Hello! Thank you so much for all the reviews I got, it was like… wow! When I saw them!

Here's the second chapter, hope it's not too boring, but I tried to make it a little bit amusing. At the end, there's going to be a big time jump into the next chapter... just saying.

Enjoy!

"We shall rest here for the night," Aragorn announced to the weary travellers behind him.

Lúthien groaned in relief and almost collapsed where she stood in relief.

They had been walking all day, setting out at dawn and not stopping once until dusk. Two of the hobbits, Merry and Pippin she believed, were astonished at the fact that not everybody had the need to eat six or seven times a day. Their playful banter and merry ways had endeared them to Lúthien and she wished they could soon become friends.

It would not have been easy, she thought, to trust someone who had mysteriously appeared in the middle of the night. The hobbits, Frodo and Sam in particular, had demanded to know why a common maiden would travel with them and Merry and Pippin had not been exactly welcoming. They were careful and suspicious and Lúthien could hardly blame them.

Aragorn had not explained in detail, but merely told them she was accompanying them to Rivendell, as she needed the Elves' assistance and could be of possible use to them. In return, Aragorn had only said that a dark object had come into their possession and they required counsel.

Both tales were bland, lacking in description and detail, but ignited curiosity in both parties.

As they travelled, though, Lúthien had begun to receive more information about the small creatures. Her curiosity was soon satiated as she learned the truth of their quest to Rivendell and admired the loyalty of the three to their obvious leader, Frodo.

Now, he was an interesting character and Lúthien had taken pains to try to harness her 'gift' in order to find out more about him. From time to time she had fallen silent and distant to concentrate.

Sam eagerly started fishing out pots and pans from his heavy pack along with several items of food.

"I imagine you two are hungry," he said to Merry and Pippin, "I'd safely bet you've never gone this long in your life without a full meal."

"We haven't," Pippin replied, "And I don't fancy doing it again."

Lúthien sniggered and plonked herself on the ground, eying Sam as he lit a fire. She too was starving.

"You're going to have to," Aragorn told Pippin, "We are several days away from Rivendell."

Pippin's eyes widened in response, "Oh dear…"

"Indeed," Aragorn replied gravely, though he looked amused.

"I have something for you," he continued, looking at the hobbits. He reached into his own pack and pulled out four small swords, almost mistaken to be large daggers. "Use them wisely and they may save your life."

"You need a weapon," Aragorn told Lúthien as the hobbits marveled over their new weapons.

"Probably, you know, since I've almost been killed a few times," she shrugged playfully.

Aragorn ignored her, "Can you shoot?"

"Shoot what?" Lúthien asked, confused.

"Nevermind," Aragorn muttered, "Can you wield a sword?"

"Nope."

"Dagger?"

"Nope."

"Axe?"

"One moment, let me get my trusty axe from my pocket… I've got some pretty mean moves with this thing," Lúthien remarked sarcastically.

"Can you fight with anything?" Aragorn asked, exasperated.

"Yeah… I've got a kitchen knife… I'm a fighting machine with that in hand."

Aragorn glared at her, "You're not helping."

Lúthien smiled coyly, "I didn't think so."

"You will have to learn," he warned her, "A quest like this should not be taken lightly, nor will it be easy and you will have to fight to save yourself."

Lúthien quickly sobered up.

"You can practice with me for now," Aragorn decided, "I have another sword that should not be too heavy and we may make progress tonight."

Lúthien still lay where she was, staring unblinking at him.

"Well, what are you sitting there for?" Aragorn demanded, "Get up, we can start now." He unsheathed yet another sword from his pack.

How many this man have?

Lúthien gaped at him and scrambled to her feet, "What? But what about the hobbits? Why do they get to rest?" she complained.

"Because they are little and tired and need to get their strength back," Aragorn replied.

"I'm small and tired," Lúthien muttered pathetically under her breath, though she took the offered sword.

"You never know, you may be a natural. And then you may laze around all you wish," Aragorn told her.

However, as soon as Aragorn released his hold on the weapon, she staggered under the weight and held the handle tightly with both hands as the point dragged in the dirt.

Aragorn watched her with a strange, almost hopeless expression in his eyes, "Perhaps not."

He raised his own sword and advanced upon her.

"First things first," he instructed, "You must raise the sword off the ground."

/

One hour later and a beautiful stew was simmering in its pot, courtesy of Sam and Merry and Pippin had taken to sitting around it and looking at its contents greedily.

Frodo and Sam talked quietly, but light-heartedly nearby, occasionally looking over to their fellow hobbits and to their new companions.

Said new companions were grumpy, frustrated and irritable. Though Aragorn had initially harboured some hope that the girl in front of him would possess another great talent, this time concerning swords, it had soon been taken care of within the first five minutes.

"Stop, stop!" he had yelled, "One cannot fight without moving or with their eyes closed!"

Lúthien cracked open an eyelid to glare at Aragorn, "I thought I had been doing quite well."

Aragorn stared at her with his eyebrows raised, "You seem to be sadly mistaken." He did not like to admit defeat, but she was… hopeless.

However, at the end of the hour, Lúthien had improved, though very slightly. She had managed to open her eyes, hold the sword in one hand with the correct posture and stopped flinching every time Aragorn moved.

They hadn't even started fighting.

"That will do for tonight," he told her, "I will go and scout. Keep the hobbits company… and stay sharp."

Lúthien had nodded and watched as her small companions dug into the treat Sam had cooked up. They had offered her some of the stew and she gratefully accepted it.

Time passed and Aragorn had yet to return. The sky was growing dark and Frodo had drifted into sleep. The hobbits talked amongst themselves and invited Lúthien into the conversation. They talked of the Shire and of its beauty. Sam, in particular, was extremely attached to the small town.

"Have you ever been?" Merry asked curiously.

"No, but I will have to visit once I am finished with Rivendell," Lúthien said wistfully, "It sounds wonderful."

"Come in Spring," Sam advised, "The flowers are blooming, the sun is brighter… everything is peaceful."

"Oh, I will," she promised cheerfully, "But only if you take me on a guided tour."

Merry and Pippin eagerly agreed to this but Sam said nothing and looked down.

"What is it, Sam?" Lúthien asked carefully, "Am I not welcome in your home?" she added teasingly.

"No, of course…" Sam shook his head, "I don't think I'll ever see the Shire again… it's just a feeling I have, but I don't think I'll return to see Spring. At least, not this year."

The group was silent after Sam's little speech as none knew what to say. But it was Sam himself who broke the silence.

"I'm hungry again," he announced, "I've got some sausages if you start a fire."

Lúthien nodded and gathered some branches and sticks and tried to ignore that silly voice in the back of her head that told her this was not a good idea.

/

I knew this wasn't a good idea, Lúthien berated herself as she and her companions scrambled up the rocks to higher ground.

They were being chased.

By Ringwraiths.

She yelped as she looked behind and saw them gaining. Reaching the top of the small mountain, she unsteadily unsheathed her sword. It wobbled in her hand for a moment, stuck in the scabbard.

"Oh, don't do this to me," Lúthien muttered as she finally managed to pull it out completely, "Right. Okay. Hands, hands… yes, that's right… left foot behind right foot… weight on balls of left foot… sword out… I'm going to fall over… I'm going to die…"

The hobbits, with their own especially light swords looked to have no problem with actually holding the things, though they merely stood there looking to face the enemy straight on.

"We're going to die," she amended.

The black riders approached slowly, as if knowing they were cornered. They easily knocked the hobbits back and turned to face Lúthien, who was the last obstacle in front of Frodo.

Their leader, with a great swing, knocked the sword out of her hands and sent her flying backwards. She was no better than the hobbits had been and could do no more but watch as Frodo stumbled back, tripped… and disappeared when he slipped on a gold ring.

The wraiths looked furious and the leader unsheathed another weapon – this time a dagger.

It stood there looking at the empty space where Frodo was until it suddenly plunged it into what would have been Frodo's chest.

But a bright light in the corner of Lúthien's eye caught her attention and she couldn't help but smile slightly.

Aragorn, with his sword drawn – properly – and a torch held high above his head had come to their rescue. Lúthien watched in amazement and fear as he single-handedly defeated all five wraiths smoothly and without breaking a sweat. The last one fell off the edge of the cliff with the fiery torch protruding from its hood.

They all turned to where Frodo lay, now visible. Aragorn quickly hurried towards him and held up the dagger the wraith had used.

He turned towards Lúthien and the hobbits.

"He's been stabbed," Aragorn informed them grimly, "By a Morgul blade."

Does this count as a cliffhanger? Even though everyone knows what happens?

IMPORTANT!

Luthien will NOT be a tenth walker. That is decided.

She will also NOT be an elf, half elf, of anything else immortal.

As you might've guessed, she will also NOT do VERY much in fights because she, well, sucks with swords.

You know the picture of the girl with the red hair on the side of this story… yeah, I stumbled upon it and thought, HEY! That's Luthien! So if you want a visual aid, there you go.

I will be changing the summary of this story. I think I can make things clearer and a little better.

One last thing, there will be a couple of funny LOTR links up on my profile. LOL all you want.

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