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When I Needed You *	By : Aewnaur Category: Lord of the Rings Movies > Het - Male/Female Views: 3153 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings book series and movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Chapter Four: Ever Onward

I'd like to be a pirate ship
In search of hidden gold
On ocean waves that swim away
And sail around the world
~Erasure~

It was two more days before the hobbits showed up. Aragorn had removed the single braid from Renee�s hair and pulled it back more like a warriors braid. They had visited the weapons smith and the armory during their free time. Bree wasn�t known for its weaponry so she hadn�t gotten any daggers, even though she had begged for one. Aragorn had however asked the guy that made the armor to make a leather scabbard and belt for her sword. Keeping it in the metal sheath just would not be practical if they ran into trouble.

Then men in the tavern seem to think she was a boy and they never bothered to correct them. With her hair braided so that the tips of her ears showed and with her breasts flattened by the tight sports bra she did look just like a boy and any feminine traits could be passed off as merely being because of her elvish heritage. When the hobbits finally showed up Aragorn looked to her for a brief moment. They were sitting at a back table with their hoods drawn low over their faced but with her elvish eyesight she could clearly make out his face. He was tense. He should be, she thought.

The hobbits made their way to a small table that was kept there for the Halflings who used to frequent Bree more. Renee sighed as the scene played out exactly. The nasty men at the bar stared at the hobbits, Merry and Pippin acting like the kids they were not, Frodo over reacting and putting on the ring.

Renee finished drinking her water and grabbed a tray of food. Slowly she made her way back up to the room. She was looking forward to meeting Frodo and the rest of the hobbits but she really didn�t want to know how the ring would effect her gift. It was scary to think that she might pick up images from the accursed thing. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door softly before pushing it open and walking in.

The hobbits jumped up in fright as she kicked the door closed behind her. They gasped and ran to Aragorn to hide until Pippin spotted the food she carried and they relaxed.

�Oh look, food!� he cried as he raced for the tray. Frodo was the only one who did not come forward. She removed her cloak and went to sit beside Strider. As she drew closer Frodo gasped.

�Elf!�

�Aye, Frodo. This is Renee,� Strider spoke. �Renee, these are Masters Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Peregrin Took. Hobbits from the Shire,� as he spoke their names they bobbed their heads. Pippin had most of the food gone by the time introductions where over.

�I�ve never seen an Elf before,� Pippin said as he wiped his hands on his waist coat. He�s smile was contagious. She glanced to a smirking Strider then back to Pippin.

�And I Master Took, have never seen a Hobbit before!� She tried to sound all serious and gallant like she imagined they thought an elf would speak, but one sound from Strider and she was giggling.

�Don�t let her fool you, she isn�t like most elves you will meet in Rivendell. She�s just a baby!�

�I�m not a baby, and even so, at least I�m not an old man. How many summers have you seen? Has it been a hundred yet? No lets see only about eighty five. Tisk tisk, I�d rather be a baby!� She laughed at his expression. Very few people knew how old Strider was.

�Well, I�ve eaten and bathed so now I am going to rest. There are things that you all need to discuss, so I will leave you to it,� Renee said as she grabbed her sleeping bag.

She knew the hobbits would all sleep on the bed and Strider would doze off in the chair so she tried to pick the best place to sleep. Without really thinking about it being around the others made her feel uncomfortable and she had been keeping close to Strider.

He had noticed and was not at all surprised when she sat on the floor beside him wedged in between his chair and the wall. He sighed as he saw the glazed look come over her eyes. She might not talk about it but being here in Bree surrounded by people she was not letting herself really relax and rest. He hoped that once they were back on the trail and away from town she would relax again and rest.

Several hours later Aragorn felt her jerk herself awake. He had seen her do this every night since coming to Bree. She never made any noise and never talked about whatever it was that had awakened her, but he could tell by the way her eyes scanned the room and rested on him for a minute that what ever it was had unsettled her. Normally he said nothing he would just nod his head to let her know he was awake and then she would settle herself back into a light sleep. Tonight however she didn�t settle back so he decided to speak.

�Do you want to talk about it?� he whispered down to her.

She looked away from him and stared at the door. She knew she could trust him, and images of her father bursting in the door were haunting her. Really though, would telling him any of that do her any good? Her mother had believed that talking about your problems helped. She was into all that new age psychic stuff, Renee guessed that Sha�nita was trying to be supportive of her �gifts�. Well that is, Sha�nita had been open with things before the move away from the city. Renee sighed. She was coming to accept Middle-earth as her home and Aragorn as her brother.

The last few weeks had been the strangest and yet she had been happy. Bree was making her jumpy though. The strange men in the tavern, drinking and staring at her. Yes, she thought, Aragorn needed to know she was having a problem with the crowds. Even if they were going to leave tomorrow, soon they would reach Rivendell and she didn�t want to freak out or anything, which was a distinct possibility with the hobbits around.

�I,� she swallowed. This was going to be harder than she thought. �I just keep seeing him burst through the door,� she whispered.

�Who?�

�My father.�

�He isn�t here. Not in Bree, not even in Middle-Earth,� he whispered back.

�That doesn�t mean I am not still scared of him. Scared that he is getting drunk downstairs. Every time I hear footsteps coming up the stairs I can see him busting the door open and,� She paused, unable to put what had happened to her in words, not out loud. It would make it too real. �I just don�t like being around drunks, that�s all,� she finished lamely.

�Your father drank a lot?�

�He was a braggard when sober, but he was a mean drunk. We moved away from the city when my gift became to much for me to handle. He couldn�t find any work and my mother was cheating on him. I was adopted so when she turned on him, he thought it was ok to turn to me,� she explained.

�You were adopted? So even in this other world you had no blood family. Then I am doubly glad to have blood-bonded with you,� Aragorn sighed. Thank the Valar for blessing their bond, at least he knew that she did belong with him. He would protect her to the best of his ability.

�So am I Aragorn, so am I,� she leaned her head over to rest on the side of his chair, taking comfort in his nearness.

�You should sleep, we leave before dawn. I will guard you, you know that. I would never let any of those drunks harm you,� his voice was soothing.

He heard the rasp of cloth moving over cloth and looked up, Frodo was sitting up at the foot of the bed. Strider shook his head and looked back to Renee. She looked like she had relaxed more this time and her eyes were closing in sleep, a sure sign that she was exhausted. He smiled down at the sight, then turned back to Frodo.

Strider stood and stepped a few feet away to the window where Frodo joined him.

�She calls you Aragorn.�

�I have many names.�

�She sounded very young. I�ve always thought the elves were old.�

�Their not born that way you know,� Aragorn turned as he laughed. �But you are right most of the elves are very old. Not very many elves are born anymore.�

Frodo turned to look up at the taller man, �What I heard, before,�

�You will never mention again,� Strider hissed. He stared at Frodo until the smaller man nodded his understanding. �Now get to bed we�ve a long way to go before journeys end.�

�Aye, Strider.�

*

The next morning saw them moving quickly through the woods, the hobbits were already complaining about second breakfast before Renee thought to eat her first. Her dreams had been disturbing, she had woken several times to screeching phantoms. In her mind she knew it was the Nazgul but her dreams blended with reality and her father became the Wraith King. Aragorn�s presence was the only thing that kept her sane through the night.

She had to smile at the comments of the hobbits even thought she knew the story like she had read it yesterday instead of a lifetime ago. She listened as they walked rarely speaking unless spoken to, which wasn�t very often. At night she would help gather the wood for the fire, but as she knew nothing of building or keeping of a fire she couldn�t do much more. One night after a day full of complaints, the hobbits really could not abide the midge water, Aragorn asked her to sing.

She was sitting between Aragorn and the fire and he was braiding her hair again. She was relaxed but not enough to sing. She chewed her lip thoughtfully. In the books the people here sang a lot and also recited poetry a lot so maybe she could just say a song instead.

�Were I come from we have a tradition called �Spoken Word� which is really just a way to say a song instead of singing it. I could share a song with you like that if you wanted,� she held her breath, the prospect of them hating it was making her really nervous.

�That sounds fine, muinthel. We could all do with a new song,� he could see her holding her breath waiting for his answer and tried to put her at ease.

�Oh, yes a song,� Pippin cried, then turned to Merry who was beginning to doze and spoke louder, �Merry wake up Renee�s going to tell us a song!�

She looked to Frodo and Sam, they too looked excited.

�Okay, with that kind of enthusiasm I had better make this a good one!� she laughed. She waited for Merry to sit up before clearing her throat. She might not be really singing but she would try to get the proper tune and rhythm to the song!

�Okay, here goes. The name of this is �The Oath� by a group of singers and musicians named Kiss. I�ll let you decide what it is about.

Like a blade of a sword I am forged in flame
Fiery hot
Tempered steel fire-bright to the night I take
I fear not
Now compelled by something I cannot see
I go forth surrendering to history
Your glory, I swear I ride for thee
Your power, I trust it rides with me
Your servant, I am and ever shall I be
Through a dream
I have a come to an ancient door
Lost in the mist
I have been there a hundred times or more
Pounding my fists
Now inside, the fire of the ancient burns
A boy goes in and suddenly a man returns
I gave my word and gained a key
I gave my heart and set it free
There's no turning back from this odyssey
Because I feel so alive suddenly
And I wonder, is this really me?
~

And well I�m sure I didn�t deliver it like they would have but for some reason it�s always touched me. When I first heard it about a year ago it meant something entirely different to me than it does now,� she trailed off incredibly embarrassed.

Renee had closed her eyes as she recited and unconsciously been pulling her gloves off and on. She wore the smaller gloves as she thought it might be good to be able to touch things if they ran into unforeseen trouble. She thought her curse might actually turn into a gift here in this unexpected world.

�I think you did a wonderful job with the poem, and you are right, the meaning is probably different for everyone,� Aragorn whispered as he finished braiding.

Frodo put his hand on her shoulder as he stood and made to go to his bedroll, �It was a tale worthy of Bilbo, you must tell him when we reach Rivendell.�

�Thank You Frodo,� she replied as she reached up to pat his hand, forgetting that her glove was still in her lap. Aragorn caught her as she screamed and passed out.

~Gates as tall as a mountain, sky as black as sin. The taste of poison in the very air, despair heavy on her chest. She couldn�t breath, something was pulling her head down, the ring, it was so heavy. She realized that she was seeing through Frodo�s eyes. He was at the black gates of Mordor! The eye was searching, always searching. She couldn�t let it see her! She had to get away, out of this vision. She screamed as the eye turned her way.~

�What is it Strider? What�s happened to her?� Sam cried out as the girl fell. The rest of the hobbits crowded around as Aragorn laid her out on her bedroll.

�Quiet, let me look at her,� he growled.

The hobbits made some reluctant noises but backed up a step, anxious about their new friend.

�What happened Frodo? What did you see?� Aragorn asked his worry clear in his tone.

�N, nothing Strider. I swear. I touched her shoulder and she patted my hand, next thing is, her screaming. Oh I do hope she will be okay!� Frodo started twisting his fingers fretfully.

Aragorn looked to her hands. Damn it, he thought to himself, one of her gloves was missing. He turned to Merry who was directly behind him and closest to where she had been sitting.

�Merry, do you see her glove anywhere? Get it hand it here,� he demanded.

All of the Hobbits scrambled around for a bit before coming back with the scrap of leather.

�Here Mr. Strider. Is this why she always wears them? Does touching pain her?� Sam asked worriedly.

�Yes and no, Sam. She is a Seer of sorts. When she touches something or someone she will see things about them. It has never been this bad before, I do not think,� he was very worried even more so because he knew there was nothing he could do for her.

�She touched me, Strider. Do you think,� Frodo touched his waistcoat pocket where he kept the ring.

They all gasped at the implications. Aragorn paled even more, he couldn�t know if this would draw the wraiths to them. If her visions reached Sauron then she could be fighting for her life as well as her sanity.

�Pack up quickly, we must move,� he decided. They would travel until the hobbits dropped from exhaustion. They all needed to get as far away from this place as they could. If the wraiths could trace them through the ring they would be here in no time.

Merry rushed to get the bedrolls and packs ready while Sam and Pippin dealt with the fire and cooking utensils. Aragorn slung Renee over his shoulder and Frodo readied the pony. Once everyone was ready they set out again. Aragorn cursed that they still had more than a fortnight ahead of them.

The small band made it far into the night before they had to stop. The hobbits were near dead on their feet but none complained. Aragorn would not have stopped if he had thought they could go on, but he decided to let them get a few hours of sleep before getting them up with the dawn and setting out again. If they could keep up this pace they would make it to Weathertop in three days. He put Renee in his lap and wondered at how attached he had become to the tiny elf girl in so short a time. With all that he knew she had been through she had not complained or despaired even once.

*

The chirping of a bird and the smell of breakfast cooking woke him the next morning several hours after dawn. Sam was the only one up as he was the designated cook he had begun breakfast. They had not made a proper camp when they had stopped and the robust hobbit had only gotten out what utensils he would need for the one meal. As Aragorn approached he could see that Sam thought the meal out wisely. There on a clothe was several pieces of flat bread wrapped around a bit of bacon and tomato.

�Good thinking, Sam. I meant not to sleep this late. You should have woken me,� he whispered. In spite of his words he had no wish to wake the others. No, he would wait until the breakfast was done and cleaned up before he rousted them. There would be less fuss with the quick leave taking that way.

�It�s no trouble Mr. Strider. The young ones,� Sam motioned to Merry and Pippin, �can eat while we walk. Has there been any change in Ms. Renee?�

�Not so far, but I haven�t tried to wake her yet, perhaps she is just sleeping,� Aragorn walked over to his bonded sister as he spoke. Along the way he grabbed a skin of water thinking that a splash of this in her face might do the trick.

He didn�t need the water as her eyes were starting to flutter when he approached.

�Renee, wake up! That�s it, wake up for me,� he murmured as he knelt beside her. He watched as she moaned and licked her lips, her eyes fluttered open and she finally focused on him.

�What happened? My eyes hurt, my mouth is so dry,� she tried to sit up.

�Easy there,� he said as he helped her sit up. �You touched Frodo, I can only assume you had a vision. Here have a bit of water. How do you feel otherwise?� concern filled his voice.

�My head hurts, I feel dehydrated. My eyes feel all gummy,� she rubbed at her eyes and looked to Aragorn.

�You�re an elf, you are supposed to sleep with your eyes open. They were closed all night. Have a bit more water, if you are dehydrated that would explain the headache. If it does not go away soon, I�ll make you a tea for it.�

�Okay,� she looked around. �We moved? How long was I asleep?�

�Just the one night. I couldn�t be sure about the vision, you touched Frodo. I didn�t know how the ring would effect you.�

�Oh God! The ring, I saw Frodo and Mordor, the Black Gates and the Eye. Oh Aragorn it was horrible!� she cried.

�Renee, I must know. Did the Eye see you? Does Sauron know about you?� his voice was harsh, but she could see the concern for her in his eyes.

�I don�t think so, it was looking the other way. There was a army gathering in the distance. The army was a long way off and He was having trouble seeing them for some reason. He started to turn toward me, well Frodo really, but something in the army caught his attention before he turned all the way. That�s all after that I woke up,� she reassured him.

They looked up as Sam bustled over holding a plate of the breakfast wraps. The smile on his face was huge as he passed the plate to Aragorn.

�I thought Ms. Renee might be hungry. So good to see you awake Miss,� Sam blushed as she smiled back at him.

�Thank you Sam, It�s good to be awake. And you�re right, I�m starving! This must be how hobbits feel, Aragorn, when you deny them second breakfast!� Already her head was feeling better after nearly all of the skin of water Aragorn had brought her. She would probably slosh when she walked and have to stop all morning to pee but it was well worth it to get rid of that dwarf mining in her head.

They were all laughing at her joke when Frodo stumbled up.

�Oh Ms. Renee, I�m so glad you�re all right! When I thought I might have hurt you,� he rushed over. Stopping just shy of throwing his arms around her, mindful of the effect it might have on her.

�Frodo, babe, just chill. I mean calm down. I�m fine and it was not your fault. I forgot that I had taken off my glove. I was nervous after the song thing and I just, forgot. It used to happen all the time. I�ve just felt so safe the last few days that I just forgot. Believe me though after that it won�t happen again!� she stopped when she realized the other hobbits had wandered over as well and everyone was staring at her.

�What?�

�I think that is the most she has ever said at one time!� Merry whispered loudly to Pippin, who immediately agreed.

Everyone had a good laugh when they turned back to see Renee blushing furiously.

�Well I hate to say it but we need to get moving. We still have a long way to go,� Aragorn stood and motioned for everyone to get moving.

Before long they set off at a brisk pace. Renee�s thoughts drifted to the problems that where ahead. Weathertop was the thing that worried her most. Should she change anything? What would it effect? Hmm, lets see, would Glorfindel come after them or Arwen. She wouldn�t know until after the accident, and that wouldn�t really matter because they didn�t know Frodo was injured they were looking for the small group because Gandalf showed up. Oh, this could make her head hurt again, she wondered what Aragorn thought of it. He probably wouldn�t want Frodo to get hurt anymore that she did. Well that settles it. It is the right thing to do.

Although she had made up her mind, her thoughts kept bouncing back and forth over what she could and couldn�t change. The next few days flew by in a haze of walking, hobbit chatter and darkness. Before long they were on Weathertop, and she was terrified.

tbc...

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When I Needed You *