Now things start getting interesting! I'm really enjoying this rewrite, and I hope you all are too!

Chapter Four

Bree

Serian rode through the night. As the sun peeked above the hills in the East, she arrived at the gates of Bree. She approached the gate slowly, and was impressed when a face peered through a small window that opened in the gate. "What do you want?" the man barked roughly.

"I wish to enter the city," she called.

With a grunt, the man opened the gate, and Thanguron trotted in. "Thank you," Serian said as the man shut the gate again. "Can you direct me to an inn, or some other place for travelers?"

"There's the Prancing Pony, just up the road. But I wouldn't recommend it. It's not a nice place for a lady."

Serian shook her head. "Thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine."

The inn was small, and not the kind of place she would usually let herself be caught dead in. However, she could tell that it would be perfect for remaining anonymous. She dismounted and tied Thanguron to the hitching post while she went inside.

Serian pushed back the hood of her cloak as she entered the main room. There were only a few people scattered around, most seeming to be in various states of leaving. Thankfully, the innkeeper was behind the counter and instantly noticed her as she walked in. "Well, what can I do for such a pretty lady?" he asked with a genuine smile.

Serian smiled back, grateful to see that he seemed to be rather harmless. "I find myself in need of a room. Do you have any available?"

"We do indeed," the man replied opening up a ledger and checking for a room. "How long will you be staying for?"

"Not sure just yet," she replied. "I haven't yet decided where I'm going."

"Where're you coming from?"

Serian hesitated. The last thing she needed was to make it easy for anyone to find her when they inevitably came looking. Thankfully, her hesitation seemed to be enough of an answer for the innkeeper, who gave her a sympathetic look and said, "It's alright if you don't want to tell me. Just one room?"

"Yes," she replied, a note of relief in her voice. "And stabling for my horse. I've tied him outside."

"Not a problem. I'll have the lad take care of him." He turned and shouted in the general direction of a young man with light brown hair who nodded, and went through the door to take care of Thanguron. "I'll show you to your room," the innkeeper said, grabbing a key and heading toward the stairs. "My goodness, where are my manners!" he suddenly exclaimed and turned around so quickly that Serian nearly ran into him. "I haven't introduced myself. My name's Butterbur."

"It's very nice to meet you, sir," Serian replied, her mind quickly lighting on the perfect name to use. "I am Silima."

"It is very nice to meet you too!" Butterbur replied with a smile before turning and continuing upstairs. Serian sent a quick thank you to her cousin for insisting that she get to know the people in her village by name.

When they arrived at her room, Serian had to admit to being impressed. It was better than she'd anticipated. The bedding looked clean, and the floor and been recently swept, and there were no cobwebs in the corners. There was even a nice fireplace which she expected she'd want later as cooler weather was beginning to make the nights chilly. "This will do nicely," she said, turning to smile at Butterbur.

He smiled back, looking pleased. "Wonderful! Will you be needing anything else?"

"Not just now, thank you," she replied. "I've been riding all night, so I'll get some sleep now and decide what to do later."

"Of course. And, if you'd like, the food isn't half bad if you'd like to come down later and mingle a bit."

"I'll take that under advisement, thank you." With a final smile and a nod, Butterbur left the room.

Serian settled on the bed, and was glad to find that it was decently soft. She pried off her boots and undid her braid, letting her hair fall around her shoulders. She then laid back on the bed, and let herself relax for the first time since leaving the castle. She was free, and no one was going to take this new freedom from her.

When she woke several hours later, she felt decently refreshed. She was a little sore, but she figured that was due to a combination of riding for several hours and sleeping on an inferior mattress. She dug her brush out of her bag and ran it through her hair, then re-braided the long locks. She changed into one of the other tunics she had in her bag, then pulled her boots back on. She was hungry and ready to see if Butterbur was just exaggerating due to pride in his establishment, or if the food really was good.

Serian headed down to the main room and settled in at a table at the side of the room. To her surprise, Butterbur himself came over and said hi to her. "So, you decided to come down. I was startin' to wonder if you were coming down at all."

"I was curious if the food was really as good as you said," she replied with a smile.

"Well, we'll just have to do our best to impress you then!" he said. He turned around and went back behind the counter. After a few moments he returned with a plate of bread and meat covered in some kind of gravy, and a cup of wine.

"Thank you," she said as he set them down on the table. He nodded and left to take care of other customers.

He hadn't been exaggerating about the food. It was decently tasty and she finished it quickly and easily. When she was finished, she went and sat a bit closer to the fire.

She was just lounging, gazing into the fire when she realized someone was watching her. She looked around, concerned that it was someone who was after her. But she finally saw a man looking at her from across the room. She didn't recognize him, but when she looked at him, he stood and came over.

He had longish dark brown hair, and a scruffy beard. He sat down in the chair beside her and held out a piece of parchment. She hesitated, but took it. When she looked down at it, she stiffened. Her own face looked back at her from the parchment. It was a 'Missing' poster offering a reward from Prince Eric of Fornost.

"You would do well to not stay here long, your highness," the man said keeping his voice low. "You aren't exactly the most inconspicuous person here." Her features must've given away her fear because his face softened. "What brings such an important person add yourself to this humble inn?" he asked gently.

Serian hesitated, reluctant to divulge her troubles to a complete stranger, but something in her told her that the man next to her could be trusted. "My parents wished me to marry the Prince of Fornost. I knew naught of him and so sought to escape the fate my parents had determined would be mine." The man nodded and was quiet for a moment while Serian returned to gazing deeply into the flames, her mind consumed with thoughts of how she was to escape her clingy husband-to-be.

"Have you determined what your course is to be?" the man asked, taking the poster back from her fingers, crumpling it and tossing it into the fire.

Serian looked at him sharply. "No. I'd thought to have a few days here to think before being forced to move on. But it seems that choice had been taken from me."

"Had you given any thought to seeking aid from the Elves?"

Serian gave him a curious look. "I'm uncertain. I think I'd planned mainly to seek out the settlements of men in the east: Rohan or, perhaps, even Gondor."

"You may find more ready help with the Elves. Perhaps…" he trailed off, his eyes suddenly focused on the necklace that had caught the light as Serian shifted toward him eagerly. "Where did you get that? He asked quietly," his hand twitching forward as though he wanted to touch it.

Serian glanced down and brushed the little heart with her fingertips. The stone in the center caught the light of the fire and gleamed brightly. "My cousin gave it to me before I left. His father sent it to his mother before he died in a battle before I was born. He told me I would always find help with the Dwarves of I needed it because of this necklace."

"So your uncle was the one who obtained the necklace?" he asked.

"Yes. Is there something wrong?" she replied, confused.

The man shook his head. He had stopped gazing at the necklace to study her face. "If you would permit me, I would like to take you to the Elves of Imladris. They will know how to help you; and how to explain the necklace you wear."

"First of all, I refuse to just go off with a man of whom I know nothing, not even his name. Second, I don't understand what else I need to know about my necklace. My cousin already told me about it."

The man smiled, laughing lightly. "You are a smart girl. You'll do well in the world. I am known as Strider in these parts, and that will suffice for now. As for your necklace, there is much to know about anything made by the Dwarves. More importantly, anything that will inspire them to aid anyone in possession of it garners investigation."

Serian studied him carefully. He looked rough and well-traveled. His clothes were worn, but there was evidence that they had once been well-cared-for. There was something about his manner that made her feel at ease. She gazed into his eyes, searching for any reason to not trust him. She found nothing. "When will we leave?" she asked.

"In the morning. One more night should not make much difference. As far as I know, no one else is aware that you are in Bree."

Serian nodded then stopped, "Wait. If you're the only one who knows, how did you get the poster?"

Strider smiled and stood. "I was coming down the Greenway when a rider stopped me and gave it to me. He asked me to put it up in the town. I was wary of the motives, however, so I kept it hidden until I saw you. And I am glad I did." He smiled again, then walked toward the stairs. "I will see you in the morning, My Lady."

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