Hope ↠ LOTR

I. Shadow

"They're here," a woman clad in a dark green cloak spoke to the man who was sitting beside her, her eyes not moving from the four Hobbits that had stepped into The Prancing Pony.

The inside of the inn was a stark contrast to the dark and stormy streets of Bree, candles lit up the room and there was a blazing fire that Men and Hobbits gathered around to share their stories and drink the night away. It was a bustling atmosphere with no silence in between the cheering and hollering of the drunken crowd, many people bumping into one another while the innkeeper and his servant struggled to manoeuvre their way through the merry people.

There was no point in attempting to eavesdrop on the Hobbits that were seated at a table with drinks in their hands, they were too far away and the obnoxious booming voices of everyone else was all that filled anybody's ears.

Their gazes did not waver when the singular brunette Hobbit looked their way, the man smoking from a pipe as they watched him speak in a hushed tone to Butterbur. They made no attempt at hiding the fact that they were speaking about them.

"Excuse me, that man and woman in the corner, who are they?"

"They're two of them Rangers. They're dangerous folk they are, wandering the wilds. What they're right names are I never heard, but round here he's known as Strider and she's known as Shadow. I believe they're brother and sister," Butterbur explained to the questioning Hobbit before continuing on his way to deliver the plate of food that he held in his hands.

The woman's eyes watched the Hobbit intently, noticing how he was fiddling with something underneath the table. She crossed one leg over the other, her eyes never leaving him and watching his every move. He appeared to be in some kind of trance, drawn to the power that he held in his hands.

"Baggins?" A loud voice caught the attention of both the Hobbits and Rangers, turning to see one of the Hobbits that had entered with them perched at the bar and talking to a group of Men, "sure I know a Baggins. He's over there, Frodo Baggins! He's my second cousin, once removed on his mother's side..." He continued, but the two Rangers zoned out of his explanations.

"Aren't they supposed to not be using that name?" She questioned her brother beside her in an exasperated tone at the mistake of the strawberry blonde Hobbit. He only hummed in agreement with her, neither of them removing their sights from the commotion.

"Pippin!" They heard him cry out when reaching his cousin, grasping onto his shoulder.

"Steady on, Frodo," he responded.

They anxiously watched the next series of events unfold. Frodo stepped backwards but tripped on an outstretched foot and went tumbling to the stone flooring before reaching his hand into the air, a sparkle of gold being seen before he completely vanished. For the first time in history, the chaos inside the inn disappeared and all fell silent as they stared at the spot where the Hobbit had once been.

"He didn't tell us they were idiots," Athena grumbled under her breath before she shot up onto her feet, her brother close behind her as they made their way through the crowd that had begun to murmur amongst themselves and return to their drinks.

"Over here," Aragorn whispered to her, placing a hand on her arm as he guided her to where a section of dust had been moved from the crawling of the invisible Frodo.

The Hobbit suddenly became visible again, and as soon as he was Aragorn grasped him by the shoulder and pushed him against one of the wooden walls. "You draw far too much attention to yourself, Mr Underhill," he stated before pushing him up the stairs and into the room that had been prepared for the Hobbits.

"You don't have to be so rough with him," she quietly scolded him when seeing Frodo fall to the floor from the force of the Ranger's pushing.

She stepped inside the room and shut the door behind her, Frodo pushing himself to stand on his feet before looking at the two strangers that had hauled him away from his friends and safety.