seemed wiser and more serious. His eyes were deep and dark with that same Took twinkle, but to Ellie at that moment it was as if she looked upon him for the first time.

What came next seemed as natural as a spring rain. Turgon Took bent his head slowly to meet Elediriel Cotton's upturned face and there was no thought in her head to resist him. And surely they would have shared love's first kiss right then and there except for what happened next.

Their quick hobbit ears heard a noise to the north of them on the trail. Ellie quickly stepped away from Furry, suddenly embarrassed at the thought of being seen in such a position. But they were seen, for a booming disrespectful voice was laughing and called out so that it reached their ears, "See yonder! That is why there are so many little bunnies in the land!"

Sure enough, it was Feorn, walking quickly toward them in the moonlight. And wonder of wonders, behind him strode the rangers, Cairduin and Aradhel, and Legolas the elf! Gimli the dwarf and the Pallando the wizard rode in their accustomed places on the wagon, pulled by Bill and driven by Cairdur.